Do you “Google” yourself?
It’s a rhetorical question.
I know you do. 
Come on, there is nothing shameful in it, we all do it!
Actually, I would be surprised if you have never checked what “uncle Google” says about you! No matter what you do for living, whether you try to hide something in your past online or want to show off with a picture of you with your favorite rock band, you should “google” yourself from time to time to check what your internet image is.
Why?
Another rhetorical question, I would say, but still to point out the evident.
Because Google is the one online service that shows you (and the rest of the world) what people on the internet talk, see and read about you. Your ONLINE REPUTATION, to put it in my favorite advertising slang.
So, don’t tell me you don’t care what the WEB says about you!?
Because Google is the online equivalent of your neighborhood, but multiplied million times! You should consider yourself lucky that the bore 70-year lady that you have for neighbor can tell only 3 friends about your coming home at 4h in the morning with suspiciously wild hair and some traces of make-up. Then, some of these 3 friends will discuss with at least 2 other ladies the question of your decency the next time they see you passing by. Still, remember my word, you should consider yourself lucky to have the “news” spread among a dozen of indignant old ladies!
Now, imagine that your lady neighbor is computer littered (here you need to have rich imagination, considering her age and that we are in Bulgaria…). So, she tells “the breaking news” with you starring to her online community – post on her Facebook status with a mention of your name for young generation’s edification or publish a photo of your look at the moment of that unfortunate morning and “tag” you! Then she shares all this is in www.forum-grandma.com (rich imagination, remember?) and… you find yourself with some contradictory references in Google!
OK, I exaggerate. A lot. I admit it. But did you picture yourself in the situation?
Now think where all this came from? Yep, it was the morning after one of the happiest nights in your life – the prom ball!
So, go to tell Google it was a misunderstanding!
* to google: to use the Google search engine to obtain information on the World Wide Web (see Wiki for reference)
** When I use “Google” in this post, I also mean any other search engine you like (Yahoo, Bing etc.). Google however is the most used from Bulgarians search engine.
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Euro RSCG 4d Bulgaria is based in Sofia, 18 Ivan Vazov street.
We are specialists in digital strategy and consultant in communication online.
Our clients are the largest companies worldwide such as Carrefour, Volkswagen, Societe generale, Edenred BACB, Eon, Solvay, etc
Our main team comprise of Nicolas Galand, Alexandre Glas, Biliana Bogdanova, Zdravko Totinov, Martin Zhelyazkov.
You can send us an email to contact@eurorscg4d.bg or find us on Twitter @4d_bulgaria
Policy of Open WEB
When I was “under age”, the first post card that I received from Paris was a photo of the Eiffel tower in Black & White. Since then, I always prefer black and white photos. Few years later, when I arrived in Paris for the first time, I was imaging that the city will be in Black & White because of all these beautiful postcards received at home. My memory kept all of them as the reference of a fairy tale …
Here we are, early in the morning, I’m in the elevator. Excited to start my working day, just like everybody else in this office. The colored ambiance just reminded me the fairy tale in which I lived in Paris. And just like that, surfing on the Internet, looking for some new fresh ideas, I found these Black & White pictures from Studio Harcourt and seeing again these very well-known faces … Yes, of course, once again a good, precious memory from France. This was not just a good time that I had surfing on the internet, but a good brain exercise. I cannot stop thinking of all these people surfing on the Internet, passing by different sites, reading just what seems interesting to them and this with the one purpose – to get more information. But is it all about the information?
This is what exactly the reality of nowadays is giving us as opportunity – to share unlimited amount of this information which seems interesting and attractive. This opportunity is the reason of the Web‘s progress of which we are all witnesses.
I keep wondering how to control this progress and how to measure the impact of this “underground” exchange? Maybe by setting some restrictions?
Naturally, there is already an existing and functioning system of restrictions, which purpose is to protect copyrights but at the same time it represents a contradiction of this free exchange that we already mentioned.
Studio Harcourt is a great example of a company which knows how to manage this “open space” Web and had set up an innovative policy about it. They analyze their situation and understood that restrictions might not be able to prevent the free use of their products- Black & White pictures and could even provoke a counter effect. As people say: “The Forbidden fruit tastes the Sweetest”. Here we must mention that it is not the case for everybody and what counts is the open minded people. That’s why Studio Harcourt decided to put their renowned pictures online, just by the simple note « license creative commons ». This will oblige users to put, every time that they are using a photo or any other company’s product, the name of the author.
