International Communications

The Viral Series III: The GUI (Graphic User Interface)

2008-06-28T14:44:00.001-07:00

When developing a viral app, bear in mind that the Graphic User Interface (or GUI) is as important as the app’s name or logo because ultimately it is an essential part of the user experience itself.

The principle behind a viral app is that the user can share it with his friends once he likes it. Likewise his friends will also be able to spread the app further to their own peers, hence the expression “viral”.

However a user will only "disseminate" an app if he enjoys it, in other words, if the user experience is pleasant. Here are a few tips to win the hearts and souls of your users:

1- The GUI must be friendly, easy-to-use and intuitive
2- Its graphic motif must appeal to the target audience
3- The Millennium generation demands a fresh, more edgy, web 2.0 look’n’feel
4- The GUI must include sharing, tell-a-friend and add-a-friend features

The image above shows Odigo, an IM developed in the 90s, when ICQ was a leader and much before Microsoft had its Windows Live Messenger.

Odigo's GUI was created based on the idea of a handheld such as a Palm or a Blackberry. It included radar where you could see who was online, interest-based filters and user ID cards with avatars besides other interesting features, including a rudimentary "tell-a-friend".

If you are unacquainted to the subject and would like to understand what GUIs are, click here for a thorough explanation. If you are developing or would like to enhance a viral app, as always I suggest hiring a Marketing/ Communications expert.

If you have comments, click on the link below to share your opinion. In order to contact me, please feel free to e-mail me at kgoldrajch@gmail.com.

The Viral Series II: The importance of branding in viral marketing

2008-05-31T05:15:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the most popular viral services:

MySpace - FaceBook - YouTube - Bebo - LinkedIn

Notice that these brands all share branding communalities:

1- Small names (1, 2 syllables), easy to remember
2- You can use them as verbs (i.e, “Vivian YouTubed her birthday party”; “I am Linked-In to Jack”, etc.)
3-When you think of their names, you can picture their logos in your head
4- These brands fulfill the promises in their names:

--> MySpace is a space I can customize because it is “mine” and as the name says, it is "my space"
--> YouTube grants you the ability to “tube” what you want, to “televise” , to “broadcast” and also to create your own “channels”
--> FaceBook was originally created for college kids
--> LinkedIn connects you to your professional network

So when you create your own service or app, instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, research previous success and failure stories and adapt the lessons you have learned to your branding promises.

I always suggest also hiring a communications expert. There are excellent agencies out there that are specialized only on branding.

Global branding
Be aware that what may work in one side of the planet, may not in the other. Orkut is an excellent example: it reached critical mass in Brazil but it does not appeal to users in other countries. Therefore, when creating an international brand, keep in mind to hire an international communications professional as well.

The Viral Series I: The Ideal Target Audience

2008-05-08T01:33:00.000-07:00

Let me first describe what is not considered a good target audience for a viral service such as a social network: Think of an online community for women, aged 18 to 55. Why is it not good? I will give you 3 reasons:

1- The more you define and limit your niche, the easier you will be able to address their needs and come up with a differentiated and relevant service. An example? LinkedIn: a social network for professionals. Another one? InMobile.org: a social network for mobile executives. If you are trying to please all demographics at once, you will end up not pleasing any of them and having an obsolete service.

2- The principle of targeted ads is defeated in the example above. If you put yourself in the shoes of the advertisers, wouldn’t you rather have more information about your target audience instead of shooting aimlessly to all directions?

3- The Millennium Generation is the target audience that has been the early adopter of social networks such as MySpace, Facebook, etc. The mobile phone and the internet are an intrinsic part of their social life. But beware, the Millennium Generation is also the toughest audience to please and we will analyze this later, when we talk about technology, GUI and branding.

So what we see in the first place is that segmentation is key. In other words, you need to have a well defined target audience and your service must be honestly relevant for them.

Would you like to add anything to this list and share your opinion? Feel free to click on the comments link and voice your thoughts!

The Viral Series

2008-05-03T11:55:00.000-07:00

I have been working with viral based communities, online and mobile applications since the 90s and viral marketing is definitely one of the areas that I feel definitely very passionate for.

