Author: kskylogiannis

How do effective win-to-win partnerships look like

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I keep a close eye in the breakfast cereals market since the early 2000s, when breakfast cereals were relatively underdeveloped as a category in Greece. Together with the growth of pasteurized / “fresh” milk, breakfast cereals grew vastly during the last decade riding on the global health & wellness trend in the food industry.

The category itself has a lot of great characteristics on shelf. The 3 things I particularly like in this category is that there is a pretty clear segmentation (kids / teens / family / muesli / adult / functional), there is room for innovation and experimentation (possibly the only way to differentiate in a category that would otherwise have been a commodity) and lastly there is plenty of available facing space to communicate on pack.

Frozen Cereals Final

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How do effective win-to-win partnerships look like

Dr. John has sung – Right place, wrong time

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This is indeed a beautiful song by Dr. John, but it doesn’t have to be like this in business or in life. Synchronicity in these cases is of paramount importance and a major factor for success.

Allow me to share an experience with you that has to do with the above ie. the synchronicity of time, place and mood state. As every Saturday morning, I took my kids to the swimming pool for their swimming class. After they got into the water, I rushed together with the rest of the parents in the cafeteria for grabbing my morning coffee when I noticed the below booklets on the bench.

Psychogios (800x450)

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Dr. John has sung – Right place, wrong time

Every street has a story – every wall has a tale

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Lately there have been many discussions on graffiti, on who defines public space, on whether the people performing graffiti are artists or vandals.

I’m not the person to judge this, however I would like to share with you on this occasion a practice that Elais-Unilever has adopted on the empty walls of their own premises in Pireaus. The company had asked some years ago from an artist named Stelios Faitakis  to turn the blank walls outside their offices into an art statement.ElaisGraffiti

Now this is an excellent practice! Beside the stunning visual/artistic result which you don’t have to be an art expert to perceive its quality, I like it also for several other business reasons: Continue reading “Every street has a story – every wall has a tale” →

Every street has a story – every wall has a tale

A Dutchman and an Irishman once… told me

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I would like to share with you two stories/conversations that took place during the last month.

First Story: It was a few days before Fat Thursday (ελληνικά: Τσικνοπέμπτη) and I was walking alone, when I ran into this familiar Dutch guy.

– Are you in for barbecue and some beers? He asked me

– That sounds great! I replied

– OΚ, let’s meet on Thursday, I ‘ll get the beers.

Second Story: It was a rainy afternoon in the first week of March in Athens (I always wanted to start a narration with such a cliche) when I encountered an old Irish friend.

– What are you doing on St. Patrick’s day? He asked me with his distinct Irish accent

– I don’t know, I’m staying home I guess. No matter how much I miss Ireland, Irish pubs are quite congested on the 17th of March. I got back to him

– I’ll make sure I will pass by. For ould times sake… he said

– I’ll be waiting for you. I told him and with my mind in Galway, I walked away

You must be wondering who are these guys, right? Well they are not real people but simply… brands! Continue reading “A Dutchman and an Irishman once… told me” →

A Dutchman and an Irishman once… told me

How to W.I.R.E. your business for an “overnight” success

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LOGO TELIKOI admit it. Many times I feel obsessed with the basics. I believe that if the fundamentals are right, then you are most probably half way there. Like electronic experts are fond of neatly wired equipment with a clear architecture, I am amazed of how the coffee brewing company Coffee Island has W.I.R.E.d itself for success.

wires

photo credit: IMG_5071 via photopin (license)

Let me elaborate in the following lines what I have discovered during my visits in their stores and how I came up with this new abbreviation of mine. Continue reading “How to W.I.R.E. your business for an “overnight” success” →

How to W.I.R.E. your business for an “overnight” success

Less is more

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The majority of people prefer simple to complex ideas.

Simple is hard to get, simple is beautiful, simple is ingenious. 

While out in the market, I noticed a hole in the carton tray of a Monster Energy drink case. This was the first time I saw such an opening on a product’s carton tray and it caught my attention. Quickly I realized the brilliant reason behind: this was for letting the best before date, printed on the bottom of the can, visible to consumers and this without having to take the can out of the carton tray!

MonsterHoleThe above hole on the tray is intentionally cut out, to leave the best before date visible

Clever solution for 3 reasons: Continue reading “Less is more” →

Less is more

7 minute crash course on management & marketing fundamentals

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There has been a lot of discussion lately on the importance of academic education and whether this is a prerequisite of a great career / business. Some people are great advocates, some others not. I will not get into the debate on such a dilemma, but rather build on the importance of thousands of real time courses offered for free out there, in the biggest and oldest of universities…the marketplace.

3011781311_8584f2b9c7

photo credit: Sardine via photopin (license)

One of these “courses” took place one Saturday morning in the fish market called “To Stavrodromi”, in Stavros Agias Paraskevis area, where I found myself shopping for our family lunch. Located in a strategic spot, near the port of Rafina and in proximity to many northeastern residential suburbs of Athens, this place always seemed to me a busy vibrant spot that attracted my attention every time I passed by it on weekends. Continue reading “7 minute crash course on management & marketing fundamentals” →

7 minute crash course on management & marketing fundamentals

Cobranding – one story from three angles

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Cafeterias and quick service restaurants are quite popular around hospitals for the quick refueling of doctors, nurses, patients and visitors. Likewise, I visited the ‘Red Fox’  cafeteria near Metropolitan hospital in Faliro to have a coffee. Together with my cappuccino, I was offered a 500ml bottle of water to accompany my beverage. The label immediately attracted my attention as the branding of the Red Fox cafeteria was prominent, with the logo of Nera Kritis (the producer) clearly playing a secondary role. Before jumping into conclusions, let’s examine this practice taking a separate look from 3 different angles:

NeraKritis

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Cobranding – one story from three angles

Humbleness and knowledge

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Citra IPA Septem

Few weeks ago I got Citra India Pale Ale from Septem microbrewery as a treat from a special friend, Amalia. I have to admit, it immediately but subtly grabbed my attention because of its warm, earthy colors and its retro design codes. Beer communication on pack mainly plays with heritage, with medals of distinctions, with bold recognizable names and fancy tag lines such as “probably the best beer in the world”. Howeve,r this beer was not as loud as its relatives and had something humble. Continue reading “Humbleness and knowledge” →

Humbleness and knowledge