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Email Remains Key Tactic To Boost Engagement In 2011 (BtoB Online)

Posted: 03/31/2011

According to StrongMail’s 2011 Marketing Trends Survey, which collected responses from 925 business leaders, 50 percent of those surveyed said their marketing budgets will increase this year, 43% of budgets will remain the same, and 65% said they plan to increase email spending. Ryan Deutsch, VP-strategic services at StrongMail, said “If someone receives 15 emails from you and doesn't open any of them, [the email server or ISP] might start blocking subsequent emails,” he said. Therefore, it’s just as important to design you emails according to who is opening them as it is to target those who aren’t. Often, all it takes is sending out an offer they can’t refuse. Designing a compelling welcome series can go a long way in communicating the value of your communications.

Industry: Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications
Topic: Business Intelligence, Content Strategy, Experience & Interaction, Marketing Communications
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business, Business to Consumer

Build Strong Opt-In Databases To Deliver Value For Customers (BtoB Online)

Posted: 02/17/2011

As business to business (B2B) customers increasingly demonstrate a willingness to share more information, the maxim “you get what you give” has never rung more true. By handing over mission critical information, customers expect to receive more targeted communications that reflect conspicuous value and benefit. Marketers, in turn, get the chance to drive up both response and revenue by directing their communications toward the rich databases they are accumulating. Here are the key steps to consider to encourage your customers to become part of any preference-profiling activities your company engages: First, build trust by using your customers’ information responsibly; next, confidentiality is a must – ‘responsible’ use means no sharing or renting information, ever; and finally, your value proposition must be clear and compelling.

Building A Brand Story Greater Than The Sum Of Its Individual Parts (New Media Knowledge)

Posted: 01/20/2011

Rather than providing a plethora of tactical solutions, today’s abundance of marketing channels may simply overwhelm marketers. Standard targeted marketing used to be a relatively simple game of point-and-shoot at three main channels (TV, print and direct mail) to cover all bases. Now, with the addition of social media platforms, mobile marketing, web, and email to the traditional channels, adopting a successful strategy can get confusing. Aim the same message at all the channels and the results can be downright disastrous. Multi-channel marketing offers marketers a mechanism to “pull all these conversations together and build a brand story that is greater than the sum of the individual parts” so marketers can keep their eyes on the prize: customer engagement and action. The key is to understand and respect the characteristics of each channel and then execute each according to how it works uniquely for your brand.

Industry: Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications, Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services
Topic: Business Intelligence, Content Strategy, Experience & Interaction, Marketing Communications, Technology Implementation
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business, Peer Groups & Communities

Retailers Dial-In To Smart Phone Shopping Trend (CRM Daily)

Posted: 01/04/2011

With one-third of mobile phone usage to be “smart” this holiday season (Nielsen), retailers are getting dialed-in to e-commerce. The 21 percent increase over last year indicates that retailers can no longer rely on independent strategy for their retail outfits, whether they are bricks-and-mortar stores, Web sites or mobile shopping channels. Heather J. Brunner, chief operating officer of Austin, Texas-based Bazaarvoice, said a phone is "just a mini-computer, and our challenge now is to transfer the Internet experience to a much smaller screen." For instance, outdoor brand Patagonia recently launched a new application that suggests similar items and price ranges while customers browse. In-store, the app will recommend complementary items based on the tag’s bar code. Companies like Neustar are working on types of “second-generation” bar codes for smart phones that are square rather than rectangular while Pronto, a company owned by New York-based IAC, plans to launch a mobile app for product price alerts.

Industry: Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications, Retail & Products, Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services, Telecommunications
Topic: Business Intelligence, Content Strategy, E-Commerce, Experience & Interaction, Marketing Communications, Technology Implementation
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business, Business to Consumer

Shoutlet: One-Stop-Shop For Social Media Management (Ecommerce Times)

Posted: 12/16/2010

Shoutlet’s social media management application now features CRM functionality. The app is designed to let customers monitor and manage multiple accounts and brands with additional functionality that eases the process for companies to post and monitor responses to content. Given the number of users that use social media to complain about a service or product, or get help, one of the app’s most powerful features is its collaboration component. One such collaboration feature includes the ability to tag a prospect or commenter and then forwarded it internally for someone within the organization to take care of. "Let's say a company has several customers talking about or complaining about a certain issue," President and COO Aaron Everson said. "Shoutlet can tag all of those commenters and send them to someone for follow-up or assistance." The company intends to enhance functionality even further by increasing its reach to mass influencers and adding a mobile component.

Industry: Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications, Retail & Products, Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services
Topic: Business Intelligence, Content Strategy, Experience & Interaction, Marketing Communications, Technology Implementation
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business, Peer Groups & Communities

Digital River Is Getting Social With Ecommerce (Electronic Commerce Guide)

Posted: 12/16/2010

Digital River, a global ecommerce service provider, recently launched SocialStream, a new social media tool. Using the tool, Digital River customers can rapidly set in motion new e-store promotions and then manage them over different Facebook and Twitter accounts. Ecommerce-Guide.com reported Jim Wehmann, senior vice president of global marketing for Digital River saying that “Social Stream lets marketers and e-store owners optimize social media campaigns with just a few clicks from within the standard Digital River interface they already know and use.” While SocialStream is certainly not the first ecommerce service offering of its kind, the package’s most significant advantage is that it provides e-store owners with access to social analytics. The ability to report critical commerce data relating to social media activities like unique clicks, conversions and revenue generated for each social campaign for each social account allows companies to validate the success of each campaign.

