Duquesa Marketing, Inc.

www.duquesamarketing.com

Press Release

For Immediate Release

November 5, 2011

Contact:  Geoff Ficke

859-567-1609

Duquesa Marketing Appoints Defined by Design to Develop Graphic Art for Pedi-Flip Cosmetic Accessory 

Packaging, Display, Branding, Web-Site and Trade Show Visuals To Be Produced to Support International Product Launch in Spring-2012 

Florence, KY     Nancy Ficke, General Manager of International award winning Branding and Consumer Product Design and Development firm Duquesa Marketing announced today that her group has appointed Melbourne, FL based Defined by Design to create Graphic Art elements for the launch of Cosmetic Accessory Pedi-Flip. 

“As Managing Consultants for the Pedi-Flip project we reviewed a number of candidates to assist us in creating the visual Branding elements we will need to take the line to market”, said Mrs. Ficke. “We were most impressed by the vision Linda Walding and her firm Defined by Design brought to the project”. 

“Dr. Barbara von Mettenheim, founder of BvonM LLC and creator of Pedi-Flip has crafted a wonderful, simple, elegant solution to a problem that many women experience”, said Alexis Bruning, VP of New Business Development for Duquesa Marketing. “The Graphic Art element for this project is crucial to ultimate success and Defined by Design is proving to be a wise creative choice”. 

Duquesa Marketing will be announcing shortly an aggressive launch calendar for the Pedi-Flip line of Cosmetic Accessories. The Brand will be introduced in an international venue and will enjoy excellent sales promotional support. The Business Plan is for a Spring-2012 roll-out.

Duquesa Marketing, Inc.

www.DuquesaMarketing.com

Press Release

For Immediate Release

November 4, 2011

Contact:  Geoff Ficke 

BvonM LLC Appoints Defined by Design to Produce Graphic Arts Elements for Pedi-Flip Cosmetic Accessory

Novel New Line to Be Introduced to Retail Beauty  Trade in Spring-2012 at Major International Venue 

Alexandria, VA   Dr. Barbara von Mettenhiem, creator of Pedi-Flip announced today that her Beauty Product design atelier BvonM LLC has contracted the services of Melbourne, FL based Defined by Design to create essential Branding and Graphic Art visual elements for a Spring-2012 international market introduction.   

“I collaborated with my Managing Consultants at Duquesa Marketing to review a number of candidates for creative design work”, said Dr. Von Mettenheim. “Pedi-Flip is a product that performs a specific, necessary task, but it also has a good bit of fun and whimsy attached to the design. Linda Walding immediately grasped my vision and is a wonderful addition to our team”. 

“When my work product was being reviewed by Geoff Ficke of Duquesa Marketing and Dr. Barbara von Mettenheim I became very appreciative of the diligence they exercised in considering all of the submissions,”, said Linda Walding, President of Defined by Design. “I was of course thrilled to be selected to work on this interesting, exciting project”. 

“My specialty is creativity and product design”, said Dr. Von Mettenheim. “I am fortunate to have Duquesa Marketing acting as my Managing Consultants and Defined by Design handling Graphic Art. This gives me the freedom to concentrate on areas where I can be most productive”.

Duquesa Marketing, Inc.

www.duquesamarketing.com

Press Release

For Immediate Release

October 20, 2011

Contact:  Geoff Ficke

859-567-1609

gficke@msn.com

Armenicus Life, Inc. Appoints Harrington Product Development to Act as Project Design Engineer

Firm to Manage Prototype Creation and Manufacturing Elements For Spring-2012 Market Launch of New Jewelry Accessory Product Line

White Plains, NY  Anna Kazanchyan M.D. founder, CEO and inventor/designer of lifestyle simplifying Consumer Products for her company, Armenicus Life, announced today that she has engaged the services of Cincinnati, OH based Harrington Product Development to manage manufacturing of her new line of Jewelry Accessory Products.   

“We reviewed all options with our Managing Consultants at Duquesa Marketing”, said Dr. Kazanchyan. “After interviewing Rick Harrington, and seeing his work archive, we knew he was well suited for the many tasks we need to accomplish in order to be ready for the launch date Geoff Ficke of Duquesa Marketing has targeted”.  I am building Armenicus Life to provide a line of Consumer Products that address everyday problems  that vex people. The line of Jewelry Accessory Products we will launch in Spring-2012 is the “alpha” project but will be quickly followed by others”.

