After watching all the really cool outdoor ads I went on youtube and found some amazing ads for the windows phone. I love all things apple with the exception of the iPhone. The product is wonderful and innovative but because I love being unique I would definitely go for the windows phone. Since it does come in all shapes and sizes it definitely allows me to personalize and make it my own.

In addition to that the windows phone has a positioning statement that is beautifully opposed to all things apple in my humble opinion. By positioning their phone as the phone that allows you to get back to life they really do make you feel a bit nerdy with your nose stuck to your phone screen. Needless to say the life-size windows phone did bring their positioning strategy to mind, and yes, I am buying one 🙂

In Thea Simpson’s blog on the new Missoni for Target line, she raised the question of the consequences of the partnership. Have both Missoni and Target alienated their clientele? There has been a lot of speculation on whether the association might  be detrimental for Missoni’s iconic brand, and rightfully so. Target or  Tar-zhay, as it is fondly  known, is associated with low budget products that for those who expect more but need to pay less. Missoni, on the other hand, is a luxury brand known for its exclusivity. Have both Missoni and Target alienated their clientele through their new partnership?

While I agree that the luxury market is based on exclusivity, during the recession a lot of fashion companies are counting major losses in revenue. Expanding their target market might not be a bad idea. Missoni rarely does any marketing campaigns and maintains a very low-key profile. Its association with Target just might push it into the mainstream luxury market, with fellow fashion bigwigs Dolce and Gabbana and Gucci. Target may also stand to benefit from this odd partnership. Other high-end designers may be encouraged to do a line for target which will of course boost Target’s profile even more.

Nairobi is known for a lot of things both positive and negative but for a number of years the crime stole the show, leading up to the nickname “Nairobbery”. Already the 3 million plus inhabitants had a lot to deal with, but the crime took the cake. Women would rarely venture out after nightfall for fear of being raped while men slept with weapons by their bedside to protect their families. The city council was accused severally of aiding the criminals by not providing proper street lighting. Luckily, Esther Passaris, a.k.a Nairobi’s Lamp lady had a bright idea and with the help of a couple hundred companies with large advertising budgets, she turned things around.

Today, most of Nairobi’s streets are well lit with sleek new street lamps that also have huge, well- lit, advertising boards. The companies literally “adopt a light” and get to put their advertisement up, as long as they pay the lamp’s maintenance fee. The Central Business District is now bustling well into the early morning thanks to the extra lighting, and the city is well on its way to turning into a 24-hour metropolitan.

It’s good to know that advertising and marketing can have such a positive social impact.

www.adopt-a-light.com