> 2007 review and looking forward to 2008

2007 was an interesting year personally and on a wider scale. Here are some of my highlights and most memorable moments of the year.

• Looking for a… campaign launched – an interesting career move that is shaping up positively. See ‘Campaign update – Dec 2007’ for the latest news.
• Grand events – on the travel side I spent some time in Shanghai and recommend it to one and all. In London I watched Tango Fire an Argentinean dance performance – I love dance, but had never seen Tango performed like this. Seeing the Dali exhibition at the Tate Modern. Lastly, if you haven’t been go to Bath Spa and visit the Thermae Spa and Roman Baths, a modern and historic view of a great city.
• O2 Broadband launched – after 2 years on the project the team finally launched a fantastic product with great online tools and services, including speeds of up to 20MB, an innovative remote diagnostics tool and O2 Email to Mobile (I promise not to mention it again) as well as many other services bundled into a great package.
• Launch of iPhone – after much hype, scrutiny and applause the iPhone finally launched in the UK. I helped out in one of the stores on launch day and was amazed by the phones ease of use and useful functionality. The handset-pricing model has the potential to set a new standard for handset ownership to the benefit of the manufacturers and maybe even the consumers!

On a wider scale some of the good were:

• The introduction of the smoking ban across the country. I don’t smoke and now get to leave a bar / restaurant / public place without my clothes reeking of smoke.
• Emergence of web 2.0 not just as a concept, but real online applications and services that people can use. It has also brought back some excitement in the funding arena, but hopefully this time with more realistic models from business owners and funders.
• More attention and focus on climate change and actual policies and actions to address this issue at local at national levels.
• O2 email to mobile launched as part of the O2 Broadband project. See blog ‘Mobile email for the masses’ for more details.
• 200th anniversary of the abolition of slave trade.
• The Tories finally putting pressure on Labour with real policies and a better understanding of what the people really want.
• Steve McClaren resigning as England manager. He should never have been given the job and took completely the wrong approach when trying to make his mark.
• Emergence of Lewis Hamilton as a potential future world champion.

And some others: Scotland winning 2014 Commonwealth Games, Microsoft Vista finally launching and Facebook blowing up to worldwide acclaim.

And the bad:

• Benazir Bhutto’s assassination and the potential instability it brings not only to Pakistan, but Afghanistan and the Middle east. Let’s hope that she did not die in vain, but for a better country and improved international relations.
• Petrol and diesel prices shooting up at a rate of knots and making the cost of travel ridiculous. On the other side some may argue that use motorists deserve it and should use the public transports system more!
• Missed opportunities to make the big changes required at the highest levels at the Bali Climate Change talks in December.
• The credit crunch and uncertainty in the economy. From the US to the UK, from Northern Rock to you and me we all seem to victims of some bad decisions or is it our drive to own homes at any cost, supported by banks that will loan to anyone?
• Interest rates going up – let’s hope it goes down next year.
• Steve McClaren making sure the England team missed out on Euro 2008 with some shocking decisions and his tactical ineptitude.

Looking ahead 2008 should be a good year and some of the potential highlights include:

• A parachute jump. Watch this space I have agreed to complete a jump with a friend in the spring. Let me know if you want to join.

  On the world stage: the calming and improved international relations with countries like Russia, Iraqi, Iran and Pakistan.

  Messi for 2008 world footballer?

  More holidays and days spent at the BFI!

  Watching Afrika Afrika in Jan 2008.

• 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
• John D Wilson and Derrick Fielding getting more coverage for their great works of art.
• Video on demand and VOIP services to achieve traction in the consumer market.

What about you, what’s been good and bad about 2007 and what do you expect / plan for in 2008? Send me your thoughts (via email or fill in the form below) and I will post them in a blog.

Asomi

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> Looking for a… campaign update – Dec 2007

Before giving you an update on the Looking for a… campaign I must start with a big thank you to all the companies and agencies that have been in touch, everyone who has sent messages of support and passed the link onto people they know – thank you all.

When I started the campaign I was excited and apprehensive at the same time. Thoughts about how it would be received and the potential responses crossed my mind and made me smile and also question if it was the right thing to do. However I have been overwhelmed by its success. To date I have had job offers, contact from agencies and companies, very positive feedback and 000’s of visitors to this site.

Feedback has also helped to optimise the site and refine the concept. It has been a lot of hard work, and I have had a lot of fun along the way. In closing the year, I can say that I am happy with the campaign and early in 2008 I should have a big update!

Please keep coming back for the latest news and to read the latest blogs that will continue into 2008.

As 2007 draws to a close may I wish you a wonderful new year that is filled with joy and the achievement of your dreams.

Asomi

ps apologies for not updating my blog more frequently in Dec, the campaign has taken up most of my time – not a great excuse, I know, but true J.

> New product development in the Internet age

New product development for online applications and services is changing, and changing fast. And it is time for the established businesses to join the revolution or forever play catch up and pay over the odds for the next big thing e.g. ITV & Friends Reunited, eBay & Skype and CBS & Last.fm.

Established players generally play it safe with innovation, as:

• it’s simpler to stick to products and services that they know deliver revenue and shareholder value;
• playing safe protects against the perceived risks of stepping into the unknown e.g. damage to the brand, lost customers and revenue streams if it all goes wrong, and
• customers have expectations of them delivering in a specific area of expertise that they know is safe, tried and tested.

But can this model exist in a time when online launches are quick and growth even quicker? Or is it best for established businesses to leave innovating to the newbies, joining the party once it is safe to do so?

