altex marketing - innovative internet marketing TM

facebook - business and pleasure don’t mix for me

2009-11-10T01:51:02Z

Just now I posted a message to Facebook.
“It is 3am but I have had a moment of enlightenment so it’s time to share it, now the clarity of decision is there- I mean here, in my mind.

My personal Facebook account is not going to be used for business anymore.
There - I said it.

What does this mean?
Well it means that I will cut out some friends – the ones who are not friends and are likely never to be.
Yes I risk offending some business associates but frankly as I am going to make this Facebook page about my personal life then I don’t really care.
Also I think some business people will just stop following my Facebook info too because it adds no value (not that it added much for business before but you know what I mean).
BTW for those people in business who are reading this you can still follow my business thoughts and activities on Twitter, LinkedIn and of course on the altex blog.

The reason for this split is that I personally think business and pleasure do not mix well in social media as I explained when I gave a short lecture/presentation at the Estonian PR Association recently.

Having told people not to mix both on one account I started to feel a bit stupid as that’s exactly what I have done up until now even though I have known for a while now that it does not make sense.

I do not like the fact that business people who I hardly know send me business info via Facebook. From now on I will delete ones who do and anyway I can’t believe my friends really care about my business or that my business associates care about whether my daughter’s potty training is going well or not (it’s not btw, she does not like potties and it’s becoming an issue).

Don’t get me wrong, we might well set up a company Facebook account. I DO think Facebook can and does work for business well.
It’s the personal-business mix that doesn’t.

So that’s it.
Ciao for now.”

Back to bed.

Tasuta e!MEEDIA seminar 16. detsembril 2009

2009-11-10T07:13:13Z

Tule 16. detsembril e!MEEDIA seminarile – tasuta!

16. detsembril Kumus toimuval e!MEEDIA seminaril pannakse paika internetiturunduse tulevik.
Võimalik, et tegemist on olulisima seminariga altexi ajaloos: Eesti meediamaastik on muutumas ja just sel seminaril räägivad online kanalite arvamusliidrid, kuidas muutunud mängureegleid kõige efektiivsemalt ära kasutada.

Mida räägitakse e!MEEDIA seminari?

Mis saab turunduseelarvetest? Mitu iseseisvat turunduskanalit mahub sõna „internet“ taha? Kuidas tagada turundusotsused, mis lähtuvad teadlikest valikutest ja mitte pelgalt harjumuspärasest mugavusest? Kas üheainsa „interneti“ rea asemel peaks turundusplaanis seisma viis rida – bännerid, e-posti turundus, otsimootorid, sotsiaalne meedia, analüütika? Kas agentuurid suudavad ajaga sammu käia ning olla pädevad kõigi nende kanalite jaoks sobivate lahenduste leidmisel?

Tule kuula, mida vastavad Eesti veebimaastiku juhtivad tegijad:

Jaanus Lillenberg (Arendus- ja turundusjuht, Postimees Online)
Hanno Kindel (Arendusjuht, Media House)
Sten Klemm (Reklaamimüügijuht, Neti & Hot.ee)
Allan Sombri (Müügi- ja turundusdirektor, Delfi)
Erti Luik (Grupi digitaalse meedia spetsialist, BIGBANK)
Toomas Tepomes (Tegevjuht, Gemius Eesti)

Osavõtt seminarist on TASUTA! Igale organisatsioonile/ettevõttele kehtib üks priipääse - tingimustega saad tutvuda e!MEEDIA lehel.

e!MEEDIA toimub 16. detsembril 2009 kell 13:00-17:00 Kumus.
Lisainfo ja registreerumine altexi kodulehel.

NB! Pole tähtis, kas esindad reklaamiagentuuri, kliendi kommunikatsiooni- või turundusosakonda, meediaplaneerijaid või oled ise online kanali omanik: e!MEEDIAst kõrvale jäämist ei saa sa endale lubada. Registreeru kohe! Pakkumisel on ainult loetud arv priipääsmeid ja neid jagame põhimõttel „kes ees, see mees“.

social media & search for public relations

2009-11-05T07:23:13Z

Yesterday I gave a presentation at the Estonian PR Association.

I have put it online at the altex slideshare account.

Estonian PR Association Members

The European Institute of Innovation & Technology: The First Pan-European University

2009-11-05T01:51:58Z

BUILDING A NEW HIGH PROFILE INNOVATION UNIVERSITY EIT – the European Institute of Innovation and Technology: The First Pan-European University

Prof. Anders Flodström, Executive Committee and Governing Board member of EIT, University Chancellor of Sweden, President of the Swedish National Agency for Higher Education

EIT, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology is the first pan-European university being set up by the European Union with a planned yearly budget close to 1.5 billion dollars.

EIT will improve the ‘knowledge triangle’ interaction between research, education and innovation, key drivers of knowledge-based society. Entrepreneurship will be an inherent mediator for improving the interaction.

The forthcoming European Strategic Innovation Agency will promote EIT as a crucial instrument to improve the competitiveness of the European knowledge society.

