Is your e-mail advertising confusing?

E-mail advertising has always been a simple and economical way to advertise. And now that economies all over the world are in the tank, there’s more incentive than ever to use e-mail to sell products and services.. But simple and cheap doesn’t always translate into “successful.”

The “from” address should make sense.
The subject line should be clear. If your target audience doesn’t understand it instantly, the e-mail gets deleted instantly.
The “to” information should be your recipient.
The offer should be stated very early in the text. People won’t spend any time at all searching for it.
The message should nearly always be short. No one wants to read long e-mails.
The copy should be clear and direct. Just because it’s e-mail doesn’t mean you can get away with sloppy copy. Oh, and it should be in the same language as the recipient!
The links should be worded clearly. Example: If you’re offering a free e-book, the link text should include the words “Free E-Book.”
The e-mail should follow all best practices. This isn’t just to avoid spam complaints. It helps create trust.

When you’re creating or sending an e-mail, always ask yourself, “Does this make sense to the people I’m sending it to?”

Facebook ::: Build Brands !

“If you’re going to build a community, don’t center it around your product, but rather on something deeply relevant to a particular consumer group,” said eMarketer CEO Geoff Ramsey. He also suggested keeping fans of your brand pages happy by giving them a lot of content and letting them share the love with others.

More and more every day, the social networking giant Facebook is becoming a large part of the overall Internet experience. Company estimates state that over 175 million people have joined since its founding in 2005, and the users themselves contribute millions of pieces of content daily.

The February 2009 Facebook numbers are striking.
Each day during the month, Facebook users averaged over 3 billion minutes on the site. They updated their status 15 million times and became “fans” of a particular company, brand, product or person 3.5 million times daily.

In addition, Compete found that that US residents spent more time on Facebook than any other Website, beating out previous leader Yahoo!. However, Nielsen Online still ranks the site third behind AOL and Yahoo!.
But Facebook’s rapid user growth has not translated into advertising revenues.
The habits of social network users are one obstacle. In 2008, IDC found that 43% of social network users never clicked on ads, a dramatic difference from the 80% of other Internet users who did so at least once a year. Further, 23% of nonusers who clicked on an ad then made a purchase; only 11% of social network users who clicked on ads did the same.
If not through advertising, how can marketers leverage Facebook for their campaigns?

Pizza-making vending machine serves fresh pies in three minutes

Mini Clubman::: New ad is so fake

These people drive like post-drinks drivers on the N1 on a Saturday night

Don’t Take the Bait- Buying Email Lists is Bad Business

(The following is based on an interview with Patrick Knight, Director of Client Deliverability for mobileStorm.)

In the world of email, bought lists are pretty common. Buying a list is not against the law per se(CAN-SPAM never specifically states it); however it’s not such a safe bet since it’s not necessarily clear how these lists are compiled. In many cases they contain addresses that were collected by third-parties who use pre-checkboxes, `and or contain harvested, spam traps (old addresses used to monitor and identify spam activity) and invalid addresses (addresses that are no longer active and bounce).

Contrary to what many marketers think, purchasing lists is not very cost effective, when you consider the facts. Anywhere from 80-90% of these lists have data that is useless. Not to mention the costs marketers incur by having to resolve issues as a result of using these lists.

There is never a time when you should send messaging to people who didn’t opt in. The question to ask your self is …Did these people request to be on my list? Do they expect to receive emails from you, have you sent emails to these people before. The main point here is consent. These people did not give you permission to send them messages.

Those marketers who do buy lists run serious risks. Beside the fact these people never sign up to receive your messages, even if you were to perform a permission pass campaign you run the risk of hitting spam traps, and in the end, it’s just not worth the risk.

A sender’s reputation is based on measuring many variables including, spam trap hits, number of complaints, and invalid addresses. As mentioned, many of these lists contain addresses that affect these variables negatively which can hinder if not ruin a good senders reputation.

Ultimately, good senders can end up being listed by major blacklists. IP addresses used to send messages in some cases can be permanently blocked. Furthermore, subscribers who have given permission to receive messages will most likely not receive it because of blocks place on your IP.

