Teaching Global Marketing at UCLA Extension

Analysis: G20 has to show FX pact packs meaning

2010-10-24T07:07:00.000-07:00

We discussed this in class last week and will continue our discussion on the Currency Wars in class tomorrow night. Here's what Reuters is reporting. What does the press in your home country report?

By Alan Wheatley, Global Economics Correspondent

GYEONGJU, South Korea | Sun Oct 24, 2010 8:07am EDT

GYEONGJU, South Korea (Reuters) - Excited talk of currency wars has given way to an uneasy truce, but what has so far been a phony war could yet break out into outright hostilities.

The statement thrashed out among finance ministers of the Group of 20 leading economies in South Korea at the weekend did no more than paper over the radically different views of the two main belligerents -- the United States and China.

Sometimes international meetings sow the seeds of understandings that, over time, bear policy fruit. But most times what you see is what you get.

And what world markets saw in Gyeongju was two countries poles apart on who is responsible for global imbalances that are generating currency volatility and threaten to spill over into 1930s-style protectionism -- at a time when the world economic recovery, in the words of the G20, is "fragile and uneven."

"On the currencies, I would have liked to have seen more substantive progress there," said Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty.

"We did make directional progress," he said, but added: "There was a lot of push back from China and some of the other countries as well. I think there's nervousness about the fragility of the economic recovery."

Washington pressed its case that countries with big external surpluses, primarily China, need to let their currencies rise.

The result? A call in the communique for more market-determined exchange rate systems, the avoidance of competitive devaluations and the pursuit of a full suite of policies to reduce current account imbalances.

Developing economies countered with criticism of rich countries for cranking up their money-printing presses and, in the process, sending a flood of money into their markets that is inflating asset bubbles and forcing up their exchange rates to the detriment of export industries on which they rely for growth.

The result? A promise in the closing statement that countries that issue reserve currencies -- code principally for the United States -- would be vigilant against excessive volatility and disorderly movements in exchange rates.

"The outcome of the G20 meeting clearly shows progress in the global rebalancing policy debate," said Thomas Stolper, chief currency strategist at Goldman Sachs in London.

"At the same time, this is not a Plaza-style statement that signals a broad agreement on the role currencies have to play in the global rebalancing," he added, referring to the 1985 Plaza Accord by five leading nations to drive down the dollar.

REPRESENTATION AND RESPONSIBILITY

Chris Turner, head of FX strategy at ING Commercial Banking in London, argued that the G20 surpassed market expectations by delivering a comprehensive set of reforms: Washington had pledged not to devalue the dollar in return for an agreement by emerging market (EM) economies to let their currencies appreciate.

Seen through this prism, a surprise agreement to transfer six percent of voting power at the International Monetary Fund to developing countries is part of a grand bargain.read more from Reuters here

Mexico's Grupo W Will Enter U.S. Hispanic Market

2010-10-17T15:08:00.000-07:00

By Laurel Wentz
Published: October 14, 2010

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Mexico's Grupo W, a leading international digital agency, is planning to enter the U.S. Hispanic market, working both with ad agencies on digital projects and directly with marketers.

GrupoW uses its promotional Digital Invaders website to create a talent pool by training young people in digital skills.

Grupo W is initially opening a representative office in Miami, headed by Lynn Ponder, who will be in charge of developing new business in the U.S. Grupo W founders Miguel Calderon and Ulises Valencia will spend a couple weeks in the U.S. in November in an informal road show with Ms. Ponder to introduce the agency.

The two men started Grupo W in 1999 in their home town Saltillo, a desert city of about 700,000 people located near Mexico's business capital Monterrey. They only opened an office in Mexico City two years ago, when they began working directly with more marketers.

Weak economy has nations waging currency wars

2010-10-11T09:17:00.000-07:00

Martin Crutsinger and Greg Keller, Associated Press, Washington | Fri, 10/08/2010 12:27 PM | Business

Fears of a full-blown currency war flared as the dollar fell to an eight-month low against the euro and the U.S. stepped up pressure on China to let its currency rise.

The escalating tension threatened to dominate a three-day conference of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Leaders from both groups warned Thursday that a currency war could destabilize global financial markets at a fragile moment.

The flare-up comes as investors are anticipating the U.S. Federal Reserve will pump billions more dollars into the U.S. economy. That is weakening the value of the dollar against the euro, which has been surging.

A falling dollar can affect U.S. consumers, investors and businesses in various ways. Travel to Europe becomes more expensive for Americans. Exports from U.S. businesses become more affordable for European buyers. U.S. Treasurys become less attractive to investors.

A different scenario has been playing out with China. An undervalued Chinese yuan has weakened U.S. exports while making Chinese goods attractive to U.S. consumers. The imbalance has weakened U.S. economic growth. And it threatens U.S. manufacturing jobs at a time when the American economy is struggling with 9.6 percent unemployment.

At the same time, China's economy is soaring.

World Bank President Robert Zoellick said Thursday that the tensions over currencies could undermine investor confidence at a time when the world needs the private sector to bolster growth.

"If ever there were a time that we should not turn our backs on international cooperation, it is now," Zoellick said at a news conference ahead of three days of high-level talks on global finance in Washington.

Virgin Atlantic Debuts First-Ever Global TV

2010-10-04T11:40:00.000-07:00

We'll discuss this tonight in class - Why is Virgin going global in it's marketing now?

From Mediapost:

Virgin Atlantic Airways is debuting its first-ever global TV spot, which is part of a $25 million global ad campaign.

The campaign first launched in May with the introduction of the U.S. print ads and online advertising. This is the first time in 10 years that Virgin has run a TV spot in the U.S., said Chris Rossi, senior VP of North America at London-based Virgin Atlantic.

"The launch of this global marketing campaign and TV ad is a crucial step in shaping and advancing the brand in this new economic landscape," Rossi tells Marketing Daily. "In addition, this spot will remind our fan base why they continue to choose Virgin Atlantic and showcase our unique offerings to a new audience. Returning to TV will allow us to visually showcase the brand's innovation and creativity while bringing to life our signature products and memorable services to passengers."

The spot captures the spirit of the brand by showing off unique services and products, from complimentary ice cream to individual upper-class suites, Rossi adds.

The TV spot, which will air in both 30-second and 60-second versions, was created by RKCR/Y&R and debuts the week of Oct. 11 in New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., San Francisco and Boston during the MLB playoff series. The spot will air over 50 times until the conclusion of the MLB World Series the week of Nov. 1. The media spend on TV alone is $9 million, according to the

airline.