One of the most frequent questions that I get regards to reaching a critical mass when providing a service or application which is dependable on user adoption.

In plain words, how can you develop a website or a service (like YouTube or FaceBook), spread the word, and get a huge amount of users when offering a service?

It takes a seasoned marketing professional to do the job and I decided to share some ideas in this blog. Since it is a broad subject, I will write a series of posts on viral marketing.

Here are the items that I will be talking about in the next posts:

1- The ideal target audience and the millennium generation
2- The importance of branding in viral marketing
3- The interface (also called GUI and UI). GUI stands for Graphic user interface and UI for User Interface.
4- Personalization
5- Peer and interest groups
6- Must-have features
7- Number of clicks
8- Internet, cell phones and convergence
9- Virtual popularity
10- Unique user X Registered user

Please feel free to contact me and suggest other topics that you would like me to comment on.

And before I forget: If you wish to contact me for consulting purposes or speaking engagements, please feel free to write to kgoldrajch@gmail.com.

Also, if you wish you share your opinion with me and our readers, you can do so by clicking on the comments link and voicing your thoughts.

Global Branding and Ries’ 22 Immutable Rules

2008-04-09T12:17:00.000-07:00

I am often hired as a consultant to companies that need to create and implement global branding strategies to increase their presence as well as expand their market share. These are different challenges, but most of the times, they come together with a very similar set of questions. Most companies are looking for a cost effective formula to launch products and services and acquire a loyal user base that grows exponentially (virally).

Let’s face it: Branding is crucial. If you are looking for basic branding rules, I suggest reading Al Ries’ 22 immutable Laws of Branding. When working with global branding, remember to prioritize your demographics and adapt the rules regionally, without losing the brand identity.

Here is one excellent example: In order to expand to Israel, McDonald's needed respect the local culture and as a result modify some of its key characteristics (such as menu items) without losing its brand consistency. Besides changing its menu to offer 100% kosher beef and non-dairy products (including no cheeseburgers), they decided to also close on Saturdays and religious holidays. In addition to that, their commitment to give back to the local communities is kept as they donate hundreds of thousands of NIS to charities which benefit children such as The Shnider Hospital for Children; Make a Wish Association; The Fighting Cancer Association, and etc.

If you wish to learn more about global branding, please click here to read a previous post.

To share your opinion with me and International Communications’ readers, please click on the comments link.

The Fear Factor: Public Speaking

2008-04-04T15:45:00.000-07:00

Marketing, PR and Communication professionals are often expected not only to create powerful and persuasive Marketing collateral such as sell sheets and PowerPoint presentations, but also to be articulate speakers.

Public speaking is a learned skill, just like playing the piano or the trumpet. It takes time and practice. There are several courses and even orators groups, such as Toastmasters Internationals where you can practice in a friendly, supportive and encouraging environment while receiving the guidance you need.

Here are 10 tips for Public Speaking from the Toastmasters International website:

1. Know your material. Pick a topic you are interested in. Know more about it than you include in your speech. Use humor, personal stories and conversational language – that way you won’t easily forget what to say.

2. Practice. Practice. Practice! Rehearse out loud with all equipment you plan on using. Revise as necessary. Work to control filler words; Practice, pause and breathe. Practice with a timer and allow time for the unexpected.

3. Know the audience. Greet some of the audience members as they arrive. It’s easier to speak to a group of friends than to strangers.

4. Know the room. Arrive early, walk around the speaking area and practice using the microphone and any visual aids.

5. Relax. Begin by addressing the audience. It buys you time and calms your nerves. Pause, smile and count to three before saying anything. ("One one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thousand. Pause. Begin.). Transform nervous energy into enthusiasm.

6. Visualize yourself giving your speech. Imagine yourself speaking, your voice loud, clear and confident. Visualize the audience clapping – it will boost your confidence.

7. Realize that people want you to succeed. Audiences want you to be interesting, stimulating, informative and entertaining. They’re rooting for you.

