How to have an effective international business card

The Globalization-Group published an interesting article. It helps business owners and their employees to understand why their business cards might not be effective in some countries.

Although business cards may seem small and uncomplicated, there are some issues when it comes to using them in foreign markets (and languages). The article provides some excellent tips to help business go smoothly when working with international clients.

Size, non-translation of certain elements, and even the way a business card is presented differ depending on the country and situation. Before traveling, the business card must be translated quickly, smoothly, and without incident. Various preferences and reference materials must be provided to the translation supplier in order to have the business card translation process run smoothly.

Standard Business Card Dimensions by Country
Standard business card dimensions differ from country to country, and the business card must have the correct size. If the corporate headquarters are in the U.S., but the business card is printed in multiple languages, U.S. standard dimensions can be used. However, if business cards are printed for someone based in one of the international offices, then the designer (or the translator) and the printer will want to use the standard dimensions for that country.

• United States, Canada: 88.9 × 50.8 cm / 3.5 × 2 inches;
• United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland: 85 × 55 cm / 3.346 × 2.165 inches;
• Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Norway, Sweden: 90 × 55cm / 3.54 × 2.165 inches
  Japan 91 × 55cm(or 90 x 55 cm) / 3.582 × 2.165 inches;
• China, Hong Kong: 90 × 54 cm / 3.543 × 2.125 inches;
• Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Israel, Kazakhstan, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine, & Multiple Latin American Countries (Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and more): 90 × 50 cm /3.543 × 1.968 inches.

Culturally Appropriate Business Card Etiquette
Business cards hold differing importance in some countries. Know the appropriate way to give and receive business cards in each country. The most notable example is Japan. The book Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands includes the following recommendations for culturally appropriate exchange of business cards in Japanese business:

• Cards are presented after the bow or handshake. The card must be presented with the Japanese side facing the business partner, so that it can be read immediately.
• Read the card presented and memorize all the information. Ask for help in pronunciation and in comprehension of the title and make a relevant comment.
• Handle cards very carefully. Do not put them in a pocket or in wallet, and never write on a person’s business card in his/her presence).
• In Japanese culture, business cards are usually given and received using both hands, and Japanese business cards often contain additional details to emphasize qualifications.

Preferences for Business Card Translation
Indicate the following preferences where appropriate to ensure that the business card translation supplier provides what you need the first time:

• Preferred terminology used on other company cards (i.e. preferred job titles, department names, taglines, or product names).
• Existing name translations or whether to include names in both languages.
• Exclusion of address from translation.
• Preferred international contact information (i.e. non-toll-free phone number with country code that can be accessed outside the U.S.

Reference Materials for Business Card Translation
Provide the following optional reference materials to ensure that the business card translation supplier has everything needed for appropriate translation:

• Existing company style guide, especially if related to translation and/or business cards.
• Existing company glossary, especially if related to translation and/or business cards.
• Existing translation history.
• Example of an employee's business card that has been translated or created in the target language.
• Other reference material including existing translations for logos, slogans, names of products, names of people, etc.

How to Market on YouTube

YouTube has been used by companies to market themselves. These “viral videos” include videos like Miss Teen South Carolina , Smirnoff’s Tea Partay music video, the Sony Bravia ads , Soulja Boy . These videos have traveled all around the internet and been posted on YouTube, MySpace, Google Video, Facebook, Digg, blogs, etc. They have been viewed millions and millions of times.

Marketing campaigns can harness promotional videos and become truly viral. To get at least 100,000 people to watch a company’s “viral” video, keep the following in mind.

Not all viral videos are what they seem.
There are tens of thousands of videos uploaded to YouTube each day. A company needs to get at least 100,000 views to be considered successful; hopefully reaching 1.5 million views. In short, not all videos go viral organically – professional PR help might be needed.

Content is King (sort of)
If a company wants a truly viral video that will get millions of people to watch and share it, then content is king. But good content is not the only condition to get 100,000 views. A video must have a decent concept, an should not be forced to fit a brand. Rather, a brand should be fit into a great concept. Here are some guidelines:

• Make it short: 15-30 seconds is ideal; break down long stories into bite-sized clips.
• Don’t make an outright ad: if a video feels like an ad, viewers won’t share it unless it’s really amazing, such as Smirnoff’s Tea Partay.
• Make it inviting: make sure to give a viewer a call to action, such as the Geico commercials.

Core Strategy: Getting onto the “Most Viewed” page
The core concept of video marketing on YouTube is to harness the power of the site’s traffic. The goal is to get a video on that Videos page, which lists the Daily Most Viewed videos. When being one of the twenty videos on the Most Viewed page, it means that it grabs 1/20th of the clicks on that page. The higher up on the page the video is, the more views it will get.

To ensure the first 50,000 views onto the Most Viewed list:

• Blogs: reaching out to individuals who run relevant blogs and actually entice them to post the embedded video or the relating URL.
• Forums: embed the link to the video in a post as part of a relevant threat. Although a bit tedious and time-consuming, it can have a tremendous effect when done properly.
• MySpace: Plenty of users allow people to embed YouTube videos right in the comments section of their MySpace pages.
• Facebook: Sharing a video with friends lists can have a real impact. Another option is to create an event that announces the video launch and invite friends, writing notes and tagging friends, or posting the video on Facebook Video with a link back to the original YouTube video.
• Email lists: sending the video to email lists, including employees. Announce the launch of the video and tell recipients that they can forward the link. This can be a very effective strategy, leveraging the viral effect.

Each video has a shelf life of 48 hours before it’s moved from the Daily Most Viewed list to the Weekly Most Viewed list, so it’s important that this happens quickly. Once a video is on the Most Viewed page, the number of views must be maximized. People see hundreds of videos on YouTube, and the title and thumbnail are an easy way for video publishers to actively persuade someone to click on a video.

Titles can be changed a limitless number of times. For starters, the title can include phrases such as “exclusive” or “behind the scenes,” or “funny video.” Later on, the title can change to something more relevant to the brand.

