Marketing On Demand

Bringing Together Two Worlds - Evernote and IdeaPaint

2011-02-24T22:44:00.005-05:00

Today's marketers are constantly looking for ways to bridge the gap between the online world and the "physical" world. Developing cross-product applications between the two worlds can be done successfully when the two compliment each other. I use an online note-taking application called EverNote. It comes in handy when I'm doing market or product research for a particular client. I can capture web sites, notes, scans, images, etc. effortlessly and deposit them into a secure, web-based folder. Along comes IdeaPaint. This physical product allows you to paint any smooth surface to create a white board for interactive collaboration between individuals and/or group brainstorming sessions.

Take a look at this video to get the real meaning of cross-product collaboration between two different worlds.

The Future According to Corning Glass

2011-02-21T17:29:00.004-05:00

I found this YouTube video about the future according to Corning Glass. It's really kind of neat, but doesn't take into account alot of the "points of failure". You know, birds flying into glass windows, mud, etc. Still, it shows what a company with VISION can attempt to create. We all need a Vision Statement. Do you have one?

QR Codes - Scanning Study

2011-01-24T11:30:00.015-05:00

I recently came across a poster that had three QR codes advertising three different educational events for teenage boys; Martial Arts, Boxing and Cross Training. You don't often see three QR codes on one advertisement. I was curious as to what the interface consequences would be if I took a scan of all three at once and then two at a time. I was using the QR Code Scanner Pro by The Jared Company. I held my BlackBerry Torch 12 inches away from the poster each time I scanned it. I took ten scans each time (three sets of ten) and the mobile web sites that launched were as follows:

Scanning all three at once:

Martial Arts - 1

Boxing - 9

Cross Training - 0

With this test, I placed my image screen so that the three were evenly lined up across my BlackBerry screen. It seems that the scanner picks up the middle of the screen 90% of the time. I'm not sure if the scanner technology scans the complete screen on my BlackBerry Torch or just down the center. The fact that it picked Martial Arts once could be because I accidently held the BlackBerry more to the left.

Scanning the two QR codes on the left:

Martial Arts - 2

Boxing - 8

Scanning the two QR codes on the right:

Boxing - 8

Cross Training - 2

The interesting thing about these last two scan tests is that both QR codes were lined up evenly in the middle of the screen, yet it still scanned the Boxing QR code most of the time. Is there such a thing as a "stronger" QR code? Anyhow, this test definitely tells me that you need to place the scanner image screen over one QR code at a time. Otherwise, you might find yourself taking multiple scans to get the mobile web site you want to view.

Ordering "Networking" Cards - Huh?

2011-01-05T10:28:00.006-05:00

Saw this Vistaprint online ad on Pandora. What caught my eye and made me click on it was that it was advertising for 250 free "Networking Cards". Not "Business Cards", but Networking Cards. In today's day and age, business seems to begin with some sort of networking "event", whether it be social networking discussion boards, invitations or live networking events. The fact that Vistaprint is advertising cards, that are traditionally known as Business Cards, as Networking Cards is quite an evolution of this print medium. How can you take your product/service and re-brand it to meet a different target market or "event"?

Quick Poll Regarding Outsourcing of Business Functions

2010-12-23T11:27:00.003-05:00

I realize that this poll isn't quite up the alley of my usual topics of discussion, but I was curious as to what business functions are looking to be outsourced in 2011. If you don't mind...

USAA - I Love These Guys!

2010-12-14T13:13:00.006-05:00

Every December I look forward to an email from USAA Insurance Company. Being an "ex-military brat", I was fortunate to take advantage of USAA's services when I started to drive through my Dad's Army service during the Vietnam War era. I receive this email from Josue (Joe) Robles Jr., Maj. General, USA (Ret.) and CEO of USAA Casualty Insurance Company every year. In short, it states;

"As a valued policyholder, you are part of the community of military families that USAA is here to serve and we are pleased to put money back in your pocket with this year's auto dividend. This dividend is a benefit as a policyholder, and it's just one of the things that make USAA different from other financial services companies. The following summarizes your dividend and we'll place a receipt in your USAA Documents Online within a few days."

