For those who know me personally or follow me on my personal social media accounts, you've probably noticed my particular "relationship" with coffee. So when I saw the famous graphic applied to my favorite drink, I thought, what better way to understand social media? Ha!
As the world of business continues its shift towards better and more effective strategies of engagement, digital marketing is on the rise. People consume more digital content on a daily basis - and by that we mean content on mobile phones, tablets, laptops and more - proving that traditional media is slowly being substituted (or enhanced) by digital. Many marketers have surely understood this notion perfectly and have taken to social media as a way to define his or her particular style.
Under this context comes Optify's interesting - yet cute - view on how digital marketers differ depending on their use of social media.
Strategy consulting firm specialized in country branding and business strategy, Bloom Consulting, has issued the 2012 Country Brand Ranking. The company, founded in 2003 and based in Spain, implements a unique methodology using variables in order to position the countries based on facts and mathematical algorithms. "The methodology measures the coherency between the external messages of a country and its actual economic performance under a certain period of time. The higher a country is on the list, the better they are compared to their competitors, in positioning themselves to attract either Foreign Direct Investment or tourists." (Wikipedia)
The study measured the effectiveness of more than 160 countries and their overall branding strategy, by accompanying hard data - economic performance and growth - as well as its impact on its brand strategy. Furthermore, the ranking includes an Online Search Demand (OSD), which evaluates the gap between what countries are promoting versus what investors and tourists are demanding.
Click here for the complete Country Brand Ranking 2012 TOURISM EDITION.
Click here for the complete Country Brand Ranking 2012 TRADE EDITION.
They say timing is everything and I believe that to be exactly right.
It was 2011 when first I heard of the Young Marketers Competition. The idea of having the opportunity to represent my country in one of the world’s greatest advertising festivals appealed a great deal to me. I immediately set myself to the task of participating in the national competition that would decide who would make it to France. However, as fate would have it, and due to several circumstances, I was unable to participate. I kicked myself for it every time I’d think about it.
On October of the following year, I bumped into exciting news. The Cannes Lions organization in Dominican Republic would be holding the competition again. This time, I didn't waste a second. I called them immediately and enrolled in the contest.
A week later, I was told that things would run differently. I had to submit my application with a teammate from the very start. I had to pick someone who would participate in the contest with me. Someone who would understand what it meant to compete for an award such as this; someone who shares the same passion for advertising and brands. And in that moment I knew exactly who to call: Yasser.
He said yes right off the bat and we immediately set to work. Come January – the date of our presentation – we would have the best presentation possible. And what do you know? We won.
Hard at work. (Photo by Joanna Guzmán.)
January 16, 2013. The moment we won the Young Marketers Competition and became the next representatives of Dominican Republic.
This series, “Road to Cannes” was inspired on a hashtag we used from the very beginning for every picture we took during the process of the competition. It would capture our story no matter the outcome. (You can’t blame us, we’re bloggers. It’s in our DNA.)
Instagram feed featuring our photos under #RoadtoCannes
So here’s to all of you who have been with us during the journey to the national “title." Through this series, I shall be sharing with you the voyage to the legendary festival. To our "olympic" experience. This is the road to Cannes.
* Credits to the Cannes photo go to Overseastravel.gr
Let's face it. Mobile phones have changed our life. No matter where we are or time of day, communication is instant. This fast-paced approach that smartphones offer has changed the way businesses work, customers interact with brands, impulse their purchase desicions, but most of all, have affected the way we share our product experiences with others.
I recently bumped into this study from Google and Ipsos OTX on mMarketing, conducted with the aim of better understanding the role of smartphones in people's lives, their influence, and how it has changed the way they "search, shop and respond to mobile advertising."
"Smarter consumers calls for smarter marketing." It's interesting to see how this instrument is changing the way we buy, but more importantly, the way we we behave as individuals and in society. Our clients are mobile. It's time we started thinking mobile.