THIS ISSUE INCLUDES: •  What's New? •  Going, Going Gone! •  Resource Referral •  Lessons Learned •  Tips & Tricks •  Community Leaders •  Member Spotlight •  Community Stats •  Your Account Summary •  Success Story •  Special Thanks •  Last Laugh

Advertisement Venturing into html email? Meet Emma. The Web's most stylish service is also one of its most affordable. It's a style-and-affordability medley, really

WHAT'S NEW?

Dear Askers & Answerers,

Heat in my apartment. That's what's new! The technicians just left, and I'm happy to report that my fingers are beginning to thaw as I write this note to you. Of course, I'm a California girl. So my version of: "My office is freezing!" is 62F degrees. So I don't expect you all to feel too sorry for me. But in case you weren't sure how this has any relevance to you, let me assure you: I'm a friendlier, clearer-thinking moderator when I'm not cold. :)

On to more important matters. We're deep into building the new Projects Board described in an earlier newsletter. We expect to have it finished in two weeks. As usual, Aaron is doing a fantastic job, and I can hardly wait for him to finish so I can show it to you.

Meanwhile, Charles is coding MarketingProfs' new Premium Library. The redesign is going to make it much easier for our Premium and Premium Plus members to access all their benefits of membership. We expect it to be ready next week.

And, best of all, we're up to 95 listings in the Resource Library! All we need is 155 of you to submit one entry recommending a book, article, website or other tool, and we'll make our goal of 250 resources by year end. If you haven't entered one yet, please do! Think of it as your holiday gift to the community.

Have a terrific weekend!

Happy exchanging,

Val Frazee
Moderator, Know-How Exchange
MarketingProfs.com

GOING, GOING, GONE!

Here are KHE's 10 oldest questions. They're likely to close soon. Have an idea to offer? Better do it now!

1. Why is Marketing Different than Sales?? (PLEASE!)
2. Measuring the marketing function & its importance
3. Spending The Dough
4. Promoting webinars for financial software company
5. Integrated marketing between offline and online...
6. Frequency versus Size
7. Marketing expense ratios for institutional banking
8. International Sales and Marketing
9. Positioning On Google?
10. How to become a master e marketing

RESOURCE REFERRAL: SKYPE

Michele sent me the following resource to share with all of you:

Skype (www.skype.com): Voice over IP (VOIP) software that enables free international voice calls to any Skype user worldwide. All you need is a microphone and speakers on your computer. It's great for KHE experts who are working together around the globe.

Resource: Skype - Free Internet telephony that just works

Browse 95 resources recommended by our members in KHE's Resource Library. Just hit the "Search" button to see them all.

LESSONS LEARNED: GLOBAL BRAND STRATEGY

A few days ago, nextmike asked: "How important is it to unify the brand identity across all global regions and all regional websites?" His 50-year old brand identity is holding strong in Europe and Asia, but it's weak in North America. He plans to refresh the brand for North America, but he's facing objections from the other regions. Here a few ideas from the group. (Be sure to click over to read the full discussion, if you're interested in knowing more.)

• KANDI: I would imagine that in the medium to long term there would be distinct advantages in having an international brand, not least in the return on the marketing dollar. A leading brand in one country should be able to assert its authority in another faster than an unknown brand. ... It is not necessarily difficult however to create a harmonised brand with a common logo, colour palette, etc. and translate the positioning and personality into local language and culture through an extended identity system - the use of imagery, etc. Nor do I believe it necessary to have a single tag line, as long as it is not in a fixed relationship with the logo.
• JBtron: This does NOT mean changing the tagline at all. Changing the tagline is a seasonal, promotional, TRANSIENT thing. It's not a target of redesign when you refresh a brand. Just talk to the folks at Burger King who performed a REVOLUTIONARY Brand Redesign without a tagline change. And changing the color pallette is also NOT a function of a Brand Redesign unless you want it to be. It all depends on WHY you are "refreshing" the brand.
• D4Demand: As long as your brand image does not fight with theirs, it should not be a problem. Not every brand must be a world brand.
• SRyan: Global brand harmonization was less important before Tim Berners-Lee invented this cool thing called the World Wide Web. Now businesses on different continents aren't so isolated. Think about that before you undergo changes, especially if your starting point is on the Web!
• diastematic: JBTron hits it on the head: You haven't defined the problem, other than "People think we're outdated." You need to spend some personal time with your customers to know exactly why you matter to them ... and let that insight redefine the very core of your company.
• ASVP/ChrisB: Sounds like the brand refresh you mention is a rearrangement of deck chairs. The international arms suggesting that brand harmonization is a critical success factor right now is a bit like the captain of the Titanic criticizing the performance of the piccolo player as the band slips beneath the waves. You've got bigger problems that should be addressed first. ... Map your business and marketing strategy, develop a balanced scorecard from those maps, and review where you are every quarter.
• mgoodman: It's hard to imagine that there isn't a way to refresh the brand image in NA without totally breaking with the rest-of-world graphics, logo, colors, etc. An evolutionary redesign to make it a little more contemporary, for example, might accomplish the same thing as a complete break. Having been a senior marketing manager (VP) with a global company responsible for the U.S. portion of the business, I can tell you I'd have had a real problem with any brand manager who wanted to mess with the global brand jewels. Surely there's a better way ... or a very compelling argument based in solid consumer research.
• kwinters: Let me ask you a simple question: Is it a good idea or bad idea to position a product differently for different target markets? Very simply, you have different target markets with different cultures, beliefs, etc. and what works in or appeals to one may not appeal to the other.
• nextmike: I going to make a strong recommendation that we not take a universal approach to branding across major global regions. While the heart of the brand will remain the same, everything else will be tailored to fit the unique regional markets.