It may also take a significant amount of time and resources to repair your reputation. If utilizing an ESP this can also cause collateral damage to your provider.

Trojan::: "Hard Times"

Brand: Trojan Condoms
Agency: The Kaplan Thaler Group
Review Date: March 24, 2009
Everyone is talking about the horrific economy, so it shouldn't be all that surprising that Trojan is getting in the game, offering assistance in these dark times with its own "stimulus package.
" Sex makes everything better! A new commercial breaking this week opens with the patriotic image of an eagle against the backdrop of the American flag.
As the music swells, the voiceover informs viewers that the company is offering its own stimulus package "to help America cope," the Pleasure Pack. And then comes the bes moment in the spot, when the voiceover wraps up the pitch with the line, "Because we believe we should ride out these hard times together."
You know someone's been dying to get that line on air since all the talk of stimulating the economy began. And you can almost hear the target chuckling in response. Probably the most unique economic play yet.

Skype::: Largest Long-Distance Phone Company

TeleGeography says that cross-border telephone traffic grew 14 percent in 2007 and is estimated to have grown 12 percent in 2008, to 384 billion minutes.

Falling prices and rising popularity have flattened the revenues (see graph below the fold). The big bump in minutes (and the flattening of revenues) has come courtesy of Skype, the company owned by San Jose, Calif.-based eBay.
Skype’s cross-border traffic grew approximately 41 percent in 2008, to 33 billion minutes — equivalent to 8 percent of combined international telephone + Skype traffic. Skype uses wholesale carriers such as iBasis and Level 3 for handling its network traffic. Five years after its launch, Skype is now the largest provider of cross-border voice communications in the world, Telegeography says. Or as my friend Andy Abramson would say: The world’s biggest minute stealer.

Corporate Identity
Skype have made their brand book available for free download to all.

The book is composed of two PDFs, ‘How We Look’, and ‘How We Think’. The first takes the reader through the evolution of the Skype logo and covers the key rules to be followed when considering the Skype logo for display, including mash-ups. The second is all about Skype’s philosophy as a company. They are both beautifully illustrated and will be especially useful for people who are interested or work in brand design.

Skype- corporate identity_ how do we look

View more documents from Ayman Sarhan.

Saudi clerics call for ban on women appearing in media

Saudi clerics call for ban on women appearing in media

by AFP
Wednesday, 25 March 2009

Hardline clerics in Saudi say images of women in popular newspapers and magazine are 'obscene' and should be banned.

Hardline Saudi clerics have called on the government to ban women from appearing on television and to prohibit their images in print media, which they called a sign of growing "deviant thought."

In a letter to new Information Minister Abdul Aziz Al Khoja that appeared on websites this week, the 35 Islamic clerics also condemned the increase of music and dancing on television, as well as images of women in popular newspapers and magazines that they labelled "obscene."

"Our faith in you is great to carry out media reform, for we have seen how perversity is rooted in the ministry of information and culture, on television, radio, in the press, literary clubs, and book fairs," the letter said.It cited an alleged plan to "westernise" Saudi women by "reducing their rights to a question of removing veils, wearing makeup and mixing with men."

It added that the ministry had permitted the import of "obscene newspapers and magazines that are filled with deviant thought and pictures of beautiful women on its covers and inside.""There should be no Saudi woman on television, in any case," they said."There is no doubt that this is religiously impermissible."

The clerics, including justice officials and academics from a conservative Islamic university, cited several cabinet-endorsed orders and policies from years past which they said supported their argument.

They appeared to be challenging a growing push for liberalisation of tough restrictions on women, including near-mandatory use of black, full-face veils, which are rooted in its ultra-conservative Wahhabi version of Islam.Both Saudi television and print media increasingly feature women, while Arabic-language magazines showing women in Western garb and makeup are also widely sold in the country.

