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Greetings once more - your favourite supplemental GAD fest is back again, taunting you with prizes you probably won't win like a carrot in front of a donkey. If you didn't love it, you wouldn't keep coming back.
Something a little different this time, in that this competition actually requires you to think a little rather than splatter your 'artistic' daubings on a banner :) What we'd like you to do is come up with some ways in which Special Reserve could promote themselves effectively. Bear in mind we haven't exactly got the backing of the Sultan of Brunei, we'd like you to drop us a few ideas on how best to get across the fact that Special Reserve are cheap, reliable and have a wide product range.
This could be improvements to ways we currently run things, new product ranges you think would appeal to our customers (bear in mind we currently sell rather a lot of stuff - see left sidestrip), new exciting ways to advertise our existing offers or just any ideas that have been floating round your head. Is there some range of products you just can't get hold of that would be perfect for us to sell? Let us know!
Post your ideas in this thread and we'll announce a winner at around the end of February, let's say the 27th. The best suggestions will win whatever prizes we give them, most probably yer standard £25/£50 GAD prize.
(And before anyone brings it up, yes we do think about this stuff ourselves, but we wanted to see what you lot think as well. So button it!)
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And the winner is..... phi11ip, for the following suggestion:
"Here's an idea, and if carried out correctly could be very beneficial. I've got a nice example too just to prove to you just how beneficial it is. www.staghosting.com was a free hosting service set up last year with the intention of boosting the ratings of a a few sites belonging to a company, one of these sites was www.actiondays.co.uk. Basically, unlike your free hosting, this hosting only offered hosting to domain names, you get 200MB disk space and 4 Gig bandwidth a month, you can upload from any connection unlike Freeola. So basically the company which has nothing to do with hosting has just set up a hosting site, sounds stupid doesn't it? What the requirements of this free hosting are though is that you must display a couple of small text links on your site, on mine you can see them on the links section on the side of the page. Google counts each link as a 'vote' and increases the pagerank of the site in question meaning that it shows up higher in searches, I see you've got 'cheap games' pretty much sorted but you don't show up anywhere when 'PS2 games' is typed in. If people were to display these text links on their sites it would soon make you appear high up on the search results. www.actiondays.co.uk was absolutely nowhere when it started, it had a low pagerank and didn't appear on searches. Have a look now though and you'll see that searching for 'corporate event' on Google.com returns the site as number 2 out of 6,500,000. Think about it. You've already got the hosting capabilities, all it would require is a server and someone to monitor the sites every now and then to make sure the links are there."
Congratulations and well done to everyone who entered.
Something a little different this time, in that this competition actually requires you to think a little rather than splatter your 'artistic' daubings on a banner :) What we'd like you to do is come up with some ways in which Special Reserve could promote themselves effectively. Bear in mind we haven't exactly got the backing of the Sultan of Brunei, we'd like you to drop us a few ideas on how best to get across the fact that Special Reserve are cheap, reliable and have a wide product range.
This could be improvements to ways we currently run things, new product ranges you think would appeal to our customers (bear in mind we currently sell rather a lot of stuff - see left sidestrip), new exciting ways to advertise our existing offers or just any ideas that have been floating round your head. Is there some range of products you just can't get hold of that would be perfect for us to sell? Let us know!
Post your ideas in this thread and we'll announce a winner at around the end of February, let's say the 27th. The best suggestions will win whatever prizes we give them, most probably yer standard £25/£50 GAD prize.
(And before anyone brings it up, yes we do think about this stuff ourselves, but we wanted to see what you lot think as well. So button it!)
---------------------------------------------------------
And the winner is..... phi11ip, for the following suggestion:
"Here's an idea, and if carried out correctly could be very beneficial. I've got a nice example too just to prove to you just how beneficial it is. www.staghosting.com was a free hosting service set up last year with the intention of boosting the ratings of a a few sites belonging to a company, one of these sites was www.actiondays.co.uk. Basically, unlike your free hosting, this hosting only offered hosting to domain names, you get 200MB disk space and 4 Gig bandwidth a month, you can upload from any connection unlike Freeola. So basically the company which has nothing to do with hosting has just set up a hosting site, sounds stupid doesn't it? What the requirements of this free hosting are though is that you must display a couple of small text links on your site, on mine you can see them on the links section on the side of the page. Google counts each link as a 'vote' and increases the pagerank of the site in question meaning that it shows up higher in searches, I see you've got 'cheap games' pretty much sorted but you don't show up anywhere when 'PS2 games' is typed in. If people were to display these text links on their sites it would soon make you appear high up on the search results. www.actiondays.co.uk was absolutely nowhere when it started, it had a low pagerank and didn't appear on searches. Have a look now though and you'll see that searching for 'corporate event' on Google.com returns the site as number 2 out of 6,500,000. Think about it. You've already got the hosting capabilities, all it would require is a server and someone to monitor the sites every now and then to make sure the links are there."
