Blogger, You have been invited to BizConnect 🎉🎉

Hi Blogger, We would like to introduce BizConnect Business Card Reader to you and we genuinely believe that it will assist you by decluttering, digitizing and organizing your business cards. We ensure 100% accurate transcription, easy export to Excel / Outlook / Google, task and activity management and team collaboration. Also, you can sync your contacts with SalesForce and HubSpot. Scan Collaborate Export Download the app now and let us know how we can improve it further. We would love to hear from you!! Unsubscribe | Privacy Policy

Random Thoughts

I am just taking my heart out, in those pointless words, so this post is absolutely meaningless!

This is for never trying hard enough, for always believing you give more, for never knowing how you treat people, ford always being uptight
This is for everyone who ask people for more than they can give, this is for people including myself who shoulde sure to treat people the way they wish they are treated.

Why would people be so drifted from each other? Should close people like best friends, mother and daughter and even married people, be able to feel each others sorrows, pain and always be by their side during their rough patches! Or deveryone should be absolutely by his own, solving his own problems, taking care of themselves and even hug themselves in the need of care.

If this is how life would be then, there would actually be no use of living it! I mean if people aren't considerate of each others feeling, how can they claim they are close in the first place!

Twitter: @NehalHesham
Linkedin: NehalHesham


www.about.me/NehalHesham
www.NehalHesham.Wordpress.com
www.Nhesham.blogspot.com

Twitter Scrabble Competition

Check out my new Social Media Blog and Check the new Twitter Scrabble Campaign and Tell me what do you think about it

Twitter Scrabble Competition

International Advertising Concepts and Market Penetration Limitations & considerations

Market penetration approaches differ from one country or an organization to another, thus the advertising strategy varies.  Some advertisers choose to standardize and stick to the brand origin while others adapt the indigenous symbols of the market they are approaching. The factors advertisers take in consideration is the degree of ethnocentrism, and the level of the animosity of the market regarding a certain country.

The relation between the concepts portrayed lays in the process of taking decision in the different approaches to penetrate a certain market. Let’s look at some examples, if the majority of people living in a country are ethnocentric, the standardization approach might be a bit difficult to apply. If the people are so attached to their country and their products they won’t accept foreign brands thus they won’t buy them.  Brands in this case won’t show the country of origin (COE) of that certain brand and it must take the adaptation approach, in order to avoid brand animosity.

Some advertisers suppose its better to adapt to a market by using symbols that reflects the people, believing that the brand will reflect more to the people when it uses their language, symbols, and cultural norms, and thus will decrease the level of animosity and ethnocentrism. For example, Henkel changed the name of Persil Tunisia, Morocco & Algeria to “Nadif” they utilized a certain brand in order to suit the market they were entering. Organizations like Henkel and P&G tend to use the adaptation approach, while organizations like Pepsi and Coca-Cola prefer to standardize and stick to the COE, it’s true that they are taking a risk of high animosity but they tend to utilize their advertisements by using cultural symbols and famous acceptable figures in the market.

Some advertisers tend to change some of the symbols and words that relates to a country of origin, when a certain political transformation takes place between two or more countries. For Example, Americana[1] used the tagline “Quality” after the boycott that took place in 2003 (Iraq war), Americana changed its tagline to” 100% Arabian” and then changed it back after the boycott was slightly forgotten. American took this step to decrease the level of animosity Middle Eastern felt towards the United States of America, although American is not from an American origin but the country of origin effect changed people’s perception and attitude towards it, due to the fact that most of its brands and chains were franchised.

Adaptation VS. Standardization

The choice between adapting or standardizing the message should to be looked at on a case by case basis. Even  if the same objectives applies in al target markets, it is very possible that it is necessary to modify the advertising according to cultural, social, and economic features of these markets, as well as the motivations of your target customers. Deciding to adopt a standardized or adapted advertising strategy will result in a balance between the advantages of a single campaign, and those of a specific campaign for each market.

In reality, companies often adopt a strategy to integrate these two extremes, the difficulty arising when deciding to what degree each will be enforced.

The different aspects which could be subject to standardization or adaptation are the following: Campaign objectives, target market, choice of media and the choice of the message.

