Simple Alliance

Sweepstakes

gideon — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:01:24 +0000

Sweepstakes

For business people who seek to make good use of marketing funds, sweepstakes are an advisable option. You would most likely launch a sweepstakes campaign during the preliminary stages of your business’ life cycle. As you do so, you need to go by the relevant marketing and advertising law.

Definition

Sweepstakes refers to sales promotion drives that seek to entice participants into submitting free entries into games of chance. The lucky dips are usually connected to service or product awareness. Some companies could come in to sponsor the sweepstake. Sponsoring firms issue the presented awards. Offered material prizes could comprise electronics, houses, attire, land, livestock, or cars. Cash prizes range from a few shillings to thousands of shillings.

No Entry or Claim Fee

Different from a lottery, a sweepstake does not require participants to pay any monies or to purchase some items. Winners in a sweepstake campaign are also not required to pay taxes or fees so as to receive their prizes.

Motivation

As a business person, you expect to derive several advantages from the sweepstakes initiatives you launch. Key benefits include:

Creating consumer enthusiasm for your merchandise
Growing your sales figures
Gaining new consumers
Directing increased web traffic to your company’s website
Generating incentive responses amongst your consumers
Gathering insightful information from your consumers

Sweepstakes Fundamentals

As in any other venture, you need to put careful thought into the design and roll out of your sweepstakes initiative. Major points to consider include:

The target goal – leads generation or brand awareness?
Your estimated budget amount
The relationship of the sweepstake with your firm
How to identify a valid entry
What takes precedence – quality of participants or participants’ numbers?
After registering, how do you transform participants into your customers?
How to maintain a lasting bond with netted customers
How to evaluate the short- and long-term success of the campaign
How to publicise the drive – preferred communication media
The implementers of the initiative – you or your Public Relations firm?
How to manage the sweepstake on a day-to-day basis

Legitimate Sweepstakes

The Present Context

The current world is rife with deception, be it from politicians, businesspersons, or even physicians. Logically, any decent person would steer away from issues that are likely to taint their name. This is especially so because sweepstakes are basically interactive promotion initiatives. Your mistakes are likely to be speedily communicated among your consumers.

Guiding Principles

The search for authenticity brings us to the principles that guide genuine sweepstakes promotions. These values not only control participant expectations, they also ensure fairness for all. The principles you need to abide by include:

Always prominently identifying your business and its address to customers
Offering clear instructions on how participants can opt out of the promotion
Clearly delineating terms, conditions, and entry rules
Letting pure chance, not monetary inducements, to determine the winner
Unless, skill-based, your sweepstake should not require participants to pay entry or processing fees
Observing truthfulness when mentioning endorsers to avoid misrepresented endorsement announcements
Clearly disclosing participants’ odds of winning

Written Rules

Apart from the above values, you need to put down the specific rules that will govern the sweepstake marketing promotion. Usually, sponsors create these rules. Your Rules document will clarify various pertinent issues in the sweepstake promotion. Key matters include:

Eligibility criteria
Entry procedure
Prize claim process

Benefits to Your Business

As an astute businessperson, you would wonder what gains you would make from a sweepstake campaign. Actually, if properly handled, sweepstakes promise to benefit your business in more ways than one. Major advantages include:

Creating a buzz around your business
Drawing and retaining visitors on your business’ website
Helping you to create your email marketing list
Facilitating reasonably-priced advertising
Providing useful market research information

Summary

We have learned that properly designed and executed sweepstakes drives constitute an important marketing channel. Through sweepstakes, you garner new customers, increase sales, prompt consumer response, attract visitors to your website, and conduct market research. To achieve these wonderful goals, you need to take into consideration certain key principles. Your sweepstake needs to be fair. It should have clear entry, participation, prize claim, and exit rules. Before launching your drive, you need to consider the anticipated cost, its expected impact, evaluation criteria, the benchmarks, as well as preferred publicity avenues. If properly followed, the above guidelines will enable you to gain much business mileage thanks to your sweepstakes campaign. Simple Alliance, your digital solutions partner, will gladly handle any Sweepstake task on your behalf. We will streamline legal issues concerning your sweepstake. Using our lively web platform, we will publicise your campaign. For these and related matters, trust us to give you only the best in service delivery.

