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Major ad houses are struggling to keep up with their clients’ demands. Big budget companies want ads that reach beyond traditional television and print advertising and into spaces that have previously been commercial-free. Here are some of the growing markets for advertising that you’ll see in the coming year.

First, we’re all familiar with online advertising, but this 2008 is the first year when major companies are expected to spend more of their ad budgets on the internet than they do on the radio. By 2010, online commercials are expected to surpass the cost of magazine ads. We’ve previously covered the success of commercials on YouTube, but ad houses are beginning to set up portal websites for clients who want their content to be high-quality and properly branded. A good example of this can be seen on Budweiser’s website, which features a section called “Entertainment on Tap” where visitors can watch their best television commercials. They’ve even started a comedy “station” called Bud.TV, which allows viewers to access humor content with Budweiser branding all over the site.

Consumers will also see screens popping up in all sorts of places where they’ve never been before. CBS has launched an initiative to feature their content on small screens in grocery stores across the nation. According to a press release earlier this month, “CBS Outernet will be able to offer national advertisers the opportunity to target consumers via Ripple’s rapidly growing network of screens that feature community-specific and demographically-tailored lifestyle content from CBS, The New York Times, E! Entertainment and Yahoo!, and others.” Don’t be surprised to find yourself watching CSI as you wait in your doctor’s office; the network has also reached a deal to show their programming and advertising to captive audiences in health care facilities. You also might find something interesting to watch as you pump your gas and wash your car windows. Many gas stations are installing video screens which will give you the latest sports news from ESPN.

As the portals through which advertising is distributed begin to shift, ad firms are also devising new strategies to keep their content relevant. While focus groups and random polls used to be the gold standard, companies are now realizing that consumers don’t always give high-level feedback in these settings. Madison Avenue heavyweights are using observational techniques to reach out to consumers. A good example of this is in the research study done by Saatchi & Saatchi for J.C. Penny. The company sent staffers to the homes of more than 50 women, and rather than conducting surveys, they literally shadowed these consumers, helping with daily errands, chores and shopping. The data they gathered was used to make J.C. Penny’s popular “Every Day Matters” campaign, which produced this award-winning spot to better draw in customers.

As the Web 2.0 generation gains more and more purchasing power, these shifts in the advertising agency will become more drastic and more noticeable. Competitive ad agencies won’t stop at gas stations and supermarkets; we’ll be seeing well-made ads on our cell phones, in our cars, at the gym, and wherever else we spend our time. Hopefully others will follow the lead of Saatchi & Saatchi by producing quality content like this little gem, also for J.C. Penny. Then at least we’ll be entertained in addition to being brainwashed.

About a year ago, Google announced its acquisition of DoubleClick for $3.1 billion. Since that time, the deal had been held up by the Federal Trade Commission due to lobbying efforts by Microsoft and privacy advocates. In December the FTC ruled by a margin of 4 to 1 that Google could move forward with the deal. The fight will now shift focus to Europe, where EU agencies will examine whether the deal violates anti-trust laws.

DoubleClick is a digital advertising firm which specializes in distributing web advertisements like banners and videos. Their system has been compared to a stock exchange, with an auction model that allows web advertisers and publishers to bid on ad space regardless of their affiliation. Google’s current system also features an auction, but only partner websites can participate. The sale of Doubleclick ended a bidding war between Google and Microsoft, which has been trying to compete with Google in the online advertising business. Though $3.1 billion is a much higher price than Google was expected to pay, it could be they went forward with the acquisition to prevent Microsoft from achieving a better position in the internet ad industry. Indeed, as one analyst surmised in this New York Times article, “Keeping Microsoft away from DoubleClick is worth billions to Google.”

The move puts Google in a better position to begin relationship-based ad placement with web publishers and advertisers. Up to this point, Google’s vast ad exchange has been algorithm-based. The combined companies may be able to deliver both search and display ads in one place to DoubleClick’s powerful clients. While the increased competition is what bothered Microsoft, privacy lobbyists also opposed the buy-out because it gives Google high-level access to consumer data.