This year, my check was for $115 and change. They credit that amount to my account. How excellent is that?! This form of year-end customer appreciation could be done across many industries. I will never leave USAA. Period.

Everything you know about COLOR might be wrong

2010-12-05T11:16:00.005-05:00

I recently saw this SlideShare presentation attached to my LinkedIn account page. The author's name is Will Longaphie. He's a Canadian graphic designer. He takes the time to break down the perceived primary colors and enhance their definition a bit. It's sort of a "everything you learned as a kid is wrong" approach. Interesting look at the world of color, or COLOUR as he spells it. Take a look...

On-Demand Motivational Messaging

2010-09-12T12:11:00.003-04:00

I found an interesting application that sends motivational messages directly to your cell phone. All you need to do is tell the company, MyWilson (inspired by the movie, "Castaway") which subject you need help with such as, quitting smoking, saving money, personal training, sales motivation, etc. and they will send a text message to your cell phone. You'll receive daily reminders and motivational messages to help you meet your goals. You can try it for free for 48 hours and then pay them month-to-month by credit card for a nominal fee. A simple way to use on-demand technology to keep you focused!

Aligning Marketing and Sales

2010-08-04T09:47:00.005-04:00

A good friend of mine, Joe Zuccaro, is the owner of Allinio. They are a marketing automation services company dedicated to helping firms align marketing & sales, automate lead management processes, and grow revenue. He recently posted a presentation discussing the challenges of aligning marketing and sales from a "birds-eye" view. I found this presentation extremely entertaining and right on the mark. It's critical for the Marketing department to be on the same page as the Sales department. Marketing needs to reach out to the sales folks and visit clients on a constant basis. The Sales folks need to proactively communicate with the Marketing folks on a monthly if not weekly basis. Marketing folks should be on the Sales team conference calls and in their meetings. Alignment is critical in today's business environment. Ignore it at your own peril!

Checkout Allinio's presentation below:

Live the Beautiful Game - Interactive Facial Integration

2010-07-18T12:32:00.001-04:00

Found a great interactive link sponsored by Cisco that allows you to upload a picture of your face and then integrate it into a commercial. Pretty clever stuff. Imagine if you had a database of client faces and you could create visually personalized ads distinctly for them. Pretty cool...

Great Conversation About Inbound Marketing

2010-06-10T20:00:00.005-04:00

Found this great interview about inbound marketing and social media between John Moran at BlueWave Marketing & Promotions and Brian Halligan, CEO of Hub Spot. Brian is "trying to build a California-style company in the heart of Cambridge, Massachusetts." Sounds like an exciting place to work. Check it out...

On-Demand and Online File Conversion - Zamzar!

2010-06-04T17:34:00.005-04:00

Quite often I come across a PDF document that I've created and need to make changes to that document. The problem is that I sometimes lose the original. It would be nice to "just convert" the PDF to a DOC file so that I can make those changes. Well, I came across an online (SaaS) application called Zamzar. They currently have a slew of ways to convert files of all shapes and sizes (including video) to another file type. No software to download; it's all software as a service. Give it a try at www.zamzar.com or watch the video below to learn more.

Accelerate Your Web Site - Critical On-Demand Tool!

2010-05-12T09:58:00.008-04:00

I found this Australian company called Aptimize. They make a web site load faster. It's a critical point in on-demand marketing that we sometimes overlook. All these social media web sites don't mean diddly if they are too slow to load or complete a task. The company's CEO, Ed Robinson, does a great "laymans" explanation of the benefits of Aptimize's services. His use of live action and simple animation is fantastic (from a layman's point of view, of course)! Check it out and when you're finished, download their sample report.

Bach and Integrated Marketing Campaigns

2010-01-13T09:17:00.005-05:00

I'm a huge fan of J.S. Bach. Probably because his music is full of ADHD-laced 16th notes which was common for the Baroque period of classical music. 16th notes are fast and allow for integration and scaling of other musical instruments. Bach's style was also notable for the way he built his musical compositions on a common theme. He would start out with one instrument and then add additional instruments building on the common theme. In the end, he would have a beautiful, flowing masterpiece. Just listen to the Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, 3rd movement (allegro). It builds and builds...

