This is going to sound rather strange, but please bear with me. Have you ever been around someone that smelled odd? Perhaps the odor of cat boxes or body odor? Or, someone wearing a powerful perfume or after shave? Have you found yourself easing just out of “range” of the smell when you had to interact with that person? How far away did you have to get to lessen the smell? About two feet? More?

If that is the range of their “odor aura,” just imagine that as the range of their “aura of influence.”

Or, perhaps you’ve been around someone that you instantly didn’t trust. Did you “ease away” from them? About how far? Maybe two or three feet before you felt safe?

On, the other hand, did you ever notice how close you were to someone that you instantly liked and trusted? You might have moved even closer to share that aura.

We each have an “aura of influence” that we emminate. For good or bad, it is there. Some would call this the “spiritual body.” Others have no name for it, but are aware it is there. Whatever you wish to label it, it is there for each of us.

So, think about this, what is YOUR aura of influence like? Is it one that people would trust and want to be close to? Is it one of anger, dislike, hate, pain, or fear? Perhaps it is one of happiness and caring.

You have the power to create your aura of influence into whatever you would want it to be. Simply by “being” what you would like it to be. Let me explain.

Your emotional state fuels your aura of influence. If you are in a foul mood, it will affect your aura. If you are in a loving mood, it will affect your aura. Not only that, but your aura will affect people around you. Even if you don’t exert your own mood, have you found others being crabby when you’re in a bad mood, or, have you noticed others are really easy to get along with when you’re in a good mood?

Envision yourself in a loving, all-is-right-with-the-world mood. People want to be around you and that affects their moods. They pass that on to others they’re around all day. Those others pass it around to more people. Can you see how wide an influence you really have?

By the same token, envision yourself in the opposite mood. Your influence will still reach out in large circles, but for the worse rather than the better.

Quoting from Ralph Waldo Trine’s book, “In Touch with the Infinite” (copyright 1897), “You and I have the predominating characteristics of an optimist or the predominating characteristics of a pessimist. We then are making, hour by hour, our own heaven or our own hell; and in the degree that we are making the one or the other for ourselves are we helping make it for all the world beside.”

I’ll ask again–what is YOUR aura of influence like? Be an optimist by being a loving, grateful person and, as Mr. Trine says, help make the world a heaven right now.

C. Rogers Upson is a published author on several websites and in several anthologies. This article can be published on your website or in your newsletter, so long as the resource information is intact and nothing is changed. Her website is http://www.edragonmarketing.com and she has a blog at http://edragonmarketing.blogspot.com.

Some of us are fortunate enough to live where we can golf year-round. Others of us enjoy winter vacations to locales, either in the U.S. or abroad, that boast the sunny, dry weather that makes an afternoon on the links one of life’s greatest pleasures. As for the rest of us, well, we longingly await the coming of spring and our next round of golf.

Whether we’re just learning the game or are avid players, this is the perfect time of year to haul out our equipment and make sure we’re prepared for the coming season. Here are some things to consider when gearing up:

Golf Clubs: Look at your golf clubs and think about your game. Do your clubs show your ability to its best advantage, or are they relics whose time has long passed? If you’re ready for a new set (or even a new driver or putter), you can’t go wrong with TaylorMade, Callaway, or any other premium brand. If you can’t afford the best, Callaway pre-owned golf clubs are certified and will help you get the most from your game. This is particularly true for women, who benefit from Callaway’s commitment to incorporating the technology of men’s clubs into lighter, shorter clubs with smaller grips.

Golf Shoes: You can’t develop a great swing unless you have good golf shoes that give you the kind of grip you need on sloped fairways or in the wet rough. Plus, you need a well-fitting pair of shoes that will ensure your comfort as you walk the course. There are many excellent brands of shoes available, some with soft spikes and others that are spikeless. The style, materials (leather vs. manmade), and extra features (like gels that are responsive to your foot’s temperature) are a matter of personal taste, but comfort and functionality are key.

Golf Apparel: With an unprecedented number of styles and fabrications, there’s no reason you can’t both look and feel great on the course. For men, there are a wide variety of long- and short-sleeved shirts, sweaters, and slacks. Women can definitely make a fashion statement on the links with solids and prints in stylish color palettes. Whether your prefer skirts, skorts, or shorts, and whether you favor tanks over short-sleeved tops, you can easily find golf apparel that makes you feel terrific during the game and in the clubhouse.