Industry: Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications, Retail & Products, Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services
Topic: Business Intelligence, Content Strategy, E-Commerce, Experience & Interaction, Marketing Communications, Technology Implementation
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business, Business to Consumer, Peer Groups & Communities

How Big Is Big? The Rise Of The Mobile Advertising Market (Marketing Vox)

Posted: 12/01/2010

eMarketer recently revised its assessment of the mobile ad market, predicting it will grow 79% to over $743 million this year alone – growing to more than $1.1 billion in 2011 and more than $2.5 billion by 2014. Based on these numbers, it’s safe to say mobile has been elevated to mainstream status. The report indicates that SMS is still the largest format, with an estimated tally of $327 million for 2010. Companies like Phizzle and Skycore are further enhancing their service offerings to engage audiences and allow increased functionality to their users, including enabling mobile marketers to run applications such as movie trailers sent with tickets or sports videos sent with tickets. eMarketer predicts that display formats will increase. Apple’s iPhone remains the top choice with 82.7% of marketers, but Android’s 9% increase since last quarter indicates it is quickly gaining traction. Other services new to the market include Opera Software’s Ad Marvel, Sprint’s Sprint ID and Burstly.

Industry: Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications, Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services, Telecommunications
Topic: Business Intelligence, Content Strategy, E-Commerce, Experience & Interaction, Marketing Communications, Technology Implementation
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business, Business to Consumer

Call Me Social: Zingaya Hooks Up Twitter To Telephone (Red Herring)

Posted: 12/01/2010

Ever get the feeling that there’s more to a post than ‘tweets’ the eye? For those tweets that deserve a little elaboration, UK-based VoIp startup Zingaya recently unveiled a new social media application that allows Twitter followers to call the tweeter to get the inside scoop. The service, called zin.to elevates Twitter feeds to conversation status. The company also offers a VoIP service that enables voice calls through any computer right from a web page via a microphone. “Zin.to can be a very powerful tool for businesses,” the company explains on its website. "For example, company can send promotional offers to its followers asking them to call within a certain time to get an additional discount or to win a prize.” It's only available in the US currently but will likely expand as the company develops this capability. While call forwarding is eventually based on purchased credits, the first 30 minutes of the call forwarding service is free. Those looking for a more cost-effective solution with unlimited options can simply use their Skype user name.

Industry: Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications, Telecommunications
Topic: Experience & Interaction, Marketing Communications, Technology Implementation
Region: North America
Audience: Business to Business, Business to Consumer, Peer Groups & Communities

Diaspora Code Released Publicly; May Improve Framework For Businesses (CIO Magazine)

Posted: 10/27/2010

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.

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

Building Best-Run Businesses With SAP’s Targeted Analytic Applications (InformationWeek)

Posted: 10/14/2010

The demand for domain-specific business insight led SAP to launch ten SAP BusinessObjects analytic applications. The customer-centric, problem solving apps include Sales Analysis for Retail; and Trade Promotion Effectiveness and On-Shelf Availability apps for consumer products firms, whose very names reveal how the development process was led by insight from key constituencies within SAP’s customer and industry bases. "These apps attach the knowledge workers to the action so they can make better decisions and help their company become a best-run business," said SAP co-CEO Bill McDermott. While designed with the SAP core customer segments in mind, the apps do not depend on pre-existing SAP deployments so that they will reach across to non-SAP customers, as well. Backed by Sybase mobile technologies, the apps promise benefits like reports and metrics; rapid deployment and actionable analytic insights. Plans to support the apps with mobile are expected to be fulfilled by the end of 2011.

Industry: Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services, Telecommunications
Topic: Business Intelligence, Content Strategy, Experience & Interaction, Technology Implementation
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business, Business to Consumer

Chatter Mobile: Saleforce.com’s Answer To Enterprise Collaboration (Intelligent Enterprise)

Posted: 10/14/2010

Salesforce.com recently announced Chatter Mobile, a smart-phone application designed to bring CRM-centric, social-networking-style collaboration to Smartphones by the end of 2010. The Web 2.0-styled consumer app lets Saleforce’s Chatter users collaborate with people at work while on-the-go and in real-time. Similar to following Facebook friends and interests, Chatter enables users to subscribe to and "follow" feeds related to their business, as well as keep tabs on what customers and prospects are saying on public networks like Facebook and Twitter. Partners and customers can also "Chatterize" vertical and custom applications through the Force.com development platform. The free service is featured within the company’s cloud-based sales and service applications, which could help a mobile salesperson stay on top of what matters most as they are heading to meet with their clients.

Industry: Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications, Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services, Telecommunications
Topic: Business Intelligence, Experience & Interaction, Technology Implementation
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business, Business to Consumer, Peer Groups & Communities

Top Tips To Evaluate Online Ad Value (Internet Evolution)

Posted: 09/30/2010

When it comes to online adverstising, what is the best way to sift through the massive amounts of quantitative information available (impressions, clicks, repeat visits, context, etc.) to determine if a campaign has made any qualitative progress? According to one author, the best way is to follow six simple steps to gain measurable success: (1) Return on Investment (ROI) which, in essence, measures what you get vs. what you give; (2) Branding/awareness, which focuses on cultivating loyalty from existing clients vs. attracting new ones; (3) Positioning/SOV (share of voice), which focuses on edging out the competition; (4) CTR (click-through rate), although this dominant metric is slightly giving way to Engagement, it remains the best way to measure a campaign’s success; (5) Engagement, which is evidence that “the user did something more meaningful than clicking,” such as leaving a comment or playing a game; and (6) “Learning,” which means paying attention to all the different variables that could eventually play a role in future campaigns.