If a video is sitting on the Most Viewed page with nineteen other videos, a compelling video thumbnail is the single best strategy to maximize the number of clicks the video gets. YouTube provides three choices for a video’s thumbnail, one of which is grabbed from the exact middle of the video. The frame at the very middle must therefore be interesting. The thumbnail should be high res and ideally it should have a face or at least a person/animal in it.

Strategic Tagging
YouTube allows for tagging videos with keywords that make the videos show up in relevant searches. Tags can also be used to control the videos that show up in the Related Videos box. Ideally, the tags are unique, and are not used by any other YouTube videos. Done correctly, this will for full control over the videos that show up as “Related Videos.
Once views start trailing off after a few days to a week, it’s time to add some more generic tags, tags that draw out the long tail of a video as it starts to appear in search results on YouTube and Google.

Metrics/Tracking: measuring effectiveness
Tweak the links on YouTube (whether in a YouTube channel or in a video description) by adding “?video=1” to the end of each URL. This makes it much easier to track inbound links using Google Analytics or another metrics tool. TubeMogul and VidMetrix also track views/comments/ratings on each individual video and generate graphs for review. These tools also follow the viral spread of a video outside of YouTube and throughout other social media sites and blogs.

Facebook’s Catch-22

Facebook is making another change to its website. Rather than asking people to "become a fan" of a company such as Starbucks or a celebrity, Facebook will instead let users click that they “like” the company, product or person.

Facebook already lets people show what they like by posting comments or pictures on the Facebook website. According to Facebook, its users click the term “like” almost twice as much as they click "become a fan."

Facebook announced that it will change the button in order for users to be more comfortable with linking up with a brand. It will also streamline the website.

Businesses use Facebook pages, which are free to create, to connect with their customers and promote their brands. Facebook makes money from the advertisements these companies often use to draw users to their Facebook fan pages. The average user becomes a fan of four pages each month, according to Facebook.

"The idea of liking a brand is a much more natural action than (becoming a fan) of a brand," said Michael Lazerow, who is an expert in establishing corporate brands and advertise on social networks such as Facebook. "In many ways it's a lower threshold."

But while it might seem to be less of a commitment to declare that someone "likes" Coca-Cola than to announce being a fan of it, the meaning would essentially remain the same.

Facebook friends would see that their friend clicked that he or she "likes" a company’s webpage, and such pages would still be listed on a fan’s Facebook profile for anyone to see.

The world's largest online social network is known for constantly tweaking the way users experience the site. It did not always inform its audience, which resulted in harsh criticisms. Now that Facebook did announce its latest tweak, bloggers reacted by saying that it was just a PR trick to get exposure. It seems that Facebook is caught in a classic Catch-22 situation.

Facebook continues however to draw millions of new fans and more than half of its 400 million users log in every day. This is especially amazing considering the (many) security problems Facebook encountered.

A month ago, hundreds of Facebook users received personal emails that were not intended for them. Facebook reacted by saying: “during our regular code push yesterday evening, a bug caused some misrouting to a small number of users for a short period of time. Our engineers diagnosed the problem moments after it began and are working to get everything back in its rightful place. While they fix the issue, affected users will not be able to access the site.” The company said it was still investigating the problem and could not immediately respond to specific questions about the glitch.

Yesterday, private e-mail addresses that many Facebook users wanted to keep hidden were revealed publicly last night on a multitude of Facebook profiles, as reported by Gawker . The glitch lasted about 30 minutes before Facebook sealed the gap.

An anonymous tipster alerted Gawker of the breach in an expletive-riddled message: "6:46PM: I cannot [bleeping] believe it. Everybody's email has been turned on to the public for at least the past 30 min. I tried going into my account to remove my email b/c I have an issue with a crazed stalker. But I wasn't able to. God I [bleeping] hate FB!! When will they ever learn?!"

It is a question of time before Facebook users get fed up and close their accounts; especially if there will be strong competitor in the social media arena. Moreover, Facebook should shape up before being hit by a massive lawsuit.

Pepsi's Refresh is making marketing history

Pepsi's Refresh Project is a first-of-its-kind experiment in social media. Pepsi is shifting one-third of its marketing budget to interactive and social media. In a bold move, Pepsi pulled its high-profile Super Bowl spots in favor of heavy spending to push a digitally focused social-responsibility campaign. Consumers don't seem to mind; in the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, Pepsi was the second-most discussed advertiser associated with the Super Bowl, according to Nielsen.

As part of the Project, launched on January 13th, consumers can apply for grants ranging from $5,000 to $250,000 in one of six areas: health, arts and culture, food and shelter, the planet, neighborhoods and education. One thousand applications are accepted monthly via refresheverything.com. Consumers will vote on the winning projects. Pepsi expects it will give out more than $20 million in grants before the end of the year.

Bonin Bough, global director digital & social media for PepsiCo, is responsible for Pepsi’s social media programs. He explains that "it's not about digital as its own channel anymore. It's, how do we infuse digital across all of our marketing programs? The first step was socializing the brands and getting all the brands to quickly move away from destination sites and start creating experiences."

Refresh Project is closely watched by the industry for its scope and ambition to put digital media at its forefront, its purpose-driven strategy and the way it restructures relationships within Pepsi's agency circle.

Cheryl Damian, a director in the cause-branding group at Cone observed that "this is big, new, getting a lot of attention. It's impactful; it's innovative.” Many of her clients have been asking her about Pepsi's program and watching its progress.

The risk for Pepsi is acceptance. Pepsi has a reputation for amusing and entertaining. As Kevin Keller, professor of marketing at Dartmouth College, puts it: "Pepsi has been wonderful for years at entertaining us. This [program] is reflective of the times and the realities that people love entertainment but also care and have concerns about the world as a whole. But I would hate to see them stop entertaining us altogether."