Golf Accessories: As you’re looking over your equipment, don’t forget to check on your glove. You want to ensure that you have a great grip, so be sure to find one that has a great fit and that feels great. While you’re at it, make sure that you have a hat, moisture-wicking socks, and other golf accessories that will enable you to keep your mind on your game.

Golf Balls: Every golfer has his or her favorite golf balls, but if you haven’t tried out some of the new offerings, it’s always fun to experiment. Nike, Callaway, TaylorMade, and Bridgestone all have many different styles from which to choose.

Once you have your equipment in order, all that’s left is to patiently wait for the weather to clear and then hit the links.

Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing companies on the web.

Learn more about Gear Up Your Golf Equipment or Majon’s Sports directory

Congratulations on the birth of your little one! Now, you want to show the world just how precious they are, and why not do it with photo birth announcements? Well, actually, you may have come up with a number of reasons why not but we will show you a great solution that will allow you to experience the great benefits of photo birth announcements without all those pesky problems.

Reasons for Not Having Photo Birth Announcements

Well, we might as well come right out and say it – photo birth announcementsare usually expensive and time-consuming when you probably have very little money and time. It takes time and money to get all those photos printed, write in each one, stick all those stamps on the envelopes, address the envelopes, and then still send them out. Oh, and another problem is that you’re not even sure they will arrive after all of this.

As a new mom or dad your time is really precious. Baby is taking up a lot of it and you still need time to eat, sleep and shower yourself so time is one thing you do not have. Money is probably scarce after buying all those new baby items too so if you can save money you will. Well, as we say, this is USUALLY the case with photo birth announcements but not always and we will tell you why…

Baby Photo Birth Announcements Online

Today you can quickly and easily put up a web page for free (you can sign up for a free web page at Events Listed Photo Birth Announcements). Once your web page is up you can put up all the photos you like (after all, it is free – you don’t have any printing costs). You will also be able to add audio clips, video, other little notes and really whatever you feel would make your photo birth announcement just too precious and help express your excitement on the birth of your new baby.

If you are having one of those announcement parties to announce the birth of your new baby then you can also send out invitations via your web page and collect responses.

This also acts as a permanent reminder and you can keep it up as long as you choose – go back and add little notes about baby’s first words, take some videos of when baby learns to walk and put these up, and add to the web page as baby grows up. Then one day when these days are long past you, and your now grown child, will be able to look back at these precious moments with joy because of the way you have captured it forever.

Don’t get put off by the problems associated with photo birth announcements, instead just change your tactics – put all those photos as well as audio and video online and you will be able to make an even cuter announcement for free and still have time left for all those other things that make the life of a new mom or dad hectic. Remember, you also want time to enjoy the little one, so go now and quickly put up that cute photo birth announcement online.

Tamara Ford is the wife of an Internet Entrepreneur who specializes in Event Launch Marketing applying social media and internet marketing strategies. “I initially started writing to help my husband and have since become hooked”. If the content of this article interests you, you may be interested in reading another article I have submitted titled Baby Girl Birth Announcements or you may want to visit our site to learn more about our free web publishing tool for Kids Parties

Before we begin if you have no idea what custom embroidery is, it’s the process of forming decorative designs on objects with needlework. For your business this can be your company name, logo, slogan or all three stitched on a hat, shirt or other product.

It’s easy to get your companies information on clothing from an online store. Usually you only need to select the type of product you want embroidered and upload your graphic or text wait 2-4 weeks and then start marketing.

The best part is it’s not just a one shot and done advertisement such as TV or Radio commercial it is a multi-viewable advertisement that a potential customer has the opportunity to see over and over again. Even if they’re not currently in the market for your product or company at the time they view it, you’ve planted the seed.

According to the Bender Graphics Blog; they created a custom shirt to help the Red Cross raise money for September 11 relief and from a post dated May 2 2008 “Just yesterday I saw one of those shirts being worn around town. That was six years ago”.

