The World of Confucian Chivalry

The world of Confucian Chivalry was created a triumvirate writers composed of Louis Cha (Jing Yong), Gu Long and Liang Yusheng. The three magnates formed the framework and contributed the main contents of this tremendous Oriental magic land which is beyond the understanding and grasp of English-only readers. Taken for instance, one of the title translations, The Book and the Sword, translated by a western scholar and published by Oxford University Press, is nonetheless a toning-down and simplification of the original Chinese title.

It’s really hard for the western readers to get a hand on the so-called Chinese WuXia genre, or let me use an analogy, the genre of Oriental Chivalry or Confucian Chivalry. It’s a contemporary Chinese literature genre which enamored almost the whole Chinese community, domestic and worldwide. Basically, the fictions of Confucian Chivalry tell the story of the so-called Chinese knights and the oriental chivalry associated with them.

The Chinese knights lived in the Chinese dynastic eras and needed not to be conferred by the royal house. No patent was needed to create a Chinese knight. The knighthood was in the heart of those destined. Also, they were born of Confucian spirits and were meant for some great journeys which always would produce empathy among the readers who are also deep-rooted in the Confucian heritage.

Most of all, the heroes depicted by the writers were often of humble births and worked all their way up the social ladder by series of lucky encounters. Much like a modern computer game, the good fortune is always the mechanism for the upbringing of an apprentice. The apprentice would manage to build the strongest mental and physical power, and excel the rest. The Chosen One, just as Harry Porter, figuratively speaking.

The Gongfu movie which later swung and changed the Hongkong film industry as well as the major Chinese movie genre ever landed in Hollywood, was spawned by the fictions of the WuXia genre. As portrayed by the Gongfu movies, the heroes always could perform stunts beyond the capacity of a normal man. Such as flying above the roofs, controlling stuff through the manipulation of field conjured by mental power, and even the magic touch of a finger could destroy a subject. However, more astounding stunts described in the books are off the limits to the modern cinematography.

Meditation is one of the main methods of training a Confucian knight. The mental power is far stronger than the physical strength that could be acquired through earthly exercise. The mental power is infinite and beyond imagination. Actually, no one can achieve the ultimate level, or the ultimate level is beyond any secular experience that has ever happened. It’s like a pilgrimage to the holy temple, and only to find an unfathomable, extraterrestrial being. It’s called GOD in the western hemisphere and known as DAO in oriental world.

The guidance is the teachings of Confucius. By following Confucius’ practices, an apprentice could pursue the right road leading to the holy place. However, the achievements of a Confucian knight apprentice would not be only judged by the power he accumulated but also by the merits he culminated. A chivalrous heart could always achieve higher level of Gongfu and put his strengths to the use of the poor and oppressed.

The final judge of a Confucian knight is the transcendence of the smallness of oneself and the reaching of the highest level of humanity. That’s also the purpose of Confucian. Ultimate sacrifice would always be the final call to the culmination of a Confucian knight. For nation, for family and for friendship, a broad spectrum of love is always the theme. And for most of the time, the hero is the center of a great tragedy, personal sacrifice leading to the prevalence of collective purpose. However, most of the finales would always provide a satisfactory ending and revealing the eagerness of the writers to please their readers. That’s another reason for the popularity of this kind of fictions. Always the feelings of the readers are assuaged and pacified by a happy ending no matter how the rescue had gone off human logic. And maybe that’s one of the reasons this genre is less recognized by the scholar world.

The financial situations are seldom mentioned in these fictions. It looks like the heroes were born into good financial status. Or a growing social standing was the byproduct of the development of a Confucian knight. Sometimes, the protagonist was granted property and wealth by the then royal house, or local magistrate. Sometimes, the protagonist developed connection with nobles, and therefore gained fortune through trading services. Or, sometimes, the protagonist was in the hands of kindhearted local landowners and marriage was always the solution. Anyway, most of the protagonists could make use of their talents in exchange for personal wealth. Or they could choose to stay poor which is one of the teachings by Confucius.

Well, at the last, let’s touch upon the three giants in the realm of Confucius Chivalry. Liang Yusheng could be the most traditional writer of the three. Even he wrote the chapter titles of his fictions in the form of traditional Chinese poems. Most of his works took the style of traditional Chinese literature and fabricated with significant amount of Chinese traditional poems and conversation style. Also Chinese history lays the foundation of his works. He altogether accomplished a total of 33 fictions.

Jing Yong is a contemporary of Liang Yusheng. And the two worked in suit with each other to kick off the Wu Xia fiction age. Although Jing Yong finished only 14 fictions altogether, but his achievement transcended Liang’s in a great leap. Jing Yong perhaps is the most influential contemporary Chinese writer and all his works have been adapted to movies or TV sitcoms. Jing Yong is a household name among Chinese community and even the characters of his books have entered the daily language vocabulary.

Gu Long is the youngest of the three and writes in the most modern style. He tends to write little of the scene of a fight which is the climax of a Wu Xia fiction but dedicate most of the volume to the development of the plot which carries only one topic, LOVE. He is the most radical of the three and rid of the vestige of traditional Chinese literature. He broke off with the old legacy and leaned more towards English classics such as Ernest Hemingway.