Other brands in the PepsiCo portfolio have been successful in using non-traditional marketing. Mountain Dew shifted the creation and marketing of new flavors to consumers through its Dewmocracy campaign. Doritos has been a success with its user-generated Super Bowl ads.

Pepsi is hoping that the Refresh Project will deepen its relationship with consumers. Since this brand has a youthful target and appeal, going for social marketing seems to be smart move. According to Mr. Bough, the concept of creating a TV spot and then making that spot into an online or Facebook strategy is passé.

To work on the company's digital strategies, PepsiCo's beverage brands have developed a stable of digital-agency talent, including Huge, Firstborn, Tribal DDB and VML. An agency executive who participated in one of the recent digital reviews said that Pepsi is looking for something different – a combination of being a giant conglomerate with some genuinely new thinking and creative approaches.

Will Pepsi be successful? Up till now, the reactions have been good with an approval rate of 71%. Tweets lauded the brand's decision to "wise up and focus online" and applauded it for "exploring what matters". But in the end, it all depends on the sales figures. The industry is watching, and if Pepsi’s strategy pays off, more clients will walk away from million-dollar TV ads and embrace social marketing.

Using the Obamas as a marketing asset

The Obamas are a marketing asset – as quite a few companies and organizations know. Going by the assumption “it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission”, they use the Obamas in their PR.

The outdoor clothes company Weatherproof noticed that the President was wearing one of their coats when photographed on the Great Wall of China. The company promptly used this news picture for the advertisement touting the tagline 'A Leader In Style'. In the pic, Obama stands alone in a strike, rugged pose – perfect for the company’s image and brand. The picture was taken by the Associated Press, and the clothes company bought the right to use it in an advert. They promptly turned it into a giant-sized photograph on a Times Square billboard. AlthoughWeatherproof did not seek permission from the White House, claiming it didn’t need to since the billboard does not claim Mr Obama endorses the product.

Freddie Stollmack, CEO of Weatherproof stated: 'He didn't come to us. It's just a great looking jacket on a great looking president. Mr Stollmack said he thinks the White House should congratulate his company for making Mr Obama look so good. We did this in good faith. This is an image that we thought would enhance the President of the United States.' He added that although another advertising company had accepted the billboard, the New York Times, the New York Post and Women's Wear Daily had all rejected a similar advert for their newspapers.

The White House was not amused. Deputy press secretary Bill Burton said that the White House has a long-standing policy that disapproves of the use of President Obama's name and likeness for commercial purposes.

But also Mrs. Obama has been used for PR purposes –without her position. PETA used her image in a new ad. PETA states that the first lady has committed to not wearing fur and "the world should know that in PETA's eyes that makes her pretty fabulous." The anti-fur poster features an image of the U.S. First Lady along with presenter Oprah Winfrey, singer Carrie Underwood and supermodel Tyra Banks, under the slogan 'fur-free and fabulous!'

The image that the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals used is the one from her first official White House portrait, taken in February last year. Ingrid Newkirk, president of PETA, confirmed that PETA had not asked for Mrs. Obama's permission to use the portrait, since they knew the First Lady could not officially endorse an anti-fur campaign advert. PETA also insisted, that they used her image in its Washington advertising campaign based on White House confirmation that she does not wear fur. The new adverts featuring Mrs. Obama appeared in Washington's Metro stations, magazines and PETA's website.

It is unclear whether the White House can prevent companies from using the Obamas’ images in advertising campaigns. Shortly after he took office last year, the White House launched a crackdown on 'Brand Obama' and insisted on control over the merchandising free-for-all in the wake of his inauguration. But it is difficult to enforce, especially since the chances for companies and organizations (especially outside of the US) to be sued are slim. Low cost, low risk, huge impact - a marketing dream come true…as the following clip shows....

Tweeting all the way to be bank

Celebrities used to tweet about their day-to-day life. “I must have pinched a nerve in my neck, I can hardly look to my left. I will pass on my workout today. I need a massage.”

But now, celebs have found out that tweeting-for-money is worth while. Top earner is socialite Kim Kardashian, who commands $10,000 per tweet. Her tweets include a Nestle commercial, and the background on her Twitter page features the fast-food chain Carl’s Jr. The number of followers (KK boasts a formidable 2.7 million), is the key to profitability.

Dr. Drew Pinsky (more than 1.8 million followers) promo-tweets include endorsements for Sonos music systems and Gogo’s in-flight Wi-Fi. Greg Grunberg (of Heroes fame, nearly 1.5 million followers) tweets about the Yowza iPhone application multiple times a day – for an estimated $ 7,000 and $ 10,000 per tweet. (In all fairness, he donates his twitter bounty to charity).

The deal broker between celebs and companies is ad.ly. According to Sean Rad, CEO of Ad.ly, the likes of Britney Spears or P. Diddy could earn up to $20,000 per tweet, should they ever go for Ad.ly’s pay-per-tweet model.

By law, celebs have to disclose if they are tweeting for money or just for fun/adoration/kicks. The FTC regulation applies to all bloggers, so cave bloggerati!

An FTC-compliant tweet looks like this:
U guys have to watch [http://bit.ly/] Dancing w Stars champ @ShawneyJ backflips over speeding bobsled! Pretty cool! (Ad) 10:59 AM Dec 29th, 2009 from Ad.ly Network

Violation comes with a steep price tag: up to $ 11,000 in fines. The FTC is on the lookout, stating: "celebrities have a duty to disclose their relationships with advertisers when making endorsements outside the context of traditional ads, such as on talk shows or in social media”. As it looks now, we might see a juicy Twittergate scandal in 2010….

The power of Facebook – the Pears soap campaign

Pears clear soap is a product consisting of a 221-year-old formula. It is also the world's first registered brand, and boasts a loyal customer base.

Recently Pears decided to change its age-old formula, changing and extending the number of ingredients and adding chemicals. The original Pears soap contains just eight ingredients, including rosemary and thyme extracts and “Pears fragrance essence”. The new soap replaced these with 24 new ingredients.

