Why Corporate Images are on Fire

For every major corporation that has reached the limelight of reached the limelight of public scrutiny for mismanagement of its financial affairs, hundreds more face crises of credibility. Why? A trend toward weak corporate name-identities has resulted in an alphabet soup of look-likes and sound alikes. 


Overnight, things got suddenly changed, over-exposing of corporate credibility and governance, like Richter scales gone wild are thumping the global populace in sheer panic while shattering thousands of mega corporate name brands worldwide.
The good and sober companies of the world not only must weather these credibility quakes but also must project their clean image and stay protected during these monstrous shift of globs image and stay protected during these monstrous shifts of global image. Today, no matter how big or small the name-identity, it must face some of the principle Laws of Corporate Naming to cope with brand new challenges of corporate sobriety.

Laws of respectability


A corporate image and its name must offer a credible personality to its customers and shareholders alike; unless a corporate name is for a circus, the customers are seeking value and shareholders the protection of their assets, and neither is seeking a monkey show. A business name of any serious enterprise must have an alpha-character to qualify and gain respect projecting sound personality, honesty, integrity, reliability and stability. No room for randomly picked wild names like "Globe-a-Con,"Blacktower" "Tomorrow Inc." "Guarantee Inc" or just "Omelette".

Cute, pretentious or humorous names are out. Difficult and obscure names only confuse customers. Looks-alike or sound-alike names only kill marketing efforts. Twisted spellings hurt. search-ability. With major bankruptcies all over the other innocent businesses with similar names are getting trapped.
Currently amongst the modernized world the credibility of financial services has gone to the bottom, as false claims to exotic superiority failed to match the unexplainable performance. So are the related sectors, impacting doubts about every-thing, and also gone are the so-cherished and respected images of the past corporate identities of the past from hard core manufacturing to incred - ible services. Where and when will this train stop?

In the last decade, most banks simply adapted the init-ialization of their long twisted names and clearly short-changed them-selves by eliminating any distinct identity or a respectable image. The analysis of the top 1,000 banks of the world is nothing but the most thick, creamy alphabet soup one can dip into. Almost all of them suddenly decided in unison  to simply just become initially named banks and now they are all just a bank, falling and crumbling under the stress tests.
If ever, and when the next round of a run on a major American or British bank will occur it will cause havoc for the other hundreds of innocent financial institutions which are still holding on to their very clean and sober affairs.
Whether the board likes it or not most corporate boardrooms are extremely scared to open a debate on this name image issue while this meltdown is taking this name identity crisis to the very top. A survey of major corporations around the world shows 87% of corporate names are seriously identical to other business names causing confusion and losing name-equity in the marketplace. The sooner they address this, the better.
Naseem Javed is author of "Naming for Power" and reconginsed as a world authority on building corporate image and creating global name indentities. Javed introduced the Laws of founded ABC Namebank, in Toronto and New York, a quarter century ago.




http://www.corporate-images.com/fckeditor_userfiles/file/AOR%20release-1.pdf

Closing at midnight tomorrow!

Hi,

That means you have just over 36 hours before Brendon Burchard closes Experts Academy enrollment.

Get in here before it's too late.

If you've ever wanted to get your advice and how-to information out to the world, helping people and getting PAID at the same time, then you must watch this now.

Personally, I think Brendon is giving away the farm with this offer and that's why I've been telling you so much about it. His strategies WORK and the marketing campaigns he gives away as part of the course are worth the tuition alone.

Here's what his program includes:

• Experts Academy DVD Home Study Course (This is TWENTY dvds of step-by step training for each area you can get paid in as an expert: author, speaker, seminar leader, and online marketer)
• "Marketing Mastery for Experts" (a $4,997 program on how to market yourself intelligently)
• $10,000 Marketing Planning Session (people paid $10,000 to learn this stuff—it's how to plan your entire year of marketing, what to say, etc)
• Promotional Partnership Crash Course, another $5k program on getting JVs, affiliates, sponsors, etc.
• Over $9,000 of tickets to Brendon's private live events

It may be one of the best offers of the year when you consider the real value and Brendon's incredible ability to get results for himself and his clients.

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The time to learn how to be an "expert" in your niche is now—so many people are looking for great advice in order to get ahead...you have your work cut out for you. If you haven't yet made a sizable income through books, speeches, seminars, and online marketing, then perhaps it's time you join Brendon's program and join us in the new economy.

The deadline is tomorrow night at midnight. Please don't miss it. Brendon doesn't do "reopens" so this is the last chance.

To your success!


Brian Tracy

No white elephant gifts this holiday season!

Dear Reader,

If you're tired of the bad ties and crazy socks you've received in Christmas's past—or if you're stressed out and have no idea when you're going to find time for your own Christmas shopping—I've got great news for you!

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Happy Holidays!


Brian Tracy

Building CSR into Your Brand Fabric

Until quite recently, companies considered themselves to be good citizens if they paid their taxes, complied with the law and maybe supported a few good causes. They seldom paused to consider their wider relationship with society, nor were they expected to. 