Featuring the tagline "Your airline's either got it or it hasn't," the spot takes the viewer on a metaphorical flight with Virgin Atlantic, guiding them through a surreal and glamorous world of the airline's iconography and dramatizing how it feels to fly with Virgin Atlantic to London.

The campaign is accompanied by the song "Feeling Good" from the band Muse. This is one of the rare times that Muse, an English alternative rock band, has licensed a soundtrack for use in advertising, according to the airline.

Global forces: An introduction

2010-09-28T08:14:00.000-07:00

Excellent article from McKinsey & Co for all students to read. We'll discuss in next week's class:

Five crucibles of change will restructure the world economy for the foreseeable future. Companies that understand them will stand the best chance of shaping it.

JUNE 2010 • Peter Bisson, Elizabeth Stephenson, and S. Patrick Viguerie

“I never think of the future,” Albert Einstein once observed. “It comes soon enough.” Most business managers, confronted with the global forces shaping the business landscape, also assume that their ability to sculpt the future is minimal. They are right that they can do little to change a demographic trend or a widespread shift in consumer consciousness. But they can react to such forces or, even better, anticipate them to their own advantage. Above all, they ignore these forces at their peril.

Business history is littered with examples of companies that missed important trends; think digitization and the music industry. Yet this history also shines with examples of companies that spied the forces changing the global business scene and used them to protect or contribute to the bottom line. Companies ranging from insurers to energy producers did precisely that in embracing the growing social concern about climate change. So did Wal-Mart Stores in applying technology to automate inventory management and reduce costs dramatically for the company and its suppliers.

The fact is, trends matter. Systematically spotting and acting on emerging ones helps companies to capture market opportunities, test risks, and spur innovation. Today, when the biggest business challenge is responding to a world in which the frame and basis of competition are always changing, any effort to set corporate strategy must consider more than traditional performance measures, such as a company’s core capabilities and the structure of the industry in which it competes. Managers must also gain an understanding of deep external forces and the narrower trends they can unleash. In our experience, if senior executives wait for the full impact of global forces to manifest themselves at an industry and company level, they will have waited too long.

Video: Why trends matter

McKinsey director Peter Bisson explains the value of tracking global forces and how to build them into corporate strategy.

Download a PDF of the transcript.

For much of the past year, a team at McKinsey has revisited and retested our assumptions about the key global trends that will define the coming era. We have identified five forces, or crucibles, where the stresses and tensions will be greatest and thus offer the richest opportunities for companies to innovate and change:

The great rebalancing. The coming decade will be the first in 200 years when emerging-market countries contribute more growth than the developed ones. This growth will not only create a wave of new middle-class consumers but also drive profound innovations in product design, market infrastructure, and value chains.
The productivity imperative. Developed-world economies will need to generate pronounced gains in productivity to power continued economic growth. The most dramatic innovations in the Western world are likely to be those that accelerate economic productivity.
The global grid. The global economy is growing ever more connected. Complex flows of capital, goods, information, and people are creating an interlinked network that spans geographies, social groups, and economies in ways that permit large-scale interactions at any moment. This expanding grid is seeding new business models and accelerating the pace of innovation. It also makes destabilizing cycles of volatility more likely.
Pricing the planet. A collision is shaping up among the rising demand for resources, constrained supplies, and changing social attitudes toward environmental protection. The next decade will see an increased focus on resource productivity, the emergence of substantial clean-tech industries, and regulatory initiatives.
The market state. The often contradictory demands of driving economic growth and providing the necessary safety nets to maintain social stability have put governments under extraordinary pressure. Globalization applies additional heat: how will distinctly national entities govern in an increasingly globalized world?

Our thinking is exploratory rather than definitive. Precisely how these forces will unfold—and, as important, how they interact—is very much a work in progress. Still, our research, extensive one-on-one contacts, and broader survey data give us confidence that these topics should be framing every organization’s strategic conversations about how best to chart its future course. Over the coming year, McKinsey will dive deeper into each of these five areas to draw out the business implications and inform the strategic debate. We can be certain that this new era will not evolve smoothly. Future economic crises—quite likely, major ones—are inevitable. And management theory for the 21st century, the first with truly global enterprises, is being invented in real time, as thousands upon thousands of companies make it up as they go.

What we do know is that the forces driving the emergence of this new world are too powerful to be denied and that running a 21st-century company is exponentially more complex than running a 20th-century one, of any size. Companies must pay attention to more stakeholders, more regulations, and more risks—and watch to see what their customers are tweeting about them. That complexity is greater, but so, we believe, is the opportunity.

Even the most talented strategists will have, at best, incomplete knowledge of what comes next. But from our experience, we know that an understanding of the forces defining the future will also provide the best chance for seizing it.

'Jersey Shore' transforms regional style into global marketing boon

2010-09-25T10:11:00.000-07:00

We'll discuss this in next class on Monday night.

By Soraya Roberts
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Thursday, July 29th 2010, 4:00 AM

ING;Getty

'Jersey Shore' stars Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino and Jenni 'JWoww' Farley are both hawking their own clothing lines.

YouTube

'Jersey Shore' star Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi is the face of Sunlove spray tan lotion.

Miami is only the beginning.

After starting out a year ago in a small beach house in New Jersey, the self-professed "guidos" of "Jersey Shore" have made their way as far south as Florida and are poised to inspire spray tans, blowouts and ab-tastic bodies beyond the U.S.

"What was a very local regional style up until this show -- coming out of Brooklyn initially and then migrating to the larger metropolitan area, Staten Island and Jersey -- this show has allowed it to go global," Joe Sciorra, associate director at CUNY's John D. Calandra Italian American Institute, told the Daily News.

Taking advantage of their massive exposure -- "Jersey Shore's" season one finale drew 4.8 million viewers, according to Reuters -- members of the cast have reportedly penned book deals, filmed workout videos, inspired iPhone apps and are commanding upwards of $25,000 for personal appearances, the Daily Beast reports.

Not since "Hannah Montana" has a TV show been marketed so insatiably. But it's one thing to sell Miley Cyrus' bubble-gum pop to tweens, it's another thing to try and shove this GTL-loving band of hedonists down the throat of the general population.

Yet a Facebook fan page devoted to Snooki's poof has more than 7,000 followers while Pauly D's barber, who has been cutting his hair for 10 years, told the AP he has been booking appointments from as far away as Massachusetts.

Sciorra suggests that this can be taken at face value -- literally. ‘You can't get away from the fact that this is a white culture, so there's a whole community that can identify with it in ways that they literally see themselves in the projected images of "Jersey Shore," ' he explains.