It also allows for another portion of the marketing spectrum; customer trust. Unlike the above mentioned TV or Radio commercial or even a billboard on the side of the road it adds a face to your business, every one of those embroidered products that is seen being worn by another person is a personal endorsement from the wearer that they like and respect your company. There is nothing better than a personal endorsement for selling your business or product.

Think Nautica, Calvin Klein, Polo or Kenneth Cole every piece of apparel they manufacturer comes with an embroidered Logo or name on it. The person wearing that article of clothing is actually advertising your company to every person that sees them wearing it.

It doesn’t even need to be someone buying your apparel. If you create a company shirt you can have all your employees wear it to work. They’ll then be seen at other places advertising your company such as the grocery store, hair stylist or dentist. You can even give them to your current clients whenever they make a purchase; you never know when they’ll wear it and who may ask about you and your company.

Don’t you want thousands of mini custom billboards advertising your business over and over again? What are you waiting for?

If you want Custom Embroidery or some Custom Hoodies for your companies marketing strategy talk to Bender Shirts.

This is going to sound rather strange, but please bear with me. Have you ever been around someone that smelled odd? Perhaps the odor of cat boxes or body odor? Or, someone wearing a powerful perfume or after shave? Have you found yourself easing just out of “range” of the smell when you had to interact with that person? How far away did you have to get to lessen the smell? About two feet? More?

If that is the range of their “odor aura,” just imagine that as the range of their “aura of influence.”

Or, perhaps you’ve been around someone that you instantly didn’t trust. Did you “ease away” from them? About how far? Maybe two or three feet before you felt safe?

On, the other hand, did you ever notice how close you were to someone that you instantly liked and trusted? You might have moved even closer to share that aura.

We each have an “aura of influence” that we emminate. For good or bad, it is there. Some would call this the “spiritual body.” Others have no name for it, but are aware it is there. Whatever you wish to label it, it is there for each of us.

So, think about this, what is YOUR aura of influence like? Is it one that people would trust and want to be close to? Is it one of anger, dislike, hate, pain, or fear? Perhaps it is one of happiness and caring.

You have the power to create your aura of influence into whatever you would want it to be. Simply by “being” what you would like it to be. Let me explain.

Your emotional state fuels your aura of influence. If you are in a foul mood, it will affect your aura. If you are in a loving mood, it will affect your aura. Not only that, but your aura will affect people around you. Even if you don’t exert your own mood, have you found others being crabby when you’re in a bad mood, or, have you noticed others are really easy to get along with when you’re in a good mood?

Envision yourself in a loving, all-is-right-with-the-world mood. People want to be around you and that affects their moods. They pass that on to others they’re around all day. Those others pass it around to more people. Can you see how wide an influence you really have?

By the same token, envision yourself in the opposite mood. Your influence will still reach out in large circles, but for the worse rather than the better.

Quoting from Ralph Waldo Trine’s book, “In Touch with the Infinite” (copyright 1897), “You and I have the predominating characteristics of an optimist or the predominating characteristics of a pessimist. We then are making, hour by hour, our own heaven or our own hell; and in the degree that we are making the one or the other for ourselves are we helping make it for all the world beside.”

I’ll ask again–what is YOUR aura of influence like? Be an optimist by being a loving, grateful person and, as Mr. Trine says, help make the world a heaven right now.

C. Rogers Upson is a published author on several websites and in several anthologies. This article can be published on your website or in your newsletter, so long as the resource information is intact and nothing is changed. Her website is http://www.edragonmarketing.com and she has a blog at http://edragonmarketing.blogspot.com.