Time have changed now, and for the better. Business are facing challenging times wold wide. Increased competition and commercial difficulties are combining with intensifying regulatory standards and consumer demand to create a whole new playing field. Conventional outlook of business is also changing. No longer are people confidently expecting government alone to sort things out. And all over the world, the role of multinational corporations is being reappraised. It is no longer enough for these organization to simply employ people, make a profit and pay taxes. Being part of the world, they are now expected to act responsibly, be accountable and benefit society as a whole. This is the new agenda of corporate social and environmental responsibility (CSER) or corporate citizenship. From a trickle, it has become a wave far-reaching boardrooms across the world. As the general public, the commentators, the analysts, the media and governments all now expect big business to practice responsible behavior, There are commercial consequences to be paid by those who do not. In other words, as the issues become more pressing and more widely felt, corporate responsibility has shifted from being a voluntary and often reluctant add-on to a central leaders have been quick to embrace this new philosophy spotting its potential for triple bottom line benefits - Profit for the economic bottom line, the social bottom line and the environmental bottom line. And since more and more companies are making their social initiatives public, CSR has now emerged as the latest tool to enhance your branding.


Be`Cause (its`s) Branding!
For a brand to find success and growth in today`s marketplace, it must become a relevant part of a customer`s life. Brands can do this by responding to trends, understanding customer concerns, and joining with customers and employees to meet real societal needs - Cause branding.

"Brand A was there for us when the earthquake hit us. Brand Y financially supports programs to improve child education. Brand X is giving back to the community and investing in our future. I will support Brand X and tell my friends and family to do the same."

Cause branding is the public face of a comprehensive CSR program. Its is a strategy to unite a brand`s core value (s) with a consumer passion and the right cause partner to raise awareness and funds to positively impact to positively impact a societal need.  It is a continuous 365-day - a - year association with a cause via internal and external programs. A true cause branding program is about one issue, be it health,  the environment, literacy, youth education or any other societal need.  It is a true branding endeavor to align a cause and a brand`s support of that cause in the consumers mind. While CSR can work to establish a brand as a good corporate citizen, cause branding forges a true emotional connection between a brand and its customers to support a cause that reflects the brand`s core values and the passions of customers and consumers. so overloaded with content, yet at the same time so fragmented, that a consumer who needs and most likely is looking for a specific product, can`t find it. In a growing marketplace that features declining rates of traditional media consumption a brand must embrace new strategies to break through the clutter and differentiate itself in the eyes of a consumer.  

Embracing cause branding makes good business sense. Nothing builds brand loyaity among today`s increasingly hard-to-please consumers like a company`s proven commitment to a worthy cause. Other things being equal, many consumers would rather do business with a company that stands for something beyond profits. Your cause branding activities highlights your company`s reputation within your target market. It can positively differentiate your company from your competitors and provide an edge that delivers other tangible benefits, including increased sales, visibility, customer loyalty, enhanced company image and positive media coverage. 

Today consumers expect if not demand, that multinationals and bid local companies play an active role in enhancing quality of life in local communities. This change is occurring because in many eyes ths government bureaucracy is seen as too big and slow, and not tuned in or responsive to needs of people. The seemingly never-ending stories of   corruption, regardless of what party is in power have also worked to disillusion the public. It is only a matter of time until the scandal and indictments  against government officials commence. Increasingly, business is seen as the entity most able to deliver services during a crisis. This shift is occurring because business and brands are closer and more responsive of multinationals, big locals and high worth individuals to the earthquake of 2005 was not a singular event but shining example of the growing role companies overtly plays in responding to local needs A brand with a focused cause branding strategy, aligned with a specific cause that is relevant to consumers, can easily stake a claim in the minds of consumers, "Brand A was there for us when the earthquake hit us. Brand Y financially supports programs to improve child education. Brand X is giving back to the community and investing in our future. I will support Brand X and tell my friends and family to do the same." This is the potential impact on reputation that a focused cause branding program can have,. By leveraging media channels to raise awareness of a cause  branding program a brand can activate the coveted word-of-mouth endorsement all brands seek to enhance corporate reputation. 

Developed and executed correctly, cause branding is a strategy to differentiate a brand from its competitors and positively impact a brand`s corporate reputation. Thus the objective of a cause branding program is to positively enhance corporate reputation with the intent to gain favor in the minds of consumers. The outcome of that favor is brand advocacy by consumers and its cause partner with the desired outcome being a services or products.

How to get started?

Any brand can establish a cause branding program as it progresses. A brand follows this path as it matures from local check writing and traditional philanthropy to cause marketing promotions and, ultimately, to committed, long-term support of a cause and nonprofit partner with a sustained cause branding program. A true cause branding program is national is scope and executed across all marketing platforms. 

The objective of a successful cause branding effort is to effect real change to improve the society, the common thread is the cause, which must be relevant to three key audiences. 

Brand Partner - The cause must align with a brand`s values and/or its products and services. The program must embody a core value to be authentic and embraced by both internal and external audiences. 

Cause Partner - The cause partner should have natural affiliation with the brand.

Consumer Partner - The cause must be relevant to a brand`s core customer segment.

The Cause Commitment - must resonate with core customers to build a foundation for growth and to activate those individuals who will become vocal advocates for the brand and the cause. The cause must also be relevant to a brand`s target consumers to attract new customers to the brand and drive ever-increasing participation and fundraising for the cause. 