The "Jersey Shore" products available to fans literalize this identification process. For example, an iPod Touch app called "Jersefy" employs 50 options that allow you to computer generate bronzer, blowouts, poofs etc. while fans can rub shoulders with Snooki via iTunes' "Spread Snooki" iPhone photo application.

"Jersey Shore" lovers can also go to the source -- the cast itself.

To get a spray tan like Snooki's, they can purchase a tanning lotion called Sunlove, for which Snooki is a spokesperson. Meanwhile, JWoww's Filthy Couture clothing line expands upon the infamous yellow top she wore in season one that was cut down to her navel.

For the guys, Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino's clothing line for Dilligaf by Bohica Bill includes shirts, sweatshirts and accessories. The most entrepreneurial member of the cast, The Situation reportedly also has a self-help guidebook for "guidos" in the works, not to mention a workout DVD.

Both MTV and the "Jersey Shore" cast appear to have gotten hip to the divisive nature of "guido" - a term that has been criticized as stereotyping young Italian Americans - since season one and have softened their edge. While Snooki has lost her poof, and JWoww has renounced her ratty blond extensions, MTV has launched a "Jersey Shore" game in which 'there is no mention of the terms "guido" or "guidette,"' according to Reuters.

Sciorra says that this is the only way for the network and its stars to keep cashing in.

"If you can only sell to Italians from Jersey, you're not going to make a profit," he says. "It has to be marketable to people beyond that group." He says that these markets don't exist solely in the U.S. "There are communities like this all over the world," Sciorra tells the News, "where men and women are into club culture and personal adornment is important for self presentation."

The Top 11 Global Brands 2010: Interbrand

2010-09-19T18:15:00.000-07:00

Consumer behavior is more difficult to predict than ever, says Interbrand, a leading brand consultancy firm that just released its annual ranking of the "Best Global Brands."

The current economic climate is "a risky landscape for today's brands," Interbrand writes, "one that is fraught with contradictions and vocal customers scrutinizing your ever move...The same customer might opt to buy an iPad instead of a laptop, purchase private label toothpaste, and then match a Zara skirt with Christian Louboutin shoes."

Despite today's "schizophrenic consumers," some brands managed to rise to the top of Interbrand's widely-viewed list by engendering loyalty and trust from the world's buyers.

Based on what Interbrand believes are the three key aspects that contribute to a brand's value -- "the financial performance of the branded products or services, the role of brand in the purchase decision process and the strength of the brand to continue to secure earnings for the company" -- below are the top 11 brands in the world, according to Interbrand.

Which one is most deserving of the the top spot? Check them out and vote below:

1 of 12 Next >>

Global Marketing and Strategy FALL 2010 Semester

2010-08-25T13:30:00.000-07:00

Excited about the upcoming Global Marketing and Strategy class. Here's a terrific article from Nation Branding:

12 recipes for the country branding cookbook

Nobody knows where your country is? Your country is usually mixed up with another one? People have no idea how the character of your country’s people really is? People can’t even tell 3 famous things from your country? No worries, just read through these 12 recipes to put your country on the map – a true country branding terrorist cookbook, no less.

1) Cuisine.

Developing an appealing national cuisine can be helpful in communicating a country’s culture, language, style and personality. It has worked for powerhouses like Japan or Italy, but also for more modest countries like Thailand or Mexico or, more, recently, Taiwan. Remember: going straight to the stomach is the fastest way.

2) Drinks.

Having a famous beer or spirit also helps telling a nation-branding story. Think of what Scottish whisky has done for Scotland, French champagne for France or sangria for Spain. Nationally-branded commercial brands also help: Bailey’s and Ireland, Foster’s and Australia…

3) Laws.

Innovative laws can put your country on the map. Develop now the laws that are likely to be common rule in 10 years time and gain the world’s recognition as a pioneer (if you can make it to the news). It can be laws about the electric car, CO2 emissions, gender equality, copyright and copyleft, universal health, internet freedom and net neutrality, genetics, healthy and fatless food, human rights, prostitution, animal mistreatment, same-sex marriage, religion, whatever that has real substance in it but also is and looks modern (if you want to look modern, that is). No need to say, before that you need to have law and order reign – that’s an indispensable pre-requisite.

4) Architecture.

The United Arab Emirates, especially Dubai and Abu Dhabi, have learnt the lesson fairly well, and have used architecture and construction to tell a story about them. Bilbao did it too with the Guggenheim franchise museum, and other places are following suit. Iconic, eye-catching architecture is such a hardware-heavy message to the world that few can ignore it.

5) Etiquette.

Polite and friendly nationals are the best ambassadors of a country brand. They can be serious like the Germans or attentive like the Japanese, but both as hosts and as tourists they represent the nation. Hosts inside the country and tourists overseas help other peoples figure how their country might be – they shape an image.

6) Brands.

Choose your country’s leading brands and help them become global. Ikea represents Sweden and Swedish values better than your regular Affaires Étrangères office. So do BMW for Germany, Apple for the US and Nokia for Finland. Promote brands that people like and can associate to your country and make the most of this relationship.

7) Fora.

No one really likes the bully boy in class. People naturally feel more sympathy for those countries who behave in a responsible way in world affairs. If you want respect, you’ll gain it just by being respectful. But if you want admiration, you’ll need to take a valiant stand on issues such as climate change, poverty or clean energies in international fora. Find your country’s discourse and tone of voice and stick to it.

7+1) Exports.

Find out what your country does best in the world. Argentina is known for its meat, Japan for its electronics and France for its parfums but, what should your country be famous for? A world-leading industry can speak a lot about a country – who you are, and what do you do best.

9) Celebrities.

All countries willing to be somewhat famous need to have at least 2 to 3 public ambassadors. They can be an actress like Penelope Cruz, a painter like Frida Kahlo or a rock band like Scorpions, but your country needs them. While your country is not famous, celebrities are decyphered through their nationality and wherever they are, your country becomes flesh.

10) Visuals.

In order to help build an image, a country needs to be coherent in its visuals: from the flag to the colors of the sports teams, from stamps to banknotes, from passports to road signs. A country should find and keep a consistent look&feel in shapes, color schemes and typographies. Identify a national visual identity and color palette and dress with it. Almost always.

11) Sports.

Hosting world-class sports events may have been proved economically unefficient for some countries, but sportsmen are definetely worth investing. Just think about the service Nadia Comaneci, Cristiano Ronaldo or the Kenyan long distance runners have rendered or continue to render to Romania, Portugal and Kenya respectively.

