tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761711113634132743Fri, 11 May 2012 12:19:16 +0000dedicated to the entrepreneurial cause.http://www.louisjvr.com/noreply@blogger.com (Louis Janse van Rensburg)Blogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761711113634132743.post-1736703526221619127Wed, 09 May 2012 12:28:00 +00002012-05-09T14:29:11.878+02:00 Good day Mr. Einsteinhttp://www.louisjvr.com/2012/05/genius.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Louis Janse van Rensburg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761711113634132743.post-5839053878364508252Fri, 09 Mar 2012 09:43:00 +00002012-03-09T11:43:57.687+02:00 A little anecdote about "The Master of Suspense" Sir Alfred Hitchcock: At a French airport one day, the customs official looked suspiciously at Hitchcock's passport, in which his occupation was listed simply as "Producer." "What do you produce?" he asked. ..."Gooseflesh," Hitchcock replied. A lesson in not talking about your product or service's features, but rather it's effect. http://www.louisjvr.com/2012/03/what-do-you-produce.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Louis Janse van Rensburg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761711113634132743.post-6686885988469043633Thu, 08 Mar 2012 20:52:00 +00002012-03-08T22:52:15.956+02:00These guys get it. A slight change, that subtly shifts the focus from 'us' to 'you'. A good example of having a sense of community; knowing how to start the process of attracting a group of people around your company. (source: https://www.facebook.com/crowdinvest)http://www.louisjvr.com/2012/03/understanding-community.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Louis Janse van Rensburg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761711113634132743.post-8683215801156371968Thu, 08 Mar 2012 20:25:00 +00002012-03-08T22:25:47.945+02:00It shocks me how poor - nay lazy - people are when trying to market or sell their product or services to others. Especially when pitching via an email. In particular this is endemic to small businesses. I have thus made a point to reply to sales emails, that is not spam mails, but a person or business legitimately trying to pitch his or her product(s) or service(s) to me. My reply would be http://www.louisjvr.com/2012/03/lazy-marketing-is-endemic-to-smes.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Louis Janse van Rensburg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761711113634132743.post-7310950646210579400Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:25:00 +00002012-02-21T15:25:58.691+02:00 Inventors and the process of invention are two things I will be talking a great deal about in 2012. I hate it when people say this, but really: Watch. This. Space.http://www.louisjvr.com/2012/02/go-invent-something.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Louis Janse van Rensburg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761711113634132743.post-5564923078996217493Fri, 13 Jan 2012 10:13:00 +00002012-01-13T12:16:11.963+02:00 This is pretty debatable I think, but warrants some thinking. Latest research by commenting platform Disqus compares three kinds of commenters: real names, pseudonyms, and anonymous commenters - and finds that pseudonyms lead to higher quality comments and are more engaged and active. For me there are two things that come to mind: 1. Pseudonyms don’t drive communities, but rather is evidence http://www.louisjvr.com/2012/01/disqus-research-pseudonyms-drive.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Louis Janse van Rensburg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761711113634132743.post-622316426640238587Thu, 12 Jan 2012 12:51:00 +00002012-01-12T14:51:56.214+02:00Don't get me wrong, I am an advocate for continues usability testing. Steve Krug's* book "Don't Make Me Think" is still one of my favourite usability reads. It's something we punt extensively as a digital agency. Recently though, I was pointed in the direction of the 30 Top Earning Websites in the world - and ranked #20th is a site: www.sohu.com. Here's the screenshot: Sohu.com's annual http://www.louisjvr.com/2012/01/sohucom-ugliest-richest-website-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Louis Janse van Rensburg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761711113634132743.post-5646345712694253900Mon, 12 Dec 2011 08:52:00 +00002011-12-12T11:24:16.981+02:00 (*re-published from www.ideate.co.za) Saturday night saw the South African launch of Sir Richard Branson’s new book ‘Screw Business As Usual’, in Randlords Johannesburg. I attended and managed to chat to the great man himself. He was his usual effervescent self, clearly loving the challenges of turning traditional business models on their head. I chatted to Sir Rich about education, http://www.louisjvr.com/2011/12/sir-richard-bransons-8-ideas-to-screw.