Super Bowl Sunday is quickly approaching. I always find it amazing how much advertisers spend on a 30 second slot. I found this awesome infographic from Adweek that really breaks down many different aspects of advertising historically during the big game. Traditional media definitely has its place, and the Super Bowl is one of those places, but online marketing and tools for analytics & conversion optimization really help you measure your return on investment for your advertising spend. When you're watching the Super Bowl think about the investment it took for the commercial to be there.

This year 30 second slot on the Super Bowl....$3.5 million

-David

Recently, a survey was sent out to Americans between the ages of 16-25, and were asked who they believed are the greatest innovators of our time. Not so suprisingly, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerburg were among the list--along with Thomas Edison and Alexander Bell. However, what is suprising, is that most of these correspondents proclaimed that they themselves would never join in the hunt for being the next big creator. Why? They say that innovation isn't really nurtured in their curriculum, thus leaving them unprepared to pave a path through technology, science or math. 

Its amazing that in a generation of exponential growth in opportunity, students and young adults feel discouraged by their lack in education in these specific fields. However, I almost need to disagree with these "hopeless" individuals. These "great innotaors" left such a notable fingerprint because they had a vision and they stuck to it. 

At the end of the day, the only person stifling your innovation is yourself. 

"Innovation distingquishes between a leader and a follower." - Steve Jobs

For full article, click here.

One of the most effective ways to grow your business is by activating your existing customers. Each of us have our own personal and professional circle of influence.  Your customers are no different.  People also tend to associate with others that have similar interests to them or are in similar careers.  Therefore your customers may be gatekeepers that can open the door to a large amount of new business for you.

I hope you found this post to be valuable.  So what do you think?  Did I miss anything?

Feel free to tweet @davidbrim and let me know your thoughts.

David 

As I sat there, engaging in the usual side chat prior to class, I was astonished when two out of the 5 people sitting involved in the conversation stated: “I don’t have a LinkedIn profile—should I?” The remaining three, myself included, just stared blankly trying to think of a polite way of gently saying “OF COURSE YOU NEED A LINKEDIN PROFILE!?!” Aside from the fact that we are in the final semester of our MBA program, and should know better, the fact of the matter is, there are a lot of people who don’t recognize the benefits that LinkedIn can have for themselves and their company.

All too often, we find ourselves weighing the pros and cons with clients of today’s social sources and their potential impact on their brand recognition. Though it may take some time to warm up to the idea of Facebook, or Twitter, we will never negate the benefits that LinkedIn can have on business. LinkedIn has created a virtual “corporate mingle” for everyone in search of that next opportunity via contacts and past clients, industry related groups and more.

LinkedIn’s latest innovation in establishing your next corporate catalyst is their new mobile application, CardMunch. Statistics show that 10 billion business cards are printed every year. Rather than reflecting the next episode on Hoarders "Burried Alive by Business Cards," this app allows you to take a snap shot of a new contact’s business card, instantly identifying personal connections, business history, mutual groups and more; and then saving a digital copy of the card to your phone.  Now you can build your company network with the click of a button.

Click here for featured article on Mashable.

A recent study shows that corporations prefer iOS over BlackBerry, Android, and other platforms. Security and vulnerability issues were among the top concerns for choosing iOS and limiting access to as few platforms as possible.

Evidently, if you want to reach the mobile corporate employee, your strategy should have a fairly heavy focus on iOS. This means your apps, web apps, ads, and other tactics should be iOS friendly before all else.

But it also means BlackBerry should not be neglected, with a strong 29% usage, just 1% behind iOS. Android and Windows Phone remain important platforms for businesses as well, and an argument can be made to include them in your strategy.

Clearly, however, Symbian and other mobile platforms may not be cost effective targets for your interactive marketing, if you're trying to reach business consumers.

What mobile platforms do you currently reach, and do you reach each platform differently? Let us know on Facebook.

Frank Sinatra once said “I’ve got the world on a string.” At the time, it was purely metaphorical. Today, realistically speaking, he's relatively out of date. No disrespect to Frank, but a string…how 1990’s of him. Thanks to our friends over in Mountan View, California, we don’t even need that “string” to have the world around our finger--more like at our fingertips. But in fear of sounding condescending, it wasn't all that long ago that that the idea of having the world on a string was but a daydream. 

Less than 20 years ago, Google developed an algorithm--just your typical "geek speak" used by the computer gurus that essentially means "operation process"—that revolutionized the way people viewed the world on the internet. While most search engines, such as Yahoo—and forgive my lack luster description—ranked websites based on relevant words present on the page—for example: "best pizza in Orlando". Soon enough, companies were shoving those “hot topics” down our throats, just so that they could make it to the top of the search list. Google on the other hand, created a search engine that ranked websites based on their popularity—or credibility, if you will. So rather than having spam-like sites at the top, you had legitimate sources that earned their top slot by other people’s confidence in their content, and linking to the site on their own page.

This idea of utilizing other people’s confidence in a site to determine value was only stimulated with the colossal onset of social media. Now you had the general public critiquing and sharing their opinions on everything from a meatloaf recipe to a hotel they stayed in. With these social changes affecting the way people view the world, and make decisions, Google has decided to harness its power, and run with it.

