“Business Brief comes of age in 2010. It will be 21 years since the magazine was first published. In that time it has grown from a fairly simple black and white newsletter covering business in Jersey, to a full colour high quality publication covering a wide range of subjects of interest to business people and community leaders throughout the whole Channel Islands. The magazine also tries to take a pan-island perspective of issues of importance to the whole Channel Islands. It is in a special position as the islands begin to work much more closely together. Every month the magazine includes special reports on subjects of importance to local business leaders, ranging from new technology and training to the workplace environment and health and safety.” – This is Guernsey

One of the aspects of Business Brief that Purple Coffee admired was their progressive attitude towards publishing. As well as producing and printing a physical copy of the publication, Business Brief is also published online on the This is Guernsey website. The July issue of Business Brief Magazine also featured one of Purple Coffee’s Guernsey clients Avant Garden. Purple Coffee continues to provide Avant Garden with Web Design and Social Media Marketing services.

Here’s a transcript of the article:

Guernsey Company Purple Coffee Limited, which specialises in providing web design and social media marketing services, was founded by Guernseyman Simon English and Portsmouth based web developer Gareth Evans. After graduating from Portsmouth University and several years working across the South and West of England, Simon returned to Guernsey to challenge orthodox agency working styles; providing a service that puts clients in direct contact with web designers rather than with salespersons or account managers.

Clients’ input and opinions are the most important aspect of any project; and by keeping communications simple and direct Purple Coffee believes they can prevent essential information getting lost in translation. The non-essential middlemen often serve to slow down the design process and may result in additional overheads that often get passed on to clients.

By putting experts rather than sales people in front of clients the company is able to offer free consultation of real value, enabling projects to evolve as they move forward. “We believe that it is important to provide clients with a point of contact that has the knowledge necessary to ensure informed decisions can be made every step of the way,” Simon said.

“We take pride in the products we build with our customers and value close working relationships. Quality, clarity, accessibility and usability are at the core of everything we do. We put our energy into building integrated web design and online marketing campaigns that make it easier for our clients to communicate with new and existing audiences.”

Purple Coffee is a social company, both offline and online. The web is an increasingly interconnected and social environment. This creates many new challenges and opportunities for businesses. Today’s consumers value openness and transparency from organisations irrespective of their size and seek to communicate with them online. Purple Coffee has specialist knowledge in user behaviour within systems such as Facebook and Twitter. Social networks are great for business, whether increasing brand exposure or monitoring and communicating with your audience, you can be sure to connect with new markets.

Simon says: “We focus on providing our clients with a service that is honestly priced and appropriate to their needs. We are strong advocates of open source technologies such as content management solution Wordpress, and believe we can reduce our client’s costs, while providing them with future proof solutions that can continually benefit from community driven improvements as technology moves forward. Google are a prime example of this social model, harnessing community driven collaboration and development of technology to provide a product that directly reflects the wants and needs of audiences.”

Purple Coffee look forward to continued success and building on both new and existing relationships in the Channel Islands and further afield.

Simon English is a Director of Purple Coffee Limited.  Simon graduated from Portsmouth University in 2007 with a BA in Interactive Media and is currently working towards an MFA in European Interactive Multimedia in his spare time.

Guernsey Web Design specialists:

Purple Coffee’s design of the new John Thompson Autorestorers was designed to be clean and bold, with an emphasis on usability to reflect the diverse age range of their Guernsey clients. Purple Coffee worked closely with Thompsons throughout the course of the project to ensure the services of Thompsons and the needs of their clients were accurately reflected in the new website. Iconography has been used to aid usability and allow potential clients to quickly relate to and distinguish between Thompsons numerable automotive services. We enjoyed a great working relationship with Thompson’s, here’s what they had to say:

“We had a website set up by an un-named company a few years ago, this was our first website so we followed advice, provided content and left them to it. However after no back-up and disappointment we got in contact with Kate Heywood of The Best of Guernsey who recommended us to Si at Purple Coffee. They have now designed and developed a brand new website which went live today. I have to say I am very impressed with their service and their product, the website looks fantastic and we have built up a good working relationship with them. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking to set up a website for their business.” - Tom Thompson

With more than 25 years experience in the home and garden retail industry, Nick is renowned for his good taste and eye for the unusual. This meant that Nick had a discerning eye for design and was in search of a website that was unique and visually striking.

