Phil Gardner Strategies

White Label Service means we wear your hat!

philgardner — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 04:57:30 +0000

Designers for Hire!

It was my fault as a marketer that I use the term “White label” so easily and actually shouldn’t assume everyone knows what I mean..

Actually, I have 3 lighting designers working full time and as a White label service, it means they can act “without brand”, or actually as any brand you might like!

These guys are all highly experienced and qualified in lighting design and very good technically as they have all worked for technical lighting companies before making the break into pure design.

That means we can offer a technical department to a lighting manufacturer, a design department be that online or by telephone etc, and we use advanced on-line communication techniques like shared screen conferencing etc so we can work with you all over the World. This means companies can run cost effective departments at a fraction of the cost filling and staffing your department or can have additional capacity to help your own team, helping in busy times!

Resilient! a better word than Sustainable?

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:02:43 +0000

I just spent last Friday filming in Amsterdam with John Thackara. (author, speaker and director of Doors of Perception)

03 March - 2010 John Thackara "thoughts" on Sustainability

It is a current marketing project we are making for a German Lighting Manufacturer who is deeply committed to Sustainable Design and we identified several leading “thinkers” on the subject to interview as thought leaders on the subject.

It is always a nice experience to spend one on one time with such interesting people who are well respected and sought after in their field for a reason. But one thing has been at the front of my dilemmas this week, it is the huge variety of interchangeable words people use and misuse when referring to “green and low carbon” or “sustainable” initiatives.

The fear is that words like “green” are already over done and by consequence they lose power and impact as they wash over you, on the other hand to constantly re-invent new terms to keep the meaning “fresh” dilutes the very essence and causes confusion.

I prefer to stick with the term “Sustainable” as for me it corporates not just low energy / low carbon initiatives but moves us towards “things” that last, not just throw away….John’s challenge was that the term “Sustainable” has no ambition….we are doing this effort to keep the status quo, and in fact “Resilient” infers a stronger, bounce back mentality….I’m sure if you discover his work (and others to use this term more and more) you will make your own minds up on which term to use!

UK Lighting Manufacturers: 46 in Danger

admin — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 21:02:16 +0000

01 Feb - 2010 Lighting Manufacturers in the UK in Stormy Weather!

It looks like the 2009 Stormy market for Lighting was almost as bad as we guessed for UK lighting manufacturers! Of the 420 UK Lighting Manufacturers analysed in last years business report, One in Six appear to be selling at a loss and 12 of them have reduced sales volumes for at least 2 years in a row.

Of the manufacturers analysed 46 companies are now classed as “in Danger” for a variety of reasons, be that falling sales and cash etc.

There is good news however because some companies predominantly in the LED business continue to grow and figures of 300% growth over the last 2 years make for good news stories.

As a strategic marketeer in the Lighting Industry I enjoy working with companies in all predicaments! of course everyone likes to work with high growth and successful companies but ensuring the rate of growth is checked with cash planning and infa-structure needs can be tricky. The companies that sometimes give most reward are those with the greatest needs, whereby a fresh pair of eyes can help revise product portfolios and re-invigorate deflated sales teams….One of the greatest dangers for these companies is the loss of talent. Retaining and developing people to get greater efficiency and commitment at difficult times is on the Top 3 list of immediate actions.

Of the 420 companies analysed in the report 6 of them can be identified at “good targets for acquisition” So the market may see some moving and shaking before the storm calms!

How to Profit from Sustainable Lighting

admin — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 20:57:06 +0000

04 Jan - 2010 Sustainable Lighting Design for Professionals

I will be delivering a talk to interior designers, specifiers and retailers alike at the large international “Interiors 2010 show” NEC Birmingham. The organisers asked me to talk about commercial opportunities by adding new services to design and retail companies. The seminar draws upon a challenge of how we think about lighting design in an interior, questioning the way many designers and installers put together a lighting scheme and even levels of light we have become expectant to use.

Sustainable lighting design

The interesting thing is both governments and the population (in majority) have an increasingly unified voice when it comes to wanting to save energy and reduce carbon emissions through better lighting …it is a pet subject of mine and a subject I will often return to in the “Trends” blog. For me the opportunity to use design as well as new (more efficient) technologies to make a difference must be seized upon.

Copies of the talk should be down-loadable after the event on the Organisers web site.