August 31st, 2010

Angstro acquired by Google

Angstro, a startup that sorts news and information across social networks such as Facebook, has been acquired by Google Inc. according to a spokesman for the leading web search provider.

Microsoft, on the other hand, has announced partnerships with Facebook and Twitter for offering real time search results.

From Economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Palo Alto-based Angstro has developed applications to find photos on Facebook, combine Caller ID with LinkedIn profiles and other tools for Twitter, according to the company’s website.

“The struggle for open, interoperable social networks is still only just beginning,” Angstro co-founder Rohit Khare said in a blog post last week.

Google, which runs the top search engine in the United States with more than two-thirds of the market, did not disclose the terms of the agreement.

The Angstro deal underscores the importance to Google of social networks in an increasingly competitive Internet search arena which it dominates.

Last week, Google launched a website for users who want to sift through news, comments and other information on the Internet in real time, letting them follow conversations on social network hubs like Facebook and Twitter in one place.

The Angstro deal follows Google acquisitions earlier this year of small startups such as Plink, which makes visual search engines, and video broadcaster Episodic.

August 28th, 2010

Marketing concept needs to be reassessed

According to a marketing summit organized by CII, there is a need to relook at the traditional concept of a firm’s marketing department keeping in view the growing focus on the consumer.

Andre Nair, CEO, WPP Marketing, added that the idea was to reach a target audience that wouldn’t be reached in an efficient manner via conventional media.

From Timesofindia.indiatimes.com:

“Marketing in the present scenario needs rapid changes, if it has to survive,” said Ramesh Vangal, chairman, CII marketing & brand committee.

And, companies are debating on restructuring marketing divisions and turning them consumer-centric. Increasingly, shareholders are looking at return on investment, keeping in mind market-spends by companies.

Hero Honda MD Pawan Kant Munjal said a serious effort was needed to differentiate one’s brand when consumers are bombarded with 200 brand messages per day.

Vangal said Nirma came out with a new strategy to take on HLL, which had an impact. ”Underdogs have a chance to survive, provided they chart innovative ideas.”

The summit discussed ways to go rural and survival strategies for matured brands, at a time when product life cycle is shrinking.

Sue Evans, member of CII marketing & brand committee, said new concepts are being looked up by established brands and P&G in the United States have found that concepts like marketing, advertising, branding, product innovation and CRM don’t work anymore.

August 21st, 2010

Estate planning or Will – Which one is better

If you are about to name the new heir to your property and accumulated belongings, it is recommended that you opt for estate planning and not for making wills.

In this piece of information, we will be reading why estate planning is considered to be better than making wills.

From Economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Estate Planning is a process of accumulating and disposing of your wealth, be it cash, shares or property in a systematic and predetermined manner to a certain beneficiary/beneficiaries of your choice. This process is carried out through the Trust route.

The testator sets up a Trust, which is manned by trustees appointed by him/her. The idea is to appoint third party trustees, so that the asset transfer process is carried out in a neutral manner. This also helps in maintaining the confidentiality of the Will.

The first step to estate planning is making a will. You have the option of transferring your assets to your legal heirs either through will or estate planning. Estate planning will gain ground in India because even today a large percentage of Wills get challenged.

When Wills are challenged, it leaves individual beneficiaries and families in disarray. If an individual carries out succession planning through Trusts, in one’s life time, then the possibility of loopholes is minimal. Moreover, an individual is perishable not the entire trust. There are evidences of deceit by individual lawyers at the time of the execution of Will. So setting up of a Trust will help especially those individuals who have a high net worth.

All in all, estate planning is any day better than making wills so that peace and harmony stay with your special ones.

August 20th, 2010

Barclays settlement termed as sweetheart deal by US Judge

A federal judge considering the settlement between Barclays Bank Plc and the Justice Department in context to criminal charges that the bank violated U.S. trade sanctions called it a “sweetheart deal.”

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan said at a hearing that he was concerned about the settlement in which the bank has agreed to pay an amount of $298 million to resolve charges over its dealings with banks in Cuba, Iran, Libya, Sudan and Myanmar.

From in.news.yahoo.com:

“This is a sweetheart deal,” he said, adding that the average American citizen who gets caught robbing a bank does not get a deferred prosecution agreement like Barclays’.

“This concerns the court, and that should concern the government too,” Sullivan said.

