We are excited to announce that e-Storm will be participating at the emarketing bootcamp organized by the Franco-American Chamber of Commerce.

The bootcamp offers members the ability to submit their SEO, paid search, word of mouth, online advertising challenges in advance, and the panel of 4 online marketing experts will provide feedback on what they would do differently or not. A hands on and interactive session which promises to be educational and fun.

Here are the details:

e-Marketing Bootcamp #2
Monday, June 9th
4.30 to 8pm
L’Atelier BNP-Paribas, San Francisco, Directions

A little about the Chamber from their web site:

The San Francisco Chapter of the French-American Chamber of Commerce (FACCSF) was created in 1978 and is a member driven, non-profit organization.

Our mission is serving the needs of the French-American business community throughout the San Francisco Bay and helping French and American business leaders to meet, discuss common interest, and exchange ideas through our networking events. The Chamber also provides the perfect forum for you to explore international business opportunities and to encourage your entrepreneurial initiatives.

The San Francisco Chapter of the French American Chamber of Commerce -one of the largest in the country- regroups about 300 members who also benefit from the FACC Network that includes 19 other FACC Chapters in the United States and Paris and offers over 4,000 business contacts.

If you are looking to connect with international marketers, members of the Franco-American Chamber of Commerce and learn about practical ways to improve your online marketing, this is the event.

Will you join us?

With the uprise of social networks, and brands jumping at the chance to launch their own communities - are brands getting the most of the conversations that are happening all around them?

During my daily reading, I came across an article about the Unilever and Sprint site, In the Motherhood . In the Motherhood is a community catering specifically to moms, which has been a hit (over 15 million video views) since its launch last spring.

The website is in its second season and one can assume Sprint and Unilever are gaining more than their fair share of consumer insight. The question is….

Is Unilever paying attention to the conversations happening in the forum? Better yet, are you?

Companies like the Container Store could benefit from listening to the rants and raves of women in the Unilever mommy community.

For example, market researchers at the Container Store could find out mommy tips for staying organized.

Wendy Piersall (of eMoms at Home) posted a list featuring moms who Twitter. This is an amazing little gem for companies (and moms or future moms) looking to reach and build relationships with a strong community of women who want to share tips, ideas and their personal updates with one another.

Brands (ehem.. marketers…) aren’t actually supposed to bombard members of this Twitter group with questions (who ever liked a nosey reporter?). Brands should listen, learn, and if you (the person looking) ACTUALLY have something in common with them and want to chat with them become friends with them- by all means join the conversation. These Twitter-ers are not focus groups and they may or may not be your future brand ambassadors, but they certainly are real people having real conversations.

Friendly advice- be a friend or be a fly on the wall and gain as much knowledge about your target demographic as you can.

You’re seeing it everywhere … everyone is jumping on the “green” bandwagon. And it means something entirely different than when Kermit the Frog sang about it. I know that I feel a twinge of guilt when I throw something out that could possibly be recycled. So what do consumers think at this point?

The Center for Media Resarch has found that consumers are not fully embracing the concept as of yet. The messaging is definitely out there in the marketplace, and 37.1% of consumers admitted to frequently recalling what is now becoming known as “green messaging.” So rising awareness is good news, right?

Not so fast. Although the consumer awareness is there, the consumer’s trust is not. Only 12.1% claim to always believe green advertising claims. A whopping 65.3% say they sometimes believe the green claims. However, the consumer is definitely taking the green movement and incorporating it into their own life — 81.9% say they are doing something to make their life more green. Only 12.9% say they are “not green at all.” As far as going completely green, only 5.2% of respondents consider themselves in that bucket.

Not surprising, the number one reason for going green is because it’s good for the environment, and that’s the number one reason specified in this survey. What appeals most to these green groups? The top two are recycling information and healthy recipes. Also popular are alternative energy sources, natural remedies, eco-friendly cleaning products, outdoor recreation, tips for simple living and organic foods.