8. Don’t apologize for any nervousness or problem – the audience probably never noticed it.

9. Concentrate on the message – not the medium. Focus your attention away from your own anxieties and concentrate on your message and your audience.

10. Gain experience. Mainly, your speech should represent you — as an authority and as a person. Experience builds confidence, which is the key to effective speaking. A Toastmasters club can provide the experience you need in a safe and friendly environment

For additional information on Toastmasters International, click here to visit their website and look for a club close to your work or home.

Global Audiences II: Dove's Ads in Hong Kong

2008-02-12T22:59:00.000-08:00

Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty is one of my favorite campaigns. By far one of the best I have seen in the last 5 years, for several reasons. It stands out for its honesty, the strong emotional appeal and the universal theme.

Actually the theme is so universal, that even the version made for the Hong Kong market remains basically the same. Here are the two ads and how they adapted the same message and format to the two different demographics:

More than Words for a Global Audience

2008-02-09T17:07:00.000-08:00

I am a big advocate for using as many visual aids as you can in order to convey your message as clearly as possible. You will also find out that humor will be one the best allies you will ever have in order to ensure that your message comes across easily, especially in advertisement. Take this Chinese Menthos ad for example (no need to speak Chinese in order to understand it) :

I also wanted to thank Kare for a previous comment on this blog and bringing up the TBS Very Funny Ads.

If you are interested in watching other Very Funny TBS ads, go to: http://veryfunnyads.com/ads/25650.html

Comments? Suggestions? Other great ads? Do not hesitate sharing your ideas with us. Go ahead and click on the comment link.

This Super Bowl Ad: Neither a Mean Nor an Average Joe

2008-02-03T12:25:00.000-08:00

I was raised in beautiful Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and one of the most interesting TV shows I used to watch there while I was growing up was called Intervalo (“commercial break” in Portuguese). The show presented some of the best TV ads around the globe: the funny, the witty, the expensive… Well, today is Super Bowl and once again, it is time to watch the ads.

An interesting ad caught my attention last year because of the cross-pollination of several communication trends such as the user generated content used inside the typical ad structure.

Here is the Reader’s Digest version: PepsiCo’s Doritos issued an ad challenge to consumers in the run up to the Super Bowl as part of a carefully crafted marketing campaign. The result? Two million hits on the challenge microsite, three-quarters of a million unique users, 2 million video views and around a billion page impressions. The ad? Just $12.79 to produce. My opinion? Brilliant! Let's watch it again:

If you wish to opine, go ahead, click on the comments link! I am looking forward to hearing what you have to say.

Global PR: Sell your story, not your products

2008-01-20T11:40:00.000-08:00

In terms of Dollars, a good PR campaign may be much more effective than plain advertising or other marketing tactics. When information comes from a reliable source like the press, whatever you sell gains instant credibility.

But how do you get your word out? How do you get the press to comment on your product or service? Do you just pick up the phone and pitch these writers?

Well, that's when a good PR professional is needed. I have worked on both sides of the counter, in a PR agency and leading in-house PR, and I created campaigns for very diverse markets such as numerous European countries, South American regions, segmented demographics here in the US, etc.

There is no list with what is absolutely necessary for you to do in PR, it all depends on a matrix of elements. However, I would suggest avoiding certain things when pitching the press. Yes, your campaign must be innovative and creative, but beware of creating futile and irrelevant buzz. What will draw the attention of the press is neither a full and precise product description nor artificial hooks.

What you need is a good story around your product. Put yourself in the shoes of a journalist. Wouldn’t you be bored to death to copy and paste a product description from a press release into your column? And how would you feel if you had a chance of writing a really juicy story?

If you would like to comment on global PR campaigns, stories, ads, etc, please feel free to. I am eager to hear you opinion.

Visual Identity and color scheme 2.0

2008-01-12T11:34:00.000-08:00

When creating or updating your visual identity, one of the most important things is to chose the color scheme that you will be using.