In an open letter to the FTC, consumer-advocacy group The Center for Digital Democracy wrote, “Indeed, the purpose of Google’s acquisition of DoubleClick is to control a major competitor in order to foreclose any serious competition in the interactive advertising market. There are powerful network effects, involving the collection, analysis, and targeted use of consumer and business behavioral data sets that will be compounded if the merger is approved, effectively eliminating whatever competition is currently viable in the marketplace.”

The worry is that Google will have unrestricted access to consumer behavioral data, and it will give them an unfair advantage over competitors. The Center for Digital Democracy believes the FTC ruling is flawed, saying, “U.S. consumers will have to live under the shadow of an even bigger digital giant, with a privacy time bomb ticking in the background.” Privacy concerns are echoed on popular technology blog Slashdot: “When I saw this headline, all I could think was “Google buys up another chunk of the internet.” Seriously — DoubleClick is everywhere. It’s almost like Google’s trying to become the web.”

The EU now plans to investigate the deal to examine whether it would unfairly squash competition. Google has already pledged to the EU to preserve some of the information-sharing restrictions currently in place at DoubleClick. The folks at Google seem optimistic the acquisition will go through. Chariman and CEO Eric Schmidt says, “The FTC’s strong support sends a clear message: this acquisition poses no risk to competition and will benefit consumers. We hope that the European Commission will soon reach the same conclusion, and we are confident that this deal will deliver more relevant ads for consumers, more choices for advertisers, and more opportunities for website publishers” (Google Press Center).

A few weeks ago, Facebook begun a revolutionary advertising system called Beacon, which would collect data about user’s purchases on outside websites and add them to their Facebook profiles, through the news feed/mini feed functions. The original goal for Beacon was, “to build a simple product to let people share information across sites with their friends”
(Facebook blog). The service would tell your friends what movie tickets you purchased on Fandango.com, for example, or which games you added to your queue on Gamefly. The idea struck some users, though, as a distinct invasion of privacy, and for others Beacon was literally the Grinch who stole Christmas. Reportedly, one man’s wife learned of the diamond ring he’d bought her for the holiday from his Facebook mini-feed.

Beacon was meant to be a key part of Facebook’s social advertising strategy, where social networking is a springboard for word-of-mouth advertising. Unfortunately, Beacon did not receive the accolades they expected. Instead, MoveOn.org, a civic action advocacy organization, became involved and accused Facebook of violating user privacy. Users formed a group on Facebook itself called “Petition: Facebook, stop invading my privacy!”, which now has more than 75,000 members. It wouldn’t be surprising if litigators get involved at some point (emotional distress over spoiled gift surprises is a far more valid claim than many of the lawsuits our courts are forced to hear).

All this hoopla and backlash has forced Facebook to apologize and make amends by giving users the option of turning off Beacon. Here’s how to opt-out:

• Click the “Privacy” tab in the upper right hand corner on your Facebook page.
• Select “Edit Setting” under External Websites
• Check the box that says “Don’t allow any websites to send stories to my profile”.

While allowing users to turn off Beacon is a step in the right direction, some users are still critical of Facebook, with one blogger noting that the text “is a very light gray…on a white background. Specifically designed to blend in with the background, once again making it all that more difficult to get out of the damn thing.” For those who choose to opt-in, Facebook added pop-up windows to the system that force users to click “OK” before any action at a third-party website is posted to their profiles/mini-feeds. This allows users to cherry pick which actions they want friends to see and which actions they want to keep private.

Other industry watchdogs claim that turning off Beacon does not mean that Facebook is not still collecting data about your activities from outside websites; it just means that your friends don’t see that data in their news feeds. Those claims are expressly denied by Facebook: “If you select that you don’t want to share some Beacon actions or if you turn off Beacon, then Facebook won’t store those actions even when partners send them to Facebook” (Facebook blog). Those partners, by the way, are mostly keeping mum about the backlash. It’s also surprisingly difficult to find a complete list of which websites are participating, though this blog published a partial list.