12) Science.

Being at the forefront of human advancement is not only virtuous, but also pays high profits in nation branding terms. Countries are respected when they contribute to mankind, whether it be with science or technology. An invention coming from your country will help others appreciate your country better.

Ways to Join Us for Gravity Summit at Harvard on Monday, August 31, 2009

2009-08-23T07:47:00.000-07:00

Yes, it’s true. Gravity Summit at Harvard on Monday, August 31st, will be streamed LIVE on CNN.com Live. That means there are a number of ways to participate in the event:

1. Register - There are a handful of seats left to be there in person, so register today

2. Watch us on CNN.com/Live, starting at 9AM ET You don’t need to register , just click and watch

3. Follow us on Twitter at #gravsum

4. Come to the FREE TweetUp/After Party at the Charles Hotel starting at 5:30

5. Sponsor Gravity Summit - call Beverly at 310-860-4788 for information

Trend Hunter 2009

2009-05-27T14:34:00.000-07:00

Let's see how accurate this is:

Global Milk Glut Squeezes Dairy Farmers, Consumers

2009-05-27T14:20:00.000-07:00

We're discussing pricing tonight....here's a good example for discussion:

Dairymen squeezed by milk glut, low prices, but consumers see little relief at supermarket

By CHRISTOPHER LEONARD AP Business Writer
BARNHART, Mo. May 25, 2009 (AP)

The Associated Press

A collapse in milk prices has wiped away the profits of dairy farmers, driving many out of business while forcing others to slaughter their herds or dump milk on the ground in protest. But nine months after prices began tumbling on the farm, consumers aren't seeing the full benefits of the crash at the checkout counter.

The average price for a gallon of milk at grocery stores last month is down just 19 percent from its peak of $3.83 in July. Farmers, on the other hand, got $1.04 a gallon in April — 35 percent less than they were paid last fall. This winter, wholesale prices were down as much as 45 percent.

Price disparities are a fact of life both for farmers and anyone who shops at a supermarket, but the nature of milk — how it's stored, priced and sold around the world — makes the gap all the more dramatic. In fact, the price that farmers get has been wildly volatile for years, creating a succession of booms and busts felt from pastures to the grocery store.

With each turn, proposals are floated to end the pricing seesaw, which at one extreme squeezes the profits of farmers and the other squeezes dairy processors. Any fix that boosts the price of milk runs the risk of bumping up how much consumers pay, too.

Today, frustrations are spilling over as the price crash creates widely divergent fortunes within the milk industry, boosting profits for the middlemen like dairy processors while pushing farmers to the edge of bankruptcy.

Darrell Kraus, a dairyman in Barnhart, spends almost as much today on hay and other supplies for his herd of 160 cows as he did a year ago, but he's getting paid less for a gallon of milk than his father in the 1970s. He blames middlemen who buy the milk from the dairies, process it and sell it to grocery stores at higher prices.

"Somebody's getting a cut of this, but it's not the dairy farmer," he said. "It's sad, but they're going to see a lot of dairy farms go out of business."

Takeda To Create Global Centers Of Excellence

2009-05-06T16:49:00.000-07:00

Here's a good example of what we're discussing tonight in Chapter 10 - Global Products and Distribution

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited ("Takeda") announced a reorganization of its corporate structure, as part of its 2006-2010 Medium-Term Plan vision to become a global pharmaceutical company with highly integrated global operations. In order to become more responsive to rapid changes in the global operating environment and to maximize the global market potential of new products and the company's global presence, the company is streamlining executive reporting relationships to Yasuchika Hasegawa, President, by creating corporate-level, center of excellence R&D, commercial and administrative functions. Effective April 1, 2009, Shigenori Ohkawa, Ph.D., will become Chief Scientific Officer (CSO), and Alan MacKenzie will become Executive Vice President (EVP) International Operations. Additionally, a Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) role will be established.

"Takeda is making meaningful changes in structure and governance through this reorganization and the creation of the CSO, EVP, International Operations, and CAO roles, which we believe will further strengthen our global operations structure," said Yasuchika Hasegawa, President, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited. "Through this new organizational structure, Takeda looks forward to continuing our history of creating and marketing novel pharmaceutical products that meet the needs of patients globally."

BlogStorm

2009-04-29T13:44:00.000-07:00

Viral marketing campaigns are an amazing way to generate a huge amount of buzz and brand awareness whether they are carried out online or offline.

In this post we have honored the best viral marketing campaigns of all time, both online and offline.

If you know of a campaign that deserves to be on the list why not write about it in the comments.

Ronaldinho: Touch of Gold (Nike)

Without doubt my favourite video on the list is this masterpiece from Nike. Watch as Ronaldinho takes delivery of a new pair of boots and spends over two minutes demonstrating the most amazing football skills the internet has ever seen.

23.5 million people have watched this ad on YouTube. Pure genius.

My Heart Will Go On (Free Macbook Air)

The genius of this video isn’t in the song (that’s just been copied from the Titanic video) it’s in the fact that the user uploaded the video just to promote an affiliate deal.

How many of the 21.9 million users who viewed this clip clicked on the affiliate link I wonder?

Guitar (GuitarMasterPro.net)

This video shows viral marketing in its simplest form. Upload an amazing video clip of a guy playing the guitar, write a quick note saying that he learnt to play the guitar at GuitarMasterPro.net and hope some of the 45 million viewers want to learn to play too.

Dynamite Surfing (Quicksilver)

With a reputed 10 million page views in the first few months of launch this viral advert for Quicksilver took the web by storm and did more to promote the brand than all their other advertising combined.

Of course we know the footage was staged and the surfers were really actors but this didn’t stop the video spreading virally around the web.

Do The Test (Transport for London)

This video has made the list purely because it has seen so many page views in a very short time. In just 3 months over 3.7 million people have viewed the video making it one of the top campaigns of 2008.

Stolen Nascar (TaxBrain.com

Promoting a website about tax is pretty difficult so the marketers behind this stunt decided to get creative.

They staged the theft of a Nascar with their website address on the site and managed to get over $1 million woth of TV exposure totally free within just a few days.

The stunt shot the site into the limelight and it has never looked back.

Working with Napolitan Productions, we brainstormed for a couple of days and concluded that our NASCAR racecar sponsorship had our branding, so we felt it could be the centerpiece in a viral video. Research indicated that a NASCAR had never been stolen by a racing fan, and since these fans truly are fanatical — just maybe a NASCAR could be stolen on lazy summer day at a small racetrack in California. Helping us along this path was the release of the movie ‘Talledega Nights.’ We hired real stuntmen, models and a seasoned reality TV camera crew. We rented the local racetrack to rehearse, clued in racetrack management of our plan, then the following Sunday at a live racing event, the car was “stolen.”