Industry: Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications, Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services
Topic: Business Intelligence, Content Strategy, E-Commerce, Marketing Communications
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business, Business to Consumer

Social Media Becomes Key Tactic For Strategy Execution (Forbes)

Posted: 09/02/2010

Scores of consumers are using social media to connect, express and impact the world around them, and savvy marketers are tapping its power, too, with nearly 80% implementing the medium to bring their customers to the table rather than talk at them from the proverbial soapbox. While much of the literature highlights how companies can implement social media outside of their organizations, there is significant room to use social media as an inside strategy tool, too. Bad communication can freeze any organizational idea, especially if employees feel ostracized from the process. What better way to get the entire organization on board with a branding initiative or new program than using social media as a strategy to help organizations better talk with, rather than talk at their employees. The tool will not only help companies build and execute better strategies but build stronger employee cultures in the process.

Industry: Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications, Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services
Topic: Content Strategy, Experience & Interaction, Technology Implementation
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business

Kitty Crowdsourcing? New Service Helps Businesses Collect And Rank Innovative Ideas (Fast Company)

Posted: 09/02/2010

When Princeton sociology professor Matthew Salganik came across KittenWars.com, he knew he found a valuable model for his own crowdsourcing website, All Our Ideas, which merges sociology and computer science techniques to enable organizations to collect ideas and rank them more effectively. A virtual idea factory, the service allows users to launch their own question and answer websites. If neither answer presented is acceptable to visitors, they can simply add their new ideas to the mix. Those new ideas then get filtered into the voting pool. Salganik explains, “If you ask for suggestions, especially online, you may get thousands of ideas that can take weeks to sort through. On the other hand, if you use a survey with preset questions and answers, you can get lots of data but few new ideas." The service is already gaining traction with organizations like Princeton’s class of 2008 student government, which used the tool to pinpoint the most pressing issues on undergrads minds.

Industry: Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications, Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services
Topic: Business Intelligence, Content Strategy
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business, Business to Consumer, Peer Groups & Communities

Pulling Klout: Website Helps Users Measure Their Social Influence (CNN Money)

Posted: 08/19/2010

Users can now discover their social “Klout” by numerical rank by inputting their Twitter name into Klout.com. The San Francisco-based social media start-up is shoring up its position to become the online standard for measuring social impact by partnering with Virgin America to offer a hand-picked group of “influencers” a free flight from San Francisco or Los Angeles to Virgin America's newest destination, Toronto. Here’s how the new type of marketing campaigns (implemented by brands like Starbucks and Cover Girl) work: (1) Users accept product offers; (2) In return, Klout requests for disclosure of the freebie; (3) Klout measures some two dozen variables, including the number of times their comments are retweeted, the size of their Twitter audience, and the influence of those followers, to come up with a numerical value and ranking on a 0-to-100 scale.

Industry: Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications, Retail & Products, Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services
Topic: Business Intelligence, Content Strategy, Marketing Communications, Technology Implementation
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business, Business to Consumer, Peer Groups & Communities

What's In A Name? The Term Cloud Computing Breathes New Life Into An Existing Technology (Forbes)

Posted: 08/05/2010

In an industry where fancy buzzwords abound, "cloud computing" really signifies more of a generational evolution than a new technology. While there may be some hype related to doing business "in the cloud," on-demand, internet-based computing leverages the same technology companies like Google and Amazon pioneered and perfected through trial and error. Now, companies can access even more highly evolved programs like Google App Engine and Apache Hadoop - as well as a steadily increasing list of other options - to write their own data center infrastructure applications. In a virtual world where complete computer security is always somewhat questionable, the flexible and economical strengths of cloud computing remains very attractive to corporate computing operations. The end-goal is to partner with trustworthy, security-focused services that respond to and eliminate threats as they are exposed.

Industry: Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services
Topic: Business Intelligence, Technology Implementation
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business

Creating One-To-One Conversations: Customer Data Required (BtoB Online)

Posted: 08/05/2010

E-mail marketers are keeping costs low and continuing to invest in e-mail, according to interactive agency Razorfish’s “2010 Outlook Report”, released on May 24. E-mail marketing use is changing; said Joe Mele, Razorfish’s managing director of media and marketing, “We’re definitely seeing a move to one-to-one marketing. Marketers are using the channel as a personalization space to do quite a bit of targeted advertising.” To accomplish such personalization and expand e-mail marketing, Mele suggests texting and reaching out to salespeople for specific data to customize ads down to the offers, messaging, images and design. “Texting is as addressable as e-mail but able to take on a more intimate feel,” Mele said.

Following The Trends: Internet Levels Playing Field For Small Businesses (BtoB Online)

Posted: 08/05/2010

Thanks to the Internet, small companies having difficulty competing with large companies for customers are in luck. Despite the fact that search query results are crowded, small business owners can take steps to maximize their online presence via search and social media by following a few simple tips. For instance, by updating business listings or creating new ones for companies and choosing social media networks wisely, marketers can integrate the increasingly important localization of their product or company. Becoming “vertical” is also key, since doing so means companies participate in many social sites, as is getting one-to-one with customers by paying specific attention to exactly what products they prefer.

Industry: Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications, Retail & Products
Topic: Content Strategy, Experience & Interaction
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business, Peer Groups & Communities

Professional And Personal Identities: Building Brands Into Your Blog (BusinessWeek)

Posted: 08/05/2010

Who knew that blogging and business go hand in hand? According to eMarketer, a New York based-research firm, “71 percent of bloggers who post for business [create] greater visibility for their companies.” Blogging gives companies a chance to act more like people and connect with their customers by giving posts a personal touch. Employees looking to promote the companies they work for should formulate branding strategies based on personal missions and values. With permission from company managers to get personal with posts, employees can promote new products, mention awards they’ve won at work, and keep followers updated on projects they’re working on. It’s a win-win situation for everyone involved; companies and employees will be recognized and remembered.