Last week, Google announced a new addition to their search engine called "Search Your World". Along with its current "page-rank" algorithm, Google will offer you the option to search with a new algorithm—one that allows you to pull references from the world reservoir and your world. "Huh?"—that's what I thought…here's a video that was provided by Google on the day they announced their new addition:

You see, now you can view what the World is saying about your search, and what life experiences your network shared along with it. So now if one of my friends decides to Google "Croatia", in hopes of determining their next summer vacation, a Twitter image of me posing above the city of Dbrovnik will appear; along with maybe an article of Prince Harry partying in Hvar, posted on a friends' Blog.

I love the idea of aggregating the knowledge of the world and the opinons of my friends—well, most of my friends. 

"What a world, what a life—I’m in love." – Frank Sinatra

Are you incapable of love?

Well if you don’t love Miracle Whip, you are—as a girl confesses in their new “Love us or Hate us?--We're Not for Everyone" Ad campaign.

Love us…or Hate us? Yes, as shocking as it may sound, Miracle Whip has taken the bold approach of offering the antithesis to a pro-product campaign. Whether corporations are willing to admit it or not (usually not), there is always going to be someone out there who wishes they could press the “hate it” button on their beloved product.  So rather than embed detractors in their promotions, Miracle Whip has actually decided to spotlight them.

What?!

No, they are not real mayonnaise. Yes, they know that they are not real mayonnaise; and No, they are not going to try and pass their product off as mayonnaise. By Golly! I think they’re on to something!

With their distinct flavor, Miracle Whip has given people the opportunity to state what they love or hate about their uniquely flavored product. So while one gentleman thinks the secret ingredient is Miracles, the other may think it tastes like “spreadable lotion.” Either way, they’ve got our attention.

Do I hear sounds of apprehension? I know. Why would any company want to put their weaknesses on a pedestal for their mayonnaise loving, Miracle Whip hating "Haters" to proclaim their distain? There is way too much risk in allowing the population to freely post their opinion. What if the Haters drastically outweigh the Lovers? Or what if the constant negative opinion begins to influence the lovers into reevaluating their relationship status with this mayonnaise imposter? Miracle Whip could become the ostracized condiment of the playground!!!

Well, here is where I’m going to rebut the contemplation previously stated.

1. First, let’s examine the obvious evidence—we’re talking about it! And not only are we talking about it, the entire sandwich-loving nation is talking about it. With the constant exposure—positive or negative—at the end of the day its exposure. Do I hear an "Amen" from miss Lindsay Lohan in the corner of the courtroom? 
2. By embracing their negatives, Miracle Whip is not only the cool condiment on the block with its radiating self-esteem, they are welcoming. They have provided a place where both Lovers and Haters can share a commonality—Miracle Whip. As haters share their very foundation to their dislike for the faux mayo, they are still endorsing the product through participation.  Genius!
3. TBD. That’s me. I am one of thousands who are probably inadequately prepared to make such a big decision. I haven’t had Miracle Whip in years; so now it looks as if I am going to have to march over to my local grocer to examine the evidence and buy myself a bottle. Boom. Sale. I haven’t even decided yet, and Miracle Whip is already +1 with my purchase.  Even better, if I like it, I will be a revived lover of Miracle Whip!

At the end of the day, the defense rests, Miracle Whip is on top. Whether it’s on top of your sandwich or on top of your least favorite right below Hitler, it is on top of everyone’s mind.

"Love me or hate me, both are in my favor...If u love me, I'll always be in your heart...If u hate me, I'll always be in your mind" -Shakespeare

So, let me ask. Are you a Lover or a Hater?

This one goes out to all of the meat lovers out there…and all opposing sides for that matter. Let me rephrase: This one goes out to everyone with an opinion on Taco Bell! (ok, I think that covers everyone)

As you may of heard, Taco Bell is currently tap dancing in the middle of a nonsensical law suit claiming that their beefy burrito is not so beefy. Famous for its quick and cheap, yet authentically delicious Mexican cuisine, Taco Bell was astonished when a Californian woman began staking claims that the meat that fills those bulging burritos is only 35% real meat! This woman was literally placing Taco Bell’s reputation on the slaughtering block (pun intended) and ready to hack away the fast food giant’s alleged lies on providing consumers with an all-beef product.

Taco Bell, true to form, was ready to fight back—but in an especially modern way. Rather than bash naysayers, Taco Bell is going all Jiu Jitsu on PE—I mean, the opposing parties, and using the momentum from the negative press to prove their quality and customer loyalty. First President and CEO Greg Creed took the defense by providing online footage of him presenting the facts: Taco Bell is made with 88% real beef, the same we would buy at our local grocery stores. Then he continues to tell us the secret ingredients composing the other 12%. With the video placed on Taco Bell’s website, all parties interested in gaining the honest facts, can hear it from the boss man himself.

What Taco Bell did next to rebuild its reputation and fanship deserves a round of applause—they turned to Social Media (do I hear you clapping). Greg Creed announced that as of  Wednesday morning on the 9th day of February, Taco Bell would give away a coupon for a free taco for the first 10 million people that “like” their Facebook Page. “What? Free Tacos? Yes please!!!” Immediately, my inner college freshman took over—and next thing I knew, I was the proud new fan of Taco Bell and coupon recipient! Genius!