The color scheme you chose will be seen in your logo, your marketing collateral, your website, etc. Before creating your color scheme, I strongly suggest reading as much as possible about color theory, symbolism and psychology. Here’s are two links for you:

1)Wikipedia article on color theory
2) Wikipedia on color symbolism and psychology

Once you chose your color scheme, some of the problems that sooner or later you may face is that your collateral starts looking repetitive, or you may get bored of the color scheme, or even because company and services values shift with time, the color scheme does not reflect the current values anymore. If you want to update your visual identity, remember that you will need to have a significant budget to replace your business cards, marketing handouts and electronic collateral such as your PowerPoint presentations and pdf files.

Here is what Vivo, a Brazilian mobile operator did: they opted for what I call a chameleon logo, or a logo 2.0. That is, the logo remains the same, however, the color changes according to their need, such as packaging, website pages, ad campaigns etc.

I created a slide show where you can see these logos:

So, what do you think about it? Does it defeat the purpose of being recognized easily or is it a better way to adapt your brand to different values and communicate well within various target audiences? I’d be delighted to hear your opinion.

Tutorial 2.0: To acquire and expand a user base

2008-01-09T09:04:00.000-08:00

Equally important as branding your products and services to your users is educating them how to use them. If we are talking about web and mobile consumer oriented services the user base acquisition is directly subordinated to how easy it is for these users to understand and use your services, especially if you are counting on viral growth. And if you intend to expand the user base to other countries, translating all of your material is not an option.

Of course the user experience plays a vital role here, in other words, how intuitive and friendly the user interface is, so that users can rapidly adopt your service. But what happens when you have to introduce new features, for example? Or if it’s a brand new app? What happens if there is more to explain? Well, that’s when you need to consider a tutorial.

FAQs offer a limited (and tedious) way to explain features and troubleshoot. Moreover many times the answers are not accurate. I am not saying that you should avoid FAQs, but think about offering visual and audio aids as well: images, audio bits, flash animations that can be interactive, even online reps to answer questions in real time.

I personally prefer using video clips. Here’s a link to a company that created a very innovative, unique and simple way to explain apps, services and products (one of these things that makes me ask myself why I haven’t thought about it…): http://www.commoncraft.com/. They are called Common Craft and here’s one of their tutorial clips:

If you have other clips (and topics) that you would like to suggest, please e-mail me at kgoldrajch@gmail.com or feel free to post a comment.

Guidelines to stand out and create a relevant and sticky message

2008-01-03T10:30:00.001-08:00

In this day and age, it is relatively easy to create a viral campaign and generate some buzz around a brand, product or service. With the proliferation of channels where you can convey your message to a global audience, such as web 2.0 based websites and applications (blogs, social networks, widgets, etc.), it is essential to make sure that you are not only creating a buzz, but your message is relevant and sticky. Here’s a 101 on relevance:

1- Research each target audience
2- The language they speak
3- Where they get their information from
4- Their scale of values
5- Probe you brand against these values
6- If budget allows, focus groups
7- Translate what you want to say about your brand into their language and values
8- Be concise
9- Be bold
10- Convey the message on the medium where they get information from
11- Be sure you have a feedback channel and listen to their oppinion
12- Fine tune your message regularly

Brands Without Borders - 2007

2007-12-28T10:12:00.001-08:00

Here are some of these global brands that were under the spotlight during 2007 and I would call the "2007 Brands Without Borders":

What are the other brands that you would add to this list?

Mobile Advertising in the UK

2007-12-22T13:18:00.001-08:00

This video corroborates the statements of the previous post. Mathew White, Mobile Advertising Manager for Channel 4 and Thomas Curven, Planning Director for Publicis-Dialog talk about integrating the mobile medium into Marketing and branding campaigns.

Top 8 Reasons to Integrate the Mobile Medium in a Global Marketing Campaign

2007-12-21T22:02:00.000-08:00

When creating a campaign in various regions or targeting a diversified audience, you must use a medium that optimizes your efforts, which can very much be the mobile phone. Yes, the mobile phone. Here are a few reasons why the mobile phone can answer your needs:

1) The mobile phone is an ubiquitous communication channel. You can reach your target audience 24/7, anywhere.