The judge also questioned whether it amounted to a fine if the bank only paid back the money involved, and he said he wanted fuller answers at another hearing scheduled for Wednesday.

A Justice Department attorney defended the agreement and said the amount of money was “beyond what they earned.”

The London-based bank was charged with violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Trading with the Enemy Act as a result of $500 million in illegal transactions from 1995 through 2006, according to court documents filed on Monday.

Sullivan said that this is concerning for the court and should also be concerning the government.

A federal judge considering the settlement between Barclays Bank Plc and the Justice Department in context to criminal charges that the bank violated U.S. trade sanctions called it a “sweetheart deal.”

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan said at a hearing that he was concerned about the settlement in which the bank has agreed to pay an amount of $298 million to resolve charges over its dealings with banks in Cuba, Iran, Libya, Sudan and Myanmar.

From in.news.yahoo.com:

“This is a sweetheart deal,” he said, adding that the average American citizen who gets caught robbing a bank does not get a deferred prosecution agreement like Barclays’.

“This concerns the court, and that should concern the government too,” Sullivan said.

The judge also questioned whether it amounted to a fine if the bank only paid back the money involved, and he said he wanted fuller answers at another hearing scheduled for Wednesday.

A Justice Department attorney defended the agreement and said the amount of money was “beyond what they earned.”

The London-based bank was charged with violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Trading with the Enemy Act as a result of $500 million in illegal transactions from 1995 through 2006, according to court documents filed on Monday.

Sullivan said that this is concerning for the court and should also be concerning the government.

August 14th, 2010

Legal monitoring of BlackBerry data will be allowed in India

Research In Motion, the maker of BlackBerry mobile devices, has announced that it will be allowing security agencies from India only to do legal data monitoring of its subscribers. It is worth noting here that India has already asked RIM to offer access to e-mail and messenger data or face ban.

The Canada-based Research In Motion (RIM) said in a statement that it allows carriers to access data only in cases of national security incidents and that too only as governed by the country’s judicial oversight and rules of law.

From in.news.yahoo.com:

India has threatened to shut down BlackBerry e-mail and instant messaging services by August 31, unless RIM granted security agencies the technology to decrypt BlackBerry communications, citing national security concerns.

Although some experts have said that RIM’s decision to only allow access to its data when ordered to do so by a judge might be problematic in certain countries where the judiciary is less than impartial, the company said that it maintains a “consistent global standard for lawful access requirements that does not include special deals for specific countries”.

“Although RIM cannot disclose confidential regulatory discussions that take place with any government, RIM assures its customers that it genuinely tries to be as cooperative as possible with governments in the spirit of supporting legal and national security requirements, while also preserving the lawful needs of citizens and corporations,” RIM said.

India, having an estimated one million BlackBerry subscribers, wants access in a readable format to encrypted BlackBerry communication on grounds that it could be used by militant forces.

August 11th, 2010

Developing Marketing Plan Budget

In this YouTube video, Mike Mitchell talks about easy yet highly effective ways for developing and implementing marketing plan budget. This video emphasizes upon types of advertising that can be utilized by businesses in their quest to stay ahead of the competition and build credibility with existing and potential customers.

August 7th, 2010

Request for bankruptcy protection filed by Mexican airline

The largest airline of Mexico, Mexicana de Aviacion, has announced that it has filed for bankruptcy protection in Mexico and the U.S. after flight attendants and pilots rejected a deal for cutting pay and staffing.

Mexicana has filed the request in a Mexico City court for restructuring its cost and insure company’s viability. It was disclosed by the company that insolvency law of Mexico allows Mexicana to maintain its operations while trying for a solution for its financial problems.

From Timesofindia.indiatimes.com:

Mexicana said it filed Monday in a Mexico City court “to restructure its cost and insure the viability of the company.” Mexico’s insolvency law will allow Mexicana to keep operating while it tries to solve its financial problems, the company said.

The airline also filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy in a New York court saying it needs protection from creditors who may want to seize its US assets.

“Action against Mexicana’s aircraft or airport terminal operations and equipment would seriously disrupt Mexican’s efforts to restructure its affairs,” Maru E. Johansen, Mexicana’s U.S. vice president for legal affairs and corporate affairs, said in court papers.

Creditors in the US and Canada worried about Mexicana’s financial situation had three of the airline’s aircraft grounded last week.