Not only are they giving this woman, and “opposing parties,” a swift virtual ass kicking, they are completely rejuvenating their brand. On top of it, sales are probably sky rocketing with the facebook giveaway. I don’t know about you, but one taco is not going to fill me up; but I will get reeled in to go get use out of my complimentary coupon, and then bite the bullet and spend the extra $3 to get the rest of my Mexican meal. By 1:00pm I felt as if I have been on a passport-free trip to Mexico without the hassle of customs or fear of being kidnapped—this campaign is GREAT!

At the end of the day, this woman will probably lose (the lawsuit—pride is already gone),  and Taco Bell will only enhance their reputation as being the best quick Mexican fix, with the beef and prices we love. If I ever get the opportunity to meet Greg Creed, I will thank him: First for the fourth meal…and then for using social media the way it was meant to be used—brands and fans.

I love clever people. I love creative people. I love wit. That is the reason I decided to pursue a career in marketing and advertising after being honorably discharged from the Marine Corps.

Every relationship, whether between friends, between lovers, between families, or between a business and its customers is about communication. The foundation of general communication is an understanding of what makes people tick or in “marketing language”- the human condition. The human condition encompasses the experiences of being human in a social, cultural, and personal context.

One of my favorite things to work on are coming up with advertising campaigns or public service announcements that are going to evoke powerful feelings and tug on your heartstrings. If done properly these can make you laugh, make you cry, or move you to participate in a cause. Here are ten of my favorite campaigns and why I like them.

1. Where’s the Beef?

This Wendy’s campaign gets my vote for the sheer effectiveness of it. 30 years later and I still remember the catchphrase. Often slogans or idioms make it into our everyday vernacular long after we forget who the actual company or what the product they represented was for.

2. Embrace life

This next campaign gets the nod because it makes a hugely personal connection with me. I am very close with my son, my girlfriend Beth, and her daughter. This video always reminds me of being loved by them and makes me want to wear my seat belt whenever I watch it. Also many seatbelt campaigns use horrific images to get the audience’s attention and instead this company used artful and poignant interpretation and beauty to get the same point across. (This is my all-time favorite)

3. Real men of Genius

Just because I still love almost all of the power rock bands. (I sometimes work out to old Poison and GnR) While I love all of the commercials this example of the really bad dancer strikes close to home, because while I am pretty good at many things, dancing is not one of them.

4. Look out for Cyclist-Awareness test

Anytime that a commercial can make millions rewind a video to see if they missed something that really happened you know they did something right. Well choreographed.

5. What Happens Here, Stays Here- Las Vegas

I love destination management and have cut my teeth on more than a few tourism or cultural marketing campaigns and CVB campaigns. I always found it ironic that Vegas touted itself as a family destination when in all reality it wasn’t. Disney, Seaworld, Orlando Science center-yes. Las Vegas,  Key West during fantasy fest, and the red light district in Amsterdman-no. Vegas embraced its hedonistic secularity and yelled this is who we are and the records in attendance proved that it worked.

6. Chuck Norris- Mike Huckabee

Anytime we mention Chuck Norris there is proverbial arrgh as he has become overplayed and cliché now. However I thought this ad was brilliant because this time was the pinnacle of the Chuck Norrisisms. Huckabees campaign manager rode the wave of a real time trend  to make Huckabee’s commercial more engaging. Little known fact- Chuck Norris’s tears cure cancer. Too bad he never cries.

7. Geico’s Piggy commercial

While I never quite understood the Gecko commercials I do think Geico has some other brilliant ad campaigns. From the drill instructor turned psychiatrist to the antiques road show spin-off there is some great writing. However taking the simplicity of a common child’s rhyme and making it into a commercial is something the rest of us in advertising thought why didn’t I think of that?

8. Intel- Rock Star campaign

This campaign shows a senior engineer from the company walking along the halls to much fanfare with rock star like status

9. Obesity is Suicide

 This campaign ties in graphic images and horrific death elements to give the message that we are killing ourselves by not watching what we eat. It reminds us that unhealthy eating habits are a choice. I like this one because I think it uses lateral thinking to place two elements together that sends a resounding message. Brandon Knowlden is one of my favorite art directors and I think his work is brilliant. 

10. Hard Rock Casino Campaign

This is one of the most clever ads I have seen put out in a long time. One of the best cultural institution videos I have seen. In the words of my father after seeing that video for the first time “Right on!!”

International Data Corporation predicts that the number of mobile application downloads worldwide will grow from 10.9 billion in 2010 to 76.9 billion in 2014. The market intelligence company also anticipates mobile app revenues will surpass $35 billion in 2014.

Ever since the iPhone introduced the app store into their mobile repertoire, it has opened the floodgates to an entirely new arena for businesses to compete in. Not only are companies figuring out how to engage and inform their targeted clientele through mobile development, they are exploring the financial “app”ortunity from creating a successfully branded app.

“Sure, apps are cool—but where is the financial benefit from it?”  This is a continuous battle between companies and their decision of whether to adopt this new technology. In order to shed some light on why the answer for these indecisive corporations is a "HELL YES!," this is where we are going to emphasize the importance of branded applications.