While it may seem daunting to begin utilizing cause branding in your business, you will soon find that it becomes second nature. Not only will you increase your profits, but you will be giving back to the society. You will quickly discover that a well implemented cause related branding plan is truly a win-win situation!

Are You Ready to Evaluate 2010

 Evaluating 2010? Don't Just Follow the Revenues!
Connecting the Dots is as Important as Adding Up the Spreadsheet

It's that time of year when we pull out the spreadsheets to figure out if we're going to make our financial goals this year, and at the same time, develop our strategy for next year.

And while it's true that numbers don't lie, they don't always tell you the whole truth, either. They may answer the basic question of whether you made more revenue than last year, but they don't answer the broader questions of why or why not. In doing your year-end analysis, I'm sure part of your evaluation will focus on the effectiveness of your marketing program.

To help you determine the course you chart for the coming year, my recommendation is to look at all the marketing data you've collected, almost like dots on a page and ask yourself if you were able to connect them all.

What dots, you ask? Well, everyone has to answer that for themselves, but here are the steps to figure out what they are:

Your Message: Making your numbers is usually the result of you getting your message out to the right people, so you can maximize your sales. If you didn't make your sales projections, now is a good time to analyze that message. Why didn't it resonate with your potential customers? Was your message too "inside" your industry, making it difficult for others to receive? Or was it that you tried to water your message down so much for the masses that it ceased to have any relevance at all. Messaging is one part art, one part science, and your end result should straddle the edge between appealing to everyone and appealing specifically to your potential customers.
 
Your Customer: It's not enough just to garner customers; you need to know who they are so you can focus your efforts on people who fit that profile. One of our clients, Jaynie Smith, author of Creating Competitive Advantage from Doubleday, (www.smartadvantage.com/), polled 3,000 CEOs to find out if they understood their customer base. Less than 5 percent accurately identified the profile of their primary customers. So, as you review this past year, look back in the files and take a look at who your best customers were and why.
 
Your Tactics: If you missed your projections, don't automatically fault your marketing strategy and your target audience. Don't be afraid to examine your tactics as well. While we don't advise our clients to avoid advertising, we also don't recommend a heavy concentration of it to the exclusion of other tactics either. The key thing is to balance your efforts across different forms of advertising and public relations, so that your different tactics will feed off each other. If you did make your goals, take a look at the tactics you used and see if you can determine which ones were more effective. Next year, you can redistribute your marketing resources to emphasize the tactics that worked best.
 
Your Web site: The Internet is taking on an essential role in just about every facet of communication, marketing and sales. Don't just examine your outreach, but also examine your website as a point of sale. If you didn't close as many customers as you wanted, take a look at the amount of traffic coming in and the number of visitors who turned into customers. The comparison of those figures is your "conversion rate," or the percentage of visitors who wound up making a "buy" decision after reaching your Web site. If the figure is less than one percent, then chances are something isn't clicking (no pun intended) between your customers and your Web site, and it's time to make some changes.
 
Your Outflow: One of the principles that I use faithfully in my business is the relationship between outflow and inflow. Outflow basically represents how much I reach out to my customer base via emails, articles in the press, columns that I email to my newsletter subscribers and social networking. Inflow is simply the response I get back. Outflow produces inflow! It's this one important principle that has contributed greatly to the success of my business. The corollary is simple, the more I reach out, the more I get back.
And that's what I mean by connecting the dots. You, your message, your customers, your potential customers and your business goals are all just dots on a page. Your marketing program is the line that SHOULD, in a perfect world, connect them all together. Whether you're an author trying to sell books or a company trying to increase sales - or an entrepreneur trying to compete in a crowded market - all of these principles can easily and directly apply to how you evaluate your marketing results for the year as you plan for 2011 and beyond.


Warm regards,
Marsha Friedman
CEO EMSI Public Relations 

Closing down in 10...9...8...7...

Hi Reader,

I just want to congratulate you for making the wise decision to be on my Resilience! How to Bounce Back From Any Problem or Adversity Teleseminar with me today.

We will be starting promptly at 2pm PST/5pm EST.

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See you on the call.

To your success,


Brian Tracy

The million-dollar plan for experts

Hi Reader,

Do you know Brendon Burchard? The Experts Academy guy?

If not, I have a wonderful, content-filled video from him that you should watch.

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Brendon made $4.6 million in his first 18 months in this industry, and this video shows exactly how and why.

(At the end of the video, Brendon gives the plan for how to make a million dollars as an expert. Watch the numbers, they add up. Wish I knew this when I started)

I just heard about Brendon last year when he was taking the world by storm. Out of nowhere he was onstage with Tony Robbins, Sir Richard Branson, the Dalia Lama, Stephen Covey, Paula Abdul, Frank Kern, Jeff Walker, Mike Koenigs... everybody!

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See what I mean in his complimentary video—it's really well done:

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Enjoy the video. And take notes. Trust me, it's worth the opt in.


Brian Tracy

P.S. Brendon's video—especially the expert positioning model and the million-dollar plan—are amazing. He says he's taking questions on the blog, so watch and comment. I think Brendon is one of the smartest, nicest, and most creative marketers I've ever met. And I'm not the only one who thinks highly of Brendon:

—Tony Robbins thinks Brendon is "smarter than hell."

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Go ahead and watch this complimentary video here.

What's your learning style?