The Question: Is Global Brand Harmonization Necessary?

TIPS & TRICKS: MORE POINTS FOR YOU

Are you new to KHE and looking for a way to earn Expert Points fast? Those who have been around a while know that every week I close old questions that have been abandoned by their Askers. I like to reduce the overall number of Open Questions to enhance the visibility of the new ones. And, frankly, after a question hasn't had a new post in several days, it's probably lost its momentum, and it's time to recognize the contributions of the Answerers by awarding points.

Are you getting the idea that old questions would be good ones to answer? That's exactly right! When I'm in question-closing mode (usually 2 or 3 times a week) I sort the list from oldest to newest and start from the top, closing anything older than 10 days that hasn't had activity recently. When I close instead of the Asker, I can't tell which responses were truly the most relevant to the Asker's situation. So I like to reward thoughtful participation. I select everyone who contributed something useful and the points are split among them.

You'd be surprised how often I end up giving 125 or 250 points to one or two people, because they are the only ones who responded. To get in on the action, all you have to do is be one step ahead of me. Answer the oldest questions first, and focus on those with the fewest responses. In fact, you may want to start with the 10 questions posted in this newsletter under "Going, Going, Gone ..." The folks who asked the questions will be glad you did! (Thanks, michelletrex, for giving me the idea to say this.)

Have a question? Ask the experts.

Post a brief synopsis below, and invite other members to offer their feedback.

My Question Title

COMMUNITY LEADERS

As of this week, these are our superstars! The Most Resourceful are those who have contributed the most entries to the Resource Library. The Most Expert are those with the highest number of Expert Points (earned by answering questions).

NOTE: These are our top members as of midday December 3, 2004

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: MEET MICHELLETREX

You probably recognize michelletrex as one of our enthusiastic tagline brainstormers. If you follow her posts, you also know this marketing consultant has a quick wit that's sure to entertain. Read on to learn more about this week's featured member of KHE.

Where are you based?
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

What do you do in real-life?
I'm a mum and a marketing consultant. My kids are my brand. (I'd brand my kids, but that would be illegal.)

Tell us about your company.
Currently I'm putting a national franchise together. It is a B2B retail group - pallet rack, shop fittings, office furniture (www.rack.com.au). It's a dry subject, but lucrative.

How did you find KHE?
Luck and Google.

What kinds of KHE questions do you enjoy most?
Taglines, who doesn't? And coming up with products & promotions.

Describe a specific KHE discussion you learned something from.
Recently there was a posting about setting a marketing budget. I have always wondered how it is derived as I have never managed to get one. I resort to begging mostly.

What is your favorite marketing book? Why?
Marketing Without Money - DeBono and Lyons. It is the first time that I really understood why innovation was key and why I was a natural innovator.

What networking organizations do you belong to?
Umm - this one! I do speak to the other mums at the school a bit. Does that count?

How did you get started in marketing?
I started in visual merchandising and had several national management roles. Then had a couple of kids. I was lucky to pick up some consulting work to Levis and Link Telecommunications and that's what started me off on my own. You could say it's an accidental career. I've been working for 20 years; 10 years in my own business. My strengths are on the creative & innovative side rather than the strategy side.

