What is Behind International Advertising?
My Final Thoughts

With the increase of blogs and the expansion of developing social networks on the internet, it was a cool experience to develop a blog of my own. It was interesting to think of ways to promote the blog and see who I would network with. My blog mainly focused on international advertising and what brands and companies are doing in order to expand globally. I learned a great amount about this topic and trends happening in the global marketing world.

While reading different articles about global marketing, I found that many of my articles showed how competitive marketing often develops when expanding a company globally. This can be seen especially with what has been going on within the search engine market. When Google wanted to buy a new worldwide provider, Microsoft immediately bought a new provider. Because the expansion of the global advertising market was only increasing two to three percent a year, both companies wanted to be the first to help raise these percentages. When comparing search engines, it appears they are all playing in a game to see who comes up with the most innovative ideas to expand and make their search engines number one. It appears that as companies are advertising globally, they will have to be careful with competitive marketing, which sometimes can cause more bad then good towards a company.

Another interesting trend I saw was as countries, such as China and Japan are developing and growing, companies will hit them hard with advertising. Recently, China has had a growing demand for new things, such as the demand for electronic products. It makes sense why companies like Dell would want to expand in these new places where they will attract new consumers. Also, in places like Tokyo, Honda did not miss their chance to run their company in full capacity. It was smart for Honda to advertise their new remodeled CR-V in Japan, where it takes less gas then regular SUVs and expensive gasoline is always a worry. As developing countries continue to have a demand for newer products, the field of international advertising will increase and more companies will want to expand their products globally. It is a great way to attract new customers.

Furthermore, did anyone notice certain companies that I talked about a lot on my blog? This is the last trend that I want to discuss. Big companies like cell phone or search engines are seen as being the most popular when trying to expand globally. Most of my articles dealt with Nokia, Samsung, Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo. These companies are big brands and it is clear that advertisers want these brands to be known worldwide. I think it is important to note that no matter how much money a company has to expand their brand worldwide, it takes hard work to attract their company somewhere else. It is important to keep the brand consistent throughout the countries and to know the different target audiences there are in every single place a marketer advertises in.

The main focus in my audience research course was how to target specific audiences by using data on the internet. My topic relates to this because it is important to know the type of audience there is when trying to market in a new place. By using internet Web sites, like MRI+ or SRDS, it has become easier to do this.

Having a blog taught me about a new writing style. At first, I was very hesitant when I learned you had to write in order for people to see your personality. I found myself writing what I wanted my personality to be like, instead of letting it flow naturally. As I continued to comment on articles, it got easier to write and express my personality. Writing does not come easy for me so it was fun to be able to write in a more casual, free-spirited way.

Furthermore, I think blogs are very cool for people to express their feelings on specific topics and I think when applying for jobs, it could help show one’s personality on paper, instead of solely within a face-to-face interview, which I feel I can never truly be my complete self. I am definitely going to keep my blog updated so when it is time to find a job and the interviewer asks, "what are the kinds of things you are interested in?" I can tell the interviewer to look at my blog. This class widened my view about the online world and it helped me learn about a new topic, such as international advertising in a fun way.

From Greece To America

LENA PHILIPPOU KORRES of Korres Natural Products, a line of high-end plant-based beauty products made in Greece, is delighted that the brand's first American store just opened on Wooster Street in New York. ''I love SoHo,'' she said from her office in Athens.

Now, she can make up for lost time. Mrs. Korres, 36, who heads the company's international marketing and product development is married to the company's founder, George Korres, said that her personal style mirrors the brand's philosophy. ''Korres's packaging and products are understated, polite and kind,'' she said.

I personally love it when brands from other countries expand globally. I think the company in most cases, benefits if they advertise correctly and sparks the interest of new and old customers.

Article can be found at, "The Natural Beauty."

City’s Virtues to Be Sold in New Global Ad Campaign

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg unveiled the city’s first global advertising campaign yesterday in Times Square. The campaign, which carries the theme “This is New York City,” includes a television ad that will be the first to promote the city to potential visitors who live overseas. It is the latest weapon aimed at hitting the mayor’s target of increasing the number of visitors to 50 million a year by 2015. Last year, the city drew 43.8 million visitors, more than in any previous year, according to NYC & Company, the city’s tourism promotion agency.

To reach that goal, NYC & Company plans to place billboards in cities across America and Europe and to broadcast its new commercial in Britain, Ireland and Spain, on local TV stations in Philadelphia and Boston, and on the History Channel. The city’s contract with Cemusa, a provider of bus shelters and other structures, gives it hundreds of billboards that it can swap for advertising space on the streets of several European cities. Much of the money for the campaign is coming from the city budget.

Mr. Bloomberg said yesterday that it was time to recognize how important tourism is to the city’s economy and to try to increase it at a time when a weak dollar is making the city more affordable to foreigners.“People are shocked to find that what they thought was a very expensive city isn’t all that expensive,” Mr. Bloomberg said.