Guernsey Web Design specialists:

Purple Coffee’s design of the new Avant Garden website really reflects the vibrancy of Avant Garden’s shop at Sausmarez Manor, Guernsey. The innumerable interior and exterior offerings on offer at Avant Garden provided much inspiration for the new design. The shop is a sensual treat; filled with beautiful textures, bright colours and amazing smells, couple this together with its tranquil setting at Sausmarez Manor and you’ll be hard pushed to find a more stimulating shopping experience in Guernsey.

Social Media Marketing:

Further to designing Avant Garden’s new website, Purple Coffee will be co-ordinating a Social Media Marketing campaign to allow Avant Garden to interact with new and existing clients in numerous interactive settings such as Facebook and Twitter. Much of the marketing data gathered from this interaction will be used to continually re-define the way Avant Garden communicate and offer their products to their Guernsey customers.

Print Media and Advertising:

To complement Avant Garden’s online marketing campaign Purple Coffee have designed a Bus Advert to be featured throughout the year on the back of one lucky Guernsey Bus! A combination of targeted traditional advertising and comprehensive online marketing strategy will ensure that Avant Garden is effectively advertised to the Guernsey community both online and offline.

“Si and Gareth have completely redesigned the Outdoor Guernsey website with a great understanding of my personal and business needs. Their care and attention to detail is hugely impressive and their customer service is awesome. The CMS was designed around my needs and to all my requests and preferences but the guys still make sure that efficiency, usability and effectiveness are paramount and I now accept their advice (almost) without question. Complementary skills, great value and personability round off a superb package. We are now working on an exciting social networking package for my business, with the most important thing for me the ‘WE’.” – Ant Ford Parker, Outdoor Guernsey.

We are really excited to be promoting such a well regarded local business. Outdoor Guernsey have a great reputation locally and are awesome to work with, we want to help complement their marketing campaign with a social media strategy that will allow them to solidify their market position, while pushing themselves into new markets. The soon to be released Outdoor Guernsey blog will act as a central hub of the campaign, providing Outdoor Guernsey with an infrastructure that allows them to push new content to social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter with relative ease, while ensuring this benefit is felt by the website itself.

A Google Analytics package has been put in place to allow Purple Coffee and Outdoor Guernsey to monitor the effectiveness of the social media campaign and provide a measurement of return on investment. Information is key to making informed marketing decisions; using Google Analytics really provides Guernsey businesses with a way to accurately build a picture of their client’s movements to, within and from their website. Purple Coffee continue to work closely with Ant Ford Parker to ensure that the social media marketing campaign evolves smoothly and that Ant builds the skills necessary to confidently manage his Facebook pages and blog.

“I think the whole social media explosion of the last few years is extremely important to us in a number of ways. Getting information out (marketing) and receiving feedback has always been a difficult or expensive task, but necessary for a business to grow and evolve. With social networking we can to interact like never before with our customers and reach potential customers through our interactions. It enables our business ethics, direction or beliefs (branding) to become more noticeable as we interact with complementary businesses or organisations. It has enabled us to solve specific problems, such as sharing photos of customers on activities. Previously a lot of time was spent emailing clients with the files. Now we simply share on Facebook or Flickr.

Building relationships with customers and the business community has now become something you can manage from your laptop, information sharing and feedback receiving is much easier and more visible, this also means that giving quality service and maintaining a high standard is extremely important, as word soon gets around.  EBay was successful because the feedback system allowed users to be confident that they could trust the seller, the same applies in the social media network.

For Outdoor Guernsey it has been important to develop and learn about this new way of marketing in partnership with a team that not only has high technical skills, but a deep understanding of how social interaction works and its relevance to our business. It is important for us to be continually involved in social interaction so we can innovate and evolve. Purple Coffee has delivered on all counts and the promise is for more innovation and change in the future.” – Ant Ford Parker, Outdoor Guernsey.