Marketing Automation

The frontier of marketing development in this hemisphere is breaking into a dreamland of marketers: Marketing Automation.

 

If you are familiar with office automation, then the concept is not that strange. During the movement of office automation, concurring with the bolting of information technology, office site manager and operation manager have been benefit significantly from this concept and many software solutions. Efficiency is achieved, effectiveness is acquired, and greater value is realized. Not to mention the satisfied cost reduction effect in the long run.

 

However, marketing automation is still in its infancy. Not only the unpromising lucrative potential, but also the economy of scale is hard to achieve. And unlike office automation, marketing is the most dynamic and diversified and personalized field without a common infrastructure at sight or universally agreed.

 

One can take a look at the marketing textbook, even the most authoritative codex, is revamping its content year from year, which leaves little fancy for the ambitious software engineer or aspirant entrepreneur to dig a well of gold in this piece of land. Yes, no more can set a rule for marketing practice, given the vast variety of products and services involved.

 

But, you know what, if you exert yourself enough to dig all the marketing automation tools providers online, God, it is a hell of legion! And nearly covers the all needs for at least a business website. Besides the conventional functions, some creative providers/vendors even breach your imagination by adding a lot of fashion add-ons to the applications.

 

If you take efforts roaming the internet, or just read some guidebook of guerilla marketing, you would find the holistic list of application builder for business website. From basic web structure design, content outsourcing, user group, to merchandise cargo processing, audio/video creation, webinar/web conference application, email campaign……and many, many more!

 

The concept of marketer for today’s business is a totally different idea. More a virtual team integrator; and less a hands-on field moderator. If you just cast a look into nowadays’ marketing strategy and tactics, on-line promotion is valued much and more. With the thriving of Web 2.0, the integration with social media is make itself a paramount take for marketer and communicator. And some genius software application is catering this idea and upcoming.

 

The most impressive aspect of marketing automation is how simply and easily an on-line tool can be tailored and integrated into your current marketing system. It takes only several steps and some info filling and format choosing and you are closing to your dream marketing land.

 

Now, let me give you some cues so that you can share with me the feelings of bliss.

 

Audio Creation, Recording, Editing, and/or Sharing Software and Equipment:

–OnlineMarketingSuperstore.com; –InstantFlashAudio.com; –CopyTalk.com; –SonyCreativeSoftware.com; –WebAudioVideoTools.com; –AudioStrategies.com; –iTunes.com

 

Video Equipment and Software:

–YouTube.com; –InstantVideoGenerator.com; –Squidoo.com; –Stickam.com; –GoogleVideo.com; –MySpace.com

 

Teleconferencing Tools:

–Camstasia.com; –Moodle.com; –EasyLiveConference.com; –FreeConferenceCall.com

 

Online Press Release:

–PRWeb.com; –SubmitYourArticle.com; –Ezine.com; –GoArticle.com; –AritclesAlley.com

 

Blogging:

–WordPress.com; –Technocrati.com; –Drupal.org; –Joomla.org

 

One-Stop-Shopping Cart:

–EasyWebAutomation.com

 

Video Email:

–HelloWorld.com

 

Tele-Seminar/Webinar:

–Ideas-to-Come.com; –Sketchcast.com

 

Account/Password Mgmt:

–Roboform.com

 

For Small Business:

–BCentral.com

 

Search Engine:

–Dogpile.com

 

Website Design:

–Luckmarble.com; –Bigwebmaster.com

 

Industry Status:

–Bizstats.com

 

Content Voting/Customer Polls:

–Diggs.com; –Shoutwire.com; –AskDatabase.com; –SurveyMonkey.com

 

Other creative applications:

–SendOutCards.com; –PayDotCom.com; –ClickBank.com; –Cj.com; –Maps.google.com

 

Rising Star: Search Engine Marketing

Search Engine Marketing or SEM is a big hot potato nowadays. Though the job market of U.S. is in a downward track, and media is hailing the unemployment rate as a big gimmick to attract higher reading rate, one can notice the rising demand for digital marketing professionals, or especially the SEM (Search Engine Marketing) specialist without too much efforts.

 

That’s because the huge advertising or marketing money is pouring into this pool. And the biggest collectors include Google, and Yahoo!. That’s the very distinctive disparity between marketing practice in western hemisphere and the eastern hemisphere. Most of the eastern countries, especially those cities under influence of Communism, tend to larger city size with accompany of a huge population, which is a dense-population city design. Although, their counterparts such as those in U.S., are one the contrary belief set, that a thin-population with smaller city size is better.

 

One of the results is the very dissimilarity in marketing approach. That marketing campaigns in eastern countries gravitate to ground event, while those in western countries often go on-line. And in that light, on-line marketing is stoutly espoused by western marketers and is well nurtured and shaped. Amazon.com and Yahoo.com are among the early birds and took a big bite of market in aggregation. Followers spring up from nowhere in brick-and-mortar business world, but a virtual on-line land. A vast, unexplored, anarchic, uncharted, unlimited world of dreamland.

 

But the rise of Search Engine Marketing is just hit its recent milestone. Google delivered super financial report amid the spreading contagion of ominous financial perform reports. Many companies announced unfavorable balance sheets. Some even declared grave forecast for near future. The Wall-Street is awash in economy bloodletting with damaged layout. But the shining of Google, and in China, the Baidu.com, lit a light in the hearts of investors.

