Venture Capital Recovery

New post from Bevans Branham

The good news: VC firms are pouring more money into startups than they have been in recent years. IPO demand is way up, 222 last year- the most since 2000.

And the bad? Some experts and analysts are warning that it may not be the best of ideas for some firms to hop on the train of investing in the the most valuable startups.

Well, its not that it’s always a bad thing. Just that reacting only to the public market could be potentially damaging for the firm in the long run. The most valuable companies have an incredible amount of influence, and smaller companies definitely aim to emulate them. Peter Delevett at San Jose Mercury News has recently reported that this waxing IPO demand is comparable to the dot-com bubble of the 1990s. Delevett cites quite a few statistics in his report, but the biggest take-away might be this: though CB Insights reports that 25 private companies were valued above $1 billion dollars by their investors in 2010 alone, only 45 companies managed to seal a merger deal or IPO of similar figures within the past ten years.

Delevett’s sources are just encouraging VCs to be responsible. After all, everything is dependent on just how hot the IPO period is; once the market begins to settle, a company may find itself having a hard time recouping those monetary losses. In a market so historically volatile, it just is not recommended to rush into an IPO if the company is only dealing with a fund of a few hundred million dollars.

Maybe this all does seem like common sense. But it must not be, for so many experts to comment on the dangers of following the leader. Not every company is a “unicorn” (a term used to describe financially promising, and therefore rare, companies) like Snapchat. It’s oftentimes best to wait and feel out the situation.

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Brands (With Benefits)

So, can we agree that having many brand loyalists is definitely a good thing? Really, who wouldn’t want as many users of their product as possible? Since that is arguably a very desirable goal, shouldn’t the aim of any aggressive marketing campaign be to stomp out the competition completely? Decry your competitors products as inferior? In a perfect world, maybe only your brand would dominate the market. But that’s just that: a perfect world.

While tradition and conventional marketing says its best to approach competitors in a “me vs. you” situation, where “me” is always pictured as superior, a recent study out of Harvard has shed light on consumer behavior that runs counter to this mode of thinking. The study found that fans of one brand who “flirt” with another brand’s similar product become more loyal to their primary brand of choice. In fact, the study shows that fans of brand “A” who had a product affair with brand “B” were actually willing to spend more money on their preferred brand, “A”.

So why is this that experimenting with a competitor’s brand actually can increase brand loyalty? Harvard professor Francesca Gino reveals that the psychology behind it all is very similar to flirting in interpersonal relationships. When we flirt with someone we are uncommitted to, it provides a rush of fresh and novel feelings. Likewise, using a product from a competing brand provides a similar rush, and such feelings can be used to develop a stronger affinity for the originally preferred brand.

So next time you see a competing brand ramp up its advertising budget for a rival product, take a moment before you follow suit. Maybe a few of your brand loyalists will give into the temptation to try that “something new”, and in the process, discover just how much they are attracted to what you offer.

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What Should Marketers Expect in 2014?

Bevans Branham’s Newest Blog Post:

Jeannette Kocsis, EVP of digital engagement at The Agency Inside Harte-Hanks, has witnessed her justifiable share of promoting tendencies. Right here, three electronic mail advertising concerns she believes entrepreneurs will have to brace for this yr.

1. New mail applications.

Expertise evolves and e-mail systems are without a doubt no exception. Google’s fashionable e-mail software, Gmail, obtained an overhaul in May just 2013. Google unveiled a brand new inbox for Gmail that makes use of tabs to separate incoming messages into classes together with Main, Social, Promotions, and Updates. Because of this, Kocsis says, “We will are expecting persevered modifications to the consumer expertise of webmail purchasers.” Entrepreneurs will wish to rethink how they run and ship their electronic mail promotions to make the most of new options and functionalities.

2. Entrepreneurs will wish to pay attention more than ever to audiences.

Error in judgment concerning content material, supply channel, and frequency can alienate customers and tarnish your model. “We are able to predict that deliverability will proceed to be a problem, as [will be] sustaining mailer popularity,” she says, including that “when a consumer chooses channels, content material, and frequencies, their preferences wish to be revered.”

3. Cellular will proceed to set the bar.

By now, many entrepreneurs have tired of the cell-first mantra, however Kocsis says they’re going to proceed to listen to it this yr. greater than 1.2 billion cellular net customers global, entrepreneurs should “design for cellular first, that means that if it really works on cellular, it is going to be fantastic in all places else,” she says. Guidelines for making electronic mail extra cell-pleasant embrace growing an attractive topic line, together with a compelling name to motion, and ensuring you do not inundate cell customers with undesirable messages.

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Kmart’s Advert Named One among 2013′s Worst

Bevans Branham’s Newest Blog Post:

Kmart’s advert to advertise a free delivery provider that options clients announcing issues like they will “ship my pants” or “I simply shipped my mattress” used to be named considered one of 2013′s worst by using one of the most high executives within the merchandising industry.

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Google Advert Named One among 2013′s Perfect

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Google’s advert that featured an Indian-Australian adoptee who discovered his start mom the use of Google Earth was once named one in every of 2013′s absolute best via one of the vital high executives within the promotion industry.

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‘Name of Accountability: Ghost’ Advert Named Considered one of 2013′s Worst

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Activision Blizzard Inc.’s motion-packed industrial for the videogame “Name of Accountability: Ghost” that presentations a gaggle of younger males and actress Megan Fox collaborating in a shootout in Las Vegas used to be named one of the most worst advertisements of 2013 within the WSJ’s annual survey of promoting executives.

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GoldieBlox Inc.’s Advert Named Certainly one of 2013′s Very best

Bevans Branham’s Newest Blog Post:

GoldieBlox Inc.’s advert that featured three women who become bored whereas staring at princesses on TV and construct an complex Rube Goldberg-fashion computer is known as one of the vital very best of 2013 within the WSJ’s annual survey of promoting executives.

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