Like everything, obvious when it slaps you round the face.

Here I am, speaking at an industry event in Helsinki.

There is snow everywhere except the pavements around all the major tourist hotspots.

How?

Underfloor heating. Under-pavement heating.

Supposedly some people complain about the energy use and cost but, as a tourist, it creates an amazing first impression.

Makes you think, doesn’t it?

Three veteran divas Hong Nhung, My Linh, Thanh Lam and singers Duc Tuan, Ngoc Mai and the band of musician Vinh Tam came together to celebrate Trinh Cong Son’s life together with the crowd. And, their collective voices singing the song “Noi vong tay lon” (Open our arms wide in a great circle) got them into the record books for the largest number of people (30,000) singing together, as certified by the Vietnam Record Book Centre.

This musical night was organized by the late musician’s family in collaboration with Le Bros Company, a member of the Worldwide Partners network.

These days, a lot of renewals are happening in Saudi Arabia. And many of them appear to have a direct impact on the advertising industry.

“Younger” clients and talents

In 2005, King Abdullah realized a government scholarship program to send young people from Saudi to get their degrees in Western universities. Now, seven years later, more local Saudis are returning back after studying overseas. They have obtained more than just degrees. They’ve received new ways of life, new ideas – and they want to see a change in the advertising industry from both perspectives.

Some are now making these changes and bringing in their fresh ideas, while others now realize the possibilities and diversity of the ad industry and are willing to try these ideas out on their businesses.

So, as the clients recognize the younger demographics of the country, they want to see more of this local talent working with them. And as it all evolves, boutique consultancies and ad agencies are setting up shops and seeing more clients walk in. Now the clients of the ad agencies more than ever before are ready to take risks and use gimmicks.

Tweens and their phablets
“They are addicted and the addiction is catching up.”

Modern technologies and their main users, local youngsters, are creating the number one opportunity in the advertising industry. Facts are speaking for themselves.

According to Arab Advisors Group 2012, Smartphones constitute 54.6% of total cellular handsets.

Parties, gatherings, hook-ups, sports events, everything is coordinated on Facebook, Twitter, BB Messenger – sometimes by invitation only.

Brands want to be at the forefront by making use of App development. So App developers are popping up – even via overseas contracts.

Social media
“Social Media is the buzzword in the Saudi advertising industry today.”

According to TNS 2011, Saudi Arabia has the highest online engagement rate and YouTube viewership in the world, which represents an incredible potential for the ad industry.

A key benchmark for social media effectiveness can be seen through an increase in web traffic.

Expectations are over-inflated – everyone wants an “Arab Spring” coverage for their brand.

Local agencies

On par with other global markets, pure ad agencies no longer exist in Saudi – everyone wants to offer everything and anything instead of focusing.

More and more non-Arabic speakers (non-Saudis) are leading marketing teams, bringing in their own accent.

Women are finally adding a much needed “feminine” touch.

Cultural taboos
“The blurry line is in between of what’s allowed and what’s not.”

Being in the very heart of the Islamic world, the motherland of every Muslim, Saudi Arabia is often perceived purely as a country of strict laws that seem to be the main braking element in the process of modernization. Although time passes and things change, not everyone remembers to update their views.

Nowadays, the government’s abuse on any right is immediately attacked on social sites.

Clients are pushing the boundaries with less fear of punishment.

Market conditions

Current market conditions in Saudi Arabia are also on the advertisers’ side. Several factors must be highlighted:

An increase in cross-platform promotions.

Municipalities are clamping down on misrepresentation in communications and putting greater emphasis on consumer protection.

Budget surpluses and dramatic investments in infrastructure projects are also creating opportunities, especially for the ad industry.

However, not everything speaks well for the marketing communications industry in Saudi. The biggest challenge is that some clients still fear global economic conditions. They hesitate to move forward and want to continue to observe trends before making any investments in new media.

In all, the trends mentioned above are helping set Saudi Arabia on a high level when it comes to advertising and makes it a serious player on the world’s advertising stage. Sometimes strict regulations can become a motivating factor to bend the simple creativity and go even beyond it. If you still have doubts, just check out some visuals originated in Saudi Arabia and evaluate their creativity for yourself.