Los Angeles, CA, USA August 15, 2008. Amongst the protests of antiwar and economic uncertainty growing stronger with no end in site, I would like draw attention to artwork from the 1960’s that has made an impact on my life. Remember the day glow posters and black lights? Remember the rock art from The Fillmore play bills we all saved? Remember the image from Hair the American Tribal Love Rock Musical? All these and more will always hang in my mind as remembrance of a time of innocence. Drugs, Sex and Rock and Roll were a part of most of the baby boomers lives when we were not afraid to get stoned and attend an antiwar peace protest. I will always remember protesting the Vietnam War in NYC and a blurry instance of running over the rocks and hills in Central Park when we were chased by police at a Schaefer Music Festival Concert in Central Park. We can all relive the experiences of going to Led Zeppelin, Edgar Winter, Johnny Winter, Black Sabbath, and Grand Funk Rail Road concerts…what a time we had….Quaaludes, Benzedrine, Tuinals, Seconals. Boones Farm anyone? Though the majority of of us are all clean and sober now…it is still fun to reminisce those great days.
The memories I have of the Hippie movement are resonating more today than ever with the revival of Hair the American Tribal Love Rock Musical free concert at Central Park’s Delacorte Theater. The message is resonating more strongly with the youth and young adults of the world today than perhaps ever before. When asked recently about the resonance and resurgence of this iconic symbol on today’s young adults, the plays legendary producer, Michael Butler, answered emphatically, “It isn’t coming back, it never left, Hair’s message is more relevant today than its ever been. Over 11 million people have seen the play, an estimated quarter of a billion have heard the music. It’s in dozens of productions around the world as we speak. In fact, a third of all American actors have had some association with Hair. Its been a force for good for almost four decades.”

The Age of Aquarius times of running around as free as a bird was a time in history when we lived in the moment without a worry in the world. Hair, the first ever rock opera, opened in 1968 and all of us would travel into the city form Long Island and New Jersey to participate in this communal offering giving us an insight into the decade of the flower children which we were all very much a part of. It shocked audiences for its lyrics and subject matter, as well as onstage nudity. The original script contains a nude scene, but it is not essential to the plot and individual productions may or may not choose to include it. The original script also contains some racist language which again, may be edited on today’s stage.

As reported recently in “USA Today” the New York based trend forecasting think tank, The Trends Research Institute, found something unique in American history, a new generation looking back in time for inspiration… specifically, the 1960’s.

“Hair” grew out of a new downtown ethos embraced by the radical – and charismatic – Joseph Papp, who in the mid-’60s was adding the Public Theater to his New York Shakespeare Festival in Central Park. After a brief run at a nightclub called Cheetah, the show was picked up by Michael Butler, heir to a Chicago paper fortune. He had it restaged by Tom O’Horgan, and readied for Broadway in 1968.

“As I look through my old posters, play bills, and concert flyers I’ve collected through the years I have such fond memories of growing up in the 60’s. As a young girl living in Southern California life was quite enjoyable. Saving my allowance to buy the latest albums, going to concerts…it was all so exciting. One of my most happy memories is seeing the touring production of the musical Hair…and I still have the play booklet. Over the past few years I have been collecting Hair posters from all over the world, in different languages from different Tribes! The best poster in my collection is the reproduction of the original from the 1968 Broadway opening There is something mesmerizing about the aura photographed around the actors head. I love the colors of this art piece of which promote brotherly love and world peace.”…..states Myrle Atchley from Mississippi.

There are many great 60’s pop artists; I love Andy Warhol, John Van Hamersveld, Roy Lichtenstein, and Bob Massy. There is something really special about the work that Russoli and Rodriquez created for Hair. They were experimenting the aura technique in photography. When approached by Producer Michael Butler with the idea to create the marketing for the new play, he introduced them to Steve Curry, one of the original actors in the soon to open Broadway production of Hair. The play opened on April 29th at The Biltmore Theater in NYC and sold out every night and ran for 1,750 performances. I was 16 years old at West Hempstead High School when my girlfriend’s mom took us into Manhattan to see the show.

Forty years later, I love the art hanging on my wall. Frame and hang and enjoy as art takes you through the memories and the journey of our lives.

Art imitates life and as we witness today’s youth letting there hair down and getting that what we lived through in the sixties parallels with what is happening in the world today.

On with the Hairy revolution.

Ace Ross – Friends of Cashmere – http://www.friendsofcashmereboutique.com

This is going to sound rather strange, but please bear with me. Have you ever been around someone that smelled odd? Perhaps the odor of cat boxes or body odor? Or, someone wearing a powerful perfume or after shave? Have you found yourself easing just out of “range” of the smell when you had to interact with that person? How far away did you have to get to lessen the smell? About two feet? More?

If that is the range of their “odor aura,” just imagine that as the range of their “aura of influence.”

Or, perhaps you’ve been around someone that you instantly didn’t trust. Did you “ease away” from them? About how far? Maybe two or three feet before you felt safe?

