QR Tag – What is it?

August 25, 2010 at 11:04 am · Filed under Spotlight

Let’s talk about “NEW” technology..

Most have never even heard of a QR TAG or QR Code, but it is growing at staggering rates and my guess is this is the next Twitter.

The QR-Ad, a new way of banner advertising
The QR-Ad is a new way of banner advertising, that addresses at the same time a web and a mobile audience. The results of our research show a significant increase of engagement.

The QR-Ad uses the banner format in two ways
a) as a normal banner to click, to go to a web destination page
b) as a support for a QR Code which can be scanned with a mobile phone equipped with a QR Code scanner.

It is really pretty straight forward, you can convert any url into an image which is then scanned by a smartphone. That smartphone will have to install the QR reader (just search applications for QR Reader). Now you will notice new QR tags everywhere, magazine ads, bus stops, tv, web and so on. You simply hold your phone up to the image, it reads the code and transfers you to the url, text or phone message…

Let’s show you how it is done, I created this one by going to http://qrcode.kaywa.com/ and typed in the address of my website.

If you scan it with your smart phone it will take you to my website. I could also do one for my phone number or text message etc…

ADVERTISERS
This is a great way to interact wtih consumers, tell them more, direct them to a point of sale online, etc…
Learn more by vising the links below. Let us know how you use QR Codes, or let us help you find a way to incorporate them into your advertising.

5 interesting ways to use QR Codes

QR codes. What they are, and how they can help sell houses

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Marketing tips from a measuring cup

August 17, 2010 at 8:24 am · Filed under Consumer Minds, Spotlight

I love when we come across good video like this, a real inspiration. Alex Lee shows some great examples here of people who really looked at things and improved them, even when people may not have seen a need for improvement, they accepted the product as it was, It did the job and there was no further thought put to it…expect for a few truly inventive people!

Product developers everywhere could learn a lesson from OXO’s angled measuring cup (shown at right), which was born out of some very simple, very smart research.measuring-cup.png

In the video below, the president of OXO International, Alex Lee, tells about how his researchers observed ordinary consumers using their (non-angled) measuring cups. Users would fill up the cup part way, then bend over to check the level – then fill some more, then bend over again to check the level. This pointed the way for OXO’s innovation: showing the amount-markings at an angle, so users can easily read the amount as they fill the cup.

But here’s the thing about the research: customers never said they wanted an angled measuring cup. In fact, users weren’t even aware that there was a problem to be solved. Consumers didn’t say, “I wish I could read the markings more easily.” They muddled through without complaint. And yet the innovation came directly from observing customers. How?

Simply by observing the customer experience. The job of any product developer, any innovator, is to identify an unmet need – a pain point – a market opportunity – and the best way of doing that is by observing customers. Which means their actual real-world behavior – what they do, not what they say they do. This reveals the genuine customer experience.

Good research like this doesn’t ask customers leading questions, and it doesn’t have to ask customers to design a solution. It simply requires watching and listening. Once you observe that “customers seem to spend a lot of extra energy to read the amount,” the stage is set for the solution.

resource : goodexperience.com

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“Will you create a poster for me for my missing cat?”

July 10, 2010 at 8:02 am · Filed under Spotlight

Ok, try and get by the header and ads on the side of this blog, cause this one is worth reading. Not sure if it is a true story as they say, but this is a conversation between a secretary and a graphic designer about putting together a poster for her missing cat! You gotta read it!

http://bit.ly/caIhFi

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Great SM case studies – Talk about inspiration

June 22, 2010 at 7:50 pm · Filed under Spotlight

Feeling stuck, not sure how you can use Social media for your business? Check out these great case studies that show their success in using Social media to boost sales, traffic and fans.

5 Small Business Social Media Success Stories

A salon, bookstore, personal coach, bakery and a retail shop share their SM strategy and success stories. Great inspiration.

