The Times of India reported this week that Amazon.com is set to launch services in India next year. The challenges are considerable but so are the opportunities.

The biggest set of difficulties for the e-commerce giant is presented by the limitations of Indian infrastructure, on which goods delivery is dependent. Beyond that, consumer credit card usage is not as widespread as in other markets; and regulatory requirements demand that Amazon will need an Indian partner in order to open shop.

Continue Reading …

So says Philip Lynch , CEO Nomura Asia Holding, reported in The Economic Times today.

Lynch goes on to suggest that Indian Companies are more global than their Chinese counterparts. That’s a bit vague as an observation, but we’re with him in our conviction that the Europe-India linkage is very strong and cultural affinities underly the business and investment story.

Encouraging news for Syngal Corke Wallis’s business model today as UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) released figures showing India as the UK’s 3rd largest inward investor.

The British High Commission in New Dehli has written about the figures here, as has the Times of India here.

On Friday, Orange launched their contactless payment system, Quick Tap, in conjunction with Barclaycard, on the Samsung Tocco Lite handset.

There are at least ten other distinct brands involved in Orange’s leap into new territory. Nine are working together:

• Orange, and Quick Tap’s leading partner, Barclaycard
• the providers of the handset technology, Samsung, and
• at least six retail brands supporting the initiative by taking payments via the new contactless system

In Orange here’s a brand, driven by developments in technology, assuming a new role as banking provider – virtually, as far as consumers care.

Continue Reading …

Doesn’t sound quite right, does it?

My eye was caught this morning by a story on the Financial Services Club website about Nationwide Building Society working with BT to become ‘more agile’.

BT has published a downloadable case study about the contract which is available here.

Nationwide has signed a 7 year agreement with BT Network Services that is planned to have the effect of ‘aiding business transformation while reducing costs’.

Continue Reading …

If the deal goes ahead, it’ll be Microsoft’s biggest ever acquisition.  A more skeptical write-up in the Guardian has analysts apparently

“shocked” at what they think is a “substantial overpayment for the company”, but it’s not surprising to hear Microsoft may be enthusiastic about committing to Skype.

As Google Apps and a throng of popular cloud computing productivity services grow their presence and market share Microsoft is wise to be looking for a solid technology with which to entrench:  Skype is the dominant player in its space, with nearly as many registered users as Facebook.

Continue Reading …

Customer insight and innovation, old-school.

Just ran across this quote from ‘Neutron Jack‘, which gets pretty close to what makes Corke Wallis tick.

“There are only two sources of competitive advantage: the ability to learn more about our customers faster than the competition and the ability to turn that learning into action faster than the competition.”

Cathryn Sleight urges marketers to “light more fires”

Source: Marketing Week | Author: Joe Fernandez | Published: 29 June 2010 13:20

“Taking chances and lighting small fires using digital media can  really help add extra value to brands in the long run, without the fire  having to catch and go wild. Done correctly, it has the ability to  increase brand affinity and engage audiences wherever they are. These  advances are making the digital space much more exciting,” she said.

We agree about lighting small fires – the concept and the language used to describe it – but it isn’t just about the digital space…

Why do we like this campaign?

It’s surprising, contemporary, experimental. From a big brand, but feels handmade, authentic and real.

The ‘messy edges’ of a community-based initiative of this kind should provide some very interesting learnings; insights and hints for the future that traditional market research and NPD wouldn’t necessarily uncover, at least not as quickly.

Have a dig around on the Pocketgame site. What do you think?

Lisa Donohue, CEO of Starcom USA spoke at the iMedia Agency Summit in Austin, Texas this week

Donohue talked about a crisis in innovation, and how agencies – and their clients – need to embrace entrepreneurialism: she also stressed “the need to consider data to be an aid that can unlock insights into our creative mission, rather than an impediment.”

Hear, hear!

Continue Reading …