P2P marketing (read: business corruption) gets cheaper in China

Shanghai based Hurun Report suggests skipping the $8000 Rolex and using a $1200 Longines instead for gifting with your Chinese political pals. “You have a change in the political leadership and (that) meant a big anti-corruption drive,” says Hurun founder Rupert Hoogewerf, referring to the new class of Communist Party leaders who will be installed in March. “They’re very much trying to demonstrate you’re not allowed as an official or someone in authority to receive gifts that are clearly expensive.”

That said, the local rocket fuel, Kweichow Moutai, is still welcomed at about $300 a bottle. After a session with that stuff, you won’t be able to read the time anyway, let alone care about the brand of watch.

US corporate disclosures go social – risk mangers invest in blood pressure medication

Bloomberg has fully integrated Twitter with financial information as a service for subscribers. All done with the okey-dokey of the US Securities and Exchange Commission. With rouge traders and aggressive marketers in mind, what are the chances of this new capability being used to pump up the value of companies and generate misleading info to many?

You can search by company, asset class, person or topic to track updates, along with getting alerts for ‘unusual’ bursts of social media chatter about a company. Perfect for content marketers and social media boffins to blast away and draw attention to a client’s rise or a competitor’s fall. We love human nature. Make something useful and someone is sure to find a way to lose an eye.

Why CMOs and CIOs should kiss and make up

The Aberdeen Group report ‘Enhancing Customer Experience Through CIO and CMO Alignment’, (say that quickly while eating), was based on an online survey of 84 senior marketing executives conducted in December. It found that failure to align meant that the CEO might need to bang a few heads together, because it can be costly. CMO/CIO alignment reported an average 15.4% annual revenue growth, compared with an average 3.5% annual revenue growth at companies without such alignment.

Companies with CMO/CIO alignment have an average 10.1% customer retention rate, compared with an average 5.6% customer retention rate at companies without marketing-IT alignment.

So how about it? Let’s all hold hands, sing ‘Kumbaya’ and make some money.

B2B marketing awards in the UK are now open

Into its ninth year, the UK based B2B awards are looking for entries. The theme is ‘are you a B2B rockstar?’ If you have recently trashed a hotel room, earn huge amounts of money for wearing tights, and can drink half a liter of vodka (and keep it down), then you can enter here: b2bmarketing.net/awards

‘Virtually perfect’ sexy assistant for British HR managers

Promise, not making this up…

Punter Southall Health and Protection Consulting has launched a software for HR managers called Gladis (short for Group Life and Disability Information System). The software is designed to check changes to employee details that may affect a company’s protection insurance.

So the idea is to create a fictional character called Gladis, which the agency Inky Blue describes as “warm, feminine and ever so slightly sexy character HR professionals would relate to, but not feel threatened by.”

At first look, we thought the drawing was half done, and had in our possession a ‘first look idea’. Only to realise that this was indeed Gladis in all her glory. Would love to read the research that says HR managers relate to “ever so slightly sexy characters.”
Who comes up with this stuff! (And who buys it?)

B2B MARKETER SPOTLIGHT: Ray Kloss

Company: SAP

Position: Head of marketing, SAP Australia / New Zealand

Why did you get into B2B marketing?

I am very passionate about the impact that business systems have in helping the world run better, one organisation at a time. I’ve seen this firsthand from marketplace projects in my engineering bachelor’s degree at the University of Illinois, through my early years with General Motors and in my later time with Lend Lease – so I believe so much in the possibility, I’m committed to the marketing of these projects. I have to be passionate about what I’m marketing – for my own ethics.

Your biggest B2B marketing high?

It would have to be achieving success for big B2B brands across multi-cultures. I’m passionate about audience impact, and as a Midwestern boy, from northern European immigrants – achieving pipeline and customer success across APJ has been a high point for me in my life – and certainly very enjoyable and meaningful personally.

A forgettable marketing moment? (Or someone else’s!)

The current gap between the brand promise of some premium airline brands operating in and out of Australia and the less-than-even-discount experience they can sometimes deliver. The other one has to be paying for digital video spots on Fairfax news stories – just ‘off’ to have commercial ad placements preceding heavy news stories about human tragedies.

What 3 challenges do you have as a B2B marketer?

Delivering effective audience-driven, needs-based content marketing. Inspiring people to keep renewing themselves and their approaches within the marketing team. Finding time and resources to listen to customers, deeply.

What is the most useful book you have ever read?

The Tao te Ching, and the runner up would have to be the Tao of Pooh. Third, anything by Rumi. If I’m forced to find a business book, has to be Jim Collins and Good to Great – I apply it all the time.

If you were a brand, which one would you be?

Volvo – brilliant fit to purpose, well-engineered, low maintenance and very low service, appealing European design, very functional, safe for the family, delivers and delivers, and serious diesel power in the DNA. And when they drop the T5 turbo from the four-wheel drive into a two door and marry it with a manual – unsuspectingly lots of fun. Quiet achiever. Determined. Comfy. But can dress up nice if needs be.

When not marketing, what else do you do?

I am passionate about being a dad – and about the role men have in making the world a more peaceful place, and the unique role men need to play in raising our children. I love being with my kids, involved in anything from making airplane models to inspecting leaves at the park to wrestling HSC math. I like White Ribbon a lot too. Check it out – men, take the pledge! I’m a committed traveller – closet ambition as a youth was National Geographic photographer – still have that travel bug alive and well. And then, anything around water.

Your big B2B marketing prediction for the next 12 months?

LinkedIn still won’t fully realise the gold mine they’re sitting on. Marketing bestpractice will remain focused on the final results (revenue impact), not the input activities (how many registrations we achieved). Websites will be replaced by community driven mobile apps.

B2B Big Plays is proudly delivered twice a month by B2B Marketer, Australia’s largest B2B marketing group.