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Wise Foods’s Scan It To Win It Sweepstakes (Promo Magazine)
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Posted: 03/31/2011
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The 2009 launch of Wise Foods’s first sweepstakes generated 37,000 opt-in email addresses to its database. Last year, the company ran the same program during the same time frame and added another 20,000 addresses to its list. "The biggest chunk of our yearly database has come through this one promotion," said Kevin Foltz, marketing manager for Wise Foods. Designed to capture return visitors, this year, the 90-day sweepstakes is being tied to Wise’s 90th birthday celebration. The company promotes the sweeps via its Website and Facebook page, on partner Coupons.com Web pages, through text messages and banner ads and via in-store displays and header cards.
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|
Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Retail & Products
Topic:
Business Intelligence,
Content Strategy,
Experience & Interaction,
Marketing Communications
Region:
North America
Audience:
Business to Consumer,
Peer Groups & Communities
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Facebook Like Button Helps Solve Retailer’s Dilemma (Fast Company)
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Posted: 03/17/2011
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To help solve the problem of overstocked inventory, San Francisco-based children’s clothing retailer Tea Collection put Facebook’s “Like” button into action. Customers saved big when they voted for their favorite items that were set to be discontinued and then enjoyed a hefty discount from $59 to $10 on the winning dress. The dress was an immediate sell out. While the company took a loss on it, marketing director Jeff Reichelderfer explained that the campaign more than made up for the losses with purchases that customers made on other items. Tea Collection, which sells its line in boutiques and department stores across the country as well as online, has since hosted two more competitions to help move inventory and further engage its customers.
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Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Retail & Products
Topic:
Content Strategy,
E-Commerce,
Experience & Interaction,
Marketing Communications
Region:
Global,
North America
Audience:
Business to Consumer,
Peer Groups & Communities
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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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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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Call Me Social: Zingaya Hooks Up Twitter To Telephone (Red Herring)
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Posted: 12/01/2010
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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.
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|
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
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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.
|
|
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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Stamped And Delivered: Send Gifts And Goods Using E-Mail Addresses (BBC Business News)
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Posted: 11/11/2010
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In an age where security and privacy top the list of priorities for most, a new method of sending mail is likely to garner attention. In order to acquire goods through sites like eBay, individuals are required to provide their physical address to a stranger. Now, there are several companies offering services that depend on e-mail addresses alone to deliver the goods. While most of the companies are primarily U.S.-based, gift-giving site Parcel Genie delivers across 40 countries. To send packages, all the sender needs is a username from Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. Going beyond gift-giving, the U.K.’s Send Social enables users to send and receive any type of package with a special label only partner delivery companies are capable of reading. "The only piece of information you see is the information you already know - that might be a Facebook name, a Twitter id or e-mail address," says Jonathan Grubin, head of Send Social. One such partner, Bybox, operates a network of locker boxes around the UK, and deliver box-to-box, rather than door-to-door.
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|
Industry:
Retail & Products
Topic:
E-Commerce,
Experience & Interaction,
Technology Implementation
Region:
North America,
Europe
Audience:
Business to Consumer,
Peer Groups & Communities
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Combining Brick With Clicks Proves Profitable Among Retailers (Internet Evolution)
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Posted: 10/14/2010
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Bricks-plus-clicks is an emergent marketing strategy that combines online sales with storefront initiatives to boost sales. National brands including Gap and Nordstrom are using the tactic with success. For instance, Gap recently launched a “Universality” initiative in both Canada and the UK for consumers to simultaneously shop Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic merchandise in a “three-in-one” online store. The universality platform brings brands together online with global navigation and a universal shopping cart while the “bricks” includes new fulfillment centers to save shoppers the expense and hassle of import duties and fees and delays at customs. Showing solid sales improvements, Nordstrom is 11 months in to a fluid inventory plan that uses the Internet to connect its traditional-store inventory to its online sales site to make sure that merchandise is never overlooked on store shelves. The company’s new website also incorporates popular social media features.
