Alex Woodruff Biz Buzz

Companies often use things happening in the news to inject their products with interest and move forward the AIDA process. But this recent idea caused a bit of a cafuffle. Obama Fingers. Yes, you read that right: OBAMA fingers, like fish fingers only with chicken. What the ….? [Image source: spiegel.de] What in heaven’s name [...]

I’ve been noticing recently the number of German advertisers who use “Sicherheit” (= safety; certainty) in their marcoms (marketing communications). I wonder if this is a cultural influence, relating to what Hofstede would call “uncertainty avoidance”. Two examples. Certified by experts One: posters for a new indoor adventure park called Sensapolis. I’ve not been to [...]

How differently alcohol is sold in different countries… Heineken cans in France Starting with some examples from Anja (thanks for your input!), it looks like the French are taking the issue of drinking during pregnancy very seriously. So seriously in fact that warnings now feature on cans. Whether this is a legal requirement I don’t [...]

It’s good to see marketing issues becoming so big that they earn themselves a name in the marketing strategy books. We look at the changing nature of society in MM1, especially in Germany and the UK (where, respectively, the statistics tell us more Kebabs are now eaten than the iconic Hamburger, and more Chicken Tandoori [...]

If ever you needed a good reason for not going to the European finals in Austria and Switzerland, then this is it. Apparently the Germans have picked a slogan for the tournament – although this is not the official slogan – but it’s being slapped on t-shirts and is bound to be seen a lot [...]

Greenpeace know how to put an organisation under pressure when they want to. So when a major oil company decides it would be quicker and cheaper to get rid of an oil platform by sinking it in the middle of the North Sea, their PR department shifted into top gear and we saw NPO marketing [...]

The issue of images and cultural references was once looked at closely by a PhD student and university professor in the United States. The 2004 study raised issues that should be debated more often in advertising agencies. Business really needs to look at this issue more closely, but I guess not many of us have [...]

I notice that Henkel, despite being so big (and surely employing thousands of native speakers of English) has not yet worked out how to formulate wording in a “culturally appropriate manner”. Source: website screenshot. Click to enlarge. How about “Thank you for visiting our site. For more detailed information specifically tailored to United States visitors, [...]

I had a client in Germany who could not work out why all of his export managers sold so many products (in a technical market) while his sales were stagnating or in decline. To make things worse, he had to think up clever marketing strategies and expensive selling materials while his export colleagues did nothing [...]

Naming brands is never easy, but if you’re a regional ice cream maker and hit upon an idea that works in your country, you’re probably not thinking about words and meanings beyond the borders of the domestic market. Bum Bum in the UK? I met someone who worked for Schöller ice cream, based in Nuremberg. [...]