The approach that Pepsi & Coca-Cola uses is and integration of those two extremes which has been recently defined as adapted standardization, which means that they are sticking to the origin of the brand and the country while changing some of the symbols in order to match the needs of a certain ethnic group or culture.

Ethnocentrism VS Animosity

The subject of consumer ethnocentrism is discussed in the framework of advertising country-of-origin effects. The impact of media on consumers' ethnocentric sense during a special situation (animosity) (conflict between two countries) is examined. Then, the effect of a developed ethnocentric sense on consumers' perception of foreign-made brands is studied along two brands with different levels of reputation. Results show that consumers' ethnocentrism can be activated by media and oriented by the context. Only extreme ethnocentric attitudes are found to drive consumer behavior. Respondents exposed to the media campaign evaluate badly the country with which their own country knows a conflict, and therefore express a negative perception for the brands made that country. Highly reputed and less reputed brands perceptions are affected differently when consumers' ethnocentrism is activated. (Koubaa, 2009).

Here comes the link between ethnocentrism and animosity when a certain country has a high level of ethnocentrism, it can’t accept foreign brands, yet when animosity exists between two countries they still won’t accept foreign brands. Putting in consideration that ethnocentrism is unlike animosity and it is engraved in the roots of a certain culture.

if the land receiving the  product has a very high level of ethnocentrism, thus a level of animosity of the brand and the country of origin will increase, in that case the advertisers has to take in consideration that the adaptive approach is best to apply at this situation other than the standardization and sticking to the brand origin.

The practice

As a practitioner  you must be keenly aware of the transient nature of animosity. An alerting or a measuring system has to be created to measure the animosity level in a certain country. Politics transformative and the level of animosity between two countries decrease and increase in seconds, meaning if two countries are doing well in a day they might not be doing well together in another and vice versa. In that case the animosity research has to be updated regularly due to the fact that it changes regularly, unlike ethnocentrism that is rooted in the culture.

It’s true that ethnocentrism is rooted, but that doesn’t mean that I have to neglect the country that has high level of ethnocentrism. Digging deeper into the society we might find sub-cultures that some people perhaps the top educated ones might accept foreign brands. Here we figure out the digging deeper into these sub-cultures we might find a very high potential target segment that will benefit and be benefited from the brand,

Another area that grabbed my attention is the fact that we should be highly aware of the culture orientation, religion sensitivity and a culture historical background. An example that came in mind, is in 2010 when Vodafone launched its “USB Stick” campaign featuring (Samir, Shahir, & Bahir). Vodafone didn’t take in consideration the historical and religious background that might offend the people who were watching “Abas Ibn Fernas” commercial. If Vodafone have studied the culture thoroughly it wouldn’t have been trapped in such an error. Looking deeper into the culture research we figure out that, demographic characteristics, which include age gender and social class, reflects severely on ethnocentrism level on a group or/and individual

 The regulation or legal considerations of a country differ from one another, for example in KSA has a sensitive regulation for females to appear on local TV and billboards and they absolutely forbid  any nudity or sexist images. Another regulation KSA has is the fact that it’s unacceptable for any advertising model even a man to appear with his eyes on billboards and local TV, usually he wears glasses. If those regulations not taken in consideration while penetrating a certain market the brand will brutally fail

Country regulations are part of the creative challenges that faces in advertiser while penetrating a certain market, while it’s not the only challenge an advertiser has to deal with. Language limitation is part of the challenges that must be taken in consideration, and by language limitation I don’t mean only the different language countries speak with.  In international markets the procedure of communicating to a target audience is more difficult because communication takes place across several situations, which differ in terms of language, literacy, and other cultural factors. A message may, therefore, not get through to the audience because of people's inability to understand it due to literacy problems) because they misinterpret the message by attaching different meanings to the words or symbols used, or because they do not respond to the message due to a lack of income to purchase the advertised product.