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|
Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Retail & Products
Topic:
Content Strategy,
E-Commerce,
Experience & Interaction
Region:
Global,
North America,
Europe
Audience:
Business to Consumer
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Video Girl Barbie Goes Viral (Promo Magazine)
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Posted: 09/30/2010
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In true Barbie fashion, the social girl charged the virtual social world this July to build the buzz for her latest professional stint: videographer. Mattel tapped into social networks Foursquare and Twitter to launch a campaign that criss-crossed the boundaries of traditional marketing. The campaign celebrated the new Video Girl Barbie with a scavenger hunt that had fans scouring San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York to locate Barbie’s real whereabouts. The first follower to find the fashion-forward doll in each city won a Barbie Video Girl doll. “We really embraced social media as a marketing platform a year ago as part of a major campaign in support of Barbie’s 50th anniversary,” says Lauren Dougherty, director of Barbie marketing at Mattel. Barbie currently has 17,600 Twitter followers and about 440,000 likes on Facebook—more than 200,000 of those added since January. Future plans include a promotion that puts the camera in the consumers’ hands with user-generated video, as well as introducing other members of Barbie’s entourage, including Ken, onto the social platforms.
|
|
Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Retail & Products
Topic:
Content Strategy,
Creative & Design,
Experience & Interaction,
Marketing Communications,
Technology Implementation
Region:
Global,
North America
Audience:
Business to Consumer,
Peer Groups & Communities
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Get The Scoop: Ben & Jerry’s Launches Sweet Twitter Campaign (Promo Magazine)
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Posted: 09/16/2010
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This summer there was a new way to get the latest scoop, and this time it wasn’t breaking news – it was free samples of ice cream from Ben & Jerry’s. Led from destination to destination by consumer tweets via Twitter, the “Scoop Truck” went on a sampling tour of New York City in June and July. While the initial campaign plan left one weekday open to a virtual “see-which-way-the-tweets-blow-the-truck” kind of spontaneity, by the end of the nearly two-month tour nearly half of the sweet stops were those requested by the 3,000 local followers the tour handle @benjerrytruck amassed. Responses to outgoing tweets yielded anywhere from five to 100 responses. Although followers will still be able to get the latest scoop through Twitter and view images of the happy samplers on Flickr, the next tour is aimed Boston, where stops will be announced primarily via Facebook.
|
|
Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Retail & Products
Topic:
Business Intelligence,
Experience & Interaction,
Marketing Communications,
Technology Implementation
Region:
North America
Audience:
Business to Consumer,
Peer Groups & Communities
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Voices From The Crowd: Crowdsourcing May Be Ineffective Tool for Government (Fast Company)
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Posted: 09/02/2010
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Can the rise of crowdsourcing sway public policy? According to a Fast Company article, government should stick to the polls rather than relying on crowdsourcing platforms like IdeaScale, which allows the public to raise its collective voice and vote on ideas from state budgets and federal transparency to health care priorities and education. Government 2.0 crowdsourcing is an ineffective tool because it’s not reflective of the entangled way new public policy is brought to fruition – officials can’t simply tap into public opinion and then implement those ideas into law, no matter how popular they are. The article suggests that “what the government needs isn't more lofty suggestions ("End the income tax!"), but grounded ideas on how to actually get things done in Congress.”
|
|
Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services
Topic:
Business Intelligence,
Experience & Interaction,
Marketing Communications
Region:
North America
Audience:
Business to Consumer,
Peer Groups & Communities
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Procter & Gamble Seeks E-Commerce Innovation (Internet Retailer)
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Posted: 07/08/2010
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Consumer favorites manufactured by Procter & Gamble are now even more available. P&G’s new retail web site offers 52 products (with more coming) for consumer purchase, including Tide detergent, Oral-B toothbrushes, and Gillette razors. Though P&G made $76.7 billion in sales in 2009, increasing those sales is not the Web site’s main goal. According to the manufacturer, the site will provide a “living learning lab for developing e-commerce innovation.” Data gathered about P&G’s online consumers will provide a better understanding of various shopping behaviors and preferences. “As big and influential as Procter & Gamble is, there is no doubt this is a sign of a broad trend with consumer goods manufacturers,” says Jim Okamura, senior partner with consulting firm J.C. Williams Group.
|
|
Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Retail & Products,
Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services
Topic:
Content Strategy,
E-Commerce,
Experience & Interaction,
Marketing Communications,
Technology Implementation
Region:
North America
Audience:
Business to Consumer
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Becel Vegan Blasts Across Digital Space On Earth Day (Strategy Magazine)
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Posted: 06/09/2010
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Becel Vegan infiltrated digital space as part of a campaign targeting Canadian consumers. Launched in conjunction with Earth Day, the digital campaign was designed to reach environmentally-conscious consumers interested in the brand’s lactose-free, gluten-free product. The campaign featured a reach block on Facebook to reach every female logging in to the site for the first five times with a Becel-sponsored ad; a Google splash across green and food-friendly niche and mass sites like Naturopath.com and FoodNetwork.com; and homepage ads on MSN, AOL and Canwest, and exclusive placement on British Columbia’s Weather Network homepage. "We're trying to drive awareness and drive trial of the product in a fun and engaging way," says Caroline Moul, digital group director at PHD in Toronto.
