Webinar Review: Integrate Email with SEO & Social Media

If there is a company that does great webinars, its ExactTarget!


One of the most recent webinars done by ExactTarget focused on integrating email with social media and SEO. As it was a free webinar, the information remained basic yet informative. ExactTarget quoted research such as...

..."92% of b2b buyers go to the internet first"...
..."the sales process is 22% longer"...
...the loyalty effect: "a 5% decrease in defection can increase profits 20%"...

The first quote on "92% of buyers" has already helped me in my career. The following day, I used that quote in a presentation to help change a corporate webiste. The webinar went on to define several purposes of email integration with SEO and Social media strategy. For example, the speaker from Mighty Interactive laid out its digital capabilities.

Attraction: Search, online ads, offline integration
Conversion: Website, landing pages, capture
Interaction: Social media, blog
Retention: email, customer service

I see these capabilities as keystones of any digital marketing plan. Furthermore, the webinar provided listeners with great suggestions. Listeners were recommended to use rich media for online ad banners, inform social network about email program and provide them with ways to interact through contests or events, and listeners were recommended to keep improving the subscription page.

I especially enjoyed the recommendation and ideas posed for informing social network about an email program. Yet, I think I would have to think of more creative ways to involve my social network than contests or events. I think something more relative to the customer's goals would be more effective.

Finally, I'll leave you with some points for planning success as ExactTarget points out in the webinar.

• An "editorial" calendar should be set in place to manage online content.
• Communication should be planned across all channels while maintaining its brand and key messages.

I hope you enjoyed my short review. Sign up for ExactTarget's next free webinar on June 3rd. Leave comments as you please.

Trends in the MBA Marketplace

(Photo: http://www.globecampus.ca/)

As promised a few weeks ago, you will find a complete report on the MBA market trends. These findings are results of research done by myself and Diego Castillo in consulting an MBA program in Madrid. Please take the time to read through...

Market Analysis

Application Volume
The application volume in the MBA market has been increasing steadily since 2006. According to extensive research done in the field, almost 77% of programs have experienced an increase in the volume of applications, and they declare that they have received more applications than in the previous year.
Full-time MBA programs benefited the most from this increase in application volume. Approximately 80% of these programs declared they had received more applications than in the previous year. Flexible MBAs also ripped the benefits of this boom in applications, showing an increase in application volume in 82% of these programs. The MBA programs that benefited less from this boom was the Part-Time MBA; only 58% of these programs declared an increase in application volume.
Parallel to this, specialized Masters in Science (MS) in Business and specialized MBAs also showed a steady increase in application volume. Those programs specialized in Finance experienced the best of this boom with 73% of these programs declaring they had received more applications in for the academic year 2008-2009 than for the previous year. The Part-Time programs specialized in Accounting and other fields also showed increases in application volume; 68% of specialized Part-Time Accounting programs featured increases in application volume, while 67% of specialized programs in other business fields (Marketing and Consulting) also experienced an increase in application volume. On a different plain, specialized Full-Time Accounting programs showed the smallest increase in application volume with only 58% of these programs receiving more applications than they received the year before.
It can be concluded that the overall MBA market is experiencing sharp increases in application volume. Full-Time MBA programs showcase the biggest increases in application volume and Part-Time MBAs present the smallest increase in application volume. In comparison, specialized programs in Finance featured the biggest increases in application volume while specialized Full-Time Accounting programs show the smallest increase in application volume. (See appendix 1)

