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The awareness of how important online marketing really is today has not reached beyond a very limited number of people. Marketing is no longer subject to classic media and could be highly effective on the internet. However, there are no trained people to do the job. Universities don’t offer according programs. There are only a small number of online marketing courses in the US as well as in Germany (only started this year) although marketing should realize that it needs to expand to the internet to reach consumers, since (almost) everything happens online.

Fashion designers in Milan, Italy, finally realized how important online marketing has become. “It took time, but Italian fashion companies have come to recognize the potential of online sales and now one of the country’s most highly regarded universities is stepping in to train a new breed of managers for that growing industry. … In November the business school at Milan’s Politecnico University, called MIP, will inaugurate Italy’s first master’s degree program aimed at creating specialists in online fashion sales,” The Global Edition of The New York Times reported a few days ago. So far, many Italian fashion labels have lagged behind their peers. Some (e.g. Versace) still don’t have online sales presence. – Their reasons, i.e. problems: fear of damaging their brand, complexity of payment, shipping and returns.

Italian fashion companies support the academic effort. The Yoox Group, a multi-brand internet retailer that pioneered the sale of fashion products online, helped develop the program and provides 3 scholarships. Also, Giorgio Armani offers a scholarship and work experience at Emporio Armani’s online store.

Alessandro Perego, head of the research institute at MIP, professor of logistics and supply chain management and director of the new e-fashion degree says: “Fashion companies can’t train their people fast enough and they need employees who can come in already with the skills. Every time a new site opens, there is need for people with these skills and there is nobody to fill the jobs. We saw the market and have moved to try and fill the void with this master’s.”

Armani sums everything up nicely in an email: “The web will become increasingly important to fashion brands and designers. … Education is vital in the fashion industry. The point of getting involved in an academic degree in this way is to approach the sector in an ambitious, curious and open-minded way.” He further states that internet presence has become important not only for the business it generates, but because it allows the brand to expand beyond customers with a store near where they live or travel. – Well put!

The idea is genius, not only for the fashion industry but for companies in general. This should suffice as a good example to follow. Consumers are online, so should the brands.

Star-Ups: Tops and Flops:

Start-Ups-Buzz Top 10:

What we know about the G1 so far:

•    In-store, immediate sales only available in locations within 5 miles of a 3G covered area. If a store is beyond that range, representatives will walk customers through a T-mobile.com purchase
•    One touch access to: Search, Maps, Gmail, Youtube, Calendar, and Google Talk
•    Gmail account and data plan required
•    GPS
•    3.1 mp camera, no video recording
•    No stereo bluetooth (A2DP)
•    Dimensions: 4.6 x 2.16 x 0.63 in
•    Weighs 5.6 ounces
•    480×320 65K color screen
•    5 hour talk time, 130 hour talk time
•    Expandable up to 8GB

First impression: the iPhone is definitely more stylish. Still, I cannot wait to take a closer look at the G1. Will it outrun the Blackberry and the iPhone?

I read on Valleywag.com that a high schooler named Nick Wagner founded the “hater” group and exhorts users to act, do something against the new design: “THE NEW FACEBOOK WILL PERMANENTLY BE THE ONLY FACEBOOK. THIS IS A PETITION TO STOP IT. PLZ JOIN AND INVITE. Will be changed in a COUPLE OF DAYS!!!”

A little silly, don’t you think? Especially, when you remember how Facebook users revolted against the News Feed when it came out. As far as I know that feature is rather popular now. Therefore, it is more than likely that Facebook will ignore this petition and push through with their plan. So, STOP whining, everybody – change can be a good thing! As soon as you’ll get used to it, you’ll love it.

When I read Regina Lynn’s blog announcing Love Bunnies – “the world’s first personalised Facebook sex toy!” yesterday, I have to admit I was intrigued – for work reasons of course. After all, it is a great example for innovative, sophisticated social media marketing.

LoveHoney.co.uk is a British online shop for “Sexy and Secure Adult Shopping” that made use of the social network Facebook to launch their latest product: The Love Bunny. But what exactly is a Love Bunny? To the point: it is a toy for adults made out of silicon – does that ring any bells? Facebook users can add the Love Bunnies application, adopt one of these cute little (rubber)rabbits, name it and start flirting with other Bunnies in a candy cotton world. Furthermore, if you have fallen deeply in love with your Bunny, you can order your very own silicon-Bunny (including a unique birth certificate) and get it delivered to your doorstep.