He said the officials decided that in order “to get at New York’s core, you simply have to let New York speak for itself.” So the theme of the ads is simply “This is New York City,” and the ads combine images of the city like the Statue of Liberty, Yankee Stadium and the Brooklyn Bridge with animated symbols meant to spark a viewer’s imagination.“This is targeted to the excitement of New York City,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “It’s a lot more upbeat than just ‘I Love New York.’” Their main goal was for advertising to do something and I think this is a great way to step up. Also, I think that unconventional ways to advertise such as, billboards is very successful in getting consumer's attention.

More to this article can be found at, "City’s Virtues to Be Sold in New Global Ad Campaign."

Free Subscriptions! Good or Bad?

Rupert Murdoch says he plans to abolish subscription fees at The Wall Street Journal’s Web site, according to news accounts from Australia. This apparently was news to executives at his company and The Journal, who cautioned that the decision might not be final. Mr. Murdoch made his statements in an address to shareholders in the South Australian center of Adelaide on Tuesday — late Monday night in New York — and in an interview carried in the Tuesday issue of his national newspaper, The Australian. News agencies reported that he said of The Journal’s Web site, “We are studying it and we expect to make that free.”

The Journal, one of very few large newspapers to charge for access to most of its Web site, has one million paying online subscribers. The fees they pay have been widely reported at $50 million a year, but a Dow Jones executive has said the figure is closer to $70 million. Mr. Murdoch also said he intended to expand the size of the weekday Journal by 15 to 20 percent and to double the Saturday edition as he expands its coverage of national and international affairs.

Mr. Murdoch has repeatedly said he is inclined to make access to all or most of The Journal site free to draw many more readers and more ad revenue. He told Australian shareholders that he envisioned, “instead of having one million, having at least 10-15 million in every corner of the earth.” But Gary Ginsberg, executive vice president of the News Corporation for global marketing and corporate affairs, said in an e-mail message yesterday, “No final decision has been reached” on the subscription fees.

There are many pros and cons to this. I feel that the increased ad revenue from opening the site to all readers would outweigh the loss of subscription charges, but that strategy could carry risks. With the website being free, they run the risk alienating the audience through over saturation and as a result, a decline in audience response could be seen. As I learned in my audience research class, too much exposure or frequency could definitely be harmful.

This article can be found at, "Murdoch Said to Stress Free Access to Wall Street Journal's Web Site."

Bye Bye Consumer Sales In Japan

In South Korea, Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday it had stopped selling flat panel televisions and other consumer products in Japan, citing poor profitability. Samsung has emerged in the past decade and a half as a global force in consumer electronics, taking on and even beating Japanese rivals in places such as the United States and Europe. "We judged direct sales to individual consumers are less profitable than business-to-business sales," Lee Eun-hee, a Samsung spokeswoman, said of the reasoning behind the decision.

Samsung will sell flat screen computer monitors directly to businesses and will continue to sell components such as memory chips and liquid crystal displays, she said. The company will also keep supplying mobile phone handsets to Japanese telecommunications company Softbank Corp., she said. Since 2004, Samsung has produced LCD panels at a joint venture with Sony to meet strong demand for flat screen TVs, which has soared in recent years as consumers have switched to the sleeker versions.

Analysts, who emphasized that the move would have no impact on Samsung's bottom line, said the dominance of Japanese manufacturers on their home turf meant the company faced serious marketing and brand challenges despite the quality of its products.
I think that Samsung should continue to sell the products that do well in Japan, but when it comes to flat screen TVs, maybe it will be a good idea to not target in Japan.

This article can be found in the Washington Post entitled, "Samsung Stops Consumer Sales In Japan."

Microsoft CEO Plays Down Google Threat

Well if you are true readers of my blog, you will remember an article I posted that dealt with Google planning more marketing strategies than Microsoft and Microsoft was getting jealous. Well, today in Tokyo, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer, launched a new Windows Live services, played down the threat of Google on Thursday, denying the rival was ahead in any way but in online searches.

Microsoft Corp. on Thursday began offering its Windows Live programming package for e-mail, instant messaging, blogging and photo-sharing in Japan. The product was announced in the U.S. Tuesday. On Monday, Google Inc., which already offers similar services online for personal computers, said it will offer a new free software package for mobile devices called Android, scheduled to hit the market during the second half of next year. Google is offering its technology to handset manufacturers so consumers will be able to use Google's search engine, e-mail and maps on mobile devices as easily as on personal computers.

Ballmer expressed hopes for Microsoft's business in Japan, noting that Japanese consumers were ahead of the rest of the world in accessing the Internet on cell phones because of the popularity of the "i-mode" Net-linking mobile service that NTT DoCoMo launched in February 1999. But Ballmer acknowledged Microsoft expects to continue to lose money in its global online business for some time. Although online advertising revenue is growing, Microsoft is still "in an investment mode" in online businesses, he said.

