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Category Archives: Geneva

Black hat advertising. I didn’t expect to see this in Geneva…

Posted on December 8, 2009 in Geneva, The Dark Side

People in our culture today are incredibly anxious.

Below I’ve listed some disturbing stats from the Anxiety Disorder Association of America to illustrate my point.

  • Anxiety disorders affect 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older (18.1% of U.S. population–the #1 mental illness).
  • Anxiety disorders cost the U.S. more than $42 billion a year, almost one-third of the country’s $148 billion total mental health bill

Though most people in the west no longer struggle for basic items like food & shelter…there are still worries about security & safety (the lowest level on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs) in a post-9/11 world.

And, very often, politicians are willing to play on the base fears of their people in order to advance their own agendas.

Admittedly, however, I was surprised to see Switzerland’s biggest party taking a page from the playbook of the fictitious WMD fear campaign when they rolled out an ad depicting a woman in a black burqa standing against a Swiss flag with several black minarets resembling missiles sticking out of it.  The ad asked voters to ban the building of minarets in Switzerland.

I was especially surprised to see this ad in on my way to work in Geneva –the home of the European U.N. and a beacon for tolerance at all levels in a post-politically correct world.

The ads appeared to work…57% of voters and 22 out of the 26 Swiss cantons voted in favor of the ban though in fairness it seems that the Geneva canton voted against the measure.

I’m not sure how good the advertising agency feels about their work here…clearly this type of fearmongering will give the Islamic radicals even more of a reason to hate the west.

I would love to discuss this more, but it’s getting late.  If you would like to dive deeper into Shock tactics used by governments over the years, check out Naomi Klein’s The Shock Doctrine.

What do you think about all of this?

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Planning for people…Livable Streets Initiative

Posted on April 8, 2009 in Geneva, Urban renewal
GenevaImage via Wikipedia

Over the last couple of years, I have been biking to work when the weather permits.  So last week, I paid my Swiss bike tax (sounds bad, but it’s not much) and started hitting the trails. One thing that I have always loved about living in Switzerland (and Germany) is that urban street environments seem to designed more for people vs. cars.  So, I was excited to see a great new initiative called the Livable Streets Initiative from the Open Planning Project.

Really, urban streets should be more than just a place where cars & trucks dominate…urban streets can be “complete streets,” (see this article) accommodating pedestrians, cyclists, and transit riders.  Livable Streets is helping citizens re-envision streets as livable public spaces.  Check out this interesting interactive diagram of how streets of the future could look.

Geneva, for example, does a great job of this…in Geneva, you have street cars, bike lanes & car lanes all co-existing together across most of the citywide transportation infrastructure.  This makes it easy for me to bike to work pretty much along the same driving route that I take normally take when the weather is bad.  Though, as a driver, I admittedly get irritated by the reduced space for cars.  This does make for a much longer commute (I guess that’s the point though, right!)

Kudos to the Open Planning Project for empowering people to get involved in transportation reform through the Livable Streets project.  Head over to their site to become a part of the movement to give back the streets to the people.

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Electric Future: Geneva Motor Show in 2009

Posted on March 8, 2009 in Electric cars, Geneva

Over the past couple of weeks, outdoor billboards with a woman in a red shirt holding her hands over her chest in the form of a heart have been plastered all over Geneva.  At first, I thought the ads were for a charitable cause…it was only on second glance that I realized the ads were for the 79th International motor show in Geneva.

This Sunday, my wife & I made our way to the Geneva auto cathedral for an annual look at this PR spectacle…along with thousands of other pilgrims.

Though we are in an economic crisis and many auto companies are struggling in a big way, we didn’t notice anything different as we first entered the expo center.  As always, there were even plenty of flashy new models (probably planned and developed before the current economic crisis).