On, the other hand, did you ever notice how close you were to someone that you instantly liked and trusted? You might have moved even closer to share that aura.

We each have an “aura of influence” that we emminate. For good or bad, it is there. Some would call this the “spiritual body.” Others have no name for it, but are aware it is there. Whatever you wish to label it, it is there for each of us.

So, think about this, what is YOUR aura of influence like? Is it one that people would trust and want to be close to? Is it one of anger, dislike, hate, pain, or fear? Perhaps it is one of happiness and caring.

You have the power to create your aura of influence into whatever you would want it to be. Simply by “being” what you would like it to be. Let me explain.

Your emotional state fuels your aura of influence. If you are in a foul mood, it will affect your aura. If you are in a loving mood, it will affect your aura. Not only that, but your aura will affect people around you. Even if you don’t exert your own mood, have you found others being crabby when you’re in a bad mood, or, have you noticed others are really easy to get along with when you’re in a good mood?

Envision yourself in a loving, all-is-right-with-the-world mood. People want to be around you and that affects their moods. They pass that on to others they’re around all day. Those others pass it around to more people. Can you see how wide an influence you really have?

By the same token, envision yourself in the opposite mood. Your influence will still reach out in large circles, but for the worse rather than the better.

Quoting from Ralph Waldo Trine’s book, “In Touch with the Infinite” (copyright 1897), “You and I have the predominating characteristics of an optimist or the predominating characteristics of a pessimist. We then are making, hour by hour, our own heaven or our own hell; and in the degree that we are making the one or the other for ourselves are we helping make it for all the world beside.”

I’ll ask again–what is YOUR aura of influence like? Be an optimist by being a loving, grateful person and, as Mr. Trine says, help make the world a heaven right now.

C. Rogers Upson is a published author on several websites and in several anthologies. This article can be published on your website or in your newsletter, so long as the resource information is intact and nothing is changed. Her website is http://www.edragonmarketing.com and she has a blog at http://edragonmarketing.blogspot.com.

It’s 08 – Are your packaged products ready for prime time? Here are a few insightful tips to help you out.

There are many packaging issues afloat in the minds of the consumer.
We just came off the traditional “wrap rage” cycle that stirs everyone into a frenzy around the holidays. Be aware that it’s still an issue to contend with in the minds of the consumer. Clamshells, twist ties and difficult to open packages still get mileage in the media.

Packaging has many detractors. We are getting serious scrutiny from everyone in the realm of environmental sustainability, less packaging, more environmentally friendly packaging, save the earth packaging and so on. Every week I read about a new packaging crusade that is supposed to solve our environmental woes. But I have been researching for an upcoming presentation Sustainable Packaging – From Green To Great. The lack of new packaging innovation to solve the problem is quite distressing. Most of what I am seeing revolves around the same supplier using the same packaging materials. Unfortunately, a lot of it is smoke and mirrors that touts “green” but does not back it up with true sustainable documentation. There are a few good examples of innovation. In researching environmentally friendly lipstick tube examples, the results were woefully inadequate. “Cargo Plant Love Biodegradable Lipstick” was the only company I discover (with a great marketing story I might add).

So, I pose these questions to all product packaging developers. How green are you? Do you want to be? Do your consumers and your target demographic even care whether you are green or not? This is going to be one of the prime time packaging issues in 08 so you better make some serious strides in deciding what you want your product packaging to reflect.

Another key matter will be product security, integrity and product origination. (AKA – The Made in China Syndrome) Currently the Made in China tag is becoming a political hot button. One of the trends I am starting to see is a China backlash. Products made and packaged in China are coming back to the US. Some companies are using China Free on their product packaging as a marketing tool — and it’s helping sales.

People are reading labels AND scrutinizing them. What it says on that label will influence whether they buy your product or not. I just read that cloned meat will be coming on the market in a few years. At present, the FDA won’t require food makers to label that their products came from cloned animals. ICK!! I’d want to know from the product packaging and, I believe, so would most consumers. The point being is that any high profile package or product will be looked at thoroughly by consumers. What you tell them better be the right message and true.

Watchdog groups about and they are on the lookout for your product to make a mistake. Whether they deem you are marketing to an inappropriate market (EX: Spykes marketing liquor to children) or that your packaging isn’t telling the whole truth (Ex: McDonald’s and all the other fast food companies and fat content), it’s sure to become newsworthy and in the worst case scenario could seriously impact your business.