I'm personally sensing some major competition. Do you?

This article can be found at, "Microsoft CEO Plays Down Google Threat."

Here is an example of whats next in the virtual world, within Microsoft vs Google

NBC Universal Travels Abroad

NBC, one of the biggest media channels, finally moves into the international markets, calling it NBC Universal (NBCU). NBC Universal's international business is a huge priority. As the President and Chief Executive of NBC Universal, Jeff Zucker said, "NBCU recently made a major acquisition of Sparrowhawk Media, which gives us 18 feeds of the Hallmark Channel overseas, reaching 60 million subscribers in 152 countries."

The NBCU Global Networks include the Sci Fi Channel, our Universal Studio channel, and 13th Street, which is our global mystery and adventure channel, along with CNBC Europe and CNBC Asia. As Zucker continues to comment on, "...we are expanding these channels into 30 more countries over the next three years. This augments our already robust international film production and international TV production businesses, which we are also expanding.”

The company plans to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on its overseas expansion. In my opinion, NBC going global shows a sign of commitment. Even though, NBC is one of the last channels to join the international television team, it is never too late to expand globally.

Read more on this article at, "NBC Universal, late for party, joins gold rush in international television."

British Tourism Eager To Cash In On Movie Magic

Tourist chiefs keen to tempt "set-jetters" to Britain launched a campaign on Monday to cash in on historic locations featured in the new Cate Blanchett movie "The Golden Age" about Tudor Queen Elizabeth I. Location vacations have proved to be a major tourist draw with visitors flocking to see where the Harry Potter movies and "The Da Vinci Code" were made. Britain has set up film tourism offices in Los Angeles and Mumbai.

Tours inspired by movie and TV locations -- known as "set-jetting" in the travel business -- are thriving with "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy boosting New Zealand tourism and Hawaii promoting Elvis Presley and Indiana Jones sites. Set-jetting is a great way of marketing a destination," said Tom Wright, chief executive of the national tourism agency VisitBritain. "This is a major opportunity for us to remind visitors -- and Americans particularly -- of one of the enduring appeals of our destination," he said. If the right film is chosen, it acts as free advertising for a destination, location or attraction and is shown to millions of people around the world.

So VisitBritain, cashing in on the launch of the new Elizabethan saga, is running a global campaign promoting hotel, car hire and specialist tour group tie ins that cover the film's major locations. Its visitbritain.com/goldenage website takes in a string of Tudor backdrops from Westminster and Winchester cathedrals to a Cambridge University college. Nearly three quarters of the potential visitors to Britain are likely to visit castles and stately homes, tourist industry research shows.

This article is very interesting to me because as I am taking an audience research class, I am learning about tourist industry's and how to target the right audience. This is a great example of that!

See more of this article at; "British Tourism Eager To Cash In On Movie Magic."

What's Wrong With Automobile Ads?

What’s more dangerous: automobiles or cigarettes? The European Parliament proposed last Wednesday that car advertisements in the European Union carry tobacco-style labels, warning of the environmental impact they cause.

Should warnings consist of something like this; “Driving this car may damage the health of the planet”? Perhaps not just yet. The European Union lawmaking road is long and curvy, and the Parliament cannot initiate legislation. Instead, it sometimes tries to legislate by press release, taking populist stances in an effort to put pressure on industry and the European Commission. The commission, which holds much of the real lawmaking power within the 27-country bloc, often takes a softer line.

Still, automakers and their ad agencies are taking the matter seriously, for fear that cars might go the way of tobacco or junk food. Can you imagine if what happen to cigarette advertising happens to car advertising? I think not. Cigarette advertising has been almost entirely eliminated across Europe, and several countries have placed restrictions on ads for unhealthy food.

The advertising industry argues that it is being made a scapegoat, even as lawmakers back away from other steps to curb carbon dioxide emissions. But Chris Davies, a British member of the European Parliament who sponsored the measure, said the proposed labels could make a difference. Many auto ads now seem to be aimed at enticing consumers to buy bigger, faster, more gas-guzzling cars than they need, he said. “The rationale is to try to get car makers to compete on environmental information about their cars, rather than purely on power, speed and appearance,” he said.

The auto industry has pledged to come up with a new set of voluntary guidelines on car advertising, monitored by industry-financed advertising-standards organizations.
This self-regulation has been widely adopted across Europe in an effort to keep regulators from imposing restrictions on all kinds of advertising. I feel that with constant problems that are brought up in the world, it is no surprise that advertisers are going to continue to get more restrictions on what they can and can not promote.

Artlice can be found at; "Europe Proposes Warnings for Auto Ads."