2) The mobile phone is a complete communication medium and the user is offered a variety of content. Besides using voice services, the user can stream or download videos, connect to the internet, send and receive various types of messages (SMS,MMS, and e-mails), play preset or download new games, use various applications including LBS (location based services), among others. Therefore, a global Marketing campaign can use any of these to advertise or offer ad based content.

3) Your audience does not need to be in front of a TV set, connected to the internet, listening to the radio or reading a publication in order to receive your message.

4) Most likely, your target audience carry their cellphones with them, in their pockets or bags.

5) You can demographically target your messages according to region, age, gender, etc.

6) Also, you can personalize your messages according to the different demographics.

7) The mobile phone offers interactivity and you can prompt your audience to go to visit a WAP site if you send a WAP push, for example.

8) Your audience had opted to receive advertisement or ad based content and applications.

Obviously there are much more than only 8 reasons for you to think of using the mobile phone as a global Marketing tool. Once you start researching you will agree with me and come up with your own reasons as well.

Nickled and Dimed PR

2007-12-17T21:57:00.000-08:00

Interesting article today at the Wall Street Journal. It talks about a “pay-per-placement” trend in PR. That is, instead of hiring a PR firm and paying the regular PR retainer, you pay per article published.

This looks more like a solution for small and medium businesses that are interested solely in getting the word out there.

I am a strong believer that Marketing and PR must be cost effective and although this type of solution may sound fair, before hiring a service like this I suggest taking into account the following:

1- The scope of work: Which publications/ writers will be pitched?

2- If you are paying per article, what is the maximum amount of featured articles that fits your budget?

3- Relevance of the publications. Does the publication where you had a featured article hit your target audience?

4- Size of the publication. Are tier 1, 2 and 3 publications differentiated? However the concept of tier 1, 2 and 3 is still inaccurate. Here’s an example: an industry blog can hit a higher number of potential clients than a mainstream publication.

5- RSS/ feeds/ replicating articles. The same article can be featured in various online publications, and commonly industry blogs use feeds and replicate articles. Is a replicated article being charged as an original article? What about articles translated into other languages?

6- PR and media relations efforts should always start with developing a strategy. Before pitching the press, carefully craft your messages. Also keep in mind that it is better to build strong media relationships than aim to at short term achievements.

Click here to read the article

Click here to read pitching tips.

Web 2.0 as a Global Marketing Tool

2007-12-15T12:41:00.001-08:00

I have been working with Internet (and mobile) based products/ services since the 90's and have witnessed the progress of the platform, not only as what they used to call the “new economy”, but as a global Marketing/ PR tool. Here's an excellent clip that helps understanding what these changes were and the possibilities that lie ahead.

South American Way: Entertainment as a key Marketing Tool

2007-12-03T19:45:00.001-08:00

I am currently working on a South American consultancy and these last days I have been immersed in a Brazilian Market research. One of the interesting aspects about Marketing in Brazil is how Brazilian society is strongly influenced by the local entertainment industry, mainly by the daily TV soap opera episodes (more specifically the 9:00 pm telenovela).

If you ask me for a cookie-cutter Marketing/ PR formula to launch a product in the largest Brazilian capitals (such as Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, Curitiba and Florianopolis) I would suggest developing an integrated ad/ PR campaign using product placement during one of their telenovelas. But of course, this is just a hypothetical regional approach with no target audience segmentation.

***

Another interesting point is how often entertainers migrate to politics in Brazil. Take for example Gilberto Gil (Brazil’s Minister of Culture), one of the most notorious Brazilian singers, or the former mayor of Sao Paulo and current Minister of Tourism, Marta Suplicy, who is a psychologist and used to offer sex advice on a popular TV show. And also Helio Costa, the Minister of Communications. He was one of the most prestigious hosts of Fantastico, a Sunday night TV newsmagazine broadcasted by Rede Globo.

***

As I was writing the title of this post I remembered a classic performance by Carmen Miranda called South American Way. Always entertaining.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDwQN4UeF8E

How Globalization Strengthens Silicon Valley

2007-11-27T22:54:00.000-08:00

There was an interesting article this weekend on the San Jose Mercury News. It said that in spite of the globalization and the rise of tech hubs in countries like Israel, China and India, there is no immediate threat to Silicon Valley’s economy and it remains strong as the heart of innovation and industry.