Dear Reader,

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Exhibition of Various Artists: 10 Predictions for the Agency business for 2010

Exhibition of Various Artists: 10 Predictions for the Agency business for 2010: "As agencies start planning for the next year and beyond, here a few predictions about the future, courtesy Shoaib Qureshi.You may or may n..."

10 Predictions for the Agency business for 2010

As agencies start planning for the next year and beyond, here a few predictions about the future, courtesy 
Shoaib Qureshi.

You may or may not believe them. The Choice is yours!

1. Agencies will grow to new heights even if marketing spends go down: 2010 will be the year of the rebound of the agency business despite clouds of economic gloom still visible over the horizon which could curtail marketing spending. Many individuals and companies in the agency business will reset their meters (zero meter entrepreneurial mind-set) on their agency dash board, look at the challenges and opportunities with a fresh set of eyes, and be even more inventive or creative for their own survival and business than they have ever been before for any client of theirs, They will use the pent-up energy stored from the lows of the last year to springboard to new heights and surprise even themselves. As a result, 2010 should be a year to be more creative, aggressive and hence expect greater returns. Not a year to sit back and say that I am not doing well because the country is in economic trouble, there is no political stability and advertising business generally is down. 

2. Agencies will get out of MPD syndrome and come of age: In 2010, more  than half of the profitable agency`s revenues will go beyond the MPD (Media, Productions, Designing) - traditional areas that still continues to grip the agency thinking. Many old school agency owners will realize that companies in similar categories adopt similar practices over time. They begin to look, sound, think and act alike. In the advertising agency business, which is well over 100 years old, it shouldn`t come as a surprise that many firms are still stuck in a business model that has outlived its usefulness. smart agency owners will have to start searching for the new territory to operate because agencies have the mindset that they are only supposed to be involved with the soft areas of marketing-activities that revolve around brand awareness and preference creation. They think hard  marketing is the client`s domain-areas such as distribution, selling and even the product development itself .  but there`s third domain, a link between soft marketing and hard marketing. It`s the domain of evaluation and improving the consumer`s experience at all point of contact with the brand. Everybody talks about it, but in most cases, no one actually doest it. Which means that the role of the agency of the future is to move from helping clients create and place marketing messages to helping clients evaluate and strengthen the relationship that their customers have with the brand-at all points of contact. This is a much broader and more valuable role and similarly agencies will have to find and develop newer roles through proper understanding of clients other evolving needs.  And all these roles that I am talking about often have very little to do with traditional advertising functions such as media, productions and designing. 

3. 2010 will be the year of the client-agency fracture: Relationships will fracture a lot more often than usual this year as brands come increasingly under pressure form many external and internal reasons. also between what a lot of clients think they want from an agency (a vendor of services) and what they really need (a provider of ideas) is the middle ground where most agencies are today. And the middle-of-the- road is a dangerous place to be for anyone. Large advertisers, whether multinational or local, will either "dissolve or dilute" their longstanding relationships with their agencies or will flirt outside for all kinds of relationships (short-term and long-term) with people and agencies who are know to be idea specialists to increase the effectiveness of their marketing spend.

4. Disruption Marketing will start becoming the norm this year for brands: With an abundance of choice, products and services, there is an ever-growing need to be even more extraordinary to stand out and succeed. More attention and reward will be given by clients to those agencies who can find greatness within or outside marketing norms. Clients will be on the lookout for agencies that can possibly hit a "content six", as the days of taking "advertising singles" are over. Agencies that have the magic to create big and unusual ideas and make one million budgets look like ten million. The need to be more inventive will make creative destruction the norm rather than the exception. Consequently, effective change agents will be in increasing demand this year. 

5. True integration will be the client rage: While specialization will remain important, real value will be created by those people and agencies that can pull all the clients brand pieces together and reduce the duplications of resources. This has been the dream of the multinational client: but the reality, has often been very different. The need to collaborate and operate more quickly, effectively and with fewer additional resources will give rise to the " Integration guru" (from one of the many agencies-ALT, BTL, PR Media, Interactive etc-that the client already has on its roster to take this up for grabs role) and hence "truly" integrated results for the clients.

6. The agency commission and retainer systems will be critically reevaluated by clients: Recession and competition-bitten advertisers will probably be wary of a compensation model that still pays and rewards agencies based on a model tied to spending, rather than saving their money. Thus several new compensation models will emerge this year and be tested.

Many clients will cancel their long-term agency retainer arragements, option to pay by project. A lot of short-term contracts with new breed agencies will be put in place by clients as they search for magical solutions for their brands. 

7. Targeting will replace creativity as the top priority for agencies more marketing spends move from traditional television and print to the tighter confines of on ground internet and other mobile mediums to keep pace with the ever on the go consumer, agencies will have to focus more on better targeting than creativity to deliver results for their clients. There will be clear link seen by clients between better targeting and brand sales. Thus agencies will have to better understand the value of targeting which has traditionally been ignored as most advertising briefs target the same audience (women age 13-35).

8. Use of Data and Metrics will rise at agencies: Marketing decisions will increasingly need to be backed by data to reduce waste and downside risk for clients. The maxim will be that "whatever gets measured will get done" to whatever does not have measures will not get a budget.

