Kakao Talk, a Korean Mobile Messaging App, is to launch an aggressive international campaign to grow its subscriber base and compete with global giants Facebook and Twitter. The free messaging service, which currently has 9 million subscribers in South Korea, [...]]]> Kakao Talk, a Korean Mobile Messaging App, is to launch an aggressive international campaign to grow its subscriber base and compete with global giants Facebook and Twitter. The free messaging service, which currently has 9 million subscribers in South Korea, and a further 1 million around the world, is compatible  with Apple and Android Operating Systems and is currently used in 216 countries.

The app enables users to send text messages, as well as links, files and photos and is currently  available in Korean, English and Japanese. Kakao plans to set up offices in the US and Japan by the end of the year and  believes its success in markets such as the Middle East, where the app isn’t available in local languages, demonstrates the opportunities of going global in a mobile age.

Kakao Founder Kim Beom-su  is confident that the app can provide real competition for Facebook and Twitter, although he admits it may seem like a David and Goliath fight.

It certainly does seem an impressive goal, given the global dominance of Facebook in particular, but as the mobile web continues to grow, there may be  room in the mobile space for some alternatives.

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Eastern Europe, The Middle East and Africa are all regions that are rapidly developing when it comes to web use and becoming increasingly popular targets for global organisations.

We speak to Google’s Steffen Ehrhardt ahead of the [...]]]> Eastern Europe, The Middle East and Africa are all regions that are rapidly developing when it comes to web use and becoming increasingly popular targets for global organisations.

We speak to Google’s Steffen Ehrhardt ahead of the International Search Summit Munich to find out more about targeting these  emerging markets, display advertising and global search in general.

As an Emerging Market Specialist, you focus particularly on Central & Eastern Europe, The Middle East and North Africa. What are the main online trends you are seeing in these markets at the moment?

More and more people are going online but the big difference to Western Europe is that in Emerging Markets more people go online via mobile devices.  Especially in countries where there is a poor landline infrastructure mobile devices are key for online access and with all the new high-end devices a lot more people have  the opportunity to go online for the first time. So one interesting development that is happening because of this are a lot of innovations around mobile e.g. m-banking. Another interesting trend is for example the creation of content in non-English languages – Arabic is currently the fastest growing language on the web.

How do these markets differ from more developed online markets say in Western Europe? What do marketers targeting countries in these regions need to be aware of?

Generally you can say that Western European markets are a lot more developed in direct online transactions, so have also a lot more direct response online campaigns, mainly because conversion rates are easier to track.  Emerging markets often lack a standardized, trusted form of payment, clearly defined ICT regulations etc. so direct transactions are less often made online. Also competition and user  interests and behaviour can heavily vary from market to market.

You’re also part of the Google’s display team – how does display compare to other online advertising mediums in EMEA in terms of usage? Has there been an increase? Does it vary much by region/country?

Display is currently getting a lot of attention and more and more people realise the potential display advertising has. Growth rates in display are really impressive globally and in a lot of markets it is growing even faster than for example search advertising. I think advertisers are realizing the effect of having a holistic view on online advertising so aligning search with display and other online advertising activities. Display offers a lot of different solutions today like Video, Dynamic Ads or Remarketing that combined with creativity can deliver great results. Usage of display in general varies a lot from market to market e.g. in some Middle Eastern countries display is more important in the whole advertising mix than in some Western European markets.

In your opinion, how should organisations be using display as part of their international online strategy? How does it integrate with other online tools & techniques?

First of all you have to define  a clear strategy of what you want to achieve with the internationalisation of your products or services and if you have an offline business you have to make sure activities are aligned cross channel. Online definitely makes it easier to internationalise but I still see a lot of companies totally underestimating the work that is required when you want to go into other markets. You can not just copy a successful campaign, translate it and hope it will work in another countries – you need to know market specifics, what are established forms of payment, regulations that may affect your business etc. With regards to tools – there is a wide range of great tools in the market, from Google I’d like to specifically highlight: AdPlanner, Remarketing, Global Market Finder Tool, Insights for Search and of course Analytics.

If you could give one prediction for what we should expect in 2011 – either in search and/or display – what would it be?

The biggest growth in 2011 that I see is in the following areas: Mobile, Local, Social and Video & Dynamic Advertising. So my one prediction is that the combination of all these areas opens up an incredible potential for advertisers where the user will also see a lot of benefits.