|
|
Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Retail & Products
Topic:
Content Strategy,
Experience & Interaction,
Marketing Communications
Region:
North America
Audience:
Business to Consumer,
Peer Groups & Communities
|
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Mastercard Campaign Praises Hockey’s “Unsung Heroes” (Strategy Magazine)
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Posted: 06/09/2010
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“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
|
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Video Voyeurs: Nordstrom Rack Previews New Store At Construction Site (Marketing Vox)
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Posted: 06/09/2010
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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
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Contemporary Fashion Fills The “White Space” At The Bay (Strategy Magazine)
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Posted: 05/13/2010
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Toronto’s Bay recently launched the “White Space," a contemporary designer section at the Queen Street location, with a swanky, invite-only soiree attended by local fashionistas and tastemakers. The high-profile, high-fashion event, co-hosted by Fashion Magazine, followed a similar strategic path that unveiled its couture sister-counterpart, The Room, last fall. VP of marketing, Patrick Dickinson said, “We know Fashion Magazine readers are interested in this kind of shopping destination; they're interested in this kind of experience.” To rollout the launch, the Bay ran full-page black and white print ads in both the Globe and Mail and National Post, in addition to eight full-color ads showcasing Canadian supermodel Daria Werbowy that will continue to run after White Space’s debut. The launch party also featured laptop stations where guests could login and tweet about the event while sipping cocktails and browsing White Space’s contemporary line-up of designers.
|
|
Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Retail & Products
Topic:
Experience & Interaction,
Marketing Communications
Region:
North America
Audience:
Business to Consumer,
Peer Groups & Communities
|
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Discover Technology’s Next Big Star At South By Southwest Interactive Festival (CNET News)
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Posted: 04/29/2010
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The competition is on to see who emerges as SXSWi's (South by Southwest Interactive Festival) biggest technology star. This year’s hottest ticket? The rivalry brewing between Gowalla and Foursquare, competing “geolocation” mobile applications which let users "check in" from their smartphones, share locations, and compete to earn Gowalla virtual goods and Foursquare "badges". With round-the-clock parties, panels, meet-and-greets and apps like Foodspotting, which uses GPS to help users locate specific menu items at local restaurants, the festival is poised to take over the entire city. Other geolocation start-ups want in on the action: Sunday night’s "Geobash" is co-hosted by SimpleGeo, HotPotato and Yowza, Loopt is launching a revamped, events-based iPhone app and Powered’s iPhone app "Snark It" earns users “liquidity” points to use toward free drinks.
|
|
Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services
Topic:
Creative & Design,
E-Commerce,
Experience & Interaction,
Technology Implementation
Region:
Global,
North America
Audience:
Business to Consumer,
Peer Groups & Communities
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Rice University Study: Facebook Fan Pages Excel at Niche Marketing (ClickZ)
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Posted: 04/01/2010
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The results are in for Rice University's Jones Graduate School of Business study to determine how creating a presence on Facebook impacts businesses. The study incited an article in the March issue of the Harvard Business Review, with the study authors calling the Facebook page a qualified success for niche marketing. Rice professors collaborated with social media virgin Dessert Gallery, a local bakery and café chain in Houston. The study revealed fan pages have impact; however, mostly when targeting niche groups. First, after taking a preliminary survey, 75 out of 700 loyal customers accepted the invitation to fan Dessert Gallery’s Facebook page. Three months later, respondents completed another survey that revealed Facebook had a significant impact on their interaction with the brand. The bakery’s fans stopped by the cafe 20% more than non-fans, spending 33% more. The fan page also seemed to cultivate brand affection and loyalty.
