Grand launch of the Nokia Lumia 800 in London

Nokia teamed up with Drive Productions for a spectacular 4D light show projected on Millbank Tower in London's South Bank to mark the launch of the Nokia Lumia 800.

iPad demand and supply

I guess I was wrong when I wrote that you can Get an iPad cheap a few days back. Apple's recent announcement that they are going to delay launch of iPads outside the US. UK costumers have to wait for a month.

According to Apple, this is due to "unprecedented demand" of the iPad in the US domestic market. However, I really doubt it. My friends in the US tell me that people were not falling over each other to buy the iPad unlike launches of previous Apple products including the iPhone and that you can just walk into any APple shop and buy the iPad. This whole delay thing, smells like a good marketing ploy to create demand for it in the overseas market and it's apparently working. The pries on eBay have gone up and some online stores are making a killing.

Related stories:
Malaysia: Grey market iPads show up here
China: Chinese shoppers buying 'grey market' iPads

Examples of Sucessful Marketing on Social Networks

I was invited to deliver a lecture to students taking the Diploma in applied management at the Warwick Business School. These are different from my usual audience - academics and undergraduate students and I knew I had to focus more on practical applications rather than theories.

My lecture was supposed to focus on my research - marketing on blogs and touching on social networks as well. I had several good examples but wanted more examples of successful marketing campaigns using social networks. The answer was right in front of me - all I had to do was post up a question on Linkedin - the social networking of choice for professionals. So far I have had 13 answers and most of them were quite useful.

I would like to share some of the examples I used in the lecture as well as others given by Linkedin members:

1. Hutchison 3G UK Limited : While launching their 3 Skypephone, prominent UK bloggers were contacted and given free samples to review. News and reviews carried on 3mobilebuzz blog

2. Dell.com: Exclusive offers on Twitter.com/DellOutlet
US$2 million in sales revenue at since they started in 2007. If the indirect sales were factored in, revenue was estimated to exceed $3 million. Source

3. Marks and Spencers are following in the footsteps of Dell and are on Twitter as well.

4. BMW/ Mini: Are using bloggers and YouTube to spread news about new product launcheds

5. Malene Stanley of KSB kids on Facebook and Twitter.

6. Dr. Pepper: They used social media to target the specific audience. It's considered a great success. (Source).

7. Wiggly Wigglers had great success with podcasting. They won the Dell Small Business Excellence Award.

8. Evian and the Roller Babies ad on YouTube has been viewed more than 10 milion times.

9. Microsoft and it's innovative launch of its Halo II game using viral/Wom marketing.

And of course...

10. Barak Obama’s presidential campaign led by Chris Hughes (Co-founder of Facebook) on YouTube, MySpace, Flickr, Twitter and Facebook.

Do you know of any more?

MarketingSherpa Email Summit 2010

Just wanted to highlight an event which be of interest to marketers reading my blog. The MarketingSherpa’s 5th annual Email Summit 2010 will be held in Miami, Florida from January 20-22, 2010. This is their largest and most popular event.

The events seeks to help marketers expand their opt-in marketing skills across email, social media and mobile marketing.

The keynote speaker this year is Joseph Jaffe, a well known consultant and speaker on new marketing. He is the President of crayon, a consultancy company. He will be launching his new book 'Flip the Funnel'. All attendees will receive a free copy.

This month, readers of my blog can take advantage of the Early-Bird Specials (offer ends Oct. 31).
1.$1,295 on the price of Email Summit ticket. You save $400.
2.$1,891 on Email Summit bundle package. You save ave $600.

Click the banner below for more information.

B-to-B Demand Generation Summit 2008

MarketingSherpa, one of the leading market research companies, is offering readers of Adamok.net (that's you guys), an exclusive $200 discount for the B-to-B Demand Generation Summits in Boston and San Francisco next month.

Here are the details:

• Boston, October 5-7, 2008
• San Francisco, October 26-28, 2008
  

This is the 5th Annual MarketingSherpa Summit and offers

• 19 all-new Case Studies
• Latest Research on B-to-B marketing
• Training Day for Landing Page Optimization

NOTE: This offer ends September 19th 2008.

Pepperjam launches new affiliate network

Over the years, I have joined and unjoined a number of affiliate networks. And it is quite obvious that they haven't made me a millionaire of me yet. The reason I left most of the affiliates was that they were not really transparent with the way they calculated my earnings. Most of the time I was left with the feeling that they were somehow cheating us. And from my converstions with fellow bloggers and webmasters, I gathered that I was not the only one who that felt this way.