EIT is focusing initially on the three areas: the future information society, climate change and sustainable energy. Each area will be addressed by a KIC – a Knowledge and Innovation Community. Tenders have been issued for setting up the KICs.

Eighteen European consortia have applied for operating KICs. The consortia involve leading European companies, research institutes and universities. The KICs will be based on co-location nodes and networking activities.

The EIT Governing Board is in charge of the strategic leadership and coordination of the EIT. It is responsible for the selection, evaluation and support of the Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs). The four members of the Executive Committee prepare the board meetings and facilitate the EIT’s strategic decision-making.

more about this event

Meeldetuletus: neljapäeviti saab altexis raamatuid lugeda

2009-11-04T14:04:01Z

Meeldetuletus kõigile internetiturunduse raamatute sõpradele:
neljapäeviti, soovitavalt 16:30 paiku, on kõik huvilised oodatud altexisse lugema

Pidu ei korralda ja ametlikku vastuvõttu pole, ent meie internetiturunduse raamatud on tunnikeseks sinu päralt. Ette registreerimine pole kohustuslik, soovi korral võib seda aga teha (ja küsimusi esitada) aadressil maarja@altex.ee

Samuti võiks Maarjale saata kõik soovitused ja mõtted raamatukogu täiendamiseks! Ostame hea meelega häid teoseid juurde. Siin asub ka nimekiri juba olemasolevatest.

altex export plans for 2010

2009-11-05T07:32:35Z

In 2009 it seems our revenue and profit will be both be slightly up but not at the target level we set last year.
The recession has had an impact of course for some services and also there has been an explosion in the both the volume of internet marketing projects going around but also in the number of companies offering internet marketing services which is good for our industry - but also of course means we don’t win as many jobs. Some of the new players with less experience are gaining experience by offering silly prices - something we don’t do. Of course I would warn companies that there is a risk to outsourcing to agencies with little experience but I am not going into that here and now.

Still though this year we have focused on positioning and by spending a relatively large sum to be present at numerous events we think we have got some more “top of mind” space.
It seems that when Estonians say “internetiturundus” they still think of altex which is good.

But anyway this post is supposed to be about export! - we want to export more.

altex has reached a size (12 people) that we can’t rely on the domestic market to deliver enough growth and whilst we have done work for clients in 10 countries so far it has been sort of random.
This week we had enquiries from Greece, Italy and Lithuania for example.

So 2010 we will focus attention on 4 areas and may add more during the year:

UK- we have always been interested and signs are that UK companies are more open to outsourcing than before. Our membership of and participation in the Institute of Direct Marketing is beginning to show fruit.

Finland - being part of PointEstonia is a starting point for us and we are convinced that Finland is a good market and price quality ratio we offer should be attractive there especially as we now have Finnish language capacity for a range of services.

Sweden - We are a member of the Velvet Creative Alliance and we will be working with them on targeting more Swedish business. It’s a new challenge for us.

USA - Meelis is off to America to look at the music business. He will be attending a big conference and looking for leads to help promote international artists to European markets.

and… Costa Rica!

Costa Rica is the most developed and richest central American country and somewhat of a gateway to the region. English is widely spoken and there is a booming tourism sector that serves the US market. Tourism e-marketing is on the rise there. Plus I speak Spanish personally so I have the enviable job this winter of spending time in Costa Rica to check out the market (and the beaches) and see what the potential is.

We would like to add Russia and China but…not yet.

Of course we will continue to focus the majority of our attention on the domestic (Estonian) market - it’s just that export is rising on the agenda.

altex v Tõnu Samuel part 2 (lõpp)

2009-11-03T11:39:26Z

8 days ago on a Sunday morning I met Tõnu Samuel in a Tartu café and showed him various documentation plus we discussed a number of the unsubstantiated allegations and rumours about altex and spamming.

Since then we have sent him further documentation he requested.

Following this were a couple of emails and yesterday a breakthrough phone conversation.

As a result Tõnu agreed to withdraw his posts about altex.

I would like to thank him publicly for taking the time to look deeper and to review his position and agree to take down his posts.

For us the matter is now closed and we are pleased also to announce that subject to final confirmation that Tõnu has also agreed to speak at e!Späm next March. (edit: correction nov 3: it seems I misunderstood Tõnu. he will not speak at e!späm. See comments below)

As I stated in my original post about the legal case:
“..we actually approve of what Tõnu is trying to do in that we agree that spammers should be named, shamed and, where possible, prosecuted.”

We will, as a result of this issue, work harder in the fight against spam because actions speak louder than words and for provoking that I owe Tõnu thanks.

We support Tõnu’s blog and encourage him to focus his fight against the real and persistent spammers in Estonia and we will support him how we can.

e!Meedia

2009-11-04T11:15:19Z

e!Meedia is a new altex event that has the potential to accelerate fundamental change in the Estonian media landscape forever.

It is perhaps the most important event we have organised so far.

What comes out of these presentations and discussions is likely to cause a reshaping of campaign media budgets in the future.