So, companies on Internet are adapting. But are we as consumers? We cannot expect that the others will have the culture to respect the other’s work, so the “license creative commons” is a good way to make them to respect copyrights. I don’t know if you will agree, but I think this is a great strategy, much better than the old ones with the restrictions policy. And at the same time, still assure the gold principle of a free circulation in the Internet. However, think about it …and if you want to forward this memo to someone else – remember the copyrights– Alexandra Lemoine is my name. ————————————————————————————————————–
Euro RSCG 4d Bulgaria is based in Sofia, 18 Ivan Vazov street.
We are specialists in digital strategy and consultant in communication online.
Our clients are the largest companies worldwide such as Carrefour, Volkswagen, Societe generale, Edenred BACB, Eon, Solvay, etc
Our main team comprise of Nicolas Galand, Alexandre Glas, Biliana Bogdanova, Zdravko Totinov, Martin Zhelyazkov.
You can send us an email to contact@eurorscg4d.bg or find us on Twitter @4d_bulgaria
More banners, less clicks – is that necessary negative?
The number of internet users continues to grow and of course this increases also the amount of published advertisement online. In 2010 already 47% of all Bulgarian households have access to internet and the advertisements we can see daily in internet are thousands. Banners are everywhere which actually makes people blind for them. This trend is more popular as “banner blindness”.
It has been proved that less people look at the banner because it looks and acts as an advertisement. It’s proved the average click trough rate on standard banner ads across the whole web between 0,2 – 0,4%.
The days of traditional marketing creative are over. People have already used to see advertisement anytime and everywhere, so they can’t interact anymore. That’s why they are clicking also less. But it’s obviously a sign that banner campaigns are failure. IAB Europe has published last week the White book about the online advertisement after the Interact Congress Barcelona 2010.
It has been shown that it’s 20 times more likely to drive online behavior than clicks can measure. Many studies from leading players and research companies in the sector have shown that display advertising has significant impact on brand awareness, brand perception and ultimately on sales, both online and offline.
So even if the standard banner advertisement is a decreasing trend, the click has been proven not to be an appropriate measurement tool for every online campaign.
Picture & Statistics Source: Business Week
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Euro RSCG 4d Bulgaria is based in Sofia, 18 Ivan Vazov street.
We are specialists in digital strategy and consultant in communication online.
Our clients are the largest companies worldwide such as Carrefour, Volkswagen, Societe generale, Edenred BACB, Eon, Solvay, etc
Our main team comprise of Nicolas Galand, Alexandre Glas, Biliana Bogdanova, Zdravko Totinov, Martin Zhelyazkov.
You can send us an email to contact@eurorscg4d.bg or find us on Twitter @4d_bulgaria
Smell the banner!
Being in the online communications business is challenging. Mostly when you have to explain what you do for living to your grandparents.
Now seriously, it is challenging for so many reasons that everyone can find the right for oneself. My reason to like this business is its main tool – people’s attention. Yep, it’s all in there when you think about it – to make people look at your product, listen to your message, feel your brand, remember your name… first you need to gain their attention!
And as we, the people in 4D, already know some things about people’s attention, I won’t risk any longer losing yours with beating about the bush.
So here we go straight to the point.
Banners.
The relation between people’s attention and banners is “painfully” direct, as you may have noticed. Painfully for the banners! They are all around online, anywhere you browse. Blinking, passing over the screen, jumping up and down, painfully trying to catch your attention!
Do they succeed? Yes – in 0.2% of the cases… So, you see how “painful” it is!
Scented banners.
Now let me tell you how a Brazilian agency succeeded to catch the scent of a few people and the attention of much more in order to advertise a new men’s fragrance. Through funny banners. Scented ones in fact. Take it word for word.
They created “aromatic banners” that you can smell on paper strips after clicking on them, literally.
Watch the video to see what I mean:
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TR0mOuNEHUg
Inspiring, hm? Great idea, not too difficult for realization, with fantastic results. 10,000 scented strips distributed in one weekend! The scented banners were clicked 43 times more than are banners in average.
And if you ask me, the greatest benefit is actually this “viral” video circulating over the web with thousands of views.
Isn’t it challenging the business of online communications? 
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Euro RSCG 4d Bulgaria is based in Sofia, 18 Ivan Vazov street.
We are specialists in digital strategy and consultant in communication online.
Our clients are the largest companies worldwide such as Carrefour, Volkswagen, Societe generale, Edenred BACB, Eon, Solvay, etc
Our main team comprise of Nicolas Galand, Alexandre Glas, Biliana Bogdanova, Zdravko Totinov, Martin Zhelyazkov.
You can send us an email to contact@eurorscg4d.bg or find us on Twitter @4d_bulgaria