1,000 Women Convene in Vietnam for Global Business Forum, Takeaway Solutions for Growing and Marketing Business Online
June 17, 2008
At the 18th Annual Global Summit of Women in Hanoi, Vietnam, held June 5-7, women representing 72 countries gathered to network and learn from leading businesswomen around the world in an effort to advance women economically and celebrate women's leadership worldwide.
Gay Gaddis, president and CEO of T3, the largest woman-owned advertising agency in the U.S., was invited to address an audience of business owners on the summit's entrepreneurial panel, "Protecting Your Brand: IT and Beyond."
The panel, which was joined by Katherine Bostick, Microsoft senior director, Legal and Corporate Affairs, and Phan Thi Hoa, chairman and general director of the South Trading & Bridge Highway Building Construction Company, provided insight on how to use the Internet to enhance and monetize a brand as well as some of the risks associated with taking marketing efforts online.
"During the session I focused on how to use the power of the Internet and emerging media to grow businesses as brands," said Gaddis. "In today's media landscape, tools such as Web sites, search engines and blogs can be a real advantage for business owners."
While many of the marketing tactics covered by Gaddis are starting to work their way into her own clients' strategies in the U.S., much of it is still new and untested ground in other countries. For example, Vietnam only has a 22 percent Internet penetration (Vietnam Internet Network Information Center). And while China reports 210 million Internet users, that's only a 15.9 percent Internet penetration because usage is so low in rural areas (Wall Street Journal). Government censorship in communist countries can also make some online tactics like blogging difficult.
Despite each country's unique challenges, Gaddis emphasized how important it is to maintain a Web presence, treat your Web site as your virtual 24/7 global front door and incorporate search engine marketing strategies.
After the panel discussion, Gaddis was approached for further questions and mentoring. One woman sought advice on how to position her two businesses in Africa -- an optometry office and a motivational speaker's bureau. Other young women from universities around Asia spoke with Gaddis about entrepreneurship and career choices.
Gaddis is committed to advancing women in business around the world. She's participated in other international summits in Berlin and Dubai, and has traveled with the U.S. State Department to Latvia and Jordan.
About the Global Summit of Women
The Global Summit of Women is a three-day gathering of women entrepreneurs, business professionals and governmental leaders from around the world. The summit moves from continent to continent each year, determined by what region's growing economy would best serve as host to a global business forum.
Corporate sponsors for the event included Microsoft, Pfizer, IBM, T-Mobile Germany, FedEx, McDonald's and Starwood Hotels & Resorts.
About T3
T3, an agency with offices in Austin, New York and San Francisco, specializes in innovative marketing campaigns that cut across all media channels. As a collaborative think tank, T3 works with clients including ConocoPhillips Lubricants, Facebook, Intel, JCPenney, John Deere, JPMorgan Chase, Livescribe, Microsoft, Oriental Trading Company, Universal and UPS.
Founded by CEO Gay Gaddis in 1989, T3 is independent and the largest advertising agency wholly owned by a woman in the United States. T3 ranks among ADWEEK's Top 100 Agencies and Advertising Age's Top 100 U.S. Marketing Services Agencies lists.