What does this have to do with integrated, on-demand marketing? Think about it. With a true, integrated marketing campaign, you start with a medium and specific theme (just like Bach); be it a design, message or whatever. You then add additional marketing mediums (instruments) to compliment the original medium without losing the theme. By the end of the multi-touch, marketing campaign, you will have created a beautiful, flowing masterpiece and hopefully a positive ROI for your efforts.

In the words of Corporal Walter O'Reilly of M*A*S*H fame, "Aaahhhhh, Bach"!

YouMail - Integrating your mobile phone, voicemail, email and SMS

2010-01-11T10:57:00.000-05:00

I recently signed up for a free service called YouMail.

YouMail provides a robust replacement for your mobile carriers voicemail system. Some of the features include Visual Voicemail, Voice-To-Text, Personal Greetings (they've got a whole library of these), Voicemail Sharing, Unwanted Caller Blocking and Voicemail By Email. It took around 15 minutes to set everything up and provides much more of a visual experience then my mobile carrier's voicemail system. Best of all it's free!

Another great example of integrating conventional and online marketing technology... ON-DEMAND!

YouTube Direct - On-Demand Reporting for the Rest of Us

2010-01-03T15:14:00.004-05:00

So YouTube is now offering the rest of us an opportunity to shoot video news footage and upload it to our favorite news channel's web site. The news channel gets to approve it first, of course. What a fantastic way to get grassroots video footage of breaking stories onto the Internet and airwaves. Check out the YouTube Direct video of their service offering:

Digital Marketing Mediums and Brand Marketers - Not quite on the same page

2009-12-29T09:11:00.003-05:00

Saw this informative video clip from iMedia. It's not mentioned in the video, but I heard a rumor that Pepsi is using it's $20 million Super Bowl budget on Social Media campaigns instead of the conventional mediums. Interesting stuff...

Why are brand marketers still afraid of digital? - iMediaConnection.com

"Insight from some industry experts as to why digital still hasn't dominated brand marketers. "

iMedia's marketer on the street questions why brands continue to ignore digital and opt to put the bulk of their spend into traditional media instead.

View >>

Social Media Strategy - A Practical Guide for Marketers

2009-12-28T10:35:00.002-05:00

Found this great presentation regarding Social Media Strategy courtesy of Spur Interactive. Excellent food for thought!

Integrating Online and Conventional Marketing - Zappos.com Gets It!

2009-12-10T11:44:00.003-05:00

Zappos.com Introduces a Printed Catalog

In a sign that the online marketing medium is maturing, Zappos.com, the online shoe retailer, has decided to add a printed catalog as part of their overall marketing mix, specifically to retain existing clients and to acquire new clientele. Aaron Magness, Director for Brand Marketing and Business Development at Zappos.com saw the reality of the buying public that different people respond to different media.

Being in this industry for over 23 years, I'm not surprised at all that Zappos.com has decided to make this move. I'm a big believer of merging conventional and online marketing mediums. In the right environment, both can bring value to the table.

Of course, Zappos.com is also publishing a digital edition of the catalog. Take a look at it by clicking here: Zappos Interactive Magazine!
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Focused - On-Demand Help for Distracted Minds

2009-12-03T14:28:00.002-05:00

This application shuts out all desktop distractions making it easier to focus on writing. Pretty cool!

Focused - Demo from funkyboy on Vimeo.

The End of an Era - JC Penney Goes On-Demand

2009-12-03T09:22:00.006-05:00

The end of an era. As kids, we always looked forward to receiving the JC Penny and Sear's "Big Book" catalogs in the mail around holiday time. Change is good. Like the rest of the retail industry, it seems JC Penney is moving to focus its marketing efforts online, on mobile applications, and smaller, more personalized catalogs. These personalized catalogs will no doubt be smaller in size. I wonder if they will still make that "flippity" sound of pages turning fast to get to the toy section!