Do you have a mentor? What has he/she has taught you?
Yes, a few along the way. Currently my client is my mentor. He recently taught me the art of "Hero or Zero". That is, you gotta have guts and step up to be in business.

What is your next career objective?
I would like to take on an international project again.

Do you have a favorite gadget/tool that helps you do your job?
I recently discovered www.webalive.biz, a template style website maker. I know there are a lot of similar sites out there. I also love the trademarks search engines.

Describe one of your non-marketing hobbies or interests.
Mate, I've got kids - unless you can call them hobbies?

What is the value KHE provides to you personally?
I lack confidence and perspective working on my own, and so I try to answer as often as I can to check how I'm doing. The international perspective is interesting. Also I need points because I have many questions.

Have you made any offline connections with KHErs?
I have spoken over email to Blaine (Jett) and he is a hoot! He never sleeps. When it's day here, it's night where he is, so I expect he's in his jocks when he's emailing me. What a turn on. I'd like to meet Shelley (SRyan ;]) as she's my kind of clever. Almost funny enough to be an Aussie.

Do you have any advice for new members of KHE?
Sometimes the experienced members are a bit intimidating to us dills, but persevere. If marketers knew everything, then explain "New Coke". Sometimes the moderator closes questions and you get points, even if you're a dill.

Do you have a favorite quote you want to share?
"Always ask the stupid questions." - me

Is there anything else you would like to say to the community?
Go easy on us dills ... after all, we are consumers too.

COMMUNITY STATS

Active Unique Participants (to date): 3,583
Closed Questions (to date): 3,995
Currently Open Questions: 189
Total Responses (to date): 30,197
Subscribers to this newsletter: 12,018

YOUR ACCOUNT SUMMARY

These numbers come directly from YOUR profile. Question Points tells you how many points you have available for asking questions in the forum. Expert Points indicates your standing in the community based on answers you have posted. Visit this FAQ, if you want to know more.

Question Points: %%PointsBalance%%
Expert Points: %%PointsCum%%

Click here to buy more Question Points

SUCCESS STORY

This week's Success Story comes to us from leonor, president of Mira Promo, a California Hispanic Marketing agency. She writes:

"I have been more of a reader than a participant up to now. But this is the first forum I've seen that brings together experienced professionals with down-to-earth advice and real market experience. I also appreciate the warm tone and genuine interest in helping out. I am proud to participate in this forum. Home at last, fellow marketers!"

The Question: Is There a Need For Hispanic Speakers?

SPECIAL THANKS

Thank you, Michele, michelletrex and leonor for providing content for this newsletter. And thanks to all the following community members who have emailed or posted suggestions, technical reports or questions in the last week. Your energy drives this community's development. We couldn't do it without you!

ASVP/ChrisB, Ricky, Vevolution, JBtron, Jett, jose04, K, savialeigh, km2000, Mariam, mbarber, mohanty_sonny, orobledo, Ozlemsumbul, Inbox_Interactive, Peter (henna gaijin), Praf, mac504, tevatron, Suze, Sweetasman01, Tate, tony_dubitsky, Pepper Blue, tricia, W.M.M.A., SRyan ;] and Deremiah, *CPE.

Finally, thanks to my MP colleagues for making my job easy: Aaron, Sharon, Megan, Ann, Roy and Allen.

LAST LAUGH

This question tells the story of how truly tenacious our community is. Sometimes you don’t even have to have a comprehensible question to get our juices going. It gives you the sense that there are KHErs all over the world with fingers poised over keyboards, ready to brainstorm about anything ... given just a tiny nudge. All you have to do is spark their interest.

Open Question: Word of Mouse Branding

Forum Feedback: The Know-How Exchange is still young. So we're constantly refining how things work. We have a gigantic list of action items, and your feedback helps us prioritize it. So please feel free to reply to this email with any suggestions. Thanks, in advance, for your time!

Advertising Information: Please send email to val@marketingprofs.com

Subscription Information: To UNSUBSCRIBE from Know-How News, go here and change your email subscription.

Privacy notice: MarketingProfs.com does not sell or exchange email addresses or any personal contact information provided during the registration process, unless explicitly approved by the user. All email distributions are managed and controlled by MarketingProfs.com.

MarketingProfs, LLC  | 419 N. Larchmont  |  #42 |  Los Angeles, Calif. |  90004