Brand Royalty

Reuters Lead With King of Shaves Innovative 'Shaving Bond'!

nobody@vox.com(Will King) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:34:46 +0100

Reuters lead with King of Shaves Innovative Shaving Bond Issue. (original blog post)

(from Reuters - link to article here)

LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - King of Shaves, a British shaving products firm, has invited customers to invest in a 5 million pounds ($8.21 million) bond, showing companies are capitalising on a surge in retail investor demand for such fixed income assets.

Institutional investors have already gobbled up some 200 billion euros ($280.4 billion) of corporate bonds issued in the first half of the year and now retail investors have worked up an appetite too.

King of Shaves' bond is tiny, but a string of big European companies, including oil company BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research), car maker Volkswagen (VOWG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research), Italian oil company ENI (ENI.MI: Quote, Profile, Research) and France's EDF (EDF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) have issued several billions of euros in bonds, partly aimed at small investors and more issues of this kind are expected...

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HSBC Start-up Stars (Marketing Maestros) Presentation, Will King, King of Shaves, British Library

nobody@vox.com(Will King) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:17:03 +0100

Will King, King of Shaves, part 1 (Inspiring Entrepreneurs - Marketing Maestros)

Will King, King of Shaves, part 2 (Inspiring Entrepreneurs - Marketing Maestros)

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King of Shaves, our Shaving Bond and our Reputation. (Is King).

nobody@vox.com(Will King) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:27:01 +0100

King of Shaves. Our Shaving Bond & Our Reputation. (original blog post)

I'm writing this whilst attending the NACDS 'Marketplace' convention in Boston USA, where we're introducing the Azor to US buyers from major drugstores. The show's pretty quiet, but we've had plenty of appointments, and we've had a great reception to it. Sales in the UK are very strong - this week will probably be our biggest sales week ever - helped, no doubt, by the huge publicity surrounding our Shaving Bond issue.

Shavingbondscreen

I wanted to restate again why we decided to issue this innovative savings bond to the general public, and explain in greater depth my rationale, as a couple of recent articles in what I'll call the 'serious' investment sector have questioned us actually doing it, indeed cited it as more risky (than in my opinion) it is. A typical article - this one is on the Investors Chronicle website - can be read here.

Firstly, King of Shaves has been established over sixteen years. Earlier this year, my board and I took the decision to demerge the company from its parent - KMI - along with taking on an inward investment of c£4m. This was done solely so my management team and I could focus on growing the brand, nationally and internationally and allowed my business partner, Herbie, to do exactly the same with KMI Brands - a company that owns or licenses a portfolio of successful brands.

The success of a brand like King of Shaves is entirely reputation based. Every day, over a million men shave with our products - shaving gels, serums & oils - and of course with our razor. If our products don't perform, and deliver a great shave, then simply put, people won't buy them again. However, the overall demand for King of Shaves, reflected in our market share data published by IRI Infoscan, is substantially up. Within 12 months, we've garnered approximately 10% system razor handle market share, and built on our 12% market share of shaving preparations.

Men, and women, enjoy using our products - they buy tens of thousands of them each week, and our brand has grown every year, over the past sixteen years.

So, why did I issue the 'Shaving Bond'? For two reasons:

Firstly, to "involve" fans - evangelists - enthusiasts - of King of Shaves in a way that could help us (spend more money on marketing) and help them (save money over the duration of the bond). Almost everyone I spoke to about the idea prior to the launch loved it, and in many cases, it has been reported very positively.

Timesarticle

Secondly, because it simply seemed like a good idea - the sort of thing a consumer facing, challenger brand would do, to continue its growth in a different, exciting & engaging way. It would get the brand publicity - mostly positive - some, of course, negative - and bring us to a wider awareness. The cost of actually issuing the shaving bond, including legal fees & press advertisements has been a substantial six figure sum - an amount the company is more than capable of investing, alongside our more 'conventional' press & poster ads featuring the 'Better because it Bends' strapline.

Most emails I've received - I would say 99% - have been positive. People seem to be excited about the issue, they want to be part of our success story, and feel they can play a part.

I have made it clear that I'm not after someone's 'life savings' - I am no financial shyster - no Bernard Madoff or Allen Stanford. It's no Ponzi scheme. No ficticious 'Certificates of Deposit' drawn on a bank in the Caribbean with unbelievable rates of return.

This is about involving people in a way that maybe is as much about fun, as raising funds. My ideal would be for between 500 to 5,000 adults, each investing £1,000 apiece, and who understand the risks associated with the Bond issue, as explicitly pointed out on our website. 6% seemed about the 'right' interest level to pay, and with us issuing free product over the bond's duration, the real money saved will of course be more than this. The bond has been professionally laid out by BDO in association with our lawyers, Memery Crystal, and we have followed to the letter guidelines that need to be adhered to regarding this sort of savings/investment opportunity.

Indeed, until you tick the boxes to signify you have read and understood the bond issue, you can't apply. I'm sure some people - massive fans of King of Shaves - will apply without reading the t's and c's, but of course I recommend that everyone who applies reads them, and understands there is a risk associated with the issue.

