*Clarity In Marketing

With predictions of an economic downturn rife you should be looking for new markets where your products or services. One option is the international market. Selling to other countries is not without challenges of course. This article looks how best to get into the search results in other countries.

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As members of the Turkish British Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TBCCI), we were asked to present at their Second Food Initiative Seminar. The event looked at the spread of Turkish food culture, standards, importation, organic production, branding, regulatory and marketing aspects for establishing Turkish food and drink brands in the UK.

Our presentation focused on the UK consumers' point of view and identified trends and opportunities for Turkish food and drink brands in the UK. For the presentation we undertook an online survey to gauge the awareness and perception of Turkish food and drink amongst  UK consumers. You can view a copy of the presentation given at the TBCCI seminar by Clarity's Gillian Angel and a copy of the survey results below. Both should provide very interesting reading for anyone looking to establish ethnic food or drink brands in the UK. 

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• [Turkish Version] What do UK Consumers Want?
• Turkish food and drink awareness survey results

If you'd like find out more about establishing brands in the UK market or would like to understand the UK perceptions of and opportunities for your brand please contact Gillian Angel at Clarity In Marketing.

If you are a member of the Turkish British Chamber of Commerce and Industry we offer a UK Consumer and Marketing Benchmark service at a specially reduced rate. Please contact Burhan Aytac.

Nearly 90 per cent of businesses are missing out on valuable market data by failing to analyse social networks, reports The Institue of Direct Marketing on it's website.

According to predictive analytics software provider SPSS, despite 82 per cent of firms claiming that social networking sites such as Facebook are a useful source of information, the majority do not use them to survey customer opinion.

Reported by Precision Marketing, the firm suggests that such portals provide a good opportunity for companies to collaborate market data, irrespective of language or distance. Colin Shearer, senior vice-president of market strategy at SPSS, explained that consumers are more open about their opinions towards products or services on social networking sites.

He also claimed that businesses will be "overwhelmed" by the wealth of information available from social network data. "While traditional contact channels are still applicable, businesses need to recognise and capitalise on the shift towards social networking or they are missing vital insight," he said.

Last year, it was revealed by comScore that Brits are the biggest users of social networking sites in Europe.

Tesco Mobile has embraced mobile advertising after concluding its customers are hungry for ads on their phones, reports Silicon.com.

The mobile virtual network operator has been trialling a WAP advertising portal since May 2007, which Tesco said has displayed strong month-on-month growth, gaining 300,000 unique visitors in December.

Banner advertising served up on the portal delivered a click-through rate to tailored WAP campaign sites of between three and seven per cent, said Tesco. Brands advertising on the portal included Bee Movie, ITV, Nivea and Teletext.

Tesco said the user-base of the portal has a strong segment of female household budget owners with an average age of 36 - a demographic it said is particularly valuable for fast-moving consumer goods such as toiletries and cleaning products.

According to a survey commissioned by Tesco, more than half (60 per cent) of portal users are female and the same percentage said they visit the portal at least once a month, while 69 per cent claimed they would click on a relevant advert.

Ashley Schofield, head of customer management at Tesco Mobile, said in a statement: "Our customers are showing a real appetite for more products and services through the mobile internet. Delivering more great experiences and value through our portal is a priority for this year."

Updated on May 12, 2008 by Mike Lewis

Google has announced a revision to its AdWords Trademark Policy. From 5 May 2008, your competitors will be able to use trademarks registered in the UK and Ireland as keyword triggers for their AdWords campaigns. Also, keywords that were disabled as a result of a trademark complaint and investigation will no longer be restricted in the UK and Ireland.

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