 

Not everything is doomed. The success of Google, with the echoing success of Baidu, the one copied Google’s business model in China market, is indicating a way out. That’s Search Engine Marketing. Don’t get fooled by me, marketing here is incorporating marketing and sales altogether. Along the long long tail of business, small and medium business owners are marking significant contribution to the ascent of on-line marketing, and search engine marketing.

 

Google and Yahoo, the two ancestors of Search Engine Marketing, are on the thrones of nowadays’ marketplace. Hundreds of thousands of small and medium business owners are hopping into the battle fields of Adwords or Keywords auction, and thus spawning the demand of SEM specialist and driving up a huge wave.

 

However, SEM is traditionally deemed more as marketing promotion tactics than a strategic tool. Especially, SEM contributes a lot to the success of seasonal business or promotion, such as the upcoming Christmas and Easter holiday. Marketers are treating SEM the substitute of coupon or direct mail or other traditional promotion approaches.

 

Well, that’s the hackneyed idea of SEM in its short life till now. From my opinion, however, I’m positive of SEM’s marriage with traditional Branding efforts. For big and giant companies, such as IBM, HP, or GE, can SEM be integrated into the big branding strategy? My instincts tell me a possibility exists. Just need a magical ring.

 

Since SEM only can provide limited space for message, such as the upper limitation of 35 characters from Google, the wiggle room is only large enough for a bullet point. However, presumably, a large company such as HP runs Adwords advertising several hundreds in total, the combined space could be good enough to present a holistic message map which would lead a general customer into a hidden generic branding image. However, the integrated SEM plan should be engineered and controlled from corporate, but not the individual product manager or sales director.

 

I do believe there are exceptional marketers who can think out of box, and turn SEM into strategic weapon. Also, I do believe the coming age of SEM in China market is not far away.

Century Duel: Baby Boomer VS. Seniors

In the aftermath of the last debate, Obama and McCain are en rout to their last duel rendezvous, Nov. 4, the national election of Presidency. And this battle is symbolic as well as emblematic, the Baby Boomer’s representative, Obama, versus Senior’s delegate, McCain. It is the last wrestling between the two most powerful generations in the du jour history of U.S.

 

This years’ presidency primary election is full of theatrical elements. The three contenders, Obama, Hillary, and McCain, each has unique position not only in contemporary history of United States, but each materializes a cornucopia for the back-stage sectional constituency. Obama, with his African-American lineage, is the first to be nominated ethnic presidential candidate ever in the history of America. Hillary, though not the first women presidential candidate, came so close to the presidency as to promote herself the highest point along the women enfranchising movement. McCain, I am not sure if the oldest presidential candidate, in his senior age still runs for the acme of his career life and with strong military service profile.

 

Apart from the political background, the last two warriors, each stands a distinctive demographic group. With Obama the Baby Boomer and McCain the Seniors. Born in August 4, 1961, Senator Barack Hussein Obama II without doubt fells into the realm of Baby Boomers, believed to be born into 1949 to 1964, the so-called Me Generation. And John Sidney McCain III, born in August 29, 1936, can’t escape being branded as Seniors. These two largest and most influential demographic groups are sending their chosen warriors for the find battle. Baby Boomers wanted to seize the power of the world ever the first time in their generation and the Seniors with the current power in hand would not yield a easy divestiture.

 

Let me produce you some supporting points for my argument. As the market already avowed, the Baby Boomer generation are widely known for their self-identification, or the Me attitude. With the many researches done on this generation, the Baby Boomers are believed to be idealists with the mission as “Changing the World” sealed in their minds. Which, you can see the obvious linkage to Obama’s message, “Change”. And on the other side, Seniors, as their generation’s painful sufferings, had gone through wars. McCain, the one survived Vietnam War, was once bombed, shot, injured, and tortured, with life time long physical limitation as the reminisce of warfare.

 

I am not here touting one over the other. And advocate one against the other. The symbolism of the final election is a strong signal for a power shifting. Senior citizens, the largest and active and most influential blocks of voters in America, are in control of U.S. now with their silver-hair delegates in the white house bustling and busy. Their generation shaped the world by launch of Iraq War. Also, upon the brim of the dominance, another round of economy recession is hyping this world. Still, the juicy of power is lingering around their lips, with age debilitating their mentality and physical body, they are still active, energetic, and involved. McCain at his age of 72, is running for American Presidency! Guys, show some respects! The silver hair deserves respect and esteem.

 

But Obama is another miracle. Though not awash by bullets and war heads, Obama is the typical Baby Boomer. A divorced parent at his age of two, the death of the paternal side came at age of 21 and death of maternal side at age of 34. During 2008 Civil Forum on the Presidency, Obama openly acknowledged his greatest moral failure occurred during high school when he succumbed to marijuana, cocaine and alcohol. But he survived, and thrived, after his greatest moral failure. How to overcome the mental trauma, I can’t figure out, but nevertheless, Obama lived out. He attended Columbia University and later Havard Law School, and he served as community organizer and strode through the lungs of American politic hierarchy, and was able to compete for the American Presidency as the first African-American minority.

