The internet is a Godsend!

The internet is a wonderful invention! This medium opens a whole new world for communication, publications, research, and publicity. It enables us to communicate to other people all over the world! The World Wide Web is one of the most popular features of the internet, and it is the fastest growing. Nowadays many companies have a website for advertising, marketing and public relations. In addition, the companies have the possibility to use electronic mail to communicate with (potential) clients, which is faster, easier, and more economical. Internet Chat can be another useful tool in communicating with customers, a program such as Skype allows two or more persons to communicate in real time, even with a webcam! It is even possible to apply for a job on the other site of the world with the help of the internet! This medium is also a huge source of knowledge, it can be extremely helpful in finding all types of information. It has brought the outside world a little closer to our homes.
Beside all these advantages it is much cheaper to sell products over the internet than in real stores, think about all the costs for the stores!

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Advertisement, it is everywhere!!

Will it ever drive us crazy? The amount of advertising and marketing Europeans are exposed to each day exploded over the past 15 years. We see advertisements everywhere, in the street, on the internet, on television, during sporting events, we even hear it on the radio! It is really impossible to avoid. Studies show that on average we see 3000 ads per day!

Even outer space there are advertisements: The Russian Space Program launched a rocket bearing a 30-foot Pizza Hut logo, and some companies have placed ads in space that are visible from earth.

To realize all these advertisements, it is not hard to imagine that companies spend millions of euros to reach people. The question arises: What do multinationals think of us? Are we all unique persons to them, or are we just their consumer? And what do we think of ourselves? Are we in charge, or do companies decide which things we buy?

The challenge of the future may be finding areas which are free of advertising..!!

Heineken & advertising

Heineken is a Dutch brewing company which owns 120 breweries in more than 65 countries. It sells more than 170 kind of beers. To maintain its reputation the company is taking many actions. Some examples will follow:

Heineken sponsors a number of musical and sporting events such as Heineken Openér Festival, the Heineken Cup (rugby) and Heineken Open (tennis). Besides that, the company owns a museum which is called Heineken Experience. It gives an insight into the company's history and brewing process through the years. This museum is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Amsterdam.

In addition, Heineken implemented a successful international interactive online marketing campaign about responsible drinking. The message to drinkers was simple: Know your limits or be an embarrassment to yourself and to your friends. The campaign consisted of videos showing characters who displayed different types of behavior when they had consumed too much. These movies were distributed using social networking sites such as Hyves. Members of the site were able to send videos of the stereotype to their friends with the massage: 'reminds me a bit of you!'
The great thing about this campaign is that Heineken gives their costumers a good impression with the encouragements about the responsible use of alcohol. Finally, do you remember this funny tv-commercial about Heineken? Heineken Commercial!