Net Trend in Application Volume
The net trend is calculated by using the percentage of schools showing an increase in application volume minus those showing a decrease in application volume. The significance of net trends is that they express the difference by which increases in application volumes surpass decreases in application volumes for each of the programs in the market. This means that the number of schools offering a program (Full-Time MBA, for example) receiving more applications surpass those schools that received less applications. To illustrate better, an upward net trend of 68% would mean that increases in application volume surpassed decreases in application volume by 68%.
Research has shown that the MBA programs with the highest net trends were Full-Time traditional MBAs and Flexible MBAs with upward net trends of 68% and 67% respectively. Part-Time MBAs and Executive MBAs showed the lowest upward net trend at 38% and 32% respectively.
On the other hand, specialized business programs with the highest upward net trends were Finance programs, showing an outstanding 66% upward net trend. The programs with the lowest upward trends in application volume were those offering specializations in Management or Business Administration; these programs showed an upward net trend of only 25%. (See appendix 3)
From this data it could be concluded that most schools offering Full-Time MBA programs receive increasing numbers of applications at higher rates from one year to the next. Meanwhile, most schools offering Part-Time MBA programs receive increasing numbers of applications, but at lower rates. On the other hand, most schools offering specialized programs in Finance experienced the highest rates in application volume increase while most schools offering specializations in Management or Business Administration experienced smaller rates in increases in application volumes.

Net Trends in Application Volume Outside the US
The net trends in application volumes for MBA programs, MS in Business and specialized MBAs located outside the United States have presented constant upward movement. In fact, net trends in application volume for programs outside the US are even higher. Research shows that the net trend for Full-Time MBA programs located outside the US showed an astonishing 80%; recall that the significance of this is that the number of programs with increased application volumes surpassed the number of programs with decreasing application volumes by 80%. On the other hand, the MBA program outside the US that showed the smallest net trend was the Executive MBA.
MS in Business and specialized MBAs located outside the US also showed an impressive upward net trend at 50%. From this it can be concluded that most schools offering Full-Time MBAs outside the US receive increasing numbers of application at higher rates each year. Adversely, most Executive MBAs outside the US receive increasing number of applications at the lowest rate. Also, schools that offer MS in Business and specialized MBAs receive increasing numbers of applications at steady rates. Overall, though, the majority of business programs outside the US receive increasing numbers of applications year after year. (See appendix 2)

Comparison between the Application Volume of US Programs and Foreign Programs
The trends in application volume have been much higher for most foreign business programs. For example, US Full-Time MBAs have shown a net application volume trend of 67%, while Foreign Full-Time MBAs show a net trend of 80%. Full-Time Accelerated MBAs in the US show a 56% upward net trend while foreign Full-Time Accelerated MBAs show a trend of 61%. Executive MBAs in the US were more popular than those in foreign locations. Executive MBAs inside the US showed a net trend of 38%, while those in foreign locations showed an 18% trend. While US MS in Business and specialized MBAs showed a 38% upward trend, foreign MS in Business and specialized MBAs showed a 50% trend.
From this research it can be concluded that the number of schools receiving increasing volumes in applications is higher in foreign locations than in the US. It can also be concluded that Executive MBAs in the US are more popular than their foreign counterparts, while MS in Business and specialized MBAs are more popular outside the US. (See appendix 2)

Numbers of Applications by Program
The number of applications for business graduate programs is unequally distributed among different programs across the MBA market. The programs driving the biggest number of applications on a yearly basis are Full-Time MBAs, featuring an average of yearly applications of 889. Full-Time Accelerated MBAs and Masters in Management or Business Administration are the next best application drivers, showing average yearly application levels of 287 and 283 respectively. Executive MBAs and Part-Time Masters in Finance present the lowest average of yearly applications at 125 and 117 respectively.
From this research it can be concluded that the most popular programs in the global MBA market are Full-Time MBAs and Full-Time Accelerated MBAs. MS in Management or Business administration are the biggest drivers of applications among non-MBA degrees. The least popular programs are Executive MBAs and Part-Time Masters in Finance. (See appendix 3)