Johansen said the company was badly hit by the swine flu outbreak last year. Mexicana “suffered losses as a result of a flu epidemic that had a severe, immediate and unexpected impact upon Mexican tourism and business-related trips and travel,” he wrote.

Mexicana carried approximately 11.1 million passengers in 2009 and flies to more than 65 national and international destinations.

August 4th, 2010

Target Marketing Creates Great Revenues

To optimize target marketing resources we need effective budget acting on selected market. Target marketing is an effective way to reach to customers. Target marketing is another efficient method to generate revenue. Once you know your customers it is better to communicate and deal with them. Knowing the consumer base in detail will enhance the ability and the standard of the company. To identify target markets one should be aware of the four key dimensions i.e.

  1. Geographics: it clearly categorizes the customers on the basis of location, size of the area, density, and climate zone.
  2. Demographics: in this the customer is categorized according to the age, gender, income, family composition and size, occupation, and education.
  3. Psychographics: describes the general personality, behavior, life-style, and rate of use, repetition of need, benefits sought, and loyalty characteristics of the customers.
  4. Behaviors: The consumer needs are fulfilled according to the level of knowledge, information sources, attitude, use or response to a product

The behavior of the customer is one of the important aspects while focusing on target marketing. The behavior of the market decides the need for the product. Target marketing has seen a number of benefits such as it save time, money, effort as well as resources. Also you may see an increase in income, investment and helps in better productivity and ability of the owner.

Target marketing is a way to reach to customers, know their needs, create awareness, use fewer resources and generate bigger revenues.

July 28th, 2010

Time for changing marketing concept

According to a marketing summit organized by CII (Confederation of Indian Industry), it is time for relooking the traditional concept of a marketing department in a business. This change in approach was attributed to the growing focus on the consumer.

It was remarked by Ramesh Vangal, chairman, CII marketing & brand committee that marketing needs quick changes to survive in the present scenario.

From Timesofindia.indiatimes.com:

Vangal said Nirma came out with a new strategy to take on HLL, which had an impact. ‘‘Underdogs have a chance to survive, provided they chart innovative ideas.’’

The summit discussed ways to go rural and survival strategies for matured brands, at a time when product life cycle is shrinking.

Andre Nair, CEO, WPP Marketing, added that the idea was to reach a target audience which could not be reached efficiently through conventional media.

Nestle India CMD Carlo Donati said rural phenomenon was gaining critical mass in India. ‘‘We are talking about a potential market of 700 million people.’’

‘‘In a hyper-competitive market, there is a need for new strategies to win the battle. Recently P&G in the US found that marketing, advertising, branding, product innovation and CRM don’t work anymore. Established brands look for new concepts,’’ said Sue Evans, member of CII marketing & brand committee.

The prevalent changes in marketing approach are expected to motivate businesses to restructure their marketing divisions and making them focused on consumers.

July 22nd, 2010

FIFA World Cup is a global marketing opportunity

The FIFA quadrennial tournament — the World Cup – is an event that attract attention of billions of people (read potential customers) worldwide and this is evident from the fact that global advertisers do not want to leave any available opportunity, small or big, to make the most from the most followed sports in the globe.

The FIFA World Cup, which showcases 90 minutes of high octane action with every match, is one of the best opportunities before businesses to promote their products and services and advertisers do not complain as they get results beyond expectations while investing in marketing campaigns during the World Cup.

From Economictimes.indiatimes.com:

One doesn’t know if it is the love for the game of football or an attempt to play away from the herd, that’s got Nadia Chauhan, joint MD of Parle Agro to be tightfisted on IPL but park an impressive Rs 10 crore as marketing monies on FIFA World Cup? “Did you know that ninety-four brands advertised during the IPL? But only the top three advertisers in the IPL receive any kind of value from their expenditure. For everyone else, it’s really not worth it,” she says.

One will have to wait for the end of the month long spectacle when excel sheets are evaluated to understand if swimming against the tide has helped the company’s brands like Frooti, Appy and LMN. For now, Chauhan is confident about her decision to not jump on the cricket sponsorship bandwagon and instead use football and the World Cup as the platform.

With global advertising spending expected to touch a staggering figure of Rs. 6000 crores and audience of more than 3 billion, there is no reason for advertisers to complain.

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