Consequently, metrics and analytic should see resurgence at agencies to convince clients into spending money. consequently, what it means is that "gut feel" will see the gutter more often this year!

9. Grass-roots marketing thinking will accelerate at agencies: Business and creative plants for their clients will be filled with grass root marketing ideas this year. More attention will be given to influencer marketing to get fans for the grand and hence creative agencies will use this as a test for the creative ideas that they will present to their clients.

With clients and brands already going more and more to direct marketing at the grass root level in places where consumers live and enjoy their lives to better create a brand experience, hence agencies that can do the hard work in this area will be in business. 

10. More new agencies will be hatched out of old agencies:  Either the multinational agencies will be taken over by the local affiliate agency, or the local affiliate will be changed to step change growth in the market place. And last but not the least, new blood, sweat and energy will be inducted into the agency business, as many smart people currently working for these old agency in 2010. one thing in clear- a lot of moving and shaking will take place in the agency business. 

Shoaib Qureshy is Chief Strategy Officer,

                        Bulls Eye Communications

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agency

Evolution and Revolution in MARKETING

In the first of the series of two articles, 

Professor Dr. Matin A. Khan looks at the 

evolution and revolution in selling and Marketing

The reason for emphasizing evolutionary and revolutionary role in marketing has become important mainly because of continuous improvement in the technology of production, transportation and communication and greater development in sociology and psychology. Marketing today has become more important because of increasing competition among business organizations improved technology in manufacturing and increasing chance of global trade.

Now let us first clarify the meanings of the terminologies used:

Evolution: Gradual development of something to more complex form.

Revolution: A dramatic and wide-reaching change in the way of something works or organized.

The process of evolution has become important because of more educated persons working in business organizations who are trying to be increasingly innovative in managerial functions. As far as revolution is concerned, 21st century may have more revolution in manufacturing process, transportation, communication, mainly because of the availability of Internet, not only to the executives but also to workers. The distinction between evolution and revolution is essential to identify changes in the organization and its possible causes. It may also be stated that 21st century may have better evolution too, which may become effective for greater efficiency in the evolutionary process of business management.

In the context of strategic marketing there seems to be continuous improvement and that promotional activity would be more expensive for improving sales and increase consumer satisfaction, which is becoming more and more challenging because of greater experience and education of family consumers including children who may use internet for their purchases. It may also be pointed out that consumption among children is continuously increasing and good parents care more for improving the personality of their children. For improving evolutionary process there must be improvement in consumption research not only about male members but also on family consumers.  


The main reason for the success of corporations is continuity in overall improvement of the working system of the corporation, which we may be identified as development. To be specific, we may say that development of business organizations very much depends on continuous improvements, i.e. the result of systematized evolution. Systematization today, in my opinion, is the heart of success in business and gradual development. One may also think of good evolution leading to sudden, dramatic and wide ranging change that is revolution. One may predict that 21st century would have greater research for enhancing the performance of strategic marketing.
As we know strategic marketing forecasts for five to ten years  ahead and marketing people must realize that in future there will be products with greater sophistication mainly because of average customer will be more educated and some may even have technical knowledge as well. In the 21st century the number of various brands, especially in the area of family consumers goods are becoming more popular because of huge expenditure on promotion. These promotional activities are aimed at encouraging effective competition and would require more effective and efficient evolutionary process. It may be clearly stated that business organizations evolution processes will improve to meet the new type of competition from such firms, which are quite new and may adopt better policies for consumer. Revolution in marketing should also match with increased production facilities.For example in Germany some manufacturers are receiving orders in high quantities than their total production facilities. In other words countries like Germany are conducting research to improve their production methods.


On the whole, we can say that in 21st century there will be greater efficiency, and evolutionary process will continuously improve.


I have written this article so that marketing people may realize the importance of revolution in strategic marketing. As a matter of fact the future course in strategic marketing may be dependent up on effective evolution, semi-evolution as well increased evolution in manufacturing marketing and finance. It is difficult to predict about revolution in dynamic business organizations.


Evolution and Revolution in Selling / Marketing:
From the barter system, Marketing activities evolved towards personal selling, producing sales promotion advertising, direct marketing, credit sales, institutional basis of selling where customers buy products. Evolution in selling methods started with the showing of products/brands, final selection of product by customers, and then bargain about price.


In general bargaining methods continued for centuries and may still exist in some countries. However, retailing is becoming more systematized and one price policy is gaining as an advantage both to buyers and sellers. Consequently it has been saving time of both the buyers and the sellers. Bata shoe Company in the international market popularized one price policy in pricing distribution methodology. However it institutions, department stores, chain stores, super marking and retailers with lot of branches also emerged.


In my opinion direct marketing was a revolution. Marketing through Internet was another revolution. During 1950-2000, increased production forced manufacturers to promote their products through branding. The old brand technique was given greater importance and brand managers were inducted who were also given the responsibilities of advertising, sales promoting, product modification, packaging and research. However, the role and responsibilities of brand managers were not the same. Each brand manager was assigned responsibilities according to the canges, including the inroduction of some new products. 