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|
Industry:
Retail & Products
Topic:
Experience & Interaction,
Marketing Communications,
Technology Implementation
Region:
North America
Audience:
Business to Consumer,
Peer Groups & Communities
|
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On-the-Go with Target’s Mobile Gift Cards (Promo Magazine)
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Posted: 03/18/2010
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Now, with its mobile gift card option, Target, the second-largest U.S. discount chain, makes paying with plastic old school. The retailer is letting customers use mobile phones to redeem gift cards as more consumers use phones with Internet access. Shoppers simply save the account numbers for their Target GiftCards to a PIN-protected area at either online or at the retailer's mobile-optimized site. Customers access the mobile site on their phones, enter the login and PIN for the card and complete the purchase when the cashier scans the unique 2D barcode on the display screen into Target’s P-O-S system, which has been outfitted across all 1740 Target stores nation wide. Customers can also access the mobile site to view merchandise, check product availability, manage gift registries and find locations, among other things. Other retailers like Starbucks and 7-Eleven are testing similar barcode technology to incorporate into their mobile business strategies.
|
|
Industry:
Retail & Products
Topic:
E-Commerce,
Experience & Interaction,
Technology Implementation
Region:
North America
Audience:
Business to Consumer
|
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Sweet Tweets for Tasti D-Lite (BrandWeek)
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Posted: 03/04/2010
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Thanks to Tasti D-Lite, tweeting produces sweet results. With the TastiRewards program, customers’ loyalty cards are connected to their Twitter or Foursquare accounts. Each time a card is used, updates for Tasti D-Lite are sent through Twitter or Foursquare and the customer earns a point. Fifty points reward the customer with a free Tasti D-Lite cup or cone. "Clearly you can see if someone has 1,000 followers and visits Tasti D-Lite once a week that message will get out there," said B.J. Emerson, director of information and social technologies at Tasti D-Lite. TastiRewards will start with 10 locations, including Nashville, Tenn., Scottsdale, Ariz., Houston, and Miami and expand to 47 Tasti D-Lite stores nationwide this spring.
|
|
Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Retail & Products
Topic:
Content Strategy,
Experience & Interaction,
Marketing Communications
Region:
North America
Audience:
Business to Consumer,
Peer Groups & Communities
|
|
|
|
It’s Super Bowl Sunday: “Time to Wear the Pants” (BrandWeek)
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Posted: 02/18/2010
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Watching the Super Bowl and wearing pants went hand in hand on February 7th. During the big game, Dockers presented a 30-second ad to promote its ongoing “Wear the Pants” campaign. The ad portrays childish men, marching and chanting “I Wear No Pants”, who are interrupted with the message “Calling all men, it’s time to wear the pants.” "We’re sending out a humorous call to manhood . . . The campaign celebrates the reemergence of the khaki... as an everyday way for men to convey masculine pride," said Jen Sey,VP of Dockers global marketing. The ad’s incorporation of Shazam mobile technology will allow consumers to use their smartphones for direct interaction with the ad’s content. Downloading the Shazam application and “tagging” the spot will direct consumers to the content page and its various offerings. "We’re on a mission to reinvent khakis and consumers’ relationship to the category, which has been passive in recent years," said Sey.
|
|
Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Retail & Products,
Telecommunications
Topic:
Creative & Design,
Experience & Interaction,
Marketing Communications
Region:
North America
Audience:
Business to Consumer
|
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|
Apple and Facebook Key Influencers in New Tech Cycle (eWeek)
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Posted: 02/04/2010
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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
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Silk Drinks Up New Media for YouTube Campaign (Strategy Magazine)
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Posted: 01/06/2010
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Silk Soy Milk is milking a new interactive-rich media campaign to boost public perception about its products. The natural strength of the campaign centers around a newly branded YouTube channel which houses “deep link annotation,” a first for YouTube worldwide. Users stay tuned to the Silk-branded and skinned channel while they play the game, “Bust it or Believe it”. The campaign also takes advantage of a QR code-enabled print buy with Metro commuter newspaper, which gives users the opportunity to believe or bust the facts presented when they activate the embedded codes on their phones. "The whole goal here was to use new and innovative technology to engage the consumer," Robin Hassan, digital director, Starcom Mediavest Group, told MiC.
|
|
Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Retail & Products,
Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services
Topic:
Creative & Design,
Experience & Interaction,
Marketing Communications,
Technology Implementation
Region:
North America
Audience:
Business to Consumer
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|
Canada’s New Wind Mobile Gets Carried Away by Viral Videos (Strategy Magazine)
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Posted: 01/06/2010
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Imagine a toll both charging pedestrians to use a sidewalk. Ridiculous, right? Canada’s newest mobile phone company, Wind Mobile, agrees and uses this example and others to illustrate problems with the country’s wireless service. Found on YouTube and Wind Mobile’s website, the viral videos promote Wind Mobile’s purpose to provide improved services to Canada’s mobile phone users. “These [videos] were done to till the soil," says Chris Robbins, chief commercial officer at Wind Mobile. "Before we launch, we're trying to keep the conversation going about what's wrong with the current market, the current competition and what's happening in wireless.” Come Christmas in 2009, Wind Mobile’s products will hit the market in Toronto and Calgary, with the intent to bridge Canada’s pesky wireless service gaps.