 

Considering Obama’s thin profile as a politician, one could not pay much regard. With McCain’s senior age, one was balking. The power of the U.S., and thus figuratively, the power of the world should accord to whom?

 

With another global economical downturn triggered by U.S. market, with so many financial scholars, experts, and analysts debating heatedly over the boiled market, with Iceland verged on bankruptcy as a country, people are calling for a dues ax machine. Though such calling can’t be satisfied by either Obama or McCain along, with their campaign polices no significant overpowering in present.

 

It boils down to the basics of gambling. You should choose one from the two, with strong belief in Baby Boomer or Seniors. Or do you believe in the eclipsing of Seniors over Baby Boomer or the stronghold of Seniors will last for another 4 years? Make your choice!

Tommy Hilfiger: Transfiguring with Gen-Xer

The lasted Hilfiger London Session is incredibly awesome, astounding, and spectacular! If you only watch it online from www.tommytv.com.

 

The latest financial report of Tommy Hilfiger is another upbeat against the downcast rhythm of wall-street. And the announcement of partnering with Macy for an exclusive distribution deal detonates Hilfiger’s resolution of winning back American market and replicating another European market victory, if Godspeed.

 

According to recent figures, Hilfiger global sales rose 31% to $1.01 billion in the six months that ended Sept. 30, 2008. Having made the success in European market transformed this once hip-hop image into upscale state, Hilfiger now is facing a depressed American retail market. In U.S. market, sales of Hilfiger retrograded from $1.7 billion in 2002 to $836 million in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2008.

 

The weak U.S. retail market is getting weaker in tie with the unpromising U.S. economy. In the upcoming holiday season, analysts have already sent woes over the merchandisers, and not only some would decrease sales, but also another would balk. And the best venue, according to industry prediction, would be the value and discount warehouse clubs and superstores.

 

But that’s not Tommy Hilfiger. Change is in the codex of Tommy Hilfiger. And Hilfiger is ready for a grown-up generation of Gen-X.

 

Gen-X is growing older. No longer the anger youth, the generation born under the shadow of Baby Boomer and the generation without feeling of identify. Gen-X is believed to be born in the year around from 1962 to 1979. Now, this generation has steadily stepped into their thirties, which is the mainstream bread-earner and money pocket holder.

 

And the taste of Gen-X is changing. Instead of seeking the alter ego, the only distinctive characteristic, Hip-Hop, is under going a domain shift. The music genre holding dear to this generation is constantly though slowly trickling into the next younger generation, Gen-Y. People grow up and mentality evolves too, that’s law of nature.

 

Thought not purposely, maybe by a God’s lightening, that’s a good stroke of luck, Tommy Hilfiger associated with Hip-Hop during its early success. The “Hip-Hop” generation, as being defined by freelance journalist Kitwana, is black Americans born between 1095 and 1984, nevertheless coincidently coeval with the Gen-Xers. Then, there is no wonder the affinity between the two culture spheres grew into a mesh. And the two groups, though one with the origin of African American lineage, finally melted into one culture group.

 

Nihilism in rap music and gangsta film were the symbolism of this generation, who under the shadow of their direct successful parents, the powerful Baby-Boomers. And some renowned brand temporized the opportunity. Tommy Hilfiger is one of them. Unintentionally, Tommy found a way to unit with music for its brand promotion. In 1994, urban artist Snoop Doggy Dogg showed up on Saturday Night Live wearing a red, white and blue Tommy Hilfiger rugby shirt. That’s the beginning of a generation legend. Booming with the prevalence of Hip-Hop music and the stars, Tommy went through a golden business age in ninetieth. In citation of some historical numbers, the company’s sales jumped from $25 million to $227 million and skyrocketed to $847 million in 1998 and hit $1.64 million in 1999.

 

Though the glory were still cherished by Tommy, and the rivals were never stop trying to nail it down, the Croesus’ kingdom of Tommy has been undergoing metamorphosis as the Gen-Xers aging.

 

Taking the emblematic Hilfiger London Session, recently on stage in London, is a symbolic of generation transfiguration. The once Hip-Hop music has been given way to Jazz, Country and music blending with classic elements. The musicians, including John Legend, Zarif, The Metros, Steve Appleton, Wyclef Jean, etc., the average age of the celebrities is around 30. Partnering with Sony BMG Europe, Tommy is beefing up its success in this market, upscale collection apart from its youth texture.

 

Tommy’s strategy in Europe market is sell less for more. An annual sales jump from $110 million in 2001 to $ 1.1 billion last, Tommy is invading the upscale outlets instead of wholesale and discount outlets.

 

As people grow into their thirties and even early forties, they begin to take seriousness towards work and life. Their tastes naturally evolve into upscale and starting to tapping luxury when their pocket of money swells. So does the brand of the merchandize attached to them. And that’s Tommy’s choice.

 

In an exclusive distribution deal with Macy, Tommy first migrates its point-of-sale to an upscale venue which often is often patronized by white-collars and accomplished professionals or managers in their thirties. And in this endeavor, Tommy hopes to circumvent the floppy retail market and win against a certain recession in near future.