Industry: Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications
Topic: Content Strategy, Experience & Interaction
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business, Business to Consumer, Peer Groups & Communities

Get The Most Out Of User Experience On Your Website (New Media Knowledge)

Posted: 07/22/2010

Are you aware of what users really experience on your website? Monitoring your website performance has hit a new level of complexity since Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) are more frequently being incorporated into Web pages. Knowing how your browser interacts with RIAs is crucial to discovering how fast your Web page renders. To get an accurate result, use a real browser. Why is this important? Browser emulators are far less sophisticated at interacting with Web pages than real browsers and only real browsers can accurately track information in various situations. Real browsers also accurately capture client time – when actual page element execution is taking place. Ultimately, using a real browser with RIAs lets you know that your end-user is getting the best experience possible on your Web page.

Industry: Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications, Retail & Products, Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services
Topic: Experience & Interaction, Technology Implementation
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business, Business to Consumer

Uplift Modeling: The Upside to Marketing (Ecommerce Times)

Posted: 07/08/2010

The key to spending a lot less on marketing while receiving better sales results may be uplift modeling. Specific customers have specific wants and needs; uplift modeling uses intelligent predictive analysis to target relevant needs specific to certain customers. Uplift divides customers into segments, allowing companies to focus solely on the “Persuadables”- customers likely to respond to being contacted through marketing outreach tactics and begin or renew their purchasing as a result. Time and money isn’t wasted on “Sure Thing”, “Lost Cause”, and “Sleeping Dog” customers- those who always buy, never buy or just don’t want to be bothered. Uplift modeling saves valuable company time and money, while avoiding the negativity associated with uninterested customers.

In Online Advertising, Search Ads Are Where The Money’s At (Internet Retailer)

Posted: 07/08/2010

In the world of online advertising, there is no doubt that mobile ads are hot. So hot, in fact, that according to IDC analyst Karsten Weide, “the IDC projects U.S. spending on mobile advertising will grow 97% this year, to $433 million from $220 million last year, following growth of 47% in 2009 over 2008.” Despite this statistic, paid search will become central in online advertising in the coming years. Weide says “search ads may be less sexy than mobile online ads, but it’s where cash registers will ring most loudly in the coming years” but she also strongly urges marketers to become acquainted with mobile advertising.

Industry: Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications, Retail & Products
Topic: Content Strategy, E-Commerce, Marketing Communications
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business, Business to Consumer

The Winning Combination: Tracking Preference and Behavioral Data To Improve Email Campaigns (BtoB Online)

Posted: 06/17/2010

Want to increase your business through more successful email campaigns? All it takes is an effort to track customer behavioral data, which will make you better aware of your customer’s needs. Asking yourself if links are being clicked on, if emails are being opened, forwarded, or sent to the junk mail folder is beneficial. Monitoring your website to find out which customers are viewing your Web site and adding various links to your emails to track what customers are looking for will help you better understand their wants and needs. Collecting and analyzing your customer data will put you on the right track to increasing the success of your business.

Industry: Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications
Topic: Business Intelligence, Content Strategy, Marketing Communications
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business, Business to Consumer

Tailoring To Customers Both On And Offline (New Media Knowledge)

Posted: 06/17/2010

Customers’ purchasing patterns are easily tracked online allowing website display of offers and promotions specific to customers based on their online buying behavior. Even with a unified marketing strategy, the challenge is to maintain consistent customer experiences across online and offline shopping. Monitoring offline shopping experiences can be done with real-time vouchers, coupons, and customer recommendation and review forms. Merging online and offline customer data will allow businesses to successfully retain and cater to their customers anywhere.

Industry: Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications, Retail & Products
Topic: Business Intelligence, Content Strategy, E-Commerce, Experience & Interaction, Marketing Communications
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business, Peer Groups & Communities

Puzzling Together Business Data: Salesforce.com Buys Jigsaw (CRM Daily)

Posted: 06/17/2010

Salesforce.com’s purchase of contact provider Jigsaw makes it even easier to access, create, and even clean up contact information for businesses all over the globe. Salesforce.com chairman and CEO, Marc Benioff, said it will be “as easy as Wikipedia to source data, as easy as iTunes to buy data, and as easy as Facebook to stay updated as the data changes.” Boasting a 1.2 million member count and a database with 21 million professionals working at 4 million companies, Jigsaw describes its role as “collecting, refining, managing, protecting, and organizing the global list of people in business – so you don’t have to.” Through the use of Jigsaw’s cloud platform, new applications can also be created by software vendors to better use business contact information.

Industry: Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services
Topic: Business Intelligence, Experience & Interaction
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business

Mastercard Campaign Praises Hockey’s “Unsung Heroes” (Strategy Magazine)

Posted: 06/09/2010

“Unsung heroes” are typically the faces behind the scenes, eschewing the limelight to help launch others to the top spot. In an unexpected turn, Mastercard’s new campaign casts new light on the "unsung heroes" of the hockey world. In support of its title sponsorship of the 2010 MasterCard Memorial World Cup, MasterCard’s saucy, mockumentary-style campaign features live-action vignettes that pit inanimate objects against each other to battle it out alongside real athletes. The digital campaign celebrates mundane objects like alarm clocks, cups of coffee, garage doors, dumbbells, slush and shock absorbers, whose efforts are often overlooked in the hockey player’s quest to meet challenges. Designed to be dynamic, memorable and cost-effective, the campaign extends the creative theme with trading cards featuring each item and rich media ads on TSN.ca, Sportsnet.ca, CHL.ca and NHL.com, as well as the major Canadian portals that drive visitors to the Mastercard.ca site to vote on their favorite videos. Mastercard will run the "Unsung Heroes" campaign until the end of the Memorial Cup on May 23.