Threshers 40% Off Voucher

In 2006, shortly before Christmas, Threshers leaked a voucher worth 40% off wine and champagne via the internet. Apparently the voucher was only intended for suppliers and the belief that Threshers had mistakenly released the voucher made it spread faster and faster around the world via email, social networks and blogs.

Threshers pretended to be worried about losing money on the promotion but no doubt ended up making a huge profit and getting publicity in a month than they got for the whole year.

“It was never intended to get this big,” a company spokesperson said.

The company admits it is slightly concerned about the popularity of the offer.

“We are waiting with bated breath… Early next week, we should get the figures for what level of business we have seen this week and over the weekend,” the spokesperson added.

“This is a better offer than normal and it could end up hitting our profit margins.”

Subservient Chicken (Burger King)

Launched in 2004 and racking up an amazing 46 million views in the first week Subservient Chicken is deserving of a place on any viral marketing list.

The site, at subservientchicken.com, features a chicken-suit-garbed human embodying the classic BK tagline, “Have it your way.” In a nod to adult “cam” sites, users type in commands and the bird obeys. Visitors are eating it up — and, Burger King hopes, consuming large quantities of its TenderCrisp chicken sandwich as well. The site is part of an integrated campaign for the new product.

“It was important to us to get to the elusive adults in their early twenties and thirties, the 18- to 34-year-old men, the so-called missing men who aren’t watching TV,” said Blake Lewis, a spokesperson for Burger King, which is controlled by Texas Pacific Group. “This audience embraces the Internet.” Lewis said the site got 46 million visits between its launch Wednesday, April 7 and the following Wednesday.

Gorilla Advert (Cadbury’s)

Another recent example of how an amazing advert can get millions more views thanks to the web comes in the form of a gorilla playing the drums for Cadbury’s.

Absolutely fantastic.

Hotmail

In todays era of social networking it’s easy to think how quickly the likes of Facebook and Myspace grew but the real viral marketing pioneer was Hotmail.
In December 1996 Hotmail had 500,000 registered users - less than a year later they had over 12,000,000 users. This astonishing growth rate was down to the fact that every single email sent from Hotmail included a small advert promoting the service in the footer.

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Read some similar posts

IMF on Twitter

2009-04-22T16:41:00.000-07:00

IMF chief economist sees light at "end of long tunnel" http://bit.ly/iJIWNabout 10 hours ago from TweetDeck
IMF 2009 World Economic Outlook Database now available : http://bit.ly/sOu3Labout 10 hours ago from TweetDeck
In the most severe recession since WW II, the global economy is projected to shrink by 1.3 percent in 2009, with a slow recovery in 2010about 10 hours ago from TweetDeck
Further Action Needed to Reinforce Signs of Market Recovery http://bit.ly/13ZbpDabout 10 hours ago from TweetDeck
IMF: World economic growth projected to decline by 1.3 percent this year http://bit.ly/JGTxWabout 10 hours ago from TweetDeck

2010 fifa world cup

2009-04-15T14:34:00.000-07:00

The stakes have been raised. The country's top leaders are finally stepping out of their luxury offices' comfort to seek the much-needed support of the people on the ground for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup and 2010 FIFA World Cup, which critics of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) believe, are being poorly marketed.

Yesterday, Tuesday 14 April 2009, Deputy President Baleka Mbete's convoy of 12 cars and two open-top buses carrying government and LOC officials - all shielded by a huge contingent of local and foreign journalists - went to Soweto, home to 1.4 million people, to encourage maximum attendance at the tournaments.

Mbete, the chairperson of government's 2010 inter-ministerial committee, and her huge entourage departed from SAFA House and made stopovers at Bara Mall, Jabulani Mall and Maponya Mall, where she and LOC CEO Danny Jordaan handed over T-shirts and vuvuzelas, and addressed the crowd about the importance of the upcoming two events.

“We know the culture in this country, which is generally to leave the buying of tickets to the last-minute, but we are urging you to go and buy your tickets now to avoid disasters such as the ones that occurred at Ellis Park and in Cote d'Ivoire,” Mbete, flanked by Richard Maponya, told a cheering crowd at Maponya Mall.

Critics continue to lash at LOC for its mediocre handling of the events' marketing, saying their ill-conceived strategy might lead to poor attendance of the games and eventually to the embarrassment of SA and Africa vis-à-vis the international soccer fraternity.

Mbete vowed, however, that the government will do whatever it can to ensure that all the stadiums are filled to capacity come June 2009 and 2010. Some residents told Bizcommunity.com that it was time the government stepped in to help galvanise support for the upcoming two events.

ordaan, who is said to be frustrated by the slow pace of tickets purchase, said: “We are a bit slow in buying tickets. Therefore, we urge you to start buying your tickets so that you can fill up the stadiums.”

He also said that out of 640 000 tickets allocated to SA for the Confederations Cup, just over 300 000 tickets have already been sold, narrowly reaching the 50% mark and raising questions about the theory that SA is a ‘soccer-mad nation'. He called on the corporate sector to follow Investec's example, which bought 50 000 tickets for the Confederations Cup.

Early this month, LOC issued a statement, saying that 1.6 million tickets have been requested since tickets first went on sale on 20 February 2009, with 70% of applications coming from the rest of the world and only 30% from SA residents - a far cry from the ticket euphoria that gripped Germany at this stage in the previous World Cup, according to reports from Germany.

A few eyebrows were raised at Bara Mall when a Zakumi-like creature wearing ANC colours stood among the crowd and waved at people. A local journalist called the mascot an opportunist practising ambush marketing.

G-20 Reaffirms IMF's Central Role in Combating Crisis

2009-04-12T07:46:00.000-07:00

We talked about the role of the IMF in class last week and the question came up about how the IMF actually fosters stability among the world's financial systems. Here's a piece of the press release coming out of the recent G-20 from the IMF's website:

Strauss-Kahn says IMF reinforced as central institution of financial system
G-20 decides to triple Fund's lending capacity to $750 billion
Leaders target concessional lending to low-income countries to more than double

The Group of Twenty (G-20) industrialized and emerging market economies has reaffirmed the IMF’s central role in the international financial system, agreeing to triple the Fund’s lending capacity to $750 billion and enabling it to inject extra liquidity into the world economy, according to Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

At their summit in London on April 2, the G-20 leaders decided to dramatically beef up the IMF’s lending capacity to support its ability to combat financial contagion, providing significant new financing and a broad mandate for action.