Some countries have a high level of illiteracy in that case language limitation exists; Illiteracy: as defined by the United Nations is being unable to read and write a simple short sentence about ones everyday life. It limits the person ability to communicate and to learn and to grow. Language barrier also take place in multilingualism countries like Canada, in that case and advertiser has to provide the content to meet the audience needs in different languages

 Another limitation concerning language is the fact that the way I speak to certain social class is different from another. For example when P&G launched Ariel, it had two types of ads, one that is the default for all Ariel ads all over the world, just changing its language to Arabic , while they had another custom made ad for the lower class that speaks in their language. The former example is also applicable for the culture diversity in a certain country, a country like America for example is what we call in international communication a “salad bowl” it has many cultures, like Hispanics, Indians, African Americans and more this diversity will make it hard for advertiser to communicate with one common message for all groups of the society, and here is when proper segmentation takes place.

Media limitations also play a role in the failure of a communication to reach its proposed audience. The process of communication in international markets involves a number of steps. First, the advertiser must decide on the appropriate message for the target audience. Next, the message is encoded so that it will be visibly understood in different cultural contexts.

The message is then sent through media channels to the audience who then decodes and reacts to the message. At each stage in the process, cultural barriers may slow down the effective transmission of the message and result in miscommunication. (Douglas & Craig, 2009)

Media may reduce the role of advertising in the promotional program and may force the marketers to stress the other elements of promotional mix. In addition to encoding the message so that it attracts the attention of the target audience and is understood correctly, advertisers need to select media channels that reach the planned target audience. For example, use of TV advertising may only reach some audience in certain countries while print media will not be effective when illiteracy highly exists.

Works Cited

Douglas, S. P., & Craig, C. S. (2009). Internationl Advertising . New York : New York University- Stern School of Business.

Koubaa, Y. (2009). Ethnocentrism, country of origin, and brand perception in a special context. Inder Sceince Publishers

Truth about Feminism!

About six months ago, I was attending a big event that took place in Cairo, the even overall was so inspiring it had different talks from different speakers about different aspects of life particularly in Egypt. 


One of these talks was about feminism and female rights in the Egyptian society. Before I get into details about the talk, and my own viewpoint regarding its discussed theories and concepts, let me tell you the exact definition of feminism. 

Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women.

So lets take a deeper look into this definition: 

The Act

Feminism is a collection of movements: so its not one act, its not something that  can be done within one organization or one campaign, its an ongoing process for change.  

The Action

Feminism defines: in other words it gives a meaning to the cause or to the female equality process
Feminism establish: it creates the right atmosphere and capabilities for women so they can take their rights 
Feminism defends: provide the needed protection and security for women  

The Activity 

Equal (To Men) 

1. Political Rights: The right to compete in the political world 
2. Economical Rights: have equal economical and financial statues 
3. Social Rights: have the same privilege in the social sphere 
4. Opportunities: have the same life and career chances 

So the conclusion out of this definition would be that feminism is not about talking nor giving speeches, its about the actual action in the real world. This bring us back to the talk I have heard about feminism during the event I attended. She was a young female in her mid 30's, her studies and work is all about giving female their rights and prestige in the Egyptian society, while she also holds a Phd in feminism theory and practice.

Her talk was mainly about how we "Women in the A & B Class" are not having full rights , and we are treated  as women, and we are looked upon as people who don't have the same intellectualism level as men. She kept on citing poetry about how we at Egypt are being called names, being harassed physically and mentally and we are not looked upon as active citizens in the society. She claims that we don't have the same work and life opportunities men have, and how women need to be Empowered in the Egyptian Society.   

With all due respect to the speaker, I totally disagree with her, let me tell you why: 

Demographics: 

If we took a look at the population structure, we would find out the both males and females are almost equal in numbers. 

0-14 years: 32.7% (male 13,725,282/female 13,112,157) 
15-64 years: 62.8% (male 26,187,921/female 25,353,947) 
65 years and over: 4.5% (male 1,669,313/female 2,031,016) (2011 est.)

According to the ministry of labor "The participation of women in Egypt's workforce has risen from 15.4 percent in 2001 to 23 percent in 2006," 

Lets take a look at the following tables that indicates women Education & Economic Empowerment, from AUC research center & Canadian International Development Agency, in 2010 

This first graph shows, the ratio between males and females in working occupations, and as it shows women are advancing in numbers more than men.

Whats interesting about the above graph, is the fact the women are advancing in the fields of Agriculture, hunting and education more than men. This indicates two things, 1. Women have more will and power , 2. They do jobs that men are inclined to do, which shows that women may have been looked at as the main source of money in rural areas and so called lower classes. 