Anyway, Pepperjam, one of the biggest online marketing companies in the US has recently announced the launch of a new "revolutionary" affiliate network. According to Kristopher B. Jones, President & CEO of Pepperjam, their new
Affiliate Marketing program will address two of the main shortcomings of other networks, namely, communication and transparency.

Read the whole press release below:

Pepperjam Announces Launch of Next Generation Affiliate Marketing Network

Pepperjam, a two-time Inc. Magazine fastest growing company and industry leading full-service internet marketing agency, today announced the launch of Pepperjam Network, a proprietary next generation affiliate marketing network.

If you are an advertiser or affiliate and would like to sign-up for Pepperjam Network please visit www.pepperjamnetwork.com.

“Pepperjam Network represents an evolution in affiliate marketing. The creation of Pepperjam Network represents eight years of research and development and the combined ideas, feedback, and intelligence of hundreds of affiliate marketers and advertisers. Pepperjam Network will forever change the face of affiliate marketing by putting power back in the hands of affiliates and advertisers to build long-term, profitable partnerships through better communication tools and transparency,” said Kristopher B. Jones, President & CEO of Pepperjam.

Among a variety of affiliate marketing enhancements, Pepperjam Network addresses the two primary shortcomings of other existing affiliate networks, namely (1) poor, unreliable communication tools and (2) lack of affiliate transparency. With Pepperjam Network, affiliates and advertisers can communicate in real-time via Pepperjam Chat™, thereby providing a reliable communication system to build stronger, more profitable partnerships. Pepperjam Network also provides advertisers with an unprecedented measure of affiliate transparency, which helps to establish trust, protect brand integrity, and lays the groundwork for open, long-term, profitable relationships.

Pepperjam Network also introduces pepperjamADS, which is a first-ever affiliate marketing widget that affiliates can use to serve customized contextual ads from one or multiple Pepperjam Network advertisers at the same time.

Pepperjam Network was designed to make the experience of affiliate marketing profitable and educational, with the goal of allowing affiliates and advertisers to truly understand and maximize the critical affiliate marketing channel.

Unlike the traditional networks, Pepperjam Network uses Web 2.0 technology to provide affiliates and advertisers with an easy-to-use, cutting-edge interface designed to facilitate and optimize the affiliate marketing process. For instance, Pepperjam Network offers industry leading source-level tracking and reporting - this robust technology is especially beneficial to search marketing and sophisticated super affiliates that want to take advantage of the most up-to-date technology available to track commissions at the keyword level.

Here is just a sample of what many industry experts are saying about Pepperjam Network:

“Even after all these years using Commission Junction on the merchant and affiliate side, I still find it terribly clumsy to find what I want. With Pepperjam Network it is quick and easy. Pepperjam Network is what an affiliate network would look like if it were built from a wish list from both the affiliate and merchant perspective,” said Shawn Collins, Cofounder of Affiliate Summit.

“As both an advertiser and a affiliate, I am on the lookout for affiliate marketing systems that meet all our company’s needs. Pepperjam Network is without a doubt the most comprehensive, practical and useful affiliate marketing system I have seen to date. Pepperjam Network demonstrates that it is possible to combine style with substance in a network that provides site owners and advertisers with tools and resources to increase their bottom line,” said Joel Comm, New York Times Best-Selling author and CEO, InfoMedia, Inc.

About Pepperjam:

Pepperjam is an industry leading full-service internet marketing agency offering marketing services and advanced technology in the areas of pay-per-click, search-engine optimization, affiliate marketing, and online media planning and buying. The company was founded in 1999 by internet marketing expert, accomplished speaker, and published author Kristopher B. Jones. Pepperjam has received numerous awards and achievements, including recognition by Inc. Magazine for two consecutive years as one of the fastest growing privately-held businesses in the United States. Learn more at www.pepperjam.com.

Need help creating professional video presentations?

A simple video presentation may be much more effective than a long Powerpoint slide show, if you are looking to promote your business or even a product or service.

522 Productions, LLC is a video production company that is based in in Washington DC, Virginia, Baltimore, and Maryland. Their services range from script writing to motion graphics and editing. Taking your ideas and expected end results, they will work with you to come up with high-quality video productions. Going through their portfolio, I was quite impressed by their work.

So if you are looking for professional video production DC, do check out 522 Productions.

You can get a quote for your company through their free proposal form.

Get online marketing help from the experts - Intelligent Online Marketing Ltd.

Intelligent Online Marketing Ltd. is a UK online marketing company based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire. Led by Graham Baylis, Director and "SEO Guru", the Online Marketing Experts, help companies build the right traffic to their sites by covering almost every area of online marketing, namely:

• Keyword Research
• Pay Per Click Management
• Search Engine Optimisation
• Analytics Services
• Linking Strategies
• Articles, Blogs & PR
• Newsletters & Email Marketing

If I were a business and looking for marketing help, I think a track record of the company is very important. I was pleased to learn that the company was formed in 1998 and was originally called "TheWebIsTheWay Ltd". Initially they were involved in producing websites, but totally moved into the present field in 2001.

