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Latinos Make Up Huge Piece Of Mobile Marketing Pie (ClickZ)
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Posted: 03/31/2011
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Mobile phone use is on the upswing among the Latino population, rising 26 percent from 2006 to 2010 compared to 18 percent of the general population. Three key markers indicate that the Hispanic population will continue to drive mobile marketing: they care about social connectivity, they are actively seeking fun experiences and they are open to innovation. The proof is in the pudding: 82 percent of the market has been penetrated; mobile phones are outpacing landlines among this demographic as the primary source of communication; this group is more interested in mobile web browsing than the average population; 24 percent of mobile users have downloaded at least one app; and the group has demonstrated that enhancing their lives through social connectivity is a priority.
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Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Telecommunications
Topic:
Content Strategy,
Creative & Design,
Experience & Interaction,
Marketing Communications
Region:
Global
Audience:
Business to Consumer
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Success In Numbers: Choice Hotels Increases Mobile Sales By 250% (Internet Retailer)
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Posted: 02/03/2011
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Since entering the mobile realm in 2008, Choice Hotels International Inc. says its mobile sales surpass seven figures each month. The sales represent more than 1% of all online sales. Furthermore, mobile revenue is up 250% year over year, reservations are up 205%, mobile page views 130%, mobile conversion 106% and mobile traffic has grown on average 190% each month since launching. “Mobile customers want things as quick and simple as possible,” said Christopher Brya, director of mobile and emerging channels. The company’s in-house usability lab helps further refine its mobile approach. It’s a strategy that seems to be working: the iPhone app the company developed in the lab last year was downloaded 500,000 times in 80 countries, some of which don’t even house a Choice Hotel. Future plans include developing an app for smartphones on Google’s Android platform.
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Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Retail & Products,
Telecommunications
Topic:
Content Strategy,
Creative & Design,
Experience & Interaction,
Marketing Communications
Region:
Global
Audience:
Business to Consumer
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Sweet Sleuthing: On The Hunt For Missing M&M Spokescandy (Strategy Magazine)
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Posted: 01/05/2011
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Now that the red M&M’s spokescandy has dropped out of sight, sweet-toothed Canadians are on the lookout for the sweet sensation. The disappearing act is part of a contest M&M recently launched, signaling the brand’s first foray into social media, which also means Red didn’t simply vanish without a trace. Fellow M&M's characters will be dropping hints via Twitter and Facebook. Toronto fans can visit Findred.ca, where they’ll access a version of the Google Street View API to search out three locations in the city where the white-gloved bandit might be located. The campaign also includes a location-based element as part of its social media mix using mobile apps like Foursquare and Stickybits. The campaign features postings throughout Toronto, each containing a QR code, which releases a Community Clue to aid in the sweet search.
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Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Retail & Products
Topic:
Content Strategy,
Creative & Design,
Experience & Interaction,
Marketing Communications
Region:
North America
Audience:
Business to Consumer,
Peer Groups & Communities
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J.C. Penney Makes Mobile Holiday Move (Internet Retailer)
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Posted: 01/04/2011
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J.C. Penney Co. is initiating a major multichannel mobile push with holiday retail plans that include the launch of an m-commerce site, enhancements to its mobile applications, location-based app promotions and an iAd campaign. Along with the full suite of m-commerce functionality such as browsing, searching and buying—the mobile site also includes a Find Near Me button and updated applications for iPhone and Android users that lets shoppers browse the weekend sales circular; create portable shopping lists; find the nearest store to either their current GPS location or to a ZIP code or city name; and sign up for mobile coupons. Location-based services Foursquare, Brightkite and Facebook Deals also play a role, allowing shoppers to cash in for $10 off a $50 purchase when they check in at one of the retailer’s 1,100 stores. In addition to its ongoing mobile coupons program, the campaign will also include mobile display ads on Apple’s iAd network, featuring a treasure hunt through a variety of J.C. Penney gifts as shoppers search for a $10 off $50 coupon.
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Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Retail & Products,
Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services,
Telecommunications
Topic:
Content Strategy,
Creative & Design,
E-Commerce,
Experience & Interaction,
Marketing Communications,
Technology Implementation
Region:
Global
Audience:
Business to Consumer,
Peer Groups & Communities
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Google Goes Fashion Forward (CRM Daily)
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Posted: 12/16/2010
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Google is going fashion forward with the debut of Boutiques.com, which offers shoppers a personalized shopping experience. The launch is as much about technology as it is e-commerce. Using computer-vision and machine-learning technology, Boutiques.com visually analyzes consumers' fashion tastes in order to match them to other styles they might be drawn to. "These days, bloggers, stylists and everyday fashionistas are expressing their sense of style online. We invited them to create boutiques so people could shop their diverse styles," Google Product Management Director Munjal Shah said. "But you have a unique and independent style, too, so Boutiques also lets you build your own personalized boutique and get recommendations of products that match your taste." The site offers a variety of search options, allowing consumers to filter results by genre, silhouette, pattern, color families, and sizes, or even view matching outfits when they search for specific items.