Kiamaa

admin — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 14:40:46 +0000

Recently, Simple Alliance successfully delivered on an online investment clubs project called Kiamaa. The project entailed the design and development of a website – kiamaa.com.

Project Background and Motivation

An African terminology, Kiama – sometimes Kiamaa – denotes an assembly. Currently, the term has assumed a popular connotation. Today’s colloquial ‘chamas’ are investment groupings which hold regular social meetings with the aim of contributing and pooling together financial resources. The additional ‘a’ letter – that renders ‘Kiama’ ‘Kiamaa’ – serves an emphasis role. It ascribes ‘truth’ to the Chama institution. Chama then signifies an investment group that is governed by ‘truth’. This Chama ‘truth’ beautifully ties in with the superb, unsurpassed digital records and management services rendered by Simple Alliance.

Kiamaa Website Overview

Cube Elements

Simple Alliance used rounded cubes of different sizes to represent the incremental growth of Chamas. This expansion sees Chamas develop from minions into large investment entities. The growth is facilitated by a bonding revolution as is seen in the grey-to-violet colour change.

Colour

The Kiamaa website features stylish colour, depth, and tone that give it a sophisticated look. Excellent colour and white space principles are evident in the outstanding branding appearing at the heading of this page. Further, the grey borders separating key page areas beautifully utilise grey, blue, and purple colours to highlight aesthetics as well as functionality.

Social Media Links

Being acutely cognisant of the important role played by social media in the contemporary world, we have incorporated the Facebook connect feature onto the Kiamaa website. Users desiring to link the Kiamaa website to their respective Facebook accounts can easily do so by using the relevant feature at the top right side. Through masterful utilisation of greyscale wireless icon as well as the featuring of iconic logos at the bottom right, the page allows users to conveniently link with various social networking sites.

Page Layout

On the web, space is as important as parking lots are in today’s metropolises. Consequently, we have efficiently and professionally used space on the Kiamaa website such that all essential information is featured. The website comprises well-ordered boxes that delineate key areas with grey margins that divide the Kiamaa page into three sections. Functionality that encompasses elegance is always appealing. To this end, the flash imagery, that constitutes play, pause, and scroll capabilities, is a particularly striking feature of the Kiamaa website. Users will find this feature especially useful. A simple mouse pointer action prompts the horizontally tabulated slides to fade in or out, according to user’s desires, thereby displaying more details under the specific table item. To the right side is the third section of the Kiamaa page. Within a translucent tab are drop-down cubon fonts which have a melange of cubes in the background. This organisation highlights the central status of social investment groups in the entire Kiamaa concept. Below these are vertically organised tabs bearing ‘Help’, ‘Information’, ‘Newsletter’, and ‘Follow’ details. Live news updates on local and international market trends are an essential for every business person. The Kiamaa page satisfies this important need by incorporating the ‘Market Information’ tab which allows business persons to receive real-time stocks, markets, and mutual funds news. This information facilitates informed investing decisions. At the bottom of the Kiamaa page are displayed the corporate identities of Simple Alliance and Kiamaa Limited. Indeed, rarely will users enjoy the services of an easy-to-use page as the Kiamaa page. The services offered on the page are clearly unsurpassed. The Kiamaa website really offers a revolutionary way of managing and monitoring investment clubs on the web. To cap it all, the Kiamaa website deliberately encapsulates functional simplicity.

Features

Officials’ Elections
Contributions’ Tracking
Investment Portfolio
Member Management
Daily Stock Price Updates
Loan Calculator
Chat and Online Meetings
Online Voting

Kiamaa.com electronically avails essential information to investment clubs. It takes members through tried and tested how to invest basics. The innovative website facilitates member management, fiscal monitoring, and interactive communication. Its ground-breaking features – for example, a distinctive virtual voting system and daily stock updates – will certainly put your Chama at par with the best.

Scented Creations Identity

admin — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 11:59:00 +0000

Identity

Project and Client Overview

Simple Alliance is pleased to announce the fruitful completion of a logo/identity design project on behalf of Scented Creations. Centred in Nairobi, Scented Creations deals in the development of aromatherapy products. The firm exclusively uses pure essential oils. In certain instances, Scented Creations uses organic essential oils.