I believe that more companies should be following the lead of the likes of Prudential/Egg, BT, Adobe, Dell, Nokia and McAfee. All of these use continuous customer feedback and involvement to drive the development of new services and reduce the risk of duff launches.

Success in this model is about creating an environment where new products are brought to market in beta / an incomplete format. And ensuring that customer expectations are managed through clearly communicating that they are using/playing with something that is in beta.

By opening doors and inviting customers to try new products, companies can only benefit. Not least because they generally welcome the opportunity to be first to try something new. And will freely provide their opinion in the knowledge that they are inputting into products they will use – just look at the models used by Google labs, Windows live, Myaol, Netvibes, Flikr, del.icio.us, Box.net etc.

In short, this approach provides opportunities to:

• gain customer insight and real life opinions to directly impact product development on the fly;
• build a customer base and early market take-up / buzz around new products;
• take products to market faster and potentially be the first (but only if the business adopts an iterative approach to development and delivery);
• build an agile and responsive business (or at least business unit), and
• implement a lower risk methodology for identifying new opportunities (no longer do you need to go to market with the perfect product).

There is a lot that can be learnt from companies that open up beta programmes and use this as an opportunity to trial new products. Established businesses are very well placed to adopt a version of this model as they have the ear and trust of their customers who are also someone else’s customers.

Look out for my future pieces on shifting business models to accommodate this approach and a review of options of partnering.

As with all my blogs, this is my opinion and I welcome comments and debate.

Asomi

> Mobile email for the masses

Wouldn’t it be great to access personal emails on the move as easily as receiving and sending a text message? And wouldn’t it be icing on the cake if you only received the ones that really matter and not the spam/junk?

I hear you say, but I can already using WAP portals such as O2 Active, T-zones, Orange World and Vodafone Live etc. Or via POP3 using the mobile email clients, or through downloading clients such as Yahoo Go! or Movamail.

I agree, they do exist, but have you ever tried setting up a handset client? And do you really want every single email (including spam) that comes into your inbox on your mobile? And don’t you want to know how much it‘s going to cost before you use it?

I don’t know about you but I, and many of the people I have spoken to, won’t use mobile email services for one or more of these reasons.

All I want is a simple to use service. Nothing technical or complex, just easy to set-up and use without the need for a computer science degree (maybe that’s a bit harsh, but you get the gist). And I think I may have found it in O2 Email to Mobile. Try it and decide for yourself.I apologise if this comes across as a product plug. But I worked on the development of this and believe that if you see something and truly have faith in it you should spread the word.

Finally, look out for my future blog on the future of email messaging on mobile phones. I promise there will be no product plugs, just a view of what’s out there and how they compare. If you would like to be notified of this in advance, email me and I will send you a copy – asomi@asomi.co.uk.

Asomi

> Looking for a… campaign insight

So, what is this campaign about and why have I chosen this route?

When thinking about what I would do once my current contract finishes, I asked myself the usual questions about what do I want to do next and how would I get there. And when I was thinking about the how part, I posed myself the questions of: how can I do something a little different? How can I try and make myself stand out and be noticed?

From there I had this thought: why not do something that demonstrates my skills and experience. The first idea that came to mind was creating a website which could provide details about my experiences and me. But then I thought, this has been done before and there are a few out there with portfolios and CVs on then. Then I had a brainwave: why don’t I create something that provides details about my expertise and demonstrates a range of my skills!

Once I’d thought about my career to date, I came up with the concept of using a campaign to promote me, the product, and started to write the campaign plan (see ‘Looking for a… campaign’ pages for an outline).

After a few days and hours of tossing ideas around in my head, reviewing what other peolpe were doing and speaking to a few people in the industry, I eventually decided to call the campaign ‘Looking for a…’. This plays on a few key strands.’ Looking for a marketing opportunity’, which is what I am doing, and from a businesses’ perspective ‘Looking for a talented marketer’.

FYI at one point it was going to be called ‘I’m looking for a marketing opportunity’.

With the message and theme complete, next came the channels. A website to describe the product, and email shots, print invitations, banner ads, pr, Google adwords and an SEO strategy to draw traffic to the site. I even thought about running some radio ads, but had to remind myself of budgets and time and what would be most effective.

It has taken a good few weeks and many hours to put together. But I’ve had a lot of fun setting the strategy, coming up with the key messages, selecting the channels and then implementing it.

Now it’s here I hope it has the desired impact and would love to hear your opinions on the campaign. I know it’s not perfect and any tips for improvement are welcome. Also, look out for some new features that will be introduced over the coming weeks.

Before I forget, thanks to those friends, family and colleagues who listened and did not laugh too hard when I told them what I was doing. And, also to those who told me I was mad and that the idea was boring (this I took as constructive, if not very direct, criticism which made me work harder to make it happen).

Asomi

> Read Asomi’s blog

Welcome to my blog. As you have probably seen from my homepage and other parts of my site, I have set this up to help me find a new marketing opportunity. However, this blog is not a key part of that and will go on long after the ‘Looking for a…’ campaign has finished. So please do have a look around it.

My blog will be used to share my thoughts on topical marketing issues in the worlds of internet, telecoms and IT – industries that I love and have spent my career in. I will also scatter it with comments on a few other (fun) things I am desperate to share with you and the world!

I will be adding a new blog at least once a week. And welcome comments, input and ideas on anything you think is topical and worth adding – could be a site, news story, your opinion, a new product or anything else you think I and others should be looking at/reading.

Welcome again, I hope you find this useful and keep coming back.

You can also get in touch with me via email: asomi [@] asomi.co.uk or twitter: asomi.