Nomad Marketing Blog

Much has been made of micro-finance as an economic development tool.  One challenge in micro-finance is that the businesses created with micro-loans are often service businesses that do not create new wealth within communities.  They simply move the wealth from one person to another.Some community development organizations have created a different model.  Micro-marketing.  This concept creates jobs and wealth by teaching marketable skills and providing valuable products to people outside the communities these groups serve.  Cape Town, South Africa is home to two such organizations, the Philani Nutrition Development Project and MonkeyBiz.The Philani centers, located in the townships of Cape Town teach weaving, beadwork and other artistic skills.  They provide sales, marketing and business education and support.  Two-thirds of the revenue from the artists’ work goes directly to the artists.  The remainder supports the centers’ educational and childhood development programs and provides business assistance to the artists.  The art is sold to tourists and collectors that visit the centers and a number of retail shops throughout Cape Town.MonkeyBiz provides a similar outlet for local artists via a retail shop in Cape Town, an online shop and partnerships with organizations around the world.  In contrast to the Philani Centers, which focus on township residents, MonkeyBiz artisans largely come from the streets of Cape Town.  MonkeyBiz provides a broad range of skills training, involving artisans in every aspect of the retail business and community outreach programs.Like micro-finance programs, these micro-marketing initiatives create new economic opportunities for underprivileged communities.  By creating goods for art collectors and tourists, projects like MonkeyBiz and the Philani Centers go one step farther.  They attract new wealth into the communities.

Nomad Marketing,marketing,economic development,micro-finance,micro-marketing,MonkeyBiz,Philani

What possesses someone to voluntarily leave a perfectly good job to start a new business?  There are lots of answers to this question, but one of the most common answers is passion.  Passion for a hobby or a product or a dream.An equally important question for entrepreneurs is:  What keeps them going?  At their core, all entrepreneurs share one trait:  determination.  The drive to see something through, to reach a dream.Meet Matt Albee.  Matt and his wife started eleven winery 4 years ago on Bainbridge Island, WA.  Their production facility formerly housed their cars.  Their tasting room is a small storefront in “downtown” Bainbridge Island.  But despite their humble facilities, they produce very impressive wines.Passion for winemaking led Matt to leave his job in the software industry.  Determination drove him to apprentice with a winemaker for 4 years before he opened his own winery.  He volunteered during harvests, pitching in before and after work.  Gradually, he spent more time at his apprenticeship, creating his own wines and learning the trade.  Today, eleven winery produces eight different wines and sells nationwide.“Once I got a taste of it, ‘not’ becoming a winemaker was not an option for me,” Matt recalls.  “From that first day, I’ve arranged my life in order to make the winery a reality. For the first several years I kept my day job in order to make ends meet. I never really felt like I chose winemaking - it chose me.”While passion might kickstart entrepreneurs, determination makes them successful.  Every day presents challenges that must be addressed. Money, logistics, suppliers, customers…you name it – challenging!  Meeting these opportunities head on takes determination.Matt remembers, “The first year was the hardest.  Often I’d come home from work, help make dinner and get our 1-year old to bed, then go out to work in the winery until 1 am. We didn’t have the deep pool of volunteers that we have now, so often my wife, Sarah, and I ended up doing huge amounts of work ourselves.“We couldn’t find any help or even a babysitter when the Pinot Gris grapes came in that year,” Matt continues. “It was the two of us and Cole (age 1) crushing and pressing all 5,000 pounds of it in one (very long) day.  But we survived.  In my cycling career I faced some of the greats, including Lance Armstrong, but starting a winery was far harder than anything I ever did on a bike.”Matt’s experience as a bicycle racer provide a perfect analogy.  From the eleven winery website:“On a typical road bike the smallest cog in the rear cluster has eleven teeth, and it’s the one that produces the maximum gear ratio. Therefore, when you’re at the point in the race when it’s all or nothing, when there’s no choice but to put every ounce of strength and determination you’ve got into the pedals no matter how much you’re already suffering, when you have to give it absolutely everything you’ve got, you use The Eleven.”When the going gets tough, successful entrepreneurs like Matt dig deep.  They stay focused.  They use The Eleven.

