Archive for the ‘Innovative Products’ Category
Tuesday, April 17th, 2012
Duquesa Marketing
www.duquesamarketing.com
Press Release
For Immediate Release
Contact: Geoff Ficke
859-567-1609
Geoff Ficke to Be Interviewed on The Morning Show with Host Jae Nash on May 9th at 11:15 am CT
Duquesa Marketing Founder and Expert to Discuss 5 Personality Traits to Success
Florence, KY Nancy Ficke, General Manager, announced today that her Branding and Product Development firm Duquesa Marketing has scheduled another in a series of national radio interviews for Company President and Founder Geoff Ficke.
“Geoff Ficke will appear on The Morning Show with Host Jae Nash May 9th at 11:15 am CT”, said Mrs Ficke. “The discussion will be about the 5 Personality Traits to Success. Mr. Ficke will explain if your idea or business is a good one and if you have what it takes to succeed. Do you have a product idea but just aren’t sure where to start? Is your business ready to move to the next level, but you don’t have the connections to make that happen? Geoff Ficke has been helping hundreds of people make their business dreams come true.
Through his 40 years of practical experience Geoff has been mentoring, teaching and consulting with small and micro-businesses, entrepreneurs and inventors to enable them to turn dreams and ideas into products and successful commercial opportunities. Geoff and his team have worked with products from skin care to cupcakes to health supplements and more.
Duquesa Marketing has assisted numerous individuals and enterprises start and expand Consumer Product opportunities over the past four decades. The award winning firm
has vast experience in all Sales and distribution channels in the United States and internationally.
Posted in Business Model, Business Plans, Entrepreneurialism, Innovative Products, Launching new products, Manufacturing and Production, Marketing, Marketing Consulting, Marketing New Products or Ideas, Marketing Product Development, Press Releases, Product Design, Product Development, Small Business, Talk radio interviews
Tuesday, April 17th, 2012
Duquesa Marketing
www.duquesamarketing.com
Press Release
For Immediate Release
Contact: Geoff Ficke
859-567-1609
Geoff Ficke to Be Interviewed on Blog Talk Radio Successipes Show on April 25th at 3:30 PT
Duquesa Marketing Founder and Expert to Discuss 5 Personality Traits to Success
Florence, KY Nancy Ficke, General Manager, announced today that her Branding and Product Development firm Duquesa Marketing has scheduled another in a series of national radio interviews for Company President and Founder Geoff Ficke.
“Geoff Ficke will appear on Successipes Show with Host Lori Wilk April 25th at 3:30 pm PT”, said Mrs Ficke. “The discussion will be about the 5 Personality Traits to Success. Mr. Ficke will explain if your idea or business is a good one and if you have what it takes to succeed. Do you have a product idea but just aren’t sure where to start? Is your business ready to move to the next level, but you don’t have the connections to make that happen? Geoff Ficke has been helping hundreds of people make their business dreams come true.
Through his 40 years of practical experience Geoff has been mentoring, teaching and consulting with small and micro-businesses, entrepreneurs and inventors to enable them to turn dreams and ideas into products and successful commercial opportunities. Geoff and his team have worked with products from skin care to cupcakes to health supplements and more.
Duquesa Marketing has assisted numerous individuals and enterprises start and expand Consumer Product opportunities over the past four decades. The award winning firm
has vast experience in all Sales and distribution channels in the United States and internationally.
Posted in Business Model, Entrepreneurialism, Innovative Products, Launching new products, Manufacturing and Production, Marketing, Marketing Consulting, Marketing New Products or Ideas, Marketing Product Development, Press Releases, Product Development, Small Business
Wednesday, April 11th, 2012
by: Geoff Ficke
Consumer Product Market Penetration is Much Easier If Exclusivity Is Key to the Lines Branding Strategy
Recently I had the opportunity to visit and work several Trade Shows while on an extended business trip through Europe. One was a huge Beauty Product expo in Italy, another a jewelry fair in Switzerland, and a Gourmet Food Show in England completed the itinerary. Each of the venues would be considered apex convocations within their industry space. Each offered a range of products touching many price points.
As any consumer of economic news knows, today Europe is struggling and in a severe commercial downturn. Consumers are caught in a severe pinch between sky high government taxes and budget deficits, slowing growth, job losses and a real decline in personal incomes. The fear is palpable in many obvious ways, even to a foreign traveler.
