Talking Point

Online sole mates in six-inch stilettos

By Craig Regan

Working in PR throws up some interesting facts. One is that Malaysia is officially where retailing, social media and online lonely-hearts meet.

The New York Daily News reports that Kuala Lumpur retailer “Shoes Shoes Shoes” is offering customers a free date with every footwear purchase.

Women who buy a pair of shoes and leave their details are matched with potential partners by an online dating site. These men are selected from the agency’s database after nominating a pair of shoes that they like.

From there, it’s like an episode of Perfect Match, Malaysia-style, as the store’s Facebook site explains:

“Buy a pair of shoes from a gorgeous selection in the store and dating consultants will pair you with an eligible bachelor who likes the same shoe design as you and arrange for the two of you to meet. The end? Of course not. To prove that chivalry is still very much alive, a gift in the form of a shoe discount voucher awaits you on your first date, courtesy of Prince Charming. Sounds like a fairy tale? Well, who says life can't be one for real. So get to it girl! Let the shoes decide your destiny.”

At least there’ll be an icebreaker if both dating parties turn up in Prada pink and purple sling-backs.

Facebook comments have ranged from “brilliant” to “supremely creepy.” The media coverage is going gang-busters with 60-plus online news articles and counting.

Apart from consenting podiatrists engaging in mutual foot massages, does taste in shoes really make for compatibility? If there’s probably a scientific study that says so, you can bet the evidence will be as credible as last week’s horoscope.

Leaving aside puns about these shoe-focussed couples being toey or turning out to be heels, the reality is that shifts in match-making are as seismic as those in media. For example, a 2009 study found that nine percent of married Australian couples met online. 

While the date-and-dine thing looks more a quick grab for publicity than a way to put couples on the path to life-partner bliss, if the boot was on the other foot and you wanted to make a mark in retail, you might wish you’d thought of it first.

Photo credit: http://www.nextnature.net/2008/12/high-heels/

 

Telstra Australian Business Awards bring PR and insights that money can't buy

By Marcela Balart

On top of $500,000 in cash and prizes, two of the free benefits entrants in the prestigious Telstra Australian Business Awards can walk away with are increased profile and insights about their business performance. 

The Awards are in their 20^th year and Lighthouse is rapt to be a part of them. It gives us a chance to work with “the best of the best” among Australia’s small and medium businesses - and hear some amazing success stories.

Our brief is to assist past winners and current entrants work with the media to showcase their businesses and point out the support the Telstra Awards give. 

The profile really is PR that money can’t buy – as this print ad that’s running nationally from today underlines.

That other benefit – insight – comes from a free 70-page Business Health Check that each entrant receives. The detailed analysis, undertaken by the NSW Business Chamber, covers seven key areas and assesses their performance against international benchmarking, current legislation and industry best practice.
 
Some of the things it’s telling us about Telstra Business Awards entrants from last year are:

• Ninety-three per cent of them have a website and the websites (70 per cent) were the second most popular marketing channel after the sales force (80 per cent);
• About one in five of their customers (19 per cent) were 100 per cent satisfied with their current level of service while 72 per cent had satisfaction levels above 90 per cent;
• Ninety-seven per cent of businesses could clearly differentiate the benefits of their products and services from those of their competitors;
• Forty-one per cent offered incentives or bonus programs to all staff, and nearly 90 per cent reported no industrial issues.

Of course these businesses aren’t typical of all Aussie companies with 200 employees or fewer. They’re industry movers and shakers who are setting the pace, but the focus they have on seizing the challenge of digital marketing and sales, customer satisfaction, branding and staff retention are telling.

You can enter the 2012 Telstra Australian Business Awards here. Entries close on April 2.