Purple Coffee and Outdoor Guernsey have also worked with Kate Heywood from thebestofguernsey. The Best of Guernsey promote both Outdoor Guernsey and Purple Coffee through their website made up entirely of local Guernsey businesses which have been recommended by local people and have great reputations on the island. Kate really understands the value of online marketing and through The Best of Guernsey has established a variety of marketing tools to promote the member businesses including testimonials, member offers, e-newsletters, blogging, social media promotion and more recently the introduction of a very innovative product to raise brand awareness – viral gaming. Kate provides both Purple Coffee and Outdoor Guernsey with fantastic marketing support to further complement and enhance their marketing strategies.

The use of social media platforms such as Facebook provides a central way to not only advertise to, but interact with new audiences. It is this interaction that is of real value. Outdoor Guernsey are able to transparently offer their services to their audience in an interactive setting that allows their audience to provide Ant with the information he needs to refine his services into exactly what his customers want.

To find out more about Purple Coffees social media marketing services why not check out our services page or give us a shout!

When looking to the future it is often wise to consider society’s past concerns to provide a framework for contextual analysis. Considering tablet style computing in general conjures up thoughts of George Orwell’s dystopian science fiction masterpiece, 1984. In the novel Orwell depicts the struggle of society as it finds itself in a state of increasing social and economic cohesion with that of machines.

Of particular relevance and interest to me is the way in which Orwell’s work provides a social analysis of surveillance culture. It depicts the use of networked “telescreens” which one could compare to modern computing and the internet. These “telescreens” served as a way for the fictional state, to observe and control opinion through the transmission of fear.

“The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it, moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard. There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment.” - (The Complete Works of George Orwell, 2003)

However the “telescreen” as Orwell thought of it could be avoided or escaped by Winston, he could move to new areas of the room to avoid its glare, much like that of the desktop computer or television. Consider what Orwell would have written regarding the “innovation” of Apple’s mobile computing devices? No longer can one be removed from the on looking eye of the screen, society finds itself increasingly reliant on machines as we take them everywhere with oneself to remain plugged in to our evolving human consciousness.

“And that is the second difference between this window and the past devices: the tablet window goes two ways. You watch; it watches you. Its eye can remain on all the time, watching you as much as you like” - (Kelly, 2010, p. 123)

How ironic is it then to find that the commercial used to introduce the original Apple Macintosh computer depicted a young woman, who can be likened to Orwell’s character Winston, in a cinematic depiction of Orwell’s 1984. The female character, symbolising Apple, is shown hurling a metal hammer through a large “telescreen” in an attempt to remove the presence of the on-looking overseer and herald a new epoch of technology. The advert concludes with a message;

“On January 24^th, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you’ll see why 1984 won’t be like “1984.”” – (The Guardian, 2009)

Considering the intended symbolism of the advert some decades on, one could summarise that as successfully as Apple has been able to define its values to its audience over time, that in retrospect Apple are quickly deviating from their own historical moral message and ethical stance as demonstrated so aptly by the advert. One would boldly conclude that despite Apple’s arguable ability to innovate, in many contexts of the word, that were Orwell alive today, he may be heeding new warnings as a result of such innovations.

It would appear that to some degree Apple have learnt from their mistakes in opening up their application development framework to third party developers; however they still heavily moderate the approval of applications for use within their application environments. It seems to me Apple are in a sticky situation, to open themselves up completely means sacrificing the close control they have over their brand and associated products; and in some sense it is this control that allows them to craft such appealing products and targeted marketing campaigns. However to continue along their current path could see them lose out to Google the same way they lost out to Microsoft decades ago.

Google’s democratic values and often community driven development of open source products allows their brand to spread to mass audiences far faster than that of Apple. It is this very route to market that defines Apple’s biggest challenge to date. Consider Google’s competing mobile operating system Android. It is based on Linux, another open source product, and operates an open source license allowing various mobile hardware companies to utilise the product.

