The Worldly Marketer
February 2016 edition

From the Blog:

10 More
Recommended Resources for  International Marketers

In a  previous article , I listed 10 websites that I would recommend to any marketing professional or business owner who is looking for a more international perspective. Here are 10 more bookmark-worthy resources to add to the list. 


Social Tip
of the Month

February Tip:
WeChat is THE social network of choice for Chinese speakers.

If you haven't heard of WeChat, it's probably because you're not a native Chinese speaker. WeChat just celebrated its fifth anniversary, but it's already one of the most popular social networks in China, with a membership of 650 million and growing. GlobalWebIndex.net has reported that almost two thirds of adult Internet users in China are now active on WeChat. But the platform's popularity extends well beyond China's borders. Chinese speakers around the world have jumped on the WeChat bandwagon. As of December 2015, there were 70 million users outside of China.

Why this quick rise in popularity? Maybe because WeChat is so much more than a messaging app. For many people, it has become the only network they really need or want, a social one-stop-shop that allows them to stay connected with family, friends and business contacts via distinct user-created groups. WeChat conveniently integrates a wide variety of different  features. With everything from audio chats to video calls, integrated web browsing, video games, a "friend radar", digital payment and money transfer capabilities, and much more - there's little reason for users to ever leave the WeChat environment. No wonder Facebook has been trying to introduce similar features to its own platform.

So if your target market includes the Chinese-speaking community, in China or abroad, you'll want to familiarize yourself with this particular social network.

International & Global Marketing News

We Are Social  recently published its comprehensive  Digital in 2016 report.  As every year, the report compiles the most recent  global data  on  digital, social and mobile usage, and presents it as a series of infographics. The report provides a more in-depth focus on  30 of the world's key economies. Some major takeaways from this year's report: more than half of the world's population now has a mobile phone; over the past 12 months, M-commerce has surged more than 50% in the 30 key economies. Check out the full  report on SlideShare , as well as the companion report , which features major data points for 232 countries around the world. 

With online shopping increasing in popularity around the world, it's becoming crucial for retailers to understand the various preferences of their global customers. Nielsen has published its latest findings on preferred payment methods around the world. The main takeaway: c ash on delivery is the most popular choice in countries where credit card ownership and trust in online payment systems remains low. Read the full article here, including region-specific graphs.

What is Translation Memory (TM), and how can it help your business leverage its global branding investment?  This article by Amy Hawman, in the latest issue of Brand Quarterly, explains.

Alibaba, China's largest e-commerce company, wants to establish Chinese New Year as the biggest shopping event on the calendar. Its stated goal is to "use e-commerce to encourage two-way trade between China's urban and rural areas". This post from the company's own blog, Alizila, outlines Alibaba's "shopping festival" initiatives.

For  more current articles  on international business and global marketing issues, visit the  Verbaccino Flipboard  magazine, which is updated regularly.

#Holiday HeadsUp
for February 2016

February is  Black History Month in the United Stated and Canada.

This year, the Lunar New Year, also known as  Chinese New Year, falls on February 8th. It's a statutory holiday in most Asian countries, and it's celebrated as the most important holiday of the year by Asian people all around the world. According to the Chinese zodiac, this year will be the year of the Fire Monkey.

In many countries with a Western Christian heritage, the week leading up to Ash Wednesday (February 10th) marks the height of Carnival season. It's a time when people traditionally dress up in flamboyant costumes and engage in public revelry of all kinds - before the more austere season of Lent begins. From Germany to Brazil, from Denmark to the Caribbean, from Iceland to New Orleans, festivities usually culminate on Shrove Monday (Rosenmontag) and Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras).

February 21 is International Mother Language Day, as declared by the United Nations. It's a worldwide annual observance to promote the awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.

And since 2016 is a Leap Year in the Gregorian calendar, the month of February will have an extra day: Monday, the 29th.

Those are just a few of the many special dates coming up this month.


You can download this calendar as a PDF document  by clicking on the link, above,  and selecting "Save Page As".

Get more details about any holiday or observance on the calendar
by clicking on the specific entry.

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