Applicant Profiles and Application Trends
Applicants to Business programs vary significantly across several demographic factors. However, there is one factor that seems to be the factor of choice by which MBA employers abide when recruiting new MBA hires: years of work experience. Research shows that 90% of MBA employers find it desirable that candidates have one or more years of work experience, while 67% are looking for candidates with three or more years of experience.
In comparison, 77% of employers looking for graduates from MS in Business and specialized MBAs expect candidates to have one or more years of experience. From this research it can be concluded that years of work experience is of significant importance for employers of MBAs, and employers of MS in Business and specialized MBAs.
Application patterns follow the profiling trends set by employers. Applicants with more work experience aim more for MBA programs; less experienced applicants tend to apply more to MS in Business and specialized MBAs. An impressive 79% of applications to Full-Time MBAs (the most popular program in the market) come from applicants with work experience. Approximately 56% of total applications come from applicants with 3 to 10 years of experience, while 23% of applications come from applicants with more than one year of work experience, but less than three.
On the other hand, 45% of applications to Masters in Management or Business Administration and other specialized MBAs come from applicants with less than one year of experience; 23% of applications come from applicants with more than one year of experience but less than three. This means that 68% of the total application volume received by programs offering Masters in Management or Business Administration come from applicants with less than 3 years of work experience.
From these facts it can be concluded that MBA graduates with more work experience are preferred by MBA employers, and applicants with more work experience tend to apply to Full-Time MBAs, while employers of graduates from MS in Business and specialized MBAs look for applicants with at least one year of work experience, and applicants with less years of experience tend to apply to MS in Business and specialized MBAs over any other program in the market. (See appendix 4)

Trends in Applicants’ Valuation of MBA Programs
Brand equity is the most important asset that a school can have in its books. For a MBA program, brand equity is crucial to succeed. Research shows that applicants to MBA programs and MBA employers utilize schools’ brand equity as the factor of choice by which they assess the quality of a graduate business programs.
According to research, applicants rank the reputation of the programs to which they are considering attending as the most important element influencing their final choice. On the second slot, applicants rank personal contact with alumni while the program’s prospectus (a printed statement describing an enterprise) ranked as the third most important element in applicant decision-making among various programs. The information on the program’s website and the program’s direct marketing strategies ranked fourth and fifth respectively.
From this it can be corroborated that a program’s brand equity is the most important asset a MBA program can have. Also, the influence of a program’s alumni is crucial in the decision-making process applicants go through. Overall, all of the five factors listed above refer to the image a MBA program portrays, and thus, safeguarding this image is essential for success.

Trends in Salary Compensation of MBA Graduates
MBA graduates tend to receive higher salary compensations than graduates from any other business programs. Those candidates with more years of experience tend to receive higher salaries when employed. Research shows that a MBA graduate with one to five years of work experience is likely to receive greater compensation than are other graduates with similar work experience. In addition, MBA graduates tend to be hired for mid-level position, and earn salaries that are almost double the salary of a recent graduate with a bachelor’s degree.
In comparison, research in the field has found that graduates of MS in Business and other specialized MBAs tend to be employed at entry level positions and they tend to have less than three years of experience. The salaries that these graduates tend to receive are usually 30% higher than salaries received by graduates with bachelor’s degrees.
Overall, years of experience seem to be the main determinant of salary levels. MBA graduates and graduates from MS in Business and from other specialized MBAs receive about the same salary compensation when they have no work experience. However, as the number of years of work experience increase, the salary compensation of MBA graduates begins to pull away from the salary compensations offered to the other graduates with the same number of years of experience.
From this research it can be concluded that MBA graduates with more years of experience receive the highest salary compensation among graduates from all business programs. It can also be concluded that graduates from MS in Business and specialized MBAs tend to have less than three years of experience. In addition, they tend to earn 70% less of what an experienced MBA graduate earns after graduation. Finally, it can be concluded that experienced MBAs tend to occupy mid-level posts while MS in Business and graduates from other specialized MBAs tend to land in entry-level positions.

Conclusions on Statistics

Application volume according to products in the market
• The MBA market is experiencing sharp increases in application volume in all programs in the market.
• Full-Time MBA programs show the highest increases in application volume
• Part-Time MBAs show the lowest increase in application volume.
• Specialized programs in Finance show the highest increases in application volume among non-MBA programs.
• Full-Time Accounting programs show the smallest increase in application volume among non-MBA programs.
• Full-Time MBA programs show higher application volumes than specialized programs in Finance.