Honda Jumps On CR-V Sales In Tokyo

Honda Motor Co. had a 63 percent jump in quarterly earnings as strong sales of its new CR-V crossover made up for higher raw material costs, and it raised its full-year net profit forecast on a lower tax rate. Honda's factories are running at full capacity around the world, including in Japan. Orders at Japan's second-biggest automaker have been especially strong for the remodeled CR-V from would-be SUV drivers hoping to go further with expensive gasoline.

Honda Executive Vice President Koichi Kondo said that while the subprime mortgage issue has had little impact on its U.S. car sales, it was dealing a "significant" blow to motorcycle sales. It seems people are pulling back on leisure products," he told a news conference, adding a further 10 billion yen of profit-eroding sales incentives will be offered in North America. For the year to March 31, 2008, Tokyo-based Honda lowered its dollar-yen exchange rate assumption by 1 yen to 116 yen, pushing its revenue forecast down 50 billion yen to 12.3 trillion yen. Robust overseas sales more than made up for a 16 percent plunge in domestic sales, helping Honda expand its global sales by 6 percent in the quarter to 937,000 cars. But the deeper-than-expected decline at home forced Honda to slightly lower its global sales forecast for the full year to March 2008, by 25,000 cars to 3.935 million.

A powerful earthquake in northern Japan at the beginning of the quarter disrupted production at all of the country's automakers, but was not enough to dent profits.

Honda, which has never posted a loss, is hoping to reverse a domestic sales slide with the launch on Friday of the revamped Fit subcompact, its best-selling car in Japan. Backed by the strong earnings, Honda raised its annual dividend forecast to 86 yen from 80 yen. In my opinion, one of the most important characteristics a global company needs to do is gain support from other overseas markets. Without support, potential problems will occur and it is hard enough for a company to go global.

Article can be found at "Honda Jumps On CR-V Sales."

Nike Buys Soccer Supplier For $582 Million

Nike Inc., will acquire Britain's Umbro PLC for $582 million, as the U.S. apparel and shoe maker seeks a larger presence in the global soccer market. Nike Inc., through its subsidiary Nike Vapor Ltd., agreed to pay 193.06 pence ($3.94) in cash for each Umbro share, a 61 percent premium over the closing price on Oct. 17, the last business day before Umbro confirmed that it had received an offer.

Umbro, based in Cheadle, north west England, designs, sources and markets soccer-related apparel, footwear and equipment sold in more than 90 countries. Umbro, together with its 45 international licensees, supplies uniforms to the national teams of England, Ireland, Sweden and Norway, six English Premier League teams and more than 100 other professional teams globally.

The deal was backed by the Football Association, the governing body for English soccer. "The FA has enjoyed an excellent partnership with Umbro for more than 20 years. We are delighted that the proposed acquisition will allow us to continue our strong historical relationship with Umbro while benefiting from the marketing expertise and financial strength of Nike," said Brian Barwick, the FA's chief executive officer. Nike, based in Beaverton, Oregon, has been expanding aggressively outside the United States. In the first quarter, it reported revenue growing by 22 percent in the Asia-Pacific region and 16 percent in Europe, compared to 2 percent growth in the United States. Nike said it intended to operate Umbro as an independent, U.K.-based subsidiary, like its Converse brand. "Umbro is a brand with a powerful heritage and deep experience in the world's most popular sport and the world's biggest football market. With its close links to The Football Association and the England team, Umbro's future is even stronger than its past," said Mark Parker, president and CEO of Nike.

In my opinion, since Nike is such a huge and well-known brand, Umbro will definitely benefit from this. Consumer's already possess a brand loyalty towards Nike and by Nike acquiring Umbro, Umbro will automatically have loyal customers. Just look what happen to Converse!

To see more of this artile, please visit; "Nike Buys Soccer Supplier for $582M"

Nokia's Global Market Share Rose To 39 Percent in Finland

Robust demand for cheaper phones boosted third-quarter earnings at Nokia Oyj, the world's biggest maker of cell phones, with the better than expected profits sending its shares higher. Although phone prices fell, volumes were up and profit margins improved thanks to tight cost controls. As a result the company said on Thursday its earnings per share for the three months rose to 0.40 euros from 0.21 euros in the same period of 2006.

Nokia sold 112 million phones in the quarter, more than its three closest rivals combined, as consumers in emerging markets rushed to buy Nokia's ultra-cheap models. With about 8 million new clients signing up for mobile telephony each month in India alone, the world's leading cell phone makers are falling over each other to woo first-time buyers with low-priced handsets. "We are having a lot of growth in new subscribers in places like India and China, Indonesia, we are seeing Africa come on in a big way," Nokia Chief Financial Officer Rick Simonson said in a conference call with analysts.

Nokia is clearly showing its great leadership in supply chain, manufacturing, distribution and brand. As Nokia sold mostly older models in the quarter, it was also able to scale back group sales and marketing spending by 231 million euros ($329 million) from the previous quarter.