 

Whatever the effect on market would be, the maneuver taken by Tommy at least is a gesture to revivify market morale, and show confidence and faith to call for a resilient market.

 

Maybe that’s a way out.

 

“Why are you nervous?“ Rose sung. “The Bright Side”. Steve Appleton hailed.

Next Big Thing: Minority Market, Generation Y and Obama

When the last debate between Senator Obama and Senator McCain was down, everybody is looking forward to the last election. And when it comes to Oct 18, another powerful endorsement is extended to Obama by Colin Powell which sent the search key words of ‘Colin Powell’ higher on Yahoo.com’s ‘Today’s Top 10 search’.

 

Well, that’s not a big surprise, no matter how many overt and tenable reasons Powell could enumerate, there is still one thing holding subliminal and firm, the fraternity within minority communities.

 

A forming major minority market: joint force by Generation Y and Obama

 

Reading of Obama’s bio, though born in 1961, a year belongs to late Baby Boomer or early Generation X, Obama appears having little connection with Generation Y, the next largest demographic group beside Baby boomer, with around over 70 million in count. Born from around 1977 to 1996, this generation believes to take up 20% of today’s US population.

 

Marching towards year of 2009, the one after the most fascinated presidential election of 2008, most of Generation Y will be turning age of from 13 to 37, or in other terms, starting to occupy the majority of workforce and the consummation will hit the year of 2012. A emerging and potentially huge market is coming into landscape.

 

The distinctive trait of Generation Y is its most diversified population. The so-called minority, Hispanic, Black and Asian takes up as much as 40% of the total Generation Y according to Bureau of Censors, 2000. Among them, 17% percent goes to Hispanic, the largest minority group; and 16% goes to Black or African American, the equally important ethnic group; and 5% goes to Asian, comparably small but can’t be overlooked, since Asian-American women is the most highly educated of Generation Y according to Bureau of Censors, 2002.

 

Yes, the Generation Y is the most tolerable generation towards ethnical differences. And how about if Obama elected? The first minority president in American history?! Wow, that’s a blockbuster though would not surprise the world when the long and weary election year of 2008 drags on and on. It’s still too early to predict the domestic policy of President Obama, but whatever it is minority would be a big beneficiary without doubts.

 

It can be favorably inferred a President Obama would facilitate a looming minority market constructed by Generation Y. Or, a minority market is turning into majority force in the upcoming 5 years.

 

If there is any Next Big Thing that can inject some optimism into the depressing market morale as of the time of an unavoidable and forthcoming economy recession, Generation Y and the minority market should be given the credit.

 

 

Feel the pulse of market: early influence from Generation Y

 

As to the many propitious omens foretelling a formative generation Y in workforce and marketplace, one can get a feel from the job market.

 

When you turn to Monster, Careerbuilder, or Yahoo!HotJob, you can find many marketing jobs relating to on-line marketing or internet communication. Demands for viral marketing specialist, manager, or even director are burgeoning and challenging traditional marketers.

 

MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, FaceBook, YouTube, Google……you can name them. All of the most fashion communication on-line tools are within the radius of a tech-savvy generation Y. Since Baby Boomer and Generation X, Generation Y is the generation grows up with PC and laptop. Unlike their predecessors, Baby Boomer grows up with TV and Generation X with MTV, Generation Y takes advantage of computer since every early age and grows a finger-player and on-line goer as they heading manhood. According to Bureau of Censors, 2001, 71% of Generation Y between 15 to 17 were on-line. And that means as of year 2008, 71% of Generation Y between 22 and 34 are on-line, at least.

 

That’s the coming of predominance of web 2.0 as the key marketing instrument. And that partly explains the success of Obama, his prevailing digital strategy for presidency competition reaps the needed ballots and sends him all the way to the last debate. From September, Obama amazingly raised record $150 million fund.

 

The rising demand for on-line communication is largely ascribed to the influence of generation Y. According to NPD Group research, young web users between 13 to 34 years old are significantly more likely to visit social networking sites and visit them more often. And this age group also represents the most active on-line shopping user. And they are also the big force behind the reviving icon of Apple ipod.

 

 

It’s better to think of Generation Y and a major minority market NOW. However, the best staring point is market research deep down into minority communities. According to Bureau of Censors, nine out of ten children under 12 have friends outside their own ethnicity, this means although minorities take up 40% of marketplace, their influence shares with the non-minority consumers.

 

The next generation consumer market is a multi-culture market, with strong characteristics from both sides intermingled and merged. If one can sense and capture the emerging trend, that’s the next big thing to survive and revivify the economy downturns.

Web 2.0 Triggered the Long Tail of Mass Communication

Nowadays, marketing in west part of the globe is showing significant trait that bearing the burden of US economy distress. The newly emerging and outstanding trait as we may aware of is the use of on-line marketing.

 

On-line marketing is the crucial fruition of the development of web 2.0 applications. Overwhelmingly used and deeply planted into the heart of new generation, the technology of Google, Facebook, Linkedin, Myspace, Twitter, and many other on-line venues are merging with integrated marketing communication tactics. In some cases, even the digital marketing is the strategy itself.

