The advertising misconception

I think this video illustrates quite well what is going on
in marketing and advertising right now - Enjoy.

Introduction to Neuro Linguistic Programming

Since I like NLP as a Model to understand how people think and how to make effective use of Psychlogy in Business, I post this small introduction to NLP by Clay Lowe on the Blog.

Clay was also my trainer in the Coaching and Teambuilding workshops at the Negotiation Days in Poznan and I liked his training very much.

Creating AEGEE Evangelists using the Hawthorne Effect

I was just thinking about how to transfer the knowledge from the book „Creating Customer Evangelists” into an NGO like AEGEE.

These are my ideas.

- the basic principle for companies is to find people that are interested in your product (High Involvement) and to involve / engage them into your marketing actions (Participation) to make them feel commitment and loyal towards your company
- the transfer to AEGEE would be to find people that are interested in:
o travelling & international exchange
o making friends all over Europe
o experiencing different cultures and getting to know other countries from inside
o getting organizing and socialising skills for their future life & career
o for people that are into business – to get some skills in the fields of PR, Leadership, Finance & Accounting, Fundraising / Networking, Public Speaking, IT…..
o getting involved in European politics & working on European Identity
o …..

and to give them the opportunity to get engaged in their favourite field – get some experience and to make them feel the AEGEE spirit. Once they are fully engaged they can tell their friends about the company / AEGEE and bring them in.

One of the underlying principles behind this process is the Hawthorne Effect. This is what Dr. Paul Marsden writes about it:

How to Influence People using the Hawthorne Effect

"If the psychology of the Hawthorne Effect all seems a bit abstract, try it for yourself and see how simple and powerful it is as an influence technique for getting what you want from someone. Just before asking someone for something, whether it’s a salary increase, a date or whatever, ask them their advice on something. It doesn’t matter what it is that you ask them their advice on; the important thing is to be seen to be listening to what they have to say, and to tell them you appreciate their opinion. Then, when they have finished giving you their advice, ask them for whatever it is you want from them. The chances are that your ‘research’ will have triggered the Hawthorne Effect and you will get what you want. By asking them for their opinion you will have not only created goodwill but also flattered their ego, and at a subconscious level they will feel indebted to you. This psychological indebtedness makes them significantly more likely to agree to whatever it is you are asking of them. By seeing the Hawthorne Effect in action as a very powerful influence technique, you will also know to watch out the next time someone asks you for your advice and then asks you for something! "

I also found two useful guides about "How to bind members to 
your Antenna"and  "How to promote AEGEE"- maybe this will help to understand the concept better.
 

AEGEE Advertising

Basic Advertising principles say – if you want to get the right people, you have to give them the right message and appeal to their values to get committed in whatever idea you are presenting to them.

For AEGEE this means – depending on which student groups you have as target groups, you have to use different messages to get them interested in joining and participating in this Student Organisation.

This means in practise:
- IT Students- appeal to their value of getting experience in the field of IT, having the opportunity to manage the IT Systems & Websites of the AEGEE local and meeting different people
- Business Students – opportunity to use and shape their skills in AEGEE projects, Networking with interesting people and preparing for their future career
- Politic Students – opportunity to experience European Identity, talk about politics, work on international relations
- Tourisms Studies – opportunity to travel, experience different cultures, getting to know different people from all over Europe
- Advanced students – opportunity to use their skills in practise (this is a general thing), teach other people – getting the skills as trainers, getting involved in seminars to get more experience and skills
- …

I think every AEGEE local should know about that fact to make their advertising more efficient and to appeal to the values of the students they are targeting.

Follow Up Negotiation Days in Poznan

I`m just back from my exiting trip through Poland. I visited the 4th edition of the Negoation Days, they provided me a lot of insights into myself and other people. For me it was especially interesting to combine my existing knowledge about NLP, Coaching and Negotiation with the knowledge of the trainers and participants and to work in international and diverse teams (as usual I was the only German / international participant at the workshops)

During the 3 days I attended the workshops about effective Teambuilding, Coaching and applied Negotiation Strategies, run by the trainers Clay Lowe, Peter Feeth and Chris Walker.
Also very interesting was the opening lecture which was run by the CEO of the Negotiation Academy Europe about “Strategies and Personality Types in Negotiation”.

There are also an interesting videos about the Leadership Seminar of Peter and Clay.

Negotiation Days in Poznan

I will go to the Negotiation Days in Poznan / Poland in 1 week. This training focuses upon bringing students and internation companies together to share some knowledge and provide effective coaching for the students.

The organizers of AEGEE Poznan told me, that their will be a variety of interesting companies and speakers, for example from Harvard Business School…

So if some of you are interested in these topics too – maybe we will see each other in Poznan.

To Blog or not to Blog: Key Questions for Marketers and Communications Professionals

Many companies have very simple questions: Should we have a blog? If so, what kind should it be? Who should maintain it? What should its purpose be? What will we use it for?

Before you start a blog and engage into Blog marketing – you should ask yourself these questions:

Are you willing to engage in a dialogue with your public?

What is your strategy for becoming an advocate with your consumers?

Does your company have a blog policy? If so, do your employees know about it?

Do your company’s employees contribute to blogs on your company’s Web site? On their own Web sites? Does your company have a policy about employees authoring their own blogs? Do employees know about such a policy?

Does your company’s communications agency have a blog strategy? Does the agency take blogs seriously? If it has a policy, do you know what it is? Has one been crafted for or presented to your company?

If your company has a blog, does anyone pay attention to how many hits it receives, who links to it and what kind of comments it receives?

Do you know how many times your company or brand was mentioned in blogs and in communication forums in the last year? Quarter? Month?

Does your company monitor blogs and online conversa­tions to determine what’s being said? Who handles the task, and how often? What kind of data is collected, and who receives it?

If your company monitors blogs and other online con­versations, does it also have a protocol for responding to negative information it finds? Who responds? What event(s) triggers such a response?

Does your company know whether existing consumers or critics—some of whom already might be in your customer database—are active bloggers or influential bloggers? (e.g., do you ask them questions about their blogging behavior when you interact with them in order to find out their level of blog activity?)

Do you understand the differences between the types of bloggers, e.g., credentialed media bloggers vs. consumer bloggers?

If financial analysts, media representatives and other outsiders are researching your company, do you know which blogs they consult?

When you launch a new product, event or campaign, does your company have a strategy for presenting the information to bloggers?

Because blogs are so easy to publish, has anyone determined whether certain elements of the blog-pub­lishing format should or could be easily adapted for your company Web site? • •

Are you willing to enter the world of blogging with honesty, frankness and humor? If you cannot get past “marketing speak” and defensiveness, then do not blog.

For more informations about these topics take a look at the Intelliseek site and the Keller Fay Group. I highly recommend their studies.