A subtle way to reflect a feminine touch.

Launching the Change Lingerie brand in Saudi Arabia by utilizing the concept behind censorship.

Business Monitor international indicates that Mexico stands out as among the best-positioned markets in Latin America to attract investment and see businesses establish operations over the next several years.  Sadly they also stand out as countries with the worst press.  Mexico is the the second largest economy in Latin America, 13^th largest economy in the world and 11^th in purchasing power parity.  Around 78 million people make up its labour force.

Recent articles from the New York Times as well as the Financial Times features Mexico:

“Mexico has signed 44 free trade agreements — more than any country in the world — which, according to The Financial Times, is more than twice as many as China and four times more than Brazil. Mexico has also greatly increased the number of engineers and skilled laborers graduating from its schools. Put all that together with massive cheap natural gas finds, and rising wage and transportation costs in China, and it is no surprise that Mexico now is taking manufacturing market share back from Asia and attracting more global investment than ever in autos, aerospace and household goods.

“Today, Mexico exports more manufactured products than the rest of Latin America put together,” The Financial Times reported on Sept. 19, 2012. “Chrysler, for example, is using Mexico as a base to supply some of its Fiat 500s to the Chinese market.” What struck me most here in Monterrey, though, is the number of tech start-ups that are emerging from Mexico’s young population — 50 percent of the country is under 29 — thanks to cheap, open source innovation tools and cloud computing. “

Advertising wise, México is an approximately an 11 billion dollar market which continues to be overwhelmingly TV dominated.  There is tremendous growth in areas such as relationship marketing and digital as a result in the growth of a variety of product categories.

So, things are looking good in México…and we are doing great at WPI with our partners Activamente, who themselves are a hub for innovation.

Despite the negative stigma around the term “emerging markets”, a whole lot is happening that will undoubtedly turn the tables on the so-called developed markets – if they don’t continue emerging themselves. According to Zenith OptiMedia, 60% of all global ad expenditure will come from emerging markets as early as 2014. We asked Worldwide Partners Inc. agencies in China, Egypt and Brazil to tell us about the opportunities and challenges they see in advertising and marketing communications in their specific emerging markets.

China – Opportunities

China is one of the fastest growing economies of 7.8% in 2012 and makes up the biggest online market in terms of netizens (538 million in 2012). It boasts the biggest luxury market in the world with 27% of global luxury market volume in 2012 and 34% by 2015.

Consumer confidence is high and domestic consumption is strong. Global brands continue to move their marketing resources to China, so China has an opportunity to help them develop a localized proposition and communicate messages that fit China’s market needs.

Local brands are maturing and look for agencies that can provide international advertising industry practices and strong expertise in marketing consultancy.

China – Challenges

China is not a homogenous market. Foreign brands coming into China need to spend time and resources in order to understand the Chinese culture and traditions, as well as the regional differences and consumer needs that vary by city size.

Plus, advertisers need to understand Chinese advertising regulations and media censorship issues. Media channels are controlled, and consumers do not have access to the same media that other markets may take for granted.

Egypt – Opportunities

For agencies, having clients in stable food and beverage industries is key. These are the markets that are not as easily affected by politics, economy or any other factors that disturb investment, because, as they say, “people will always eat and drink”.

Another opportunity for Egyptian agencies is to get out of “traditional” media and to expand into new media, digital and brand activation projects.

Egypt – Challenges

Due to the political and economical status of Egypt, investors are not encouraged to start new businesses or projects until the situation clears or gets more stable. So advertising agencies unfortunately do not get business opportunities as frequently as they used to.

This is a huge challenge at the moment for all of the local Egyptian ad agencies and they need to get full support from their respective international networks on any coming pitch, as chances of getting new business are very hard these days.

Brazil – Opportunities

Due to the upcoming World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016, the government has a goal to rise the positive image of all Brazilian brands and is eagerly promoting Brazil worldwide.

