Selling internationally: Using Direct Marketing Best Practices Overseas

Selling Internationally: Using Direct Marketing Best Practices Overseas

Spyro Kourtis, President/CEO Hacker Group

The world is a great big complicated place!

• There are 6,500 languages in the world

• There are 196 independent countries recognized in the world

• There are more than 5,000 ethnic groups

The world is smaller and smaller Internet retailers establish some commonality

Speaking the same language with best practices

When the journey began

We didn’t know what we didn’t know • What do we test?

o What is relevant? o What will resonate?

• What can we test? • What are the targeting,

production and delivery opportunities and limitations?

How to boil the ocean

Start with what you know

Translate predictive factors from your domestic efforts

How to boil the ocean

Start with what you know

Translate predictive factors from your domestic efforts

Netflix Content Tests

Discovery

Question everything

Just because it’s a viable market to enter – does not make it a viable market for all media

Don’t assume even the most basic things - mere delivery of direct mail is not “automatic” in many countries

Media and direct mail usage

Source: Institute for Advertising and Media Statistics (IRM), 2010

High broadband penetration Majority of residents have credit cards Preference for shopping online Unaddressed mail options Broad acceptance of direct mail Reliable post offices 99% literacy rates

Very little direct mail usage

Poor delivery: The national postal service is said to FAIL to deliver as much as 30% of mail

44.2% poverty rate

Credit card usage limited to only 25% of the country

Cost of living

Do the Math

Relentless pursuit of fore-castable results

Evaluate Media Options

Media assessment

• Population does not equal market size potential

• Many countries have a simple mail opt-out process, leaving deliverable houses who want mail

• Products and delivery methods vary from country to country

Targeting tools

Unaddressed mail

Not uncommon to identify population, income and other factors by geography (zone)

Targeting

We found a variety of kinds of segmentation available for consideration

Type 1: Mature and practical high spenders e-Types - Example

What are the creative opportunities?

First see what’s out there…

ViaPlay • Streaming TV and movies for about $10/mo

US • One month free offer

Voddler 80% of catalog is free (sponsored by ads) 1.3 million subscribers in Scandinavia A standard app on the Nokia phones

LOVEFiLM Streaming TV and movies for about $8/mo US One month free offer Nordic performance “has not met

management expectations” (as of Oct 2011) Other competitors (pay per view)

• Headweb • Film 2 Home • Comoyo

Explore what’s possible

We discovered new formats in this process

Creative and testing considerations

Use your controls • Maintain cost-effective performance and baseline metrics

with control while testing new approaches

Love is in the details

• Tax issues • Exchange rates • Oversight critical

Bringing it all together: Test Plans

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Step 1: The PowerTest® methodology

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Step 2: Look for winning combinations (HotZones™)

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Step 3: CheckTest ™ or rollout winners

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Measurement

Netflix Case Study