I can't predict what the future holds - but I can confidently assert that men's beards will continue to grow, if they don't want to grow a beard, they need to shave, and choosing King of Shaves products delivers a great shave.

Whether we raise £500,000 or £5m - I don't mind. We may not even raise £500,000 - the minimum amount. Who knows! It's not been done before, in this way. But, what I do care about passionately, and have done so since the 'get-go' with King of Shaves, is people having trust in our brand's reputation - whether that's in the shaving, or saving, sector and realise that this is a serious way to make some money, whilst helping my team and I continue to build a British brand, largely manufactured in the UK, and sold world-wide.

If you've read this blog post, please do read all the press articles associated with our Shaving Bond. The good, and the bad. And then, make your own mind up whether it's for you. It's your decision.

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King of Shaves Shaving Bond Website Has Visits From People in 423 Conurbations

nobody@vox.com(Will King) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 22:11:24 +0100

Picture 3

According to Google Analytics, our King of Shaves Shaving Bond has had visits from people in 423* cities, towns & villages all over the UK.

*Sunday 28th June 2009.

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Press Ads for King of Shaves Shaving Bond: Sunday Times, Sunday Telegraph, Mail on Sunday

nobody@vox.com(Will King) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 12:04:48 +0100

King of Shaves Shaving Bond Advertisements in the Mail on Sunday, The Sunday Times & The Sunday Telegraph (original blog post)

Three advertisements for the King of Shaves Shaving Bond appear today in the Sunday Papers - Mail on Sunday, Sunday Times & Sunday Telegraph.

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The Times, King of Shaves, Shaving Bonds & Sweeney Todd. My polite response.

nobody@vox.com(Will King) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 23:57:37 +0100

Following the positive article by The Times on our Shaving Bond issue on Tuesday, Patrick Hosking has followed up with a somewhat more sceptical article that looks at our initiative in a little more depth. You can read it by clicking here.

I gave an extensive, open interview with Patrick today, and also put him in touch with a partner at BDO (who approved our Shaving Bond issue). In my eyes, the article reads unnecessarily negatively, with him questioning our business, the data we have made available and other concerns (although to give credit where credit's due, he says it's worth buying our razors!).

Timesarticle

In issuing the Shaving Bond, we took months working out the details of the issue - what it will mean for our (already successful) company, how we will use the funds (marketing leading to brand awareness & continuing sales growth), and why it was far more important to have 5,000 'investor-saver-partners' than one.

The fact that bonds have historically been used by 'blue chip' (ie 'solid') companies means little - GM was 'blue chip' until recently, and many companies, banks, lenders, institutions have had their financial strength downgraded, or been 'bailed out' by us, the taxpayer. On this subject, Patrick writes: "Bonds are traditionally the preserve of big beasts — blue-chip companies or governments that have the track record and resources to gain an impressive credit rating, and big institutional investors that can afford the usually huge minimum investment levels. The foray into this world by a tiddler like King of Shaves is unheard of".

Well, the fact it is 'unheard of' to me means 'maybe more people should hear about the opportunity'. Last year, it would have been 'unheard of' that a 'tiddler' like us would garner 10% system razor handle market share against US$57Bn Gillette. We may be small compared with companies Patrick is more used to speaking with, but we're still a profitable multi-million pound turnover FMCG business. And, as I make it clear in the ads, in my blog postings and in all the interviews, on radio, TV and press, we're not after risking someone's life savings - £1,000 is the minimum amount we chose, and there is a £5,000 maximum that can be invested. I would prefer 5,000 people x £1,000 rather than 1,000 people x £5,000.

The fact we've had thousands of visits to the Shaving Bond offer website is testimony to the interest people have in making a return on their somewhat underwhelming investment options, and why not back a brand that is growing strongly, in the UK, and internationally - a British business daring to succeed in the face of global adversity?

Shavingbondscreen

Simply put, up to 5,000 adults aged over 18, who ideally use King of Shaves, spread all over the UK, to help us spread brand awareness and word of mouth, are the people I'd like to back our Bond. Not the sophisticated "City Investment' types. Not the "professional investors". Regular people, doing regular jobs, who are looking to do things a little bit differently, a little bit better, with - perhaps - a little LESS risk.

After all, 1,000,000 men aren't stopping shaving overnight with King of Shaves.

Sweeney Todd was the 'Demon Barber of Fleet Street'. Well, let me assure you King of Shaves is no cut-throat barber going about business in the backstreets. Our business partners are Boots, Sainsbury & Tesco, our bankers are HSBC, our shareholders are my close friends and family, and as I pointed out in the interview: "The only thing that's certain in the future - is - uncertainty, and the fact men's beards will grow overnight"

I stand by the integrity of our Shaving Bond in the same way I stand by the integrity of our award winning razor, the Azor and the fact we're over 16 years old and maturing nicely.

Maybe I should have called our issue King of Bonds ;-) But I'm not so arrogant as to consider that, King of Shaves 'Shaving Bond No. 1' is just fine.

