I see the bad moon rising.
I see trouble on the way.
I see earthquakes and lightnin.
I see bad times today.

Dont go around tonight,
Well, its bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon on the rise.

That's the general sentiment- with most Asian economies. Japan took a dip and most developed Asian economies are now talking about an imminent recession. There has been carnage on stock markets and pessimistic forecasts are abound.

It's strange- as I heard someone saying "...when the US sneezes everyone else catches cold"

Singapore,  Southeast Asia's richest country, is believed to be slipping into recession, and almost everywhere there seems to be a "recruitment freeze".

However- here is the silver lining- The digital marketing and media world is more resilient, and as a matter of fact, in these times, this seems to be one panacea for agencies and brands alike.

Mediapost mentions a healthy growth in the first half of 2008 in the US- Search advertising seems to be the hotbed- what with most advertisers realising that online is the medium to deliver measurable and effective refturns on marketing investment. Remember this is inpite of the fact the financial category ad spend has taken a dip this year.

Verbatim:And while spending on other media formats is flat or declining compared to a year ago, Nielsen estimates that online ad dollars overall increased 13% in the first half of 2008. Enjoying the biggest increases in ad spending are kids and family-oriented sites as well as comparison shopping sites, at close to 30% gains.

Another news by the Hollywood reporter headlined "Online ads defy slowing global economy" says-

Despite the damage inflicted by the financial crisis, turnover with advertisement banners, sponsored links and other online advertising format will grow.

Markets:

US- 13% to $18.6 billion still by far the largest market in the world

Europe: Developing fast and is forecast to grow 31% in 2008 to $12.4 billion.

Japan: Will surge 15% to $4.5 billion, while China will leap forward 46% to $1.6 billion

Jason blogs on "5 reasons why digital marketing will thrive in recession"

So what's the big deal then? Why the hullabaloo about recession? Neither the forecasts nor the past 6 months show any signs of worry for the digital marketing/online advertising world.

This the time for brands to embrace a mature digital marketing space and be one up on the competitors. Now is the time for them to set up specialist units focused on digital marketing. Now is the time for agencies to recruit the best talent there is and demonstrate efficiency for their clients and competitors alike.

Agencies specially more so- many have been viewed as opportunistic digital media embracers- jumped on the boat in 2000s and abandoned at the first sight of decline..and then coming back to position themselves as forward thinking digital media embracers starting 2005. And then again, at the first sign of a financial crisis, they freeze!

In a panel discussion that I was invited to a few months ago, I asked a question to the panel- comprising of agency and brand side representatives: "What if your media/marketing budget reduces to half? Where will you continue to spend?" The unanimous answers from client side was "Digital/Online marketing"- not only continue to spend, but they would probably allocate more spends to online and make their online marketing initiatives more effective.

Do you see a similar trend happening elsewhere? Have your clients reduced their budgets? Has your agency been proactive enough in attracting and retaining digital talent? Anxious to hear your comments.

"YouTube, which has nailed the science of online video sharing, is now getting into online shopping by

partnering with the likes of Amazon.com and iTunes.

The shop links will be just below the YouTube clips and will eventually sell a wide variety of items and merchandise related to the millions of clips on the site including: MP3s, TV shows, movies, concert tickets, books, maybe, even buy the designer sunglasses your favorite star is wearing in a clip.

So soon you’ll be able to buy the Michael Jackson song playing in the background while watching the hilarious clip of Filipino prisoners doing their reenactment of the ’Thriller’ video.

How will YouTube know if it’s a Michael Jackson song? Executives told Reuters they have a pretty nifty video and audio ID system that helps identify songs and video clips. If the song publisher or movie producer wants they can jointly share in the revenue from the advertising generated around such content."

Michael Arrington, Chef von TechCrunch, einem Blog, das massgeblich mitgeholfen hat, das Phänomen Web 2.0 zu popularisieren, ruft jetzt das unrühmliche, aber notwendige Ende von Web 2.0 aus, bedingt durch ein Versiegen des Risikokapitals und markiert durch ein ignorantes Video einiger selbstverliebter Silicon Valley  Douchebags, (das inzwischen von Netz genommen wurde.)

