Marketing in Regions outside the USA, UK and Canada

SUMMARY: Are you fed up with trying to reach customers and best prospects through permission-based email? Now there's a new game in town -- permission-based banners.

That's right. You ask folks for permission to promote to them via personalized banners they'll see as they surf the Web on sites such as NYTimes.com. The cost is only $20cpm (cost per thousand) to run the personalized banners, and they can be as targeted as you like -- with personal name, even by zip code.

This week Audio Book Club and Orbitz are among the first US marketers to test the new tech. However, tests have already been going on in Israel for the past year. So, we bugged Israeli marketers for creative samples and results data for you....

Here's our exclusive Case Study: read the complete case study

SUMMARY: Are you looking to increase your international marketing? Central and Eastern Europe are prime areas -- if you can handle the challenges.

In our latest Special Report, we’ve put together a compendium of what to watch for in the region. Plus, samples and stats from an email strategy that works in these developing countries. read the complete article

SUMMARY: "Of the 5 leading gadgets selected for the study, the Nintendo Wii was the most searched for product in each of the three European markets." "In the U.K., searches grew 64% versus the base period to nearly 2 million searches in the final week of November." "Apple iPod came next with 1.5 million searches, followed by Microsoft Xbox 360 (1.3 million searches), and Apple iPhone (466,838 searches)." view the complete research record

SUMMARY: Anyone who has considered doing business in Japan has probably heard the warnings: Japan has a unique business culture that’s likely to trip up Western companies who don’t know the rules.

For B-to-B or consumer marketers, those rules are made to be broken, says one expert, who gives us five tactics on launching a product or service in Japan. Plus, how to emphasize personal relationships the right way and overcome their convoluted distribution system. read the complete interview

SUMMARY: International email marketing remains a low priority for most marketers – even as they add more and more overseas names to their lists. This slow response may create some big opportunities for marketers who think globally. read the complete article

By Anne Holland, Content Director

I’m not going to name brand names, but you guys should know who you are. You are Western brands being marketed overseas. And you ought to be auditing your media buys far more carefully.

In Nepal, a country where black hair is so universal as to make any other color seem freakish, I saw repeated shampoo commercials from Western brands prominently featuring blondes. After a few weeks there, even I was staring... read the complete blog post