My way

The only war French didn't loose in two centuries : Stupid History: Tales of Stupidity, Strangeness, and Mythconceptions Throughout the Ages

In 1883, the citizens of Lijar, a small town in southern Spain, were infuriated when reports came back that while visiting Paris, King Alfonso XII had been insulted and attacked. The mayor of Lijar, Don Miguel Garcia Saez, and all 300 citizens of the town demanded retribution and declared war on France on October 14, 1883. Not a single shot was fired and not an injury was sustained during the confrontation. Nonetheless, Mayor Saez became known as “The Terror of the Sierras” for this exploit. Ninety-three years later, in 1976, King Juan Carlos, Alfonso’s greatgrandson, made a visit to France during which he was treated with great respect. In 1981, the town council of Lijar ruled that “in view of the excellent attitude of the French,” they would suspend hostilities and agree to a cease-fire with France. The current mayor of Lijar, Diego Sanchez, said humbly, “We’ve forgiven them now,” making this the first time in two centuries that France fought a war and didn’t lose.

Mai lasati-ne in criza...

Inceputul crizei economice ( care inca ne mai bantuie dar pe care o vedem sfarsindu-se) prinsese Romania pe un val de crestere extraordinara. Si nu ma refer doar la sectorul imobiliar/constructii cat mai ales la zona de marketing, management si aparitia (timida) a Profesionistilor. Era o miscare puternica spre profesionalizarea oamenilor de marketing si multitudinea de evenimente/conferinte/workshop-uri de marketing/management/advertising cred ca o demonstra si statistic.

Aveam certitudinea ca va aparea o noua generatie care va zgudui lumea economica romaneasca reformand-o si implementind mult doritele politici de piata capitalista. Din pacate insa prima lovitura data de criza economica a fost ( desi este absurd) data tocmai marketingului prin taierea imediata  bugetelor de promovare, de analiza a pietii si de strategii de piata ( idea este cretina caci multe companii au taiat tocmai ce le putea scapa din criza).

Taierea insa a fost cu atat mai idioata afectand in principal tocmai firava comunitate a specialistilor. Conform specificului national au rezistat "baietii care se descurca " ( impropriu spus "baietii" in zona fiind mai ales fetele "care se descurca"). Adica acele "las-o ba ca merge asa" si "hai sa ardem un buget cu friendzii din club care au idei cool".

Acest fenomen se remarca imediat daca priviti cu atentie un calup publicitar: reclame prost facute, prost filmate, idioate, fara glumele rafinate cu care incepusem sa ne obisnuim, mustind de glume decerebrate gen "pai ori e promotie ori nu e ". Whatever. 

Au disparut analizele de piata, din calculatoare SPSS-urile, conferintele si workshop-urile si ai ramas smecherasii. Cei care au ferma convingere ca un studiu de piata este facut intreband "prietenii" din Facebook ce sa mai faca sa fie mai atractivi si ce parere au ei despre toate si orice. Apoi cu constiinta curata prezinta rezultatul "studiului" ca fiind litera de lege a dezvoltarii ulterioare. Cei care au auzit de targetare doar cand jucat (de curand) Half-life si de segment reprezentativ cand au copiat la examen. Nu imi pare rau de angajatori caci cine isi angajeaza o maimuta trebuie sa se astepte sa i se propuna sa cultive banane. De cine imi pare rau ? De acei profesionisti care par a fi trecut in zona tacerii si care s-au refocalizat pe alte domenii ( valoarea umana intrinseca aduce si un mare grad de adaptabilitate la conditii vitrege).

Intr-o perioada de debusolare economica imi pare normal ca mediocritatea sa prospere. Este prosperitatea si cerbicia celor "care se descurca mancat-as".
De asta imi doresc ca aceasta criza sa mai continue o perioada. Caci este greu sa poti pacali pe toata lumea prea mult timp si criza ne-ar face un mare serviciu expunand lipsa de valoare a anumitor pseudo-profesionisti.

Sau poate sunt doar eu enervat pe ceea ce vad in jur. Revin la numele blogului: My way and my ideas.