Android’s flexibility and open approach in comparison to that of Apple’s mobile operating system could see it quickly spread to larger markets than that of Apple. Apple’s closed approach has meant that they must not only produce mobile operating systems, but the mobile hardware in the form of devices such as the iPhone also to go with it. One could argue that while they set very high standards in both areas; that attempting to develop into both the software and hardware mobile market could leave them exposed to strong alliances such as that of hardware producer HTC and mobile OS developers Google. Considering Apple’s predicament, it is perhaps no surprise then to find Apple leveraging the patent system once again;

“We were wondering when Google would have something to say about Apple’s patent lawsuit against HTC, since the majority of the claims appear to implicate Android itself, and while the knives aren’t out yet, we just got a short-but-sweet statement from a spokesperson:

“We are not a party to this lawsuit. However, we stand behind our Android operating system and the partners who have helped us to develop it.”” – (Engadget, 2010)

It is not clear what the future holds for Apple with respect to the mobile market, but what is clear is that they have a big challenge ahead of them. Perhaps they could learn from the past and their historic battles with Microsoft. After all, their products have benefited from steady “innovation” over time, so perhaps it is time that Apple’s market positioning followed suit.

To draw an analogy, consider the clay tablets used by Babylonian scribes to transit information across time and distance. Essentially the underlying motivations involved in writing, sending and storing the Babylonian clay tablets, are the same as many of the functions iPad claims to have introduced. Innovation as a concept depends very much on the perspective adopted by the observer, in this context historical. The innovation of the idea or the proposed use of a tablet device for storage of data occurred centuries ago; however the tangible product innovation we see today in the form of the iPad or equivalent devices can be seen as a step forward or an innovation of a pre-existing concept or product, however basic its predecessors in form.

Consider innovation from a science fiction perspective; one could contest that famed social theorist and science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke could be considered to have originated the idea of satellite broadcasting from stationary orbit, but he didn’t introduce the physical innovation, only theorised over the concept. Science fiction is in a sense a reification of the impact of evolving technologies and their actual and possible impact on cultural expression. Innovation often requires concrete realisation to be considered credible by society. From a legal perspective this often requires being the first to publish and/or patent an idea or product. In Clarke’s final hours he was interviewed and questioned on the subject of geostationary satellites and commented that;

“I’m often asked why I didn’t try to patent the idea of communications satellites. My answer is always, “A patent is really a license to be sued.” Clarke couldn’t pinpoint the exact reference that got him thinking about geostationary satellites. “One of the moons of Mars, Phobos, is always in a stationary orbit,” he mused. “That probably got me thinking.” He had discussed his ideas with his friends in the nascent British Interplanetary Society but didn’t get many comments, he reminisced. “I never received any additional input, so it was all my own work in the end.” - (Spectrum: Inside technology, 2008)

These comments from Clarke make apparent the link between science fiction, ideation, innovation and the legality of the patent system. In this context Apple are famed for their tactical and efficient use of the patent system. The following provides compelling arguments that support both the notion that Apple are indeed at very least product innovators and highlights how the legal relationship between innovation and the patent system can in fact serve to further drive future innovation rather than causing it to stagnate;

“Apple is also a perfect example of how the patent system is intended to work. Patents are strong, but waste over time because technology grows stagnant. To continue to reap the benefits of a patent portfolio you must continue to innovate and continue to protect that innovation. Patent are fragile because if you obtain a patent I could obtain a patent on an improvement, thereby blocking you, the original patent owner, from making, using and selling the improved version of your own invention. For that reason, when you get a patent on a valuable product you must immediately start to innovate again, improve, push the envelope and obtain additional patent protection so as to prevent competitors from blocking you.” - (IPWatchdog, 2010)

“HP allows users to activate features on their PCs simply by touching the screen when it introduces its first touchscreen personal computer, the HP-150.” - (HP, 2010)

Apple’s original PDA or tablet like device was the Apple MessagePad, more commonly known as the Newton. The Newton was released 10 years after Hewlett Packard developed the HP 150 touch screen computer.

