News

With increasing numbers of organisations moving to the cloud, it is important that businesses fully understand that even in new technological environments they still have to remain compliant with data protection legislation. In line with this the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has recently published guidance that helps businesses by setting out the potential risks, detailing practical steps for customers to follow when selecting a cloud provider and it will serve as an important remind

  Culture has a major impact on shaping the values, assumptions, and behaviour of individuals and organizations in society. What is more, each of us views the world according to our own cultural biases. However, when looking to export into a new market, it is vital not to make the assumption that everyone in all countries views their world like you do. The culture of a country will impact significantly on the success or failure of your expansion into a new territory and you ignore its impact at your peril.   The use of local market knowledge is priceless. Understanding the culture impacts the way you communicate both verbally, in terms of tone and approach, and also visually, and you need to make sure you use the design and creative style that is appropriate to that market place when creating your marketing materials. Also, don’t forget to consider that colours have their own non-verbal impact on communication and those meanings can vary from country to country. e.g. White is the colour of mourning in Japan while black has similar symbolism in the USA and Europe.   To read more about cultural factors and how to expand successfully into International markets take a look at my article “The Keys to Successful International Marketing” published this month in Direct Commerce magazine.    

No! Google translate won’t do! If you are looking to translate your marketing materials or your website into the language of your potential export market then the investment in good relevant translation will pay off many times over.   I have recently been involved in a Linked-in discussion on international business and some people were advocating the use of Google translate to translate marketing materials and websites. This is really not the right thing to do. Whilst Google translate can help in getting the gist of a subject, if you receive an e-mail in a foreign language, for example. It is, however, not the right tool if you wish to develop successful international marketing.   Similarly, even though English is quoted as being the global business language, it really is far from the truth. Also, it is impossible for you to second guess and dangerous for you to make assumptions on the level of English fluency of your target audience. Marketing in the local language always gives you the best opportunity for success.   To read more about how to expand successfully into International markets take a look at my article “ The Keys to Successful International Marketing” published this month in Direct Commerce magazine.      

  There are a number of key areas that all businesses should consider when looking to start marketing their products or services internationally. One of the most fundamental of these is ensuring that you carry out effective market research.   However, I have seen many businesses, particularly the smaller ones, who have skimped on their market research only to pay the price later on. It really pays dividends to invest in good market research in the initial stages, before making your decision on whether to launch into a new market or not. To discover that there isn’t a market for what you are selling, or realizing that your product/service is too advanced for that market, or finding that competition is too tough is something you really need to know before you waste good money.   The more in-depth market research that you carry out up front, the less risk you are taking in launching into a new market.   To find out more you can read my article “ The Keys to Successful International Marketing” published this month in Direct Commerce Magazine.    

  HSBC is to launch a £4bn fund that will lend to small and medium-sized businesses that trade internationally.   The aim is to capture the benefit of increasing global trade conducted by British SMEs with a turnover of up to £25m.   Companies in the UK that are looking to expand their business into a new market overseas could benefit from the funding that is becoming available.   This is good news for companies who are considering launching into a new market overseas as it could provide the stimulus to make them actually take that action this year.   Research by HSBC found that businesses which trade internationally are forecast to recover quicker and earlier than previously expected.    

Sue Barnes, STB Direct Marketing Ltd, will be speaking at the emita event - Internationalising your Business. This event, run be East Midlands International Trade Association (emita), is aimed at promoting international trade and export expertise amongst the region's businesses.   The event will be held at the National College for School Leadership in Nottingham on May 15th 2012 between 09.00 and 14.30.   Come along and listen to Sue share the hard-earned wisdom of many years successful overseas marketing. STB Direct Marketing Ltd was emita's member of the month -  August 2011.    

STB Direct Marketing Ltd look forward to meeting far sighted companies looking to expand in and across Europe at the TFM&A Exhibition on 28th & 29th February at Earls Court Exhibition Centre, London. Read more  - Technology for Advertising & Marketing Exhibition

After several delays already The European Commission has once again postponed the adoption of a legislative proposal for the review of the Data Protection Directive. The text, which was planned to be published by November this year, is now set for the end of the year, and more than likely it slip into early January 2012.We can probably assume that the longer the text is delayed, the more issues regarding data protection the European Commission is going to be looking at.   The draft, which is developed by the Data protection unit, within the European Commission, still has to be circulated internally among all the Commission’s Directorates General for comments, in the so-called inter-service consultation before publication. We will be keeping an interested watch on the future developments of this legislative proposal.    

It was very interesting to read the results of some recent research carried out by GI Insight that shows that direct mail remains a powerful tool for driving online traffic.

We have just been informed, by Royal Mail, that they are delaying implementation (Royal Mail branding coming on all machine sorted mail) pending further consultation! If we hear more we will keep you posted.

Royal Mail has said that all machine sorted mail from September 2011 will feature the mark” Delivered by Royal Mail.”

The Directive on Consumer Rights has now been adopted

The European Commission legislative proposal for Data Protection

While drafting a new paper on Integrated Marketing I identified these two pieces of research into the benefits of an integrated approach to marketing activity.

Small and medium sized businesses can breathe a sigh of relief at this news.

STB have moved!   Following a great year, using direct marketing (amongst other tools) to bring clients success in a wide range of industries and market places all around Europe, STB Direct Marketing Ltd out-grew their previous offices and have moved. STB can now be found at: Regus House Herald Way Pegasus Business Park Castle Donington DE74 2TZ Contact Details are: Tel : +44 (0) 1509 670567 Fax: +44 (0) 1332 638001 E-mail : [email protected]

Royal Mail Launch Advertising Mail in May 2011. This discount scheme for advertising mail is due to be rolled out to retail customers while improving the existing offering to wholesale customers such as DSA’s. What effect will this have on direct marketing in the UK?

On January 1, 11 member states of the European Union ended their postal monopolies, Under the terms of the European Union's Third Postal Directive, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain joined the other six countries that have already ended the postal monopoly rights for their traditional national carrier -  Estonia, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom. In these nations, the last and largest reserved area of the mail – letters up to 50 grams – are open to competition. As a result, some 95 percent of the EU’s internal postal market is liberalized.

With a further 11 European countries ending their postal monopolies, this should be good news for direct mailers.  In theory over the longer term, as competition develops, this should bring lower postage costs as has already been seen in the UK. However, to date this has been slow to develop in many of the other liberalized countries.

The remaining ten EU member states, who are new entrants to the European Union – Cyprus, Czech Republic, Luxemburg, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia however, have been granted an additional two years to implement full liberalization in their countries.

Royal Mail is aiming to encourage advertisers to try new direct mail tactics to boost the performance of their marketing campaigns.

Find out how to maximise the benefit of this offer.

The postal operator has today announced its second DM Sale, offering 20 per cent discount on new or additional mail volumes throughout March and April 2011. It follows the success of Royal Mail’s first-ever DM Sale earlier this year.

And new for the 2011 DM Sale is the opportunity for marketers to receive a discount when they try even more creative campaigns in a larger size or with samples.

iDi London Marketers Forum - Monday April 27th, 2009We will be at the iDi London Industry debate on Monday 27th April 24, 2009.

iDi New York STB Direct Marketing attended the iDi Marketers Forum in New York. This is our review of the event.