Fastest growing application volumes according to programs in the US market
• Most schools offering Full-Time MBA programs show higher rates of application increases.
• Most schools offering Part-Time MBA programs show the lowest rates in application increase.
• Most schools offering specialized programs in Finance show higher the rates in application increase among non-MBA business programs.
• Most schools offering specializations in Management or Business Administration show the lowest rates in application increase.
Fastest growing application volumes according to programs in the foreign market
• Most schools offering Full-Time MBAs outside the US receive increasing numbers of application at the highest rates each year.
• Most Executive MBAs outside the US receive the lowest rate of increasing number of applications.
• Schools that offer MS in Business and specialized MBAs outside the US receive increasing numbers of applications at steady rates.
• The majority of business programs outside the US receive increasing numbers of applications year after year at steady rates.
• The number of schools receiving the highest rates in application volume is higher in foreign locations than in the US.

Program popularity in the global MBA market
• The most popular programs in the global MBA market are Full-Time MBAs and Full-Time Accelerated MBAs.
• MS in Management or Business administration drive the highest number of applications among non-MBA degrees.
• Executive MBAs in the US are more popular than their foreign counterparts.
• MS in Business and specialized MSs in Business are more popular outside the US.

Applicant Profile
• Experienced applicants tend to apply to Full-Time MBAs and other MBA programs.
• Inexperienced applicants tend to apply to MS in Business and specialized MBAs over any other program in the market.

Trends in Applicants’ Valuation of MBA Programs
• Applicants value reputation the most when deciding between MBA programs.
• Personal contact with a program’s alumni is the second most valued element by MBA applicants.
• The program’s prospectus, the information available in the program’s website and direct marketing tools implemented by the program to target students are the next three most important factors.
• These five factors refer back to the image of the program. Thus, the program’s image is crucial to the present and future success it will enjoy attracting students.

Recruitment Profile of Business Graduate Employers
• MBA employers prefer MBA graduates with more work experience
• Employers of graduates from MS in Business and specialized MBAs look for applicants with at least one year of work experience.
• MBA graduates with more years of experience receive the highest salary compensations.
• Graduates from MS in Business and specialized MBAs tend to have less than three years of experience.
• Graduates from MS in Business tend to earn 70% less of what an experienced MBA graduate earns after graduation.
• Experienced MBAs tend to occupy mid-level posts.
• Graduates from other specialized MBAs tend to land in entry-level positions.

Appendixes

1) Net Trend in Application Volume MBA Programs












2) Net Trends in Application Volume Masters in Business













3) Net Trends in Application Volume Outside the US












4) Number of Applications by Program












5) Applicant Profiles and Application Trends

Reference List

• Graduate Management Admissions Council. Application Trends Survey 2008. Survey Report.
• Graduate Management Admissions Council. Corporate Recruiters Survey 2008. Survey Report.
• Ivy, Jonathan and Peter Naude. Succeeding in the MBA market place: Identifying the underlying factors. Journal of Higher Education Policy. Vol. 26, No. 3. November 2004.


If you have gotten this far, GREAT! You are obviously interested in this research and our work. We have already made several recommendations for a company in Madrid based on our findings here and additional findings that are not exposed here. If you would like to see how our research might help your small business, please leave me a comment and I'll be in touch!

I got a call from a good friend on Weds. who is working on an interesting project in Madrid. He needed help. As I continue without a full-time job, I am in Madrid to help him.

(Photo: nytimes.com)
He is working to provide solutions in enrollment and marketing an American MBA program taught in Madrid.

Over the course of the next week we will be studying trends in the MBA marketplace, how online marketing can help international education programs - more specifically how blogging can increase visibility of an institution's value, how to better an MBA curriculum, how to increase enrollment of young, American students with low-income, and many other topics as this project moves forward.

I am certain that we will come away from this project with some excellent research material for the MBA market and MBA institutions. I will be happy to share the research on this blog. Furthermore, I will look into sharing the full written consultation on Trevorlandia Manages blog sometime after the work has been completed.