Making our rounds, we then quickly discovered that most of the major manufacturers had a lot to say about “Green” in 2009…which was great.  Some car makers were even able to make their mega booths Green (and slick) without losing any cool points.  Fiat had the best booth in terms of overall design.  Their display area had a funky Tim Burtonesque feel and they had even submerged one car in a Green forest.  My wife also thought the Fiat show girls had the nicest outfits.

So what about those electric cars?

In 2009, according to Switzerland’s e’mobile association, two electric cars were on sale and available to the public…the Fiat Panda and Renault Twingo (both using conventional batteries).  To have a closer look at upcoming electric autos, we had a look at the new, stand-alone Green pavilion within the Auto Show.

The Green pavilion was surprisingly empty when we were there…so we were quickly able to look at Nissan’s new electric car that will launch in the US in 2010 (only in Europe by 2012).  The Nissan Nuvu (new view) was cute, but has a pretty limited range at the moment.  On the hood (hard to see in this picture) the car has integrated, nature patterned, solar panels…which will supposedly help the car when the battery is running low.

Surprisingly, Volkswagen’s Polo BlueMotion is considered “the most fuel-efficient five seater in the world” as it touts a “hybrid-killing” 71 mpg.  The car sports a 1.2 liter turbo Diesel engine and it looks like it could hit the market as early as 2010.  As great as the VW BlueMotion is in terms of gas mileage, it still runs on fossil fuels…

As we turned the corner in the Green pavilion, we were greeted by the new Tesla roadster.  The Tesla is very cool and I would love to own one.  However, the 99,000 Euro price tag is unfortunately too steep.  I would have loved to see Tesla work on developing a more “mass” model first, however, I think I understand the thinking behind their go to market model (deftly explained to me by the Tesla team).  First, they want to build some equity and credibility, proving their technological prowess in the electric car segment.  Then, they want to take the mass market by storm with a sedan that will apparently roll out in 2011.

Tesla has a great innovation pipeline…and they build slick cars, so I think they have a chance.  I am keen to see an American company (from California of course) incorporate fantastic design into our electric future.  Competition will get pretty stiff very soon in the electric segment, so hopefully they are not risking their future by waiting too long to rollout their more “mass” electric cars.

Speaking of design and American automakers…the rest of the US contingent at this years show was predictably thin, to say the least.  Ford, the healthiest of the Big 3, had the biggest presence, however, when you place a Ford booth between Alfa Romeo, Porsche, Fiat & Honda, it has a tough time standing out…especially when companies like Honda have innovative humanoid Robots!  I could have spent 2 hours watching Asimo jump and run (yes, run) on stage.  This is what grabs a crowd!

Robots, Tim Burton themes, electric cars and Italian design, all gain footfall and PR during these shows–even in an economic crisis.  I don’t know the numbers, but I would bet that Ford doesn’t have super high performance or emotional equity ratings in Europe.  So, they aren’t really going to build much equity or give the press anything exciting to talk about with an average booth.  Bring on the Ford ROBOTS!:-)

If you are ever in the area in March, you should stop by the Geneva show if you want to see great concept & boutique cars.  There are so many cool boutique cars on hand…I have a lot more pictures of my favorites, but I would probably put you to sleep…so I will spare you.

 

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When anti-globalization hits home in Geneva

Posted on January 28, 2009 in Geneva

The World Economic Forum kicks off its annual meeting today in Davos, Switzerland.

Why all the fuss about this conference every year?

The WEF is a non-profit organization with headquarters in Geneva, and it is best known for its Annual Meeting in the Swiss Alps. CEOs, non-profit leadership and political elites join hands in Davos every year to hash out issues, network and ski.  Conspiracy theorists often cite the World Economic Forum as a key player in the global elitist quest to rule and control the world.  Good magazine chronicles some of the mystery around the WEF…click here if you are interested in reading more.

The Davos sessions attract criticism from various anti-globalization movements who claim that the WEF is just another place where Global capitalist leaders join forces to plot evil, destroy the environment and increase poverty.  The organizers of the WEF insist, however, that they are leading the charge in persuading corporate leaders of the world to become more socially responsible.  In fact, Klaus Schwab, former Geneva professor and founder of the forum, is a very vocal supporter of social responsibility.

