Hardly a week goes by that a client, a family member or someone else I know doesn't forward me a email in a panic, wondering what they should do about it. One email in particular always originates from China and in a somewhat fear-mongering tone, informs the recipient about a threat to their "Internet brand name" by another company who is about to register that name for their own use; likely an evil use. If the recipient acts fast, they can head off this serious threat to their business.
The scam is so well documented that I'm not going to bother to recap all the foolishness here but in an effort to keep my creative juices alive and, at the same time, waste the time of one such scammer, I decided to play along. Over the course of a week, I entered into an exchange with one of these guys. Kevin Yang's English was poor so I decided to use poor English too in my responses. His original message, however, clearly copied from a template was entirely meant to get my attention. I like how he introduces himself as being from "the department of registration service in China". Evidently, there's only one department of registration services. Kevin's messages are in RED. My responses are in GREEN.
(If you are NOT CEO,please forward this to your CEO, it is urgent.Thanks.)
Dear CEO,
We are the department of registration service in China. we have something need to confirm with you. We formally received an application on September 29, 2010, One company which called "Martut Holdings, Inc" are applying to register "oceanic" as brand name and domain names as below :
oceanic.net.cn oceanic.tw
After our initial examination, we found that the brand name being applied is as same as your company's name and trademark. These days we are dealing with it, hope to get the affirmation from your company. If your company and this"Martut Holdings, Inc" are the same company,there is no need reply to us,We will accept their application and will register these for them immediately.
If your company has no relationships with that company or you did not authorize them,please reply to us within 7 workdays,if we can't get any information from you within 7 workdays,we will unconditionally approve the application which is submitted by "Martut Holdings, Inc".
Thanks for your cooperation.
Best Regards,
Kevin Yang Senior Consultant
In my first response (and I obviously had no idea how long it would go on), I decided to react with the level of panic and shock he was likely looking for:
"What? No! They are NOT affiliated with our company at all and they may NOT encroach on our intellectual property name!
Who can I report this to?
Thank you so much fo contacting us over this."
I wasn't sure how easy it would be to rope Kevin in. I figured he must be so used to people telling him to piss off but within an hour or so, he emailed me back and copied in someone named Peter Jiang into the thread. I imagined Peter Jiang was his boss, looking over this shoulder to see how well he was doing.
Dear Sir,
Sorry to bother you again,Because today Mr peter.jiang from our register department confirmed with me whether your company needs the priority to protect these domain names.but I can't get your company's final decision till now, Hope you can make an decision on this matter asap, so that our register department can handle this case better in time, If your company needs to protect these domain names and brand name in advance, please contact me in time, I will send you the application form and relevant procedure.
Now we had done our best to handle this case, if your company can not take care of it in time, then if the registration brings any loss or effects, your company is responsible for it. Hope you can understand
Once again,thank you for your assistance and cooperation
Have a nice day!
I made my responses brief:
Yes!!!
Please protect my company name! I'm very concerned about this. Who do I need to talk to?!
Thanks You!
Kevin had to have been feeling a twinge of excitement at having caught a fish by now, no?:
Dear sir, The domain names registration is open in the world, the registration rule is 'first register, first obtain', so anyone can register any domain name which has not been registered.
Now you have 2 options:1. You can register these domain names under your company name now, you have the priority of registration, and we can help you register these domain names.2.You can give up the registration, then the mentioned company will succeed in registration.
If you need these domain names in future, you can arbitrate through China Domain Name Dispute Resolution Center within 2 years(if out of 2 years time limit, the Dispute can not be accepted), if the arbitration is successful, you can buy these domain names from the holder.Pls give us your option, option 1 or option 2?
I usually waited until the end of the day or the next day to respond. My messages felt so impossibly foolish that I doubted he would believe me. My grammar became horrendous in places:
Yes, we want to protect our name ASAP from another company registering our brand name from registration.
This is ESSENTIAL for us.
Please tell me what we should be doing ASAP. I have spoken to my neighbour since he is a lawyer and he suggested we try to register this brand name ASAP! Is this what you're suggesting we do to? Can you help us do this?
We are very, very concerned about this threat to our business!
We don't want to end up in court over this so please let me know what we should be doing.
I was wrong, though...he did seem to believe me. HIs next response acknowledged my confirmation and introduced costs.
This will likely be my last blog post for the foreseeable future...it has to be.
On Tuesday this week (2 days ago), the deadline for the registration of media outlets passed. I'm sure that organisations such as Fiji TV, FijiTimes, FijiSun, MaiTV and various other publishers got their paperwork in on time.