Companies world-wide have adopted this advantageous advertising, giving them the leg up on the competition. By taking your brand and amalgamating it among an application interface, you are left with a business to technology hybrid. Your company’s application will make your brand incessantly accessible, subconsciously advertising your product or services constantly.

Sound little over the top? Let’s take a look at some of these companies who took advantage of this business “app”ortunity, and are now reaping the benefits from it. These are some of 2010’s top applications, as well as some of our personal favorites over at Brand Advance.

1. Ifood Assistant by Kraft

Kraft recognized the advantages of the app store’s growing market; and in 2008 conceived their app child ifood Assistant. Since iFood Assistant’s conception, it has made iTunes’ list of top 100 paid apps as well as being featured in their Lifestyle section. The brand informs its target market of useful recipes by category, while also providing shopping lists (which conveniently have Kraft products peppered throughout). The application even provides a recipe box, allowing you to save these Kraft recipes—nearly guaranteeing future Kraft purchases. Kraft has said that more than 60% of the people, who have downloaded the app since it hit the market, are still interacting with it today. ;The company maximizes its ROI by featuring Kraft-intensive recipes, and gaining loyalty through coupon distribution through their app. All-in-all Kraft has successfully done what the other recipe guru, epicurios, has done, but is using it to their advantage.

2. Snow and Ski Report by REI

REI being the winter extraordinaire for outdoor sports decided it was their turn to stake their territory on the mobile mountain with their Snow and Ski Report by REI application. This application offers real time insight to skiers favorite ski resort and slope conditions. Even as a Floridian, this app was my best friend while on my winter get-away in the Rocky's. The second I landed in Denver, I used this app to check the snow reports, five day forecast and resort conditions. Instantly decided that my wimpy Florida blood was going to need some serious extra body heat and used the app to direct me to the nearest REI.  An hour later, I had myself some new gloves and hand warmers; and REI had another sale. Isn't technology amazing?

3. Chipotle Ordering

This is one of my all-time favorites (and not just because its located across the street from the office). Chipotle is the “fast-food” restaurant that has done it right. Already a quick in and out dining experience, Chipotle has made it even faster. This chain had already won my heart with its group ordering option on their website; but the phone app sealed the deal. Now, when I find my inner burrito screaming out, rather than going to Moe’s, I instantly open my Chipotle app, find a location near me, and enter in my order. With my payment information already logged in, the only thing left for me to do is by-pass the line and pick up my delicious burrito bowl! Hungry yet?

4. Grooveshark for Android

This is a web-based music site giving visitors the option to create free playlists, rather than a random commercial ridden selection (Pandora, cough cough) that has now made itself even more accessible with its app for android (note: if your iphone has been jailbroken, then you too can enjoy the melodies of grooveshark). For a mere $5 per month, you can have unlimited access to any, and all, the music that you desire…you can see why the iphone hasn’t adopted the app yet, in fear of it competing with their beloved itunes’ sales.

5. Zippo

This I thought was a brilliant way to keep the essence of a brand alive through the use of applications. With the onset of an increased decline in smokers over the past few years, Zippo has seen a dramatic decline in their own quintessential and personality plated lighters--famous among rockers and concert attendees. In order to overcome the deterioration of lighter sales, Zippo kept the essence alive by tapping into the underlying nostalgia behind their brand by developing an app  that gives you the opportunity to choose from hundreds of lighter designs. Now, while everyone else are swaying their boring cell phones in the air at a concert, you can rock your personalized Zippo lighter…and for just 99 cents you can buy one for each of your favorite bands.

6. Barclay Waterslide Extreme

This app I found featured on mashable, and had to throw in there to show off this company’s innovation in applying social to a stereotypically stale business environment. As a credit card company, Barclaycard figured out a way to make credit advertising entertaining again. With the positive feedback coming in from their fun and playful tv commercial, they decided to piggyback off that momentum to create a business app. They figured, why not let everyone have a go. So now, by downloading their extreme waterslide, you can experience the fun for yourself as you collect objects and avoid obstacles. To date, about 17 million people have downloaded the branded waterslide, encouraging Barclay to download a rollercoaster version—which has been downloaded 9.7 million time since July.

7. MLB

For all of you baseball fans out there, MLB went above and beyond to keep us in the know. Winning the Best Mobile Video and Best iPad Branded App at the 2010 MOBI Awards, MLB.com app caters to the fans. Basically, the MLB app provides a glorified subscription to their MLB.TV, giving us full access to live video and local audio coverage, as well as video archives, game standings and other stats. So now when I need to check out how my Red Sox are doing, I’m just one Fenway Frank away from being at the real thing.

The latter part of last year I gave two presentations on marketing strategy, social media, search engine optimization and branding. The first was to a group of start up entrepreneur CEO's at an Excellence in Entrepreuneurship course, and the second was at the Invention to Venture Conference.

I thought that those who couldn't attend either may find the presentation helpful, so I've added it below. 

I hope it helps!

Have a wonderful and prosperous 2011.

Feel free to contact me with any questions, or if you'd like assistance in implementing these strategies.