So why does an organization that believes it is actually trying to help solve global problems get hit with so much protest?

The biggest credible criticism of the WEF is that many of the people who are trying to solve the world’s problems are the same people who caused them.  In other words, we don’t see a lot of fresh ideas at these summits.  Catalyst points out that Schwab and the WEF are simply too focused on big sclerotic companies, while real change is happening within smaller, social businesses.  As Rodney Schwarz puts it, if we are looking to be inspired, I believe it”s the smaller social businesses which will offer leadership. It”s no surprise that Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank won the Nobel Peace Prize and not Bill Gates and Microsoft.

Whatever take you have on the World Economic Forum, 2009 will be an important year.  Lets hope “the elites” can work out a few tangible solutions to our Global mega-financial mess during the sessions…and whatever criticism Klaus Schwab receives from anti-globalization protesters, etc. at least he admits that 2009 should be all about serving and creating a new, more responsible world in this interview with CNN,

Finally, because security in Davos is so tight, anti-globalization protesters tend to turn their wrath on other Swiss cities during the 5 days of conferences, and Geneva, home of the WEF, will not be spared.

According to Genevalunch.com there is a ban on anti-globalization marches this year, but Geneva is still bracing for potential violence.  With the global downturn in full swing, protests could indeed get a bit more out of hand vs. previous years.

Barack Obama did not get his skis out this year…no, he decided to stay home & work.  If the downturn worsens into next year, you may find more political leaders following his lead and staying home.

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Black holes in marketing and potentially in my backyard

Posted on September 10, 2008 in Geneva, Randomness

As most of you know, I live in Geneva, Switzerland.  A few months ago I talked about the potential for mini black holes appearing in my backyard once the Large Hadron Collider at CERN started full operations.  Well, today, scientists cranked up the biggest atom smasher in the world inside a 17-mile (27-kilometer) long tunnel underneath the French-Swiss border.  The Collider ushered in a new era of scientific discovery by firing its first proton beam down a large circular tube.

If you don’t hear from me for a few weeks, then perhaps I have been sucked into a mini black hole of nothingness…

Speaking of black holes of nothingness.  What would you consider “black holes” in marketing?  Would you consider a black hole of marketing to be the infamous “middle”…that dark area that you cannot defend because it is too wide or there are too many players?

Here is a great post on black holes in marketing…below is an excerpt from that post:

The poet Yeats said, “Things fall apart; the center cannot hold.” The center is untenable. The biggest brands usually have a big enough base to straddle the middle. The specialists cling to the edge. The rest have one of these characteristics-

1. They try to appeal to all sides, but they don’t have the wherewithal to stretch that far.
2. They have a niche, but no exclusivity.
3. They strangle themselves by hiring poor employees.
4. They fall easy prey to stronger players who delight to under-price and out-service them.

The drown-ees are stuck in the middle of the pool, can’t swim, have no life-preserver and no paddle.

Here’s what they need to do:

1. A Persian proverb says, “No matter how far you’ve traveled down the wrong path, turn back.
2. Cut your losses and begin again. You’ve already stopped to smell the roses, so act.
3. Get back to basics and create a useful brand. Pick an edge to the perceptual map and latch on to it with a strong product and appealing positioning.

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Marketing as customer service…thoughts from Switzerland

Posted on July 5, 2008 in Brand Purpose, Geneva, Marketing

Photo Credit:  Ian Lord

I currently live in Switzerland…while I love most aspects of living here, customer service in restaurants is oftentimes less than stellar (to put it mildly).  I am not alone in this assessment (I hope I get a couple of comments on this post from friends backing up my claim in this area).  I realize that this is partially due to the way the incentive structure is set-up (e.g. waiters don’t receive nice “American style” tips).  In any case, a couple of recent LONG trips to Swiss restaurants, without much in the way of service got me thinking once again about the importance of customer service.  Over the past few months there have been some pretty good discussions on customer service and marketing in the blogosphere.  Some have even asked if customer service is the new marketing…while others have panned this notion.  Click here for a lively discussion on the topic (read the comments as well) courtesy of Ron Shevlin.