So I have a question: How is moving a cultural icon like the JC Penney "Big Book" catalog to a smaller size and online format change the perception of that organization? Are some "old school" marketing mediums better off left alone? See the press release by clicking here.

Social Network Contacts and Followers - Like a Bag of Marbles?

2009-11-22T20:21:00.005-05:00

A friend said something to me over the weekend that struck a cord. He said, "I've got all these LinkedIn contacts but I've never gotten anything from them." I thought it was interesting that he felt if he collected a bunch of contacts, a miraculous event would occur. I replied to his comment with, "contacts are not like marbles; you don't collect them for collecting's sake. You need to collect contacts so that you can leverage them to glean information from them." Social networking applications are ripe with sub-applications such as Quick-Polls, Surveys and Online Presentations; all with the ability to have your contacts participate and comment. Use these applications to help you gather information to assist you with on-the-job research and other business knowledge. In other words, make sure you play with your marbles.

A Printer Manufacturer talks about a Campaign Manager Solution?

2009-11-09T11:11:00.005-05:00

Just saw a brief clip on WhatTheyThink.com regarding campaign management tools. The speaker was Kodak's Aaron Tavakoli. He's the Kodak Product Manager for their Insite product family of solutions. I'm seeing more and more of the major print manufacturers opening up to non-print equipment solutions. I believe you'll begin to see a few of the major print manufacturers migrating a large portion of their revenue streams into more software solution sales. After a while, the technology of the presses becomes so subtle that these companies need to differentiate themselves in ways other than a "my press is bigger than your press" type of mind-set. Manufacturer's software and customer service solutions are going to be the money makers in the near future. Imagine buying a digital press like you would a cellphone and only paying for the services it integrates itself with. Who knows, maybe one day you'll find yourself buying a press for $19.99 with a two year contract. What do you think?

Walk the Walk: Using Your Digital Print Technology to Market Yourself

2009-10-21T10:41:00.005-04:00

I saw this great article by Shelley Sweeney, VP of the Service Bureau and Direct Mail Segments at Xerox, that addresses one of the most challenging issues that print producers are dealing with in today's changing economy. It overflows with marketing on-demand symbolism and feedback. Although it mentions using "Digital Print Technology", it's fair to say that all print producers have the capability in some way, shape or form to produce these type of campaigns. The bottomline is that the print producers need to start marketing themselves by using these technologies and solutions to increase revenue and stop "waiting until I get a customer who needs it". Hats off, Kudos and big SHOUT OUT to Shelley for taking the time to get this message out!

CLICK HERE to read the article!

Fantasy Football and Vegas Style Gambling... On Demand!

2009-10-09T09:59:00.004-04:00

A friend of mine recently launched a new online sports portal that combines fantasy football and Vegas style gambling. It's called FanGamb, short for Fantasy Gambling. The beauty of the site is that you get all the thrill (and frustration) of gambling without all the RISK! Checkout the video of the site:

FanGamb 2009 from FanGamb on Vimeo.

They even created a viral marketing aspect of the site by allowing you to set up your own league and invite 15 of your friends. Once that happens, they'll mail you a $20 Visa Gift Card. That's enough to buy a case of beer and big bag of pretzels!

On-demand fantasy sports, gambling and viral networking with a dash of incentive thrown in. I tip my hat off to the guys at FanGamb!

Nice URL Shortening Service with Reporting!

2009-10-08T12:01:00.005-04:00

I know there's alot out there with regards to shortening long URLs. However, I recently found one (through a posting on LinkedIn) that adds quite a bit more than the usual. It's a service offered by interlinkONE out of Massachusetts. The web site is http://ilnk.me/. It plays perfectly into interlinkONE's focus on marketing automation and accountability metrics.

The service reports Yearly Visitors, Weekly Visitors, specific URL visitors, etc. It's an ideal tool to track those often used shortened URLs. It even allows you to Tweet It! right from the report page.

Once again, interlinkONE comes through with an integrated marketing module to help marketers figure out how their campaigns are progressing. Job well done!