It seems that social advertising is not what the public wants, even though it would be enormously beneficial to the advertisers who get a ready-made captive audience. This hiccough is not likely to be the death of systems like Beacon, though. The idea is too juicy to let it die, though I guarantee that similar initiatives will be far less transparent in the future. While “they” (in the Big Brother sense of the word) may have lost this round, our actions on the web will continue to be tracked, shared, and stored. The only question is, will other companies have the guts to admit privacy violations like Facebook did, or will they simply make their efforts invisible to users?

We’ve all experienced it: someone sends a link our way, and it takes us to a popular commercial that has made its way onto YouTube. No doubt the company being spotlighted and the advertiser who produced the commercial are tickled pink by this phenomenon. After all, they usually have to pay TV networks to ensure their commercials reach millions of viewers. It must be a pleasant surprise when a popular website like YouTube accomplishes the same thing for free. This begs the question: why do some ads make the cut and others don’t? Let’s examine a few of the YouTube hits to see the common thread.

First, who could forget the hilarious ad showing a disastrous Wii accident. In demonstrating the realistic motions of the Wii baseball game, one guy says, “Now throw me a pitch just like we’re outside.” His buddy does exactly that, throwing the game controller at the expensive television, which falls onto and demolishes the even more expensive sound system. A narrator asks, “Wanna get away? Now you can with Southwest Airlines’ internet specials.” This ad breaks the cardinal rule of advertising, which holds that the product you’re selling should always be identifiable and obvious. However, by surprising the audience with the spectacular destruction of what we thought was the product, the advertisers are able to grab our attention and sell us cheap airline fares. The key with any ad is to get people to actually watch it, instead of doing something else while waiting for the program to return. This ad accomplishes just that in a very funny and engaging way. It also lampoons the incredibly popular Wii, which appeals both to adults who had to stand long lines to buy them for their kids, and to the generation of internet users who regularly post to YouTube. It’s no wonder this commercial is reaching new audiences on the video sharing site.

Another popular ad has not only become a hit on YouTube (over a million views), but also spawned various spoofs created by users. This Cingular ad (now AT&T) features a young girl arguing with her mother over the text messaging charges on their wireless bill. The girl speaks entirely in “text acronyms”, and the commercial cleverly provides subtitling for those of us who don’t understand the abbreviations. When asked who she is texting, she replied, “IDK, my BFF Jill?”, which has become a kind of mantra for texting addicts. Some YouTube spoofs have replaced the original subtitles with similar but naughtier “translations”, while others have entirely recreated the commercial with their own actors and scripts. The ad is meant to promote an unlimited text messaging service, but like many incredibly popular commercials the product is overshadowed by the humor of the ad. This example also appeals to a cross-generational group: those who have to pay the wireless bill, and those who spend a lot of time on YouTube.

Apple has also been a YouTube success in its “Mac vs. PC” ads. Some users have created medleys featuring all these ads, but a recent favorite has been the ad that criticizes Microsoft Vista. The “PC” character is accompanied by a security agent, complete with dark suit and ear piece. The security agent filters all of PC’s actions, saying, “Mac is asking a question - cancel or allow?” PC explains that Vista’s security procedures interrupt users to approve many functions that are invisible on a Mac. The ad ends with the security agent telling PC, “You are coming to a sad realization - cancel or allow?” This ad is perfectly suited to appeal to the average YouTube user, who is likely to keep up with technology trends and product releases. These Mac vs. PC commercials have also been spoofed, including a version with South Park characters and an hysterical (but nerdy) rap video.