If you are interested in our research and would like a copy of our report, please leave your email in the comments below and I will be in contact.

My online marketing plan for Roca & Roza Village Barcelona & Value Retail UK

Good Afternoon from Valencia.

About a month ago I got a call from Barcelona. It was a head hunter and he was interested in me for Value Retail's Roca Village. It was for the Digital Marketer position taking charge of Value Retail's digital marketing for the spanish market. I was thrilled and got to work right away investigating its current situation, risks, limitations and more importantly, where I could get to work. So, eventhough I dont work for Value Retail, I made a short online marketing plan with ideas to increase Value Retail's online presence in the Spanish market.

This plan has 3 iniciatives:

1. Search Engine Optimization Upgrade
At the time of this study, Value Retail's SEO for the spanish market webs is poorly developed. This is a good start to driving online traffic.


2. Online Media Room Launch
Again, poorly developed social media. Well, better said, the Roca Village has NO social media strategy. I'm going to jump-start Roca's social media and implement an online media room with social networks and a BLOG!


3. Leverage Email to become Outlet Knowledge Leader
I am not a part of Value Retail's email lists, but I got to speak with a email reciever and she gave me the downlow on Value Retail's email communication. I'm sorry but communicating discounts and special prices just doesn't cut it. Besides, its an outlet shopping center, the discount is implied.


SEO Upgrade



-Keywords

It seems that the current SEO strategy is focused around few keywords. One of those keywords is "chic". Part of the phrase "chic outlet shopping". As I said before, I dont work for Value Retail, but it seems that the online marketing team or agency (they use View {UK} as its web agency) didn't do a keyword analysis and develop prime keywords that would drive traffic to the website and into the sales process. So, the first task at hand for this business is keyword analysis and implementation. For example, they can start by changing the title of the webpage which currently does not reflect any keyword besides "Roca Village". Developing keywords start by asking questions like "What is important to the business?" "What will attract customers?" After developing a good hundred keywords or more, Roca can start to develop content and implement keywords into the website and blog content. Once keywords in place, it is important to measure the traffic keyworks attract and compare keywords. It is also important to monitor competitive keywords and where they rank in comparison.


-Link Building

Link building is also very important for SEO. Where can this company start? First, register with directories online. They drive great, relevant traffic. Second, identify good online partners. Do they have a good blog/Website with lots of traffic? If so, trade links from good, relevant content. Third and most important in today's Web 2.0, become a blogger with a mission. Start commenting on outlet shopping influencial blogs. For example, there are a ton of people out there blogging about the next cool shirt at Hugo Boss and they even have pictures of the item, price, size, etc. These influencials are your WOM drivers through the internet. That's where you need to build conversations and get to know your influencials and what they talk about. Now, this leads me to blogging and social media which is part of the link building process.


Online Media Room

The online media room is for buyers and publishers (bloggers, newpaper, etc). The online media room should be a very visible, attractive part of the website home page. A place where a buyer or publisher can find the most current information on the company, products, and all the content the company publishes. This online media room should be like a live feed - always updating - from social media, blogs, and PR people and it should have fixed information related to the company and products. So, how does this company create the online media room? First, have a meeting. Meet up with Value Retail's marketing department, PR people, web designers/agency and let them know whats up. Share ideas and become excited. Then...create a blog.


-Blog

A blog is the first step in the online media room in my opinion because its the easiest way to start developing content and feeding it to the online media room. However, you might ask what does Roca write about? Hmmm....store changes, parking issues, shopping tips, fashion shows, inside info....do I need to go on??...product updates at lacoste, the hot waitress at the italian restaurant, the video of the shoplifter...get creative! Make sure all your blog content is sharable through share links. It will drive traffic and breed loyal bloggers who will in turn become loyal customers, tweeters, diggers, facebookers, tuenties, etc. This leads me to....