The factors the country feels will lead to an increase in exports are quality, technology, innovation and sustainability. Therefore, Brazil is being presented strongly as a source of opportunities for those seeking partnerships, sustainable solutions and high growth.

These factors are important to the economy and international politics to create a positive image of a country. In all, Brazilian economic prospects are very optimistic for the upcoming years, especially when it comes to the infrastructure, tourism, transport and the communications industries.

Brazil – Challenges

Opportunities can come from anywhere in the world, especially during these global mega events. Therefore, the challenge is to gain sufficient visibility and relevance for brands.

The brands must be prepared to invest money properly in communications. They need to fully understand the type of message, the medium used and the public being served.

An agility in taking advantage of opportunities that arise, especially when it comes to the use of digital activities and social networks, will help those brands move ahead.

Emerging power

Emerging markets are ones today that are growing sustainably. Estimates indicate a constant growth in ad spend by these emerging nations.

We should not underestimate the “slow” adoption of international advertising styles and media usage by the emerging markets. Rather, for any of us outside the emerging markets, we should appreciate how innovative, creative and achievement oriented these markets have indeed become in a very short time. These are the creative forces that will help our world to emerge into better business thinkers in the future.

The question – What does a phone look like in 2020?

Only a quarter of people said what we know today as a Smartphone.

Nearly half of people felt it would be a device controlled by the eyes.

Mobile devices in the eyes or clothes accounted for nearly 2/3 of peoples expectations  by 2020.

The Lumi findings also covered what people will use mobiles for, what role they will have in business and how business will be different by 2020.

And the other surprising finding – most people in the World would expect (and hope) David Beckham to be European President by 2020!

Beckham to unite Europe!

Scanadu was developed – along with others – with the Tricorder in mind. You know – that device that Star Trek takes down when they see a new alien or McCoy or Scotty want to do a quick scan on one of the Enterprise staff.

Well…this year people can pick up the Scanadu SCOUT, a small $150 palm-sized device, which will scan your vitals in less than a minute, and give you a diagnosis on your smartphone.

Simply hold the SCOUT to your temple, and in ten seconds, it will record a number of your vitals: Heart rate, electrical heart activity, pulse transit time, temperature, heart rate variability, and blood oxygenation. It then transmits this information to an app.

Imagine the implications for any vertical.

Healthcare – sure, but financial services – insurance especially – emergency services, professional sports, manufacturers, private, public – many businesses.

Even for marketing – this makes data collection and analysis much simpler

It was designed so that physicians can devote more of their time to actually treating patients. After all, they’re doctors, not accountants.

Imagine the same for marketers? We can devote more time to marketing. We’re marketers, not accountants.

 2013: Circa 1993

KPIs (key performance indicators): Measurement

Crowd sourcing: Gang bang (excuse me)

Ideation: Brainstorming

Telecommuting: Call in sick

Work, life balance: “Yea, right. It’s advertising”

Invest in us: “Our company won’t pay your agency for any of your time or work, but we’ll give you some cheesy product samples and worthless stock in exchange.”

Sabbatical: “I’m so burned out that I could continue to come into work and attend client meetings stoned out my mind, but if you’re going to pay me to sit on a beach and drink for 8 hours a day, fine, who I am to argue?”

Data Analytics: “Did we meet the sales goals or what?”

ROI: “What, you want us to tell you if the advertising is going to work?!”

Social Media: “I don’t get paid crap to work in the media department, but I sure do love being wined and dined by all the media reps.”

Consumer Conversations: “Going to focus groups tonight; they’d better not kill my ideas…idiots!”

Mobile apps: “Tear that number out of the phone book so I can call ‘em at the next pay phone.”

South By Southwest (SXSW): “Go down two blocks south, turn right at the filling station, then head west for another quarter mile…”

Skinny suits: Pony tails

Effie Award: “Oh, well, it wasn’t creative enough to win a Pencil or a Lion, but at least the client won’t fire us for another year.”

Procurement:  “Hey, Frank, tell Becky to run down the street and get me some smokes.”

Banner ads: “Banners (duh)”

Deliverables: “Make sure the FedEx guy picks up the comps to send to the client by 4.”