26 Social Media Marketing Examples In DepthLisa Braziel is writing a series of posts taking an in depth look at 26 of Peter Kim’s social media marketing examples including Animal Planet, Clorox, Exxon Mobil, Delmonte Foods, and Best Western.

Non-profits that Tweet

From Beth Kanter: Great roundup that includes list and examples of non-profits on twitter. Includes links to several different aggregated listings of non-profit Twitter pages. Includes link to Mashable’s rundown of 26 Charities and Non-profits Who Tweet.

3 Social Media Lessons From the Restaurant World

GovTwit Directory

Drectory of government agencies using Twitter with the goal of including all facets of government on Twitter: state and local, federal, contractors, reporters, academics, judicial branch and more. The list will be a living list and will be kept updated via BearingPoint’s own research, as well as submissions from site readers.

Terrific set of case studies of social media in federal, state and local governments. The Collaboration Project is an independent forum of leaders committed to leveraging web 2.0 and the benefits of collaborative technology to solve government’s complex problems.

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Ad Age Picks YouTube’s Best Ads (or At Least 20 of Them)

June 2, 2010 at 7:15 pm · Filed under Good reads

“No more are TV ads simply foisted on the public. Increasingly, brands and agencies are focusing less on what is being skipped on TV and more on creating ads people really want to watch. YouTube is a daily referendum on the world’s video, and increasingly ads are part of that mix. Not only do ads build TV-sized audiences on YouTube, these are audiences that actively seek out the content, giving brands incredible engagement with consumers.”

http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=143149

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The 100 most creative people 2010

May 28, 2010 at 9:16 am · Filed under Creative kicks, Spotlight

Fast Company lists everyone from Google to Gaga, in their 2010 – 100 Most Creative People in Business. Many stood out but I wanted to highlight this 14 year old prodigy. Yup 14 and she has over 54,000 people reading what she writes – EVERY DAY! This blogger started at 11, she has been steadily increasing her following for the last 3 years. How you might ask?

“I try to make everything creative because it’s stimulating,” she says. “There is this great Stanley Kubrick quote somewhere about how life is sort of bad and how creating is important because it lets a little light in. Do stop me before I sound too much like one of Annie Hall’s ex-boyfriends.”

Bottom line – “FIND SOMETHING THAT IS STIMULATING – MAKE EVERYTHING CREATIVE!”

To ck out this young blogger

Web Site http://www.thestylerookie.com/

Twitter tavitulle

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Sample Social Media Policy

May 25, 2010 at 8:02 pm · Filed under Business strategies

Sample Social Networking Policies

Below are some suggested policies that you can incorporate into an official company policy:

The following is the company’s social media and social networking policy. The absence of, or lack of explicit reference to a specific site does not limit the extent of the application of this policy. Where no policy or guideline exist, employees should use their professional judgment and take the most prudent action possible. Consult with your manager or supervisor if you are uncertain.

  1. Personal blogs should have clear disclaimers that the views expressed by the author in the blog is the author’s alone and do not represent the views of the company. Be clear and write in first person. Make your writing clear that you are speaking for yourself and not on behalf of the company.
  2. Information published on your blog(s) should comply with the company’s confidentiality and disclosure of proprietary data policies. This also applies to comments posted on other blogs, forums, and social networking sites.
  3. Be respectful to the company, other employees, customers, partners, and competitors.
  4. Social media activities should not interfere with work commitments. Refer to IT resource usage policies.
  5. Your online presence reflects the company. Be aware that your actions captured via images, posts, or comments can reflect that of our company.
  6. Do not reference or site company clients, partners, or customers without their express consent. In all cases, do not publish any information regarding a client during the engagement.
  7. Respect copyright laws, and reference or cite sources appropriately. Plagiarism applies online as well.
  8. Company logos and trademarks may not be used without written consent.

Remember that this is only a sample and framework for social media policies. In developing policies and procedures for your company, you should tailor the language to reflect the culture and the company environment. Depending on the usage of social media, policies should be more or less explicit, particularly in defining terms.