Industry: Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications
Topic: Content Strategy, Creative & Design, Experience & Interaction, Marketing Communications
Region: North America
Audience: Business to Business, Business to Consumer

Video Voyeurs: Nordstrom Rack Previews New Store At Construction Site (Marketing Vox)

Posted: 06/09/2010

The Nordstrom Rack at Union Square in New York City generated buzz for the launch of its new store by integrating video screens into the facade of the construction. Peephole boxes offered the chance to preview the store’s up-to-the-minute fashion in 30–90 second looped video displays of models browsing racks of clothes and trying outfits on in a virtual dressing room. Touted as 'fun, provocative and playful,' digital out-of-home (DOOH) campaigns like this extend the reach of marketers looking to connect with consumers in places beyond their living rooms. Other successful DOOH campaigns include interactive exhibits and place-based video networks, reaching an estimated audience of 237.4 million in 2009. One Los Angeles shopping mall provides visitors the experience to transform themselves into Avatar’s blue-skinned Na’vi while video screens in Lego stores prompt reality checks when visitors hold a Lego product box in front of the screen.

Industry: Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications, Retail & Products
Topic: Creative & Design, Experience & Interaction, Marketing Communications
Region: North America
Audience: Business to Business, Business to Consumer

If At First You Don’t Succeed: Give It Another Go (Ecommerce Times)

Posted: 05/27/2010

A new Google feature is giving advertisers another go at customers they may have baited, but didn’t fully hook with a purchase. Tested in beta last year, the “remarketing” feature is now available throughout the Google Content Network (GCN), including on YouTube. Although remarketing is not a novel idea, it does help marketers limber up their campaigns. The feature can be tied into search campaigns, leveraged with targeted messages across different Web pages or run simultaneously with other remarketing campaigns. Here’s how it works: companies drive traffic to their Web site via search ads and then retarget those same customers with customized ads as they browse other sites across the GCN. Remarketing is an often underutilized yet successful tactic – only 31 percent of marketers surveyed by Advertise.com and the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO) have tried it yet 53.1 percent of those enjoyed great success with it.

Industry: Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications, Retail & Products
Topic: Business Intelligence, E-Commerce, Experience & Interaction, Marketing Communications
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business, Business to Consumer

Stay Out Front With Smart Mobile Marketing Tactics (Marketing Vox)

Posted: 05/13/2010

You know the mobile marketing drill: Offer local coupons. Allow customers to pay for purchases directly from their phones. Inject with a little vavavavoom and you’ve got a competitive mobile marketing package. In light of the ever-changing mobile technology landscape –which means competitors are always on the hunt for bigger, better, more creative tactics – it makes good sense to consider adding these four tips to your mobile marketing toolbox: 1. Matt Silk, SVP of Waterfall Mobile recommends including a store locator in your mobile plan; 2. When used like direct mail or email, mobile subscriptions lists can help you to target your subscribers on-the-go; 3. Build applications and then market them strategically. Paul Reddick, CEO of Handmark at MoCoNews, recommends brands to "distribute them from their own Web sites or other traditional media outlets;” and 4. Forget about the apps altogether and concentrate your efforts on building a mobile Web site, which may be the smartest tactic of all, according to Practical E-Commerce.

Industry: Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications, Telecommunications
Topic: Content Strategy, Creative & Design, E-Commerce, Experience & Interaction, Marketing Communications
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business

This Year’s Online Brand Messaging More Relevant Than Ever To Your Customers (Marketing Vox)

Posted: 05/13/2010

A consumer preference survey by Opinion Research Corporation suggests that consumers in 2010 have been more responsive to online advertising than ever. Sponsored by Adfusion, a division of ARAnet, the survey’s results showed that consumers scored every type of online advertising higher in 2010 than they did in 2009. Adfusion said consumers preferred brand-oriented articles over other types of online advertising, including banner ads, pop-up ads, email offers or sponsored links. According to ARAnet president Scott Severson, the survey data reveals key information marketers should be paying heed: overall, consumers are tuning in to all forms of online advertising; preference for article-based advertising continues to grow; and younger, wealthier audiences–a highly coveted segment of the population – are receptive to all types of online advertising.

Developers Build Native Mobile Web Applications With Titanium 1.0 (Info World)

Posted: 04/29/2010

Appcelerator recently released Titanium 1.0, a cross-platform development system for mobile and desktop applications. The open source system is compatible with JavaScript, PHP, and Ruby, which eliminates the need for mobile application builders to learn the Objective-C language for iPhone or Google's Java language for Android systems. A translator enables building mobile and desktop applications that will run natively on different systems. The system supports development for PCs, Macintosh, and Linux while mobile platforms include Apple iPhone and Google Android. Plans include Research In Motion Blackberry support within the year. Scott Schwarzhoff, vice president of marketing for Appcelerator attributes Titanium’s competitive advantage over other cross-platform development frameworks to its ability to “offer native performance as well as native UI (user interface) and access to device capabilities.” Eliminating the barrier of learning Objective-C makes Titanium highly attractive to developers. Appcelerator will also develop a version of Titanium for Apple's new iPad.

Industry: Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services, Telecommunications
Topic: Creative & Design, Experience & Interaction, Technology Implementation
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business, Business to Consumer

Filling The Gap With Enterprise-Wide Business Intelligence (CIO Magazine)

Posted: 04/29/2010

With multiple clothing brands to manage, including Old Navy, Banana Republic, The Gap and online retailer Piper-Lime, senior vice president of IT for The Gap, Michael Jones understands what it takes to operate a successful business intelligence project. Jones recommends that organizations adopt a single enterprise-wide data warehouse rather than operating separate data marts for each individual project. With one single system, Gap managers can mine data and reports across all of its brands and 3,100 globally dispersed stores. "Our challenge is to try to provide information across an entire enterprise," Jones said. With ten years of experience in enterprise-wide BI, the company has aligned data from all of its units into one data warehouse which allows it to answer a total of 96 questions, significantly more than if it operated single silos. While the cost of setting up a comprehensive data warehouse is higher, Jones claims the added flexibility is well worth the extra cost.