As holiday season approaches, I think it is very important for Nokia to start advertising for new models but at the same time, still keep the old models appealing. Nokia needs to be aware that there will be an increase in their marketing spend when the holiday approaches.

Want to read more about this article? Visit "Cheap Phones Lift Nokia's Profits"

BBC In Drama Of 21st Century Media

Britain's BBC, a publicly funded corporation, has stumbled from one crisis to another this year, damaging viewer's trust and credibility. Sweeping job cuts are taking place this week. Director Mark Thompson is expected to announce plans to cut up to 2,800 positions due to a tighter budget. The bbc.co.uk/news Web site, which it says attracts about 35 million users a month from around the world, will also be affected, according to media reports.

BBC World, its commercially funded, international 24-hour news channel which broadcasts in more than 200 countries, BBC World Service and World Service radio will not directly be affected by the cuts, and BBC Worldwide is Europe's most successful exporter of television programmes.Media analyst Claire Enders said the BBC has to be seen to be sorry when it makes a mistake, due to its position as a public broadcaster and the scrutiny that brings.

BBC has launched a host of new channels, radio stations and interactive services to appeal to niche audiences. Its critics argue that this drive for volume, ratings and viewer involvement has led to its latest problems, including the fiasco with the Queen. On that occasion, the BBC had to apologize after showing promotional footage for a documentary which wrongly implied that Queen Elizabeth had stormed out of a photo shoot with celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz.

Companies like BBC need to be more careful. Since BBC has been the most successful public service broadcaster in the world across its areas of activity, this crisis will hopefully pass. I feel that when dealing with the public, the most important characteristic an organization has to deal with is honesty! Just like everything else in advertising or in media; no honesty, no success!

This article can be found at "BBC in drama of 21st century media"

My First Interactive Marketing Virtual Conference Experience

On October 16th, I experienced my first interactive marketing virtual conference called "Embrace Social Networking and Extend Brand Awareness." Social Networking is primarily a U.S. based phenomenon that will be growing. After listening to three speakers, social networking seems like it will be the newest thing in the marketing and advertising world. Todd Wasserman, editor for Brandweek, focused on how marketer's need to embrace social networks. He said that marketer's need to figure out an effective way to advertise for social networks. Often and I agree with this, certain social network sites, such as Myspace and Facebook scare people away. An example given was when the new 'Mini Feed" application was added to facebook, which made facebook become more of a stalking device, as opposed to a social networking device. Marketers need to come up with ways to not make sites seem creepy. Currently, I think marketers need to target teens and advertise social networks to them first. Teens are using these sites the most right now and they are an easy group to influence. Even though, Myspace is so big right now, despite all this buzz, social networks are seen as a small niche in media; however, 90% of people belong to social groups.

Alan Schanzer, the second speaker was trying to see how marketers can use social networks to interact on and offline with consumers. The use of the internet is constantly growing, with 50% of web-content being produced by consumers. Social networks are the perfect new innovation during this time of intense use of the online world. My class and I, can be a part of this next statisitic, that there are currently 70 million blogs produced and 120,000 new blogs created each day. We definately impacted this number by all creating blogs this semester for class. The last speaker, Barton Goldenberg, discussed how business's will start to have to get use to including social networks.

Like all new marketing phenomenas , the biggest keys are to start by focusing on the target audiences, building and engaging honest relationships, and hope that it will blossomed. I think social networks, if advertised well, can become very successful especially during this time of increase internet use.

Advertising American Furniture Globally

Rich Americans build backyard home theaters. British millionaires join exclusive car clubs. But the newly affluent in China, Russia, India and the United Arab Emirates have embraced a surprising status symbol: American furniture.Recently, the largest furniture industry trade show in the world, with 85,000 attendees and 12 million square feet of show space were concentrating on one of the industry’s few bright spots, the growing overseas market for American-made luxury furnishings.

According to an article, called High Point Hears Cheers Abroad, "people both within and outside the industry, rich consumers in countries new to high-end consumer culture now see furniture from the United States as desirable as porcelain from Limoges and Italian sports cars." According to Steve Nobel, chairman of the Luxury Home Alliance, a group that promotes American and international luxury goods and services for homes, stated "these people have shopped the world, and what they want are products that are well designed and crafted beyond ordinary standards."

So, what is so good about American furniture? Am I missing something? According to people in Japan, China, and India, one of the biggest things they brag about is that they have American furniture. Business's in global countries have started selling furniture similar to American designs. This has caused a great decline in American furniture companies, such as, Thomasville and Hooker Furniture. No longer do these countries need to get their American furniture shipped to them. I think this is going to cause great distress for companies that relied on their international consumers.

A Revolutionary Icon, And Now, A Bikini

Forty years after his death, Che — born Ernesto Guevara de la Serna, is as much a marketing tool as an international revolutionary icon. This raises the question of what exactly does the sheer proliferation of his image, the distant gaze, the scraggly beard and the beret adorned with a star, mean in a decidedly capitalist world?