|
|
Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Telecommunications
Topic:
Marketing Communications
Region:
North America
Audience:
Business to Consumer
|
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U.S. Hispanics Prime Target for Internet and Mobile Advertisers (Marketing Vox)
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Posted: 01/06/2010
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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.
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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
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The Divide Among Us: The Classism in Social Networking (CNN)
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Posted: 11/19/2009
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A recent study by market research firm Nielsen Claritas Research points to a class divide online. The study finds that Facebook draws a more affluent crowd than MySpace, with nearly 23 percent of
Facebook users earning $100,000+ a year compared to 16 percent of MySpace users. Twitter and
LinkedIn draw an even more affluent crowd. 38 percent of LinkedIn users pull in $100,000+ per year. Ethnographer danah boyd witnessed a class divide emerge among American teens' use of social networks in a 2006 study. She uncovered a migration from MySpace to Facebook predominantly composed of the educated and the upper-class. Technology writer and blogger Sarah Perez says that people have a tendency to connect with similar people online as they do offline. Jason Kaufman, a Harvard research science fellow, says that with Facebook "The playing field is a lot more level in that you can find yourself having a wall-to-wall exchange with just an acquaintance. If you pick up the unlikely friend, not of your race or income bracket, the network may [help you]establish a more active friendship than if you met them in real life."
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Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services
Topic:
Business Intelligence,
Content Strategy,
Experience & Interaction
Region:
Global,
North America
Audience:
Peer Groups & Communities
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Global Spending on Mobile Advertising to Rise Exponentially by 2013 (Marketing Vox)
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Posted: 11/08/2009
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New data from Gartner predicts that global spending on mobile ads will rise 74%, reaching $913.5M this year, escalating to more than $13B by 2013. The report claims that location-based targeting and bigger gains in GPS technology, along with wide adoption of smartphones, 3G network data plans and downloadable applications will incite the growth as early as 2010. Parks Associates reports that advertising revenues in the US and Canada will grow from $208M in 2009 to $1.5B by 2013, with smartphone sales accounting for 45.5% of all mobile phone sales that year. JiWire reports a 79% increase in the use of mobile devices at public Wi-Fi hotspots in North America in the first half of 2009, and while research from MRI shows early consumer disapproval with mobile ads, 20% of that same audience would like to watch live TV via their cellphones.
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Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services,
Telecommunications
Topic:
E-Commerce,
Experience & Interaction,
Marketing Communications,
Technology Implementation
Region:
Global,
North America,
Asia Pacific,
Europe
Audience:
Business to Consumer
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Motorola SmartPhone Targets Social Network Crowd (Internet Evolution)
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Posted: 10/22/2009
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Motorola’s new smartphone, the Cliq, targets a young crowd addicted to social networking. The Cliq features a dynamic home screen with a collage of emails, tweets and status updates flashing over the sender’s profile pictures. The moderately priced Cliq, estimated to cost around $100, will be available this fall from T-Mobile. Another more expensive version will be available from Verizon. Both phones use Google’s Android operating system, but Motorola transformed the Cliq’s software to include Motoblur–the wow factor that makes the phone stand out from the crowd of Android phones expected to launch in the 2009 holiday season. Users simply supply their account information and the Internet-based service will combine all the information from a user’s e-mail and social networking accounts into one handy address book.
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Industry:
Telecommunications
Topic:
Creative & Design,
Experience & Interaction,
Technology Implementation
Region:
North America
Audience:
Business to Consumer,
Peer Groups & Communities
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A Sweet Flight: Chocolate Takes to the Sky (Chief Marketer)
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Posted: 09/25/2009
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Sweetriot, a New-York based candy company, will take to the skies this spring to hawk their $3 chocolate bar on Virgin America. “It's a good way to get the chocolate bars into people's hands,” notes Sarah Endline, company mastermind and chief rioter. In addition to being available online at www.sweetriot.com, the new product also has limited distribution at retail stores like Whole Foods. The company participates in sampling events and is cultivating a sweet relationship with its vivacious, well-educated customer base via social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter. Endline also contributes to the company’s blog, highlighting consumer events like the Fancy Food Show and engaging customers to vote on artwork that captures the best spirit for the company’s holiday tins.