 

Let’s take the success of Obama over Clinton during the first half of 2008 US presidency election. The victory is achieved by vastly utilizing the viral communication techniques. Log onto Obama official blog, you can see a area dubbed OBAMA EVERYWHERE. Where you can find Obama online and make friend with him? Let’s take a look. Facebook, BlackPlanet, Myspace, Faithbase, Youtube, Eons, Flickr, Glee, Digg, Migente, Twitter, MyBatanga, Eventful, AsinaAve, Linkedin, DNC Partybuilder, etc. Wow, what a holistic lists of web 2.0 applications? Even you can use the case of Obama as a success story and good learning material for mass communication! And by this way, Obama was able to collect the tenuous ballots scattered long and long on the mass communication tail, which is the root of grass-root at lowest cost or even no cost at all!

 

It’s no wonder Clinton fired her campaign manager too late only to loss the whole battle. Although as the former first Lady, and so powerful woman ever in the history of America, with the support form her two-term-president husband Bill Clinton, and the background as a white senator of New York, Hillary Clinton couldn’t recover her vantage point as the brunt of web 2.0 encroached her whole grounds without the slightest notice. That’s the power of on-line marking or viral communication!

 

Take another success story as I’d like to peg down. The idea.com storm! The first user of idea.com according to BusinessWeek could be attributed to Dell. The once starch personal computer builder. The early success of Dell comes from its innovated on-line order strategy which integrated the whole supply chain and allowed the techniques of JIT manufacturing and storage into reality. For so long a time, Dell is deified as the JIT paradigm. However, criticism surfaced as more an more PC manufacture seek the other way to corner Dell in marketplace. That’s the personalized ear bestowed other PC vendors a new chance to beat Dell. HP for example, would hawk Personalized Computer and paint laptop and desktop vivid colors to enliven the computer as the emblem of personal character rather than bleak machine. A rabid surge of industrial design followed by the success of Motorola Razor cell phone worldwide has led the world business leader a strong belief of the design as integral part of wining strategy.

 

Then Dell seems falling behind the tides of personalization. Has Dell? No. The Dell guys are smart enough to gather new edge. There came the ideastorm.com. Dell is gathering and garnering ideas from worldwide customers! The categories of Ideas amounts to over 30, covering from products to sales to marketing, and even to environment issue and corporate affairs. Even a category dubbed WOMAN INTEREST definitely devoted to woman computer users. What an exploiter of Dell! The cheapest way to exploit worldwide talents at low cost! And customers are telling Dell every secret of winning business all over the world as long as they speak and write in English! No wonder you can get dizzy by a shining and flamboyant outer face of a Dell laptop carried by someone in a city train!

 

Another success user of idea.com is starbucks. My Starbucks Idea also directs confluence of customer talents into the downcast Starbucks business. You can get a feel of starbucks idea.com at http://mystarbucksidea.force.com/apex/ideaHome. This portal offers every Starbucks coffee lover a place for making Starbucks coffee and cafeteria personalized and drive every bit of profit on the long tail of coffee consumption to the hand of Starbucks. Categorized under three main themes, Product, Experience and Involvement, Starbucks, although as a follower of Dell, definitely started to win solid grounds in marketplace after reporting of business loss early this year.

 

It’s no wonder the demand of digital marketing professionals has roared and dominated the marketplace in west part of this global. With the penetration of web 2.0 into grass-root in this hemisphere and having taken solid hold of general customers, and the negative influence of economy deterioration, on-line avenue has appealed more and more marketing and advertising fund since the power of Google has crunched the business world in English speaking countries.

 

The Long Tail era of mass communication has come! And digital communication is wining the majority of marketing strategy. One oversight of the engulfing trend would lead to nowhere but a defeat in worldwide business world. And a genius utilization of this trend can supply one with the most ambitious and cheapest victory ever can be imagined in the history of business world!

Jane Austen and Web 2.0

What’s the connection between Jane Austen and Web 2.0? Recently, circulation of Google’s manipulation and retrieval of personal data blatantly has shocked privacy advocacy groups. Since the birth of Gmail, tides of protests against Google’s screening of personal emails and juxtaposing relevant ads along sides headlines of emails have surged and spread all over the world. And all of sudden, even the ordinary users of google with minimum or little knowledge of computer privacy had begun to worry about their lives already being digitalized onto google database without consciousness. And this remind me of the linkage between Jane Austen’s novel and the era of Web 2.0, the so-called internet revolutionary overhauling the whole human being society, it’s a time to call upon the narrative techniques of euphemism, circumlocution, even verbiage and excess decorum when one comes to the small input box on google.com and several other portals by LinkedIn, FaceBook, Myspace, etc.

 

It’s not a metaphorical expression. One may be disillusioned by my correlation. Yes, when one flips the pages of Jane Austin novels, the deep impression of overwhelming employed euphemism, circumlocution and sometimes verbiage would provide one with the luxury of language and euphoria of sheer moment of reading. Yet, the obscurities incurred thereupon may force one to the ends of his/her wits in order to generate meaningful understanding besides language aestheticism. However, most of the time, the narration of Jane Austin is much like a gem, only providing elusive reflections, giving one a vague grasp of the subtleties and an angled reception of her novel. Unlike nowadays’ American literature and writing style, which gives explicit and direct points and let reader a crystal clear understanding of the purpose by writer, with easy words and sentences running, literature in 17^th century of Britain has a affinity to an oil-painting or a piece of music composition intending to evoke empathy and echoes lingering around instead of the serving of fast food without or just a transient taste.