In Pakistan quite a large number of brand managers were appointed both in Pakistani firms as well as in multinationals. Most of the brand played the most import part in enhancing the sales of Pakistani products like oil, ghee etc. Multinationals are well know for their marketing strategy. For example Unilevers have established themselves through a number of products like Lipton Tea, Lux Soap, Brook Bond Tea and several other brands. Branding strategy may be classified in two categories namely one brand name to all products of the company. some manufacturers give new brand name for each product like that of Unilevers. In the case of milk industry, (Nestle) they give only one brand name. 

Your Product is our baby!

Allied Marketing is a well established full service Marketing and Distribution Company of just the right size: not too large so that management is closely involved with day to day operations, and big enough to provide the full range of services that our principals expect.


Every new product entrusted to our care is handled just like a new baby-nursed along its initial stages, seen through its teething problems and guided through life`s many pitfalls to a brighter future. and we have the skill, know how and resources to create a leader.


Few, if any of our competitors can match our experience, or our rich historical legacy-strong, stable, steadfast. Ever since we opened our doors to business in 1898 we have nurtured our products through the 1st world war, survived the 1930 All India Boycott of British goods, overturned Congress attempts to ruin the tobacco industry, provided emergency distribution service during the 2nd World War, and have faithfully served the people of Pakistan since 1947.


The marketing knowledge and distribution expertise handed down for over four generations to us has been strengthened by the introduction of modern concepts complemented by state-of-the-art Management Information Systems for quicker and better decision making and prompt feedback to our principals.


All this was achieved by developing a dedicated team of highly motivated professionals fully aware of today`s supply chain management needs, backed up by significant cash resources.


If you are planning to launch a new product, or even energies an old one, give us a call, or drop in and see it all for yourself.




Allied Marketing (Pvt.) Limited
21-A, Gulgerg-2, Lahore 11, Pakistan. Tel: 92-42-35754724, 35758507
Fax: 92-42-35751946,  E-mail: ample@nexlinx.net.pk

ALLAMA IQBAL OPEN UNIVERSITY

The 21st century with its charms and challenges  has  begun and nations that have better human capital and technological advancement in terms of education are destined to lead the world. If  Pakistan aspires to successfully compete in the global knowledge based economies it needs to provide readily accessible and affordable, quality higher education to larger number of its citizens. History is replete with instances of ascendancy of educationally and  technologically superior nations over their counterparts on the basis of  their knowledge and scientific advancement. Allama Iqbal Open University, since its inception in 1974, has tried to provide educational opportunities to the masses from basic education to post graduate levels to produce knowledgeable and skilled human resources. It has reached a new milestone of enrolling a million students in its thirty sixth year of existence. ALLAMA IQBAL OPEN UNIVERSITY,  a distance learning institution, has been striving to support the endeavours of the government for the creation of Pakistan, which will go a long way in ensuring a bright and prosperous future for all. The very concept of imparting education through open and distance education system suits our country owing to the geographical and gender related hurdles in our society that limit the availability of  higher education. Moreover, the sill-thirsty  employed people have also benefited from this flexible system, which does not have restriction of age. Locality or gender. 

The  success of ALLAMA IQBAL OPEN UNIVERSITY can be gauged from its unprecedented growth in terms of students enrollment, quality programmer and physical infrastructural development both at the Main Campus and in the regions.








ACADEMIC  COMPLEX 

• 60 Faculty offices for all 4 Faculties
• Common rooms for exchange of ideas 
• Seating capacity for 400 people
• Second building in AIOU to provide 

FM Radia Transmission. 

• Facilities for exam, workshops and seminars.
• Built over an area of 100,000 sq Feet
• Built at a cost of Rs. 200 Million.

Serving Students at their Doorsteps Information    and     Communication Technology  Building

Equipped with

• Video conferencing 
• Digital Library 
• E-Learning Labs
• Workshop rooms
• Students survey desk
• Student project Lab
• Display centre
• Conference room
• Training Lab
• Web-based online course offering and students data management facilities 
• Information sharing  with  regional office to facilitate students. 

Discover  New Horizons Science Research Complex

Equipped with

• State-of-the art science   labs to facilitate research
• 6 research laboratories
• 5 teaching laboratories 
• 3 multi disciplinary laboratories
• Offering Pro gramme leading to specilisation  in basic science including 4-year degree programee in Chemistry, Microbiology and Computer Science.

Hands on Learning for the Students of Mass Communication.

Institute of Educational Technology (IET)

• The base station of Voice of AIOU FM 91.6
• Having in-house facilities for production of TV Radio and non-broadcast programmes 
• Broadcasting one hour television and fifteen minutes radio programmes daily
• Produce audio-visual material to support and endorse distance teaching
• Well-prepared to meet all the future educational challenges from grass roots to higher level.
• Providing virtual access to students, teachers, users.
• Establishment of AIOU TV Channel is under development 

Promoting Exchange of Ideas

Self Access Center

• FAcilitates teachers of English and researchers to have access to latest tools of computer and internet and share their learning and expertise with others.
• Offers online English Language courses
• Offers online English Language Teacher training programmes 
• Offers training facilities to English Language teachers from other institution in collaboration with the HEC

Student profile 

• More than 70  per cent student employed
• Female enrollment more than 50 percent 
• The rural-urban distribution of the students 58% and 42% respectively
• No age limit for enrollment in University programmes
• Students can continue at their own pace from semester to                semester.
• At Present a large numbers of clientele is in SSC, Intermediate, Bachelor degree and Teacher Education programmes.
• However for the last few years the university has been emphasising more on post graduate education

Pristine Punjab

Luxurious vegetation, calm, spacious brick buildings and the British era canal colony take visitors to the bygone-era Revisiting Rasul Head works near Jehlum after three decades....