Indeed, as every customer now has the opportunity to evangelize products/services or rant against them via the net, customer service better be a key priority for companies.  Great customer service can drive customer loyalty…and if it is ultra-good, both “customer-bloggers” and the general public will amplify this, leading to broader levels of awareness and positive sentiment around the brand in the minds of people (see this example from customer service wizards Zappos). If customer service is really bad, you may see negative posts from angry consumer-bloggers online and elsewhere. In the absolute worst case, an entire grassroots movement (see Jeff Jarvis Dell Hell) may spring up around an issue.

So while customer service is very important, the marketing function should be held responsible for creating winning strategies to ensure marketplace success now and in the future.  The Marketing function has to stay on top of business results and coordinate the rest of the functions to ensure results are delivered.  Indeed, Brand managers within the marketing function in some companies play a big role in the coordination of production, sales, advertising, promotion, R&D, market research, purchasing, dist., package development and finance.   Finally, there needs to be someone to ensure that budgets are allocated properly across the increasingly unwieldy number of customer touchpoints.   Having said all of this the marketing function is interpreted differently within companies…and the world is definitely changing.  Marketing needs to become more collaborative and less controlling (more organic in a sense) to win in today’s marketplace.

Purpose:  Driving a service mindset across the org…

Ultimately, it would be great to see marketing thinking going beyond the function, becoming an almost “organization wide focus”, with every employee (janitors, cust. service reps, etc.) fully engaged behind the company/brand.  This could be more easily achieved if companies focus on providing products/services that have real value (not just another line extension) and humbly adopt a service mindset in everything that they do.  Adopting this service mindset will help create amazing experiences for consumers in the marketplace, helping the company/brand win the war for $’s in this brave new (and increasingly difficult) marketing world.

Somewhat related recent article:

Pete Blackshaw also recently wrote an AdAge article called How Apple Is Blurring the Line Between Marketing and Service as they increase the level of service at their stores by adding more “concierges” who greet and direct shoppers when they walk into the door.

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What country has the most generous football fans? Score for the Red Cross…

Posted on June 21, 2008 in Causes, Geneva

Most of Europe is currently under a football (soccer) “spell” as the Euro 2008 championships near the semi-finals. I was in Cologne yesterday as Germany beat Portugal. Believe me, it was loud & crazy!

Not just a European football competition, but a humanitarian competition as well?

UEFA - the Union of European Football Associations, came up with a great idea for a cause related marketing program during the championships. UEFA partnered with the Red Cross (ICRC) to conduct a fundraising campaign called “Score for the Red Cross”. Football fans can help their team win the title of UEFA EURO2008 humanitarian champions. Fans can purchase virtual goals for their chosen team through the website scorefortheredcross.org. The money will go to Afghan mine victims, helping them receive artificial limbs.

How it Works:

Fans buy goals for their favorite team. Goals cost one Euro each, and a minimum of seven goals must be bought. Fans can buy as many goals as they like.

What country is winning the humanitarian EURO 2008 competiton?

Interestingly, many of the teams that are “still alive” in the Championships (Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Turkey, Italy, etc.) are at the top…Winning produces more giving!!

Here is a link to the TV ad for the campaign…it is very well done. (Random Side Note: Switzerland & Austria are co-hosting the championships…there were even a few games in Geneva, but I was unable to get tickets!
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The biggest sponsorship opportunity in the world? & Chinese bloggers

Posted on May 15, 2008 in Geneva, Marketing, Randomness

I was recently in Lausanne, Switzerland (home of the International Olympic Committee) and had the chance to stop by the Olympic museum. The museum was decked out in Chinese Red and sported an impressive Chinese exhibition as literally billions of people get ready to watch the 2008 Olympics in Beijing (largely via TV).

