Tag Archives: Egypt

Personal Branding – How-to Avoid Brand Name Confusion

Posted on January 26, 2012 | 5 Comments

Personal Branding is all about earning your brand the attention it deserves; but what if your brand shares the spotlight with someone else? In other words, what if you have a common name?

If the next employer, or client, or contact googles your name up to learn more about you after that brief encounter at the business cocktail you attended last week, will they find you, or someone else with your name. What if that person they found has digital dirt, how does that affect the future of your relationship? You might lose the job, or the business, or that opportunity …

Let’s take an example … two of my students introduced themselves as Ahmed Kamal. I found 447 results on LinkedIn called Ahmed Kamal! Now what are the odds of anyone finding you amongst that list? Let’s just be optimistic and say VERY SLIM!

John Antonios - How-to Avoid Brand Confusion Image

John Antonios - Brand Confusion - (Photographer: Astrid Challita)

You need to make sure your brand name is not confused with someone else’s and here’s how you go about doing that:

Change THE NAME

Chances are Ahmed Kamal won’t go to the official register and change his name … so that’s not the change I’m talking about here. I’m talking about adding uniqueness to your name. Here are some options:

  1. Add a key identifying factor: Associate your name with a title, an adjective, a profession; for example: Ahmed Kamal, MD or Ahmed Kamal, The Painter or The Great Ahmed Kamal … ok maybe you shouldn’t consider that last option, it might be attributed to a narcissistic tendency, unless that’s how you’d like to brand yourself, then by all means, go ahead!
  2. Nicknames: I never understood why everyone in Egypt had a nickname, but then I realized that this is the only way people can identify who they were referring to, since they all share very common first and last names. A tip on using a nickname though, make sure it’s not offensive in any circle. I have a friend that I’ve always known as Moë Ash – I recently tried to add him to my LinkedIn professional network, and I couldn’t find him. Then I discovered that his real name is Mohammed Reda … so when I conducted the search on that name on LinkedIn, as expected, I found one too many results. So my advice to him was to add his nickname to his real name, and introduce himself in any network as Mohammed Reda better known (or also known) as Moë Ash.
  3. Mix it up with initials: Sometimes all you need to do is use initials – A great example on that front is my friend Christine L Bowen, who uses CLB as an acronym for her name and she also translates that into her brand attribute (Create, Live, Be).

COMMUNIcate the same brand name

Regardless of the option you end up choosing for making your brand unique, make sure you communicate that same brand name across all platforms, online and offline.

  1. Own the name – or what I like to refer to as e-real-estate. Purchase your brand name url … www.yourbrandname.com 
  2. Social Networks synergy - use the same brand name on all your social networks – have a look at this free tool www.namechk.com – it allows you to check the dominance of your chosen brand name (which should be your username) on multiple networks.
  3. Offline Material – be it your business card, your CV, or your signature, or any other kind of introduction (even an oral one) … make sure you communicate your brand name as you would like the receiver to remember it and search for it (for further reference)

drown the competition

You can never delete a search result from Google, but you can certainly drown it. In other words, you can make sure that result, which you want to hide, does not show up in the first three pages of Google. That can be achieved by owning your online brand name, as explained in the above section, and by being active in the different platforms and adding valuable content.

Here are some ways you can do that:

  1. Blog & Share: if you want to get noticed by your next employer or client, you need to make you are share you knowledge, thoughts, reviews about the industry (brand or product) on your blog. You need to make sure that the keywords you wanted to be associated with are frequently used on your blog.
    Needless to say, I’m talking about blogging, as a certain prerequisite to any online brand. Think of the blog as your main brand communication hub, which can be reached at www.yourbrandname.com
  2. Commenting on high traffic blogs: A great way to get noticed in the online community is to leave smart comments on high traffic  blogs. Notice, I said “smart” comments … you want to make sure the comments you leave behind arouse the interest of the reader enough from him or her to link back to you and check your profile, or blog … technically, you rank higher in Google when you have more incoming links. All comments will be signed off with your brand name
  3. Brand it: sign everything you share online with your brand name. If you upload a picture or an infographic that you created, make sure your brand name is there on the image, and in the name of the file you upload.