The above graph explain itself, take a look and tell me what do you think about the numbers!?

The above table is the latest stats taken in the end of 2010, which shows the differences that are taken places between generations. Women are more advanced in the professional and technical fields, while they still have a high level of competitiveness in the sales and marketing area. Women are still advancing in the field of farmers, and hunters while ironically men are more advanced in handicrafts. If we looked at the unskilled workers field, indicates that women are far more skilled than men! 

Away from statistics what I see with my own eyes, and I am sure a lot of people will agree, is that all mangers and department heads in the A-B class are mainly women. So who do you think need more rights women or men?! 

Who Needs the Rights?

Away from that if we will be talking about women rights and feminism than we shouldn't be discussing that in the A-B classes. Lets start looking at lower classes, women who work daily and than there husbands beat them up for the money. Young girls who get married at young ages to way older men. Also looking at the indicator that women have far more participation in physical work like hunting, farming and fishing, while in God's words women are not made for that kind of work, yet they are still skilled and powerful enough to do so. 

Will give an example I see everyday, the maid that works at our house, gets beaten everyday from her husband so he can take her money, and when you ask her why are you still living with him, why are you keeping up with what he is doing to you? She smiles innocently and says, "He is the man, this is what he should do, without him I would be nothing" 

That is something we should be working on! This women is suffering from what I like to call "Intellectual Rape" she is stuck in the bubble of traditions! This case applies to millions and millions of Egyptian women in lower classes. These are the women we should, defend, define and establish their rights and opportunity not the women in the higher classes! 

The Myth of Empowerment!

Women should be empowered they need rights right and rights! and then? Lets look at the definition of empowerment 

Empowerment refers to increasing the spiritual, political, social, racial, educational, gender or economic strength of individuals and communities. It often involves the empowered developing confidence in their own capacities.

Yes I believe that women should be empowered by all means, the should enhance their capabilities;ties, adapt new skills and widen their knowledge, they should shine forever! But lets make it clear, women are born to do certain things that men can never do, while men are born to do other things, its not that what they do we cant do, its just that this is simply not our role in life and this is not what we are born to do!  And as a very special person I know said, "I believe that men are women are not equal, but they have equal rights"  I believe in something that is far more important than women empowerment, I believe in "Human Empowerment" I believe that both men and women should be equal in having rights to excel and flourish, they both deserve good quality education, they both deserve to be entrepreneurs they both deserve to have their role in society. They both deserve defending their right to live! 

Taxi Driver or an Entrepreneur!?

A couple of months ago I took a Cab from work like I normly do, yet there was something that is so not normal about it. Books and magazines where everywhere , 2 netbooks where attached to the back of the chairs, a small basket that has game boys & PSPs was set on the front seat. 

I started looking at books, I found a collection of old and new English and Arabic books, some where for Naguib Mahfouz, Abbas EL Akkad, Dan Brown, Paulo Coelho and more. 1 Minute after I have entered the taxi, the driver start telling me you can use what ever you want for free, but if you need internet tell me, because it requires a fees. 

I started talking with the driver, he was a young man in his late 20's , well dressed, pleasant looks, and a not so bad English accent. He started asking me about my experience with other Taxi drivers and what are the things that I hate about riding taxis, he started to scribble things while I was talking on a piece of paper attached to the driving wheel. 

After 10 minutes of riding the taxi, figured that his name is Eslam, and this is his privately owned car, Eslam told me about his dream of having his own business, yet this business was still in the same career of taxi driving he was pursuing. Eslam wanted to gather all his taxi driver friends in one company, dedicated to driving people on-call. He wanted to create a website and FB page promoting the business, his idea was to create a profile for all drivers, with their pictures and complete info about them and about what they do, he wanted to enhance the experience for customers and he wanted to demolish the bad image people have about taxi drivers, he wanted to create a safe place for people to go to. Eslam also mentioned having cabs that are drove by women, so it would be easier and much more comfortable for ladies. 

After this pleasant 30 minutes ride, I started thinking should this taxi driver be considered as an entrepreneur!? He certainly has the spirit and the qualities that qualifies him to be so , and according to WikiPedia an entrepreneur is  an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative! 