Project Prerequisites

Simple Alliance and Scented Creations held joint talks whereby the client’s preferred brand and image were agreed upon. After developing the design synopsis, we cooperatively settled on a friendly, less corporate, and fun identity for Scented Creations. Our client mainly has female clients. This fact led us to select a logo that epitomizes feminine characters. All in all, we resolved that the Scented Creations corporate identity ought to be striking, neat, and professional looking without exhibiting a corporate outlook.

Project Outcome

Adhering to the objectives stipulated in the project outline, we developed a contemporary, tidy, and proficient corporate identity. We topped the goody bag by designing immaculate stationery for Scented Creations. This stationery includes a decent envelope and a business card. Our contented client wholeheartedly accepted our work.

Key Project Elements

Colours

We functionally used three cool feminine colours – beige, pink, and purple. These colours appear in the Scented Creations trade name, the logo, as well as in the text appearing on the stylish business card.

Font

To reflect the non-formal perspective highlighted above, we used a striking handwritten font to spell out our client’s trade name.

Logo

Simple Alliance created a lovely, neat logo comprising the outline of a female body and a lily flower. The food, aesthetic, and commercial uses of various lily varieties make the flower especially suited to our client’s corporate logo. Just like the lily serves various purposes, so does Scented Creations. Our client’s largely female clientele base is reflected in the feminine silhouette.

Letterhead

We developed a simple and immaculate letterhead that is accentuated by lively trade name calligraphy at its bottom. This fun-looking scheme complements Scented Creations’ preferred informal corporate identity.

Envelope

Shana Alexander once said that ‘Letters are expectations packaged in an envelope’. We borrow from this maxim in our creative design of the Scented Creations’ corporate identity envelope. Expectations are foreshadowed by the pink and purple colour scheme of the envelope which embodies femininity. Our client’s relaxed, informal outlook is exemplified by the peaceful letterhead and logo appearing on the top left side of the envelope.

Business Card

We developed a fitting 2-sided business card for Scented Creations. The simple card features properly ordered contact information on the front side. On the reverse side are our client’s identity elements featuring the Scented Creations logo. The purple background colour on the card’s reverse side complements our client’s letterhead. The beige front background matches the Scented Creations envelope.

Midhill Health

admin — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 14:10:31 +0000

The fresh Midhill Health website is another of Simple Alliance’s recent breakthrough web design projects.

Website Feature Summary

Colours

We used cool blue and green colours that suit a medical health facility. These colours are employed in the font used for the text as well as in the interactive pause, play, and scroll imagery appearing at the middle of the home page.

Well-Ordered Page Layout

The Midhill Health website offers a pleasant easy-to-follow arrangement of information. This plan includes features such as: a striking corporate identity cum trade name; search bar; language swap tool; dynamic pause, play, and scroll imagery; user-friendly information dropdown panel; service synopsis list; and a cursor-sensitive social network link bar.

Corporate Identity cum Trade Name

At the very top of the homepage, to the left side, is our client’s majestic corporate identity and trade name – Midhill Health Maternity and Nursing Home. These features highlight our client’s core business – providing health care services. To the extreme right is the phone address of our client. The constant reachability of Midhill Health is thus emphasised.

Search Bar

Located just below our client’s phone contact details, the search bar facilitates ready perusal of the services on offer. After keying in the relevant information, users quickly get to whatever they intend to.

Language Swap Tool

To embrace diversity, we have incorporated a handy language change feature into the Midhill Health website. Accommodating over fifty local and international languages, this feature makes the website and our client really global.

Information Dropdown Panel

Strategically placed opposite the language feature, the dynamic information panel allows users to browse and study specific details about our client. This panel comprises tabs such as Home, About Us, Careers, Services and Specialities, as well as Contact Us. Being cognisant of the requirements for accurate geographical mapping of facilities, we have integrated the Google map facility into the Contact Us tab.

Pause, Play, and Scroll Imagery

This catchy visual display spells out our client’s mandate and mission at a glance. The dynamic nature of this feature further adds to the website appeal. Users can – through manipulating the Pause, Play, and Next buttons – prompt the site to do their bidding. The imagery elements can halt or modify their slide show movement at the click of a mouse button.

Service Synopsis List

Users who may not have ample time to read entire service explanations will benefit from the concise service synopsis list appearing under the interactive imagery feature. The carefully summarised data under each service category offers readers an accurate overview of each class of services offered by Midhill Health.