Mobile Short Codes - Billboard Example

2009-10-05T10:05:00.006-04:00

I was recently driving down one of the many major freeways in Southern California and saw this digital billboard advertising discounts via mobile short codes for a local shopping complex. You don't see these on the East Coast very often. They're huge in Japan. I wonder what percentage of drivers actually try the mobile short code while they're driving. Is it illegal to text and drive in California? For the record, I didn't try it.

Is Social Media just a fad? I think not...

2009-09-21T09:29:00.002-04:00

Take a look at this quick but extremely informative video. Everything is changing so fast. I'm sure there will be some gyrations in Social Media over the next few months, but I feel it's here to stay.

Wide Format Print - Only in LA!

2009-09-01T22:34:00.011-04:00

I spent my family vacation in LA and San Diego a couple of weeks ago. I was amazed at the number of wide format print on the sides of buildings. Below are a few examples. How does print on demand play into this medium? Is it possible to "create" such a large print piece by uploading text and images into an online template? Upon closer observation, these large print pieces are actually individual sections of print attached together. As they say, "Only in LA!"

Kinetic Bands - Move Around and Win a Prize!

2009-08-06T18:01:00.004-04:00

I happen to be a distributor for a company called MediaTree. They provide both conventional and online promotions through scalable solutions that are designed to motivate and reward consumer behavior. One of their newer products is the Kinetic Band.

By simply wearing the Kinetic Band and performing 60 minutes of physical activity (in 3 minute intervals), a Reward Code is revealed on the band’s face, directing you to go online to redeem your FREE gift. A variety of online landing pages are available to further enhance your brand's message. The gifts can be a variety of digital premiums, like Music Downloads, Ringtones and more. The compelling part is that the image of your brand will be displayed prominently on the band itself and will be synonymous with helping to promote active lifestyles. This product is the perfect example of merging "old school" and "new school" marketing mediums.

If you're interested in learning more about Kinetic Bands and other cross-medium promotions, contact me by clicking HERE.

Desktop Widgets - An On-Demand Medium Unto Itself?

2009-07-06T21:25:00.009-04:00

A friend of mine and graphic designer, Marshall Gisser, is the owner of NYDesign, a successful graphic design firm located in Cedarhurst, NY. I recently caught up with him via LinkedIn as he is looking for Partners to help market and sell his Desktop Widgets product.

In a nutshell, Desktop Widgets are small, fully branded desktop applications that are downloaded from a website or received via email, and install themselves in a few seconds. DesktopWidgets function independent of any browser. When inactive, they reside on the desktop as small icons. But when clicked, or when you launch them remotely with the Admin Console, the widget expands with custom animations to any size and shape, displaying multimedia content that can be updated 24/7, at your convenience.

I was trying to figure out if these Desktop Widgets are an on-demand marketing medium unto themselves or should we consider them an "upgrade" to a corporate web site as part of the overall marketing mix. My conclusion is the former; they are definitely stand alone marketing mediums due to their flexibility to integrate other marketing technologies such as FLASH, online promotions and video clips right into the "heart" of the widget. No browser is needed and the "mix" updates can be pushed to every Desktop Widget that a particular brand manager might have created with one push from the Admin Widget. Check out the Desktop Widget demo by clicking here.

Another Example of Mobile Tagging

2009-06-30T20:30:00.003-04:00

First Japan and now Auckland, New Zealand! The U.S. definitely needs to get on this bandwagon. Great way to integrate the physical marketing world and the online marketing universe.

Why Do Print Producers Identify Themselves This Way?

2009-06-24T10:58:00.006-04:00

I was recently at a seminar for the Printing and Graphics Association, MidAtlantic (better known as PGAMA). The featured speaker was Dr. Joe Webb. The topic was what a printer needs to do to prepare for the post-recessionary period. The answer to that question is for another day. This blog post is about what happened at one point at the beginning of the seminar.