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Believing in this adage,  our school at Lahore used to organised outings and had explored many fine places in the vicinity that could be covered in a day trip.

It was this feeling of nostalgia that prompted me to revisit  Rasul Head works  after three decades. Visiting wetlands has an altogether different charm than the mountains.  A two hours journey from Rawalpindi or Lahore on the Grand Trunk road takes us to Serai Alamgir (near Jehlum) where the Upper Jehlum Canal brimming with sweet Himalayan water passes under the GT road. The charm starts right from the turn. as the road running along the canal bank is replete with beautiful water scenes.  the gentle breeze, the luch green setting and the quiet road makes it a truly romantic journey that provides a perfect transformation from the din and smoke of the GT road and propers the visitor for the ecstatic beauty that lies ahead. After 28 km the sign board of Rasu Hydel Power Station is an indication that the head works constructed in the repartition days. lies close by. A picturesque panorama unfolds as we progress towards the headworks lush green irrigated lands. Inside Rasul, time moves backwards. The luxurious vegetation, the calm, the spacious brick buildings and the British era canal colony take the visitor some 100 years back in the bygone-era.

A long kacha driveway under the roof of thick foliage and a stream running along, takes us towards the main rest house where a Raj era building with beautifully sprawling lawns stands romantically in the middle of the vastness. The emblem on the entrance reveals that it has seen 110 years. By now the noise and rush of the mad city has been left far behind and the transformation into the calm and beauty of the rural Punjab stars. A sip of refreshing tea will prepare the visitor for a walking tour of the area. The most inspiring feature at Rasul is the vastness:   the river spreads out in the shape of an enormous lake with thick vegetation   all around. A five km long katcha road runs along the barrage and strolling over it provides some amazing water scenes. The canal merging and sprouting from the river, the beautiful riverbed, marshy puddles, fisher folk villages and the variety of birds and ducks all around create a lovely scene. Indeed water is life, the earliest human settlements and civilisations  developed along the riverbeds and Rasul is a microcosm of That a place where nature and human settlement ments coexist in perfect harmony. for the one who desires to prolong his stay and be more intimate with the river, there is another rest house right on the watercourse. The setting of Pathar   Kothi (the Stone Mansion, due to the grand stone structure of the building) is ideal to re-enact Wuthering Heights. It`s a place which gives you the opportunity to completely immerse in nature.  For the adventurous explorer there is lot mote to see all around. The Bund Patri going along the river leads to the new  barrage and the canal colony are located.  A net work of canals originates from this point that irrigates a vast area all around.  A siphon is located close by where the canal passes underneath the river.  For the techies, the Rasul Hydro Electric Power Plant and the Rasul College of Technology (constructed pre-partition) demonstrate a practical example of harnessing the power of nature for the benefit of humankind.  For history lovers, a flashback will march them back into the battle between Alexander and porus.
The All-rounder Al Beruni chose this place to calculate the circumference of earth. To pursue the spirite of exploration  I decided not to turn back. After all   I had to register some more locations for my future trips. Right after the new bridge comes  Misri Mor from where the crossroads lead to different destinations.  Go straight along the river and meet the Motorway,  advised an old Baba  to me. 
Accordingly I diverted myself on the route along the meandering river with the mountains of Salt Range on the other side.  Driving on this beautiful route provides an immense charm as each bent opens up a vista of beautiful river scenes.  Driving itself is a relaxing activity on this road due to its gentle slopes, tender turns and less traffic.   It was sunset by now, passing through Jalalpur Sharif, a mosque on the river bed lured me inside. The gentle river breeze echoing with the hills provided an ideal setting to pray for the Lord, Who is Beautiful and Loves Beauty.
It was dusky by now, by now, driving on the quiet road provided a pleasure in recalling the beautiful  day.   While passing through Pind Dadan Khan and the vicinity of Khewra salt mines. I entered the motorway via Lilla.  With a storehouse of sweet memories I drove back to Lahore with the curiosity  and eagerness for exploring some other part of the pristine Punjab at the earliest. And how i appreciated Pakistan`s  potential as a tourist destination. Our lofty mountains, beautiful deserts, picturesque wetlands and the fertile plains form an amazing geographical variety, with many of our locations yet to be explored.   We     have an abundance of water resources scattered all over the country: our canal irrigation net-work with 3 major reservoirs, 16 barrages and 44 canals ranks among the world`s largest irrigation networks. Our wetlands are scattered all over the country and besides the economic advantages, they have potential of developing into sites for tourism and recreation. Also, the meandering rivers, quiet canals, vast expanses  of head works/barrages and of course the British-era canal colonies with their serene and trangquil setting provide us an excellent infrastructure for developing these sites into tourist and recreation resorts.  

Tribute to my role models (Though Provoking)

The early morning august sky was beautiful blue with a coll breeze blowing gently through the coastal city of Karachi. One year into its status as the capital of new-born Pakistan. the city with its open spaces appeared more like a desert. There was hardly any traffic on the roads. A little girl. about 12, years old and rather short for her age. was walking beside as graying man of 70 or so. but the man, a former principal of a high school in Mumbai, spilled confidence and strength through his upright gait. 