Consumers are fickle. What is a hot issue today may be gone tomorrow. However, in the interim if you are not on target with the right packaging message you may alienate them or force them to buy a competitor’s product because your packaging is not sending the right packaging message.

So, before you embark on any new packaging campaign in 08 understand and incorporate into your product packaging what the consumer wants to know about the product. Be sure your packaging is ready for prime time to the right consumer with the right marketing message.

Need to know whose got the latest concepts in packaging innovation? I know that’s what I do-track packaging trends and innovation and how it is going to impact your business. Get
connected with me JoAnn Hines Packaging Diva through my websites listed below or by phone 1-678-594 6872.

I package people, products and services. Get started in the right direction packaging anything by visiting any one of my websites for free advice, articles or just plain help. You can ask a question to a packaging expert too, list your packaging request, subscribe to my complimentary newsletter Packaging News You Can Use or just visit my website to ask me your packaging question. I *will* find your perfect packaging solution!

Personal Website: http://packagingdiva.com/

Corporate Website: http://packaginguniversity.com/

Packaging Help: http://packagingcoach.com/

JoAnn Hines (The Packaging Diva) work is featured in Package Design magazine, Shelf Impact, Webpackaging and many other packaging portals and magazines. In the months of Sept. and Oct. her packaging commentary was used in Chicago Tribune (2), Entrepreneur Magazine and Cision. She is recognized as one 50 most influential packaging leaders in the 20th Century and the founder of Women in Packaging.

The Sex and the City New York City movie premiere was held on Tuesday, May 27th at Radio City Music Hall. Anyone who is anyone hit the red carpets to view the premiere and then mingle with the socialites at the Rockefeller Center after-party. The party was supposed to be at the MoMa, but apparently it wasn’t big enough. Seriously, how is a museum not big enough!? But anyways, that’s how big this event was in the lives of so many Manhattan higher-ups.

Seeing that the Sex and the City movie’s main focal point is fashion — and brought designers and fashionista-wanna-be’s by the droves to the theaters — everyone’s eye was (obviously) on Sarah Jessica Parker at the premiere. People were dying to see what she would wear. So imagine her surprise when she found out that her beautiful Nina Ricci gown was worn not once, but twice before! Some may say that Sarah Jessica Parker reacted snobbishly, but I highly disagree. When you are viewed as a fashion icon, and all eyes are constantly on you to see what you are going to wear, it is not cool to be wearing a third-hand dress.

Apparently, SJP was assured by the gown’s designer, Olivier Theyskens, that the dress had never been worn. In truth, it had been photographed on socialite Lauren Santo Domingo at the Metropolitan Museum ball gala in New York City less than a month earlier, and was also worn by Lindsay Lohan for a photo shoot in Los Angeles last winter. I fully support Ms. Parker for being just a teensy bit upset.

In all the mayhem I did notice one very glorious thing about Sarah Jessica’s ensemble at the NYC premiere — the necklaces! At her neck, SJP wore three antique necklaces by Fred Leighton — a 19th-century diamond riviere necklace, a 19th-century diamond and pearl fringe necklace and a 19th-century gold diamond snake necklace. You might not be able to find such vintage pieces at your local boutique, seeing as this jewelry is owned by the American Folk Art Museum, but you can bet that the ever-popular layered look will continue to be a trend and that fringe-style gold necklaces will soon be seen hitting the streets!

Alexandra is the Head of Marketing and Sales for Mademoiselle Jewelry – a company that was founded on the principal that jewelry is art. Mademoiselle Jewelry specializes in unique jewelry, sterling silver jewelry, and designer jewelry. Each piece of jewelry is hand selected for quality, uniqueness, and creativity. Mademoiselle Jewelry also carries jewelry lines specifically designed for men and children.

They sound like characters from an action video game – Orange Monster, Black Samurai, White Knight – but in fact, they’re three of the hippest watches made by Seiko and are much sought-after by wealthy enthusiasts and collectors, particularly in Asia.

This may come as a surprise, but Seiko watches are gaining an image as hip and collectable. In many parts of the world, the Seiko watch brand has been seen as reliable, but unremarkable. But look closely and an exceptional story begins to emerge.