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Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Retail & Products
Topic:
E-Commerce,
Experience & Interaction,
Marketing Communications
Region:
North America
Audience:
Business to Consumer,
Peer Groups & Communities
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EZ-Lube Plugs Into Mobile Campaign to Tune-Up Loyalty Program (PromoMagazine)
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Posted: 09/25/2009
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Oil Change specialists EZ-Lube took customer care and loyalty to new heights last spring with a mobile campaign to boost its customer base. With more than 80 stores, the Southern California auto lube chain partnered with mobile marketing and loyalty experts SmartReply to launch a campaign targeted at existing loyalty customers and others who opted in to receive special messaging. 500,000 text messages touting car-care value offers were sent over a six-week period. In addition to boosting its database by 1,700 opt-ins for future promotions and fortifying the company’s competitive advantage, the campaign also garnered a 5% redemption rate among general responders and 15% among the existing loyalty club members at a cost of less than $6 per opt-in.
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Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Telecommunications
Topic:
Experience & Interaction,
Marketing Communications
Region:
North America
Audience:
Business to Consumer
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Blazing the Broadband Trail Along the East Coast (Internet Retailer)
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Posted: 08/27/2009
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Akamai Technologies Inc.’s “State of the Internet Report” revealed that U.S. broadband adoption is on the rise, with East coast states tallying the most broadband Internet connections for the first quarter of 2009. Eastern states garnered eight of the top ten slots, topped by Delaware, where 62% of households have high-speed broadband web access, a 6.7% year over-year increase. Based on results from data collected from Akamai’s global server network, the study examined countries and U.S. states that averaged over 1,000 unique monthly IP addresses. The report also states that one-fifth of global internet connections operate at speeds greater than 5 Mbps, up significantly from the previous year. “The implication… is that Internet retailers can continue to add more rich media content to their site... to bring buyers and keep them on the site longer,” says David Belson, editor of the report.
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Industry:
Retail & Products,
Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services
Topic:
Creative & Design,
E-Commerce,
Technology Implementation
Region:
North America
Audience:
Business to Business,
Business to Consumer
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Surging Ahead: Companies Unveil New Cellular WiFi (Internet Evolution)
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Posted: 07/03/2009
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With WiFi spreading like wildfire, cellular companies can no longer ignore the technology without ignoring consumer demand for higher speeds, better coverage and performance, and low- or no-cost access. As consumers also begin to expect computer-like functionality from their cellphones, carriers like AT&T, Comcast, Qwest, Cablevision, and even Verizon, the biggest WiFi hold-out, are embracing WiFi as an important part of their strategic business plans. Recently, Qwest launched free WiFi to both consumer and enterprise customers, while T-Mobile introduced a low-cost WiFi business phone service. Consequently, Verizon will offer free service to DSL and FiOS customers as early as this summer.
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Industry:
Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services,
Telecommunications
Topic:
Experience & Interaction,
Technology Implementation
Region:
Global,
North America
Audience:
Business to Business,
Business to Consumer
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Connecting with a Hispanic Market (BusinessWeek)
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Posted: 06/05/2009
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The Hispanic population is the fastest growing segment in the United States, meaning some marketers are missing more than 40 million new customers. Savvy companies like Procter and Gamble, Verizon and General Mills are funneling more marketing dollars into the Hispanic market, a segment proven to purchase products and services from brands advertised on TV. "Hispanic consumers appreciate when you speak to them in their own language," says Edward Gold, advertising director at State Farm Insurance. The approach is paying huge dividends for companies like General Mills, which has seen double-digit sales gains. Taking product integration to the next level, Telemundo and Vidal Partnerships (Client include Home Depot, Kraft Foods and Wendy’s) have formed a strategic alliance to promote an online contest in which viewers will choose the ending for one of the networks telenovelas.
