5 More Funny Marketing Bloopers

We have all been misunderstood a time or two. Check out these funny international marketing bloopers:

1. The Kentucky Fried Chicken slogan finger-lickin’ good came out in KFC’s first Chinese campaign as eat your fingers off.
2. An American tee-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market, promoting the Pope’s visit. Instead of the desired “I saw the Pope! (el Papa)”, thousands of shirts proudly proclaimed in Spanish “I saw the Potato! (la Papa)”.
3. When Parker Pen marketed a ballpoint pen in Mexico, its ads were supposed to say, “It won’t leak in your pocket and embarrass you”. However, the company mistakenly thought the Spanish word embarazar meant embarrass and the ad said, “It won’t leak in your pocket and make you pregnant”.
4. Rolls Royce changed the name of its car the Silver Mist to the Silver Shadow before entering Germany. In German, “Mist” means manure (to put it nicely).
5. Nissan’s minivan Moco doesn’t do so well in Spanish-speaking markets. Especially green ones. Distributors in Santiago, Chile asked that the vehicle be renamed since Moco is the Spanish word for mucous.

Whether your target market is around the corner or around the world, these funny stories remind us all to ensure that your message isn’t lost in translation.

Email Marketing – Pitfalls and Best Practices

While email marketing efforts continue to grow in popularity, it can be much more challenging than traditional direct mail marketing in terms of list acquisition. The CAN-SPAM Act, legislation designed to target brazen “spammers” and deceptive email solicitation practices, has created some potential pitfalls for unwary organizations. Failure to implement best practices can result in fines and costly lawsuits.

The good news is that compliance is not that difficult. The law clearly outlines the requirements for unsolicited emails and, if you follow these rules, you’ll be safe from FTC enforcement of the CAN-SPAM Act. However, such emails are very unlikely to be delivered as ISPs and other filtering companies have become very diligent about blocking them. There are also third-party anti-SPAM blacklists (also called block lists) that most email server administrators subscribe to. Companies who violate perceived best practice guidelines might find that a vast percentage of emails they send are blocked. So while the CAN-SPAM Act raises risks for fines and lawsuits, the ISPs and anti-spam technologies have set the bar even higher in terms of successful email marketing.

Today’s email marketers use permission-based (also known as “opt-in”) email marketing practices. There are both single and double opt-in techniques that include sending email to only those recipients who have provided permission to receive a type of message. While these lists can take time to build and also require effort to maintain, the benefits far outweigh the effort.

But what about those who have not taken the time to build their own permission-based email list? Many turn to 3rd party list vendors and in this case they find the rules for email lists to be much more stringent than they are for traditional mail lists. This is because these list companies adhere to the email marketing best practices (and you really don’t want to do business with those who don’t!). For this reason, when you “rent” an email list, the list company will likely require you to allow them to send your email. This way they can ensure the list they’ve built is protected and that the emails will meet CAN-SPAM rules.

While email list rental can provide a means to jumpstart an email marketing program, real success will come with building your own permission-based opt-in email list. There are many ways to successfully build such a list with a little bit of planning and effort at each customer/prospect touch point. No matter what your direct marketing goals, DreamWise Marketing Solutions can help you build the program to get there.

Thoughts on Thoughtfulness: Marketing with Holiday Gifts

Trust us, it only feels too early to think about year-end gifts for your customer because the task can be a little tedious. But don’t kid yourself. The gifts themselves get a little tedious for your customer, too. Check out our ideas for mixing up this tried-and-true marketing strategy.

Beat Them to the Punch
Approach holiday gift giving with a goal to stand out. Focus on distinguishing yourself because every business with room in the budget uses holiday gifts to market their organization. If your Edible Arrangement arrives the same week as another’s fruit basket, your thoughtfulness makes less of an impact –even with daisy-shaped pineapple.

With a little hustle, your holiday marketing campaign will be working its magic before Saint Nick’s Day. Show your clients how thankful you are for them by making sure your gift arrives early. This way, they’ll remember your thoughtfulness before their pile accumulates.

Don’t Break the Bank
Don’t fret if you’re short on cash—it doesn’t mean you have to scratch customer gifts this year. As in personal gift giving, effort counts as much as thoughtfulness. That’s why a minimal budget is no excuse to put all of your customers on the naughty list this year.

Instead of investing in large presents for your biggest clients, print a custom greeting card form you. Include a handwritten note addressing an individual if possible. You’ll save time if you divvy up your list of customers among your colleagues. Depending on the size of your business, if each of you writes a gracious message on a few cards, the task will be off your to-do list in no time.

Don’t Be Clark Griswold. Be You.
Every Christmas, we cringe when we watch Clark Griswold’s boss tell him to put his present “with all the others.” Gifting nontraditional swag is another way to set your company apart. If you’ve got regional customers, do a little research on local gifts. Or, give the best gift of all. Show your company’s goodwill by contributing to a nonprofit on your customers’ behalf.

5 Funny Marketing Bloopers

We have all been misunderstood a time or two. Check out these funny international branding bloopers.

1. In Africa, packaging features a picture of what’s inside, since most people can’t read the label. Its no surprise that many people were horrified by the picture of a baby on their jars of baby food.
2. Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used the following in an American campaign: Nothing sucks like an Electrolux.
3. Coca-Cola’s first attempt to translate its product name in China resulted in ke-kou-ke-le, which translated as “bite the wax tadpole”. After much research, they changed their Chinese name to ko-kou-ko-le, which means “happiness in the mouth”.
4. Pepsi’s “Come alive with the Pepsi Generation” slogan was translated into “Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave” in China.
5. American Airlines wished to highlight their upgraded leather seats in the Mexican Market. Unfortunately, their “Fly in Leather” campaign didn’t go quite as planned when it was incorrectly translated to “Fly Naked”.