Cheers,

David

As I began my morning regimen of getting myself functional, heading to work, flipping open my laptop and getting my daily dose of the world’s ever trekking technology from my usual gadget gurus, I immediately zeroed in on a story featured on Mashable—“Maine Student Laptop Program”. I don’t know what drew me too it; it seems simple enough in today’s society. But somewhere in the first few sentences the words: project, podcast, and virtual tour, were all used to describe a middle school project in one of the education programs in Maine. WHAT? I instantly read on…

In 2002, Maine decided to take its one-time $37 million surplus and put it towards a contract with Apple, calling it the Maine Learning Technology Initiative. In this contract, they provided 33,000 middle school students and 3,300 teachers with laptops. Again, I find myself wondering “WHAT?” and making the awkward face I do when I enter a state pure perplexed-ness (…and then begin making up words) A computer for every student? Immediately I feel a twinge of jealousy, longing to be a student at that school.

For most of us, getting out of school was the pinnacle of our adolescent/young adult life—no more homework, no more dress code, no more endless trudging through the hallways to another hour of boredom. However, as I read of Maine’s school projects utilizing the technology to its fullest by conducting history lessons through digital podcasts produced by the students, it became impossible to suppress the green monster within me.

It seems so cliché to say “back in my day, we didn’t have all of these gizmos,”—and trust me, I didn’t see myself saying it at the age 24—but its true! I remember thinking I was on the cusp of evolution as I was took part as the first 6^th grade class to integrate the gps into a science project.  It was the size of a brick and the screen had that awful green tint to it. None the less, I felt tech savvy at the ripe age of 12. Now, with the proper implementation, kids in Maine are given the opportunity to flex their modem muscles with technology applications that I don’t even have the opportunity to use in my graduate program!

“It’s just a part of how we do business now, and in some ways we’re starting to take it for granted,” explains Michael Muir, who helped design the leadership initiative that brought this teaching method to Maine’s school board. He describes the difficulty that teachers face when trying to prepare kids today for a world that doesn’t even exist yet. He describes some of the challenges that they faced—as well as the other 33 states who have attempted this strategy, but failed to not recognizing the proper strategy to implement the change.

As a 24 year old, recently self proclaimed technorati, I always felt that I had a pretty good grasp on the innovations being made in our world today; but felt a harsh reality check when I read the strides being made in Maine. While I was doing the Zoolander-esque computer pounding on a brick sized gps, these middle-schoolers are becoming bonafied Mark Zuckerbergs, programming their own websites for their history projects! It’s intimidating. This is the exact point Muir emphasized as to why the other states failed and Maine prevailed.

The Maine school board recognized the mental hurdle of the unknown territory, and took it head on. For the teachers, knowing that the majority of the kids you are teaching know more than you do about the devices that you’re supposed to be educating with is terrifying. With this in mind, they created workshops to edify the teachers on the functions and potential applications of their new technology. Once each were proficient, and more importantly, confident in what they were doing, the schools encouraged them to really apply the technology to more than just assigning homework. Once the seed was planted, there was no stopping the bandwidth in which these digitally enhanced classrooms could achieve.

So while I wake up to my usual regimen every day, go to work and open my laptop, the kids in Maine are doing the exact same thing. It’s amazing to think that in just a few years, these kids will be the next digital superstars, and my measly 20 something self will be on the brink of being outdated—that is, if I don’t do something about it.

With an ever changing world of exponential growth in our technology, it is imperative to recognize that it is here to benefit us and to make sure that we use it to its full potential. While some may feel that it is too late to jump on the wagon, I say stop throwing yourself a personal pity party and get out of your own way. There are plenty of people, companies, and seminars that are dedicated to updating our technical skills—so get out of your own way. As the great Jerry Maguire once said “Help me, help you.”—oh god, do these “kids” don’t even know who he is?!

Your Social Media Fairytale Your Social Media Fairytale

Do you hear them…the sound of thousands aspiring actors, singers, performers…all making their way to the city containing their wishful stardom. With nothing but hope and a dream, for decades adolescents have migrated to cities such as Los Angeles, New York, and Memphis in search of their own personal discovery. Modern Cinderella’s (no offense guys), they are all trying to get out of their self proclaimed land of rags to one of riches—they have to go to where the money is. Or is it?

With the onset of a digital world, it gives anyone the endless opportunity to create your own digital fairytale among society. This virtual age has made it possible for anyone to become the next cyber Cinderella. Whether it’s a witty blogger with a unique take on life, or a talented hopeful that is looking for their big break; the ever populating social portals make it possible to turn any average person into entertainment royalty.

Now more than ever people are being exposed to opportunities they never thought possible.sdfIn In 2004, a famous blogger was sought after for her witty writing and personal cooking conquest as she attempted to complete all the recipes in Julia Child’s cookbook in 365 days.;She was asked to write a book. That book was then turned into a movie, Julie Julia, in which Meryl Streep was nominated for an Academy Award. All of this started from just one woman in her Brooklyn apartment documenting her trials and tribulations through a confectionary madness.

Another example—that was in the somewhat recent news—was that of a young boy performing at his schools talent show. He sang a chilling version of Lady Gaga’s ‘Paparazzi’ that left the audience jaw-dropped; and was just so happened caught on tape and uploaded to youtube. The next day this young man was performing on Ellen and getting calls from Oprah. His video to date has over 2 million views on youtube.com alone.