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Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Retail & Products
Topic:
Content Strategy,
Creative & Design,
Experience & Interaction,
Marketing Communications
Region:
North America,
South-Central America
Audience:
Business to Consumer
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Microsoft Vine: A New Twist on Social Marketing (CNN Money)
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Posted: 06/05/2009
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In an effort to untangle a new path toward social networking prosperity, Microsoft Vine is branching out into unchartered territory: charging subscription fees. Hailed as the 911 for the 21st Century, the new platform will focus on climbing the social networking ladder into the public safety and emergency information arenas by limiting activity to two actions: alerts and reports. Users can customize profiles and bunch their friends and family into groups, creating a virtual safety net to keep informed about events as major as hurricanes or national crises, or as minor as a snow day. The testing phase offers the opportunity to discover how city emergency management agencies across the country might implement this new communication tool. While the basic service will be free, premium services like smartphone access will come with a price tag.
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Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services
Topic:
Content Strategy,
Experience & Interaction,
Technology Implementation
Region:
North America
Audience:
Business to Business,
Business to Consumer,
Peer Groups & Communities
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World Wise: Navigating a Global Market with an Eye toward China (BtoB Online)
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Posted: 05/24/2009
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Domestic marketers looking to tap into international markets should set their sights on China. The best place to start? “Leveraging search engines, which drive close to 40% of most suppliers' traffic, is the best way to enter a lot of foreign markets at the moment, and for the best price,” said Marisa Edmund, VP-marketing and communications at Edmund Optics America. China’s gross domestic production (GDP) is projected to grow by 8% this year and new research from Accenture reveals ample opportunity exists for customer-focused U.S. companies. An alarming 55% of companies in China switched vendors last year due to a growing international intolerance for poor customer service.
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Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Telecommunications
Topic:
Marketing Communications
Region:
North America,
Asia Pacific
Audience:
Business to Business
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The Plain Truth: Winning Email Tactics (BtoB Online)
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Posted: 05/24/2009
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It’s no surprise that marketers looking for high-impact email solutions take maximum advantage of Web technology to reach their audiences. Simply put, that means incorporating plain text e-mails into the marketing mix. While flashy HTML e-mails are great attention-grabbers and response-trackers, they aren’t always accessible to every user. The first rule of thumb: key content should be viewable without scrolling. Keeping offers, calls to action, brand identity and deadlines/time markers all at-a-glance is likely to increase your impact. While you can legally send unsolicited emails to anyone in the US without asking permission, it’s vital to keep your communications targeted and provide opt-outs. E-mail offers an easy, effective, affordable way to stay connected and build strong, lasting relationships with your customers.
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Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications
Topic:
Marketing Communications
Region:
Global,
North America
Audience:
Business to Business
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B-to-B Outlook 2009: Integrate campaigns to boost performance (BtoB Online)
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Posted: 03/08/2009
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Don’t get caught up in the doom and gloom of today’s challenging economy. “There's a lot of good news out there, in particular in the b-to-b world,” said Bob Felsenthal, BtoB publisher. According to many B-to-B marketing experts, the key is to be creative, of course, but also design multi-channel initiatives to drive prospects to the web—and ultimately to conversion. This means that marketers may need to step out of their typical corporate comfort zones and embrace social media such as forums and blogs in order to gain that coveted brand awareness and preference. So what is the future for B-to-B marketing for 2009? 31% of marketers plan to increase budgets and chances are good they will be stretching them into integrated campaigns for the most effectiveness.
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Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications
Topic:
Content Strategy,
Experience & Interaction,
Marketing Communications
Region:
North America
Audience:
Business to Business
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Expanding the Mobile Web (MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
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Posted: 03/08/2009
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Microchip maker, ARM, has partnered with Adobe to bring more Adobe software capabilities to more mobile phone users. Until now, many videos that run in Adobe Flash Players could not be viewed on cell phones due to software incompatibility. This new partnership is good news for users as well as programmers who will now have the tools necessary to build content that can work across many devices. In addition, Adobe has teamed with mobile phone manufacturers Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Qualcomm and others to standardize Adobe Flash on mobile devices. Adobe is counting on its removal of licensing fees to encourage integration of its Flash Player. Some industry insiders claim the move is a reaction to Microsoft’s comparable Flash Player, Silverlight. Possible. But, if it gets Flash to more mobile users, that’s enough for us.
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|
Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Retail & Products,
Telecommunications
Topic:
E-Commerce,
Experience & Interaction,
Marketing Communications,
Technology Implementation
Region:
North America
Audience:
Business to Business,
Business to Consumer,
Peer Groups & Communities
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We cut through the clutter of the web to highlight innovation and forward-thinking. The best stories from leading publications – hand selected and organized to provide you a single point of access.
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