The majority of people who are trying to live green find their information on the Internet (79.6%). But they seem to be disappointed in what they’re finding. Only 41.6% of people said they would rate the information that they found as average, 20.8% rated the info found as fair, and 17.2% rated info found as poor.

This represents a huge opportunity for marketers if you’re wanting to reach a green or a green aspiring audience. It’s obvious that people are hungry for information and want to do the right thing. Consumers are looking for ways to incorporate “green” into their daily lives, so it is a perfect opportunity for companies to not just offer “green” information about their products/services, but go beyond to educate them.

Let’s face it, if your company is venturing into “greening” your products, you have done research that consumers might not have access to? Share it, with no “sales or marketing” expectations, then consumers will develop a relationship with your company, build trust and eventually will become loyal customers of your company.

Everything in the media, ads lately is about “green” and I believe there is going to be a backlash on “green” marketing. So be smart, educate, provide real information about how to instill a green living, don’t just use “green” as a marketing gimmick - you will be called out, and ignored. That will hurt your bottom line.

I’m sure most of you know what a blogger does, but do you really know who they are? Do you have visions of someone hunched over a PC 24/7? In our industry, we know who they are, and The Center for Media Research has also confirmed facts about bloggers. You may be surprised at what has been revealed.

Here are some top-line findings, in case anyone asks you about who’s blogging these days:

• Over 53% are male
• 44.7% are married
• Average age is 37.6 years old
• 69.7% are Caucasian
• HHI $55.8K

Bloggers are very tuned in to technology and use it regularly, which is not surprising. They own and use the following:

• 93% have cellphones
• 75.3% use some sort of IM
• 72.2% download video or TV content
• 66.9% are into video games
• 65.5% text message

The logical conclusion: another diverse group not to be placed in one bucket. Marketers who approach bloggers need to know that one size does not fit all, and each blogger needs to have his or her own personalized introduction to what you and your company do.

It’s no longer necessary for you to hide those online coupon codes that you’re embarrassed to admit you have to make your online purchases. As it turns out, the very wealthy are doing the same thing you are, according to Media Post’s Marketing Daily. If your income is over $100K, you are most likely responding to the slump in the economy by searching for bargains as opposed to buying without looking at price tags. You are searching for quality and value at the same time. No more pointing to items saying, “I’ll take that … and that … and that …”

But even if you’re categorized as affluent ($352K in discretionary annual income) your habits are probably similar. In one survey from MediaPost, it was determined that 70% of affluent respondents use the Internet to research purchases of significant cost prior to buying, such as high cost fashion and home purchases. And kids are getting into the purchases as well with their influence — 53% of affluent respondents noted that their children influence purchases with their own preferences. Marketers, take note.

As the old saying goes, time is money. This is especially true with affluent consumers. 70% surveyed said they preferred making their purchases online. However, the human touch has not been completely lost: the affluent preferred a retail purchase when it was quick or when they believed an experienced salesperson would add value to their purchase.

Not surprisingly, those in the survey with more money had less anxiety about their own future. However, that is not going to change their bargain shopping ways.

What does this mean for luxury brands, hotels, watches, cars, others?
Affluent purchasers will check your online presence and will comparison shop. So if you are targeting affluent consumers - they are searching for you on search engines - like the rest of the US population (or 83% of them). If they land on your site and it doesn’t contain information about your products, its characteristics, and even the price - guess where are they going? Where they can purchase your products from a reseller or authorized dealer or other channels.

We have consulted with many luxury brands - and companies can develop experiential online presences yet offer their customers the ability to purchase online. Many consumers purchase LCD TVs, Plasma TVs at $5, 10, 20K, what would stop them from purchasing a Tiffany ring, a Hermes Bag or a Cartier watch online? It is time for luxury brands to embrace e-commerce, and make it easier for consumers to find them online (rather than their savvier resellers) and market to them online.