Customers labeled the new soap as “smelling and feeling disgusting”. The new soap, which is made in India, smelled strongly of frankincense, rather than the old “mild and spicy herbal fragrance”.

When customers found out that most shops were only selling the new variety, they started a Facebook campaign to force the makers of Pears Transparent Soap to abandon a new recipe after claims the formula. The group, called Bring Back The Original Pears Soap, was achieved what it wanted - the owners of the brand Hindustan Unilever Ltd (based in Mumbai) have agreed to produce something “much closer to the old soap” from March 2010.

The Pears case teaches us some important marketing lessons:

1. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. If customers are happy with the product, don’t try to change it.
   
2. Brand loyalty. Pears has built a loyal customer base throughout the ages and over generations based on its unique product.
   
3. Customers are active and vocal. In the age of Web 2.0, customers have the power to use social networks to get their point across. Journalists pick up stories from social networks; hence the impact of the small Facebook group.

Avatar – the marketing success of an expensive blockbuster

During the first weekend of 2010, Avatar passed the US$ 1 billion mark. This milestone has only be reached by a handufl of other movies.

This latest 20th Century Fox’s blockbuster was costly and complex to make. The accountants at the movie studio will be crunching numbers for the next few months to find out if investing in James Cameron’s Avatar will turn a hefty profit.

It is hard to determine the final cost of the movie – various numbers are flying around. The New Yorker quotes $230 million, while the New York Times estimates the total cost to be close to $500 million. Quite likely, the official budget lies somewhere in between – at $280 million for the production, plus marketing costs.

James Gianopulos, co-chairman and C.E.O. of Fox Filmed Entertainment, told CNN in early December: “it is the most expensive film we’ve made, but now, having the luxury of hindsight, it is money well spent, so I’m not concerned about it.”

However, a movie budget is limited to the production costs. In other words, it comprises of the wages of the actors, crew and special effects people. Marketing expenses, such as advertisements (billboards, trailers, etc.), promotion (events), merchandise (action figures, apparel, etc.) are not included in the movie budget.

In the case of Avatar, Fox cleverly shared the production costs with investor groups Dune Capital Management and Ingenious Film Partners to hedge the risk. They also took advantage of a tax credit in New Zealand (similar to Lord of the Rings), where they shot the live-action footage that comprises about a third of the film. These savings are estimated at $30 million. Fox is however responsible for the marketing (around $150 million).

Avatar has its unique selling point (USP) – it boasts its own 3D technologies, courtesy of Cameron who invested his own money, and backed by investors. They already got their investments back: the 3D cameras have been licensed for use in other films. Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson are making their 2011 film, The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, using Avatar’s motion-capture tools.

From the movie industry’s perspective, much of Avatar’s value lies in the film’s ability to motivate cinema owners to convert to 3D screens, which would translate into an additional price increase of a movie ticket by $3-to-$5. Furthermore, blockbusters Star Wars and Titanic are slated to be released again in 3D at an investment of $30 million per movie, and an increase in consumer electronics sales of flat-screen 3D TVs is anticipated.

Anticipating the profitability of Avatar, Cameron already has the next two Avatar sequels plotted out. A lot will depend on Avatar’s global appeal. Although the US media are focusing on the earnings in the domestic market, it will be Europe, Russia, India, and China that will contribute to the movie’s bottom line. In its first three weeks, Avatar has earned twice as much overseas as domestically.

Avatar's foreign success is contributed to the marketing genius of Cameron, who zoomed in on the anti-American feelings abroad.

As it looks now, Avatar will enaable 20th Century Fox and Cameron to laugh all the way to the bank.

Innovative marketing - lawyer-style

One of the best innovative marketing strategies I recently came across, is the brainchild of the Cueto Law Group. This Miami, Florida-based law firm allows its clients to pay up to 20 percent of their legal fees with carbon credits. (Click here for the press release)

Carbon credit trade works as follows: a fixed, high penalty rate is applied to emissions that exceed a set target and firms are free to buy qualifying credits on the open market to bring their balance below the target level. The price of carbon on the open market will vary from scheme to scheme but is guaranteed to be lower than the penalty rate. Hence an upper bound is set for the price of carbon and classical market efficiencies force the real price of carbon emissions as low as possible. Carbon credits thus represent permits to emit climate-warming greenhouse gases. One carbon credit unit is commonly equal to one ton of carbon dioxide emissions.

Under the law firm’s program called “CO Too,” its clients can pay with carbon credits which the company can then trade in the international carbon markets.
"Our CO Too program is a way to help the environment, while at the same time providing an alternative way for clients to pay for professional services. We are proud to be leading the legal industry in this initiative,” said Cueto.

Mr. Cueto went on to say that he is optimistic that other industries will follow his company's lead. He stressed that carbon credits have gained significance as a legitimate currency with which to transact business.

"The current economic climate is a golden opportunity for the professional services industry to develop new ways to tackle global emissions.” He went on to say that credits represent a “paradigm shift” in the way business is transacted.

The global carbon credit market was valued at $126 billion in 2008. The World Bank estimates that the market could grow up to $150 billion by the end of 2009.

The Cueto Law Group consists of Santiago A. Cueto and his associate in Lima, Peru. Established in June, 2009 they are largely doing litigation for international clients with U.S. problems.

Cueto obviously knows a thing or two about marketing – his website is a textbook example of the latest trend in corporate website design, including news feeds, blog, etc. His timing is also impeccable – he launched his “CO Too” program during the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference 2009.

Although no clients took Cueto up on his offer yet, the media impact was a marketer's dream come true.
Prominent WSJ blogger Ashby Jones interviewed Cueto and quite a few eco magazines and blogs picked up the story, including Ecoseed and Mother Nature Network.

It shows how a clever marketing idea announced in a press release distributed via PR Newswire can put a small law firm firmly on the map.