The letter came in the wake of an information ministry-sponsored book fair in Riyadh in early March at which religious conservatives complained that men and women were allowed to mix freely, and that some books on sale violated Islamic principles.

The book fair was marred by the muttawam, or Islamic morality police, harassing a woman author promoting her book and trying to prevent men from obtaining her autograph.

Hyundai ::: Behavioral Segmentation

How Hyundai Uses Behavioral Segmentation to Take the Bull by the Horns and Send the Bear Packing

"The Faith We Have In You"
Published on March 10, 2009

Hyundai took the bull by the horns in this bear market and scored big. It used behavioral segmentation to identify what was keeping prospects from buying and then developed a strategy that made it easier for customers to part with their hard-earned dollars.

What can you learn from its example? In every market change, even a downturn, there is an opportunity to use the power of behavioral segmentation to make your product or service stand out.

Talk to Your Target Prospects

Each news cycle brings a tsunami of information that influences your customers' purchasing decisions. The smart marketer understands that every change in the marketplace is an opportunity to capture new customers.

How do you seize that opportunity and grow your business? Relying on secondary data or past segmentations isn't a realistic option. Even in these tough times, resist the urge to repeat a smaller version of last year's marketing strategy and tactics.
Instead, use voice-of-the customer research to talk to prospects you are currently winning over as well as those whose business you would like to win. You can't overestimate the value of talking to your customers. Ask new, open-ended questions. Focus on learning:

• What their reason is for buying—how is it changing?
• What their needs are—how have they been affected by recent events?
• What's keeping them from buying?
• What do they think of your product versus the competition's product?
• What would change their perception of your product versus the competition's?
• How do they rate your product against alternative solutions?
  

Sort Findings
Take a hard look at your data and sort groups with similar characteristics to determine which segments to target.
Hyundai discovered that as the market changed so did their segmentation. Significant numbers of prospects were no longer focusing on gas mileage performance, and they weren't necessarily looking for more discounts.

Armed with such customer insight, Hyundai identified a business opportunity.

Define Segment
Hyundai determined that the fear of losing one's job was a high barrier preventing prospective buyers from purchasing a car.

After defining the segment, the company developed and aligned sales and marketing strategies to reach this new segment. By targeting prospects concerned about job security, Hyundai broadened its audience and increased the number of customers who considered its cars.

David Zuchowski, vice-president of national sales for Hyundai noted in a New York Times article, "It doesn't matter how many zillion dollars you put in rebates, or what APR you give them. If people are worried about their job, they don't really care and they're just not going to get off the fence."

So how did Hyundai motivate customers to move off the fence?

Develop Strategy to Target Segment

Next, Hyundai developed a strategy to ease the fears of this segment: The company's Assurance Program releases customers from car payments without harming their credit score.

As Advertising Age editor Jonah Bloom wrote, "right there, is an honest-to-goodness big marketing idea.... Hyundai confronts the recession head-on and does something tangible to tackle its effects."

With consumers demanding more for their money, more companies are cutting prices to offer the “best deal,” which can come at the expense of the bottom line and brand perception. And now, more than ever, it’s important to stand out. Maybe marketers would be better off fighting the recession with incentives that add value and provide distinct business advantages instead. Creating tangible and rational value allows consumers to spend more wisely especially in this climate of frugality.

Create Messages
Craft messages to address the specific concerns of your customers.

Hyundai advertising used straight talk that resonated with customers: "We're introducing Hyundai Assurance to show you the faith we have in you. Right now, finance or lease any new Hyundai, and if in the next year you lose your income we'll let you return it. That's the Hyundai Assurance."

Hyundai’s Assurance program — which promises to let you return a newly bought car if you get laid off.
As of early March, no Hyundai buyer had yet returned a vehicle bought under the Assurance umbrella. This raises the intriguing point about what sort of consumer is being reassured. Probably anybody who is really afraid of losing a job simply isn’t going to buy a car right now. But somebody whose insecurity is more abstract, who perhaps simply needs a rationale for a big-ticket purchase at a moment when the headlines are full of doom — that’s different



* * *


Hyundai's Assurance Program had hit a home run. The company was one of only a few automakers to post an increase in sales.
So here's the question of the hour: Are you using behavioral segmentation to differentiate your product, reach new customers, and drive additional sales?

