[TYPO3-UG US] Support Section and TYPO3.us

[Alex Heizer]

Hi Gabe,

I can see a few reasons why a T3 user group for North America would be a 
good idea, maybe as a "mother organization" to local or country UGs for 
Canada, the US and Mexico. It could coordinate the activities of the 
different user groups and provide some inter-linking and cross 
pollination. Maybe you could start working on a structure for a North 
American user group, with one of the domain names you suggested.

The typo3.us site is intended to focus the marketing efforts directly at 
the US market, since the US has unique needs. This is not to say that 
other markets do not have unique needs, but only that with each market 
we need to refine our marketing from the very general (as on typo3.com) 
to the very specific (as on http://www.typo3.nl/ , http://www.typo3.ch/ 
and http://www.typo3.fr/ ). The reason being, each market has its 
specific needs that need to be spoken to in that market's language, in 
order to be successful. There are many differences between the Unites 
States and Canadian markets, and to make a joint marketing site that 
ignores those differences means the marketing effort will be less 
efficient than it can be from the outset. Which is why companies like 
Sony have individual US and Canadian sites for marketing and support 
(www.sony.com and www.sony.ca ).

For example, when marketing to the healthcare industry: In the US, 
healthcare is privatized, while in Canada it is socialized and is 
closer, as a market, to Mexico rather than the US. To provide solutions 
and support to both structures at the same time means we are dividing 
our efforts and watering down our message. Either we generalize our 
language and solutions which makes us look unfocused, or be specific to 
the point where we look like we don't know which market we're targeting. 
Other market segments are similar, too. For example, Canada has two 
primary languages, English and French. In the US our primary languages 
are English and Spanish, which make the US closer to Mexico using 
language as a commonality. Federal, state and local laws also will 
influence the attitudes and language that we use to market to the 
different market segments. For example, in my state, there is a law that 
requires a state agency to use a vendor located in the state if a vendor 
can be found that meets the requirements for the job. That means it's 
illegal to use a vendor from another state, let alone Canada, if a local 
vendor can provide the same service. And there are many states with 
similar laws. So targeting to government organizations requires 
marketing with that specific perspective.

On the flip side, if I, as a consultant, want to market to an 
organization in Canada, it would be nice to have a TYPO3 marketing site 
that focuses on Canada so that I can learn how I can be most effective 
with my consulting to that organization, just as I can use the France or 
Netherlands T3 marketing sites. In this case, being different is a good 
thing, and "different" does not mean "separate". But just as the US 
market has specific needs, we would be doing the Canadian and Mexican 
markets a disservice by lumping them in with US marketing.

Alex



Gabriel Anast wrote:

>OK, I understand that, however to make sure that branding, identity 
>(Typo3.com for instance) and other image / presentation constructs 
>central to branding & marketing are not divided, maybe the CA/US Typo3 
>site should be americas-north.typo3.com or some such.
>
>Then there could also be an europa.typo3.com or whatever... maybe even 
>more specific designations if needed.
>
>The Typo3.com site could change to a simple front with some news, an 
>introduction (about the system/Kasper/etc as currently exists) and a 
>directory of country or regional portals.
>
>Typo3.org could still be the web-developer education / core & extension 
>dev site. THEN if local groups (like t.u.us) wanted local sites, they 
>would be non-affiliated in a sense... maybe something like typo3-us.com, 
>"Typo3 user group portal for US developers"
>
>This way we do not in any way dilute or divide the Typo3 brand/identity 
>but get the functionality that we desire.
>
>--gabe
>
>Michelle Heizer wrote:
>
>  
>
>>Exactly. I'm reminded of how many global companies have individual
>>country portals for their websites. Their message, brand and product is
>>the same, the only difference is that they are targeting a region. This
>>is a big departure in what we've traditionally done in T3 marketing, but
>>we needed to consider alternatives to handle the growth of the
>>community.
>> 
>>
>>    
>>
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