Now go on, google your name? are you happy with the results? how many you’s are there? Does your name appear in the first 3 results? How many time does  your brand name recur on the first 3 pages? now be honest, if you didn’t know you, could you tell which you is YOU? Confusing, I know, this is exactly how those seeking you out feel! Think About It! 

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Branding 2.0 for NGOs

Posted on October 1, 2011 | Leave a comment

Nebny Masr LogoOn Wednesday, September 28, 2011, I had the honor and pleasure of discussing the subject of Branding 2.0 for NGOs as part of a joint collaboration conference between Microsoft Egypt, UNDP and ICT Trust Fund, entitled “Nebny Masr” or “Building Egypt,” that was hosted by the Sawy Culture Wheel in Zamalek. Over 200 NGOs from all over Egypt gathered to learn how to make the best use of technology in fighting for their cause (read more …).

The truth is Branding for NGOs is not very different from branding any other product/service or even personal branding. During my presentation, I asked the audience if they agreed that fundraising is the main problem of NGOs, to which I got a confirmation of more than 90%. However, that is not true.

Money is not an obstacle, nor is it a goal!

Contributor/Donors are all around and they do have the money, but we need to take a closer look at their thought process.

  • Transparency – Donors would like to know if their donations are being spent in the right place and for the right cause.
  • Conversion – Donors attention span is similar to any consumer, continuously bombarded by different messages. Once the donor has landed on the NGO’s site, knowing how he/she can help should be obvious. The “conversion” rate from potential donor to an actual one should be made simple.
  • The Right Cause – with millions of NGOs around the world, choosing the right one to support can become a nightmare.
One of the attendees highlighted that usually most contribution are made on the basis of personal relations between the donor and a board member of the NGO – this makes financial sustainability a major problem. The institutions’ success (or in this case, survival) cannot solely be dependent on certain individuals. 

So if money is not the problem facing NGOs, then what is? Branding! Yes, the right branding allows NGOs to stand out from the crowd and earn the attention of the “right” donor.

Right donor? Just like any other brand, an NGO should never try to position itself as a crowd pleaser and seek the attention of everybody  - it should aim at staying true to the cause it serves and the values its build on. The right donor is the one that shares similar values and beliefs.

But what strategy should NGOs follow to brand themselves? The one I’d recommend is Storytelling. We can all remember a story from when were 5, even younger … as humans, we always relate to stories! Storytelling is the perfect branding tool: unique, memorable, and sharable. Seth Godin detailed the art of great story telling that I think you should all read.

Christina Muntean spoke of four types of storytelling for NGOs:

  1. Character-driven storytelling
  2. Action-driven storytelling
  3. Atmosphere-driven storytelling
  4. Emotion-driven storytelling
Not only is it important to find your story, it is also crucial to choose the right media to tell it. Social Media serves as an ideal medium of communication given the perks that come with it: Low entry cost, reach, simplicity, diversity of tools and options, and much more! So what’s keeping you from getting your story out there, Think About It!
I promised the attendees of the Nebny Masr conference that I would upload the presentation and I do keep my promises! Branding 2.0 for NGOs by John Antonios (just right-click and save)

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Naked Brands

Posted on March 31, 2011 | 3 Comments

Catchy title, right? I thought so too … in fact, today’s post is all about nakedness! Before you get any thoughts, I’m referring to brands putting themselves out there … hold on, that still sounds wrong! OK, let me try that again. In our discussion today, we’ll be talking about the concept of bare & dare – I don’t think that explanation helped either. Anyway … here it goes.

In a much earlier post, entitled “Personal Branding – The 10 Commandments“, I discussed the concept of brand nudity – where you expose yourself to be judged, loved, hated, ridiculed, admired … after all , it’s not a beauty pageant, you’re not seeking everybody’s approval. Fortunately, some brands have adopted that level of transparency and laid their heart on their sleeves – with no protection, no conditions, no strings attached. A good example of that is Nokia.

On March 16, 2011, a friend on twitter, Tarek Shalaby, sent me a DM asking me to send him my email so he can fill me in on the launch event of Nokia E7. He also told me that they will be giving away the phone to test and talk about our experience!