“Anna Kazanchyan is very professional and disciplined in her approach to the project”, said Rick Harrington, President of Harrington Product Development. “And, of course, I have worked with Geoff and Nancy Ficke and the Duquesa Marketing team on a number of fashion projects, so there is excellent synergy to unleach our collective creative energy”.

by: Geoff Ficke

Trying to Win on Low Price Is Always a Losing Proposition for Small Consumer Product Marketers 

Last week my Consumer Product Development and Marketing Consulting firm reviewed a multi-use child safety line of merchandise targeting the Juvenile/Infant category. This was a start-up Company with modest sales. The products were well engineered, nicely packaged and offered consumers fine features and utility.

The ownership group partners were keen on selling Wal-Mart and other big box stores. They had undergone a long, slow kabuki dance with the Bentonville giant for months. The hang-up, as always, was pricing. The merchandise staff at Wal-Mart wanted significant packaging changes, AND, significant price reductions.

If their demands were to be met, the product margins would be deflated to the point of no profitability. 

We see this situation all too frequently. There is an understandable lust on the part of new Companies, start-ups and Entrepreneurs to push their goods into national chains as quickly as possible. The law of large numbers would seem to insure that this is the quickest path to gaining deep market penetration and profits. Alas, for small businesses, this is almost always not a successful strategy. 

By the time we met with this Juvenile Product manufacturer they had exhausted much of their available resources and were not close to receiving the hoped for purchase orders from any of the big box stores they had approached. A decision they had taken to try to compete on a low price Sales Model was boomeranging on them. They simply could not compete with high volume producers on price. Having a better mouse trap is great if the item is positioned where quality, product performance and Unique Selling Proposition can be beneficial. This is typically in specialty stores, independent and service oriented retailers where product can be well displayed and detailed to consumers by knowledgeable staff. 

The opportunity to grow a Brand and penetrate a market category first locally, then regionally and finally nationally is usually the safest, most prudent strategy for new Consumer Product Marketers to utilize. Unless Sales Promotional Budgets are large, and they rarely are for start-ups, the turtle will beat the hare in this type of race. Marshall your resources! Maintain your margins! Allow for needed Sales Promotion, Marketing and Branding support that will be required to support your products. 

We work with many small and micro-brands and start-up Companies. Focus and discipline are often the most difficult traits for these anxious, ambitious Entrepreneurs to harness. Advising them to avoid a low price strategy seems to go against the grain of accepted business orthodoxy. However, unless large scale production volumes can be employed to drive down costs, do not get involved in selling on low price alone. 

Many multinational Consumer Product Brands sell by initially employing an Exclusivity Strategy. They will introduce a line in limited distribution at high price points. As Sales traction takes hold, the product is introduced in different mass market Branding concepts at lower price points in broader distribution. It is always easier to come down in price than to go up. The Exclusivity Strategy creates consumer desirability for a product. Calvin Klein, Liz Claiborne, Estee Lauder, General Motors, Nine West, Diageo, Fortune Brands, Procter & Gamble, Unilever and many other great Consumer Product Marketing giants repeatedly use this technique. 

Being small actually offers the advantage of nimbleness. Large enterprises do not move fast. No matter how successful, when bureaucracies grow they become sclerotic. Use agility, quickness and energy to your advantage. “Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee”, as Muhammad Ali so famously chirped when describing his boxing style. Do not allow large Companies production scale and low pricing to dictate your margins. It is suicidal to attempt to compete on their field of play.

Duquesa Marketing, Inc.

www.duquesamarketing.com

Press Release

For Immediate Release

October 17, 2011

Contact:  Geoff Ficke

859-567-1609

Duquesa Marketing to Act as Managing Consultants for Development of New Jewelry Accessory Product Line 

Firm to Handle Product Development, Branding, Marketing and Spring-2012 Retail Market Launch for Armenicus Life, Inc. Creations 

Florence, KY   Nancy Ficke, General Manager of award winning international Consumer Product and Branding firm Duquesa Marketing announced today that her group has been contracted to act as Managing Consultants for the new line of jewelry accessory products created by Armenicus Life, Inc. of White Plains, NY. 

“Dr. Anna Kazanchyan, founder of Armenicus Life and inventor/designer of its products, approached us with her simple, elegant solutions for problems every woman with a wide assortment of jewelry confronts”, said Mrs. Ficke. “We are very excited to have the opportunity to manage the development and launch of this useful, fashion forward line”. 