Congratulations and well done to everyone who entered.
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Ooops, obviously I mean annual..
;)
;)
Try getting into the record books by throwing the biggest orgy of all time.
You could call it the Spez-Rez-Anal-Bonk-a-Thon.
You could call it the Spez-Rez-Anal-Bonk-a-Thon.
How about using some of your kick ass computers and set up some dedicated servers for some of the most popular games.Name the server special reserve or ukpc.net or something like that if the server doesnt have lag and is kept up to date people will use it.People will remember the name i still remember the name of the best server for no one lives forever (bos uber).Just an idea if you had any better you wouldnt be having this comp.
Been using a free account with fileplanet for ages and ages now, never had any problem, there is always gigex as well (though limited selection).
Another great idea...
Unless its being said.
When I’m on the internet, and I feel the need to download a demo, I have to search the net, and find a mirror that hosts it.
For an example purpose I’ll say I’m trying to download "unreal 2004"
I go on to Unreal's website, and they list a load of links where I can download demos... File shack is just one of the many places they suggest.
The only problem is, that you have to pay these places so X amount of “dollars” a year to download demos fast, or else your bandwidth is limited—if you choose a free account. Never the less they have got my e-mail, and can now send me special offers.
Now, the problem with that is, my card wont work in America, and I don't want to register with File shack.
So if SR hosted demos, and became a mirror, then they would get A* publicity from the official sites of the game developer!!!
So MR. Joe wants to download Unreal 2004 demo, he looks at all the mirrors. "Urr what’s this?" he clicks on SR....
He would have to register before he could download demos. So now Mr. Joe’s registered, he's found his demo, he’s also found a site full of bargains, and you’ve got his e-mail to send him special offers.. He might want to pay £7.50 a year, for the extra services like gameaday etc.
That way, you’re going to drag allsorts of people from allsorts of places. Providing you have enough web space to host them.
I'm on a roll.
Unless its being said.
When I’m on the internet, and I feel the need to download a demo, I have to search the net, and find a mirror that hosts it.
For an example purpose I’ll say I’m trying to download "unreal 2004"
I go on to Unreal's website, and they list a load of links where I can download demos... File shack is just one of the many places they suggest.
The only problem is, that you have to pay these places so X amount of “dollars” a year to download demos fast, or else your bandwidth is limited—if you choose a free account. Never the less they have got my e-mail, and can now send me special offers.
Now, the problem with that is, my card wont work in America, and I don't want to register with File shack.
So if SR hosted demos, and became a mirror, then they would get A* publicity from the official sites of the game developer!!!
So MR. Joe wants to download Unreal 2004 demo, he looks at all the mirrors. "Urr what’s this?" he clicks on SR....
He would have to register before he could download demos. So now Mr. Joe’s registered, he's found his demo, he’s also found a site full of bargains, and you’ve got his e-mail to send him special offers.. He might want to pay £7.50 a year, for the extra services like gameaday etc.
That way, you’re going to drag allsorts of people from allsorts of places. Providing you have enough web space to host them.
I'm on a roll.
Another good idea would be SR postcards...
In store, or via mail orders, give a few SR postcards, with the traditional splat on.
On the back of the post card, rule a few lines; just like a normal post card.
Hey presto! Now people can send each other letters via mail and the receiver can enjoy the letter, and check out SR at the same time.
Yeah, I think that would work. And of course it won't stop at sending friends postcards. They could be sent to anyone, parents, sons, uncles. Soon everybody will know SR, and then; when they order things from SR, they get a few postcards to send too. Wayhey!!
I don’t know how I think them up ! ;-)
In store, or via mail orders, give a few SR postcards, with the traditional splat on.
On the back of the post card, rule a few lines; just like a normal post card.
Hey presto! Now people can send each other letters via mail and the receiver can enjoy the letter, and check out SR at the same time.
Yeah, I think that would work. And of course it won't stop at sending friends postcards. They could be sent to anyone, parents, sons, uncles. Soon everybody will know SR, and then; when they order things from SR, they get a few postcards to send too. Wayhey!!
I don’t know how I think them up ! ;-)
Special reserve screen savers, or desktop themes....
If you were working in an office, and you was sick of the windows XP screen saver, put special reserve screen saver on, and or your colleges (and maybe even your boss) would see it, and possibly check it out.
Or if one of your friends visit, and see's your funky new SR desktop theme, and he wants it, he will come to special reserve, in doing so he might see some fantastic offers!
When I go Laning, I take my pc with me, if someone decides to check out my PC and sees a load of SR splats plastered on my desktop, screensaver, and god knows where else, he would also check out the website.
