Brand Royalty

Oribis Centre for Excellence in Endustrial Enterprise

I was delighted to co-host the launch of Enterprising Britain 2010 today along with Lord Davies of Abersoch, Minister at BIS (Business, Innovation & Skills), Lowestoft & Waveney Labour MP Bob Blizzard, and Kevin Horne, the CEO of NWES - the inspiration behind Lowestoft winning the Enterprising Britain competition in 2009.

Audience at Enterprising Britain Lowestoft

Lord Davies

I had a really nice day today, kicked off spectacularly well by our well known comedian Dom Joly tweeting about "What system razor might he try?"  He was immediately, well, inundated by friends & followers of King of Shaves recommending our Azor.  I happened to be on the train as this was unfolding, am a great fan of Dom (he spoofed the whole mobile phone scene some years back with a massive mobile, and more recently updated the spoof with the iPad).  I used my favourite Tweetdeck app on the iPhone to follow then tweet him - delightfully he DM'd me back and - well - let's see!  Especial thanks to @chopper602 & @samcone & @cjhlondon & @IanMFranklin & @BaldiesUnite

This demonstrates the awesome power of Twitter to grow awareness of great products, brands and individuals.  Forget it's called Twitter, one letter from 'witter' (to witter in English is 'to babble or chatter pointlessly at unnecessary length') - just use it 'to talk (or Twalk as I call it) to people.

The key point in this blog post from a marketer's perspective is I didn't pick up on Dom's request first.  It was a 'peer to peer' thing driven by our consumers - what I'll call C2C, and given Dom is a celebrity comedian, it was a C2CE - Consumer to CElebrity thing.  Sure, I got involved - after all - I believe we've got a great product, designed and manufactured here in the UK, which performs extremely well, so of course I'd try to get it to Dom.

But it was the sublime way that was achieved that was the real eye opener.  No crass or clumsy approach "Hello Mr. Celebrity Will You Try My Product Please?"  More a , hey - we'd like to help recommend you the best razor Dom, we're regular guys - listen to us.

i then enjoyed a very nice lunch with Will Carling, whom I last met face to face in 1995, when he was Captain of the England Rugby Team.  Will endorsed King of Shaves over a three year period - 1995-8 with (in my opinion, best strap-line ever) "Try & Convert, I Did' for our Original King of Shaves Shaving Oil.  We talked about all manner of things - his Rugby website is here, and he was a big fan of my sailing necklace (...not, actually - but hey - what to rugger buggers know about yachting?)  Hopefully we'll pull something together with him.

Then it was off home, to collect my son, do the half term Pizza Express thing, then wait for Shelley Rudman & Kristan Bromley to compete in the Skeleton Bob.

Love it.  Just like I love the little Facebook page that's just gone up 'Rage Against Expensive Razors'.

I'm a fan.

Nice.

In 2010, will Shaving Oil be the 'Next Big Thing'? King of Shaves launched our Original Shaving Oil back in 1993...! (original blog post)

Kinexium

Nice little article courtesy the Cherokee Chronicle Times in the USA on how shaving oil might be the 'next big thing'!

Guess this is due to recent spate of new razor launches from us with Azor M, Gillette and Wilkinson Sword - where reference is made to shaving with oil as a lubricant.

Check this link to see our evolution of oil into the UK's most loved men's & women's shaving brand.

Most excellent!

KOS_Azor_M_00204_v1

Last Thursday, we launched our new King of Shaves Azor M.  The future of shaving - shave closer, longer, for less money.  In our opinion, in these times of recession, job losses and global uncertainty, shaving is expensive enough already.

Go for Gold Team Shelley Rudman & Kristan Bromley, Bobskeleton Olympic Athletes! (original blog post)

Back in 2005, we started a sponsorship programme with King of Shaves with Kristan Bromley. Along with Herbie, other KoS members and Kristan's brother Richard,iIn 2006, I was in Turin for the Winter Olympics, where we saw Kristan narrowly miss a podium place, but watched with our hearts in our mouths as his partner, Shelley, slid to a fantastic Silver medal. Although our sponsorship had been with Kristan, he had called me just before the Olympics started in January, to ask if I'd consider extending King of Shaves' sponsorship to Shelley, which I did.