“The Armenicus team develops concepts that provide “Solutions that Simplify”, said Geoff Ficke, President of Duquesa Marketing. “The jewelry accessory products are only the first in a robust pipeline of products on which we will collaborate to bring to market”. 

Duquesa Marketing is a one-stop, turnkey service provider for Inventors, Entrepreneurs, Small and Micro-Businesses and Multi-Nationals that market Consumer Products. For over 40 years the Company has worked with clients from around the world to bring their ideas to retail markets and consumers.

Duquesa Marketing, Inc.

www.duquesamarketing.com

Press Release

For Immediate Release

October 17, 2011

Contact:  Geoff Ficke

859-567-1609

Armenicus Life Inc. Engages Duquesa Marketing to Act  As Managing Consultants for Jewelry Accessories Line 

New Products to Address Vexing Problems Women Experience  Protecting, Organizing Jewelry or Packing it for Travel

White Plains, NY   Anna Kazanchyan M.D. founder and CEO of product design atelier Armenicus Life, Inc. announced today that her Firm has engaged Florence, KY based Duquesa Marketing to manage the Product Development, Branding, Marketing and Launch of their new line of jewelry accessory products. 

“We threw a wide net before we found Duquesa Marketing”, said Dr. Kazanchyan. “The decision to partner with Geoff and Nancy Ficke was  an easy one to make. We were keen to find a one-stop shop to managing the project, and were very impressed by their vast fashion experience and their broad network of associate vendors. We will announce Branding elements, launch activities and dates, sales promotions and pricing in early 2012, with a planned spring introduction. This is the first in a series of specialty products and “solutions” that we are developing and will be launching seasonally over the next few years”. 

“Armenicus Life presented our consultancy a simply elegant concept that  will prompt every jewelry consumer to wonder “Why didn’t I think of that?”, said Alexis Bruning, V.P. of New Product Development for Duquesa Marketing. “The combination of form, function, color and utility built into this concept will drive an excellent Sales and Marketing opportunity”.

Duquesa Marketing, Inc.

www.duquesamarketing.com

Press Release

For Immediate Release

October 17, 2011

Contact:  Geoff Ficke

859-567-1609

gficke@msn.com

Duquesa Marketing Appointed to Act as Managing Consultant for New Line of Pedicure Products

Award Winning International Consumer Product Development Firm to Launch Brand to retail Market in Spring-2012 

Florence, KY    Nancy Ficke, General Manager and co-founder of Duquesa Marketing, announced today that her Branding and Product Development firm has been appointed to act as Managing Consultants for BvonM llc, an Alexandria, VA based cosmetic accessory design atelier and the launch of their novel line of pedicure products. 

“BvonM owner Dr. Barbara von Mettenhiem has created a simple, elegant answer to a problem that every woman experiences when getting Pedicures”, said Nancy Ficke.  “The product she has designed is a real enhancement to the experience that millions of consumers enjoy when visiting nail salons for pedicures”. 

“BvonM presented us with a wonderful product concept that we have been charged with developing, Branding, Marketing and Selling to the international salon industry”, said Geoff Ficke. “This line has immense international potential as well and we look forward to introducing the brand to our international distributors.

Duquesa Marketing is a one-stop, turnkey service provider to Inventors, Entrepreneurs, small and micro-businesses and multi-nationals specializing in Consumer Products. The Company has over 40 years experience and has worked in all sales channels in the United States and Internationally.

by: Geoff Ficke

The Rarest Most Exclusive Garment Wool in the World is Not for Sale 

For centuries the famous weavers of Kashmir have gathered and produced shawls from the rarest fiber in the world, Shahtoosh. These fabulous, prized shawls are so exclusive that the name Shahtoosh, meaning “king of fine wools”, is synonymous with exclusivity. The Kings of Persia were especially partial to this most unique wool, thus the name Shahtoosh. 

The rare Tibetan antelope called the Chiru is the only animal that produces Shahtoosh fibers. The chiru is exceedingly rare, lives in the most remote geography on the planet and is now on the international endangered species list. It is against the law to buy or sell new Shahtoosh shawls or woven products. Shahtoosh is still an object of great desire, and an even more interesting story.

The hair of the chiru is so exceedingly fine that it is considered impossible to weave, except by the Kashmiri weavers. Chiru wool fibers measure between 9 and 11 micro-meters in size. A completed Shahtoosh shawl can be passed through the inside diameter of a wedding ring. The finished pieces are exceedingly rare, priced for potentates purses only and lustily sought after. 