The internet creates a platform for fairytales, where anything is possible. Now there’s no need to pack up in search of the Holy Grail Through the use of social media tools, such as Twitter, Blogs, Facebook, Youtube and many more, a single upload can change that pumpkin into that Aston Martin you’ve always wanted. You are a single click away from your fairytale ending.

From on art to another.

Mixing photography and traditional art helped create this self portrait.

I recently tasked one of our interns, Adam Lang, to write how SEO and social media were intertwined. I thought his response was very well done and am posting his reply in it's entirety on our blog.

Making the most out of Social Media... The Intertwining of Social Media and SEO

If I told you that a small company trying to rank higher in the SERPS than that of a competitor who is three times the size would be much more difficult, you would probably agree with me. Now what if I told you that the smaller company spent a little more time doing some keyword researching and applying some other on-page search engine optimization techniques to their website, while the much larger company just sat back and only had a basic website? Before you decide, take that a step further and combine the efforts of the on-page SEO with some off-page SEO such as integrating social media tactics and the small company with a few employees now looks as if they were the much larger company.

Social media transforms people from content consumers to content producers. It encourages participation: sharing, voting, commenting and linking. Social media can take many different forms, including Internet forums, weblogs, social blogs, microblogging, wikis, podcasts, pictures, video, rating and social bookmarking.

SEO considers how search engines work and what people search for. SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, video search and industry-specific vertical search engines. With the rise of Facebook, Twitter and other new medians of social media it is much easier to share viral information with your network. Reading a blog or seeing an interesting tweet and then retweeting it or linking it into your newsfeed increases that blogs’ chance of getting viewed substantially.

Combining search engine optimization with social media tactics can be greatly beneficial for the underdog. Making an effort in this can increase the discovery of your company in the social networks while also improving SEO by attracting links. Another example of this is when a customer is looking to buy a product physically at a store they are most likely going to stop by the larger store first. Now take that concept and apply it to a search engine and the company that shows up first and more so in the search rankings the more robust and reputable that company looks and the more likely it will have at obtaining that customer.

When writing blog or other social media content it is important to follow some of the same rules that apply to websites in terms of SEO.

• Editing the content to increase its relevance to specific keywords
• Optimizing the media such as the images, videos, etc.
• Removing probable barriers to the indexing activities of search engines
• Obtaining back links and inbound links from social media mentions
• Linking back to the company website for a smooth transition to key pages throughout the company website
• Keyword- rich anchor text
• Use social bookmarking sites like Digg and Stumbleupon to increase natural and influential inbound links while your social content goes viral.
• Create and optimize micro sites to use as hubs for specific social media campaigns.
• Create and optimize social media assets (Blog, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc) along with your website to ensure that you are taking up most of the space on the first page of the search.
• Tweets, retweets, and “likes” are having their effect on linking patterns and the SERPs that bring readers to blogs
• Follow others on Twitter, @ reply them, and retweet so there is a mutual engagement.
• Add applications within your blog to make it easy to share between various social bookmarking or networking sites

Intertwining SEO with social media cannot only help increase the page views of your blog or such but as well extend the value of your time and investment. With time that smaller company will look bigger than the company three times the size and will appear more in the search results. All of this effort will ultimately improve the traffic back to your website resulting in more sales.

One of the perks of working in the creative field is that part of our job is to know what new technologies or devices are coming out and how that will effect the market. What will the new Sprint Evo be capable of? Can the Ipad do this? How will the droid change marketing and application development? These are all questions that are fun to throw around and we at Brand Advance believe that keeping up to date with the most current and emerging technologies are of vital importance. My usual delight in walking into a Mac store or Best Buy is enhanced by the fact that what I am purchasing or browsing at is actually my civic duty to our client and part of my job.

I walked last night into a store with one of my coworkers to look over a new laptop when the salesperson remarked about the incredible rebate plan "xyz" computer had going. My friend asked why companies would give rebates instead of just lowering cost and it was a good conversation in traditional marketing and consumer behavior so I thought I would share.

Almost all rebates in my opinion are a great gimmick. The perceived lower cost appeals to a mass audience, without having a real lower cost. The general consensus is that rebates are offered is that most people won't take the time to fill out and send it in to get their money. Although definitely a factor, the more important consideration is this-most companies with hard products sell their products through a particular channel, but when you as a customer buy their product from a retailer, they don't get your name. They don't have your email address, your mailing address, your name or any other useful contact information to remarket to you.But if you apply for a rebate, then they've got you. They have your name in their database, and even though it may have cost them the rebate price to get your name, they can then turn around and sell your name to list rental companies or other companies that are trying to sell you other products. They can basically rent your name over and over again, and make quite a profit. They can also do follow-up marketing to you directly. They might send you a direct mail piece or an email that says, "Hey, we have such and such now" or "Do you want the new bigger badder model than the one you just bought?" (Moore's law and rule of near instant obsolescence and all that jazz).

Next time you are filling out that rebate, ask the company what they are doing with the information and you will be surprised to see the response. It is going to be interesting to see how changes on the horizon for privacy and data sharing laws are going to effect rebate programs and offerings.