Auf netzwertig.com geht Andreas Göldi mehr in die Tiefe und beschreibt, was die weltweite Krise für die Startup-Finanzierung im Web 2.0 bedeutet. Neben der Analyse der Situation gibt er Jungunternehmern auch Tipps, wie man mit einem härter werdenden Finanzierungsklima umgehen kann. Ein Ratschlag lautet, nicht auf Verdacht grosse Plattformen zu bauen und das Businessmodell später zu überlegen. Marc Zuckerberg kann es sich leisten, solche Ratschläge zu ignorieren, hat der Facebook Gründer sein Venture Capital doch bereits vor der großen Krise eingesammelt. Im Interview mit der FAZ erklärt er, dass Wachstum Vorrang und ein Business-Plan noch Zeit bis in drei Jahren hat.

Insgesamt optimistischer als Göldi schätzt bei Robert Basic ein namentlich nicht genannter Gründer die Situation ein. In Zeiten begrenzter Etats könne Online gegenüber klassischen Alternativen sogar profitieren. Das gelte sowohl für Werbung, wo Performance Marketing sich gegenüber reichweitenbasierten Kampagnen durchsetze, als auch für Online Software Lösungen für Unternehmen.

Dieser Einschätzung kann ich mich nur anschließen. Wenn man Web 2.0 nicht nur auf den Endverbraucher Markt beschränkt, sondern Web 2.0 Lösungen für Unternehmen (Office 2.0, Enterprise 2.0, Cloud Computing) mit ins Kalkül zieht, eröffnen sich vielleicht gerade durch diese Krise ganz neue Chancen.

Nebenbei: c/o operative eröffnete heute vor zwei Jahren mit einem Beitrag zur Übernahme eines Video Sharing Startups durch einen großen Suchmaschinenbetreiber.

Technorati Tags: finanzkrise - web2.0 - startups - venture+capital - enterprise2.0 - cloud+computing

Regardless of if viewers agree or disagree with the message in these videos, it's worth noting their contribution to the marketing efforts of both campaigns.

Stay tuned...

- Forest Bronzan

• travel has become a key business category for Google
• 94% of travel executives said online advertising would provide the strongest return on investment compared to other media in the next 12 months
• Some 20% of travel advertisers will spend more than $10 million in online marketing this year
• 50% will spend $1 million dollar or more
• Google to discuss improving online marketing efforts using Google tools

Among the software that Google is rolling out to help travel advertisers is a tool that suggests appropriate keywords based on spikes in certain search terms. By spotting a rising search term early such as "staycation," a travel company can develop marketing programs suited to emerging industry trends.

Read the article here.

1.  Good Product?  Naah! All have it! In such competitive market, bad products don’t survive and die soon..

2.  Innovative solutions? Did you say you introduced something new? Wait for a day till I improvise on your innovations and go big bang with it!

3.  Good service? Though it can be a differentiator, but only after a deal has been closed.. maybe not a key driver to close the deal as all claim to provide best service.

So then what? It’s “Relationship” that drives decisions.

 What is it that you desire from your prospects? 

- To be transaction oriented?
- take impulsive decision and hence choose you?

Or 

- To be loyal to you
- To be passionate about your brand!

 The answer needs no guess work… hence, focus social media plan to develop relationships and not run one off campaign/viral for short term publicity.

 Some brands who have been successful at this : 

1. Sunsilk

a.       Social networking community: Sunsilk Gang Of Girls
b.      Channel on Youtube and wiki

2.  Absolut Vodka*

a. Online video:  ABSOLUTworld
b. Social networks:  Top Bartender page on Facebook.