Above are just a few everyday examples, that would alert others into knowing special reserve, they will work because your giving something for free (virtual desktops, or screen savers or even sound bytes for when you shutdown etc) that won’t cost you much to develop, and if the backgrounds have big red slats with web-addresses underneath its going to make people curious about SR....
You know it makes sense!
If you were working in an office, and you was sick of the windows XP screen saver, put special reserve screen saver on, and or your colleges (and maybe even your boss) would see it, and possibly check it out.
Or if one of your friends visit, and see's your funky new SR desktop theme, and he wants it, he will come to special reserve, in doing so he might see some fantastic offers!
When I go Laning, I take my pc with me, if someone decides to check out my PC and sees a load of SR splats plastered on my desktop, screensaver, and god knows where else, he would also check out the website.
Above are just a few everyday examples, that would alert others into knowing special reserve, they will work because your giving something for free (virtual desktops, or screen savers or even sound bytes for when you shutdown etc) that won’t cost you much to develop, and if the backgrounds have big red slats with web-addresses underneath its going to make people curious about SR....
You know it makes sense!
cookie monster wrote:
> Belldandy wrote:
> Comission tens of thousands of ballons with the SR logo on, gather
> them all under a massive net, unleash on a windy day. The balloons
> will litter the nation and the company name will be in the press!
>
> I cant imagine how many environmentalist letters they will recieve...
I didn't say what kind of press it would be :P Any media attention is good attention - worked for GTA.
> Belldandy wrote:
> Comission tens of thousands of ballons with the SR logo on, gather
> them all under a massive net, unleash on a windy day. The balloons
> will litter the nation and the company name will be in the press!
>
> I cant imagine how many environmentalist letters they will recieve...
I didn't say what kind of press it would be :P Any media attention is good attention - worked for GTA.
Firstly i think Special Reserve should sell Gaming Merchandise. I would love to order old Gaming Advertisement, like Posters, Cardboard standing things of well known games such as Mario, Halo and Eye Toy etc.. which i see in most SR stores. Also Keychains of favourite gaming characters and other cool stuff which you can import from Japan like Gashapon toys (capsule toys to you and me!) Most avid Gaming fans love littering there bedrooms with that sort of stuff, including me!
Now to Advertisement! I think it would be a good idea to advertise in Gaming mags, i've never seen one advertisement of SR in CUBE or XBM for example. Perhaps leaflets in the post and not only to your customers because they know you already. Perhaps you could create a loyalty scheme (if you haven't already i must add) that when Customers get family or friends to become SR first time customers they get 10%+ off their purchases? That way old time buyers would probably ask alot of people to join to SR if they know there getting something out of it! This could increase custom and you then could become more known for your good prices and great service. You could also advertise with Banners in football matches (remember alot of people watch the footie) or on the radio depending which area has your stores like Chelmsford (you could obviously include your website address, so that people which haven't got SR stores in there area could still go on the web and shop)
Other then that you could get someone to dress up as your 'Splat' logo and tour the country in a Red Double Decker bus full of SR advertisement and Gaming Consoles which they can go on for free, given out free ballons etc.. to children with your name on them? Also leaflets with money off your first purchase! Not a bad idea i think (Hopefully someone hasn't said the exact same thing on the other pages lol )
Hope that helps anyway... :)
Now to Advertisement! I think it would be a good idea to advertise in Gaming mags, i've never seen one advertisement of SR in CUBE or XBM for example. Perhaps leaflets in the post and not only to your customers because they know you already. Perhaps you could create a loyalty scheme (if you haven't already i must add) that when Customers get family or friends to become SR first time customers they get 10%+ off their purchases? That way old time buyers would probably ask alot of people to join to SR if they know there getting something out of it! This could increase custom and you then could become more known for your good prices and great service. You could also advertise with Banners in football matches (remember alot of people watch the footie) or on the radio depending which area has your stores like Chelmsford (you could obviously include your website address, so that people which haven't got SR stores in there area could still go on the web and shop)
Other then that you could get someone to dress up as your 'Splat' logo and tour the country in a Red Double Decker bus full of SR advertisement and Gaming Consoles which they can go on for free, given out free ballons etc.. to children with your name on them? Also leaflets with money off your first purchase! Not a bad idea i think (Hopefully someone hasn't said the exact same thing on the other pages lol )
Hope that helps anyway... :)
Belldandy wrote:
> Comission tens of thousands of ballons with the SR logo on, gather
> them all under a massive net, unleash on a windy day. The balloons
> will litter the nation and the company name will be in the press!
I cant imagine how many environmentalist letters they will recieve...
> Comission tens of thousands of ballons with the SR logo on, gather
> them all under a massive net, unleash on a windy day. The balloons
> will litter the nation and the company name will be in the press!
I cant imagine how many environmentalist letters they will recieve...
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