Recently in Santa Clara, Cuba, Aleida Guevara March, the 46-year-old daughter of Che Guevara, says she can bear the Che T-shirts, the Che keychains, the Che postcards and Che paintings sold all over Cuba, not to mention the world. At least some of the purchasers truly cherish Che, she says. On Monday she was surrounded by thousands of Che fans wearing his image here in Santa Clara, where her father’s remains are kept, and where she sat in the front row of a ceremony to observe the 40th anniversary of his death. But amid all the ceremony, what really gets to Ms. Guevara is the use of the man she calls Papi in ways that she says are completely removed from his revolutionary ideals, like when a designer recently put Che on a bikini. Even in Cuba, one of the world’s last Communist bastions, Che is used both to make a buck and to make a point.

There’s no doubt that when Fidel dies someday, his image will be just like Che’s,” said Enrique Oltuski, the vice minister of fishing and a contemporary of both men. But Che’s mythic status as a homegrown revolutionary does not extend everywhere, even if his image does. When Target stores in the United States put his image on a CD carrying case last year, critics who consider him a murderer and symbol of totalitarianism pressed the retailer to pull the item.

What is with this phenomenoum of putting murder's faces on clothing, as a way for us to be inspired by them? What is the world coming down to in Cuba and even in our state, the United States. I do not doubt that by next week the biggest thing will be Hitler's face on binders and as book coverings. I really do not think this type of advertising is a good idea, especially where I can imagine teenagers buying a shirt with Hitler's face on it and thinking it is cool!

More to this article can be found at; A Revolutionary Icon, And Now, A Bikini.

The Chinese Marketplace Is The Most Exciting Marketplace In The World

Whose ready for the 2008 Olympics? I know I am. The Beijing Olympics are less that a year away and oddly the main focus is not on the athletes but what companies the athletes will be wearing. China is one of the largest emerging markets and a top focus for shoemakers fighting for market share. "The Beijing 2008 Games are set to be the greatest sporting event in modern Chinese history," said Paul Pi, head of marketing for Adidas in greater China. But what is with this focus on shoes?

Adidas is an official sponsor of the Olympics. In addition to paying a reported $80 million for the sponsorship position, the company has coordinated a marketing blitz that includes opening an average of two stores a day in the country. The German company has declared the event will help put it in the No. 1 position in China by 2008, a coveted spot now held by shoe giant Nike. Nike says China is poised to become its second-largest market in the world by 2009 after the U.S. The company has seen tremendous gains.

Nike declined to discuss its Olympics marketing plan but says the Olympics is less about advertising than about supporting the athlete. Both companies may hit $1 billion annually in sales in China by the Olympics, said Terry Rhoades, managing director of Zou Marketing, a sports consultant company in Shanghai.

No matter what, advertising is seen everywhere! Even though the main focus should be placed on sports because come on, it is the Olympics, somehow it turned into what brand will the athletes be sporting. I find it funny that the Olympics turned into some sort of fashion show. No matter where we go, we cannot escape the world of advertising!



This article can be found in The Washington Post called, "Sneaker Cos. Go For China's Olympic Gold."

Is Microsoft Getting Jealous Of Google?

Microsoft Corp. softened its criticism of Google Inc's planned $3.1 billion acquisition of online advertiser DoubleClick, which it had claimed earlier would give the search engine group a dominant position. Last week, Brad Smith, Microsoft's general counsel, said Google's deal would make the web search company "the overwhelmingly dominant pipeline for all forms of advertising" and it would be "bad for consumers." Jean- Philippe Courtois, head of Microsoft International said, that Microsoft was keen to take an active part in the $40 billion digital marketing market. He forecast the online advertising market was growing between 15 and 20 percent a year worldwide while the global advertising market gained only between 2 percent and 3 percent.

Recently, Microsoft bought DoubleClick's competitor Aquantive for $6 billion, one of the largest deals in a recent wave of acquisitions in the sector. However, last month, the European Union's Court of First Instance in Luxembourg upheld a landmark 2004 European Commission decision and a 497 million euro fine against Microsoft for illegal business practices that violated antitrust law. In my opinion, this type of case is showing the competitiveness within business's. If Google signs a new deal, then Microsoft is going to want to sign a new deal. Its what makes up competitive marketing.


This article can be found in The Washington Post, entitled "Microsoft Softens Tone on DoubleClick/Google Deal."


Watch a video- Google Buys DoubleClick for $ 3.1 Million

Dell PCs Sold in China!

Dell Inc. will be selling desktop computers and laptops in Beijing, China. Computers will be sold in 50 stores operated by Gome Electrical Appliances Holding in major Chinese cities and will expand later in the month. Gome's stores hope to help Dell increase in sales in China, which is the world's second largest PC market, where it trails the Lenovo Group, Hewlett-Packard and the Founder Technology Group.