The Olympics is obviously a HUGE sponsorship opportunity for brands. The IOC also pulls in a good deal of cash from the event. In 2004, total IOC revenues topped $4.2 Billion with broadcast rights delivering 53% of total revenues (2.2 Billion). Sponsorship from mega brands like Coke, Samsung, etc. accounted for $1.5 Billion (34%). The rest of the revenue was driven by ticket sales/licensing agreements. Click here for more details.

Picture courtesy of the IOC website

The World Cup is also one of the biggest sponsorship opportunities (and only 1 sport), but it still significantly lags the Olympics in terms of sponsorship revenue…

The 2008 Olympic event will provide very interesting challenges for sponsoring brands. On one hand, brands have a tremendous opportunity to be a part of the first ever Olympic showcase in such an important growth economy. On the other hand, China’s human rights abuses may make it harder for brands to be seen as socially responsible. Sponsors would probably prefer that, in the minds of consumers, their brands are associated with the event itself (read Olympic movement) instead of being associated with the host country. Indeed, it will be interesting to see how/if sponsoring brands link themselves to China in their ads during the event.

I think the Olympic museum in Lausanne has done a great job of providing an experience that celebrates China and its progress…while at the same time being very open about the environmental challenges facing the country. In fact, much of the 1st floor exhibition in the museum was dedicated to what China is doing (or not doing) about the environment. I think this is the right way to approach the issue, but it is tricky and sensitive. For more good discussion on this issue, click here.

One other fun exhibition in the museum was a little web 2.0 corner featuring a Chinese blogger (who’s blog I unfortunately cannot find–censored?) In any case, here is a link to several English speaking blogs about China. China is clearly BIG into blogging…I will save the data on Chinese blogging for a later post.

Below is a fun picture of me trying to pole vault with Chinese bamboo (pardon the hat head) in the museum. I was a pole vaulter in University, so this was a familiar pose.

I will be out for a few days, but I will be back to the blogging upon my return!

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How to get an English speaking corporate marketing job in Europe + Weekend

Posted on May 3, 2008 in Geneva, Randomness

Over the past few years I have had several people ask me how to find & get a corporate job in Europe. So I thought I would put up a couple of ideas and see if the post sparks more questions. If it does, I may do a follow-up.

First, it is funny how the grass is always greener on the other side. I have met several Europeans who also dream of working corporately in the USA. Indeed, there are advantages and disadvantages to both scenarios.

Generalized advantages of working in Corporate Europe:

1. 30+ days of vacation (in several countries) from the start + more paid public holidays: A recent OECD survey showed that Americans typically put in 1877 hours vs 1562 per year in France. OUCH!
2. Getting paid in Euros/Pounds/Swiss Francs: As the dollar continues to weaken, making anything but dollars becomes more attractive (maybe this will turn around as the Bush administration moves out)
3. Generally more job security (not as much churn/burn) though this can have a dark side as the labor pool tends to be more rigid.

Generalized advantages of Corporate US:

1. Lower taxes vs European countries (Generally speaking, though tax rates are coming down in some countries)
2. BIG upside if you can make it to director/VP or above (US executives tend to earn way more than their European counterparts)
3. Stock option packages offered earlier in career: Not 100% sure about this one as I don’t have the data, but from qualitatitvely talking with others and reading a couple of different articles this seems correct.

So, it does depend a bit on what you value more. Do you want to spend a few years potentially earning less, but having significantly more vacation days early in your career? I do read about more and more 20/30 somethings opting out of this more extreme US corporate version of the “deferred life plan” (working for 30+ years and then retiring to see the world). Tim Ferriss writes eloquently about this trend in 4 hour work week.