Industry: Retail & Products, Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services
Topic: Business Intelligence, Technology Implementation
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business

Evolution Or Revolution? The Rise Of A New Advertising Age (Internet Evolution)

Posted: 04/15/2010

Research firm Outsell projects that 2010 will be a banner year for digital advertising. With revenues projected to reach $119.6 billion on digital media compared to $111.5 billion on ads in traditional print magazines and newspapers, this could be the year digital advertising revenues overtake traditional print media. "Advertisers are directing dollars toward the channels which generate the most qualified leads and most effective branding," Outsell vice president and lead analyst Chuck Richard said. According to Outsell, digital spending encompasses email, video ads, display ads and search engine marketing. The impact on the estimated $368 billion annual marketing costs? It’s likely to get more expensive. "I believe there is still a need for mass media like TV, radio, and some print... and the changes will be that the big media will get bigger and more expensive," states Mitch Drew, a TV ad salesperson and blogger based in Vancouver.

Industry: Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications
Topic: Marketing Communications
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business, Business to Consumer

Mastering The Whole Customer Experience (.net)

Posted: 04/15/2010

In a recent interview, Oliver Lindberg caught up with Paul Dawson, EMC Conchango’s experience director, to discuss the company’s methodology. EMC Conchango concentrates on what it calls “total experience design,” taking a comprehensive look at the customer journey from beginning to end, and all the points in between. EMC Conchango operates as the European arm of EMC Consulting, allowing it to leverage its global reach and cast a wider net to capture more global business. Based on fact, the experience planning process incorporates Agile methodology, regularly released software and eye tracking to analyze how people interact with the content of a page. The agency is also experimenting with electroencephalograms that are literally wired to reveal what consumer’s brains are thinking and feeling. The agency also partners with Microsoft to adopt new user-facing technology to better understand customer behavior and devise ways to prolong consumer interactions with brands and products.

Industry: Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications, Retail & Products, Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services
Topic: Content Strategy, Creative & Design, E-Commerce, Experience & Interaction, Marketing Communications, Technology Implementation
Region: Global, Europe
Audience: Business to Business, Business to Consumer

Formatting Plain Text E-Mails for Dynamic Delivery (Internet Evolution)

Posted: 04/01/2010

Not all programs recognize html, so it’s important to remember that you don’t always have to have fancy formatting to get your message across. There are tips you can use to maximize your plain text emails. Plus, there are actually many benefits to sending plain text e-mails. First, leave formatting plain text to last and finally, test your format across multiple platforms. Steps in between include: prioritizing key content in the first few lines, cleaning up your format and making sure links don’t get lost in the crowd. Plain text allows subscribers to read your email even on their cell phones and smartphones. They are also much more likely to get through all the spam filters on the Internet than html email, and therefore can be read by more subscribers.

Industry: Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications
Topic: Content Strategy, Experience & Interaction, Marketing Communications
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business, Business to Consumer

From Buzz to Buy: Social Commerce and Word-of-Mouth Marketing (ClickZ)

Posted: 04/01/2010

There’s a new buzz in town: social commerce skilfully links customers to customers online and then bridges them into commercial connections... driving customers to transition from "buzz" to "buy." The ultimate goal for delivering a meaningful and measurable social commerce program is to integrate all marketing activities into one streamlined campaign, blending social programs like Facebook, Twitter and company blogs with more traditional programs like in-store, direct marketing and mobile advertising. Building a social commerce program entails the following: (1) give your customers a venue for creating user-generated content; (2) expand your customer-voice from the outside-in and (3) leverage customer feedback in all your marketing initiatives. The challenge then is to deliver meaningful products and services that meet your customers’ needs.

Industry: Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications, Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services
Topic: Content Strategy, Experience & Interaction, Marketing Communications, Technology Implementation
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business, Business to Consumer, Peer Groups & Communities

iPhone App Enables Paying with Plastic (CNN Money)

Posted: 03/18/2010

Operating businesses remotely just got even better. While credit card transactions were standardized in traditional business settings long ago, paying with plastic was only a pipe dream for those conducting business on the road. Now, a host of software is on the market allowing mobile businesses to process credit card payments on their cell phones. From Apple's iPhone applications to Inner Fence, which developed the first iPhone app for processing credit cards, there are a slew of applications out there that allow proprietors to issue refunds, review sales, and email electronic receipts for transactions.

Industry: Retail & Products, Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services, Telecommunications
Topic: E-Commerce, Technology Implementation
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business, Business to Consumer

Programming With Screen Shots, Not Just Code (Dr. Dobbs)

Posted: 03/04/2010

Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers have developed a new system that allows one to program with screenshots. For more than three decades, the graphical user interface (GUI) has dominated computer programing, but its underlying reliance on code manipulation means it’s still relatively labor intensive for computer programmers to customize or build programs. The new system, Sikuli, enables programmers to develop programs using GUI screen shots. While it requires some knowledge of Python, the system enables even casual users to create new programs without mastering complex programming language. The user simply draws a box around the desired content, captures the screen shot and then places it appropriately into the Python code. The research team plans to present a paper entitled GUI Testing Using Computer Vision at CHI, the premier conference on human-computer interactions, where they will describe new applications of Sikuli aimed at large software development projects, both for programmers and non-programmers.