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Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Retail & Products
Topic:
Business Intelligence,
Content Strategy,
Creative & Design,
E-Commerce,
Experience & Interaction,
Marketing Communications,
Technology Implementation
Region:
Global
Audience:
Business to Consumer
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Mood Guides Consumer Choice For The Perfect Cup Of Tea (Strategy Magazine)
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Posted: 12/16/2010
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Tea-maker Tetley discovered surprising results in their focus group testing, namely that tea drinkers are primarily motivated to buy tea based on their current mood. In response, the company launched a new “Colour Therapy” campaign. The campaign allows consumers to discover which herbal tea colour best matches their personality. The site features two threads: “Find your colour” and “Find everyone’s colour,” and recommends the perfect cup of tea based on visitors’ answers to criteria like the current weather, time of day and even the customer’s state of mind. The site also incorporates a social element that allows visitors to share their “tea” colors among social networks. Users can view the color mood of Canada, which is based on Twitter posts, via the "Everyone" stream. A "Colour Therapy" page for Facebook launched on November 11.
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Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Retail & Products
Topic:
Creative & Design,
Experience & Interaction,
Marketing Communications
Region:
North America
Audience:
Business to Consumer,
Peer Groups & Communities
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Mirror, Mirror On The Wall: Macy’s Magic Fitting Room (CNET News)
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Posted: 12/01/2010
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Looking for an interactive dress-up experience without actually taking your clothes off? Clothes shoppers had the chance to, quite literally, tap into a 21st-century shopping experience at the new Macy's Magic Fitting Room in the retail chain's New York's Herald Square flagship store. The 72-inch multi-touch screen let shoppers select clothing items like tops, dresses, bottoms, and coats and then superimpose the pieces on their reflection. Macy's hired LBi International to create the interactive mirror, heralding in a new era the company deems as “the future of retail.” The experience becomes even more interactive and social when customers share their new looks on Facebook, or via SMS or e-mail.
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Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Retail & Products
Topic:
Creative & Design,
Experience & Interaction,
Technology Implementation
Region:
North America
Audience:
Business to Consumer,
Peer Groups & Communities
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The Ultimate Question: To Optimize For Mobile Or Build An Application? (Marketing Vox)
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Posted: 11/11/2010
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A report by Taptu, “The State of the Mobile Touch Web," compares mobile web and applications and reveals upcoming trends business should keep in mind. These days, with so many vendors offering touchscreen devices, it’s not just a matter of optimizing websites or mobile, but determining if the site should also be optimized for nimble navigation and rapid loading pages on mobile touchscreens. While retail and service oriented sites are the most likely to optimize for the mobile touchscreen (20% compared to 3.6%), many consumers are already demanding the technology from the sites they frequent. The report states, "With support for HTML 5 features already being rolled out in these browsers, it's getting easier and easier to create rich touch screen user experiences with the browser without having to create platform-specific apps." Google has integrated mobile browsing into its service offerings. For instance, consumers that conduct searches will now pull up relevant apps accompanying the typical search results that can be downloaded to an iPhone.
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Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Retail & Products,
Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services,
Telecommunications
Topic:
Content Strategy,
Creative & Design,
E-Commerce,
Experience & Interaction,
Technology Implementation
Region:
Global
Audience:
Business to Consumer
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Clearasil’s Secrets & Science Of Looking Awesome (B&T)
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Posted: 11/11/2010
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Achieving clear, radiant skin is the ultimate goal from the onset of adolescence into maturity. Now, Reckitt Benckiser’s Clearasil brand has launched a new website to promote its new ‘Secrets & Science of Looking Awesome’ brand positioning. The Website uses an online magazine to offer practical advice based on user generated content and integrates social media into the campaign by prompting users to share links and “iLike” via Facebook. “The 11 - 24 target market for Clearasil is going through life changing landmarks and with the new online platform we’ve designed and developed for them, Clearasil is acknowledging the journey and forming a deeper bond with the brand’s users,” said Tim O’Neill, joint managing director of Reactive, the digital agency that launched the campaign.
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Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Retail & Products
Topic:
Content Strategy,
Creative & Design,
Experience & Interaction,
Marketing Communications,
Technology Implementation
Region:
North America,
Europe
Audience:
Business to Consumer,
Peer Groups & Communities
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Diaspora Code Released Publicly; May Improve Framework For Businesses (CIO Magazine)
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Posted: 10/27/2010
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A new project, called Diaspora, was recently released to public developers in hopes of bringing the project to fruition as a new social network – defined by community – that promises “the benefits of Facebook without the privacy concerns.” The project’s creators are at a standstill, stating, "We began the summer a list of technologies, and a few bold claims and the goal to make an intrinsically more private social network. The overwhelming response that we elicited made us realize that technology wouldn't be enough." The Diaspora project could prove useful in providing businesses with a framework for implementing proprietary, internal social networks without running the risk of divulging trade secrets or sensitive materials. With the goal to integrate Diaspora into Facebook, businesses also won’t have to sacrifice giving up the social network’s huge audience.
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Industry:
Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services
Topic:
Business Intelligence,
Content Strategy,
Creative & Design,
Experience & Interaction,
Technology Implementation
Region:
Global
Audience:
Business to Business,
Business to Consumer,
Peer Groups & Communities
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