3. Ford*:

a.       Blogging: Sponsored a test drive event for women bloggers. 
b.      Microblogging: Twitter account for North America.
c.       Social networks: Ford Drives U Facebook group for student buyers.
d.      Wiki:  Where are the Joneses?
e.       WOM campaign:  Hurra Torpedo campaign

4.  Motorola*.

a.   Wikis: MOTO Q Wiki with how-tos on using the phone.

5. Pfizer. 

a. Widgets:  Frame-Your-Horse widget on Yahoo.  

* source: http://www.beingpeterkim.com/2008/09/ive-been-thinki.html

Hence, Key rules

1.   Develop relationships

2.   pass on the power to users – don’t hold back and use social media as PR broadcasting channel

3.   learn to lissen and answer – without aggression and temper

4.   respect comments and criticism

5.   most important – start small. Dream big but take one step at a time and let the community/users own up the channel.

Be very clear of what your audience wants before working on social media strategy

An overnight carnage on Wall Street sparked another round of massive stock sell-off in Asia and Europe, sending key indices in Japan, Britain and Germany down as much as 10 percent.

Asian and European investors awoke to news that the Dow Jones Industrial Average in the United States dived 679 points Thursday to extend its losses so far this week to an awesome 17 percent.

The steep losses spooked equity holders, who in a knee-jerk reaction, jumped on a selling-spree at the opening bell. Within minutes of trading, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average fell more than 10 percent, Korean stocks dropped 9 percent and the Hang Seng Index of Hong Kong declined more than 7 percent.

Several hours later in Europe, the FTSE 100 Index of England and Germany's DAX index fell as much as 10.2 percent shortly after trading started, while France's CAC 40 index witnessed the biggest fall since 1987, diving 9 percent.

The Shanghai market fared better, but sell-off pressure was heavy. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index opened 3.8 percent lower at 1,995.96 points, breaching the psychologically important level of 2,000 points, which was significant to both regulators and investors. Two days after the mark was broken through last time, the State Council cut stock trading tax and promise share buybacks, sparking a huge rally.

The Shanghai gauge ended the day marginally above 2,000 points at 2,000.57, a loss of 3.57 percent over the previous close. The Nikkei 225 closed 9.62 percent lower, after plunging as much as 11 percent as a point. Hong Kong's HSI index was down 7.95 percent when the closing bell sounded.

Chinese investors seemed to get little comfort from another effort by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to prop up confidence.

The CSRC announced Thursday that listed firms must pay dividends in cash totaling no less than 30 percent of its distributed profits over the previous three years before submitting their refinancing applications.

The new measure could help encourage long-term investment and reduce market volatility, the CSRC said. Lack of cash dividends was blamed as one of the key culprits for high volatility in China's stock markets, where five-percent or more daily ups and downs are commonplace, as investors can only bank on share prices gains.

While beneficial to the long-term good of the stock market, the measure failed to address the immediate concerns of the crisis-preoccupied investors.

Investors feared the escalating financial crisis may prolong the economic difficulties of the US and Europe, two key export destinations for both China and other Asian economies.

ref: chinadaily,shopblindsonline,agencyorganizer

Take a look at her web site and it’s obvious it wasn’t created by a 50-plus-year-old. Likewise, it’s not a traditional web site with some new technology – like podcasts and message boards – tacked on after the fact. I suspect that Patti’s target audience feels right at home on the site before they've read more than 10 words.

Two things in particular about The Garden Girl’s home page stand out to me:

The number of visuals. I counted 41 of them. Of those, half are photos of people in action shots, always more engaging than stills. Photos are just the beginning though. There are no less than 11 links to videos on the home page, plus a couple of invitations to subscribe to the Urban Sustainable Living video podcast.

Granted, it helps that Patti is trained as a video producer and her husband is a filmmaker. But as I’ve mentioned before, web site videos don’t have to be slick to be powerful.