These commercials have built success beyond the major TV networks by crafting a message that appeals specifically to a demographic that contributes to YouTube. The ads are funny, clever, and high-quality, with products or services that are directed at the Web 2.0 user (but paid for by their parents). These commercials all span the generation gap, and they are funny both to the network television audience and the YouTube audience. Ads that have a second life on video sharing sites are often those that poke fun at our current technology culture, be it Wii accidents, talking in texting language, or the frustrations of an OS upgrade. We like to laugh at these universal experiences, and sites like YouTube prolongs the life of clever ads. The advertisers reach new and eager viewers, without paying for airtime, and they get the last laugh.

Earlier this year the media research giant Nielsen began tracking and analyzing the audiences of TV commercials, not just programs. This is a huge change in the current modus operandi of television advertising. Ad prices were previously based on the ratings of shows, using those ratings as a kind of currency to gauge how advertising should be bought and sold. If the rating of commercials proves successful, not only would the “currency” change to reflect ad ratings, but it would also change how buyers and sellers chose to place ads.

Nielsen measures ratings using the following system:

• Homes are chosen to reflect the demographics of various populations, and Nielsen technicians install monitoring equipment in these homes.
• The monitors track when the television is on and to what programs/stations it is tuned.
• The information from the monitors is transmitted back to Nielsen, and they compile the statistics that feed the advertising industry.

This system works well for programs, but will it be sufficient to measure viewership of commercials? For example, it can generally be assumed that when a TV program is on, it is being watched. The same cannot necessarily be assumed for commercials. If many viewers are like me, they use the commercial break for just that: a break. And Nielsen’s new service will not even measure individual commercials, just an average rating during a complete program. It will, however, take into account shows and commercials that are watched later through a recording service like Tivo or DVR. Clearly, though, it doesn’t take a statistician to see the gaping holes in this measurement system.

But if we forget about the problems with the data that’s being gathered, it is a very compelling initiative with the potential to revolutionize television advertising. If networks and advertisers can agree on a standard rating system, commercial ratings could replace program ratings as the currency used to buy and sell ads. This could be a risky move, especially for networks; since ad ratings are demonstrably lower than program ratings, buyers could negotiate down the prices of advertising on television. However, advertising could become more targeted, with influential businesses targeting particular “spots” within a commercial break, either the first ad or the last ad, which generally have higher viewership. This practice is currently in place only for major TV events like the Super Bowl.

Nielsen may find some stiff competition in the media measurement market from Google, which is rumored to have plans to acquire the old UHF network. Experts warn that simple measurement of TV commercials does not necessarily mean better quality in advertising. But Google may be planning to change the game entirely, by “running a trial to deliver better ads to viewers and help advertisers, operators, and programmers more efficiently buy, schedule, deliver, and measure ads on television.” (Google Press Center). As reported in Talkibie’s earlier article about the Google phone, the internet search giant is working to apply features like those of Google Analytics to television programming and advertising. Analytics uses a series of metrics to track a website’s visitors, providing data on where a visitor is from, how long they stay on your site, where they click, etc. Frankly, the technology makes Nielsen’s black box look about as futuristic as a rotary phone. If Google’s measurement expertise could be applied to improving, and not only measuring, television advertising, Nielsen could face an unexpected rival in media measurement.

The web world is eagerly anticipating Google’s new cellular phone, but no one can quite agree on what exactly the internet juggernaut has in the works. Many of the articles written on the subject are full of wild speculation, unsubstantiated rumors, and hopeful daydreaming. Indeed, the positivity of bloggers will likely turn any potential Google phone into an instant success even greater than the iPhone. I will attempt to lasso all the rumors that are true, while still giving air to some of the anticipated feats of which Google is fully capable.

First, it appears that Google may cross over into the hardware industry. Several credible sources have reported that there will be a proprietary Google handset which will work with any wireless provider (unlike Apple’s iPhone, which was designed to be used exclusively on AT&T’s network). Google has a partnership with Samsung, and they have bundled phones with Google’s applications in the past. BusinessWeek reports that Google has been secretly showing off prototype phones to consultants for a few months, and leaked photos (possibly fake) show a touchscreen interface.

