Digital Marketing Seminar and Email Marketing Masterclass coming to Beirut, Lebanon again

The Digital Marketing Seminar is coming back to Beirut, Lebanon in May 2010. Based on feedback from DMS in March, organizers Global Consultants have decided to expand to a 2 day event including Michael Leander's Email Marketing Masterclass.

Learn more about the Digital Marketing Seminar in Beirut here

Murphy's Law at play in Cracow, Poland CEE Loyalty Marketing Conference

From Cracow Poland April 2010

Before and during my presentation At the CEE & Poland Loyalty Marketing Conference in Cracow, Poland, the good old Murphy's Law were at play in a big way.  And I am not only talking about the Ashcloud or the tragic accident which caused the death of many prominent Polish political and military figures.

Facing some 150 conference attendees, I had to stop my presentation to allow for a computer change. And while the break was welcome, I am sure, it was not professional at all. I take part of the blame for not having sent my presentation and video clips prior (which is something I find increasingly hard to do as I prefer to adjust my presentation the day before to allow for last minute (local) impulses).

But part of the blame was definitely the equipment of the hotel. Something I have seen quite a lot lately. Old AV equipment, clip mics that break too easily and monitors unfit to accommodate the amount of people in the room.

While I must do my part to make the presentation work flawlessly, I think it is time that organizers of marketing seminars and conferences, demand a better experience from venues. Especially considering the (unreasonable) amount of money event organizers pay for AV equipment.

Michael Leander well received in Beirut, Lebanon for Digital Marketing Seminar

New country, new market, new people, different culture. It is always very exciting to be speaking in a "new" country for the first time. I presented the Digital Marketing Seminar in Beirut, Lebanon for the first time in March 2010. A few days ago I received the evaluation and an invitation to come back to Beirut soon. Here is my report. Evaluation results at the bottom.

A quick story and praise to Beirut
First, let me tell you a quick story. A few months ago when traveling from Prague to Cairo, I came to talk a person whom was traveling to Beirut. My first question to her was "Wow - isn't that dangerous?" - she of course replied, "no, not anymore".

I think that many people have a misconception about Beirut and Lebanon. So let me make one thing very clear:  Beirut is a fantastic place. Rather well organized offering visitors a great mix of modernity and awesome history, still affordable yet offering world class hospitality and a whole lot of fascinating places - most of which I haven't been to myself - yet. On top of that; people there are great. Hospitable and most speak English, which helps a lot.  I highly recommend you to go there for a visit. You won't regret - guaranteed. 

Egypt:: New tobacco packaging warning is a marketing joke

So here it is: The new picture and text on cigarette packs in Egypt does not do the job. If you are in marketing, you will know what I mean just by looking at the picture on this page.

Or maybe you do not "get it" right away. I am not afraid to admit that I did not. Someone had to explain to me what the symbolism of that picture means. And then I finally got it. Now, a few weeks later, I found this picture, and decided to share this information with you.

Personally, I think whoever was responsible for this, did not do a  very good job. There are so many other ways to inform smokers about the health problems caused by smoking (see below for examples and check the link from Brazil)

Ok, so this does not work, but what would you do?
It would be interesting to hear from you. What would you do if you were charged with designing and writing copy for a tobacco packaging warning? Please use the comment box, or email me and I will gladly post your suggestions.

Below I have listed a number of warnings from different countries.

Email Marketing Masterclass in Lisbon, Portugal coming up in April

The Michael Leander Email Marketing Masterclass is coming to Portugal for the first time. Sponsored by Kodak, e-Goi and Canalmail, it is a one day seminar taking place in the heart of Lisbon.

Marketers in Portugal are seemingly suffering from the same email marketing problem as marketers in many other countries South of the Alps and in Eastern Europe. Too much spamming going on for a number of years prior to permission legislation being put in place. The result is  - based on our non representative research - meager open rates and very low numbers for click through rates.

That is one of the reason I am looking forward to present my Email Marketing Masterclass in Lisbon on April 20, 2010. Hopefully I can provide some insights to marketers that will help them change their email marketing results from poor to good to great.

The Email Marketing Masterclass have invited Thomas Wimmer from Kodak to provide some insights about new trends in direct mail and individualized print part. I am looking forward to hear Herr Wimmer. At the Email Marketing Masterclass in Sofia, Bulgaria, German Sacristan from Kodak delivered a highly interesting and engaging presentation - and I am sure Mr. Wimmers will be equally interesting to experience.

You can learn more about the Email Marketing Masterclass here

Off to Poland to speak at the CEE Customer Loyalty Marketing Summit in Crakow

Soon I will be leaving to go to Cracow (Krakow) in Poland to deliver a keynote at the CEE & Poland Customer Loyalty Marketing Summit. The biggest of its kind in Poland and CEE.

It has been something like 25 years since I last visited Crakow. So I am really looking forward to see the city again. I am sure it has changed enormously since I was there last time so many years ago.

The loyalty marketing conference is organized by the brilliant people from Blue Business Media. They have attracted speakers such as Terry Hunt (UK), Mike Wittenstein (USA), Laurence Stock (UK), Simon Rees (UK) and Chris Jacobs (UK) - to mention the poster names.

My 40 minute presentation is about leveraging social media to sustain and grow customers.

You can learn more about the conference here  - and if you will be attending, please do get in touch so I can meet up with you.

After Poland, I will be travelling to Lisbon, Portugal for the Email Marketing Masterclass there.

Avoid Aweber if you require international character support for email marketing

Aweber.com is one of the most widely used online email marketing solutions. But if you need international character support, Aweber is not a solution for you. 

Aweber users whom happen to attract subscribers with names such as Jörgen, Mendonça, Renè, Ascânio or João are in trouble. The image above will give you an idea of what I am talking about.

The reason being that Aweber cannot handle international character support, which obviously is a problem if your subscribers primarily are residing in countries where socalled international characters are widely used. But - as you will have guessed - it is also a problem for someone in the US, the UK, Australia or an other predominantly English speaking countries who attracting subscribers from all over the world.