(illustraton courtesy of www.toothpastefordinner.com)

Article Marketing

One of the best ways to promote a company or product is through opinion articles. Many magazines (online and print) welcome well-written articles. These articles should not be biased though – nobody wants to read a (blatant) sales pitch. As marketing professions will tell you – educating your target audience/potential customers is an effective marketing strategy.

Before starting to write, you need to identify the target audience. Who are the readers of the magazine you want to send the article to? What are their interests? Do you have a direct connection to the editor, or only via a PR company? Does the magazine allow hyperlinks? Do they also want original illustrations? In short – you need to do your homework.

Many marketing and copywriters ghostwrite – they write the opinion articles for a company’s CEO, CMO or CTO, and when published, it will be under the executive's name.

Following are some points of attention when writing an opinion piece:

1. It must be informative. The reader should learn something from reading the article.
   
2. It must be interesting. The text should flow and keep the reader interested to go on reading.
   
3. It must be based on facts, and not assumptions. References to recent events that were covered in the global media are a good hook, as are reports of leading analysts such as Gartner and Forrester.
   
4. It must be neutral. As mentioned before, nobody wants to read a sales pitch. A neutral article covering new or future trends, or “how to…” articles are popular. At the end of the year, articles about predictions for the coming year are in demand.
   
5. It should have hyperlinks (if allowed by the newspaper), footnotes and references. It makes the article trustworthy and increases the chance for publication.
   
6. Most magazines will ask for illustrations. Try to have original images in high resolution. No matter what industry you are in, the chance that your competitors use the same stock photos is high. Diagrams are always popular in tech pieces, as are product photos. Make sure to send different photos to various magazines – don’t forget, they all want to have original content!
   
7. Custom write your story, tailored to each magazine. Sending the same article to several tech mags is professional suicide, especially in today’s viral media
   
8. Make sure to put a short bio with contact details at the bottom of the article.
   
9. Follow up. Once you see that your article in published, drop a thank-you note to the magazine (or journalist). Blog and tweet about it, and make sure to include the URL of the publication.

For an example of an opinion piece, click here

Google’s real-time search – a search engine marketing dream come true?

Google announced the roll-out of its new real-time search function. Search results will incorporate real-time content from Twitter feeds, blog posts, online news content, Facebook status updates, and content from MySpace, FriendFeed, and Jaiku.

According to Google, the latest results and the new search options are also designed for iPhone and Android devices for info-on-the-go.

With this move, Google also tries to stay ahead of its main competitor - Microsoft's Bing that already has a real-time search function.

With its real-time search, Google will change SEO forever.

1. More and more companies will be "forced" to use social media to get exposure and to stay ahead of their competitors.
2. SEO and marketing experts will have a plethora of new opportunities for search engine optimization and marketing. Keyword and search terms will be embedded and searched in real-time news content, tweets, etc.
3. Companies need to be aware of what content and news they publish, since it will be exposed instantly to searches. There is no lead time for rectifications. This is especially important for companies that need to comply with regulatory rules and regulations (e.g., SOX and HIPAA).
4. Users of social media must be even more careful than before what content they post of their Facebook page or what they tweet about.
5. Facebook users need to be aware that if they flagged their profile as public, posted info can be displayed in search results.

It's too soon to predict what the impact on SEO and marketing will be, but it looks like a search engine marketing dream come true......

The Jia Junpeng phenomenon – clever viral marketing

“Jia Junpeng, your mom is calling you to eat at home” became one of the hottest catch phrases on Internet, getting cult status. It is also a testimonial of the power of viral marketing.

In July 2009, an anonymous user posted the sentence “Jia Junpeng, your mom is calling you to eat at home” on a World of Warcraft forum. Within 24 hours, it was viewed 1.5 million times, got over 200,000 comments and was reposted and quoted on at least 7,000 webpages. It quickly developed into a media tsunami inside and outside China.

The brain behind the phenomenon is Ao Chunhua, CEO of a small website marketing company based out in Chonqing. He hired over 800 people to register over 20,000 online IDs to flood the forums and create 100,000 replies / postings to drive traffic to World of Warcraft.

Why did it become such a success?

1. China’s youth are the driving force behind online growth. They love to social network and reach out and connect online.
   
2. The sentence “mom calling you home to eat” triggers an instant emotional response. The Chinese fondly recall childhood memories of playing outside and being called by their mother to come home to eat once dinner was ready.
   
3. The Internet is a breeding ground for creativity, ideas, and testing out of marketing strategies.
   
4. Viral marketing or word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing is a highly effective way to reach out and communicate with Chinese consumers. Chinese consumers shy away from traditional media and puts emphasis on guanxi (personal relationship). A recent survey found that nearly 40% of Chinese men aged 18-34 ranked word-of-mouth marketing as their top influence for electronic purchases.
   
5. Viral marketing is also a cost-effective way of reaching target groups and building brands. As everywhere in the world, traditional advertising on television, radio, or in print is expensive.

Café marketing – did Lcafe start a new marketing trend?

Sample Lab opened its Lcafe in Tokyo to reach Japanese women with information about new products.

It works as follows: Lcafe, customers register via mobile phone by providing their personal information (age, birthday, marital status). To become a member, they do not need to give their real name or exact address.

Once registered, the customers get tokens based on the amount of food or drink they ordered. They take their tokens to a brightly lit "sample bar" were they use them to get samples.
Registered members also get a barcode that shows up on their mobile phone. This serves as a membership ID, but also helps Sample Lab track who got what sample.

Sample Lab later sends out questions to see how a member liked a particular item. Those who answer the electronic survey get extra tokens for more samples.

Within the first two months, the café has more than 2,000 registered members. Offered samples were Refresh Time, a vitamin-infused drink by House Wellness Foods Corp.; pretzel sticks with flavors such as cheese, apple or tomato; and assorted skincare products.

This new trend was triggered by the economic turndown. Japanese advertisers are looking at new options to make their advertising more effective. They are turning away from mass promotion such as television ads and glossy magazine spreads that are very expensive. Targeted promotions like samples as more far more affordable and reach the correct customer group.