There is definitely no magic formula…one of the biggest challenges is obviously language. ‘Targeting the UK is your easist bet as there are no language barriers and there are plenty of US firms who have set up Pan-European operations there. Only drawback for the UK is the island location somewhat restricts your ability to do quick trips across several different countries (if that is your reason for spending a few years working in Europe). So, if you are looking to work on the continent my biggest tip would be to target multinational Pan-European headquarter locations. Pan-European organizations tend to leverage English as a common language and they offer fertile soil for your search…especially if you applying from abroad. There are really good specialist English speaking professional sites popping up every day. One that is particularly good for Genevan Jobs (and jobs across all of Switzerland/Europe) is jobsingeneva.com. There are also great expat sites like expatica that offer tremendous amounts of country info and job listings in English. Of course, Monster and other job sites also have international job boards where you can begin your search as well.

If you have already sent through several applications with no luck, you may want to consider extending your education in Europe. Top US MBA programs now have European campuses. I have talked with several people who have done a semester abroad, learned the local “ropes” (and language) and then gained internships. Via the internship they were able to demonstrate their value and so they were offered full-time jobs. This is certainly the longer road, however, you probably have a bigger advantage if you are already living within the country where you want to work. Plus, you can use the semester abroad as a “trial run” to see if you really want to work in Europe. Europe is very diverse and work cultures vary from country to country.

I have been in Europe for 10 years now. I enjoy working here, but I do have different reasons for staying (wife is European). The good news for current job seekers is that there are opportunities in English popping up everyday as the world continues to rapidly globalize.

Hope this helps a bit. These are just a few of my thoughts on the subject and of course I do have more tips. If you want to extend the discussion, send over an email (see the about me page for details) or leave a comment. I always like hearing about the experiences of others!

WEEKEND is here in Geneva. We are off to Annecy which is a small, cute city on a lake in France.

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Is there a good social media matrix? + Weekend continued: Top 5 Geneva summer tips

Posted on April 27, 2008 in Geneva, Marketing

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” - Leonardo DaVinci

A good matrix can help managers quickly make sense of the world. Business school students are often overwhelmed with matrices…some stick, others don’t. A famous matrix that is indelibly “etched” on my business brain is the BCG matrix. The BCG matrix is criticized for being overly simple, but it is a good tool to help managers think about portfolio management. What if we had an easy matrix that would help us think about social media/web 2.0? With the explosion of new marketing channels/tools out there, wouldn’t it be great to get an easy to understand matrix plotting plotting marketing objective (trial, loyalty, awareness, etc.) against a web 2. 0 tool (blogs, podcast, etc.) showing which one(s) work best against a specific objective? I am sure there are lots of these things floating around out there already (I only spent a few minutes searching around online) within consultancy research projects. If anyone that can crack this…and get widespread adoption in B-schools, etc. around this, they will probably sell a lot of books (at the very least it should translate into some great consultancy gigs).

As the Lake Geneva is now in full bloom and the weather is getting better, here are my top 5 favorite things to do when it gets warm:

1. Leisurely boat ride on the lake (any boat, and with anybody): Lake Geneva is beautiful in the summer. You will notice that every one of my top 5 votes includes the lake in some form.

2. Watch a movie on the big screen by the lake at Cinelac. There is nothing better than watching a cool movie as the evening descends on the lake. The city of Geneva puts up a huge outdoor screen right on the lake. There has been some protests by local residents about this…I hope these protests don’t stop this great activity.

3. Montreux jazz festival on the lake (Swiss Riviera): Outdoor music galore at this big music festival right on the water. Montreux is beautiful, this is a no miss.

4. Have a tea or coffee + ice cream on the lake at La Perle du Lac

5. Rose Garden (La Roseraie)/Botanical gardens: The rose garden (La Roseraie) in Geneva’s Parc de la Grange (Grange Park) is a beautiful area to visit even if you are not a mega-flower fan.

By the way, we did make it to the Victor Hugo exhibition (see yesterday’s post); it was amazing!

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