-Social Networking

Social network marketing is a hot topic right now and when things are hot, you don't want to touch it too much. So, a good objective for Roca's social media would be to drive traffic to the website and then lead that traffic to the sales process. I think the best way to do this would be to build social groups in Facebook and Tuenti with a link to a sign up for email. However, limit your direct messages in Facebook and Tuenti and develop the groups from a REAL person's profile - effectively the Digital Manager. Then feed your new, relevant, keyword rich content to the group home page, not to all the group members.


Also promote content in twitter (also from a real person's account), digg, and other communities. Feed your tweets and diggs to the online media room. Same with Youtube or more segmented video communities.


What is important about social media is this:
1. Go where your customers are. If you recieve more traffic from Facebook, use it more. If not, stay away. You don't want to waste time where no one listens.
2. Be real. Dont sell.


Leverage Email Communication

In this online marketing plan, the email function is where Roca convinces customers to go shopping. Like I said before, communicating discounts and special pricing doesn't make the cut. Roca's communication must be different from that of other retailers. So how do we do this? First, buy a good third party emailing software. I would suggest ExactTarget. They probably provide the best software for retailers. By using ExactTarget we can communicate with our customers on a more personal level and measure the effectiveness of the email campaign closely. Second, start developing content plans for email campaigns. This is where Roca needs to set itself apart from the rest by becoming sort of a knowledge leader - making it obvious that Roca does it better. Roca can start by asking, "What interests my customers?". Once they have a few good answers, start developing content or incentives for customers to leave the house and drive to the outlet center.



There are still many things left out of this plan like the development of buyer profiles, integrating traditional media, video content, and much, much more. If you take a look at Value Retail's online presence you can see that this simple and short plan will go a LONG way to turning its lacking presence into cash flow.

Well there, thats my short online marketing plan for Value Retail's Roca & Roza Village in Spain. Like I said, I don't work for Value Retail, obviously I didn't get the job but I didn't want my time to go to waste. So I have shared it with you. Please don't hesitate to add on to my plan by commenting below.

Social Networking in Spain and tendencies for Social Media Marketing

Good Morning from Valenica!

Its a beautiful sunny morning here in Valencia and it seems that summer has already begun!

(Photo: http://www.genbeta.com/web-20/tuenti-vs-facebook)

Upon waking up this morning, I am happy to find a great column in El Pais titled "Internet no nos cambia tanto" - Internet doesn't change us that much. It truely is a great column that talks about our behavior on the internet's most powerful social networks, Facebook, MySpace, Linkedin, and here in Spain, Tuenti.

Some of the mentions in this article include quotes from Harvard University authors in Taste, Ties, and Time, an important look at social network behavior. Here's what El Pais had to say:

... "the first data that they found was that 97.4% of college students have thier online profile in Facebook"...

..."if you put a picture of you smiling, you more likely to connect with other people that have a picture of them smiling"... and likely to connect with other people of the same race....

Those of us that have been apart of the Facebook boom in the early 2000 when it was still a college thing, know that all of your college friends are still connected by Facebook. And when I say all of your friends, I mean ALL of your friends! We have stayed in touch by posting pictures, wall posts, and sending messages. The Facebook early adopters know exactly how Facebookers interact just by looking at the way our hundreds or thousands of network friends interact. Those of us in social network marketing that have been apart of this boom should take our experiences into consideration when developing communication strategies to social network members. Remember that Facebook was made popular by friends wanting to connect and know more about other friends from college, where rumors, stories, and personal lives get mixed up online through facebook. Its personal territory, so be careful how you communicate.

(Photo: http://blog.stuvu.com/2009/02/facebook-etiquette-for-college-students/)

This could be true for the Spanish version of Facebook, Tuenti. Tuenti is made up of mostly young, female members in college or high-school and formatted in Spanish only. Members of Tuenti have an average friend base of 30 people compared to Facebook's 120 average friend base. These are important facts to have if you want to target communication to Tuenti. Keeping messages relevant and personal is essential for high conversion rates and ROI.