Yuhi Hori, of the event promotion division of Japan's largest advertising agency Dentsu Inc., agrees. "There is a fresh interest in distributing samples, as technologies using the Internet and mobile phones, which were not available in the past, allow companies to see the impact of sample promotion."

Lcafe reaches its target group perfectly – affluent Japanese women in their 20s and 30s. The café, which serves liquor, is open from 10 a.m. until 4:30 a.m. and clearly caters to women. Men are not allowed after midnight during the "Cinderella Time." The ratio of female to male customers is 9 to 1, according to Lcafe.

According to Kouhei Nishida, a manager of business development at Sample Lab, this group was chosen since "women take an initiative in shopping, they spark a trend. These young women can serve as influencers." More importantly, customers like Lcafe. Misako Minami, a 22-year-old college senior said: "It's simple [to register]. I feel value for money because I can get samples of new products while having a meal."

However, Lcafe also has its critics. Hideyuki Suehiro, of Hakuhodo, a major Japanese ad agency, claims that Lcafe lacks a system to encourage customers to spread their café experience through word of mouth (WOM) on the Internet. According to Lcafe, this is easily solved once it expands into other major Japanese cities (Yokohama, Nagoya and Osaka) and eventually overseas.

Time will tell if Lcafe remains a local phenomenon, or is starting a global marketing trend….

Games maker EA is at it again – another PR stunt gone wrong

This, time Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) unleashed a media storm over its Dante’s Inferno.

At San Diego Comic-Con event, EA came up with a promotion that went sadly wrong. It consisted of a contest, where show visitors were invited to "commit acts of lust" with models working at the convention –no matter in which booth. They had to submit proof by posting photos on various social networks, such as Twitter and Facebook.

The idea was to create a viral media storm. The winner (or ultimate sinner?) would enjoy "dinner and a sinful night with two hot girls, a limo service, paparazzi and a chest full of booty." The consolation prize for the five runners- up consisted of a copy of the game, a $240 gift card and assorted game merchandise.

In the disclaimer, EA stated on the official rules page that "...judges reserve the right, in their sole and absolute discretion, to disqualify any Submissions that are inappropriate for any reason, including without limitation, for depicting or mentioning sex, violence, drugs, alcohol and/or inappropriate language." In other words, keep your "acts of lust" clean!

The gaming community was not a bit charmed, to say the least. Th campaign was labeled as tasteless, immature and sexist. The company tried to explain (or to justify) by pointing out that lust is one of the nine sins/Circles of Hell and that participants were invited to take pictures with costumed reps.

"'Commit acts of lust' is simply a tongue-in-cheek way to say take pictures with costumed reps," EA’s danteteam tweets. "Also, a ‘Night of Lust’ means only that the winner will receive a chaperoned VIP night on the town with the Dante's Inferno reps, all expenses paid, as well as other prizes."

The game community was not impressed and tweeting back with viral force.
addtwist tweeted on July 27, 2009: "You should've just gone with Gluttony. Take a picture of the fattest ass at Comicon and get a prize. Or is that too easy?"

It's not the first time a marketing stunt of EA goes awry.

In April 2009, the company was criticized for sending a number of media outlets a Godfather II press kit that included a very real set of brass knuckles, to promote their game based on The Godfather II. The snag: it’s illegal to own brass knuckles in a number of states.

At the E3 trade show in June 2009, EA angered Christian groups and confused journalists covering the event with the use of fake Christian protesters for promotion of its Dante's Inferno.

What are the main marketing mistakes EA made this time?

1. They only targeted male gamers
   
2. They made the incorrect assumption that everyone would understand the “tongue in cheek” and “good fun” spirit of the promotion
   
3. They did not properly addressing criticism from their fan base
   
4. They did not learn from past mistakes

It seems that EA is writing its own La Divina Commedia - Dante Alighieri would have been amused…..

How Freddo, an 80-year old frog, broke the mold - twice

On July 6, Cadbury launched its Freddo campaign, featuring Freddo’s first adventure: The Secret of the Golden Keys.

Freddo is the brainchild of Harry Melbourne, a chocolate mold maker at MacRobertson Chocolates, who told his boss in 1930 that frog-shaped chocolate would sell better than those shaped like mouse (the original concept). After making a sample and send to management, the marketing manager declared it a winner and history in the shape of Freddo, was born.

Eighty years later, more than 100 million Freddo chocolate frogs in a variety of flavors are produced in Australia each year.

On its 80th birthday, Freddo is hopping into cyberspace with a series of interactive stories and games designed to stimulate and educate children to mark the occasion.

Cadbury (who acquired the Freddo rights in 1965), stated: "We designed The Adventures of Freddo as a free website which aims to educate and entertain children in the digital environment, a medium this generation is so familiar and comfortable with, using a more modern version of the cheeky, loveable frog that their parents and grandparents grew up with."

But not everybody is charmed by Freddo. Activists against junk food advertising claim that it exploits loopholes in the self-regulation system to market chocolate to children.
There are currently three codes regulating the advertising of unhealthy foods to children in Australia:

• the Children's Television Standards that are part of broadcasting legislation;
• the Australian Association of National Advertiser's codes on advertising foods, beverages and on marketing to children;
• RCMI, which food companies started in January 2009

Cadbury (NYSE: CBY) admits that Freddo chocolates are part of its "pre-teen" product range, but says that the campaign itself does not feature any chocolate, is educational, and encourages an active lifestyle. Cadbury’s marketing motives are clear, and include launching Freddo internationally if he breaks sales records at home in Australia and New Zealand.

Cadbury obviously has a very good legal team on board. Since the Freddo character is a Cadbury trademark and there are no chocolate products showing in the animated films, the company does not appear to be breaching any rules in the various codes. Cadbury cleverly doesn’t actively market to children aged 12 (and under) and thus abides by its own action plan registered under the RCMI (Responsible Children’s Marketing Initiative).