Marketing,entrepreneur,wine,business,cycling,Seattle,Bainbridge Island

Sioux Falls, SD is on the cutting edge!I had the chance to participate in the 2nd Annual South Dakota TechKnowlogy Summit Tuesday.  One thing was clear:  the level of technology advancement in the area is impressive.  From the wireless service retailer providing text message updates and promotions to customers to the wide range of distance learning programs – the Sioux Falls area is demonstrating a range of innovation that belies its relatively small population.I served as a panelist in a breakout session entitled, “How Technology is Changing Marketing” with two other marketing executives.  My fellow panelists were Chuck Lennon, the President of TeamLogicIT and Sara Steever, the Director of Interactive Media, at Paulsen Marketing.  Our conversation covered a variety of topics, including the future of e-mail messaging and predictions of Google’s global domination.SkyNet is OnlineThe rise of the cell phone as a marketing vehicle generated a lot of discussion.  Many of the participants agreed that mobile marketing has a lot of potential upside.  That’s especially true outside the US (and most visibly in the developing world), where the cell phone has leapfrogged the computer as a text communication tool.  The risks are high, as well.  Mobile “spam”, if not content-rich, contextual and meaningful will be perceived as even more invasive than e-mail spam and pop-up ads.  The backlash against mobile spammers will be swift and sure.The More Things Change…All the panelists agreed that new media represents a tremendous opportunity for expanding and deepening conversations between brand owners and their audiences.  Video content and blogging create a richer conversation with customers. Mobile messaging, Facebook and MySpace offer new channels of media distribution.  Print and broadcast media are likely to face consolidation in the coming years.The More They Stay The SameRegardless of the channel, marketing messages must adhere to traditional principles to be successful.  Clarity, Consistency and Content-Richness are the hallmarks of sound marketing.  One audience member (a network security provider) asked how to create a persona for his CEO via a blog.  We discussed ways to bring out the CEO’s personality through some of his past writings and lectures.  Creating controversy and making bold predictions can also reinforce the blog personality and create stickiness for the blog.  At the same time, it can be risky to over-reach in an effort to be controversial.  Keeping the tone of the blog adventurous and forward-thinking can lead to a popular and well-regarded communication tool.The South Dakota Techknowlogy Summit showcased the state’s thriving tech community.  These prairie businesses are embracing technology change in marketing. With thoughtful focus on their brands and clear, consistent messaging, they will enjoy new and richer interactions with their audiences.

marketing,branding,technology,cell phone,text message,blog,video,south dakota,sioux falls,e-mail

Cuy Arts is a Peruvian company that makes the most of its location in marketing its wares.  Cuy Arts’ historically-inspired T-shirts and novelties include themes and images parodying the Spanish conquest of Peru, local produce and of course, llamas.

Their parody is a mash-up of Peruvian history and global popular culture.  Darth Vader is a conquistador and Yoda is an Inca in on of their designs.  Llamas sell shoes in another.

It’s easy to overanalyze Cuy Arts approach.  The simple imagery speaks for itself.  The company’s brand even plays on the theme.  Cuy is roast guinea pig – a Peruvian delicacy!

Cuy Arts has created a unique position. Their historical perspective and pop culture sensibility have made them popular as a tourist souvenir without sacrificing local cultural relevance. The company highlights this universal appeal by showcasing user-submitted images from around the world on their website.  Peruvians and tourists appear in equal numbers.  This is a hard balance to strike. Too often, locals wouldn’t be caught dead with touristy stuff. Equally common are local goods that are too obscure or culturally-specific to appeal to tourists.  Cuy Arts has bridge the gap.

Staying fresh and current will be an ongoing challenge for Cuy Arts.  At the same time, they’ve built a great platform and a loyal following.  If they stay true to their roots and keep their finger on the pulse of pop culture, they’ll continue to prosper.

Check out Cuy Arts @ www.cuy-arts.com.

Marketing,branding,travel,web,photo,tourism,peru,Latin-America,South-America