Industry: Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services
Topic: Experience & Interaction, Technology Implementation
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business, Business to Consumer

FranchiseOpportunities.com Increases Own Opportunities (BtoB Online)

Posted: 02/18/2010

In an effort to increase its leads in finding potential franchise owners, FranchiseOpportunities.com changed its usual e-mail marketing tactics. Rather than sending the standard monthly e-mail newsletter highlighting six or seven franchises to all 100,000 of its prospects, the company now sends out targeted e-blasts. These e-blasts, which are sent to specific, smaller groups of prospects, highlight a single franchise (based on prospects’ industry, geographic location, available liquid capital, and net investment capabilities), and provide a direct link to the franchise owner’s page. E-blast copy is also more action-oriented. “It’s all about semantics—taking an active voice that uses language our prospects use,” said Garth Snider, president of FranchiseOpportunites.com. An increase in leads resulted. “From 2008 to 2009 we have increased the number of leads coming from e-mail campaigns by 50% to 75%,” Snider said.

Industry: Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications
Topic: Content Strategy, Experience & Interaction, Marketing Communications
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business

Market Intelligence the Smartphone Way (CRM Daily)

Posted: 02/04/2010

Context-aware software tries to connect the real world with the vast stores of information about places in a virtual world: the Internet. The technology channels the knowledge amassed to provide useful tools to the smartphone user. Consumers gain more control over their buying experiences and save time when they purchase from vendors who have critical insight into their shopping habits. The software’s diverse industry applications include retail, business management, hospitality, and food and beverage. Research firm Gartner projects the market for this technology will grow to $12 billion by 2012, with Google standing in prime position to address and profit from the new wave of demand. Other companies that stand to benefit are Nokia, Cisco Systems, Avaya, large telcos like China Telecom or potentially even social networks such as Facebook, Gartner says.

Industry: Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications, Retail & Products, Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services, Telecommunications
Topic: Business Intelligence, Experience & Interaction, Marketing Communications, Technology Implementation
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business, Business to Consumer, Peer Groups & Communities

Apple and Facebook Key Influencers in New Tech Cycle (eWeek)

Posted: 02/04/2010

Apple and Facebook have literally changed the face of mobile internet. With mobile internet users projected to double by 2013, it’s easy to see a "mobile Internet cycle" emerging, a new cycle detailed in Morgan Stanley's "The Mobile Internet Report." Cited as the fifth computing cycle in five decades, the report claims this one is faster and bigger with a wider global net than previous cycles. While Apple, Google and Amazon.com lead the pack, the report suggests that the key influencers from previous cycles won’t necessarily be given the keys to this new kingdom. The analyst team, headed by Mary Meeker, attributes the high level of anticipation for mobile users to five of the most promising IP-based products and services: social networking, 3G network adoption, video, Voice over IP and "impressive mobile devices."

Industry: Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services, Telecommunications
Topic: E-Commerce, Experience & Interaction, Technology Implementation
Region: Global, North America, Asia Pacific
Audience: Business to Business, Business to Consumer, Peer Groups & Communities

New Runa Software Helps Convert Customers Into Sales (Electronic Commerce Guide)

Posted: 02/04/2010

A huge challenge for e-commerce retailers is getting visitors to actually click through to purchase items. Runa, a company specializing in conversion marketing, is helping companies capture and convert Website vistors into paying customers before they abandon the process entirely. After tracking a variety of “actionable analytics” including key words, transaction history, profile information, products viewed and search patterns, Runa drums up a new dynamic sale price that evolves from the merchant’s criteria and shopper’s preferences. Price is typically the deciding factor for whether consumers follow through with transactions, so the new deal is only revealed once the shopping cart has been abandoned. Retailers can then expect to turn up to 15% of “recapture” offers into sales. Since the dynamic special offers are only revealed to visitors that abandon their carts, those paying full price from the get-go never even get wind of the deals.

Industry: Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications, Retail & Products, Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services
Topic: Business Intelligence, E-Commerce, Experience & Interaction, Marketing Communications, Technology Implementation
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business

Opening the Line of Communication with Feedback-Form Analytics (Electronic Commerce Guide)

Posted: 02/04/2010

We’ve all heard of shopping cart abandonment. Until now, companies have had no way of knowing if this so-called digital window shopper’s syndrome was due to Web glitches or other, more personal, reasons. Kampyle is changing that by offering on-demand feedback-form analytics so companies can improve their turnover rates by learning more about their customers. The customizable forms promote open communication between customer and company by directly asking customers relevant questions to reveal why they chose not follow through with their purchases. The software also features “smart pop-ups” that can be personalized to appear when the visitor clicks off the site. Easy to implement, companies can have the service converting clicks into sales in as little as five minutes.

Industry: Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications, Retail & Products, Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services
Topic: Business Intelligence, Creative & Design, E-Commerce, Experience & Interaction, Technology Implementation
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business

Google’s Real-Time, User-Driven Display Ads (Ecommerce Times)

Posted: 01/21/2010

Google is paving the way toward revolutionizing online display advertising. The search engine leader’s acquisition of startup Teracent promises to significantly boost Google’s display ad prowess by tapping into machine-learning algorithms able to produce and personalize the ads in real-time. The user-driven ads can be optimized based on influencers like location, time, language, Web-specific content and past performance of similar ads. Proving that what’s good for Google is good for online display advertising in general, the new technology combats the somewhat antiquated, inflexible packaging of display ads and makes them more dynamic and customizable. Giovanni Calabro, vice president of user experience at Siteworx, told the E-Commerce Times, "Instead of merely selling a package, Google can offer a product based on an understanding of who is coming onto a site.”