The chiru lives at an altitude of over 5000 meters. The chiru’s very light down fur is incredibly light, soft, strong and warm. For centuries the nomads of the Himalaya’s hunted the chiru for meat and skins. They had no use for the wool fiber. They could never figure how to weave it.

It wasn’t until the British Raj that appreciation and demand for the luxury and beauty of Shahtoosh and Pashmina was popularized. The British spread stories of the unique qualities of shawls made from Shahtoosh and the drive to harvest chiru was on. The chiru cannot be domesticated and the fiber is so difficult to handle that the only source of the animal’s wool was hunting, and ultimately over-hunting. 

The harvesting of chiru for their fine wool was fortuitous for Kashmir’s skilled weavers. Only they possessed the skill and patience to handle and produce shawls from the micro-fibers. Their fame spread worldwide. They prospered as demand for these loftily prices shawls boomed among the world’s elite.

Unfortunately for the Kashmiri weavers the laws of supply and demand cannot be suspended. As the chiru population became near extinct, and the animal became a protected species, the work of weaving Shahtoosh shawls disappeared. The fiber has virtually disappeared as international trade has been suspended. 

Today, the prime market for Shahtoosh shawls is in estate and private sales. The kashmiri weavers have not worked with the fiber for so long, that their weaving skills have atrophied and disappeared. There is a small bit of poaching of chiru occurring but not enough to sustain a commercial enterprise. The Shahmina fiber, a 13 micro-meter wool, is the nearest legally produced wool to approximate Shahtoosh. However, it is not considered as exotic or unique, though still expensive. 

The world’s rarest, most highly prized wool fiber is not for sale, at least legally. The demand would boom if supply could be maintained, and critically, there were artesian craftsmen like the Kashmiri weavers who could manage and control the impossibly difficult chiru wool. “The King of fine wool” is now but a great legendary exotic chimera.

by: Geoff Ficke

The Simple, Ubiquitous Modern Screw Created Fortunes and Enabled Mass Production to Flourish 

Every human seems to have screws lying around our homes and offices. They tend to accumulate like dust particles. Open a drawer or a utility box and there will be a jumble of screws of different types and sizes littered among other assorted pieces of flotsam and junk that we collect and never seem to lose. Occasionally we go looking for a screw for a unique application or task and usually, we will find just the unit to complete the chore. 

We don’t think much about screws. I can’t remember the last time I actually bought a screw, if ever. They come attached or included in many of the assembled products we purchase. We know what screws do and their importance in holding things together; but we don’t reflect much on their provenance. They are innocuous, inanimate objects in our lives for the most part. 

And yet, fortunes have been made off of the simple screw. Screws were first used in building trades in the 15^th century in France and Germany. They became crucial in enabling architects to build on a grander scale. However, the production of screws was difficult, cumbersome and not standardized. The industrial revolution, which began to explode internationally in the middle of the 19^th century, required that the screws become a mass production staple. 

The first known pioneer to entrepreneurially create a fortune from enhancing the screw was P.L. Robertson. Mr. Robertson was a Canadian who sold mechanical products in Ontario is the late 19^th century. He recognized that the screws available at the time were difficult to work with. His concept was to place a square divot in the head of the screw. This became the famous “square socket” screw. The head of the screw driver was refitted with a square nib and locked firmly onto the head of the Robertson screw. Robertson was a prolific patent filer, and he was ardent in protecting his invention. Soon the “square socket” was in wide use in industry and the trades. 

The SPS Company (Standard Press Steel) in the early part of the 20^th century wanted to avoid paying royalties to P.L. Robertson and Co. SPS invented the UNBRAKO line of screws and implements. Today we know these products as Allen Wrenches and hex-head screws. Try to imagine any DIY project, or IKEA furniture assembly, without using the Allen Wrench to lock the parts together. 

Henry Phillips was an Oregonian and inveterate tinkerer. He was aware that the automobile industry was desperate to accelerate the assembly process. Henry Ford had created the automated factory line. Parts and tools were needed to assist in improving efficiencies in mass production. 

One of the problems that engineers faced was that screws were difficult to self-center. Henry Phillips attacked the problem and created one of the most useful, famous and omnipresent product innovations in history; the Phillips Head Screw. His first commercial success with the Phillips Head Screw was a sale to Cadillac for use in the 1934 models.

Imagine a hardware store anywhere in the world that did not stock an array of screws and screw drivers. 