Google will also likely use wireless tracking technology to improve your search results when using Google’s applications. For example, if you were traveling to Boston and did a search for “duck”, your phone would spit back local results for the famous duck tours, rather than, say, a Wikipedia entry on aquatic birds. The application will likely include Google Maps, Docs, News, Gmail, etc.

Something that seems very likely is that Google’s services will have ad-based revenue and be offered at a fraction of current wireless plans rates from major carriers. Google recently announced the release of AdSense for Mobile, which displays ads relevant to the mobile users. The same technology that is used to improve search results will likely also track demographics and user locations and display ads accordingly. Major carriers are not likely to give up their draconian service fees, so Google stands a good chance of competing, even though advertising is fairly new on mobile networks.

The last piece of the puzzle is an auction to sell the old analog UHF spectrum, which will be taking place in January 2008. Google has reportedly offered to meet the $4.6 billion dollar minimum bid, and if they win the auction they could decide to become a wireless carrier in their own right. Using an ad-based revenue system with free monthly service could potentially put the current carriers out of business, as they have all spent billions building their networks. Though no one likes the idea of watching an ad before logging on to a wireless device, offering free service in exchange creates a huge incentive. At least the ads will be carefully selected to appeal to your profile. Google has also recently expanded its ad services to the television market, “running a trial to deliver better ads to viewers and help advertisers, operators and programmers more efficiently buy, schedule, deliver and measure ads on television.” (Google Press Center). Ads could be selected based on the programming you watch. Experts expect that Google’s powerful search capabilities will soon be available on your TV as well. For example, you might see a commercial for Dunkin Donuts, click a button on your remote, and see a Google map of all the locations near you. The speculation suggests that rather than creating programming of their own, Google is more likely to enter the TV market by doing what they do best: selling relevant ads.

It’s all a part of Google’s larger goal of bringing a seamless internet experience to users no matter what device they’re using to go online. It will be fascinating to see how this all plays out. In the meantime, we’ll keep watching the rumor mill turn around and around.

As a means of corporate communication, Web video is relatively new. Although YouTube has been in existence for more than two years, it has been primarily used as a form of entertainment for young, Web-savvy video sharing enthusiasts. However, because of the site’s usability and popularity, it was only a matter of time before YouTube, and others like it, would add commercial use to the list of possibilities created by video sharing.

As a nascent brand positioning tool, the full potential of Web video remains to be realized. It is possible to capitalize on this potential by learning how to use this tool. Keeping in mind the following points will help you navigate the difference between the old and the new.

1. Web video is not a commercial.
If you market your company in a Web video the same way you would for a television commercial, you will not be maximizing the low-cost, do-it-yourself atmosphere of the Web. With Web video, a good idea will trump a slick advertising budget any day of the week. By no means does this imply that you should forsake quality—merely that you can accomplish a whole lot more for a great deal less with Web video.

2. Web video tends toward a viral, rather than a blanket effect.
Instead of advertising from a single distribution point, Web video is all about distribution and re-distribution…and then more re-distribution. The number of viewers a Web video generates is proportional to how interesting it is.

3. Creativity is the key to successful Web video.

Whether people are inspired to watch your video with music, or humor, or an emotionally compelling story, the videos that get passed around and re-watched are the ones that depict something no one has seen before. Want to stand out from your competitors? Use a forum that is new to say something about yourself in a way that no one else can. It may not be as easy as it sounds, but if you can do it, it is worth the effort.

Web video, if produced with an eye toward its potential, can be a very powerful marketing tool, and can communicate your brand in a way that simple text or two-dimensional ads never could. If Web video is part of your overall search engine optimization (SEO) strategy, it can also help boost your search engine rankings and make your entire Web site more visible.

Second Life (also known as SL) is a social networking site that has gone a step beyond other popular social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook. This 3-D virtual world is managed by the citizens of Second Life, which according to the creators of the website, has grown to 5 million users.

