Facebook Forums
Facebook vs. forums for expat marketers.

Having thrown themselves into a new situation, expats are naturally on the lookout for information which can aid them in their foreign life. This demand helps to fuel strong expat communities within which information is shared and people are generally keen to help each other.

Starting afresh in new surroundings takes away opportunities for brand loyalty, which means as a marketer, if you manage to get one expat onside you’ve got the potential to get many more as a direct result. Because of this, expat communities provide a unique opportunity for expat marketers. Continue reading

Felix Baumgartner
More than 8 million people watched Baumgartner’s descent to Earth. This is just the latest of Red Bull’s famous campaigns.

Viral marketing offers many advantages to companies who have a clear objective and simple product, by using online methods to target expats.

Many expats around the world are known as ‘netizens,’ or citizens of the Internet, an ever growing community of regular Internet users.

Two of the most notable recent examples of viral marketing are that of Red Bull and the Stratosphere stunt, involving millions of dollars, NASA and a live video feed; and the Christmas advertising campaign from John Lewis, who are well known amongst expats, due to their ability to deliver their products to over 30 countries worldwide. Continue reading

globe with crisis text
The crisis is hitting some expats markets hard, but in the meantime some Asian and South American destinations are booming.

As global recession looms, expat marketers are wondering which markets will be left after the storm.

While some traditional expat markets seem close to collapse, others attract more and more foreigners, offering new business opportunities for expat service providers.

Our team at ExpatMarketing.com has rated some of the largest local expat markets by attractiveness. The assigned market score, portrayed by up to four stars, reflects how important the given expat market will be in the near future. Continue reading

DKV globalite health network
DKV Globality has launched a unified global health service.

One of the challenges expatriates face is how to deal with local cultures, regulations and practical issues. Whereever you go, things just seem to be different than at home, and sometimes they are quite confusing.

Expat health insurer DKV Globality seems to be taking note of this. With a new global service concept, the company tries to establish a unified communication process and service branding for their expat customers – irrespective of where they are moving to. A network of international customer assistants – the so called “Globalites” – are available to clients 24/7 and in twenty-four different languages. Continue reading

Graphic ranking online media channels
A ranked list of the website types consumers use to research products. (US data; Bynd.com)

How do you generate more sales? The big buzz is always social media but that is just the tip of the iceberg. Especially for expatriate products, more purchase interest seems to come from online channels other than Facebook and Twitter.

Expat purchases are normally ‘high involvement’ products such as health insurance coverage, personal finance, or real estate. Interestingly, a study by Joann DeLanoy explains that for high-involvement products, people use web search before using Twitter or Facebook. Continue reading

globe over target
Expat marketers should know how to target their campaigns to the right audience and design their banners to maximize CTR.

Targeting an advertising campaign at expatriates can be difficult. What marketing mix should you use? Do you target expats before or after they have moved abroad? Where do you place your ads?

These are the questions on many advertisers minds when faced with an expat campaign.

“Narrow down your advertising channels and choose media that is already targeting expats for the best results, advises Carlos Duez, business development manager at Just Landed. “Your marketing mix needs to use different channels. The Internet is the cheapest option and you can measure results. This is particularly important if you are on a limited budget.” Continue reading