 

However, such long avoided writing style or excessive social decorum reflected in writing has found its way into internet world. A user of google nevertheless leaves his trail online, all of the search key words contributed to a truly self unknown even to the user himself. Unscrupulously, and unceremoniously, the searching key words left behind constructed a user behavior and psychological state result in a very closeness to ego and super-ego as the theory of Sigmund formed centuries ago. And a secret leaner such as google crawler can easily do the personality-wide analysis bases on one’s recent search key words via the IP address being used. And sometimes, privacy issues engendered in this manner. Even sexual propensity can be revealed without the ego knowing of it. And once the IP address can be linked to personal data such as name, address, and occupation, the plaintiff would have been ill-disposed to super disadvantage points and disaster to personal life. Such case was not rare in era of Web 2.0. And by this newly emerged consumer need that the power of Jane Austin comes into aide.

 

So, instead of input one or two words for the search engine churning out desired results, one may consider more words combination and often tangent descriptive adjectives support the purpose of searching. Consider the juggernaut application of google, even sometimes the use of antonym can cut right into the heart without the slightest indication of provenance. For example, one wants to apply ‘marriage problem’ as search words, in stead, one may use ‘matrimony issue’, or ‘detriment to the male part of a family bondage’ or any creative ways to denote the idea as long as he could compose or as circumlocutory as he may craft. In this way, one can reduce the exposure of the original purpose or pull a disguise against outside malicious intruders. Not only google, but many other Web 2.0 applications can be a healthy adopter of this Jane Austen anti-intrusion communication technique. Online members talking to each other in this way tremendously eliminate the traces of conversation logged and stored on servers and many other secret places across the half of globe. Although some software or browsers provide trace-eraser function, the history of traces could always be recovered on host servers or some juncture notes on internet since data replication and redundancy and backup technology have been vastly deployed by internet service providers and infrastructure builders, it’s only knowledge of knowing of its existence making the difference.

 

Such a need has already sprung from massive internet users. The transformation of internet colloquial style is only a mere matter of time. People will inevitably start using the Jane Austen’s language decorum for a cover of their privacy requirement. Although such a splendid language cloak as Jane Austen managed to put together would be a difficult for the result of modern English education, especially when language skills had degraded long since Jane Austen’s time. However, a revival is not out of anticipation. And this would produce huge impact on the new internet language behavior. Once such mode is formed and influence heavily on later internet generations, all the website will have to face a herculean task of overhauling all their website language to meet the revived search key words style as a adoption of euphemism, circumlocution, and verbiage, etc.

Olympic Ads Campaign: Go World, Go China

Among the main melodies of 2008 Olympic Game in China, there is another field of interest receives better entertainment less then the sports game itself. But this minor competing field is the main stadium for worldwide marketers. The Olympic Ad Campaign.

 

Sometimes, my attention is drawn to this GE ad featuring a dragon fired up a water pot for the hot shower water bathing Chinese villagers down hill slope. It’s a commercial ad for GE Energy business and running during this golden Olympic Game on NBC channel. It’s receives better eyeball hit rates and among the top runners.

 

Another fascinating ad from this Olympic Ads formation is the Coco-Cola’s Birds Nest commercial. This one is really amazing for its creative idea and animated storytelling without a single word. Several lovely cartoon birds sneak around and steal straws from bottles of Coco-Cola and build a mimic smaller sized Bird’s Nest right beside the real spectacular. This commercial features “Live Olympic on the Coco side of life”. It’s really a maverick and nuts but a good hit as well.

 

As I went through the collection of Olympic Ad commercials by WallStreetJournal website, another TV ad caught my eyes. This one is from MacDonald’s. Two kids, a boy and a girl, fight for a piece of MacDonald’s fried chicken wing using chopsticks as weapon. Kong fu meshing up with featured scenes of China hot spots such as Great Wall over a piece of MacDonald’s fried chicken wing does spark a fresh view of combining western and eastern culture.

 

Under the Beijing Olympic umbrella, many creative marketing ideas are shedding off from the two words: World and China. It’s not a presumption but a reality that the hurricane of Beijing Olympic is roaming over this planet and bringing down as many hackneyed even hostile beliefs towards China as possible.

 

Go World, Go China. The 2008 Beijing Olympic Game is the 9^th flattener flattening this world.

 

You can go to http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1716410664?bclid=1716449663&bctid=1729900362 for viewing of the Olympic Ads Compaign Collection.

Lenovo marketing’s Olympic Quagmire

As I was cruising internet for some sparkplugs of my today’s blog, a mild critique article came into my eyes. This article by Steve Hamm commenting on Lenovo’s Olympic TV ads intrigued me some further exploration of these TV commercials by myself. Published by the BusinessWeek Asian version, Steve does bring some interesting views to readers. However, after my own inspection, I’d say the once marketing vanguard in China now is running into a quagmire of culture difference in the marketplace of US.