Ideas worth spreading No. 11

A friend should be a master at guessing and keeping still: you must not want to see everything.
Friedrich Nietzsche

Marketing stories worth reading 7

Our lesson learned was how to improve email marketing. Our challenge wasn’t so much the opt-in database, but getting the folks in that base to read (open/click on) the newsletter and the stories in it. Our first move was to create a sense of involvement or empowerment for the recipients. We provided them an opportunity (raffle for five) for a discount on a significant service, which many of them already utilized, for those who responded with suggestions/requests for topics about which they’d like to read. We offered the respondents the chance to be credited with the topic suggestion, which would give their business promotion to our audience.
This improved our click through rates on the newsletters by more than 25% (a rate maintained after the second issue with these changes implemented). It improved our click through rates into the stories  (usually two stories per issue) by more than 30%. Our second move was to switch the TO line to be from the company, not an individual. This, implemented two issues after the above change, had an  immediate impact with open rates improving another 15%.
Our third change was to the subject line, changing it to highlight the main story in the following format: NEWSLETTER TITLE: You asked for: TOPIC. From this, we saw another 8% increase. Our fourth change was to follow up more thoroughly with those who clicked through and opened the newsletters and the stories. We were establishing patterns from the recipients that suggested additional services in which they’d be interested. We found that specific and personal emails to these people by email and phone resulted in improved customer service at a minimum. Some of the recipients did not necessarily jump at
new offerings, but many had questions/concerns about existing services or even services they were  getting from other vendors. Now they’re more engaged and more satisfied/impressed.

Michael Beresford, President, NetScope, www.net-scope.com

Ideas worth spreading No. 10

What a distressing contrast there is between the radiant intelligence of the child and the feeble mentality of the average adult.
Sigmund Freud

Ideas worth spreading No. 9

Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings.
Salvador Dali

It's a perfect viral. I love it. Girl effect

Marketing stories worth reading 6

When it comes to career choices, trust your instincts. In January of last year I left the agency side of marketing to re-enter the corporate world. Company stability was a priority on my list. When a friend
asked me to join him at his start-up software company I was hesitant. While funded at the time, some of the executive management had a history of starting tech companies and selling them off. However, my friend assured me that this company was on a track of managed growth and I was impressed with the company’s president, who had a track record of growing successful companies.
Two months into the job there was a sudden change in regime. The board replaced the president and within two weeks the company direction turned 180 degrees. I saw red flags and started exploring other
employment opportunities. My friend implored me not to leave, promising that even if the company were sold, I would make plenty of money. The idea of possibly riding out the slow economy on the potential money I could make was appealing, but my instincts told me it was too good to be true.
So I forged on with my job search and was fortunate to land another job offer in a few weeks with a company that had been around for 15+ years and had managed to be successful while remaining small — real managed growth. I was at a crossroads where I could ride out the wave at the start-up or take a safe route with the other job. I decided to take the safe route and accept the other job.
Shortly thereafter the start-up company secured millions of dollars of additional funding. I immediately questioned if I had made the right decision. I was happy with my new position but also wondered if my
aversion to risk taking had been a mistake.
A few months ago my former company went under. No one made the fast dollar they had been banking on. I was relieved that I trusted my instincts and remembered that the economy, while improving, is still not what it used to be. I’m glad I followed my instincts to safer pastures.

Corrine Solomon, Marketing and Communications Manager, Time America Inc.

Great speech. A Guru speech

Benjamin Zander .
In this programme, Benjamin Zander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, extols the virtues of positive thinking.

Watch it over here.

Thanks to Bogdan Nastase for sharing this with me.

Marketing stories worth reading 3

I was reminded this year that PR is more than media relations and publicity. It is the long-term development, management, and maintenance of relationships that can affect your business. How did I
relearn this important lesson? Recently the phone rang with a new business opportunity. The prospect was interested in talking with me about handling PR for his company. He heard about me from someone who
once worked for me years ago. I had lost touch with her but she apparently still thought highly enough of me to refer me to this prospect. I located her and thanked her for her referral. The real lesson is this: treat
everyone with respect and manage your relationships because you never know where the people you touch will turn up. And you’ll probably never hear about the bad things being said about you. By the way, I got the business.
Harry Hoover, Managing Principal, Hoover Ink PR, www.hoover-ink.com