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CELL
PHONE ETIQUETTE
Your cell phone is your anytime,
anywhere communications tool. It faithfully follows you wherever
you go. But using your wireless handset in public places can sometimes
be a disturbance to those around you. Avoid making "faux
pas" by following these simple, common sense tips:
- Turn your handset off, mute the
ringer or use a silent, vibrating battery when you're in a quiet
environment such as a concert hall, theatre or restaurant.
- If you must take a call in
a quiet environment, move to the lobby or another room
- Let your voice mail answer the
call if traffic is heavy or driving conditions are poor.
- Your cell phone keeps your calls
confidential, but your voice can carry to those around you. In
public places, avoid private discussions and loud conversations.
- There are a lot of different
handset rings available to identify your handset ringing. Ensure
the volume is at an appropriate level for your surroundings.
- adapted from Microcell'
Fido
There are a lot of different
handset rings available to identify your handset ringing. Ensure the
volume is at an appropriate level for your surroundings. -
adapted from Microcell'
Fido
Gem-encrusted Vertu phone signals better
times ahead
Let's face it, the last few years have not
been particularly kind to the luxury brand industry. The interest in
and consumption of luxury product has been soft.
Who can blame us? It puts everyone in a bad
mood to not be making as much money as we once were. And bad moods are
not conducive to the heady experience that is luxury brand shopping.
But it appears that things may be changing.
Markets are stronger, money is starting to flow a little more freely
and entrepreneurs are starting new businesses again. Predictably, the
consumerist act of shopping starts to move up the list of favourite
hobbies again.
I have come across a piece of consumerism
that would make the Robb Report blush.
I had started to notice ads in magazines
such as Vanity Fair and Vogue for what seemed to be a
product, the trick being that while the ads were beautifully styled
and full-page and everywhere, you never knew what, in fact, was being
advertised. This went on for months.
Being a victim of my style obsession, I was
endlessly curious as to what this was all about. The product was
called Vertu. That much I knew. After a time, a Web site address began
to appear. Style sleuthing, I went immediately to the Web site to
discover that what Vertu was (other than a remarkable statement about
our consumerist culture - good and bad) was a cell phone that costs up
to $30,000. Yup, you read that right - about the price of that minivan
in your driveway (the minivan thing - that is also an entirely other
story).
Here's the deal. Nokia started a
company on the sly. It did some preliminary research (checking the
number of hits on the Web site presumably being one indicator, the
viral-ness and word-of-mouth buzz being another) to determine whether
there was a market for a phone that was priced more like a high-end Breitling
or Rolex and less like a Timex. And when you think about
it in those terms, why not? There are Louis Vuitton handbags
and there are purses from Wal-Mart. There are Berlutti shoes
for $1,500 and there are shoes from Zellers for $50. To be
clear, the $30,000 phone is platinum and the price range does go down
to about $8,000 for a stainless "instrument," designed for
the thrifty consumer, I'm guessing.
I first made actual physical contact with
the Vertu phone at Selfridges in London. (It's a department
store that makes Holts look like a dollar store. Ironically, Galen
Weston, the owner of Holts, just bought Selfridges. Again,
another story.) There is a Vertu boutique in the store and it has on
display all of the phones - sorry, instruments. Finally, I had a
chance to hear the pitch first hand. At this price, the pitch sounded
more like a justification, but maybe that's just me.
Some technical bits. The phone has a ruby
bearing under each of the keys, thereby assuring that the keys can be
used millions of times without fail. The regular phone that all of us
mortals has can apparently only be pressed half a million times. Shame
really. The pitch revolves around the sheer beauty of the piece. There
is no question that these phones have been designed by artists and it
shows. It's a little piece of architecture.
I've saved the most compelling element for
last. There is a small button on the side of the phone that connects
you automatically to the Vertu Concierge. This virtual assistant can
take care of everything from restaurant recommendations and
reservations to travel arrangements to technical assistance with your
phone. Now that is outstanding.
In seeing the phone up close and personal
and reflecting on the value proposition, I came to a mixed conclusion.
At first blush it appears that the whole Vertu thing is the newest
adventure in the long tradition that is the Emperor's New Clothes. The
attempt to justify the price through functionality is a goofy
exercise. It's like saying that you want the Louis Vuitton handbag
because the stitching is better. That's a blatant untruth. You want it
because it has cachet and that feels good. However, maybe it is that
subtle shift in perception that Vertu has accomplished by moving a
cell phone into the same consumer category as a watch. Good on them.
I think we're on to something here - the
Vertu Index. I can pretty much do the math. As money flows more freely
again, the value proposition changes and the rationalization gets more
intense. We'll all be seeing more Vertu phones and that, my friends,
will signal the beginnings of good times once again.
by Michelle Gahagan Business
in Vancouver November 25-December 1, 2003
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Our Audience
The Case for a Focussed Approach to Marketing to Chinese of the
World |
| |
| |
Millions (000,000) |
Percent of |
| Asia |
50.3 |
91.3 |
| Americas |
3.4 |
6.3 |
| Europe |
0.6 |
1.1 |
| Africa |
0.1 |
0.2 |
| Oceania |
0.6 |
1.1 |
| Sub Total |
55.01 |
Outside Asia |
| |
Total Chinese
in the World: 1,055,000,000 |
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