Following her great position, it was my pleasure to extend a 4 year title sponsorship contract with her, which gave her the necessary funding to keep pace with being an Olympian once again in 2010.

Well, in a few minutes she and Kristan will 'slide again', and I'm up - fuelled by a few cups of coffee to watch.

Will they win? Well, in my mind they already have - they've worked hard to be 'the best they can be', and are genuine Gold Medal contenders (despite having little or no training facilities in the UK). Now with 2 year old baby Ella, and their proud parents there to watch them, we wish them all the best - "slide fast & safe Kristan and Shelley - Go for Gold!"

Best wishes, from everyone at King of Shaves.

WKtalks

I'm delighted to have been shortlisted as 'Digital Marketer of the Year' in the upcoming Revolution Awards 2010 along with online luminaries such as TMG's Nancy Cruickshank, Google's Obi Felton, comparethemarket.com's Mark Vile and Jon Morter, who masterminded the Rage Against the Machine vs X Factor Christmas single protest campaign.

I'm honoured!  And I thought I'd try and explain 'why' I think I've been shortlisted, as it points to a step change in how brands, companies and individuals market themselves in today's iNstant world.  Note the lower case 'i' - it's very important.

Well, it's "simples" as the meerkat from CompareTheMarket's advertising campaign says so well.

I talk to people.  On a global basis.  As me.  And through me, my King of Shaves brand can engage in a whole new 'Digital Dialogue' with our customers, rather than being 'Brand Broadcasted' at via conventional 'push' marketing campaigns.

Back in the day, you used to tell people how great your brand/product/service was, through a TV commercial (or banner ad) that would run on your plasma, or TV screen.

But nowadays, that is so the old way of doing things.  I don't want to tell people how great I think King of Shaves is.  Why our Azor M is most excellent.  How we're about shaving & saving.  No no no.  I want people to tell their mates, on a world-wide basis via social network sites, and shortly, the mobile internet about why they love King of Shaves, and why their friends might too.  Recommendation via #TheWordofMouse is now absolutely critical, as our interconnected world is now iNstant.

We don't have to wait to read about news the next day - via programmes like Tweetdeck, Facebook and Google News Alerts - we can read about the news the instant it's published.  The days of today's news is tomorrow's chip paper wrappings is still true - where printed #CaxtonContent (to use a twitter hashtag), but when the news is electronically published, and viewed by our mark one eyeball, its becoming increasingly irrelevant.

Yet marketing types, advertising agencies, integrated marcomms set-ups still live in the land of the past.  As I've said before in an online marketing symposium I attended, the person who truly understands 21st Century marketing in the iNstant world isn't in employment yet.

But, what will continue to be KEY are three things:

• Astonishing CREATIVITY (to cut through a noise of CLUTTER).
  
• Fabulously engaging CONTENT ("I'm Watching!"
  
• Viral interCONNECTIVITY (talking to people)
  

Taking creativity first, this has long been overlooked in an era of brand and boring brand communications served up by ITV1 etc.  What works are campaigns like CompareTheMarket.com's 'Meerkats'.  What doesn't work is what used to work - Brand Broadcast.  So, if you're a cool creative director of any ad agency, and you 'Get' this, you're going to be in DEMAND.

Secondly, it's all about content.  What you are saying to people, so they can say it to someone else, about you.  Content creation is key.  We're working on a 'HOT PROJECT' right now in this space.

Finally, it's about getting the Creative Content you've come up with talked about.  Subliminally registering deep in the brain somewhere, so when you're browsing a bricks and mortar retailer's aisle, or online searching for something to buy at the iPortal called Amazon, you recall the cool creative that cut through the clutter.

It's simples.

Use twitter.  Talk to people.  Help them solve their problem.  They'll tell others (and help them).  Job done.

And keep doing it, constantly evolving it, for better, forever.

Love it.  And the best thing is - if I can do it (whilst being CEO of a pretty big shaving brand), then You Can Too.