Their success as listed on their "case studies" page is quite impressive. I would have appreciated it they had provided more detailed information as well as links to the client's sites.

I found the home page to be a bit over crowded with information. There were too many links to news stories and articles on the right side, which some how makes the website look odd because of the empty space on the left hand side. I suggest putting up only a few news titles inside a box, would give the site a more tidy and professional look. Talking about news, the site carries a number of useful and interesting articles on the site related to online marketing. You can also watch Graham in a series of videos on Online Marketing.

I had fun trying out their online quizzes as well. Learnt a couple of new things there while having a laugh at some of the possible answers given.

WAHMs leading the blogging brigade

Blogging is a movement, a phenomenon, a revolution or a combination of all. A good example of something that has resulted in paradigm shifts or the way we think. It has changed and is still in the process of changing how everything works. No institution has remained untouched - families, communities, the press, businesses and even governments. They all had to figure out how to adopt and adapt to this new "thing". A few years ago people used to exchange telephone number. Then it was emails and now it's blog urls. Best of all you don't need to be a very tech savvy person in order to join in this new wave.

In fact, I can say that it has been very empowering to the common people - to you and me. I don't need to write to a newspaper to complain about a bad service or product any more . I can do it right here on my blog. Governments cannot suppress unfavourable news any more. Among the most empowered have been the "Work at home mums" or WAHM. Many creative and talented women who gave up their careers to care for a family (voluntarily or otherwise) have finally found their voice again.

I may be wrong but according to feedback from several lady bloggers, even though it was initially the social networking that motivated them, now it is the opportunity to make money online through their blogs, that has become a stronger motivating force. Of course money has always been a good motivator and with the rise of the importance of consumer generated advertising, money is pouring into this new medium.

Two main reasons make blogs an ideal medium for advertising. First of all, it is consumer generated and as we know word-of-mouth is the best advertising of all. Blogging is an advanced version of the 'word of mouth' transmission of information. Next, it an interactive medium where everyone can participate and discuss - where not only the blogger but visitors to their blogs as well, can voice their opinion (to some extent).

I cannot fully explain why, but women have taken to blogging for money in a big way. Just take a look at the top earners at PayPerPost, all of them are women and almost all are WAHMs. There are some "Work at home dad" bloggers as well (including myself) but we are outnumbered by the ladies.

Some say that it's effectiveness as an advertising medium is not proven as yet. However, many companies are slowly but steadily embracing the fact that consumer generated advertising through blogs may be actually the next big thing. Maybe it already is but people just don't realise it.

Marketing help for small businesses

I know of a few business owners who handled the marketing of their businesses themselves instead of hiring someone to do it for them. On being asked "why?", the most common reason was that they wanted to save money. A few did mentioned that it was easier as they understood their own business better than any outsider could. It was not surprising that most failed in their objectives especially when it was related to online marketing.

The reason is very simple. Even though they understood their products and services that they were offering as well as the company's strengths and weaknesses, they did not have the required marketing experience. One good example is a restaurant in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where my sister used to work. They were really doing well and they decided to create a website (on my sister's advice). However their budget for the entire project was only RM400/ (around US$115). This was really sad considering the fact that they spent almost double on flowers every week. Show how much importance they gave to online marketing.

Take my advice. If you need to market your small business, get the professionals to help you, especially if it involves website design. You may very well want to consider a company that specialises in providing full-service website development and consulting services dedicated to small to medium-sized enterprises.

Advertising your business through postcards

Just the other day, I was talking with some guys about the importance of offline advertising to promote your online site. It may sound like a oxymoron but it's true. We may have spent a good deal of money building up a great site but it would be a complete waste of money if nobody turned up. Besides online advertising, offline advertising using various methods can help to drive traffic to your site.

One possible way could be through customized postcards. Printed with attractive designs and of course the company particulars including the website url may help in creating awareness about your company and ultimately driving visitors to the site.

If you are looking for a good postcard printing company, you might want to consider 1000s-post-card-printing.com. This full service custom postcard printing and mailing solution company, has some great deals on postcards. they also print brochures, business cards and door hangers as well.

TV Advertising experts

Advertising via the medium of television remains one of the most popular forms of advertising. Unlike other forms of advertising media such as billboards and magazines, TV advertising is more persuasive as it is beamed directly into households of customers. It also offers a wide range of programming and advertisers can target specific consumer groups through segmentation. The effectiveness of this medium can be seen from the fact that some ad campaigns remain in the mind of television viewers way long after the end of the campaign.