 

Several years ago, I was quiet familiar with the marketers of Lenovo when I was in my post as associate-chief-editor of China Information Weekly. The once marketing lead, VP of marketing, Lan Li briefed a group of journalist of the christening of Lenovo from its old predecessor, Legend, with me in the front row. And the once CEO of Lenovo, Yuanqing Yang, now the Chairman, took efforts of talking about the metamorphosis that the management was expecting for its then globalization initiatives. They did it in a methodical way. And the then PR of Lenovo handled by a local PR firm, Blue Focus, was systematic and consistent. The messages designed were not that persuasive since little material support from then productlines of Lenovo available, but the message matrix still worked. I remembered a full two pages coverage I accomplished in favor of the new orientation of globalization and the new brand name, Lenovo.

 

I thought Levono knew marketing since a so good performance they achieved in China marketplace based on the solid groundwork of marketing promotion mix they pioneered and invested so heavily. And after my leaving reporter life and continuing my career line in global PR firm, Hill and Knowlton, I lost my tight attention once paid to Lenovo. But a light news reading of Lenovo now and then provided me some amusement and a content heart paying tribute to these pathfinders led by Yuanqing Yang. Later on, I learnt about the buyout of IBM PC business, and the PR affairs handed over to Ogilvy, a global PR and advertising firm under the WPP group. And my employer, Hill and Knowlton, is a sibling of Ogilvy. From that point on, I gradually diverted my attention away off Lenovo and only scarcely caught some insider info during the gatherings with the PR people from Lenovo and its former local PR firm. And at the end of a certain length of time, when nearly all the old PR and advertising veteran of Lenovo either left by self-will or got laid off because of internal forces, I was at the end of connection with Lenovo.

 

Now, nearly three years after my journalist life in China, and now I am in Chicago after my MBA study, and the occasion of Beijing Olympic Games once again brought Lenovo into my life. And this unexpected encounter was first spotted on TV screen. The “Sumo” TV commercial mentioned in Steve’s article. Yeah, it’s witty and edgy but quite a nerve to bring upon a maverick commercial without much consideration and respect for the occasion. It’s Beijing Olympic Game, not the Super-bowl that the TV ads are targeting. It’s not a competing venue for creativity and innovation of advertising ideas as far as an Olympic Game could provide. Also, the use of Japanese sumotori most of the time gave me a wrong impression of Lenovo as a Japanese company. Above all, I couldn’t find any Chinese element in all Lenovo’s TV commercials as you can find on http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/special-offers.workflow:ShowPromo?LandingPage=/All/US/Landing_pages/Info/08/Olympics_Lenovo-partner&ipromoID=hpb00270& . If all the other sponsors are enforcing and maximizing the leverage and connection with Beijing Olympic Game by adding Chinese elements, why there is no any such trace in Lenovo’s TV commercials? By the way, Lenovo is by any means the best fit advertiser utilizing the Chinese element as branding cannon for such an occasion as Beijing Olympic Game could justify.

 

Yes, that’s the truth; no legacy has been inherited when marketing is concerned by US team. As an outsider and a old friend of Legend, the former Lenovo, I have to pity this big mistake. Heritage should not be cut off entirely, and history should be a good use and guidance for present and future activity. Even cross culture. In the four Lenovo Olympic TV commercials for US market, Chinese element has been wiped out completely. And the message couldn’t appeal in an impressive way to audience and some vagueness throw ordinary viewers like me into perplexity.

 

Besides the TV commercials, I do vote for the initiatives by Lenovo on blog front. As you can find from this link: http://summergames.lenovo.com/?language=en. Many a time when I was in PR professional in China, I and my colleagues used to talk about the approach of new media. Seldom a paragon could be found to inspire us back then and could be of practical usage. A friend from Hill and Knowlton Korean office showed my some achievements of blogging tactics designed for LG Chocolate mobile phone PR campaign. Though a minor composition, and mostly from self-entertain purpose as so to draw little investment, my friend did satisfy herself with some progress on new media study and influence observation. So, backed with this background, I do offer my appreciation for the blog sphere of Voice of Olympic Games dedicated by Lenovo marketing initiatives. However, the landing page is lackluster as my first impression. Simply applying encyclopedic way of organizing content, listing entries by language, sport, and country could be of no contribution to reader’s hunger appetite. At least, a rating selection by page-click number would provide much a highlight to any first surfer. Another organization approach of content could be by presenting the best anecdotes from the Game by athlete bloggers or personal photo competition. In a word, the athlete blog space hasn’t been under a well-designed manner and the best and most interested attraction haven’t been highlighted as to eye-catching purpose and longer stay of viewer. And the most important of all, no message of Lenovo could be found in an outstanding way. No significant corporate branding message or product line message is to be identified after my several clicks. The orientation of pages seems to be designed without guidance for viewer’s behavior. I just randomly jump between pages without any purpose to lead and soon I get weary out. Less productive a blog as this one is.

 

Obviously, a problem unresolved remains in front of Lenovo marketing team. The culture difference still a road-block necessitates a cross culture marketing team. The sentiment, the delicacy, the telepathy, all of the culture psychological needs call for a better understanding of different country, nation and people. And the heritage should not be discarded away so easily, and an ingenious and innovated application of past in combination of today’s situation could create an opening for a truly new landscape and era that Lenovo shall eagerly and happily enter into.