Strauss-Kahn told reporters that the huge increase in IMF resources would bolster the IMF’s firepower to help economies around the world respond to the crisis, which has plunged economies into recession and sent world trade plummeting. Low-income countries would also get help, with leaders proposing more than a doubling of concessional lending resources.

The G-20 leaders agreed to triple the IMF's war chest to $750 billion. And they will back the IMF in effectively creating an additional $250 billion by issuing "special drawing rights," or SDRs, the institution’s own reserve asset or quasi-currency that borrowing nations can draw upon if needed.

IMF’s multiple roles

Strauss-Kahn told a press conference after the G-20 summit that the IMF’s role in helping to combat the global economic crisis and reinforce the financial system had been reaffirmed in a variety of ways.

• Economic forecaster. IMF economic forecasts were now the central reference point for countries planning how to respond to the crisis. The IMF is forecasting that the global economy will recover in 2010, but only if the right policy actions, including a coordinated fiscal stimulus, are taken.

• Policy advisor. The IMF has been outspoken during the crisis in pressing for a coordinated response to the crisis through cuts in interest rates, big increases in government spending, cleaning up the financial sector, and bolstering regulation. The IMF had become a partner for governments to discuss policies and help them analyze what policy responses to the crisis would work.

• Economic surveillance. The IMF will monitor policy implementation by governments around the world and has been asked to beef up early warning systems, along with the Financial Stability Forum. “We call on the IMF to assess regularly the actions taken and the global actions required,” the G-20 communiqué said. Strauss-Kahn said the IMF has a unique capacity to analyze the relationships between financial markets and the real economy, with a global perspective given its membership. “Our global and country monitoring procedures are being sharpened, including with a new mechanism for early warnings,” he stated.

• Global lender. The resources the IMF has to support its members will be tripled to $750 billion, including $100 billion each from Japan and the European Union. The IMF will use the money to buttress countries affected by the global downturn. Strauss-Kahn pointed to Mexico, which is seeking $47 billion in a precautionary credit line from the IMF. He pointed to new changes in IMF lending policy to make it more flexible.

• Provider of help to low-income countries. Strauss-Kahn said he had committed at a conference in Tanzania last month to being the voice for low-income countries at the G-20 summit. The summit set a target to more than double concessional lending to the world’s poorest countries. “So the commitment made by the IMF in Dar es Salam has been fulfilled, and the low-income countries are not forgotten at the G-20.”

• Boosting world liquidity. The G-20 mandated the IMF to make a new general allocation of SDRs which will inject $250 billion into the world economy and increase global liquidity. Strauss-Kahn said that although $250 billion did not seem that much in a global context, “you will see that it’s the beginning of increasing the role of the IMF, not only as a lender of last resort, not only as a forecaster, not only as an advisor in economic policy and its old traditional role, but also in providing liquidity to the world, which is the role finally and in the end, of a financial institution like ours."

Guest Speaker 4-15 Gilles Bouhoyi

2009-04-10T21:24:00.000-07:00

Gilles will talk about doing business in Africa!

Guest Speaker 4-8-09 Christine Lu

2009-04-07T20:39:00.000-07:00

Christine Lu is the Chairman and founder of The China Business Network and Executive Producer and Host of The China Business Show, a weekly talk radio show focused on doing business in China.

After earning a bachelor's degree in International Relations with a focus on East Asian Studies from Boston University, Christine moved to China in 1999 to assume the role of Marketing and Business Development Director for her family's joint-venture clothing business in Shanghai where she successfully designed and launched two lines of women's ready to wear clothing that retailed in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. During this time, she also founded, with partner Janet Carmosky, a women's portal and e-commerce dot-com.

The concept was incubated and rolled into TV Shopping Network (TVSN), a joint venture funded by Duty Free Shoppers founder Robert Miller's private equity firm Search Group, Prudential Assets Management Asia and IAC's Home Shopping Network.

Following the 2000 dot-com crash in China, Christine served for five years as Marketing Director for TV Shopping Network and oversaw the company's business developmement, internet, direct marketing and mail order strategies in China. In 2004, Christine returned to the USA and launched an online kitchenware business that maintains eBay Gold Powerseller status and is a featured merchant on Amazon.com's Seller Network.

In March 2007 Christine created and served as the Executive Producer and Host of Entrepreneur Magazine's The China Business Show which has since evolved into The China Business Network, a media and networking platform for those in the international business community doing business in China.

G-20 gives $1 trillion to fight global crisis

2009-04-02T16:38:00.000-07:00

From the AP By JANE WARDELL, AP Business Writer Jane Wardell, Ap Business Writer – Thu Apr 2, 4:13 pm ET

LONDON – World leaders pledged $1.1 trillion in loans and guarantees to struggling countries and agreed Thursday to crack down on tax havens and hedge funds — but failed to reach sweeping accord on more stimulus spending to attack the global economic decline.

At the end of a highly anticipated one-day gathering, leaders of the Group of 20 nations said they would upgrade an existing financial forum to serve as an early warning monitor to flag problems in the global financial system.

They did not, however, satisfy U.S. and British calls for new stimulus measures. Nor did European politicians get their goal of a global financial superregulator.

The leaders did bridge several gaps between the United States and some European nations over how far to regulate the market and how to curb the excesses that sparked the global economic crisis.

President Barack Obama, in his first major venture into international diplomacy, failed to get U.S. trading partners to spend more money on job-creating stimulus programs, as the U.S. and Britain have done. The proposal was opposed strongly by France and Germany.

However, it had become clear long before the gathering began that there was little support for more such stimulus spending outside the U.S. and Britain.

"I think we did OK," Obama told reporters afterward. "We have agreed on a series of unprecedented steps to restore growth and prevent a crisis like this happening again... We have created as fundamental a reworking of resources to these international financial institutions as anything we've done in the last several decades."

Obama's words echoed comments by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the French and German leaders.

Thursday's gathering was called in hopes of restoring faith in the global financial system — and in one possible gauge of success, European and U.S. markets surged ahead as the outcome of the summit came into view.

The biggest headline figure was the new money for the International Monetary Fund, which helps out governments that run into financial trouble from the crisis, and other development organizations to send credit to countries that have seen it dry up.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who earlier had threatened earlier to walk out if unsatisfied with the outcome, also praised Obama for helping to create consensus and persuade China to agree to publish lists of tax havens.