Nokia E7 - John Antonios

FREE PHONE – what could more can one ask for? that sounds fabulous, i thought to myself. But then I asked if this great gifts comes with strings? Would I have to lie, and continuously push out positive feedback about the phone? The refreshing answer was: “NO – we’re actually looking forward to learn from your experience – so please, by all means, be honest!”

That was even more shocking than the FREE PHONE – wow, honesty in marketing.

Clearly, Nokia is not doing this because they just felt they had money to spare and simply started giving out phones worth $850 a pop (but i’ll get to that later). They sought out influencers in the social media sphere in Egypt to test drive the phones and talk about it in their circles. This is great marketing, since studies have shown that people are three times more willing to trust recommendations from a friend, than they are advertising. Its is daring move by Nokia – the crowd is dominated by iPhone and Android fans – with a couple of exceptions supporting Blackberry. Clearly not Nokia’s territory – then again, the number one place to gain insight and pick up on customer needs – raw, untampered, unedited data! How valuable is that!?!

Since we brought money into the equation, let’s look at this initiative from a financial perspective. The launch event took place at the Four Seasons Nile Plaza catering to 50 guests, including a 3-course meal, Hors d’œuvres, and a completely FREE Nokia E7. The setup was fabulous … and so was everything else. Sounds costly, doesn’t it? Uh, not really. Think of the alternative – mass media (TV, Billboards, etc …), where you addresses the mass public, knowing that only a very small portion would afford the phone (or would care to own one for that matter). Needless to say, the latter costs a whole lot of money that doesn’t start to compare to the direct marketing approach taken by Nokia.

Aside from the obvious costs associated with the alternative, I would also like you to consider the price tag on the following tools needed to support it: focus group, market research, advertising on different social networking platforms, consumer insights, brand advocacy … With the direction Nokia has taken in earning the attention of mobile users to the new Nokia E7, it covered all the aforementioned areas. So basically, Nokia did more for less – but more so, Nokia dared to be different.

What should Nokia do next?

To reap the benefits of this initiative, Nokia should:

  • Track the feedback across the different social networks from the lucky few receivers of the Nokia E7
  • Provide customer service online
  • Build a Q&A list generated from the questions presented online
  • Build a forum / blog or any other platform where these “test drivers” can share their experience and help share the knowledge
  • Provide tips and tricks on occasional basis to make the best out of the Nokia E7 experience
  • Measure conversion rate

These are but a few options Nokia could tackle to sustain the incredible momentum created by the event.

Questions to think about:

  • What do you think of Nokia’s approach?
  • If you were the brand manager of Nokia E7, would you have done things differently?
  • How can Nokia build on this initiative?

Think About It!

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SMART Revolution Falls Short – Focus #Egypt

Posted on March 10, 2011 | 2 Comments

In my last post, I was taken by all the emotions surrounding, what was dubbed as, the 2.0 Revolution in Egypt. I tried to reflect on the marketing lessons behind the success of this social media revolution. In conclusion, the key success factor was the emotional selling proposition represented by the brand elements of the uprise! However, that alone is not sufficient for the sustainability of such success.

The feelings of happiness, freedom, and love that were direct results of the revolution, were soon to be replaced by feelings of anxiety, fear, rage, and complete chaos. But why? where did it all go wrong? and when? Trust me, I won’t even try to analyse this from a political stand point – I would fail miserably as a politician because i’m not familiar with the shades of color between black and white. Instead, I would like to continue the reasoning started in my previous post, and try to extract the marketing lessons from the post-Jan 25 Revolution period.

The post-revolution period is a typical case of Headless Chicken Marketing! OK fine, I can’t really use the word “typical” to explain a term that I just came up with – but the idiom does seem self-sufficient.

This phenomenon is often seen in companies with marketing shortsightedness. They tend to go for tactics and forget strategy. They would rather spend on Ad-hoc marketing campaigns and get immediate short-lived  results instead of  building a sustainable plan resulting in continuous (yet slower) results. If post-campaign sales results are equivalent to pre-campaign sales results, than I have basically spend money to make money, but I’m still in the same position I was in, if not worse! This describes the 2011 Egyptian Revolution – we’re back right where we started!

