I just received an update from a friend (Thanks Maya!) who’d spotted me in a tweet from SWA the leading business media publication in Indonesia.

Following my talk in Jakarta on 11 October for my good friends at the Dwi Sapta Integrated Marketing Agency, I did an interview with Denoan Rinaldi from SWA magazine.

If you speak Bahasa Indonesian you can read the full article here. If you can’t, my main points are:

1) How Indonesia is fast becoming the benchmark for many other emerging markets.

2) Burgeoning Middle Classes are developing an ever increasing appetite for healthier and more functional benefit led products [..]

On 15 October 2012 I was in Barcelona with Peter Wennström co-presenting the latest in the global series of Healthy Marketing Team FourFactors Masterclasses.

This event was organised with Informa as a special pre-conference event to add extra value for the attendees of World Juice 2012 – ‘The world’s #1 Forum for capitalising on the latest product trends, analysing raw material outlooks and doing business.’

With nearly 50 delegates booked this was [..]

Healthy Marketing Team Senior Consultant, Sam Waterfall, Capital Running in Singapore.

Quick update from Singapore where I’m working with Peter Wennström to deliver The Healthy Marketing Team’s 12th FourFactors Marketing Masterclass.

On this occasion we’re joined by 18 clients from leading companies across the Asia-Pacific region. As ever, Peter and I are constantly updating the material for the Masterclass with new success and failure case studies to complement the core FourFactors innovation and analysis training. I’ve always thought it’s too bad that Failures don’t give seminars… some of these cases are very instructive on how not to launch new ideas and brands! [..]

A message from Jeffrey Hyman, Chairman of the Food & Drink Innovation Network:

Our first seminar of 2011 is Healthier Brands For A Healthier Business will bring you bang up-to-date on the government’s completely fresh policy called The new Responsibility Deal and how it requires us as manufacturers, brand owners and retailers to help it deliver the nation’s health! Click here to see more.

In this new context we’ll take a pro-active look at how to create new healther products and revise existing products to make the most of the actions called for.

The seminar chair is Sam Waterfall of The Healthy Marketing Team and to help him set the new scene he’s asked Barbara Gallani, Director of Food Safety and Science at The Food & Drink Federationto give us the very latest update on the governments ambitious proposals.

Sue Gatenby, Nutrition Director at Pepsi, will explain how the whole company has signed up to a ten year re-positioning programme based on health and how it will be responding to the Government calls for action.

Then, on consumer insight we’ll be briefed by  HealthFocus(R) International from their 20 year longitudinal study of 20,000 consumers in over 30 countries. This is the most exciting and comprehensive research that we at the FDIN have ever seen and we’re thrilled to have access to it.

Then The Healthy Marketing Team will take us through a number of interactive exercises showing us how to create or improve our existing product portfolios to take on the new insights that this research provides.

David Jago, of GNPD/Mintel will take us through the very latest healthier products and brands and products launched globally and locally as further sources of inspiration.

And, of course, we have a number of case studies from the most senior people we can find on how to work with adding ingredients, removing ingredients or changing ingredients to make foods healthier.

AGENDA

OVERVIEW OF THE DAY FROM THE SEMINAR CHAIR.
Sam Waterfall, Senior Consultant, The Healthy Marketing Team.

THE NEW PUBLIC HEALTH RESPONSIBILITY DEAL AND WHAT IT MEANS TO THE FOOD & DRINK INDUSTRY.
Barbara Gallani, Director, Food Safety & Science, FDF (Food & Drink Federation).
. The FDF’s Four pillars, how they came about and what they mean to the UK food & drink industry.
. The FDF’s Health & Wellbeing Strategy.
. The FDF and the Government’s White Paper – Healthy Lives Healthy People.
. The new Public Health Responsibility Deal and what it means to the food & drink industry

HOW 20,000 CONSUMERS REALLY SEE THEIR HEALTH, BOTH GLOBALLY AND LOCALLY.
Steve Walton, Research Director, Health Focus International
. Identifying current issues in shopper health and nutrition behaviour and attitudes.
. Assessing the trends in shopper priorities regarding nutrition issues such as far, calories and vitamins.
. Understanding where shoppers area heading in their behaviour towards their health and diet.
. The nutritional issues coming up on the consumers’ radar.
. A closer look at regional and global differences and commonalities and trends worldwide.