In SL, people are able to create a new identity through their virtual characters and interact with other avatars from around the globe. They are able to build islands, homes and anything else they can dream up, attend events, fly to another country or do business with fellow users. Business transactions take place through dealing with Linden dollars that can then be translated into real money for “first life” spending.

Confused yet? Well, so are many other first time second lifers. There is definitely a learning curve involved with SL, that many critics are pointing out as a drawback of the site, saying this difficulty in getting started results in a low number of participants who could possibly be targeted by marketers. Yet, despite the critics many advertisers and marketing departments are taking interest in this latest online trend and looking at Second Life as a new place to reach potential customers.

Toyota is one example of a company who has taken the leap into SL in hopes that its “in world” marketing campaign will pay off. They have created a virtual dealership where they sell all three models of the (computer generated) Scion XB. Buyers can customize their cars any way they would like, a feature which Toyota hopes will keep residents coming back for more.

While Toyota charges for its vehicles, Nissan opened a dealership in which they dispense Sentras like bubblegum, free to residents via an enormous vending machine.

And it’s not just cars that are being sold and dispensed in SL. Residents can purchase anything from a Starbucks latte or Heineken beer to a Nike sneaker. Vogue, a publication of Conde Nast, has creatively marketed their brand by dropping virtual magazines throughout SL. This feature, when clicked on by a resident, brings them immediately to the Vogue Web site.

Sunbelt Technology has created an island where residents can meet to discuss computer related issues. There are several areas of the island ranging from a pavilion for product awareness to an auditorium for lectures and conferences to an underwater world for beginners of Second Life.

Even charities and nonprofit organizations are looking at SL to get their message across. Adventure Ecology, a UK based charity, in an effort to spread the word on global warming, submerged under water, low lying areas in the world such as the Netherlands and Tokyo.

Second Life, like many other social networking sites, provides companies with the means to tap into new markets, test products and ideas and interact with customers in new and innovating ways. Today, Second Life has about 5 million users who interact with this site. As this market grows, you can be sure that the number of companies who want to interact in this virtual world will grow as well.

To learn more about Second Life please visit www.secondlife.com

You have a new idea, product or service. What’s the first thing you want to do? Share it with someone! In business terms, you want to share it with the world and hopefully make a profit. When it comes to marketing your product or service you have several options on how to go about it. You can stick to traditional, cut and dry advertising efforts, such as print, television and radio - or you can take a more creative approach and use some more modern agile approaches to marketing.

In 1983, Jay Conrad Leninson was considered the pioneer of guerrilla marketing with his take-no-prisoners approach to marketing for small and medium size businesses. Individuals make guerrilla marketing more complicated than it really is far too often. Guerrilla marketing is simply a more effective way to stimulate an idea, using both traditional and non-traditional methods. Being able to combine both traditional and non-traditional marketing efforts is what makes guerrilla marketing so unique. In doing this, you fast track your message to the public.

Standards still exist in guerrilla marketing even as a low-cost alternative, more so than in traditional marketing. The planning, insight and execution involved in guerrilla marketing often takes more attention to detail than traditional marketing.

Through the evolution of guerrilla marketing, agile marketing has aroused. One could even draw a parallelism to agile development, a process of sending web applications to the market faster. Agile marketing is focused around using preexisting relationships along with flexible ideas and tactics through the internet to deliver significant information to potential and current clients. Social networking, business blogging, wikis, forums, email branding, web site communication and newsletter campaign management are all outlets in which agile marketing is made possible.

One big mistake people have when using this approach is that fundamentals go out the door. Whether it’s a newspaper ad or a social networking event planned within Second Life (see Second Life blog) it is important that you still have a clear understanding of your customer, the market(s) you’re in and what you want to accomplish.

Whether it is guerrilla or agile marketing you chose to pursue to penetrate your idea or service to the public, it is important to have clear business goals and measurements. Having these defined will help you decide on which traditional and non-traditional marketing options to select. Clearly defined goals and measurements coupled with an open mind and researching will allow you to have more options and uncover greater possibilities in your marketing direction.