Go twalk

GilletteFusionProGlide

Later this year, (probably early August in the UK, after the World Cup is over), Gillette will launch the next generation of its Fusion system razor, the ProGlide.  Plenty of media comment about it on-line; a good summary article here

This article led to the comment (below) being posted, with a further link to another blog (which takes us directly into the 'i' of the Hurricane we're living in at King of Shaves.  But, read the article above, before you carry on:

-------------> Courtesy Patrick Spenner, Marketing Leadership Development Council

KOS_Azor_M_00204_v1

One question that strikes me in reading this: is Gillette's approach to innovation (roll-out the next feature rich, premium-seeking razor) exposing its flank?  Customers who care to do the math can find a pretty solid quad-blade with good enough functionality for half the price of a high end Fusion Power cartridge. Seems to me a matter of time before recession pressure rattles enough customers out of their Fusion habit to go with the good enough alternative.

How long before a savvy, upstart shaving system equips its advocates with the tools to lay bare the "good enough" math with viral fury?

Sure, Gillette offers disposable alternatives at lower price points. But if its focusing the majority of its innovation resources at innovating on the next premium feature, instead of identifying ways to meet needs of those in the trade-down market, there's trouble to come.

Two cents from a casual observer. More cents in a recent blog post on different innovation approaches here.  Now, this link is even more interesting - as it simply points out to consumers "Do the Math"

• Do you really believe an even more expensively priced 5 bladed razor cartridge is going to be worth it, or is this just an example of clever/sham 'shience'?
• If you don't believe it, will peer pressure make you buy into it?
• And before you buy into it, have you done the math?

It's an expensive business, shaving.  And King of Shaves are determined to bring you 'The King of Shaves without the Ransom' - to allow you to 'Shave Closer, Longer, For Less'.

KOS_Azor_M_Pack_Front_v1

So, #DoTheMath: 

• Azor M at £6.99 inc. 2 cartridges + 120 Azor Endurium cartridges at £1.25/cartridge = £156.99.
• Gillette Fusion ProGlide at £10.99 inc. 1 cartridge + 120 ProGlide cartridges at £3.00/cartridge = £370.99

King of Shaves Azor cuts out a huge £214 (for you to spend on other, cool stuff).

New King of Shaves Azor M v New Gillette Fusion. Timing is Everything. (original blog post)

Wow.!  Close shave!  Just a day after we launched our sleek new Azor M in the UK, Gillette unveil their new Fusion in the USA.

KOS_Azor_M_00204_v1

Whereas we've introduced a sleeker, cooler, heftier handle and better v2 cartridge (for the same money), they've introduced a fatter, 10% more expensive razor (and new cartridge) called ProGlide that uses - tah dah - mineral oil lubrication.  Shaving with oil.  Haven't I heard about that before?   Oh yes - we launched that concept back in 1993!.  i'm pleased Gillette are finally catching up. But (petroleum derived) mineral oil?  Urrrgh.  Choose our lovely cold-pressed (natural) grapeseed oil.

GilletteFusionProGlide

So, if you're out buying some 'ShaveWare', and want the King of Shaves, the Apple iPad, the future of shaving (for less cost) click here.  Or if you want the MVP - 'Most Violently Profitable' of all system razors, then stick with Microsoft.  You know it doesn't make sense.

Having launched Azor just over 20 months ago, back in June 2008 (pre Credit Crisis!!!) we've been blown away by its phenomenal success in the UK and abroad.  With over 1,500,000 Azor 'Warp' (black/white), Pola' (white/black) & Azor S (blue/white) handles sold since launch, with replenishment cartridge sales averaging 40,000+ per week (some weeks 80,000+) in the UK alone, and with the successful introduction of the (award winning) Azor S (for sensitive skin) late last year, some  people might say "enough already".

KOS_Azor_M_00204_v1

No Way.   At King of Shaves, we embrace change as a constant.  We embrace a "healthy degree of paranoia" (just like the founder of Kyocera did).  We're always pushing to be same but 'better better BETTER' but in a simple, stylish way - rather than a crass "more expensive, more unnecessary functionality today".

And with the introduction of our new Azor M Alloy System Razor today - not just a new handle, but a new improved Endurium cartridge too - we're starting to innovate at the rate people like Intel & AMD innovate.  With more shaving power, yet affordably priced, served in a stylish "iShave" manner.  Unlike our competitors, who innovate with "more unnecessary" at "more cost" to the consumer, we're all about a "Cartridge Contract with our Customers".