On last night's news report, however, the Acting Permanent Secretary of Information seemed to allude to anyone operating a website needing to register as well. See the video clip below:
Oceanic develops websites for some of the largest corporations and organisations in the region. I've tried to understand this decree myself and have also tried to get answers through official channels but I haven't had much luck. Should I be advising EVERY single one of my clients to register their companies as media organisations?
Smith Johns said in this interview that "it's important that everyone read and understand this decree" but I'll be among the first to admit that I don't understand it at all. She also said that "it CAN be small publishers as well [who need to register]"...this, however, is quite different from saying "it IS small publishers".
I'm not intending to argue any points about the actual decree here. Much of it I don't really care about and as a non-citizen and a guest in Fiji, I am not really afforded the right to complain anyway, even if I did disagree. I can live with that as it's a fact of life when residing in a country you are not native to. However, I have to be able to understand how this decree may or may not impact both myself and my business. As an investor, how could I not expect that?
For the time being and until I'm able to get clarification, it's just going to be easier to not publish new content on this blog or anywhere on Oceanic's site. This may also mean that new work we've completed cannot be marketed either and that has an unfortunate impact on our business. I'll be doing whatever I can to try to find answers on this and will try to post updates here.
In the meantime, it seems advisable that if you do run a website, regardless of your business type, and you are a resident in Fiji, it may be in your best interests to register as a media organisation.
Interestingly, in a follow up story on the news (also included below), Smith Johns referenced applications for exemption to the decree. She said "You need to apply to be registered or you need to apply for an exemption. That closed yesterday afternoon so all media organisations would have had to have that submitted yesterday." The reporter then goes on to say "Those that fail to register will incur a stiff fine."
This actually left me even more confused over what I'm supposed to be doing. I need to register but the deadline has passed and I will incur a stiff fine? This is pretty essential information which I hope I can get clarified further.
The answers are out there...
--
UPDATE 10.30 a.m.: Have been able to determine now that if organisations have a website, they absolutely do need to either register as a media organisation or apply for exemption. Any organisation disseminating information to the public (i.e.; via a website) falls in this category. Will provide more specific information soon as it comes in. Oceanic will apply for an exemption. (Btw, our main website is down now. How's that for a responsible media organisation?)
I've never felt more fucked over by a company in my life than I have been feeling watching BP these past few weeks. This feeling is entirely my own fault, too.
From an Ogilvy case study highlighting BP's re-branding efforts about ten years ago:
"In 1999, British Petroleum merged with Amoco and then acquired the Atlantic Richfield Corporation and Burmah Castrol. The newly re-branded, global BP sought to position itself as transcending the oil sector, delivering top-line growth while remaining innovative, progressive, environmentally responsible and performance-driven. BP sought Ogilvy's expertise to demonstrate to key opinion leaders, business partners and their 100,000 employees worldwide how the company intended to go "beyond petroleum". "
I totally bought this...hook, line and sinker. I trusted them. I believe them and their bullshit.
I LOVED the re-branding approach BP launched about ten years ago. How do you take an old, dirty industry like oil and gas and turn it into something positive? Apparently, by repositioning your old logo into an environmentally friendly and colourful image of a sun. How do you rework a documented history of unsafe working conditions, global environmental damage and corporate staleness into something good? Apparently, by saying that you've moved on.
I'm sure not everyone bought it. I did, though. "Wow...look at how a company with the word 'petroleum' IN ITS NAME can leave it all behind." I thought...
I find myself pissed at Ogilvy as well for helping orchestrate the travesty of BP's re-branding efforts, which has now led, in part, to the environmental holocaust unraveling in the Gulf of Mexico. Their case study goes on to say:
"Our recommendation was to position BP as a new type of global energy company-one that confronts difficult issues like the conflict between energy and environmental needs and takes action beyond what is expected."
Unbelievable, Ogilvy. Are you sure you briefed your client properly?
"The power of the brand rested in the ability of companies to create emotional bonds with products… the better that connection, the stronger the brand."
She said it all here and I refused to think about it. I sat hypnotized by their words, promises and ideas instead of their actions. Is that really what branding is? How did I get so duped?
I will never visit a BP fuel station again or purchase any of their products or services. This brand screwed me and has made me feel like an idiot for trusting them. Entirely my own fault.
A brown pelican is seen on the beach at East Grand Terre Island along the Louisiana coast on Thursday, June 3, 2010. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) via The Big Picture. Totally heartbreaking.
A new initiative picking up local steam is the "Fiji Made" or "Buy in Fiji" campaign. Discounting the fact that I'm unable to determine what the campaign will actually be named yet, there are a few issues surrounding the idea which have been on my mind.