We’ve all heard amusing horror stories about companies whose marketing campaigns went terribly wrong due to bad translations. For instance, Pepsi’s slogan “Come alive with the Pepsi Generation” was interpreted in Taiwan as “Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead”. Another prime example is American Airline’s “Fly in leather” tagline, which, when translated literally for the Mexican market, invited passengers to fly in the nude. These tremendous oversights, while entertaining, have the effect increasing the cultural awareness in businesses around the world. Errors such as these, coupled with increasing numbers of non-English speaking web users, have led many companies to adopt a strategy of “localization” when it comes to presenting themselves in the global marketplace through the web. More than simply careful, appropriate translations, localization refers to an adaptation of language, content and design to reflect local cultural sensitivities as a whole.

Since web sites are increasingly the lens through which a company is viewed, web designers are considering more than just literal translations in order to increase their positive image and presence in overseas markets. More and more, the trend is to consider numerous factors of cultural significance when creating a web site. Consider funneling customers to tailored sites based on their cultural identifications; you can ask users to select their home country before entering the site, for example. Formatting for date and time, representations of numbers, currency symbols, the tone of content, and even color is important to putting the best foot forward. For example, during a 1994 campaign, the telecom company Orange changed its approach when running ads in Northern Ireland. Their slogan, “The future’s bright…the future’s Orange,” was inappropriate because the color orange, associated with the Orange Order, a Protestant militant group, would alienate a large group in the target market. Similarly, an overly casual message, anglicized numerical values, even non-metric specs to describe a product, can be a turn-off to a potential customer with different cultural expectations.

Localization can be accomplished by careful research in your design. Many companies are using anthropological consultants to give them the edge over their competitors. Experts with vast bases of knowledge can interpret cultural symbols and push you in the right direction. When crafting your message, be sure to use translators and writers who are sensitive to the cultural complexities of the target audience. Not all Spanish dialects are created equal: a perfectly inane term in Argentina could have a foul meaning in Puerto Rico. Local literacy levels in Spain may be quite different from those in Ecuador, and different terminology should be considered. Use a translator who speaks the local dialect of your audience.

Many times, companies try to bypass errors in translation by using non-textual means of communication, but local trends must be considered in this circumstance as well. Tide detergent created a word-free billboard with three drawings. The leftmost showed a woman frowning and examining a dirty shirt. The second showed her loading the shirt into a washing machine and adding Tide. The furthest right frame showed her happily holding up the now-clean shirt. Many of you have spotted the problem with this ad: some languages, including Arabic and Hebrew, are read from right to left, which makes Tide a very unattractive product indeed. Carefully researching your intended audience’s habits and needs can prevent your customer from misunderstanding your message.

Just as you would consider keywords for optimizing your search engine results in English, this must also be a priority when developing a localization strategy. Your translator should use the correct language encoding to ensure that text in other alphabets and configurations will display properly. This is essential for languages using non-Roman alphabets, where the text will need to be reorganized for ease of reading. If the language is encoded incorrectly, users will have difficulty viewing your site and search engines may not be able to categorize it. For example, if your site is encoded correctly in Korean, a search engine might deem it more relevant to a user who performed a search in Korean than a similar site encoded in English. However, if the encoding is incorrect, you have lost this basic advantage over your competition. And, as always, use the most accurate local term for your product and services, not an exact translation.

Businesses are increasingly competing on a global level, and the internet is the staging ground for launching a product to an international market. Considering local customs, culture, and needs is the key to reaching a global audience without looking foolish. Steer away from literal translations, and don’t make assumptions about your audience without first doing the proper research. If successfully done, your web site will positively reflect the image of your company abroad. One last example: Coca-Cola, after careful research of over 40,000 Chinese characters phonetically similar to their product name, hit upon a winner. The characters they chose roughly translate as “happiness in the mouth”.