Industry: Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications, Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services
Topic: Business Intelligence, Content Strategy, Creative & Design, E-Commerce, Experience & Interaction, Marketing Communications, Technology Implementation
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business, Business to Consumer

On-Demand Software Adds Flexibility to Direct Digital Marketers (Ecommerce Times)

Posted: 01/21/2010

The robustness of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) products positions them to effectively tackle emerging trends in direct digital marketing. The secret to their success? They share the same “it” factor ideals that often boost the best new businesses to the top of the rung: they are cost-effective, easy to implement and inherently scalable. On-demand products must seamlessly integrate between the three primary channels of direct digital marketing–email, mobile and Web–meaning developers must create software that is simultaneously heightened in usability and simple to implement. The bottom line is that the functionality and flexibility of SaaS and universal profile management systems enhance direct digital marketers’ own flexibility and success in their drive to leverage customer information and boost sales.

Industry: Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications, Retail & Products, Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services
Topic: Business Intelligence, Content Strategy, E-Commerce, Marketing Communications, Technology Implementation
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business, Business to Consumer

U.S. Hispanics Prime Target for Internet and Mobile Advertisers (Marketing Vox)

Posted: 01/06/2010

The Hispanic online demographic is growing more than twice as fast as the overall national online population. Add to the equation that 88% of Hispanics consume content from their mobile phones, and the environment grows even riper for advertisers to target a population just shy of 50 million. Mobile initiatives from Yahoo include mobile search, US and global news in Spanish, and email and social networking connections, among others while those via internet from Orange Advertising Network include site-specific placements, customized branded entertainment, and direct-response campaigns. Mobile advertisers including HBO, Harley-Davidson, Rite Aid, Arby's and Cheetos have sent opt-in offers and ads to Hispanic users through HipCricket's Hispanic Mobile Marketing Network, which projects that Hispanic buying power will exceed $1 trillion in the next year.

Industry: Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications, Retail & Products, Telecommunications
Topic: Content Strategy, Creative & Design, E-Commerce, Experience & Interaction, Marketing Communications
Region: North America, South-Central America
Audience: Business to Business, Business to Consumer

Giving Voice to Smartphones’ Other Applications (Marketing Vox)

Posted: 01/06/2010

The advent of smartphones has virtually made it obsolete to use mobile phones solely as phones. Current consumer uses of smartphones are exploding for non-voice communications like connecting to the internet, emailing and text messaging. Mobile Market View recently revealed a growing class of "heavy users" of non-voice communications. One example MarketingCharts wrote about was the percentage of users making more than 10 mobile internet accesses per week. The percentage continues to rise and currently represents more than one-fifth of all mobile users. This rise blows the door open for mobile advertising based on the exponential increase of commerical searches, particularly for local products. "Between waves one and three of Mobile Market View, consumers have basically doubled their use of the mobile platform for non-voice communications," said Rick Ducey, chief strategy officer, BIA/Kelsey.

Industry: Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications, Telecommunications
Topic: Business Intelligence, E-Commerce, Marketing Communications
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business

From Business Revolution to Evolution in 15 Minutes (Harvard Business)

Posted: 12/17/2009

Struggling to create a breakthrough in your business strategy? The solution is as simple as turning the revolutionary into the evolutionary. It may sound like a slow process, but with the “15 minute competitive advantage” individual progressive steps occur quickly. As you build your business, each new lesson learned and experience gained (every 15 minutes) evolves into a step toward progress. Scott Cook, founder of Intuit, advises business owners “to turn business concepts into hypotheses to test fast.” Akin to rapid prototyping, this kind of “hypothesis testing” doesn’t require radical change when based on success markers like: Trial-able, Reversible, Familiar and Congruent with future directions, among others. The process gently leads consumers to the next level of business evolution without forcefeeding revolutionary new ideas before they are primed for mass consumption.

Industry: Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services
Topic: Content Strategy, Experience & Interaction, Technology Implementation
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business

New AT&T Applications Target Enterprise (Info World)

Posted: 12/03/2009

AT&T, the nation’s 2nd largest wireless carrier, launched new hosted applications for BlackBerry and Windows Mobile targeting the merchandising and hospitality industries: AT&T MEAP: Merchandising for the Consumer Goods Industry and AT&T MEAP: Maintenance and Repair for Hospitality. Built on its Mobile Enterprise Applications Platform, the vendor is leading the trend of offering new apps that encourage enterprises to entrench smartphone usage in their daily operations. The merchandising app allows product distributors to submit delivery data in real-time for better tracking, smarter stocking and faster billing. The hospitality app allows hotel maintenance crews to access and update work orders and service requests, report incidents and receive alerts, resulting in quicker response times and more workflow.

Industry: Retail & Products, Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services, Telecommunications
Topic: Experience & Interaction, Technology Implementation
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business, Business to Consumer

Jruby is a Gem for Gilt.com (CNET News)

Posted: 12/03/2009

In a conversation with the Gilt Groupe’s CTO and co-founder Michael Bryzek, Software, Interrupted’s Dave Rosenberg unearths how Jruby powers the luxury shopping site. JRuby’s ability to seamlessly integrate and leverage mature libraries entices Java developers seeking additional productive frameworks to turn to the high-performance platform. Because Gilt.com deals with spikes in traffic when new items are released and items surge in popularity, the IT infrastructure must have the capability to scale and burst in order to meet customer demands. The company is gearing up to deploy Ruby on Rails 3.0, which offers great performance, scalability and the ability to write and expose elegant APIs written in the Ruby language.

Industry: Retail & Products, Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services
Topic: E-Commerce, Technology Implementation
Region: Global
Audience: Business to Business, Business to Consumer

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