"There were moments of tension," Sarkozy said. "Never would we have thought to get as big an agreement."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the measures "a very, very good, almost historic compromise" that will give the world "a clear financial markets architecture."

"For the first time we have a common approach to cleaning up banks around the world to restructuring of the world financial system. We have maintained our commitment to help the world's poorest," Brown said. "This is a collective action of people around the world working at their best."

The G-20 leaders also said that developing nations — hard-hit and long complaining of marginalization — would get a greater say in world economic affairs. They said they would renounce protectionism and pledged $250 billion in trade finance over the next two years — a key measure to help struggling developing countries.

The leaders also agreed to new rules on linking executive pay to performance, Brown said.

Despite the announcement of a global supervisory body to flag problems, Sarkozy lost his bid for a global regulatory czar that could actual enforce regulations inside U.S. and other countries.

RESOURCES FOR GOING GLOBAL

2009-04-02T10:21:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Karl Kasca for this terrific information from the US Department of Commerce - Commercial Services. Below are upcoming U.S. Commercial Service initiatives designed to connect you to business opportunities around the world. Please click on the links below or scroll down to learn more about each opportunity.

1) Event: Cable TV Trade Mission

2) Webinar: INDIA: Protecting Your Intellectual Property
3) Seminars: Complying with U.S. Export Controls, and How to Develop an Export Management and Compliance Program

4) Webinar: The Reinsurance Sector in Brazil: Opportunities for U.S. Reinsurers & Brokers

5) Webinar: Economic Sanctions: What Every Exporter Should Know

6) Event: Archived Webinar Series on the Fundamentals of Exporting on CDs
7) Event: ANESA East Meets West Forum

8) Event: Executive Trade Mission to Chile and Peru

9) Event: Automated Export System (AES) Compliance Seminar & Workshop

10) Event: Executive Trade Mission to Libya and Algeria

11) Export Promotion Magazine Celebrates 30 Years with Discounted Rates

12) Looking to Expand your International Sales? Think Peru

If you have any questions about these initiatives, please contact your local U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist. To find the trade specialist nearest you please visit http://www.buyusa.gov/home/us.html.

Event: Cable TV Trade Mission
Venue: Seoul, South Korea

Date: June 3-5, 2009

Learn more/register:http://www.export.gov/ICTkoreamission

The mission will take place in conjunction with the 2009 South Korea Cable TV Association Trade Show, and participants will benefit from one-on-one business meetings with prospective agents, distributors, and end-users. Participating companies will meet with Korean Cable TV system operators, program providers, and terrestrial TV and Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) service providers during the course of the show. They will also be provided with updates on major projects, Embassy business briefings; and networking receptions, in one of the world's most wired countries, with a booming cable industry. U.S. companies working with computer software, films/video, information services, and telecommunications equipment and services are encouraged to attend. For more information about the mission, please contact Karen Dubin, at (202)482-3786, or at karen.dubin@mail.doc.gov.

Webinar: INDIA: Protecting Your Intellectual Property

Date: April 14, 2009
Time: 11:30am EST
Learn more/register: http://www.buyusa.gov/georgia/97.html

This webinar will explain the issues involved in protecting your intellectual property in India.With its population of over one billion and burgeoning middle class, India represents a lucrative market for U.S. exports valued at $18 billion in 2008. Leading prospects include medical devices, environmental technologies, and information technologies--fields in which the U.S. enjoys a great competitive advantage and where the protection of intellectual property is a primary concern. For more information, please contact Barbara.Lapini@mail.doc.gov or Patrick.Spence@mail.doc.gov.

Seminars: Complying with U.S. Export Controls, and How to Develop an Export Management and Compliance Program

Venue: Sheraton Kansas City Sports Complex Hotel, Kansas City, Missouri Dates: April 21 – 23, 2009 Learn more/register: https://www.buyusa.gov/kansascity/bis0409.html

Join U.S. Commercial Service Kansas City for two programs led by the Bureau of Industry and Security’s professional counseling and compliance specialists. April 21 – 22 - Complying with U.S. Export Controls – provides an in-depth examination of the Export Administration Regulations. April 23 – How to Develop an Export Management and Compliance Program - Learn smart business strategies to efficiently manage your export compliance requirements and minimize the risk of an export violation. For more information contact: Sally.Pacheco@mail.doc.gov

Webinar: The Reinsurance Sector in Brazil: Opportunities for U.S. Reinsurers & Brokers

Date: April 29, 2009 Time: 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. EDT Price: $35 Register: https://emenuapps.ita.doc.gov/ePublic/newWebinarRegistration.jsp?SmartCode=9Q6F

In this webinar, you will learn about opportunities in the Brazilian Reinsurance Market. Growth in the Brazilian insurance industry has outpaced GNP for the last seven years. Reinsurance in Brazil is currently a market of around U.S. $1.3 billion, or about 1% of the world's reinsurance market. Brazil represents an interesting market for reinsurers, as overall risk exposure is less than other markets. A question and answer session will follow after the presentation. For more information, contact Linda.Abbruzzese@mail.doc.gov.

Webinar: Economic Sanctions: What Every Exporter Should Know

Venue: Your Computer Date: April 29, 2009 Learn more/register: http://www.buyusa.gov/stlouis/economicsanctions.html

This webinar introduce exporters to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the agency of the U.S. Department of Treasury which administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions. Learn about current sanctions programs, including a detailed explanation of the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (the SDN List). Find out how to comply with OFAC requirements, the key components of an effective OFAC compliance program, and how to address enforcement issues. For more information, contact Margaret.Gottlieb@mail.doc.gov

Event: Archived Webinar Series on the Fundamentals of Exporting on CDs

Venue: Your computer Date: Available now Price: $25 per session Learn more/register: http://www.buyusa.gov/stlouis/exportfundamentals.html

A 6-session webinar series, Export Fundamentals, is now available on CD (audiovisual). Hosted by the U.S. Commercial Service from January- March 2009, session topics include: Exporter Obligations/Export Control Update, Classifying Your Products for Export and Import, Export Documentation Fundamentals, Incoterms 2000 –Transportation Obligations, Costs and Risks, Ensuring Payment for International Sales, and Increasing Your Global Sales Using the Internet. For more information, please contact Ken.Walsh@mail.doc.gov

Event: ANESA East Meets West Forum

Venue: Seattle, WA Dates: May 13-14, 2009 Learn more/register:https://emenuapps.ita.doc.gov/ePublic/newWebinarRegistration.jsp?SmartCode=9Q5W

This day and a half- long conference on the Africa, Near East, and South Asia (ANESA) region, which includes a large number of countries across three continents, will provide a unique and unprecedented opportunity to learn more about business opportunities and make valuable contacts in this vast region. Presented by U.S. Commercial Service officers and county specialists, May 13th features an overall perspective and afternoon panels focusing on individual countries. On May 14th, a limited number of one-on-one counseling meetings will be available.