Every marketing campaign has three phases: pre- (past), during (present), and post (future). All three phases are equally important and crucial to the success of the overall campaign. These phases are defined by SMART objectives (Specific, Measurable, Attainable/Achievable , Realistic/Relevant, and Timely).

  • What are the Specific objectives of the revolution?
  • How do you Measure these objectives? Where do we stand from our our specified objectives?
  • Do we all Agree on the objectives? Are we aiming for the moon?
  • Is aiming for the moon a Realistic thing to do given our resources in terms of human capital, time, etc …? Is aiming for the moon Relevant to our cause?
  • When is the deadline to achieve our objectives? when is the cutoff Time?

In my educated opinion, the 2.0 Revolution wasn’t that “SMART” – and because of that, we’re losing time, resources, and even lives!

In closing, I would like to point out that Freedom is not an SMART objective … it’s a beautiful dream! But you know what they say, “Be careful what you wish for!” Are Egyptians ready for the burden of freedom? From what I’m witnessing on the streets of Cairo, I don’t think we’re even close. Think About It!

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The Social Media Revolution – Spotlight on Egypt

Posted on February 3, 2011 | 4 Comments

I’m not sure where or how to start this post, but I will suffice by saying “YOU CAN’T SILENCE FREEDOM”. This post might lead to banning me from Egypt or worse, but this is my contribution to a country I love dearly. I dedicate this post to Egypt.

Censorship is not new to Egypt! In fact, people have been silenced, one way or another, for the mere thought of opposing the ruling regime. This post is certainly not intended to be a political one, nor am I fond of the subject; this is simply a showcase of the role of social media in the Uprising in Egypt (January 25, 2011).

The voice of the Egyptian people was never louder – thanks to social media!

On January 25, 2011, the Egyptian people took the streets in protest of the ruling regime. Social Media channels (including Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Flickr, and blogs) were used to organize this revolution and as a platform of voicing the people’s frustration to the world and earn their attention.

A couple of Dedicated Twitter Accounts:

  • @25Egypt – Followers: 3,427 / Tweets: 2,664 / Created: Sun, Jan 23, 2011
  • @Jan25voices – Followers: 6,412 / Tweets: 579 / Created: Fri, Jan 28, 2011

Some Dedicated Facebook Pages:

Needless to say, that these are dedicated channels following up on the Egyptian Revolution. Let’s have a quick look at some random statistics:

WOW – No wonder they were very keen in shutting down all internet communication – the figures are scary, especially if they’re trying to hide something. You can run, but you can’t hide! Think About It!

In reply to the internet blackout, Google launched a service called “Speak2Tweet” Monday, January 27, 2011, giving Egyptians the option to call an international phone number (+97316199855)

and tweet via voicemail. After one day of complete communication blackout (including mobile networks and internet service providers), they reinstated the mobile connection and people of Egypt called in their tweets using this service.

How was social media used in this revolution?

  • Organizing Protests – Social media was used as a megaphone on steroids to spread the word about the demonstrations on January 25
  • Advice & Tips – Demonstrators were guiding others on what routes to avoid, what clothes to wear, what supplies to keep on hand – the international realm was giving tips on how to wash tear gas from their faces, etc …
  • Storytelling – Someone had to tell the real story since the local TV channels didn’t – filtering what’s real and what’s exaggerated was left to the reader, but it wasn’t hard, since the mass amount of videos, pictures, and articles helped paint a very clear picture.
  • Inducing Pressure on International Politics – Egypt is not alone; it doesn’t exist on an isolated planet with no connection to earth. So someone has to answer to all that has and is happening. The cry of the people on social media was too loud to be ignored by the international community. They earned the attention!

In closing, I would like to share with you a picture that was taken by a friend of mine, Beco G., who took part in the protests in Tahrir Square.

You Can't Silence FREEDOM

You Can't Silence FREEDOM - By Beco G.

In my next post, we’ll be looking at the social media lessons learned from the Egyptian Revolution 2011. Till then, I ask you to send your love and prayers to Egypt.

UPDATE – February 13, 2011: Dearest Readers, the different figures showcased in the this post were collected on the 3rd of February – I invite you to click on the different links for more updated figures, see the incredible growth rate to-date.

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