Before Dr. Joe started, he asked everyone in the audience to go around, introduce themselves and tell the audience a little bit about themselves and their company. It's fair to say that 90% of the respondents told everyone what type of print equipment they had. I was a bit amused at this response. Solely for the reason, and I don't mean to be rude, but "who cares" what type of print equipment they have! Either, #1 they identify themselves with the "size" of their print presses or, #2 they figured that since they were surrounded by other printers (which all of us weren't), everyone would care (which I'm sure they didn't).

Then, a couple days ago I see a brief article online at WhatTheyThink.com. Here it is in all it's glory:

Bassett Direct adds Xerox iGen4
Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Bassett Direct, a leading provider of variable colour imaging, has added a Xerox iGen4 and another Xerox iGen3 to its existing colour platform to bring their iGen fleet total to three. This increased capability positions Bassett Direct as one of Canada's largest providers of variable imaging.

Ooooo...there it was again! A printer letting us know what print press they just added to their arsenal. It's smacks of "keeping up with the Joneses". Why should we care? Is it a conspiracy by the print manufacturers to toot their own horn? Here's an example of what I'd advise the printers to start writing in every press release they let out their door...

"Acme Print and Marketing, a leading provider of revenue generating solutions for the (your vertical goes here. Oh...you don't have one? Then please contact me.) industry, has invested a tidy sum in their company to provide affordable, money generating solutions to their clients. This company upgrade can help their clients develop exciting, colorful, eye-catching marketing campaigns that will potentially generate response rates in excess of 8%-10%. By providing easy-to-use, online marketing tools, Acme's clients will be able to market their goods and services 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

O.K., so it's not perfect, but you get the message. I didn't mention one manufacturer or type of print or finishing press in the whole, short article. Here's the bottom line; stop focusing on the equipment and start focusing on what the equipment can do for your clients!

The Need for Lots of Storage for On-Demand Applications

2009-06-15T09:14:00.011-04:00

I read a great snapshot article in Baseline magazine. It spoke about the General Electric technologists making a breakthrough in digital storage. They're calling it "micro-holographic storage material". They claim it can store 500 GB of storage on a single DVD-size disk. The original story was found at TechSpot.com. The science behind it is fairly simple; optical media material allows increased amounts of light to be reflected by the holograms, thus allowing the decrease in size of the holograms. The micro-holographic players that GE hopes to introduce to the market will be backward compatible with current DVDs and CDs (that's a smart move). GE is also talking about $0.10 per gigabyte for storage with the new technology.

According to "How Stuff Works", there are two basic categories of holograms, transmission and reflection. Transmission holograms create a 3-D image when monochromatic light, or light that is all one wavelength, travels through them. Reflection holograms create a 3-D image when laser light or white light reflects off of their surface.

An interesting fact about holograms; if you tear a hologram in half, the original hologram is created on the two smaller pieces.

Considering the world of marketing is constantly shifting towards "1's and 0's', requirements for greater digital storage engines are going to be required. If GE can pull this off, we should see a variety of new applications being launched around BIG storage requirements.

Marketing on Demand Gets Some Exercise!

2009-06-08T10:36:00.007-04:00

In the words of Monty Python's Flying Circus, "And now for something completely different..."

I recently had the pleasure of meeting one of the trainers from Mobile Gym USA. The bottom line is simple; they bring the gym to you. That's right, they literally drive up to your place of business or home and the professional trainers take 60 minutes of your time to work you out! The mobile gym has everything you need to get a well-rounded workout. The actual gym on wheels can hold 3-4 people comfortably; anymore than that and you've got to workout on the roof (that's a joke).

From a marketing perspective, this mobile gym is an advertising billboard on wheels. The "on-demand" nature of the business is pretty obvious; you demand a workout session and they bring it to you. It's all about you.

I wonder if the trainer (who's also the driver of the mobile gym) does push ups at red lights? Check them out at info@mobilegymusa.com or by phone at 877-MOBIGYM (662-4496).

Microsoft is on to Something... BIG!