In the UK, from tomorrow, you'll be able to buy system razor handles from our major competitors at half price.  They know Azor M is launching.  But, you know what, they cannot (or will not) make their replacement cartridges more affordable.  This is where the money lies.  £2.50/cartridge, anyone?  The 4,500% mark-up in some of these replacement cartridges (no names, no pack-drill) powers Huge Profitability, that allows them to spend more and more on marketing handles at half price. That's why some of the advertising today exhorts you to 'change your blade' like you 'change your tyres.

Where King of Shaves is concerned, we're "Fair Price at FULL Price".  And, you know what - we promote too!  As I've said in the past, and I restate it today - "I want people to enjoy the King of Shaves without the Ransom".  To "Shave Closer, Longer, For Less".  For ever.

KOS_Azor_M_Pack_Front_v1

Firstly, we've launched an ergonimically improved,  'stylish yet substantial' handle that has won nigh on universal praise in testing (by our test panel), 'twesting' (by our panel sourced via Twitter) and by hard-nosed bloggers and journalists.  The beauty of the Azor M handle is it has just two parts.  The 'polyastomer' part & the 'metal' part.  And, you know what.  Just like Aston Martin's, the metal part is manufactured then HAND FINISHED in the UK!  Yes, you read that right - the Azor M you're holding has been hand-polished.

The second reason that our Azor M is important?  Well, because we've partnered it with a v2 new slimline cartridge.  Our v1 cartridge, over 8m, sold - which was great - could be bettered - it's taken quite a while to ensure it hits our performance targest (LubraStrips last the longest of all cartridges - the Endurium Coating is as good as it ever was) - but this has been a labour of love, and I thank my UK design team ("Andy squared") and the engineering team at our technology partner in making this happen.  After all, it's no good having a car that looks like an Aston, if it doesn't pack a punch like an Aston.  These new v2 cartridges are going into store now in a new 'curved' pack - so - look out for them.

However, The final reason our Azor M is important is genuine COMPETITION.  It allows us to "properly" start taking apart the cosy "monopoly/duopoly" that existed prior to Azor's launch in June 2008.  Since the launch of Azor, we reckon we've saved shaving men & womein the UK upwards of £30m* in reduced costs.  Our competitors don't like this.  And doing it takes us fairly and squarely up against the competitor we know as "Wilkinette".  At launch, many 'derided' our Azor as simply 'another disposable razor'.  How wrong they were.  Not only is it delivering a 10% handle market share, and our cartridge market share is ticking up nicely month by month, but with Azor M (initially available exclusively at Boots - our partner retailer of 16 years), we're now in the System Razor league Big Time.

KOS_Azor_M_00040_v1-1

On this note, when we launched in June 08, "Wilkinette" hardly promoted their products (like, NEVER).  Yet, within 2 years (after we launched Azor - coincidence...?), the three of us are running over 3-500 promotions across all major UK retailers each YEAR.  Just check out Boots, Sainsbury or Tesco tomorrow (and make the point of buying the Azor, as opposed to the 'Expensive that looks Affordable (yet isn't).  That's what happens when "competition" enters the market.  It's good for the consumer (more affordably priced products).  It's good for the retailers (they benefit from increased marketing spends - both defensively (from Wilkinette) and offensively (King of Shaves), and most importantly - it's great for Consumer (Martin Lewis, Money Saving Expert - please note!!!)

So, now, it's time to scale and grow King of Shaves into the Global Brand I know it can be.  We're walking the talk - and you know what - we're deliving.  We WILL BE the Apple of the "ShaveWare" world.  A brand that's innovative, different - better, yet at a price that is affordable to all.  Shortly, I'm to be joined at King of Shaves by a man simply known by me as "iPad".  If you've read my book on King of Shaves (which is to be published in paperback in Spring), you might be able to guess who he is....  I'm so looking forward to working with  him, along with "Team Andy", my "Smarketing Team" headed up by Tim Wright, and all my hard working guys at KoSCo, we're out to be The Future of Shaving. 

To change it for Better, Forever.  So...

Here's to King of Shaves Azor M.  The coolest, highest performing, most affordable system razor - suitable for men & women alike - on the Planet. (IMHO)

*my guesstimate.

More details on the new King of Shaves Azor M will appear here throughout the day (via twitter) & here tomorrow.