LoveHoney tells you how it’s done:

How to get a personalised Love Bunny Facebook sex toy
1 Log in to your Facebook account
2 Install the free Love Bunnies Facebook Application
3 Create and name your own Facebook Love Bunny - flirt with other Bunnies and have fun
4 Follow the link on Facebook to buy your unique personalised Love Bunny vibrator for real!

The Love Bunnies Facebook Application
Choose a colour for your Love Bunny, give your Bunny a name and you’re ready to play! You can move your Love Bunny around the Facebook Bunny World Warren, change your Bunny’s mood to show how you’re feeling, and send flirty messages to other Love Bunnies. At any time you can click to buy your Love Bunny vibrator for real.

Buy Your Personalised Love Bunny Vibrator
Your unique Love Bunny is delivered direct to your door in a presentation rabbit hutch box, complete with its unique Bunny birth certificate.

But, it doesn’t stop there. Marketers at LoveHoney seem to know how to work the web 2.0 world – the onlineshop has its own YouTube channel, where new products are presented and introduced in a rather “charming” way, among them, of course, the Love Bunnies:

After “playing” Love Bunnies with a few colleagues, I can tell you that it is worth it to add this application and have a little fun with your friends. We definitely do! Going from 1st to 2nd and 3rd bunny base with one of my colleagues, caused quite a stir at the office today with all the winking, rubbing, undressing and licking… And now, after pushing each others buttons, we are on our Bunnymoon! We’ll both be back soon, maybe with a surprise or two from our trip…

Concluding, LoveHoney has found a way to advertise a hard to solicit product through innovative social media marketing. Evidently, people talk about it! Let’s hope that other marketers get with the program and throw more of such campaigns at us in the future.

We are looking forward to serve as a tour guide on both days to present the convention’s highlights to interested exhibition visitors. If you are one of them and are interested in taking the tour, please apply here.

Of course, you can come by our stand (J40/Hall 11) without having registered at any time. Assure yourself of our expertise in the field of Social Media Marketing and Research.

Ethority’s bloggers are also thrilled to be there – Nils and David to be precise. They will do their best to give real time updates on omd highlights via Twitter.

Also, they’ve already reserved their seats in the Blogger Area and cannot wait to see who they’re going to bump into at the Night of the Bloggers.

Seat yourself in the Blogger Area here. To be on the guest list for the Night of the Bloggers at the Bar Konvex, Oberbilker Allee 26, follow this link.

Never before has a US presidential election attracted that much attention and raised such an interest in Germany, as it is the case today. One of the most crucial reasons most likely to cause this effect is its strong presence on the internet. Both campaigns actively use web 2.0 services such as forums, blogs and social networks to get their “word” across. But what campaign related topics are discussed most frequently on the web and how do internet users react to or reflect those topics? How high is the buzz on the internet concerning the two candidates? Are there differences across various language areas when it comes to user opinions of Obama and McCain and their political views?

This buzz analysis shows that campaign managers in the US are not only aware of the change of social media consumption but anticipate it. User generated communication channels are used in the USA, as well as in German- and Spanish-speaking communities, to discuss political topics related to the upcoming presidential election this November. This change of media usage should inspire German campaign managers to follow this example. If the big German parties still want to reach their voters in the future, they have to make room in their campaigns and integrate digital communication channels, because they constitute an unprecedented opportunity to participate in the decision-making process. Internet users have long reached beyond classic forms of media such as print and TV. While it was hard to form a political opinion aside from traditional media and the circle of family and friends before there was web 2.0, YouTube & Co. provide a platform with exponential growth where opinions are formed and decisions are made.

However, we probably should not expect too much of the Dream just yet. It is the first phone of its kind and, at least for now, cannot be expected to catch up with the iPhone that even in its new version has a few flaws (but who cares – it’s so beautiful!). Other Android phone manufacturers can benefit from such flaws by learning from them and improving their upcoming devices accordingly.

The New York Times further states that “the new phone is an important step in Google’s plans to expand the company’s presence beyond the personal computer and into the mobile universe. Google executives have been vocal about how the mobile Web is key to the company’s plans for growth, as well as expanding the market for its products to a global audience.”

That being said, Google also released an updated beta version of its Android mobile software developers kit, which includes a new home screen and several new applications such as an alarm clock, a calculator, a camera, a music player, a picture viewer, SMS/MMS messaging, and other tools. JR Raphael (Inquisitr): “The Android phones might just offer an interesting alternative [to the iPhone].”

Now, that’s a dream!