This policy was originally posted here.

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Facebook to big to ignore

May 13, 2010 at 12:43 pm · Filed under Social media marketing, Spotlight

I hear it all the time, do I really need to be on facebook. I want that to be for friends, not for business, I hate when I get bombarded with business while I am enjoying my “personal” time.

The answer is clear – YES you do and here is why!

Facebook is simply too big, with people spending on average 7 hours per month on facebook you can not ignore the opportunity to capture their attention. You can be sensitive about how you attract that attention, offer menu specials if you are a restaurant, offer coupons if you are a retail outlet, offer tips and trick if you are a service oriented business. But remind people you are around and that you have something they can use!

7 things you can do to utilize Facebook to market your business. http://bit.ly/9ZMA05

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Verizon – failed at communications

April 23, 2010 at 8:04 am · Filed under Spotlight

The entire state of Colorado and Wyoming Verizon customers had no cell service. This can happen, we all know that mother nature can cause havoc and perhaps the wind storm took down the giant? Or not…, by what you see from online customer chatter it was an issue with a switch in Denver? The ironic thing is, VERIZON is synonyms for COMMUNICATION, and clearly Verizon did not communicate an ounce to their customers. They send out emails on a monthly basis about new phones etc, so we know they have customer email database, but did they send out an alert to customers of the down service? NOPE….Did they send a notice via Twitter?, nope again. But they did post that they recycle 23 million pounds of material as yesterday was Earth Day afterall – go Verizon…How bout to their over 8oo thousand fans on Facebook? Nope again, but they asked what your favorite music is…and many pages of F/B fans were talking, or growling about the down time right on the Verizon F/B page.

So why did the Communication Giant not take advantage of the tools they have available? Such an easy two minute post to reach thousands of customers. Customers today expect it. They want to know that the Company knows there is a problem and they are working on it. That little message (140 characters is all it takes) can play a huge part in how customers respond. Most of us in our nature, give everyone a little slack, we understand that things come up, but we are all more forgiving if the message is communicated.

Next time, Verizon, just reach out with a Tweet, a post and email to your loyal customers. Something simple perhaps: “Colorado Customers, we feel your pain….the blah blah blah caused us to go down, we expect return in ## hrs/days.” That is all, there really is no excuse for Companies – especially of this caliper to not communicate with it’s consumers, you have to believe they have a Social Media department or at least a person to monitor and communicate…But maybe they didn’t get the message either, took the day off since they had no cell service?

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Marketing or blatant lies?

April 14, 2010 at 12:39 pm · Filed under Consumer Minds

by Nattana Johnson, MGC

Marketing has gotten a bad rap, as has media. While these concepts themselves aren’t bad, neither are all of us who work hard to promote things we believe in. The problem is, it only takes a few “LOUD TALKERS” and bam – we all get a bad name. Don’t lump us in with devious attorneys just yet.

From the consumer side, how many of us feel like we have been duped into buying something, to find out later that it’s all garbage. I just discovered my favorite sweetener is basically poison. And trust me, I have done my due diligence. I know not to use fructose, not to use “fake” sweeteners that come in fun, colorful packets at the restaurant, and I think I am doing a good job by buying agave. Yup, it comes from the same plant as tequila – that has to be good, right? All natural, from cactus, right?  WRONG. But the marketers sure did their job. They made agave look like the next best thing to whole grain. Now I find out that it’s poison, with nothing to regulate it. How does this happen? Who can we trust? It makes me mad as hell from a consumer standpoint, but it makes me even more angry from a marketer’s standpoint. It tarnishes everything we do, waters the messages down. Why believe us when we say that our clients have the best product on the market? How do you know if I’m telling the truth? I guess if you know me you do, but as a good marketer I hope to reach a lot more people than just those who know me.

I’ll get off my soapbox now, but shame on marketers who do us all injustice by promoting lies.

More about the evils of AGAVE – http://bit.ly/93Qq3I

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