China's growing demand for electronic products is blossoming due to the income of urban Chinese jumping to 18 percent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. “Over the next two years, the growth of the desktop market in China will make it a larger market than the U.S.,” said Michael Tatelman, vice president for marketing and sales for Dell global consumer business.

I think this is a good approach for Dell. After doing a marketing project on Dell versus Macs, I learned that Dell's distribution strategy is direct from manufacturer to consumer. Although this may have been an advantage since it did not include retailers and other middle man, it is smart for Dell to reach out more. It recently started selling computers in Wal-mart Stores. Dell also plans to open its first retail store in Russia.

Article could be found in "Dell Agrees to Sell PCs at Retailer in China" in the New York Times.

Advertising in the Air?

Gazing out the window on an airplane has been one of the last ways to enjoy a marketing-free moment. Well that is all about to change. The "first global aerial advertising network" has been created in London. Giant, billboard like ads will be visible from the air as planes approach runways.

It does appear to be a good idea in my opinion. I know that when I am on a plane, I am always looking out the window and daydreaming. As Paul Jenkins, the managing director of Ad-Air says, "what an incredible marketing opportunity- all these passengers with nothing else to do, staring down at the ground below."

A few areas where Ad-Air plans to set up is near more than a dozen airports, including Heathrow, Charles de Gaulle near Paris, Suvarnabhumi in Bangkok, Haneda in Tokyo and Dubai International.

The introduction of Ad-Air comes amid strong growth in what the marketing industry calls outdoor advertising, which includes ads on everything from billboards to bicycles. Marketers see such ads as one way to reach busy consumers who pay less attention to television commercials than they used to.

Ad-Air, which is privately held, said it had invested $ 5 million, or about 10 million euros, buying or leasing land under flight paths, aiming to create an advertising network of 30 airports worldwide. The ads, printed on a plastic mesh, will sit on metal frames about 12 to 18 inches off the ground, he said. Some of the sites are as big as 215,000 square feet, giving agencies plenty of space for their creative work.

I think that advertising in the air could work. As consumers we are constantly bombarded with ads, ads, and more ads which could get tedious. But I know that when I am traveling and flying on a plane, I am bored. Trying to read ads in the sky could become some sort of game?! Don't you think?

This article could be found in the New York Times, titled "The View From Your Airplane Window Was Brought To You By" , written by Eric Pfanner

Yahoo Is Reaching Out

Is Yahoo dying out? Since Google, Inc. and Microsoft Corp. has risen, Yahoo's revenues has decreased. But don't get worried yet, Yahoo has planned to sell the majority of Bebo's Inc. display ad for the UK and Ireland. As stated in an article, Yahoo to sell ads for social network Bebo, this will hopefully reach around 11.6 million users per month because around 75 percent of the UK's Internet users visit Bebo, particularly 13-24 year olds.

They also plan on developing a toolbar that will enable Bebo users to monitor activity on the site even when they are not actively viewing it. Managing director of Yahoo Europe says, "Yahoo will bring Bebo advanced ad targeting capabilities, which will allow ads to be served based on what other Web sites a person has been viewing."

Yahoo is trying to invest in numerous companies in order to make its comeback. Last week, Yahoo announced it would pay US $300 million for BlueLithium Inc., a company that sells banner advertising to around 1,000 Web sites. Yahoo said in April it would buy the rest of Right Media Inc. for $680 million, which runs a marketplace for advertising to purchase space on Web sites. Bebo's direct sales advertising team, whose duties will be turned over to Yahoo, will now develop integrated marketing plans with brands and partners. The deal could be a needed boost for Yahoo.

Freedman International Saves the Day

No need to fret, international marketing has become that much easier through the help of Freedman International. Freedman's range of services and solutions are designed to make your international marketing communication easier, more consistent and responsive. For example lets take a moment and look at a big international brand, like Kodak. Kodak constantly has a stream of new products with in 35 countries, 22 different languages, and dozens of local marketing agencies. Communication chaos was taking its toll and there were missed deadlines, inconsistant launch materials, and duplicated costs and efforts. Luckily Freedman came to the rescue. You might ask how? Well Freedman used workflow technology and its own international marketing experience to mastermind a new, best-practice way of producing localised collateral for Kodek. This includes a "roadmap" of all forthcoming marketing communication projects. With a detailed creative brief and budget from the client's marketing team, Freedman ensures projects will be started on time. They chase every stage of the project and necessary approvals, check network, negotiate with suppliers, and etc.

Consistency for a brand is a must! When the pressure is on, it is vital that no detail in the international direct marketing printing process is overlooked, and that the right people check every dot and comma on every mailer; brochure and covering letter, and in every language. The Freedman international managing director, Kevin Freedman, says there are three basic choices. When marketing internationally, "you can centralise the whole operation, let each country do its own thing, or use an international network."