Social Marketers can also utilize Tuenti as a segmentation tool. We know that Facebook has more members and is growing membership at an astounding pace everyday. Tuenti, as a smaller community with more personal members, may provide a communication vehicle to communicate with a specific market. I think this is the true value of social networks in today's marketing world. Social networks provide marketers with the ability to analyze and segment the market without doing the research themselves.

(Photo: http://www.todolideres.com/2008/10/16/zaryn-dentel/zaryn-dentel-equipo-tuenti/)

Also, within the social networks, there are more smaller segments such as Facebook's groups, fans, and events. Tuenti has a similar function. Connecting with potential and existing customers has become really easy using social networks. According to El Pais, "In 26 countries, 10% of the population is on Facebook"...in Spain 9%. This is increasingly important but what is even more important is that if the marketing strategy/budget includes social network marketing, social marketers much remember to be human, part of the community, a Facebooker, a Tuenti user. Another words, if you aren't really a part of the social network, you will stand out like a sore thumb. Before communicating with potential and existing customers, make sure you know how, when, and why.

Thats it for today. Leave me comments!

Takin it to the street! Hierbay.es guerilla marketing example

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT SUPPORT THE USE OR SALE OF MARIJUANA. THIS POST COINCIDES WITH THE PURPOSE OF THIS BLOG "BUSINESS & OTHER COOL ISSUES".

Good morning!

For those of you who do not know, Valencia is in Fallas! Fallas is the largest and most popular festival of the Valencian Community next to the Tomatina in Buñol. Fallas is a month long festival with the most intensity in the last 5 days of festivities which include fireworks at 2pm and 1:30 am, large, elegant scupltures in each neighborhood plaza, and a swift burning of the same scupltures at the end of the festival. The Fallas are an important part of the Valencian economy and culture.

On Friday I went to the city hall square (Plaza del Ajuntamiento) to participate in the Mascletá (2pm fireworks). While waiting for the noise driven fireworks, a young guy about my age with an eye catching t-shirt hands me this little flyer.

Take a close look. The brand, the website, its function ("growshop", lower right hand corner), and did you notice that the flyer is made of perforated strips, or rolling tips? Its a good way to make the flyer not only relevant but useful! I immediately noticed the value that hierbay.es is giving to its audience. I thought it as a great example of guerrilla marketing so I followed the guy that handed me the flyer and eventually came to the hierbay.es street stand in the middle of the town hall square with an audience of over 3,000 valencians.

Meet hierbay.es. Its a growshop online formed by 3 guys and launched about a month ago according to the representative in the picture above. Like in one of my previous posts about Desigual's guerrilla marketing, hierbay.es has gone straight to its target market. This is no better place to find pot growers/smokers than at a free, open air event with plenty of sun and beer for 1 euro. Hierbay.es has come to its market and has made itself relevant and useful through a cheap guerrilla marketing effort and rolling tips. Brilliant! Hats off!

Keep Thinking Series: Article 1

Welcome to the first input in the Keep Thinking Series!

This series will be sort of the opinion and observation column for TREVORLANDIA. Since I keep coming up with ideas and observations, I want to dedicate this series to short, powerful topics.

Article 1: Taking your message where your clients are...the next mobile wave.

I was on the internet today, very immobile, just sitting while participating in a webinar. As I was sitting there, I felt extremely unproductive. Sure; I'm learning something through the web-based seminar and could use that knowledge to improve in my job in the future. Yet, what if I could do a real webinar with slides, voice, and chat functions but on my cell phone?? 

Instead of using the company computer to educate yourself, we could use our smart phone while to attend the webinar while in the airport, on the train, in traffic, on the way home......

Webinars are great right now while millions & millions of people world-wide are out of work due to the world economic crisis. However, when I get a job and the few other millions like me get a job, we want to keep learning while working and applying what we learn to our work....on our cell phone.

I think it will be the next mobile wave for consumers. You know how Apple's SDKs have opened up collaboration for software development for iPhone applications? Well, it would be a good place to start. Companies that develop thought leadership content for consumers through webinars could look into developing an iPhone application to carry those webinars to the consumer via cell phone.

Keep Thinking.