Thanks for reading,

Robert

In an effort to constantly build my marketing muscles, I try to often go through a set of mental calisthenics. I think about how I would market a particular product or service, and what campaign I would recommend if it were solely my responsibility to craft the strategy.

Many times when going through a discovery with a client to learn about their business we begin the initial dialogue with the client by asking: Who do you want to buy your product or use your service? A very common answer is: “Well, everyone”. Often people forget that in most cases, there is a very targeted customer segment that has the highest propensity to buy. This is the case more often than not.

There is a product that was created that however I wrapped my head around, could not think of a market above the age of 16 that wouldn’t benefit from it. This product was called a Lifehammer- a device attached to a keychain that would allow you to cut your seat belt, break a car window, and escape in a catastrophic event.

Let me introduce you to my next point, Catastrophe Marketing™ is a marketing and advertising strategy that takes an aggressive tactic to play on the top of mind awareness in near real time events. Go back to the Lifehammer- (this is just an example, to my knowledge this company has not done this). A company would use a listening tool that scraped various news feeds for vehicles submerged and occupants trapped, people in accidents that couldn’t break through their windshield, or the case of seat belts pinning people (you get the idea) and have a near immediate advertisement about the Lifehammer product. This is an extreme example but you see its potential in multiple verticals: energy, human rights, and tons of others entering into this arena every day.

For example, as soon as the magnitude of the current oil spill became a household concern, many companies which create alternative energy solutions, environmental protection services, or other green programs ramped up their marketing and advertising efforts. Another example is when a pathogen outbreak or nasty virus hits a school and the local community gets some exposure, hand sanitizer companies should push their products heavily.

A very careful strategy has to be implemented when dealing with potential sensitive and catastrophic issues especially when there has been a loss of life. I have heard comedians joke about an issue (Sept. 11 for example) and be heckled “too soon” and turn the crowd completely against him. The same can be done with a company that deals in catastrophe marketing, but in disaster capitalism the ROI is usually measured in profit margin over public sentiment.

You are going to see more catastrophe and agenda based companies emerge and use social media platforms, traditional real time advertising, and contextual advertising to gain an emotional response purchaser.

Thanks for reading,

Robert Urban

Did you know there are over 400 million active Facebook users? How about the fact that there are over 50 million tweets every day? When you mix in YouTube, LinkedIn, blogs, Yelp, and hundreds of other social, review or community based sites what does this mean to your business? It means people are talking.

Potential customers as well as existing or past ones are talking about your business and those of your competitors. They are talking about what they like and don't like, what problems they face and if you listen closely enough...what they are looking for.

Many businesses are aware of social media and have heard stories of the power it has to significantly impact their business for better or for worse. They have heard the buzz about Facebook, Twitter and the power of the blogosphere. But how does one measure the success of a social media initiative?

This is a hot topic of discussion within the industry. There are many ways to measure a social media campaign. Some of which include relatively straight forward and traditional metrics such as:

• Increase in web traffic
• Increase in sign ups, sales or leads
• Increase in fans, friends or followers
• Increase in video views (youtube/vimeo/etc)
• Increase in customer engagement (comments, replies, brand mentions)

There however is a much more powerful way of measuring social media. That way is on the profit and loss statement of the business overtime. A profit and loss statement (Income statement) is a very basic financial instrument used to determine the financial position of a business within a given time. It's basic formula is the core of any business--> Sales - expenses= Profits.

There are two ways to make more profits....which is generally the goal of any business....Number one save costs and number two increase revenue.

Lets take a look at how social media can do both for your business.

How Social Media Can Impact your Bottom Line

Top of Mind Awareness Leading to More Sales

By engaging with your customers online you are remaining at the top of their mind. Engaging doesn't mean spamming. You simply need to interact with them, participate in conversations with them, wish them a happy birthday, etc. By keeping frequent contact online with your current and potential customers when they are ready to purchase your product or service you'll be the first company they think of resulting in more sales.

Save Marketing Dollars by Embracing Brand Advocates to Market For You

Word of mouth is the most powerful form of marketing that exists. By rewarding your brand advocates or simply interacting with them publicly those in their social circle will be exposed to your brand. Social networks, blogs and twitter are all very viral in nature. If you are interacting with a current customer through one of these channels...their friends will notice. A simple example is when someone "likes" or "becomes a fan" of your business on Facebook this update is published in the news feed of that person's friends. This inexpensive form of marketing is very powerful and effective.

Utilize Social Media as a low cost Customer Service tool

In some cases social media is great as a customer service tool. Since your consumers are talking if they have an issue show them that you are listening and respond to them promptly as possible to resolve their issue. This will keep customers happy and show them you value their business increasing the life time value of the customer.

Distribute Coupons, Special offers and Discounts to Socially Connected Customers

It's no secret that customers like deals. Offer deals specific to fans, followers and friends on your social sites to keep them spending their dollars with your business. Create fan only content on Facebook such as whitepapers, images, videos, etc to increase your social circle of influence. If customers have a time sensitive offer or great deal the chances they are going to buy will exponentially increase meaning more revenue for your business.