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The King of Shaves on the King of Pop: The Ultimate Expression Of A Life Less Ordinary?

nobody@vox.com(Will King) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:31:32 +0100

Late last night, whilst updating followers on Twitter regarding our Shaving Bond t's & c's, I coincidentally came across one of the early posts tweeting Michael Jackson's rumoured 'death'.. This was when hashtagIranElection was still top, and the tweets were still relatively few & far between. Within a matter of minutes, the news of Jackson's death started 'trending' - a twitterism meaning that more and more people were tweeting or re-tweeting the news. and within 15 minutes, twitter was 'refreshing' firstly at 200 t's per minute, then, 250 tweets per second - 15,000 people per minute, world-wide, following the news.

Ten minutes or so later, the news was first picked up on by 'mainstream' media, firstly Sky, then BBC, then finally the LA Times, all commenting on the DMZ.com site which has posted the news he'd died first (undoubtedly from someone with a mobile phone within UCLA who knew he'd died, and sent an SMS or emal to a DMZ journo.

Thus, within a matter of sixty minutes, the Whole World knew the King of Pop was rumoured to be dead, then had it confirmed he had died. People who re-tweeted my tweets included Brent Hoberman, founder of Lastminute.com and others.

Never has global news globalised so rapidly. Twitter crashed, as did Wikipedia, even Google slowed in search-indexing "Michael Jackson".

Astonishing. We live at an unusual time, intimately & instantly connected. The death of Jackson, a star since 5 years old has, somehow, had far more 'personal' & 'media' global impact than the recent atrocities in Iran - displacing this global topic down the Twitter trend list within a matter of minutes, and has far more human resonance than the suffering of countless others.

The power of Celebrity - in Jackson's case - Iconic Celebrity is truly awesome.

Michael Jackson certainly lived a life less ordinary. Half genius, half - troubled - human beings are intrigued by this heady cocktail of messiah & crazy. Given we have a global population over 6 billlion, I doubt many of these are unaware of Jackson's death. If only people were aware, and took note of, other important events in the world in the same way. Sadly, Jackson took to the extreme the phrase 'keep the child within you' - this undoubtedly due to becoming a professional performer at an age where kids today would just be starting to go to school, watching Teletubbies or Thomas the Tank Engine. Prodigy will always be exploited, and Iconic Prodigy will suffer this mercilessly. No wonder Jackson sought out the sanctuary of the stage - an environment in which he 'could be himself', and the company of youngsters - again - the ultimate expression of keeping the child within him.

Whether people remember him for Off The Wall, Thriller or Bad - whether they remember him for being too close, personally close, to children, or whether they remember him for trying to remain someone he never had the chance to be - well - that's up to them.

I'll remember Michael Jackson as a musical genius, a nice looking young black guy, who could dance in a way others only dreamed of, and who used music and his black origins to bring joy to the world.

RIP Michael Jackson. Yours was a unique life, and your loss of it is one that will be mourned by millions.

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Over 4,700 Unique Visitors To King of Shaves ShavingBond.com Website.

nobody@vox.com(Will King) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:38:10 +0100

According to Google Analytics, to the 25th June we have had over 4,773 unique visitors to our Shaving Bond website. (In 2 days).

Look out for press advertisements in the quality Sunday papers including The Mail on Sunday, The Sunday Times & The Sunday Telegraph.

The Shaving Bond No. 1 issue closes 31st July 2009.

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King of Shaves Shaving Bond. Huge Interest, In More Ways Than One (6%+ for our savers)...!

nobody@vox.com(Will King) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 21:00:23 +0100

King of Shaves Shaving (savings) Bond... My view...And the interest rate...more than 6%! (original blog post here)

We've had a really encouraging response in the first 24 hours to our Shaving Bond, which is really, really gratifiying. Thousands of visits to ShavingBond.com and I know, a good level of applications. And this is before our adverts, which will run this weekend in a range of quality newspapers.

In addition, I was amazed and impressed with the media response to our Shaving Bond which has been almost universally positive, including 'Quote of the Day' from the London Evening Standard "It's better than the tuppence ha'penny you get down the Nationwide!" Priceless. The value of the PR generated alone for King of Shaves has been in the hundreds of thousands of pounds, I've blogged about my comments on the bond launch on my Brand Royalty blog, read them here.

In trawling the many blog postings on the bond - is it a good thing to invest in - will it work - I came across a particularly insightful one, where the poster pointed out that the interest coupon will actually be in excess of 6%...

Which, of course, it will - as we will be providing free product for the duration of the bond, which you'd otherwise have to buy. We're still working out what this will be - and will be aiming to give our Shaving Bond holders a choice - but it will be in the tens of pounds per person, and of course, this is a direct saving on having to buy our King of Shaves or Azor products from a retailer.

If you choose to subscribe - which I hope you'll consider doing - rest assured that we'll be making your investment with us work on your behalf, over and above the 6% interest rate we're paying on your investment - whether it's £1,000 or £5,000.

Choose different, shave (and save) better with King of Shaves & Azor.

We're going to be the future of shaving (and saving).

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The smarta way to raise finance, engage consumers? Smarta.com think so!

nobody@vox.com(Will King) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:24:27 +0100

Really pleased to read this excellent article by smarta.com too on our Shaving Bond initiative.

King of Shaves - the "smarta" way to shave & save...?

Great!

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