The idea of a Fiji-Made brand being put out there to encourage recognition of the country's products is a good one. At the same time, the idea may be extremely difficult and costly to pull off due to the inevitableover-thinking which will likely be associated with it. There are so many possible variations in the way the idea is implemented that it might be like pulling teeth in order to get any traction. That, however, is neither here nor there. If it's going to happen, it's best for as many people as possible to try and make it happen. Branding Fiji as more than just tropical beaches is a long-time coming. It's something which is sorely needed and it's going to become even more essential when trying to support the growth of other industries. It is this area which I feel is worth commenting on...
What appears to be left out of the "Fiji Made" discussion (at this point, at least) are services. This is relatively surprising when considering Fiji's ongoing push for ICT relevance in the world. Fiji’s service providers need to be able to benefit from the "Fiji Made" push as well. No one is actually saying they won't be but thus far, all the coverage I’ve seen has been about packaging labels and shelf space. Perhaps that's an easier visualisation when planning this thing but it doesn’t change the fact that if we’re only looking there, we could be missing the bigger picture.
There's a sad irony presented in this Fiji-Made campaign, as well. I'm a Fiji investor running a company which focuses, in part, on software and application development. I see way too much work being sent abroad to India, China and Malaysia, among other countries. My question is this:
How can Fiji build a brand with the core message being "Fiji-made" when the country itself looks elsewhere in an industry it has been intent on building up? This is frustrating for businesses like mine.
In fairness, I don't see Fiji's government as intentionally swiping at the local service industry at all. In fact, I think this issue is simply not being considered or discussed in the larger scheme of things. It is, however, a HUGE issue for any Fiji-based service provider struggling to build its skills and win local development work.
This essay is also not intended to be a xenophobic rant arguing that foreign companies are screwing local ones over and thus, should be banished. Indian and Chinese firms have as much right to pitch for work here as companies with real operations on the ground. What Fiji's government does not appear to be doing is REWARDING local businesses which choose to have software and application development done in Fiji. I believe that if they did do this, it would do wonders for both encouraging local ICT development further as well as promoting the "Fiji-Made" brand.
When I think about the emphasis and heavy financial commitment Fiji continues to make in trying to establish itself as an efficient ICT destination and developing the country's capabilities, it feels like only HALF of a strategy is being implemented. That half is made up of information technology parks, financial incentives and marketing efforts built around the sole goal of bringing IT companies in to establish operations. All important initiatives, yes, but it’s only halfway there.
The missing part of this strategy (i.e.; the other half) feels significantly more important to the industry's future; namely encouraging the development of local skills. This can happen via tax incentives for ICT-related training, duty-free imports of educational material, books and trade collateral, software discounts, and most important, tax incentives for ANY Fijian business choosing locally-developed custom application or software. Nothing is more critical towards building up capabilities than encouraging this local consumption of "Fiji-Made" services.
There are related issues which will need to be addressed with this kind of incentive-based activity. For example, many non-Fiji IT companies have established local offices as satellite locations for their foreign operations. The Digital Group is one shining example I can think of off the bat. Local tenders are pitched for by these companies but most or all of the development work is being managed and conducted abroad. Fiji as a country loses out when this happens and I'm not referring to just FJ$ going abroad. Fiji loses out because the experience and knowledge of how to build and manage that type of work disappear offshore with very little experience remaining behind. This is a key hindrance to the industry's local growth. To reiterate, the companies which send work abroad have every right to do so. I’m not arguing against their right to conduct business this way. I’m simply stating that in order to really develop the local industry, there need to be benefits to Buy Fiji. That is the purpose and focus of the “Fiji-Made” campaign, after all.
Fiji-based ICT companies with the majority of their workforce in-country should be able to easily demonstrate where their technical development resources are based. In fact, I believe these checks and balances already exist within the garment manufacturing industry.
If a local business or a government ministry wants software and application development, they should be strongly encouraged to use local ICT businesses wherever possible. Not directed, mind you. Encouraged. No one should be penalised for going abroad but getting benefits for working with local companies will become a win-win for everyone (except the companies who send all their dev work abroad). That, however, is just business.
On one hand, there's "corruption". On the other hand, there's its ugly step-sister, "bad ethics".
Nothing wastes company time more in this country (or anywhere, perhaps), than bad ethics. "Corruption" is finite, after all. It's clear to most people what is corrupt behaviour. Ethical lapses, however, seem to be entirely subjective.
I've been thinking a lot about this recently and it's been a recurring topic of discussion in our offices too. It seems to be stemming from the number of ethically questionable people we've had the displeasure of working with over the course of Oceanic's existence. As a growing service provider, we have very little choice but to work with these people. Or do we?