Event: Executive Trade Mission to Chile and Peru

Venues: Santiago, Chile and Lima, Peru Date: June 1-5, 2009 Learn more: http://www.export.gov/andeamission

This ground-breaking Executive Trade Mission to Santiago, Chile and Lima, Peru -- the Department's first since the U.S.-Peru Free Trade Agreement entered into force last month -- will put U.S. companies in direct contact with pre-screened potential business representatives, clients, and partners in two important FTA partner markets. Under the leadership of Walter Bastian, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Western Hemisphere, the mission will promote U.S. products, services, and technologies in a wide range of industry sectors. For more information, call Louis Quay at 202-482-3973 or Jessica Arnold at 202-482-2026, or e-mail: andeanmission@mail.doc.gov.

Event: Automated Export System (AES) Compliance Seminar & Workshop

Venue: Tampa, Florida Date: June 9-10, 2009 Learn more/register: http://www.buyusa.gov/florida/aes.html

In this very important seminar, you will learn how to comply (and avoid costly penalties) with the federal government mandatory electronic filing of export information through the Automated Export System (AES). This requirement is for all U.S. export shipments that previously required a Shipper's Export Declaration (SED). Failure to file, filing late, or false filing of export information could result in costly penalties and seizure of shipments. For more information, please contact George Martinez or Sandra Campbell at 727-893-3738 or email: George.Martinez@mail.doc.gov

Event: Executive Trade Mission to Libya and Algeria

Venue: Tripoli, Libya and Algiers, Algeria Date: Nov. 4–8, 2009 Learn more/register: northafricamission@mail.doc.gov

Growing economies, vast capital reserves, and major infrastructure needs put Libya and Algeria among the world’s most promising markets for U.S. suppliers. Both countries are buying U.S. products and services at historically high rates. The Department's executive-led trade mission will help U.S. companies make valuable connections in these two markets, where business deals are made on the strength of personal contacts. Participants will benefit from one-on-one business matchmaking appointments, meetings with government officials, updates on major projects, Embassy briefings on doing business in the region, and networking events. For more information, e-mail our project officers at northafricamission@mail.doc.gov. The deadline is August 1, 2009.

Export Promotion Magazine Celebrates 30 Years with Discounted Rates Promote your products to 400,000 readers in 176 countries with an ad in Commercial News USA, the official export promotion magazine of the U.S. Dept. of Commerce. Take advantage of the magazine’s special 30th Anniversary rates and save 30% on any size display ad or $100 on your next listing ad (except Showcase section). Or advertise in the new USA Product Showcase section, which offers 1/12th listing ads for just $399! The deadline for the July-August issue is May 8th. For more information, contact your U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist, e-mail advertise@thinkglobal.us, call 1-800-581-8533, x 822 or sign-up online at http://www.thinkglobal.us/399.

Looking to Expand your International Sales? Think Peru

As of February 1, 2009 when the U.S.–Peru free trade agreement (FTA) came into effect, eighty percent of all U.S. consumer and industrial are now eligible for duty-free access into Peru, with the remaining tariffs to be phased out over the next 10 years. Also with U.S. goods and services already accounting for approximately 20 percent of Peru’s imports, Peru may be your best market for U.S. exports of non-agricultural products including such sectors as mining industry equipment, oil and gas field machinery, industrial chemicals, and food processing and packaging equipment. To help U.S. firms take advantage of the increased market opportunities, the U.S. Department of Commerce will be leading a trade mission to Peru and Chile on June 1–5, 2009. To learn more about the trade mission, go to http://www.export.gov/eac/show_detail_trade_events.asp?EventID=28112. For more detailed information on Peru and its markets, go to http://www.export.gov/articles/marketofmonth/mom_march09.asp.

The U.S. Commercial Service - Your Global Business Partner. With offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration uses its global Network and international resources to connect U.S companies with international buyers worldwide. If you have any questions about these initiatives, please contact your local U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist. To find the trade specialist nearest you please visit http://www.buyusa.gov/home/us.html.

Some Global Marketing Gaffes

2009-04-01T09:17:00.000-07:00

There are many, many cases when marketing departments of very large companies have failed to test product names and slogans in foreign markets. Below are some of the "classics".

Colgate introduced a toothpaste in France called Cue, which was the name of a local porno magazine.
The name Coca-Cola in China was first rendered as Ke-kou-ke-la. Unfortunately, Coke did not discover until after thousands of signs had been printed that the phrase means “bite the wax tadpole,” or “female horse stuffed with wax,” depending on the dialect. Coke then researched 40,000 Chinese characters and found a close phonetic equivalent, “ko-kou-ko-le,” which can be loosely translated as “happiness in the mouth.”
Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used the following in an American ad campaign: “Nothing sucks like an Electrolux.”
Hunt-Wesson introduced its Big John products in French Canada as Gros Jos before finding out that the phrase, in slang, means “big breasts.” In this case, however, the name problem did not have a noticeable effect on sales.
In Italy, a campaign for Schweppes Tonic Water translated the name into Schweppes Toilet Water.
The American slogan for Salem cigarettes, “Salem—Feeling Free,” got translated in the Japanese market into “When smoking Salem, you feel so refreshed that your mind seems to be free and empty.”
Ford, many years ago, had a problem in Brazil when the Pinto flopped. The company found out that Pinto was Brazilian slang for “tiny male genitals.” Ford pried all the nameplates off and substitute Corcel, which means horse.
An American T-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market to promote the Pope's visit. Instead of the desired “I Saw the Pope” in Spanish, the shirts proclaimed, “I Saw the Potato.”

Where can you go for help? As a start, contact protocol officers at embassies and consulates worldwide and ask them for a tip sheet on what to do and what not to do when conducting business in a specific foreign country. A list of embassies can be found at www.embassyworld.com. Or try the Electronic Embassy at www.embassy.org.

Welcome New Students Spring 2009

2009-03-30T13:52:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the Global Marketing and Strategy class at UCLA Extension! I look forward to meeting everyone and learning more about each of you.

The global marketing landscape couldn't be in more turmoil - every global body: IMF, World Bank, G-8 (now G-20), etc., is in a transitional state as it relates to the global economy.