“Released much ahead of its time in 1993, the Newton (official name was MessagePad) was touted as the future of computing. It would be the first in a new line of Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs). The MessagePad was the first pen based system running on the Newton Intelligence OS. It was powered by a ARM 610 processor at 20 MHz and 640k RAM / 4 MB ROM. It sported a reflective black and white touchscreen with a resolution of 336 x 240, PCMCIA card slot for expansion and Infrared port for communication between MP’s.” - (Newlaunches, 2010)

Despite generally been considered as a “flop”, the Apple Newton was in fact produced for six years. Perhaps its eventual failure can be attributed less to the strength of its concept and more to the market readiness and available technology of the time. At the time of the Newton Apple were an extremely “closed” company, in that they were wary of the open source development of applications that could have provided rich functionality for the Newton.

“The Newton was developed and released during the time in which Steve Jobs was “exiled” from the company and was deemed to be a huge commercial failure, due to its high cost and difficult and highly proprietary development platform which hampered the amount of 3rd-party applications which were created for the device.” - (ZDNet, 2010)

The concept of the tablet computer has truly moved on from devices such as the Newton and so too have the attitudes of Apple. Society looks to mobile computing today as much as a facet of life and entertainment as a mode of computing as it was thought of at the time of the Newton. If we consider the relative success of the Newton’s modern equivalent, the Apple iTouch, it must be noted that while it offers immense computing power and convenience in comparison with the Newton, that the progression in product range leading to its introduction stems from that of the iPod, a device which is centrally marketed as a form of personal entertainment rather than computing. Thus it would seem evident that audience perception, product marketing and positioning are as important to a product’s success or failure as the capabilities of the device in question. It must also be noted, that in stark contrast to the time of the Newton, that Apple now allows third party developers to produce applications for its mobile devices, this is a move that will likely see the use of these devices multiply with some speed, since they essentially facilitate an open market of sorts.

Apple’s Product Design Influences

A great deal of Apple’s contribution to the market place involves the precise aesthetic presentation of their products, ensuring they develop products with appealing physical qualities that even technophobes can admire and appreciate on a purely emotional level; this cannot be defined as innovation in a strict sense, however Apple’s success in the areas of product design and creativity are often misinterpreted as innovation by their audiences. So are we to believe that Apple should be accredited with all of the design concepts and product design principles exemplified by their products? Or like many forms of creativity within the design industries, did Apple have any key influences? The following contrasts some of Apple’s product designs by Jonathan Ive and the 1960’s modernist product designs of Dieter Ram for Braun.

“When you look at the Braun products by Dieter Ram—many of them at New York’s MoMA—and compare them to Ive’s work at Apple, you can clearly see the similarities in their philosophies way beyond the sparse use of colour, the selection of materials and how the products are shaped around the function with no artificial design, keeping the design “honest.”” - (Gizmodo, 2010)

As well as Apple’s ability to draw upon product design influences ahead of their time, Apple is also successful in providing a range of products that possess consistency. The visual continuity across their product range provides consumers with a feeling of reassurance and trust in the evolution of the Apple’s product design principles. As people become familiar and reassured by their Apple purchases, they experience little inhibition when buying additional products. Apple’s tight control over their brand and associated product ranges allows them to harness consistency as a selling point far more than the competing notion of “PC”.

“Take a look at the back of the iPhone. It’s silver on top, black on the bottom. Then take a look at the new iMac. It’s is black on top, silver on the bottom. The top of the iMac looks like an iPhone rotated to horizontal orientation.” – (37 Signals, 2007)

Existing concepts; Star Trek-nology

Science fiction has long been the testing ground of technological concepts; it provides an area for society to express its wants, perceived needs and consider the new possibilities of technology in general. It is no surprise then to find many examples of technology in the science fiction setting that strike an uncanny resemblance to the technologies we use today. The following quote demonstrates the link between the iconic Star Trek series and that of Apple’s gradual evolution of touch screen devices.