The total integration of new media. In addition to watching any of 11 videos and subscribing to Patti’s podcast, the home page includes prominent invitations to:

• Ask questions on the message board

• Subscribe to an ezine

• Read the Garden Girl blog

• See  a worldwide map showing the location of recent visitors to The Garden Girl web site
• Check out Patti’s profile on del.icio.us (Not familiar with del.icio.us? Here you go.)
• Recommend Garden Girl TV on Stumbleupon (Explained here.)
• Digg the Garden Girl web site (Here’s an explanation for those of you who don’t know Digg)
• Hugg the web site (Here’s a clue: Hugg’s tagline is “It’s Digg for Green”)

Everywhere you look, Patti is communicating with her audience in their language. It’s not a traditional web site with a couple things added. It’s a whole new experience.

As an aside, the Mailorder Gardening Association has invited Patti to share her advice on marketing to younger gardeners at the Winter conference in Baltimore. I’m looking forward to hearing what she has to say. I hope you'll join us there!

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="246" caption="2 tiered"][/caption]

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Be sure to check out the link above!

Google Alerts have become absolutely indispensable for me along with the daily news feeds I subscribe to.

The settings I have set into my GA requests are for comprehensive (news, blogs, forum comments, videos, etc.), as-it-happens update to be mailed directly to my inbox. For a subject like Dubai online marketing and SEO in Dubai, the Google Alerts I receive are very frequent. If you have subscribed similarly, you probably know how tedious it is to go through all of them.

However, I must admit, I never check out each and every one.

All I look for is the little snippet of the article, which by default accompanies the alert headline. It usually includes a sentence or two that has the keyword (search query) typed in as well. A clever headline always draws my attention and it is this that commands my attention.

However, it is the accompanying sentence that actually convinces me to open a particular alert.

With some careful spacing of content and keyword, you too can make your internet marketing in Dubai efforts and web marketing service get higher pings with Google Alerts. As Google indexes content rapidly, there is a chance that your blog or news post or related content will be included in the top 20 search results immediately. This is free advertisement for your promotional material.

Staying on top of your competition is a big part of the search engine promotion service industry. With clever optimization of your content for Google Alerts, you could be right up there. Try it out and let me know how it works for you.

Get back to Cosmos Star Consultants on this space.

In fact the feast are partly responsible for the name and subtitle that I came up with for my blog, and for my motivation and direction that I have been going through lately in life. You see the fall biblical feast emphasize reflecting on your life and evaluating your stance before God. So, the past few weeks I have been doing tremendous inventory with relationships and with myself. It has all been very good, even if a bit challenging at times. But, these deep reflections and challenges help us to gain new ground and to move forward with more determination and inspiration in our daily life.

Our New Year (Rosh Hashannah) was actually 9 days ago. Leading up to it I intuitively started doing mass reflection. Some of that took me through some down times. But, going through them has been healing and rewarding and now I feel ready more than ever to move on. I have many goals with this year. I have started a new routine in the morning, where I strive to get up, read the bible, exercise, and do my hydrotherapy shower (more on that later through my Uri blog) before my kids are even out of bed. We have a new routine for our school and for my business. It is good to be on a slight schedule as that helps one to focus. So, now I am ready to move forward in every area of my life which encompasses, spiritual, physical, and emotional priorities starting first thing in the morning! It is amazing how energizing this can be and how it sets your focus right for the day.

Some say it isn't good to do everything at once. One new thing at a time. But, I don't feel complete unless I am focusing on new growth that encompasses all 3 of those aspects. I guess, I am a do it all or nothing type of girl. I just do better going all out. I think small steps allow room for too many excuses. But, I understand that some people do better with small steps and that is completely fine. The key is is to find something to improve upon in your life. Change is good. If you are doing it for the right reasons. And will help you to grow into a more compassionate and productive person. So, don't stay stagnant! If you want change, get up and embrace it. Set goals and do activities that will move you closer to those goals everyday!

Stay tuned for my 90 day challenge blog that you can find under my BLOGROLL and by clicking on the EZ Wealth Solution link. Hopefully I will inspire you to challenge yourself in something for 90 days that will cause you to spread your wings and fly!