I believe that this young man has all what it takes to be a very successful entrepreneur!

Whtats very amusing about Eslam is that, he is not resenting what he is doing, he is not unhappy about his job, he loves it and he is trying to work so hard to make it better for him and for others around him. He worked with the capabilities he had, he didnt wait for an opportunity to come out of no where, he focused and he will start launching his project very soon!

What I regret on not doing is forgetting to take his phone number, a man with an initiative  like this is worth giving attention, and support!

The Key to Getting More Followers on Twitter

If you are new to twitter, you are probably wondering how people get many followers! At first you are struggling to break the 100, after breaking the 100 you are struggling with the 300, than the 400, 600 and so on! The thing is how can you break those numbers, well let me give you small tips and tricks on how to do so.

1. Choose the right Avatar

if you choose a crazy and outgoing and rebellious avatar that will sure help in making your chances doubled, stay away from sissy and regular photos. and make sure you LOOSE THE EGG!

2. Your Bio reflects on you!
if you wrote simple and straight to the points words that describe you well, this will raise your opportunity.
check this link to check the 20 best bios 
3. Tweet , Tweet & Tweet!
its simple, if you have nothing to say, just dont tweet! the more you tweet the more you will get followers! If you thought what people will think about your tweets than you will never tweet! just tweet whatever comes to your mind and you will find someone to engage with. Get engaged with people who share different thoughts and start debating, get in touch with tweeps who share same interest and help people out! A big percentage of people on twitter are seeking help from fellow tweeps, some ask about locations, others ask about food and others ask about products. 
4. Hashtags, they are important
whether you create your own #Hashtags or you join existing popular hashtags this will certainly help in making your chances better

Above all make sure you do not trust websites that tells you they can get you more followers, because they are all scam! And once you break the 600 it all comes easy!

P.S: The More followers you get the more you will get followed, people look at 3 main things before following someone, the avatar, the bio and the number of followers they have!

The Filthy Desire (An old Story, I had laying around)

The Filthy Desire  

Despite all the pain she went through, she deeply knew that she will never give up or quit. She was right on the edge; she was losing everything and everyone around her just to satisfy her inner desire. She had nothing to live for but her damned repulsive desire, it led her, guided her and it was always her dear companion. With her desire she was always looked at as an outcast, stranger an outside of the word person that was always bound by social norms and sometime by religion. But she never cared, she never thought about how others would see her, although their looks killed her.

“What kind of girl does that” “are you happy with yourself” “only who**s do that”  “And what kind of religion are you following that gives you that right” These were all the translations of the looks she used to get, living in an Arab country that abide with religions and traditional norms didn’t give her the freedom she expected so it wasn’t that easy.  People were sometimes fierce and mean but so is her desire, it wasn’t the people that bother her most. Deeply she knew that she didn’t have the freedom she wished for and not because of the people and their looks, it’s because something more powerful have captured her and controlled her for the rest of her life.  She knew she had nothing left but her desire, it was the only thing that was keeping her alive, yet it was still the same thing that will end her life.

One day she sat in the dark, lonely, lost & miserable with nothing but the light of her desire slowly destroying the last piece of her.  She was suffocating and the light was getting brighter; she tried to stop herself but her desire kept on fighting back and didn’t let her go. Her tears filled the place and her eyes were bloody, her nose was runny and her heart was racing so fast. She couldn’t stand the heat, yet she couldn’t stop her soul from surrendering to her desire. She was a strong girl but the pleasure she experienced was way stronger than her, it just gave her exactly what she was looking for a dream that came true, but what if this dream became all her reality. She never wanted anything else because she never saw anything else. There were no alternatives in her life that is the only reality she knew, so she never looked for an alternative. 

She took a deep breath and she took control over herself and she gazed deeply at the light and said:

“You were always there for me a dear friend and a beloved companion, you have never let me down or even decided to let me go, you have always understood my needs, simply you were part of me. I loved every detail about you, your smell, your taste, the way you touch my lips; the way you lie helplessly in my hands and they way you make me feel after touching my soul. But NO! As sensational as you are as filthy you will always remain. I know you will be hurt but there is a time when we both have to take our separate ways, I know you will survive without me, but simply you will destroy me if we stayed together, I am not being ungrateful here, but you were purely vicious and cruel. I have to look for other options and experience new things that will surely not give me the same amount of pleasure you did, but eventfully will keep me alive. Thank you for our time together but now it’s time to let go. Now is my time to not let my desire take control of my life, now it’s the time to get back my freedom and gain back my dignity, now it’s my time to finally……..

