A perspective of international communications

French businesses, hurry to send seasons greetings now

Dirk Hinze — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 12:54:40 +0000

Hello French business women and men, you only have a few days to go before your seasons greetings will be late for your German customers. In Germany a season greeting should arrive before the Christmas holidays and not as you are used to until the end of January.
In fact, if you missed the date you might rather want to keep the card for next year otherwise your image will suffer as the receiving of your card in 2007 will show to the German mind that you are not able to keep datelines. So beware!

If you have not received my seasons greeting, have a look here for the artwork.

Do good while you surf the internet

Dirk Hinze — Sun, 10 Dec 2006 15:11:44 +0000

This is a public service announcement on my blog and i highly recommend you to use this search engine to find what you need on the Internet.

The operation is strictly non-profit with the objective to raise advertising money for a diverse range of associations. In fact each month the surfers can chose the non-profit organisation that will be rewarded the advertising revenue.

Please click here to use Doona.fr.

English clearer than other languages

Dirk Hinze — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 08:14:44 +0000

According to a Financial Times Europe article (page 1, 30/9/06) European Central Bank analysts refer to the English version of press releases, documents, etc. due to the clearer structure of the language. According to the article, words that were meant to hint a highly likely raise of rates, were translated to not mean exactly the same in Italian, French and Spanish. The German translation was translated literally and corresponded to the overall intention of the ECB. Too bad not everybody speaks the same language to avoid ambiguity.

My American friend, this is not what you think…

Dirk Hinze — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 18:05:09 +0000

Down under, everything is different- not only the seasons! And this is not what you think- despite the massage parlor sign in the back. LJ. Hooker is a national realtor, in Australia.

Just imagine a company with a slang name for prostitutes in the US…

Summer’s coming up!

Dirk Hinze — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 14:37:33 +0000

Just saw the announcements of all the new connections that British Airways will start in the next season, when their Winter schedule comes into effect. Right, you might say, we are starting to pull out our winter gear and prepare for the ski season- we the Europeans, the Americans, the Chinese. But how about our Australian friends? The guys from Argentina? Are the calling the upcoming season also winter?

Beware in your international literature about this kind of references!

NC-special: Tourism a in New Caledonia

Dirk Hinze — Sat, 14 Oct 2006 07:45:22 +0000

What a beautiful spot on our Earth- New Caledonia, not only a paradise for divers due to its magnificent sea life, but also a heaven for beach lovers with its white sands beaches contrasted by the turquoise blue Pacific.

With 50% of visitors using private accommodation through friends and families, the hospitality infrastructure is somewhat developed with upscale hotels present, targeting mainly Japanese and Australian customers. Focusing the tourism mainly on Noumea and the Isle of Pines, the visitor will get best around with some French-language skills, as English or other languages are not spoken outside selected tourist places.

With price-levels well above those in Australia or France, New Caledonia must pay attention to its communications to not create expectations that can not be met especially with the ever growing number of price-conscious customers.

Another aspect to watch is its communications around pollution, industrial and transport, which create noticeable nuisance.