Kate Watson, Cadbury’s spokesperson claims: "We're marketing to parents. Parents are the gatekeepers. Kids can't go on the website without parents registering the kids.”

Cadbury (and its legal team) must have been pleased when the Australian Senate voted down a bill down that would have banned junk food advertising to children.

Our 80-year old amphibian friend broke the mold trice, and for sure will keep on enticing the next generation of Australian kids - with the help of its parent Cadbury.

Marketing to the Twitterati - companies that tweet

It seems that global warming doesn’t endanger a new breed of animals: the Twitterati.

These are frequent Twitter users, whose life seems to consist of sending as much tweets and retweets as possible. When running out of tweet content (“still stuck in traffic”, “cannot find my left contact lens”), they retweet other people’s tweets. The “me” factor is so high on Twitter, that Sprint Nextel included a flock of blue twitter birds in one of its cell phone commercials (see illustration).

For those of you, who are not familiar with Twitter, think of a micro-blog. Instead of ample space to write your story (peppered with links and images) you have on Twitter.com a limited character length of 140. As one of my friends puts it: “it’s like writing text messages on your phone, only this time online in a blog."

Companies have also fallen in love with Twitter – big time. Just check out some corporate websites, and you will find “follow us on Twitter” at the bottom of the webpage. Companies embrace Web 2.0 with a passion, also since it makes them look good. But what exactly is Web 2.0?

Web 1.0 was a one-way communication from a company to the www-surfers using a static website. Web 2.0 is bi-directional; website visitors can send info to the company. At first mainly Web 2.0 websites were mainly online shopping sites. The next 2.0 wave consisted of web forms and blogs, followed by social networking communities. LinkedIn is one of the oldest, followed by MySpace and Facebook.

Enter Twitter, where you can express your feelings (or frustrations) in 140 characters or less. Is it a Good Thing for companies, or should Twitterati stick to “who-murdered-Michael-Jackson?”
Individuals can "Me!"-tweet about “going on vacation” or “don’t like my new sweater”. Companies however need to provide value. That’s the crux of the matter - any serious company must tweet about a product proposition. Many are too lazy and just put shortened URLs to their press releases in their tweets. If you are too much “Me!” as a company, you will be ignored by the Twitterati and not be retweeted.

What excites Twitterati and makes them to read a corporate tweet?

1. Lead for new jobs


2. Cool (free!) downloads


3. Hot news about the company linked to a current event


4. Great articles about an industry or area of interest (target your Twitterati!)


5. Links to interesting newsletters or magazine articles


6. Information about network/media events


7. Links to funny cartoons or clips


8. Links to great blog postings

To leverage Twitter, companies must be smart. They need to define their target group, offer tailored tweet content with a value proposition, and keep up the effort to maintain a Twitter presence.

A grasshopper’s marketing leap

Grasshopper, an 800 phone number provider for small businesses in the US, rebranded itself.

To advertise the new name (they were previously known as GotVMail) and brand, they grafted a clever marketing strategy.

They started with compiling a list of the 5,000 most influential people in the US. It included influential bloggers, journalists, celebrities, TV anchors, and CEOs (Pete Cashmore, Adam Ostrow, and Tamar Weinberg).

Then they created a package to be sent by snail mail consisting of real chocolate covered grasshoppers ( a wink to their new name) with a simple message and video URL. The URL linked to an inspirational YouTube video about how entrepreneurs can change the world.

The packages were shipped out by FedEx last May. Some of the recipients (Josh Lohensohn of CNET) posted videos online of themselves eating the grasshopper. The campaign created a lot of buzz, especially on blogs and Twitter.

Some data (source: mashable.com):

• 4,911% traffic increase from April to May 2009
• 144,843 video views with 162 comments
• 1,500 tweets
• 120 blog posts in one month
• Tweets from Guy Kawasaki, Kevin Rose, and Jason Calacanis
• 7 national TV mentions, including FOX

What are the success factors?

A sound concept
This was not just a renaming/rebranding, but a repositioning of the company. Needham-based GotVMail Communications LLC is a maker of communication systems for small businesses. They wanted to relaunch their company targeting entrepreneurship – a shift from being a telecommunications company to a company that helped entrepreneurs.

A theme that makes sense
The company chose the grasshopper to communicate the idea of jumping forward. Since grasshoppers can jump 20 times their own size, they nicely symbolize small businesses (their potential customers) that want to leap forward.

Flawless execution
The grasshoppers were farm-raised insects and dipped in chocolate. They were very professional packaged and clearly stated what was inside.

The front of the envelope said:
“Yes, these are real grasshoppers. Approved by the FDA of Thailand”.

On the back was written:
“You’re a risk-taker, a dream-realizer. What’s left to do that you haven’t already done? Eat a grasshopper. They’re farm raised, covered in chocolate and rich in protein. So, not only will you be breaking boundaries, but you’ll be eating healthy, too.”

The call to action was on the attached tag:
Entrepreneurs can change the world.Join the movement now!http://grasshopper.com/idea
Perfect marketing mix
This campaign combines a snail mail FedEx package with word of mouth (WOM) and social media. The landing page of the video URL made it easy for postings on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other sites using an AddThis widget.

Attainable goals
The Grasshopper campaign was able to achieve its main goals with a small budget:

• To get attention
• To hold interest
• To get people talking
• To be considered as a supplier

No word if PETA was among the 5,000…..

Corporate website 3.0 – Skittles brave jump into the marketing future

Skittles went where no candy maker has gone before – and launched a corporate 3.0 website.

Skittles are candy products, produced by Mars, Inc., and part of the Wrigley product line.

Mars spokesman Ryan Bowling told the Wall Street Journal, that the site was redesigned to better connect with its core teenage audience, which spends a lot of time using social media.

"The teen audience relies heavily on their peers for advice on products. This is a unique, unexpected way to engage and to be a part of the conversation."