Quit Smoking. “

A Day In A Life of A Harasser!

Waking up and getting dressed as always, with nothing on his mind but completing what he has started yesterday and the day before. Amgad is a 30 year’s old unmarried man that lives with his mother and his 8 sisters. Amgad is unemployed and his mother is the only source of money in the house, she raised him till he graduated from university, and is planning to do the same with his sisters. Amgad is graduated from Law school, he graduated with high grades but unfortunately he couldn’t get a decent job.

On his ways out of the house he spotted his 18 years old sister looking feminine as always, he glimpsed and took a deep breath and closed his eyes and the journey of his imagination started, yet he knew he can never touch her although he tried before. Amgad went down the house and started walking into small and dark allies looking for another prey. He spotted two girls walking deeper into the alley and decided to have two targets today rather than one, “I will challenge myself today” he said.

Moving slowly and cunningly towards the end of the alley trying to reach the two girls, and indulge his raging sexual desire. Reaching the end of the alley waiting for the girls to move into a crowded place so he can make his move with no one noticing, he closed his eyes started imaging his sister again. His sexual desire was lifted even more, and he decided to make his move in a dark quiet place with no people around. Sweat was all over his face and his heart was racing like a horse striving to win and he was as scared as a rat. He got closer and closer and in a second he grabbed both girls from their backs and knocked them down the floor and ran away.

He couldn’t catch his breath so he stopped running, looking around to see if someone saw him, he decided to hide, near a dark doorstep. Amgad was hoping that no one saw him, with a look of fear and a tiny smile of victory Amgad calmed himself down, and started to walk towards the crowded streets again, thinking of the challenge he might take the next day and thinking of new day to satisfy his sexual desire.

The Cone Chat

A day full of work overload and maximum stress all she wanted to do is break free and be liberated . She walked out of her office and took the stairs, her colleagues never knew why she never took the elevator some of them thought she was claustrophobic, and others feels that she is afraid of heights. She just didn't give them the pleasure of knowing the real reason, and she always gave them a sarcastic laugh whenever they ask her.

On every floor she goes by she dumps a block of her stress behind her, on every step taken she gets a memory of her happy moments and today will be one of the best days of her life. It’s Thursday the day she waits for every month, its her break. A break for her doesn’t mean a break from work, because she is a total workaholic she never stops even on weekends. She gets down to the street and walks directly to her car all she can see is the cone. She started to drive and she didn’t see the people around her, all she can focus on is the cone it was calling for her.

She stopped her car and got out she took a deep breath and started walking until she faded and went out of sight. She came back to her car with the cone finally in her hand. She opened the door and started the engine and drove to a near quite place under a beautiful oak tree. She closed the windows and played her favorite song, and rested the chair. She gazed deeply at the cone she took a deep breath and she said: "Hey my perfect little cone, you are so dear to me, you are my passion and my inspiration and sometimes you help me to go on. To me you are pure joy covered with ultimate infatuation, filled with utmost enthusiasm and sprinkled with extreme passion. But sorry you won’t stay for long I won’t let you stay for long and I want allow you from keeping me away from reaching me goal even if it means that you will only be with me once a month, I can do that I can stay away from you longing for the day I will meet you again. As fundamental as you are to me, you still can’t be the essence of my life because I have a life and I plan on keeping it sparkly, astonishing and fit"

She got closer to the cone and smelled it and enjoyed its look, and its taste she ate it till the last bit and after she was finished she held her head back and said "your creaminess and softness is the essence of your exquisiteness" It was really an experience of a life time and as great as it is, it must have an end, and the cone of the cone was now the end of the ice cream cone is now! It won’t keep her away from staying fit and getting in shape and having a “to die for” lifestyle full of activity, healthy body, fitness and absolute inspiration. She held the driving wheel and laughed and said "that’s fools what's keeping me away from the elevator”