PEPSICO’S TEN YEAR HEALTH AND WELLNESS VISION
Dr Sue Gatenby, Nutrition Director Europe, Pepsico International
. The new global imperatives on health.
. The Pepsico ten year vision, what it is and how it was formed.
. The new UK responsibility deal and how Pepsi is responding.

INTERACTIVE SESSION ONE.
The six consumer segments and how to apply them to our businesses
Delivered by the Healthy Marketing Team.

HEALTHIER PRODUCTS FOR HEALTHIER BUSINESS – THE SECRETS OF SUCCESS
David Jago, Research Director, GNPD Mintel.
. Overview of the Heatheir and Better For You Market based on the GNPD Mintel Database
. Some global trends in new product introductions.
. Some novel supplementation ideas from around the world.
. When to add ingredients, when to take away and when to stick to your guns.
. How to avoid serious errors.

INTERACTIVE SESSION TWO.
Taking a health check on your products and brands using the proven FourFactors(R) Analysis Tool.
. Establishing product need.
. Understanding the benefit.
. Consumer’s acceptance of the ingredients.
. Trust in the brand.

TOWARDS A HEALTHIER BRITAIN.
Dr Carrie Ruxton, Founder, Nutrition Communications.
. Can consumers get a balanced diet from produce alone?
. What the National Diet and Nutrition Survey has revelaed about deficiencies.
. Men, women and children – differing challenges, differing solutions.
. Vitamins, Minerals, Omega 3 and other supplementation.

TAKING THINGS OUT – OPPORTUNITIES IN THE FREEFROM WORLD.
Michelle Berriedale-Johnson; Founder of Foods Matter and The FreeFrom Awards – The UK’s leading reference for allergy and intolerance.
. The new FreeFrom landscape, and how retailers have revised their ideas.
. The move from cottage industry to blue chip manufacture.
. FreeFrom appeals to the worried well in addition to the seriously allergic.
. A necessity or a lifestyle choice …. some glimpses into the future

HEALTH CLAIMS, EFSA AND ADDING HEALTH BENEFITS.
Theodor Graser, Director, DSM Nutritional Products, will take us through a summary of EFSA’s findings, and will propose twelve health benefit solutions which are fully backed by positive health claim opinions of EFSA.

CLOSING REMARKS FROM THE SEMINAR CHAIR
Sam Waterfall, Senior Consultant, The Healthy Marketing Team.

PLUS:
• Three table team brainstormings so you can work with peers on how to take forward your new ideas.
• End of the day Q & A … a chance to pose your questions to the panel of experts.
• A chance to win a Magnum of Finest Champagne.

DATE & TIME:
Doors open for early birds: 8:00 am. Breakfast for all from: 8:00 am.
Seminar begins: 9:00 am.
Coffee/Buffet Lunch/Tea: TBC
Seminar finishes: 4:45 pmlatest.

PRICE:
£425 + VAT.
(Don’t let the low price fool you, we’re a non commercial best practice club and run the best attended seminars in the industry).

VENUE:
The Staverton Park Conference Centre, Daventry Northants. (See map)

**** BRING A COLLEAGUE DISCOUNT ****
20% discount for booking two places at at the same time.
30% discount for booking three places.

Without a doubt one of the most profound marketing books and one which I’m constantly surprised receives so little attention.

Could Magritte's Son of Man symbolise the many who fail to think like Obvious Adams? The trapped marketer... unable to see... The Obvious

Obvious Adams – The Story of a Successful Businessman, was written by Robert R. Updegraff and first published by Harper & Brothers of New York and London in 1916. Of course, with the accelerating pace of change and progress we could easily dismiss such an ancient text and confine it to history. But in doing so we would lose out on its truly profound and too often overlooked message.

You see, too often today, Marketers are looking for complex, clever, multi-faceted, multi-media communication solutions when what they should really be looking for is… The Obvious.

If you can create an engaging message which is obvious to you, chances are it will be obvious to everyone else too – including your customer… And when your message is obvious to your customer they understand you, and buy. Now isn’t that why you were interested in marketing in the first place?

If you’ve not yet read this tiny volume, I recommend it to you before you spend another marketing penny. You can download the full 45 page text as an eBook, free of charge here from our Products page. Or if you prefer to listen to audiobooks, the MP3 file can also be downloaded from the Products page so you can listen on your iPod, iPhone or MP3 player.

Enjoy it. You’ll soon be wondering why you’ve been making marketing so complicated!