They arrived at the gate of a girls` school.   The man suddenly stopped, rather surprised "LOOK," he said to the girl, "I cannot come with you.   This notice says that men are not allowed to enter.  You will have to tackle this yourself. Surely you can do so.

                                               Deriving strength and confidence from her grandfather, the girl entered the gate to finally arrive at the principal`s office, where she got the permission to enter.

The girl, seeking admission in class seven, was asked to appear fro an entrance test there and then. The test comprised of three sections: arithmetic, English and Urdu and the results were announced minutes after handing in the test paper. She had cleared the languages but scored zero in arithmetic. Naturally, she was refused admission. The little girl, exuding confidence till then, broke down in tears The principal tried to convince her that it would be impossible for her to cope with class seven studies with such a miserable performance in numbers.

"But I have passed second standard from St Raphael`s Convent in Indore by getting the fourth position there, she said between here sobs.

 Okay, bring me your result card tomorrow and we shall see. but if you fail in the first monthly arithmetic test here, we will send you to class three. threatened the principal.

Who    could have imagined that the journey started with such unsure steps would one day culminate at a beautiful spot and the little girl who sobbed after failing in here admission test would earn the Honour of being the first Pakistani female to get a PhD Degree in nuclear physics from a very prestigious university in North America.

The Principal, who was so intimidating during their first encounter, became a very understanding teacher, guide and mentor, once I got 24 out of 25 in my second monthly test in arithmetic. She took our English classes and always encouraged me to speak out.

Ms Anwar Jehan bashiruddin, who later became the inspectoress of schools here, is a nationally-acclaimed and renowned education.  Naver can i forget here dismay at losing a bunch of very intelligent girls to another school just beacuse       Clayton      Road  Government Middle   School for Girls could not be upgraded to the high school status in spite of her concerted efforts.

      I had stood  first in the annual examinations of class seven and was doing well in my monthly test in class eight. But my hand-writing  vacations this teacher of mine had a talk with me in earnest: "We know that you are very intelligent so all of us try our level best to decipher your examination scripts. But who is going to do that for you in the board exams?  

you might even fail. So please try and do something about it".

The advice was taken seriously. I practiced hard during our vactions and it was thanks to her that I have never been ashamed of my hand-writing after that. Bidding farewell to us Ms. Bashiruddin recommended that we join New Town Girls Secondary School (NTGSS, presently Safia Khan Memorial, GSS) for class nine. The principal of NTGSS had the same simple yet awe inspiring get up, the soft yet authoritative voice, a similar wealth of knowledge and the near to perfect multidimensional personality as Ms. Bashiruddin. she trained us for future responsibilities by constituting a students council, where the office bearers were elected by the entire body of students. As far as I can recall there used to be one day when the council managed the school. I always thank my lucky stars for being Ms Bashiruddin and Ms Safia Khan`s Student.

As heads of institutions, they guided their faculty not only to impart meaningful human being.
inculcation moral, cultural and social values. In class 11, Safia Apa taught us English. Our school was an Urdu-medium school but her way of teaching gave us a very strong base for English which served us so well in our later years.

NTGSS students figured prominently in all walks of life in their professional endeavours.  Many attained national stature.  There was a medium-size cupboard filled with abridged versions of classic English literature.  It was mandatory for every student to read one title over the weekends to hand in a class assignment on Mondays.

Safia Apa made me responsible for the issuing and receipt of the books. The beauty in this arrangement was that I could read as many books as I wished.
It was just after my admission in first year science that I hurried to get the library card and made a beeline for the English literature. Hungrily I devoured the original versions of all the books I was introduced to in the school. Perhaps that laid the foundation for whatever writing skills I later cultivated.
Safia Apa was a wonderful Administrator. Our school premises were always sparkling clean. Not a shred of paper or litter could be seen anywhere. Safia Apa herself picked up any such thing found on the ground. In fact she trained us by becoming an example herself. Our first day in college was spent hearing the same question from almost all our lecturers:  "How may from New Town?

                         My role model and mentor in college was our English teacher Mrs Yusuf Jamal Hussain. Her diction was beautiful and the substance of her lectures was so solid that I nver consulted the  textbook. It was the miracle of her teaching that I, a girl from Urdu-medium background, scored the highest in first year. Once Mrs Hussain recongnised my potential, she took me under her wing and insisted that I write for the college magazine. Thus I was able to polish and improve my English. After my BSc (Hon), when I, probably, became the youngest member of the college staff, she chaperoned me and looked after me as a monther hen would take care of her chicks.
Safia Apa left for her heavenly abode in March 1984. I was so proud of the fact that she followed my career growth with interest. Her encouragement and good wishes were always a morale booster. We worked together on a number of social wlefare projects once I returned to Karachi after a long absence of 16 years. unfortunately she passed away much too soon While the personal loss for all her students knows no bounds, the society lost a jewel of a person.    I kept meeting Ms Bashiruddin in seminars till recently. Her health may have deteriorated but her spirits where as hight as ever.  I always feel like a little girl in her persence and am more than eager to do her bidding.