Various reasons: from Social Networks headquartered in the Bay Area that conquers audiences worldwide to companies such as HP and Cisco soaring from the expansion of global markets.

In a recent statement, HP highlighted how revenue from the BRIC countries - Brazil, Russia, India and China - had increased 37% percent compared with the same quarter in 2006. And Cisco reported 45% year-over-year growth in emerging markets.

***

If on one hand businesses that are started in the valley expand throughout the world, on the other hand the valley also attracts the world to itself. Silicon Valley draws highly skilled professionals from different parts of the globe: according to the same article, 55% of its science and engineering professionals were born abroad.

***

Still on foreign born executives, here’s a must read. It is called “They Made It”. It’s a compilation of interviews with some of the top Silicon Valley executives born in France, Israel and India (among many other countries) . You can pre-order you book here.

The Chinese Challenge

2007-11-22T13:33:00.000-08:00

BRIC is an economical term used to refer to the combination of 4 emerging countries/ markets: Brazil, Russia, India, and China. By the year 2050 it is estimated that BRIC economies will most likely eclipse some of the wealthiest economies in the world. China is the world's fourth largest economy and one of the major and most interesting challenges they are currently facing is how to transition to capitalism and maintain the peasantry, a pillar in their economic growth.

One of the first tasks I was given as a consultant for a large company that wanted to establish a presence in China was to create a manual of idiosyncrasies for this country including the dos and don’ts. Same as a handshake in the US, in China, part of the business etiquette is exchanging business cards. When someone receives a business card, he must hold it with both hands and pay close attention while reading it.

However, when doing business internationally, common sense plays a very important role: if you are not acquainted with the local etiquette, just treat others with respect and think how you would like to be treated.

Deconstructing South America

2007-11-14T11:00:00.000-08:00

Sometimes a mistake turns out to be acceptable and logical, if we look at it in a certain way. Last week I heard someone mention that he did business in several countries including Japan and Europe. Needless to say, Europe is not a country. However, if we think of Europe as an acronym for all the countries of the European Union that share a common flag and currency we can understand where he was coming from.

Interestingly enough, this is reminiscent of how South America is mostly regarded as: a number of resembling countries that share the same language, except for Brazil. However, in this case, it would be a stretch.

The truth is different than what most people think. The majority of South American population speaks Portuguese, not Spanish. By the way, South American official languages comprise Portuguese, Spanish, English, Dutch and French.

Brazil alone is the 5th largest country in the world (if we do not count Hawaii and Alaska as parts of the United States). So if, on the other hand, someone says that a country like Brazil is a continent, that would probably sound more acceptable as a figure of speech.

The Butterfly Effect in Global Branding

2007-11-11T11:00:00.000-08:00

The premise of global branding is that you need to regionalize your strategy in order to successfully establish you brand in a foreign country. Of course we are not only talking about translating your marketing collateral.

For instance, you can have local decision makers or celebrities to corroborate what you want to say. You can also use focus groups to better understand how the colors of your logo convey different messages in certain parts of the world. While a person dressed in white is most likely to be related to a doctor in western cultures, the same does not apply to Japan, where wearing white is a sign of mourn.

However, sometimes regionalizing strategies is not enough. In a global economy, we must bear in mind the butterfly effect.

In a nutshell (and don’t be intimidated by this) the butterfly effect is a basic technical condition for the chaos theory. Let’s go to the part that matters to us: The butterfly effect got notoriety with the sentence "the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil can set off a tornado in Texas".

What the butterfly effect teaches us is that although we may be ready for implementing a strategy regionally, we must take into account the complexity of relationships amongst these countries and its neighbors, trading partners and groups, amongst others.

Let’s be honest: working on a global economy is complex. Although our job as communicators is to simplify, we will run out of breath and resources if we try homogenize the world and accommodate simplistic needs. We will only be able to work synergistically if we pay close attention to each region's idiosyncrasies and its global relationships.