Social Network Link Bar

Simple Alliance acknowledges and appreciates the central role of social networking in today’s communication sphere. To this end, we have added the must-have connection icons to various social networking sites. Users can thus comfortably shuffle from their respective social networks and right into the Midhill Health website. Motherhood worries can be easily articulated and tackled through the social sites.

Copyright Notification

We have placed the Midhill Maternity & Nursing Home and the Simple Alliance corporate identity names at the foot of the page.

Sunobari

admin — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 11:43:20 +0000

www.sunobari.com

The new official Sunobari site with a stylish design to suit the products on sale. Incorporating Paypal, MPesa Merchant integration, Postcode Anywhere and Special/Custom orders process.

Postcode Anywhere integration
Multi-currency
Bespoke design
Multiple checkout methods
Special requests

Hotel t.h.i.s

admin — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 00:01:43 +0000

We are pleased to annouce the launch of hotelthis.com, our service line dedicated to online services for the travel services.

Otto Mruttu

admin — Tue, 18 May 2010 16:16:18 +0000

Otto Mruttu + Partners Architects is an award-winning, design-led architectural practice in Nairobi, Kenya. The practice has impressive collective expertise across a broad range of sectors and building typology, including cultural, living, workspace, hotel and leisure, education, infrastructure, logistics, business parks and major masterplanning projects both in Kenya and internationally. Site: www.ottomruttu.com Modules

Portfolio – Categorised portfolio, richly presented using Flash Slideshow, each item managed in bespoke CMS
Company Information – hierarchical Multi level subpages / child pages
People – Careers, Staff and leadership
Services – – hierarchical Multi level subpages / child pages

Technology (LAMP)

Operating System: Linux
Database: MySQL
Server: Apache
Software and Other: PHP, jQuery, JavaScript, SlideShowPro
Custom CMS

Hotelthis Identity

admin — Sat, 01 May 2010 00:01:43 +0000

T.H.I.S is a small and rapidly growing global brand that produces fashionable, individually designed websites for hotels that are distinguished by their features, quality design, contemporary styling and elegance. Design stationery to match the glossy, exclusive style of the company website www.hotelthis.com. The logo and corporate identity design needed to be clean, professional and eye-catching, stay away from an “overly corporate” feel.

Font: Arial
Colours: 3 colours (2 shades of blue and variations of grey)

Logo

Technology meets the travel industry, fun yet conveys a simple message that hotelthis provides IT solutions for the hospitality industry.

Letterhead

Clean and simple letterhead that has a playful footer that goes along with the company website.

Envelope

Created using one of the shades of blue, includes the logo and footer in style similar to the letterhead and website.

Business Card (Front & Back)

Two sided business card, with simple back for identity and well arranged contact information on the front. Front and back done in 2 different background colours. The front background matches the letterhead and back of the business card matches the envelope.

Favicon

Simple favicon for use on the website, done in a solid blue background and includes the hotel skyline design of the logo.

Kiamaa Identity

admin — Sat, 01 May 2010 00:01:28 +0000

The logo and corporate identity design needed to be clean, professional and eye-catching, stay away from an “overly corporate” feel.

Font: Lucida
Colours: 2 colours (blue and variations of grey)

Logo

Technology meets social investing, fun yet conveys a simple message that kiamaa provides IT solutions for investment clubs.

Letterhead

Clean and simple letterhead that has a playful footer that goes along with the company website.

Envelope

Created using one of the shades of blue, includes the logo and footer in style similar to the letterhead and website.

Business Card (Front & Back)

Favicon

Simple favicon for use on the website, done in a solid blue background and includes the hotel skyline design of the logo.

Samadari Identity

admin — Sat, 01 May 2010 00:01:08 +0000

The logo and corporate identity design needed to be clean, professional and eye-catching, stay away from an “overly corporate” feel.

Font: Arial
Colours: 2 colours (Black and White)

Logo

Technology meets the travel industry, fun yet conveys a simple message that samadari provides travel services to the knowledgeable traveller.

Letterhead

Clean and simple letterhead that has a playful footer that goes along with the company website.

Envelope

Created using one of the shades of black and white, includes the logo and footer in style similar to the letterhead and website.

Business Card (Front & Back)

Favicon

Simple favicon for use on the website, done in a solid blue background and includes the logo outline.