The Allen Wrench-Hex Head screws, the Phillips screw and the square socket were simple riffs on a standard product already in wide use. None of these inventors created an “alpha” product. They simply improved on an existing design(s). This is the great opportunity that has created so much wealth, so many enduring companies and improved so many lives. It is also a path available every day to creators, inventors and entrepreneurs seeking to add value to commerce. It is not necessary to create the wheel. Just create a new use or benefit for the wheel and many rewards will open to you.

by: Geoff Ficke

How Modern Gastronomy Has Been Influenced by The Commercialization of Ancient Condiments 

Several years ago I had the good fortune to re-visit the ruins at Pompeii near Naples, Italy with my family. I had been to the ancient site some 30 years before, but the excavation of the volcano shrouded city had progressed a great deal in the interim and there was much that had not yet been discovered on my earlier visit. Our very informative guide advised us that archaeological work and discoveries would be ongoing for many decades still. 

Pompeii is stunning in its preservation and the exactitude with which the life of the age is still represented. Inns, restaurants, merchant’s homes, apartment buildings, public houses and baths, brothels and a wide variety of  commercial shops and markets are clearly defined and on view. The countless ways people worked, played and interacted, even more than 2000 years ago is amazingly similar to way society organizes itself to this day. Food and drink; production, distribution and consumption was especially interesting. 

One of the most fascinating bits of information that one learns in visiting Pompeii is how people ate and drank on a daily basis. The prosperous class ate a diet that was heavily weighted towards rich foods and meats. Gout was common amongst these better fed citizens. The poor, less advantaged ate a more pedestrian diet of meal and a porridge-like soup. 

Food is consumed for human sustenance. It is only when prosperity blooms that taste and enhancement of this life-essential fuel becomes of import. Pompeii was a center of gastronomy in the ancient world. Evidence of the variety of foodstuffs, drink, wines and fruit that sustained the population of that age is found everywhere to this very day. Excavations regularly uncover amphorae that contain consumable products that were the basis of Pompeii’s vaunted prosperity. 

The discovery of a food paste called Garum is indicative of a prosperous society’s desire for not just a meal, but a tasty meal. Garum was a fish sauce of the time. It was originally created by the Greeks but the Romans perfected and greatly advanced the commercialization and popularity of Garum. This became the world’s first widely utilized, mass produced and custom flavored condiment. Recipes for different styles of Garum have been discovered in ruins. Fishing became a hugely important activity in order to supply factories with the basic raw fish stocks essential to produce this spicy condiment. 

Garum was sold for prices that rival today’s top Caspian caviar’s.  The richest consumers bought the finest grades of Garum principally made from the filet of fish. Poorer consumers bought the coarser grades produced from innards and tails. 

Every dinner table in Pompeii was said to have a container of one or more types of Garum at hand. Fortunes were made in the trade of this spicy fish sauce condiment. It was consumed at every meal in order to enhance flavor, intensity and to embellish foods. 

When the Roman Empire declined, and then fell in the 4th Century A.D., a great darkness settled on the vast empire. As prosperity declined, and food again became a mere fuel for existence, the concept of flavor enhancement was lost. Garum disappeared from peoples diets. 

The next great civilization to improve the taste of a bland diet was the Arabs. They discovered and enjoyed a condiment called tahini. Later the Indians blessed the dinner table with chutney. The British, so successful as travelers, traders and conquerors, brought back the spices that became Worcestershire sauce. The French perfected the many variants of mustard. In the 19^th century, Americans gifted the world with tomato ketchup. 

Today we live in a time of plenty. Even the poorest family in a developed country has a selection of condiments in the home. Fine restaurants pride themselves in offering “house secret” dressings, marinates, sauces and flavor enhancers. Amazingly, brand new condiments and variants of existing condiments are ubiquitous on super market shelves and news varieties arrive constantly. As international travel has become democratized the spread and popularity of the condiments that we discover in our journeys has accelerated. 

The result is that we enjoy an explosion of variety in dressing and elevating even the most mundane plate of food. Eating is now a hobby for many, a pursuit of luxury and heightened sensual experience for some. The addition and consumption of this galaxy of condiments has created not only the platform for blissful taste experience, but amazing commercial opportunities. Condiments and naturally occurring food additives are grown, harvested, processed, marketed, packaged and transported from all corners of the planet to our corner stores and offered at amazingly affordable prices.

The business activity this trade has created is stupefying. Just as Garum was one of the major cornerstones of trade and enjoyment in the ancient world, so too today are condiments integral to our modern quality of life. We could survive without spicy mustard, or mayonnaise. Why would anyone want to!