If you are involved in traditional offline or online advertising/marketing campaigns on either agency or client side then this is an event you cannot afford to miss.
Web publishers who rely on banner revenues should also pay close attention.

e!Meedia

What should be the role of the internet in a media campaign?
For some time internet marketing specialists (like altex) have been pushing for internet marketing to play a larger role in media campaigns.
Up to now most clients, advertising agencies and media planners have generally considered the internet as a single channel…and that has generally meant “banners”.
But the times are changing…fast.

Client pressure to include a role for search marketing, social media and email marketing is increasing to the point where it cannot be ignored any longer.

It has been argued that email and search marketing are best for direct response and banners are best for branding…but what about social media?
Doesn’t that have a powerful branding role too?
There are many more questions.

In a typical advertising campaign budget should the lines be redrawn?
Should there now be 5 lines in the internet section of the plan?
1. Banners & Rich media
2. Email Marketing
3. Search Marketing
4. Social Media
5. And Analytics (to measure the results)?

And if this change should happen then where does the extra budget come from?
From the banner budget?
Or from traditional media budget?

Internet adoption is growing fast.
Traditional media is in decline.

Should a greater proportion of offline media budget be diverted to email, search and social?
Or is the banner budget under threat?

Where can agencies acquire the skills and knowledge to make email, search and social work best for them?
Is it time for best practice or is this still the age of experimentation?

At E!Meedia you will not hear the “biased” views of altex or any other internet marketing specialist.

Instead you will hear senior representative from portals, news media and media planners share their views about if and how campaign planning and budgeting should change in the future to accommodate the explosion of consumer interest in, and usage of, email, search engines and social media.

Confirmed speakers so far are:
· Jaanus Lillenberg (Development and Marketing Manager, Postimees Online)
· Hanno Kindel (Development Manager, Media House)
· Sten Klemm (Advertising Sales Manager, Neti & Hot.ee)
· Allan Sombri (Sales and Marketing Director, Delfi)
. Erti Luik (Digital Media Specialist of the Group, BIGBANK)
. Toomas Tepomes (Managing Director, Gemius Eesti)

Each speaker will share their opinions and experiences.
Presentations will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by Andri Viiand (altex marketing)

Date: December 16th, 2009
Time 1-5pm
Location: KUMU
Cost: One person per company can come free.
This is altex’s Christmas gift to the Estonian marketing community.
Additional people employed by the same company 1000eek + vat each.

Included: Light refreshments on arrival.

More details and booking form to follow.

You can reserve your place now by emailing maarja@altex.ee
Please use subject line E!Meedia

Click here for details of other altex events and trainings

Takkajärgi kommentaar ja NetGroup Juubelifoorum 2009 ettekanded

2009-10-30T08:02:40Z

16. oktoobril toimus NetGroupi juubelifoorum, kus said kokku IT juhid ja otsustajad ning tehnoloogiatarnijad. Foorum jaotati neljaks sessiooniks – äri, tehnoloogia, arendus ja praktika ja põhifookus oli suunatud uutele trendidele ja kõigele sellele, mis ootab IT-valdkonda ees lähiaastatel.

Täiesti subjektiivse kommentaarina tahan lisada, et tegemist oli ühega paremini korraldatud üritustest, kus viimasel ajal osaleda on õnnestunud. Ehk on asi minu kaugenemises hardcore IT’st, ent nagu suur osa turundajaid, olin ka mina stereotüüpidesse pisut kinni jäänud ja ootasin kampa patsiga poisse ja mõistetamatut žargooni – ja seda enam üllatas ürituse muhe atmosfäär. Palju praktilisi ettekandeid, lahkelt jagatud reaalsed kogemused ja üldine optimism sellele lisaks.

Mis aga nüüd, kaks nädalat hiljem seda postitust kirjutama pani, on viimase aja äärmiselt tore trend jagada ka kõigi nendega, kes kohale ei jõudnud, seminaridel räägitut.

Ka NetGroup on Juubelifoorum 2009 seminari ettekanded veebi välja pannud, üles leiab need ka Juubelifoorumi lehelt „programmi“ alajaotusest. Soovitan vaadata - kui sedapuhku osalema ei pääsenud, ehk tekitavad need huvi järgmise aasta ürituse vastu

Eesti esimese TweetUpi järelkajaks

2009-10-30T08:21:16Z

Eilne TweetUp oli esimene sellest seeriast üritus Eestis ja loodetavasti toimub neid tulevikus veelgi. Meil oli suur heameel üritust omalt poolt toetada!

Soovitus tulevikuks oleks formaati pisut eestlaste jaoks kohandada. Lauad võiksid ehk üldse ära kaduda ja üritusel võiks olla agenda, kasvõi väga lakooniline. Siutsujate “kuumaks kütmiseks” piisaks näiteks ühest ettekandest teemal “miks Twitter on jama ja miks seda vaja pole”. See peaks juba üsna tuliseid diskussioone isekeskis algatama

Ürituse teemalised siutsud leiab #tweetup_est hashtag’ga. Lisan siia ka mõne fotojäädvustuse.

Siinkõneleja siutsumas (pilt @Aarne)

Twitterdajat üksteist pildistamas (pilt @ClySuva)

Kogu seltskond kaadris (pilt @ClySuva)