Finally, why should people attend the International Search Summit?

There are a lot of great online events but most of them are focused on what is happening in a specific markets or in a specific region. International Search Summit is for me personally a key event you have to attend when you want to be be successful in online marketing across several markets globally, at the same time. There are a lot of roadblocks you need to be aware of – campaigns can be successful in one market but not in another one and the International Search Summit sessions will help you to minimise risks and to understand what is required to be successful in all markets.

Steffen will be speaking on the Impact of Display on Search at the International Search Summit Munich on April 4th. Also speaking at the event are Evgeny Lomize, Yandex; Cedric Chambaz, Microsoft; Florian Reisinger, BMW; Andy Atkins-Krüger, WebCertain and Thomas de Buhr, YouTube.

Tickets for the Summit, which will take place alongside SMX Munich, are still available.

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Have you ever been on the highway thinking “I have to Google that”? You probably have and some of you might have even have done it. With the risk [...]]]> Have you ever been on the highway thinking “I have to Google that”? You probably have and some of you might have even have done it. With the risk of a ticket (at least here in Holland you are not allowed to do that) or worse, the risk of an accident.

In the English speaking countries like the UK, US or Australia that wasn’t an issue anymore when Google decided to launch their Voice Search. But you might have guessed it, that was all in English. For those coming from a non-English speaking country there still was the danger of ruining your car when trying to type a search on your phone while driving.

But Google does look to other countries. Though sometimes it takes a while they do role out their stuff in different languages. In the case of voice search after English they started of with Mandarin Chinese and Japanese (might sound surprising but with the size of the mobile markets there it really isn’t). After that it was time for French, German, Italian, and Spanish and now finally starting October the ’smaller’ languages are one by one getting their voice search. Russian, Polish, Czech and Turkish were the first ’smaller’ languages and now also Dutch (yeah) and even Zulu and Afrikaans, as well as South African-accented English are now supported on Android.

So the world can now safely search Google when driving. Right…?

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Bas van den Beld is a leading expert on European search and a regular contributor to search marketing publications and conferences all over the world. He also runs State of Search – a new website providing insight and [...]]]> Bas van den Beld is a leading expert on European search and a regular contributor to search marketing publications and conferences all over the world. He also runs State of Search – a new website providing insight and analysis on the latest issues and developments in global search marketing.

At the International Search Summit on 13th May, Bas will be speaking on mobile in Europe – a topic which is becoming much more relevant as mobile usage grows across the world. Here, Bas answers a few questions about mobile – and international search in general.

Bas, if you could give just one tip to search marketers working on global campaigns, what would it be?

Do not assume – it will make an “ass” out of “u” and “me” so to speak! If you think you know how different countries and different cultures work and that you don’t need help from within the targeted countries, you are wrong!

You’re speaking about mobile search in Europe – how ‘mobile minded’ is Europe?

Europe is very mobile minded, even more that the US. Long before the US, we were ‘texting’ already and now you can see that many developments come from Europe. In this case, the US can learn from Europe.

Are there big differences in the use of mobile between Europe, the US and Asia? And what about within Europe itself – does mobile usage differ much between countries?

There are differences, although things are moving so fast the differences will become smaller very quickly. But we should all look at Asia as an example of how fast things can go. Asia is the most advanced, followed by Europe and the US.  Within Europe there are also differences of course. Some countries, like the Netherlands, are very well developed when it comes to mobile.

Is mobile here to stay, or is it just a fad?

Mobile will never go away

How easy is it to optimise a website for mobile search -  and should marketers be doing it? 

It’s not just about optimising your website, it’s about doing multiple mobile efforts to bring ‘the mix’ together. Optimise but also do applications and work with others to enhance the user experience. Besides that there is a new challenge: getting found in the app stores.

This will be your second time speaking at the International Search Summit – what value do you think the event offers delegates?

The International Search Summit is a very special event which immediately got into my heart the first time I spoke there. The intimate nature of the event means that delegates can learn very much in one day.

The International Search Summit in May is focused on innovations – recent developments in search and social media which are changing online marketing. In your opinion, what is the most significant innovation in recent years?

Mobile

The International Search Summit will be held at The Barbican in London on 13th May. Other topics on the agenda include global social media advertising, international Twitter strategies, video optimisation and global SEM.

Tickets are now available at an early bird rate.

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