Why are you just sitting there? If you are having problems with marketing your brand internationally get in touch with Freedman. They are located in London but can be reached at freedmaninternational.com

What's going on in the UK?

Who wouldn't want to own the car that James Bond drives in his movie, "Casino Royale?" I know I would. The new Aston Martin DBS is the biggest phenomena in London right now. Say goodbye to Apple's Ipod music player and video Website YouTube for being on the top 500 coolest brands in Britain. Something about "Casino Royale" and this car has created extreme excitement.

"Our exciting, design- led program of new models and unparalleled attention to detail has made a major impact in the world of international culture" said by Aston Martin. It appears that international consumers are very big into detail and coolness of products. No where in this WasingtonPost article, which is called "Bond car beats Ipod and YouTube as coolest in the UK," does it mention how much this car will be, how many will be produced, and what the drawbacks are. The only thing consumers are thinking is this is the same car James Bond drove in "Casino Royale" and I want it. No matter in the U.S. or in Britain, associating a new product with something "cool" will always cause excitement.

International Advertising: Understanding Cultural Differences

In order to start off my blog about international advertising, I feel it is important to discuss the importance of cultural differences within advertising. In an article entitled, International Advertising: Understanding Cultural Differences, written by Neil Payne, he talks about how crucial it is to understand cultural differences before launching any international advertising campaign. The main focus for cross cultural communication is to help minimize the negative impact of cultural differences through building common frameworks for people of different cultures to interact within. In order to have effective international advertising, it is critical to look at cross cultural communication solutions. Services and products are usually designed and marketed at a domestic audience. When a product is marketed at an international audience, the same domestic advertising may not be as effective. What sometimes tends to happen is that when an advertising campaign goes abroad, different perceptions and values are seen and this may lead to an unsuccessful campaign.

The article further goes into techniques and important characteristics of what makes a successful international campaign. I feel that this can help anyone who is trying to make their campaign global. The first one is to make sure there is no cross cultural language mistakes. An example in the article that I found to be extremely careless but funny was when Ford introduced their new car called "Pinto" in Brazil. Mistakingly I guess, they did not research what "Pinto" means which translates as tiny male genitals. You do not want to see this type of mistake happen when advertising globally.

The second one was too understand the way in which other cultures communicate. For example in the USA, communicators often assume that listeners are unaware of background information or related issues to the topic so they provide the information themselves. However, in Japan, communicators assume that listeners are well informed on the topic so they provide no information.

Lastly, it is important to anaylze different cultural values. Is the society collectivist or individualist? Is it family oriented? Is there a dominant political or economic idealogy? All of these things are important to anaylze before advertising abroad.

Analyze the different elements of a culture, the advertisment and learn the best ways to speak to all your target audiences and you will already be a successful international advertiser. I know that after reading this, it takes careful examination of the different cultures you are trying to reach but the more research you do, the more successful it will be.

If interested in more information, please visit the website: http://www.sideroad.com/Cross_Cultural_Communication/international-advertising.html

Portrait of the New Media Consumer

The intense rise of technology is taking its toll on people. By focusing on the new ways people obtain their information today, such as through satellite radio, PDAs and MP3 players is making the people in our society more efficient. No longer do you see people subscribing to newspapers because you can get full access of the paper online. By looking at the sophistication and the ways we use media is helping industries learn how to target this new type of audience. For example, since mulitasking has become quite popular and being able to search what you are looking for quickly, is forcing companies to think differently and for marketers to change their idea of how to get their brands out there. As stated in the article, "it's probably more effective for brands to help them get where they want to go, rather than try to sell them something when they get there". As technology continues to blossom, a constant change in consumers will be seen and marketers need to keep up with this.

Marketing to Single Women

After reading an article about single women, it appears that marketers have a tough time catorgorizing single women. Marketing executives sterotype single women as less educated, more adventursome and richer than married women. I find it funny that marketers are so off on how to target single women. This article made you see that they have no idea about this specific audience.
The author who wrote this article, Adreienne W Fawcett compares information from a draft FCB survey of 500 advertising and marketing professionals in the US to recent statistics. For example, marketers felt that 48% of single women have attended college while in reality after doing research it is 53%. Marketers were off on so many of the percentages. They really need to learn more about this audience by doing more surveys and etc. Marketers need to take more time in learning about single women instead of just comparing them to married women. A quote i really enjoyed from the article was, "Sterotyping single women as lonely spinsters is like comparing the internet to a card-catolog from the library".

What it comes down too is, where do these marketers get their statistics and is it all wrong?

Marketing Edge

With the popularity of the Internet blooming, podcasting will quickly become one of the top ways for audience's to learn about different industries in various fields. Audio advertising will hopfeully continue to blossom in the 21st century.

Welcome to Jaclyn's Blog for Communication. A domain where you will find various aspects and input on international advertising.