One stinging situation we've been going through lately deals with a client who we built a web strategy for some time ago. The first phase of the project was some pretty straight forward web development and the project went fine, with no real problems or issues. The client was happy. The second phase of development focused on a few specific customer support applications. Our initial proposal provided an outline of these applications, how we would build and implement them into their existing website and at what cost. Again, everyone seemed happy with the strategic approach we suggested.
Some time has gone by since this proposal was put forth but it has recently come up again and the client appears ready to move ahead. Unfortunately, we're being told that they must tender for this service because it's their policy to get three quotes. My argument, not surprisingly to me, is based on the fact that their very tender is built upon a strategic approach and implementation plan WE HAVE GIVEN THEM. Why should any other company get the opportunity to bid for work on a strategy we've proposed? At least, that's my view.
The client stands firm. "It's our policy."
So we now have to waste time following some outdated tender process where we'll most certainly not be the lowest tenderer (since we rarely are). Is this a corrupt practice on the side of the client? No, of course not since they're just following "their policy". Is it ethical? Well...this is the grey area.
A story was told to me shortly after I arrived in Fiji almost seven years ago:
A man was walking down the beach when he saw a fisherman carrying two buckets of crabs walking in the opposite direction. One of the buckets had a lid on it, the other had no lid.
The man said to the fisherman, "Why does only one of those buckets have a top? Won't the crabs escape the other one?"
The fisherman said "No. The bucket with the top are the international crabs while the bucket with no top are Fijian crabs. The Fijian crabs will try to climb out but will be pulled back down by the other ones left behind."
Although I remember chuckling when I first heard this story, I didn't truly get it. I had to spend a number of years here before it really made sense.
The best advertising and marketing campaigns are ones which touch on topics of a timely nature. Since the timeliness is already part of the consumer's mindset, it makes more sense and is therefor more memorable.
The most obvious example is in holiday advertising (i.e.; Xmas specials, Valentines Day offers, etc..). The problem is that every company does it. Wouldn't it be more noticeable and memorable if a company decided to offer a "Second Thursday of the Month Sale"? It's different enough to get people talking. How about a "10% off on Rainy Day Sale"?
Can anyone remember a specific Valentines Day sale from 2008? Probably not, but most people would bet there were some. Marketing messages are a blur for consumers.
The ad below flowed into my INBOX earlier this week. Genius.
Veet took a an event very much in the minds of consumers and attached their product to it. Very cheeky. They even appeared to tie the placement to the content elsewhere on the newspaper page which gives it additional context. Here's the full page in PDF format (Download 1.1MB PDF) if you're interested.
I've been intrigued and impressed while watching the festivities around the coronation of Tonga's King this week. The drama and hardcore culture of the events taking place are pretty cool.
One of my staff came back from a holiday in Tonga and brought me a coffee mug commemorating the coronation ceremony. Ignoring the obvious commercialisation issues for a moment, it was a nice present to receive.
Here's the mug:
Pretty cool, I think.
Well...the other side of the mug looks like this:
Is that MS Comic Sans???? Yes. Sadly, it is.
The designer of the mug has chosen MS Comic Sans to commemorate the crowning of the Tongan King. In earlier days, this might have resulted in a good old-fashioned beating to the death (had MS Word been in widespread use). Nowadays, no such penalty will occur, thereby dooming yet another serious message to the paralyzing and goofy influence of Comic Sans.
Check out this advertising/marketing campaign for a new monster movie in Japan. A huge water hologram in Tokyo Bay is formed. According to the YouTube description, "the feat uses a water screen (carefully sprayed water jet) and exact light projections to create a giant pseudo-3-D Loch Ness "Water Horse" monster in the bay."
We'll be doing something similar here in Suva Harbor but due to technical limitations, will be forced to use a hand-puppet and a flashlight.
[For all advertising/marketing/communication services in Fiji, visit our website.]
I’ve been working in the media industry for the five years I’ve lived here in Fiji and for more than ten years in the United States before that. Although the first couple years locally had me primarily focused on the online side of the industry, I personally believe very little differs between the mediums. Advertising and marketing is about communication at the end of the day and whether that communication takes place on a computer screen, over the radio or on the pages of a magazine, it should still have the responsibility of being effective.
If this is the case, then why does it seem the advertising industry in Fiji is more focused on pushing pixels rather than actually creating communication strategies for its clients? Many of our clients approach us with requests for products and/or services they want to advertise to the public. Very rarely, however, are we given directives that require a percentage increase in sales after running a campaign. This is not the fault of the client. I think it’s the fault of agencies for not pushing and marketing the value of the work they’re bringing to the table.
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