Seiko burst onto the international watchmaking scene in 1969, when it caught off-guard and almost destroyed the Swiss watch industry with the launch of the Astron, the world’s first battery-powered quartz wristwatch. The Astron was more accurate and durable than the hand-wound mechanical Swiss watches costing several times as much. Overnight, demand for mechanical watches plummeted.

Many watchmaking innovations over the past three decades are probably due to Seiko: the first quartz watch; first quartz LCD with six-digit display (hours, minutes and seconds); first calculator watch; first quartz with day and date; first quartz chronograph (date, stopwatch and alarm); first TV watch; first thermic quartz watch (powered by the wearer’s body heat); first kinetic quartz watch (powered by the wearer’s movement)… and the list goes on. Seiko watches have been at the center of watch evolution, and its influence extends far beyond watchmaking: the LCDs in your clock radio, microwave oven or CD player all owe a debt to innovations made by Seiko.

Seiko, in fact, has been the innovator of so many industry “firsts” that it’s difficult to name them all. Recently, for example, was the 40th anniversary of the first quartz chronometer, launched at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Used to time marathons, it brought unprecedented precision to sports timekeeping, being accurate to within 0.2 seconds a day. Just a few years ago saw the 10th anniversary of the world’s first kinetic chronograph, the quartz watch powered by the movement of the wearer’s wrist, thereby eliminating the need for a battery. To celebrate the event, Seiko launched the Arctura Kinetic Chronograph, which takes kinetic movements to a new level of precision, being accurate to within 15 seconds per month.

While innovation and continuity rarely go together, Seiko has both. The company, founded in Tokyo by Kintaro Hattori in 1881, is still a family business. Although part of the business is a publicly traded company, the current president of Seiko Watch Corporation is the founder’s great-grandson, Shinji Hattori, who is also the nephew of the current honorable chairman.

Given Seiko’s history of producing revolutionary products and ideas that are emulated everywhere, you might expect that it would enjoy a reputation similar to that of Apple or Sony. Yet many people don’t few even realize that Seiko is the world’s leading manufacturer of watches, selling over 14 million watches annually. It also annually sells more than 350 million quartz movements to other watch makers. Here again, Seiko has revolutionized the watch making industry. Previously, only Swiss and Japanese companies could make reliable watches. But now anybody can simply add a dial, case and strap to a Seiko quartz movement and sell it under their own brand name. Although it doesn’t want to name companies it provides movements to, Seiko’s quartz movements are at the heart of many watches sold by some of the biggest name brands in fashion and sports.

Seiko doesn’t really get the respect it deserves. The product quality is phenomenal, but there’s a misperception of their brand.

Some people believe Seiko offers too many budget-price models. Cheap, in the public’s mind, means poor quality even if that’s not the case. Also, Seiko’s watch designs change too often. Some of the best Seiko watch designs never get the chance to develop a following, whereas the best Rolex or Omega watches stay in production for 20 or 30 years. For collectors, it’s a problem, and collectors add value to brands.

One Seiko executive recently stated the company is in the process of refining its brand. “We have very strong brand awareness, with around 70 per cent recognition of Seiko as a watchmaker. But there was some confusion about the brand. The company’s pioneering history, our dedication to producing elegant watches, wasn’t really understood. We’re proud of the company, so we decided to streamline and focus the branding, and emphasize our legacy.”

Until recently, regional Seiko companies sold the brand according to local tastes. But just recently the Japanese parent, Seiko Corporation, decided to overhaul its branding and marketing strategies. The company’s position is that customer perception of the brand should be the same in Tokyo, London, Paris, New York or Sydney. That means building a brand image that conveys core values, no matter what the market. Over a period of several months Seiko has revamped its public profile, from billboard and TV advertising to in-store presentation and packaging.

So far, the strategy has been successful. In line with company expectations, Seiko is gradually being seen as a premium watch brand. Not just trustworthy and reliable, but a real status brand. Technological innovation is at the heart of company, but Seiko watches have a certain refinement that they’re trying to emphasize also.

So, how might Seiko improve its brand status? Being the largest watch company, with an excellent line of products and constant innovation, perhaps Seiko could start by being a little less modest about their product.

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