Companies in Europe should stop trying to do the U.S. version of a European idea.
If you're in enough places at enough times, then some of them are bound to be the right ones.
Think different in order to change the rules. By definition, if you don't change the rules you aren't a revolutionary, and if you don't think different, you won't change the rules.
You need to earn the right to promote.
Leverage your brand. You shouldn't let two guys in a garage eat your shorts.
This is the beauty of social media: it helps you find people and then you can contact them fast and inexpensively.