Like a parent with children on opposing basketball teams I have sat in marketing department meetings and listened to internet marketers and traditional marketing experts banter back and forth about how the customer was won.
 
  In internet marketing it is relatively easy to track a campaign’s effectiveness -click a button and you know which landing page your customer came from, put a tracking code in your email marketing and measure the response, have customers text a certain response,-your mobile marketing works, etc. However campaign specific ROI has always been difficult to measure in print and traditional mediums. Which print ad worked? Did they like this media piece? Was it the campaign we launched this month or last month that worked? How do you quantify how many visited the website through the suggestion of a print medium? The convergence (buzzword bingo) of integration of print and online marketing are key factors in the success of your marketing team, but how does a team go about doing that?
 
A technology that has been on the world stage since 1994 is the answer. 
 

QR Codes are coming to a town near you!!
 
The quick response codes, better known as QR codes, are already huge in Japan and in the European market. (Ergo my reference to the Japanese cultural infusion of the 80’s in the title ) These QR codes are exploding in popularity in the American marketplace. They are in magazines, business cards, newspapers, advertising flyers, posters, even buildings, and tattoos. (taking internet dating to a whole new level). The act of linking real world objects to the web is called hardlinking or real world hyperlinking. 
 
 Here’s how it works. You take a picture with your QR reader enabled mobile device. This software is usually free or relatively inexpensive to download. The code directs the phone’s web browser to your web site, a landing page, or to an affiliate. (I clicked on a movie poster QR code and it took me a portal where I could buy the ticket online.) This quick and convenient way for your customer to go from print media to the web also allows the traditional marketer a way to track and measure the ROI of various campaigns.

Since David an I agree that getting a QR code Tattoo for Brand Advance may be a little much I will leave you with this link to the weather channel utilizing Android and QR codes.

Robert Urban

Social Media can be an extremely powerful way to grow your business if utilized correctly.   There are many aspects of your business which can be improved by integrating social media into your marketing strategy.  For example social media can be used as a customer service channel, a tool to conduct market research, a way to strengthen relationships with existing customers, a platform to build relationships with new customers, a tool to increase brand awareness and so much more.

Below is a great video of Best Buy’s CMO Barry Judge talking about how Social Media is utilized by Best Buy.  The video also touches on Barry’s thoughts on social media as a whole.

Brand Advance is excited and eager to assist you in crafting your social media marketing plan.

One thing to remember is that if you’re not utilizing social media to connect with your target audience/consumer, chances are your competitor will.  Contact us today for a free consultation.

Our team at Brand Advance is excited to add Robert Urban as our new Chief Operating Officer. Robert comes with much talent and experience that will aid in the growth of Brand Advance, including extensive experience in sales and marketing operational strategy and staffing implementation.

After being honorably discharged from the Marine Corps Robert has held various roles of responsibility highlighted by serving as the recruiting practice director for Raretec Consulting, an international recruitment and consulting firm, and acting as the Chief Marketing Officer of CareerPledge, a SAAS technology firm. His areas of expertise are in combining technology, sales, and marketing best practices to create an incredible service offering and client/customer satisfaction. He has acted as an executive marketing/technical implementation consultant to many of the fortune 500 companies and has delivered staffing and operational enterprise strategy across multiple verticals for all sizes of business.

His role with Brand Advance is to assist the CEO in concreting processes and operations, act as a marketing consultant to various companies, and lead business development through effective management of the sales team.

Robert’s business philosophy is resonant to Occam’s razor-”simplest explanation or strategy tends to be the best one.” He is also the founder of Orlando Marketing Executives Networking Group and involved in nonprofit organizations helping veterans with PTSD. He currently resides in Orlando, Fl and in his off time, he enjoys spending time with his son and girlfriend, playing guitar, chess, and fishing.

Robert, myself, and the rest of the Brand Advance team look forward to growing your business in 2010 and beyond.