How does this site work? The “homepage” of Skittles is a small banner that fixes itself on the top left of your screen. No matter which tab you click, the URLs remain www.skittles.com/xxx,
The tabs link to customer-generated content (Wikipedia, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter)

1. “Home” and “Products” link to the Wikipedia page with the product description

2. “Media” has two components: “Videos” that links to YouTube and “Pics” that links to Flickr

3. “Chatter” brings you to the Twitter page

4. “Friends” links you to a Facebook page

5. “Contact” is the only tab that connects to a standard corporate website – the contact form on the Wrigley website

6. “Other Gobbledygook” will take you to the copyright notice and legal disclaimer

7. The middle part is a dynamic banner. Once you click for more information, a new window opens with a dedicated website ( e.g., http://www.havemorefunds.com/)

It is the first time that I came across such a website 3.0 of a reigning consumer brand. Instead of Skittles reaching out to its customers, it allows them to communicate directly and in a highly visible way. There are some possible pitfalls and dangers though......

Does the website reach the target demographics?
To enter the site, you must first confirm that you are over 18. (Before able to login, you get the message: “Hold your horses. Before you can check out Skittles.com, you’ve gotta tell us your age. So spill it”. Aren’t most Skittles-consumers younger?

Is Twitter a good choice?
According to Peter Corbett, CEO of iStrategyLabs, there are no children on Twitter - the majority of application-users are between the ages of 18-49 years of age. Is Mars aiming for the parents of their child consumers or for a whole new demographic?

How are negative comments handled?
Is there a staff that monitors content and communications and that can handle damage control?

How does Skittles/Mars protect themselves and their customers from malware and Web 2.0 threats?
It is quite easy for cybercrooks to inject malicious code in any of the pages. (Michael Gray provides some great advise on his SEO blog)

What about SEO?
The site consists of an iframe with almost no independent content. Technically, Facebook, Twitter or Wikipedia are not visited, but the Skittles’ website pulls the content for you into an iframe.

How will it affect the overall Mars brand?
Did the the flood of obscene, racist, and otherwise tasteless tweets have an impact?

The website was launched in March 2009 and designed by agency.com.
According to agency’s executive director Chad Stoller: “It is a very bold campaign in the sense that they are letting consumers speak on behalf of the brand."

My personal take: I love the fact that Skittles embraced Web 3.0 and is brave enough to relinquish control. But it might too much unchartered territory with unpredictable and even uncontrollable results. I hope that Skittles will tell us how they fared – up till now, there have been no announcements or reactions from Mars or the agency. No matter what, I predict that this one will make it many MBA course materials and marketing handbooks.

In the mean time, all I can say is: chapeau!

Chinese Web Marketing – A case study from Money Cat

Money Cat Consulting is and Australian multi-lingual marketing company.
It provides innovative marketing solutions for corporations wishing to reach Chinese communities in Australia and abroad.

They launched a Chinese-language financial & investment website (http://www.moneycat.com.au), to reach Chinese investors.

To reach out and acquire members, they used various marketing & PR tools – with different levels of success.

When reaching for the Chinese market, these are the lessons that we can learn from Money Cat.

• Using newspapers is very expensive with a very low response rate. Especially advertisements have little effect, but some advertorials can generate a good level of interest depending on the specific product.
  
• Web banners can work sometimes, but they usually have a limited exposure period. It can be a good tool for branding, but Chinese web users do not click a lot on web banners anymore.
  
• Google Adword-campaign is not effective for reaching the Chinese market – the favorite search engine is Baidu. Google Adword and Yahoo keywords do work in Taiwan and Hong Kong, where English is is predominant Web language.
  
• Taiwanese websites are effective as a marketing channel, since many Chinese web users also look at Taiwanese websites for information. Especially articles on consumer goods and finance are popular.
  
• Blogs are highly effective, it generates consistent traffic. Chinese web users love to read and write blogs. Money Cat sent an article to 200+ blogs across Asia (and Australia), and saw their traffic grown tenfold in a month. However, it is important to target the right blogs for the right topics.
  
• Videos and Audios can be effective, but bandwidth is still a problem. Broadband infrastructure is not yet fully established across China, and quality is often distorted. Money Cat opted to upload video clips on Taiwanese and Hong Kong websites that can also be accessed by Chinese viewers.

Mayo de Cinco Marketing Mania

Cinco de Mayo is the celebration of the victory of the Mexican people over the French army in the La Batalla de Puebla on May 5th, at Puebla, Mexico.
(Puebla is 100 miles east of Mexico City). It should not be confused with Mexico’s Independence Day.

The reason why Cinco de Mayo became such a national celebration in the US is a nice lesson in marketing.

It started in 1966, when Coors Brewing Co. was facing a crisis. Chicano activists began protesting against the employment discrimination against Latinos working at Coors breweries and called for a boycott of Coors beer. Not exactly the corporate image you want for your company.

Coors did some brilliant crisis marketing – they started sponsoring Cinco de Mayo. It served multiple purposes: it kept them on the good side of their ethnic workforce; they kept their Latino customer base, and they bumped up their May beer sales to college students.

That’s the reason why Cinco de Mayo celebrations mainly take place across the U.S. and only locally in Mexico. The US-based Hispanic advertising community uses it as great promotional opportunity for their clients – promoting a wide range of products, including alcohol. Since Cinco de Mayo has been warmly embraced by the US population as a whole, there are now marketing campaigns galore.

A small selection:
1) The Food Network tells its consumers how to get ready for Cinco de Mayo – with a Rachel Ray fajita pan and a corn zipper
2) The Fine Living Network sends their customers 10 margarita recipes
3) Maxim magazine invites its readers to pick their favorite Mexican hottie

This year, Cinco de Mayo marketing activities got a setback. Many Cinco de Mayo festivals got canceled across the U.S. because of swine flu. Unfortunately, anti-Mexican sentiment also reared its ugly head in some places.

Similar to St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo has become a marketing tool for many companies – especially alcohol companies.

Rest me to wish you all a fun Cinco de Mayo, but please be responsible - don’t drink and drive!
(illustration by courtesy of TMN).