“Not long after their debut in TNG, PADDs became a real-life technology with the introduction of the Apple Newton; Palm Pilots being a similar device common in the world of the present. Recently, devices with touch-sensitive displays and user input systems which reconfigure themselves depending on the task at hand, such as the iPod Touch, iPhone, and most recently, the iPad have been developed which bear an even stronger resemblance to PADDs and the LCARS system.” - (Memory Alpha, 2010)

Apple are often extremely intuitive in the marketing of their products, well they didn’t miss the trick with the iPad either. The iPad advertising campaign featured many examples of the iPad displaying Star Trek related imagery and content, couple this together with the striking resemblance in name and visual form and one can confidently assume there is a little more than co-incidence involved.

The name “iPad” itself evokes the PADD (Personal Access Display Device) which is the term used for the gadget that was first introduced in the original series in 1966 and was coined in 1987 on Star Trek: The Next Generation, the show’s first TV revival…At the end of the day, and even after all of Apple’s hard work, we have Gene Roddenberry and his visionary designers from Star Trek to thank for the inspiration for this technological marvel — the PADD. - (ZDNet, 2010)

The series of adverts (2006-2009) were also famed for their visual consistency and presentation; they were shot on a white background and featured the same two men, John Hodgman as “PC” and Justin Long as “Mac”. This visual consistency allowed people not only to quickly recognise the adverts and relate to their associated connotations, but allowed the audience to build a rapport with, or warm to the characters over time. The series of adverts were so successful that AdWeek named the series “campaign of the decade” in its best of the 2000s roundup. Here’s what they had to say;

“Apple always diverged from the “speeds and feeds” ads associated with the computer category, but the brand really defined itself with the 2006 launch of TBWA\Media Arts Lab’s “Get a Mac” campaign. That series of 60-plus ads brought some humanity into the equation by turning the machines into live-action cartoons. In so doing, the comic spots offer transparent understanding of the aspirations of its audience and how people identify—and connect emotionally—with technology. The genius is in the casting. The Mac guy, Justin Long, is a younger version of Steve Jobs who is casual and comfortable in his skin. PC, personified by John Hodgman, as a rounder, paler Bill Gates, is a well-meaning geek with all kinds of operating problems. For Apple, the campaign managed the neat trick of making the brand look laid back and cool while it mercilessly skewered its rival.” – (Best of the 2000’s, 2010)

The viral nature of the adverts and their positioning within new media channels such as YouTube, also meant that they spread rapidly and meant by the time the competition could respond, the damage had been done. While the adverts themselves were undoubtedly very intuitive and creative, they also further served to reinforce a wider audience perception of Apple as market leaders and innovators.

“In the past few years, clever commercials have become content in and of themselves, thanks in no small part to the rise of YouTube and embeddable multimedia.” – (Mashable, 2010)

In summary the “Get a Mac” campaign, of which the adverts were a central component, were a typically intuitive marketing move by Apple, since the centrality of their brand and their somewhat “closed” product range allows them to carefully consider, orchestrate and present their brand values to their potential audience with precision. The adverts depict “PC” as being the competition, existing within a comparable closed infrastructure, when in fact a “PC” is nothing more than a combination of various differing components, both hardware and software, sourced from an often innumerable set of suppliers; the most notable of which include Microsoft that Apple’s advertising often seeks to belittle. This move by Apple left “PC”, as the audience now thought of it, in a very exposed position. The lack of centrality associated with the production of personal computers and associated software, left companies likes Microsoft with the need to either establish an equivalent corporate infrastructure, or to take the lead and defend both themselves and the newly Apple constructed notion of “PC” that would be difficult to reverse.

While Apple has achieved considerable success, they have never really succeeded in conquering a majority market. They have captured and retained a small market that is in part preserved by a closed universe of compatibility and above all by the user friendly presentation of technical devices; permitting the technically illiterate to enjoy the prestige and convenience of being in the “fore front of technology.” This of course may be a conscious decision based on the premise that positioned as perceived market leader, Apple have less competition than exists in the “PC” market.