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Louis Janse van Rensburg)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761711113634132743.post-1977551167931686922Fri, 18 Nov 2011 07:10:00 +00002011-11-18T09:10:00.164+02:00 The team at The Heavy Chef Project did an interview with Instagram Founder, Kevin Systrom. I absolutely loved his take on marketing: Q: You have stated you have not “spent a dime on marketing” how has Instagram grown so popular so quickly then? "When you build great products, those products often resonate with people to the point where they’ll do the word of mouth marketing for you. Good http://www.louisjvr.com/2011/11/instagram-founder-kevin-systrom-on.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Louis Janse van Rensburg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761711113634132743.post-2924545532861708826Thu, 17 Nov 2011 10:28:00 +00002011-11-17T12:49:39.004+02:00 Parfums.cz is the 3rd fastest growing tech company in Europe with a 3,995% revenue growth in the last five years. Yep, and they sell perfume. Online. In the Czech Republic. This intrigues me. So, how does one sell perfume via the web? I mean, ultimately you sell something intangible - smell - not a commodity one would expect to easily carry-over to the virtual realm. Does this mean peoplehttp://www.louisjvr.com/2011/11/parfumecz-sweet-sweet-smell-of-success.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Louis Janse van Rensburg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761711113634132743.post-266055506000604045Wed, 16 Nov 2011 18:54:00 +00002011-11-16T21:04:05.343+02:00 Thomas Edison is one of my heroes. Really. I have studied his life story, inventions, achievements and philosophies on many occasions. It was Edison who said - "Anything that won't sell, I don't want to invent. Its sale is proof of utility, and utility is success." Arguably the most prolific and profit-minded inventor who ever lived. In fact, Edison was the first to launch an industrial http://www.louisjvr.com/2011/11/7-traits-of-inventors-culture.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Louis Janse van Rensburg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761711113634132743.post-8827703965477971293Mon, 14 Nov 2011 13:08:00 +00002011-11-14T15:19:50.099+02:00 This campaign from our agency World Wide Creative won a Bronze award within the social media category at this year’s Bookmarks Awards. http://www.louisjvr.com/2011/11/exclusive-books-flashmob-firesale-award.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Louis Janse van Rensburg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761711113634132743.post-8447274323920450178Mon, 14 Nov 2011 12:27:00 +00002011-11-14T14:27:14.135+02:00Where there’s free pizza, people will find it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdgmkJETnd8 This via Paper-Plane.fr: “Yellow Pages has broken away from its traditional testimonial style in its Hidden Pizza Restaurant campaign. The campaign created by Clemenger Proximity Melbourne is part of Yellow Pages annual campaign designed to show potential advertisers how effective advertising in the Yellow http://www.louisjvr.com/2011/11/hidden-pizza-yellow-pages-marketing.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Louis Janse van Rensburg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761711113634132743.post-8780105280845043420Mon, 14 Nov 2011 12:26:00 +00002011-11-14T14:28:17.811+02:00 (via http://www.wwc.co.za/anatomy-of-an-agency)http://www.louisjvr.com/2011/11/anatomy-of-agency-infographic.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Louis Janse van Rensburg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761711113634132743.post-8751888112437337455Mon, 14 Nov 2011 12:26:00 +00002011-11-14T14:27:01.615+02:00http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DPKf7y1F-Q Still one of my all-time favourite commercials.  http://www.louisjvr.com/2011/11/brrrrilliant-guinness-ad-old-favourite.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Louis Janse van Rensburg)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5761711113634132743.post-8253840216475954696Mon, 14 Nov 2011 12:23:00 +00002011-11-14T14:23:48.681+02:00<![if !supportLists]>1.     <![endif]>Your premium brand had better be delivering something special, or it’s not going to get the business. <![if !supportLists]>2.     <![endif]>Wall Street is the only place that people ride to in a Rolls Royce to get advice from those who take the subway. <![if !supportLists]>3.     <![endif]>The business schools reward difficult complex behavior more than http://www.louisjvr.com/2011/11/7-of-best-from-warren-buffett.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Louis Janse van Rensburg)0