Instead of simply discounting its already economical line of vehicles, Hyundai is addressing consumer fears with an innovative return policy: Hyundai Assurance. Those who finance or lease a new Hyundai can return the car for no additional charge if they lose their job within a year of purchase. The incentive has helped Hyundai distance itself from America’s Big Three automakers and increase sales 14%, nearly doubling its Instead of simply discounting its already economical line of vehicles, Hyundai is addressing consumer fearswith an innovative return policy: Hyundai Assurance. Those who finance or lease a new Hyundai can return the car for no additional charge if they lose their job within a year of purchase. The incentive has helped Hyundai distance itself from America’s Big Three automakers and increase sales 14%, nearly doubling its market share as industry-wide, new-vehicle sales fell 37% last month.

The US recession.::: marketers Vs. consumers

"a great mismatch exists between the way consumers experience and think about their world and the methods marketers use to collect this information."

During these 'bad' days marketers have to be "attentive to the emotional dynamics of peoples' lives in these times… The goal of advertising should be to engage people with a message that has an emotional impact. And that requires actually grappling with the means by which they have experiences and react with emotion, sentiment, and feeling….

By tapping into an "emot-econ" marketing mindset, Hyundai's Assurance "provides a little heart in a world that has gotten so cruel."
The Transformation (basic changes that alter life's circumstances) frame is a powerful driver: People who are worried about losing their jobs may be reluctant to buy a car. "Hynudai has taken a relevant point of communications that may not have been true a year ago, but is true today,"

And, similarly, ReMax's "Best Time to Buy/Sell" invokes a) a Journey ("The meeting of the past, present, and future") and b) Transformation: Basic changes - some desired, some involuntary - that alter life's circumstances and c) Force (events that have a powerful impact on the lives of consumers) frames by suggesting that "people will be administering strong, self-inflicted kicks down the road if they fail to take advantage of home-buying or selling opportunities now."

In the current economic conditions, "People want to know they're being respected. Their feelings have to be acknowledged."
As a point of caution, however, that brands that are insensitive to the feelings and emotions disclosed by the visual metaphors may "suffer a backlash".
The possible downside of the ReMax advertising ("it may remind people of poor decisions they made in the past coming back to kick them") as an instance where some consumers "may perceive the company to be insensitive and out of touch…. Well meaning attempts to tap into these emotions could be seen as opportunistic or patronizing that could backfire."

Swedish Magazine is Published as a Tattoo

Taking the notion of limited edition to the extreme, Swedish magazine Tare Lugnt have released their third issue as a tattoo. You can see the magazine being “published” below.

Starbucks :::Super-Premium Ice Cream Line

Starbucks Coffee Company and Unilever unveiled a new super-premium ice cream line inspired by some of consumers’ favorite Starbucks® beverages. Created by culinary experts and food developers from both companies, Starbucks® ice cream is made with high-quality, all-natural ingredients, including milk and cream supplied by farmers who pledge not to treat their cows with rBGH.*

The line is now rolling into grocers across the U.S., and will be widely available by early spring. Imaginative ingredient combinations are sure to satisfy every palate.
“Our new ice cream line is an artful adaptation of some of our most popular hand-crafted beverages,” said Mary Theisen, director, business development, Starbucks Global Consumer Products. “We’re pleased to offer consumers a delicious and indulgent ice cream experience that is unmistakably Starbucks.”

Consumers can easily recognize Starbucks® ice cream in the freezer aisle, thanks to a clean packaging design that mirrors the iconic white Starbucks® cup.

“Starbucks complex coffeehouse flavors are the perfect complement to the rich, high-quality ingredients we use in our super-premium ice cream,” said Andy Sztehlo, research & development director, Unilever Ice Cream North America. “We’re thrilled to introduce a fresh interpretation of a classic product.”