Best Wishes,

Larissa

Attention Shoppers! has discussed cause related marketing several times in the past. That's because the increase in cause-related campaigns owes much to the internet. And CPG companies are among the most active in the area.

We recently came across another great example of how the internet multiplies the power of what brands can do to help a cause. Together Pink comes to us via a group of General Mills brands: Yoplait, Cheerios, Progresso Soups and Nature Valley. However, the branding is very subtle. In fact, if you’re not looking for it—and few consumers will be—you might miss it.

The individual brand sites, however, also have sections promoting the effort. The experience is hosted on My Space, and it is a celebration, of hope and of fighting and surviving. Women are invited to share their stories of struggle and triumph, and other women are encouraged to offer them flowers of support. There is a lot of content, including blogs and video, and General Mills is driving to the experience with online advertising and on-pack communication.

Well they must have made some improvements to their queries because I received a call-out for volunteers to shows support at an event just around the corner from where I live. This Little Italy/San Diego info was very targeted; photo and all. --- Well played.

- Forest Bronzan

com·mu·ni·ty: [kuh-myoo-ni-tee] a social, religious, occupational, or other group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists (usually prec. by the): the business community; the community of scholars. (Dictionary.com, 2008)

Creating a sense of community can help increase traffic to a website, can increase brand awareness, but most importantly it can fill a need that is not available from any other source. If individuals are able to gain benefits from visiting a website, they will see it as being valuable. There are many reasons why Individuals would be interest in online communities are some of those reasons include: building interests, group coordination and information sharing, project management, learning, and general coversation. (White, Nancy 2002) Online communities allow individuals to do all these things without time and geographical barriers. The more that individuals are actively involved, the more loyalty they will have to a particular website.

A great example of an online community is Oprah.com. If anyone has watched her show you know that she encourages her viewers to visit her website to talk about the show they have just watched. The Oprah magazine also refers to the website for a way for its readers to share their thoughts on specific articles featured in the magazine. There are message boards, personal blogs, and hot topics that visitors to the website can engage in on the website.

"Welcome to Oprah.com's online community, where members come together for advice, support and friendship." (Oprah.com, 2008)

Being a part of this online community creates a feeling of being valued as posts to message boards will be looked at and answered by members of Oprah.com staff. Ideas for the television show are often taken from discussion boards as people are discussing important issues and opinions. This is very efficient from a marketer's perspective, because actual members of the firm's target audience are creating ideas for the show. An estimated 2.2 million people people visit the Oprah.com website in a month (quantcast, 2008). The firm is able to get free market research of what issues are important to their target market just from monitoring what takes places in their discussion boards. This proves that creating a sense of community is not only beneficial to the website visitors.

An online community must provide some sort of value to the visitor, especially when the website is similar to many others that on the internet. "The best way of being different is to add value to your site that your competitors are unable to match" (Reed, Martin. 2008) This sence of community needs to be implemented by the other '7C's' - design elements that make up a website.

Dictionary.com (2008) Community. [Internet] Available from: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/community Accessed: October 9, 2008.

Oprah.com (2008) Community: Connect with us and each other. [Internet] Available from: http://www.oprah.com/community Accessed: October 9, 2008.

Reed, Martin (2008) What is your online community's added value? [Internet] Available from: http://www.communityspark.com/what-is-your-online-communitys-added-value/ Accessed: October 9, 2008.

White, Nancy (2002) Defining the purpose of your community. Full Circle Associates. [Internet] Available from: http://www.fullcirc.com/community/communitypurpose.htm Accessed: October 9, 2008.

Quantcast.com (2008) Estimated Monthly Traffic: Oprah.com. [Internet] Available from: http://www.quantcast.com/oprah.com Accessed: October 9. 2008.

I would love some feedback to the following questions:

1. What is the most important aspect in growing your business? And why.

2. If an expert were to offer free advice on two online marketing problems you face, what would those two problems be?

If you took the time to leave a comment, that would be great. Thanks for reading!