And yet, the Trade Shows I attended were each doing their most brisk commerce in the categories that offered the more expensive, exclusive product offerings. I queried any number of vendors from across a broad range of retail price positions. Inevitably the higher end products on offer reported that they were doing well. The mid-market brands seemed to be suffering most. The mass market lines were of course also doing well as many middle class shoppers were trading down in these uncertain times, although many mentioned that they were cutting margins to maintain market share.
It is a fact that in many product categories, exclusivity as a marketing strategy can be an easier route to store shelves than almost any other model. In higher-end markets there is less pricing resistance, and thus greater opportunities to enjoy fatter profit margins. Competition can be much less severe. Obstacles to gaining distribution are much less in specialty
stores and boutiques than exist in chains and mass market discounters.
Pet products that cater to passionate owners often seem eccentric. Jewelry, cashmere sweaters for dogs, Halloween outfits for cats and luxury pet beds seem extreme. But, they sell. A visit to any Pet industry Trade Show will confirm this fact.
Cosmetics, Jewelry, Couture Fashion, Footwear, Automobiles, Gourmet Foods and Drinks, Electronics, Luggage, and many other product categories that provide exclusive brands are booming. Brands in the mid-market range are being squeezed. Private label offerings are picking up market share, though margins are squeezed in order to lower and hit needed price points.
The market for Skin Care products priced over $100 per ounce is sizzling. Gourmet Food brands are enjoying a golden age thanks to the popularity of celebrity chefs and food networks. Jimmy Choo and Manolo Blahnik, among other show designers, have elevated more than the heels on their products. An order for a new Ferrari or McLaren sport car, paid up-front with cash, will earn the buyer a spot on a waiting list with a 2-year wait for delivery of their vehicle. Every Hermes Birkin bag is pre-sold each season before the purses ever hit store shelves. The valet parking concession at Harrods and Harvey Nichols in London is constantly backed up with a constant cue of chauffeur driven Rolls Royce and Bentley automobiles.
Launching Consumer Products with an Exclusivity distribution Marketing Strategy and Sales Model is a course we often we choose for client projects. Once a market has been penetrated, and consumer demand is stimulated for a product it is always an option to replicate the item in a lower price point presentation. You can always come down in price.
Posted in Branding, Business Model, Cosmetics, Entrepreneurialism, Footwear products, Hunting Products, Innovative Products, Jewelry Accessory Products, Launching Menswear Products, Launching new products, Licensing Products, Manufacturing and Production, Marketing, Marketing Consulting, Marketing Cosmetic Accessories, Marketing Cosmetics, Marketing New Products or Ideas, Marketing Product Development, Marketing Skincare Products, Pedicure Products, Pet Products, Product Design, Product Development, Skincare Product Development, Skincare Product Launches, Toy Products
Saturday, November 5th, 2011
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.
Posted in Branding, Footwear products, Innovation, Innovative Products, Launching new products, Marketing Consulting, Marketing New Products or Ideas, Pedicure Products, Product Design, Product Development, Salon Products
Saturday, November 5th, 2011
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”.
Posted in Fashion Design, Footwear products, Innovative Products, Launching new products, Marketing, Marketing Consulting, Marketing New Products or Ideas, Press Releases, Product Design, Product Development
Thursday, October 20th, 2011
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”.
Posted in Innovative Products, Jewelry Accessory Products, Launching new products, Manufacturing and Production, Marketing New Products or Ideas, Press Releases, Product Design, Product Development
Thursday, October 20th, 2011
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.
Posted in Business Model, Entrepreneurialism, Innovative Products, Launching new products, Marketing, Marketing New Products or Ideas, Product Design, Retailing
Monday, October 17th, 2011
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.
Posted in Fashion Design, Innovative Products, Jewelry Accessory Products, Launching new products, Marketing, Marketing New Products or Ideas, Press Releases, Product Design, Retailing
Monday, October 17th, 2011
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”.
Posted in Innovative Products, Jewelry Accessory Products, Launching new products, Marketing, Marketing New Products or Ideas, Press Releases, Product Design
Monday, October 17th, 2011
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.
Posted in Footwear products, Innovative Products, Launching new products, Marketing, Marketing Consulting, Marketing New Products or Ideas, Press Releases, Salon Products, Shoe Products
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