Less expensive Market Research via Social Media

Social media is a powerful market research tool. With it you are able to monitor consumer sentiment, desires and problems and adapting accordingly. Market research firms can be expensive often charging tens of thousands of dollars for focus groups, survey distribution, etc...Social media provides a free focus group 24 hours a day/7 days a week.

Use Social Media to Gather Cost Effective Competitive Intelligence

Chances are that your competitors are on social media. Social media offers you an easy way to keep tabs on your competition and not only see what promotions they are offering, but what consumers are saying about their products and services. Social media can keep your team aware and on their toes...always two steps ahead of the competition. This competitive intelligence can be used in a variety of ways which will favorably impact your bottom line.

Save money by Connecting with your Industry Online

Trade shows, industry networking events and training seminars can all be very expensive venues to attend. There are many industry specific directories, groups and lists on linkedin, twitter, facebook and dozens of other community sites. Engaging with industry professionals online can save you the cost of travel and also keep you up to date on industry trends without attending conferences, educational seminars, etc. These relationships may also lead to favorable business development relationships opening up channels for new customers, cross selling, joint purchases for cost savings, etc.

In addition to the cost savings and revenue generating benefits of social media above there are some aspects that are more difficult to measure than others. For example....

What if a consumer finds your brand on facebook then becomes a paying customer. He then tells his neighbor down the street or friends at the gym and they call you directly. You may not know where this consumer came from...all he may say is "Bob recommended you". Well Bob would not have found you and neither would his friend if it wasn't for social media.

Social media is like physical networking on steroids. Just as you may meet potential customers or friends at a networking event you can do the same online and so much more. The beauty of social media is that you can also empower your brand advocates or brand champions to easily share their good experiences with your brand.

If your not utilizing social media or ignoring it...know that these conversations and interactions amongst your customer base are still happening. It's vital to be aware of them and get involved....If not your competitors will.

Contact us today for a free social media consultation.

David

Recently we were referred to a growing author and successful business man to generate buzz and awareness for his upcoming book and tour. After several interactions with him it was clear that he was viewing social media as traditional "push" marketing. The points below were articulated to him in an email...specific aspects of the email relative to his business were stripped away for this post, however I thought it would still be beneficial to share this information as it may help others better understand social media and how it can help grow their business.

1. Social media is not sales

Social media creates an environment for sales to happen, but social media itself is not sales. If you go into a social setting and "sell" it is frowned upon. Selling in social media is like pushing your products in church...People go to church, just like social sites, for a purpose and it's very interrupting to "Sell" and push a message at them...It's better to engage with them and participate in conversations. This doesn't mean that you won't meet and start your relationship with your best and most profitable customers at church.

2. Word of mouth marketing is the most powerful form of marketing

When people make a purchasing decision they often ask others what their experience has been with that brand or person through a social interaction. Think of social media as Word of mouth on steroids. There are over 400 million people on facebook and millions on twitter...talking with friends, associates and family members. Crafting a solid social media campaign with a little oomph can spread this Word of mouth of your brand virally throughout each person's social circle.

3. Growing Awareness & Respectability is Key

The key to social media is connecting with people through content and meaningful interactions and revealing your expertise and thought leadership in the process. Once people know and respect you as an expert in what you do increased business and sales will follow. Think about Donald Trump, his personal brand is synonymous with business success (even though he has failed many times, as most successful people have). But the key is when Donald Trump puts out a book, tie or anything else with his name attached sales will often follow because people are aware of his his brand.

Which brings me to my next point...

4. Build a commnity

People often buy from people or brands they have a relationship with. Building up a community of loyal and engaged advocates will never hurt. It's called herd marketing....Once you have a herd (engaged audience) you can lead them where you see fit. Part of this is building your communication touch points and customer contact information....Facebook, twitter and email addresses.

5. Social Media ROI

If people are engaging with your brand and spreading the word through their social circle you're getting far more value from a well crafted social media campaign then "traditional advertising". Social media is also not measured like typical advertising...We can measure it on a profit and loss statement...but as mentioned social media is not sales, it creates an environment for sales to happen and helps you connect with your current and potential customers to break through the clutter. You measure ROI for social media over time on the overall company profit and loss statement, because it's difficult to measure where a specific sale generated from word of mouth actually came from. In social media you measure the word of mouth, communication with the brand, shares, web traffic and other key performance indicators.

If you're interested in learning more about how you can take advantage of social media to help grow your business feel free to contact us. Our team offers a free initial consultation and would be happy to assist you in finding success through social media.

David

Ever since we first smashed bricks with Mario or flipped the Tetris blocks, America has loved video games. Did you know that over one-third of cell phone users play video games through their mobile device? A branded video game, known as an advergame, has the potential to create maximum exposure for your brand by your product being displayed prominently throughout the game. This product placement is common in tv shows or movies, which adds to the verisimilitude (thanks to spell check on that one). If you are thinking about mobile application development for your business this is a fun way to engage your audience and reinforce your brand recognition. Associating your message with a "fun" activity is known to help build emotional recall. The positive sensory experience can help grow brand awareness, message association, and purchase intent. After enjoying something your company produces, your audience is more likely to remember not just the brand or product itself, but to associate specific brand attributes with it.

In honor of my love of video games past, the first person who goes to our Facebook Page and tells me what this is from gets a starbucks gift card. Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start

Thanks for reading.