Nitty Gritty Marketing

2014 World Cup, 2016 Olympics… all in Brazil!

tomhanson — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:18:29 +0000

Brazil's One-Two Global Sports Bonanza!

Wondering how your company can find success in Brazil’s upcoming One-Two global sports bonanza?

Visit this website for a great road map on resources and partnerships offered by the US Commercial Service’s team, at five offices throughout Brazil.

They’ll help you link your products and services to companies and consumers, worldwide!

2011 in review: Hanson Marketing

tomhanson — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 13:57:40 +0000

Happy New Year from Hanson Marketing! We find ourselves based in Arlington, Virginia these days, where the sights and sounds of economic growth and global business activity are evident. No less than four high-rise construction sites are within view right now.

Our prospects for 2012 look bright, and include relocation to another bright spot in the world’s global economy, Sao Paulo, Brazil. We are eager to unpack, sit at our new desks, and plug into what makes this Alpha City hum! We will continue to press our views on what makes the nitty gritty world of global marketing so interesting, from an expanded Southern Hemisphere perspective.

Thank you, dear readers. Now – here’s a bonus: The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 3,600 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 60 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Corruption Rankings Released

tomhanson — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 18:17:56 +0000

Perceptions are a telling guideline in measuring the damage done by corrupt practices in international trade. Having just studied the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, I was pleased to see this timely release of the latest “perception” study of corruption in global markets.

Our friends in New Zealand win this year’s Lily White status; Kiwis are true straight shooters. Anyone care to guess where the USA ranks? If you guessed top 20, you’re wrong.

See more here.

High-Tech Hydroponic Farm Transforms Abandoned Bowling Alley

tomhanson — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 11:20:31 +0000

Watching this interesting trend of urban farming, as part of our discussion on the food distribution channels. Our challenge remains how to reduce distribution costs while maintaining purity of fresh foods delivered to nearby city dwellers. Community garden plots in vacant lots remind us of the uncomplicated solution to grow what you eat, or at least eat what’s grown locally.

Which investment sector will step up first: growers, wholesale grocers, property developers?

Free Trade Agreements Approved; Good News for Employers Across US

tomhanson — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 05:18:14 +0000

Quick Approval of Trade Agreements is Good News for the American Economy « Tradeology, the ITA Blog.

Hemingway Acceptance Speech, 1954 Nobel Literature Prize

tomhanson — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 03:53:30 +0000

Sometimes, doing a better job in our chosen fields means listening to how legends in other fields define their path to greatness. Ernest Hemingway was awarded the 1954 Nobel Prize for Literature, and this is his acceptance speech, recorded in Cuba.

While my career goals do not include literary legend, I always strive to improve my writing, as a means of imparting maximum impact and value to the solutions I provide to my clients. To me, it helps to hear what this giant of our age thinks about gaining such a prestigious honor as the Nobel. Listen here.

Opportunities to Do Business in Brazil

tomhanson — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 01:14:59 +0000

New Friendships and New Opportunities to Do Business in Brazil | Department of Commerce.

Free Trade Agreements: White House Transmits Bills

tomhanson — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 20:34:38 +0000

Progress announced today in ratifying trade agreements with Korea, Panama and Colombia. These three trade agreements support American companies seeking export growth.

Read more in this news release by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

AARP National Convention’s Lifestyle Expo

tomhanson — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 04:05:33 +0000

I’m working at the annual AARP Life@50+ national convention in Los Angeles, promoting exercise and rehabilitation systems from sibling companies VQ ActionCare and VQ OrthoCare. Because nothing says “over 50″ like bum knees and lack of exercise, our products BioniCare and Resistance Chair are right at home here!

Here are my thoughts on reaching this audience:

Life@50+ is a lifestyle expo.It’s unlike any other trade show I’ve sponsored because these 25,000 attendees are linked solely by their era of birth. Unlike trade shows or other consumer-focused shows that lure experts and enthusiasts in a particular category, the aisles and pavilions of Life@50+ are an A-to-Z trip through life as an older American in 2011: finances, food, leisure, communication, and health. Hence, the exhibits list reads like the Yellow Pages instead of a trade association roster.
Main Street USA. Strolling the aisles is also like a shopping trip down a traditional Main Street: travel agents, medical dispensers, clothiers, Realtors. As in medieval days when merchants posted garish, graphical signs to inform and lure shoppers, we Life@50 exhibitors must show and tell our brands’ value propositions in concise, visually arresting terms. Here, it’s especially challenging to win new customers and sell them on the spot, but really rewarding when it does happen!

Life@50+ rolls through Saturday at the Los Angeles Convention Center, with a most improbable, yet purely LA mash-up of celebrities including Spike Lee, Tim Gunn and Carol Burnett.

Disruptive Trends Thrive in Hyper-Local Markets

tomhanson — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 04:20:46 +0000

Consider the term “hyper-local”. In the context of this post, it describes products and services that you buy and sell from providers within close physical proximity to where you sleep and work (not to say you’re dozing at your desk…) What product and service trait makes it the magnetic, most favored choice?

Density. Product owners choose a few key locations wherein their target customer abounds, and blanket it, making the product’s around the corner, steady-eddy availability a blockade against competitive products. Like a magnet drawing customers, every time.

Read more at Fast Company. This great quote from the article, about one of my favorite disruptive trends, Zipcar, sums it up: “…what catalyzes [customer's] decision to go with Zipcar is often the discovery that a car is available five minutes from home rather than 10. That trigger unlocks the magnetic properties of Zipcar.”