Whether your target market is around the corner or around the world, these funny stories remind us all to ensure that your message isn’t lost in translation.

Meet the DreamTeam: Phong Tran

Title: Senior Operator

Years at DreamWise:  Two and half years

Hometown: Aurora, Colorado

Favorite Food: I love a home cooked meal from my Mom. It’s guaranteed to be authentic Vietnamese cuisine.

Favorite Thing About DreamWise: We are a family owned and operated business; I say operated because when I come to work it feels like a second home. I’m baffled when people talk about their work and that they don’t even know who they work with. At our company I can say I know everyone beyond the title. I can find someone to talk to about things other than work. I know that this company supports my aspirations as I support them. A good job is hard to find and I’m blessed to work for DreamWise.

What do you like to do in your free time?: As far as free time, it seems so scarce to have free time as a student and having a full time job. When it does come around I love to spend time with my friends and family. Also cars fascinate me so I like spending time learning about cars and working on my own.

Interesting little known fact about you: When I was a boy I used to eat sticks of butter only understanding the deliciousness of them and didn’t understand the heart stopping sludge going down my throat.

 

4 Ways to Get More Out of Your Tradeshows

For many companies, the jury is out on whether attending a tradeshow will have a positive return on a substantial investment. It’s because companies struggle with how to maximize the investment. Here are four ways to ensure success at your next tradeshow:

1. Start Now: Give people a good reason to stop at your booth. Oftentimes shows will give you a list of planned attendees. Use this list to send a direct mail or email. Also create buzz through social media and don’t forget to let your current customers know that you will be there.
2. Send Your Best: Baseball players have spring training to prepare for their season and you should do the same for your tradeshow. Your personnel at the show are the face of your company. Send your most energetic reps who know your company, products and the goals you have for the tradeshow.
3. Give It Away: At tradeshows, it’s still all about the giveaway. Make sure that your giveaway is something people will want to use so your brand stays with them for as long as possible. Also, consider an item that reflects the personality of your company.
4. Follow Up: Before you go to the show, make a follow up plan to contact all of the hot leads you will meet. This will give you the greatest advantage over 80% of the other exhibitors.

Do you need some help preparing for your next tradeshow? We can help you from start to finish or with a single step in the process. Call today and learn more.

When Less is More

It is often said that the world of direct marketing is a numbers game.  Starting with the end in mind, we begin our planning process with something along the lines of “We need “x” responses so with an estimated rate of return of “y%”, we need to solicit “z” prospects.   This approach can sometimes lead us down the path of getting larger and larger prospect lists as we try to increase our responses.

However as DreamWise works with clients we believe that sometimes less is more.  We recently worked with a client to develop a highly targeted list of just 50 prospective new clients with a goal of obtaining 8-10 new clients.  This meant we needed a rate of return of 16-20%.  Because we weren’t trying to send to 500 or 1000 prospects, we could spend more per prospect and develop a program that included hand delivering a three-dimensional promotional product (our client thinks the product is such a great idea that they don’t want us to divulge it publicly!).  Not only has this approach helped to achieve the increased rate of return needed, but it has left a positive and lasting impression on the rest of the prospects!

Got Data? Secure It!

Identity theft is a growing problem. Let’s look at the facts…

• By 2009, 1 in every 10 U.S. consumers had been victimized by identity theft.
• Businesses around the world lose $221 billion a year due to identity theft.
• 43% of identity theft results from stolen wallets and paperwork, while 11% results from online methods.
• More than 35 million data records were compromised in 2008 and this type of identity theft is on the rise.

It has become imperative for all businesses and organizations to protect consumer information. At DreamWise, we have focused on securing data for years. We offer each customer their own secure FTP site, shred all misprints and test pieces, and continually review and monitor our data security.

We recently discovered an excellent tool developed by the Federal Trade Commission and couldn’t wait to share it with you. Protecting Personal Information: A Guide for Business advocates a five step process for securing your organizations most precious data:

1. Take Stock: Know what information you have.
2. Scale Down: Keep only what you need.
3. Lock It: Protect the information you have.
4. Pitch It: Properly dispose of information you don’t need.
5. Plan Ahead: Create a plan for dealing with security incidents.

Meet the DreamTeam: April McCorkle

Title: Office Manager

Years at DreamWise: 1

Hometown: Los Angelas, California

Favorite Food: Anything Mexican, LA style of course.

Favorite Thing About DreamWise: The “DreamTeam”!   We have a very special work environment and staff that really makes it a great place to work!

What do you like to do in your free time?: I love to ride my Harley every chance I get, and living in the mountains makes it even better.  I also like to hike with my dog and spend time with my family including my 4 year old grandson and 3 year old granddaughter!

Interesting little known fact about you: I love to bake. When fall is in the air, and the winter weather is coming, you will find me in my kitchen, making the house smell great, with breads, pies, and cookies.

Non-Profit’s Are You Ready for the Holidays?

Believe it or not, now is the time to be sure you are prepared for marketing during the holiday season!  In the world of marketing, the end of the year is one of the busiest times.  And, of course, it is also the time of year when we want to spend some extra time at home and don’t want to be bogged down with major projects at work. So the time to start planning is now.

There are some estimates that up to 25% of charitable giving occurs between the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. There is much opportunity during this time, but also a lot of competition for that giving.  A solid plan will help you to stand out and earn more of the end-of-year giving dollars.  We know that not all non-profits rely on charitable giving, but there are still ways for these non-profits to benefit from the philanthropic climate with the right planning.

Businesses are also impacted by these changes. Check out our latest newsletter to learn more about planning for the holiday’s including a special focus on B2B and B2C businesses.