The pipeline is full: “We actually have some ideas.”

Walk back our statement: “We lied through our teeth and didn’t think that anyone would notice, but now that they did, oh shit… now what do we tell the client?”

Rich Media: “You want us to advertise on The Super Bowl? Are you crazy; the spots are too rich for our blood.”

Interactive TV: “Sure we can put your ad on Jerry Springer so that all the low-lifes at home can scream and throw food at the TV.”

We’ll be out ‘concepting’: We’ll be out ‘concepting’ (some things never change)

“Don’t grow attached to what you have built. We had to let go of our identity as a web company to follow our users into mobile.” Travis Katz. CEO. Gogobot. 

I so share this phrase, you see so many people get attached to their success and that comfort zone dooms them.  This beginning of 2013 is a good time to review if there is anything that we need to let go and anything new that we need to take up. I guess Susan Lyme. Chairman. Gilt Group really summarizes this: “Change is the new status quo.  No matter how good your business is today some young entrepreneur is working hard to disrupt it.  Next year, I will spend more time soaking up inspiration anywhere I can find it.”   Well, this is a common thread for most of us, Clara Shih, Hearsay Social puts it this way:  The best ideas come from unexpected places.  Next year I am going to take one day a month to visit non technology companies to get inspiration from other industries and organizations.” And yes, change has become a way of life, it seems things will never settle, so the time has come not just to embrace change but also to own it.  “As start up founders, we often wait for things to stop changing, to get to stability.  Instead, live in the moment, and enjoy change as it happens. “

So, what if things are going great for you and you have an amazing growth rate?  I tend to agree with Ben Lerner CEO Thrillist:  “We grew like crazy in 2012, but we had growing pains.  Make sure your structure is efficient before piling more people on top of it.”

Aside from the people who populate the company structure, there is the attitude that should come with it.  I tend to align with Eric Ries, author of the Lean Start Up:  Entrepreneurship is a job title.  “Entrepreneurship is a new corporate function if companies are looking to have teams build new disruptive innovation, each team should have a leader whose business card says “entrepreneur”.  What a great idea!  Account Director-Entrepreneur, for example.

And of course, for everyone who is a communicator, Dennis Crowley FourSquare CEO has the message to give out to all clients:  “Ideas go nowhere if they stay in your head.  Everything has to be communicated to the people who execute on ideas.”

Finally, some tips from Mr. Angry Birds, Mikael Hed, Rovio’s CEO.  The first is patience, Angry Birds is Rovio’s 52^nd. Product…talk about persistence!!! Find an exemplar and do something different. Whereas Disney parlayed cartoons into theme parks—Mr. Disney himself inaugurated Disneyland in 1955, almost 60 years ago—Rovio is pushing cartoons into everyday life.  And leave a few dollars on the table, it might prove to give you great returns.    Free upgrades of Angry Birds created an army of loyal fans.

So, enjoy the journey and rethink the rules.

China is a totally different “social world”

Highlights:

- China has the largest internet population in the world: 700M
- Chinese culture is very different from those of Western countries.
- Chinese is the second largest consumer of luxury products
- Chinese has the most engaged social netizenship in the world.
- Chinese trusts world-of-mouth communication than most of the population in the world.

Insights:

- No business who wants to be really global can ignore China.
- No business who wants to do business in China can ignore social media marketing.

Risks:

- Be very respectful to government and system
- It is easier to spread negative news in China than any other countries. And if negative news is not professionally handled, it can become a crisis and permanently damage brand image.

Other important observations & implications:

1. One-child policy:
Significant increase in spending on parenting products, education, extra-curriculum activities, parenting travel, etc.
Every extended family members will treat the newly-born baby as pearl, and will send the children gifts whenever where are festive seasons.

2. “FACE” value:
Giving face is a compliment while losing face is disastrous.  People want and love to buy and use famous, international while affordable brands.

3. Gifting economy
Chinese love to send gifts to customers, family members, business partners especially in Chinese New Year, Mid-Autumn Festival, birthdays and company anniversaries.

There are opportunities and risks. But you have to embrace them if international brands want to become a social brand in this big nation.