Ad campaigns of TV are not limited to companies seeking to create awareness about their products and services but even individuals and non governmental organisations are keen to harness the power of the TV. Right now we cannot even image any political campaign without ads on TV. The spread of cable TV has made this media even more accessible.

In order to maximize your campaign's performance, it is essential that you get an experienced company to take care of your campaign. Some ad agencies just design and create your campaigns and leave the rest to you. If you want someone to handle the entire process of running your campaign, a company like Hawthorne direct Inc is the answer.

Hawthorne specializes in creative/production, media and integrated marketing including advertising on TV.

They will help you manage every aspect of your ad campaign right from design and creation with their in-house facilities, even funding and to market testing and campaign rollout. Since 1986, they have handled over 331 clients managing nearly 500 media campaigns.

Going through their site, I was surprised to see a list of resources - related to direct response (DRTV) industry information which they were sharing openly with visitors to their site. Tell a lot about the company.

Magical motivational key note speaker

If you are organising a conference or seminar, it is very important to get the right keynote speaker as he or she will set the tone for the entire conference. I have attended a few conferences and on one occasion, the politician who was supposed to deliver the key note address couldn't attend the conference because of some reason. he sent along his representative who didn't do a good job (putting it politely). I was not surprised to see several people slipping away from the hall.

The ideal keynote speaker would be one who can hold the audience spellbound while engaging them. Andy Cohen is one of those unique business and motivational speakers who's entertaining as well.

Using magic as a metaphor he ensures the full participation of the audience as well as ensuring that the lesson learnt remains memorable for a long time.

Andy is a marketing guru, innovation expert, best selling author and magician as well. His book 'Follow the Other Hand' has been nominated by the New York Times as a potential bestseller for 2007. The list of his clients include some of the biggest companies including America Online, American Express, Fox, HSBC, Johnson & Johnson and Nestle among others. This is an an indication of his popularity.

So if you are looking for someone to speak at your conference, seminar, or business meeting, look no further. However, you may have to check his schedule first as he is a very busy man.

NOTE: Picture was taken from a screenshot of his website

Exhibits mean everything in trade shows

Some of my friends think I am crazy because I like going to exhibitions, museums, conventions and trade shows. However the ones that interest me the most are the trade shows related to technology, especially the computer trade shows. I would have loved to visit CeBIT which was held in Hanover, Germany from 15 March to 21 March. Maybe next time.

There are several reasons why I like to visit such events. I get to see the latest gadgets available in the market and most of them have are at bargain prices. And of course there are the freebies. By the time we leave the venue, you are sure to have at least a few bag full of free goodies. My most memorable event has to be the time I won a Palm handheld in a lucky draw.


Most people don't know it but the trade show industry is one of the largest in the world. When you visit some of the big ones like CeBIT, you can see that it is a very serious affair and the companies try to show off their products and services the best way they can. However, preparing your booth and the displays can prove to be an extremely costly and time consuming task. It might be wise to leave it to the experts.

If you are planning to join a trade show, you might want to consider Nimlok Louisiana. This global industry leader has over 30 years of experience, with an international network of distributors in 56 countries. They would be able to satisfy every possible visual marketing needs for your trade show exhibit, with products ranging from modular displays to portable booths. They can help you remain within budget, meet your objectives and keep to time.

Premier infomercial ad agency

If you are a company looking for someone to handle your media campaign, you would want someone with a proven track record in various marketing areas including direct response television marketing (DRTV).

Hawthorne Direct fits this bill exactly. This company is a leading American full service direct response television advertising agency, specializing in creative/production, media and integrated marketing. They have managed around 600 media campaigns and handled 331 clients since 1986. Some of their cable television advertising clients include entrepreneurs as well as Fortune 500 companies. Some of the big names include among others, Time-Life, Nikon U.S.A., Nissan Motor Corp., Taylor Made Golf, Apple computers, etc.

I have to say I am quite impressed with their philosophy

to openly share as much industry information as possible with our clients and potential clients.

Their "Resources page" carries loads of interesting information on direct response marketing. The founder and chairman of the company Timothy R. Hawthorne, shares his secrets for managing high-quality, successful long and short form campaigns for clients.

The company believes in maintaining long term client relationships. Some of the entrepreneurs that they helped are now today's household brands. So, if you need a company to develop and/or manage your DRTV campaigns, you might want to consider Hawthorne Direct.

Opt in instead of spam

If you are going for email marketing, make sure you go for opt in marketing whereby subscribers decide they want to receive emails instead of sending unsolicited mails. Read my related post here.