2009-06-03T14:32:00.007-04:00

I opened my latest edition of eWeek Magazine (yes I still like to read it "offline") and saw an ad and case study for Mediterranean Shipping Company for Microsoft SQL Server 2008. Down in the lower left hand corner of the page, a rectangular box with a multi-colored symbol in it caught my eye. It read;

"To get the full MSC story on your phone, snap a picture of this tag (Requires a free mobile app from http://gettag.mobi)"

I had to do a double-take. I downloaded the mobile app and took a picture of the tag. Next thing I know, a browser opens on my Blackberry and shows a mobile web page of the MSC case study complete with video and graphics. WOW! I then proceeded to do a little research...

What is Mobile Tagging?

Microsoft Tag creates unlimited, on-demand possibilities for interactive marketing. The tags transform physical, "old school" media (print advertising, billboards, product packages, information signs, in-store merchandising, or even video images) into live links for accessing information and entertainment online.

All you need to do is aim your camera phone at a tag and it instantly accesses mobile content, videos, music, contact information, maps, social networks, promotions, and more. Nothing to type, no PURLs to worry about, no browsers to launch!

I did have some challenges, of course. When I took the first picture I was in a room where the lighting wasn't so great. Needless to say, the flash went off and totally hid the tag in a blossom of white mush. Well, the tag's mobile app couldn't read it and it crapped out on me. The other challenge is quite obvious; what if you don't have a camera on your phone? Or, what if your parents or spouse turned off the Internet browser access or you didn't have that particular plan turned on your phone? Yes, we live in an imperfect world. However, the Microsoft Tag concept is definitely on to something very cool and very useful.

Give it a look...

This Takes Pretzels and Beer to a New Level - Integrating Twitter and Sensor Technologies

2009-06-02T09:02:00.005-04:00

OK, you need to imagine you're at a bar. You've been following this bar on Twitter for happy hour specials, etc. Then, one afternoon around 4 p.m., you start receiving tweets from this bar like crazy. One after the other, tweet, twaat, twoot. What's going on, you ask? The bar has hooked up their beer tap with the Twitter API, that's what. Everytime a beer is poured from the bar tap, it initiates a tweet to all the bar followers. Ya, right... who would think of such a concept? Guess what? It's happening...

360i, a digital agency in New York, has setup their office beer tap (nice company to work for, yes?) to tweet every time a beer is poured.

They call the tweeting tap, "Tweeting Bar". It gave birth after the folks at 360i joined together to research "sensor technologies" to tweet after a beer was poured. They worked with the folks at Keg-Meter to create a custom interface that is able to send flow data via a serial port.

Go figure. Imagine if this technology was around during prohibition! Now the creative challenge is to figure out how to make money from this "cool" concept.

Checkout the video below:

Never Forget Your Past – Integrating Old School and New School Marketing Solutions

2009-05-27T15:37:00.008-04:00

Back in 1994, I had the pleasure of working at Sprint TeleMedia. We spent our time selling the Sprint FON network to Marketing Executives at large Fortune 1000 companies. Notice that I said Marketing Executives, not Telecom Managers. It was a very cool and creative job. I recently dusted off my old two inch V.R.U. University binder to take-in some nostalgia. Sprint TeleMedia’s service brand was called FONMagic, a play on their Fiber Optic Network (FON) brand name. FONMagic utilized the Sprint FON network to develop custom, interactive tele-promotions. Examples of some of these campaigns were Keebler’s “Brings You the Shadow” promotion, Coca-Cola’s “Monsters of the Gridiron” promotion and the Pepsi “Cool-YA” promotion. All these promotions used an interactive toll-free number found on product packaging that “called on” (no pun intended) the consumer to dial a number for a chance to win. I’m simplifying it a bit, but that pretty much sums up the campaigns. These campaigns captured a combined 30 million calls over the length of their promotions. Not too shabby. What was great about these promotions was that they provided quantifiable ROI metrics; a challenge even in today’s hi-tech marketing environment.

Fast forward to 2009. Coca-Cola has been promoting their “My Coke Rewards” promotion for a couple of years now. Where the old school, “Monsters of the Gridiron” was a promotion for new customer acquisition, the new school, “My Coke Rewards” promotion has been used mainly for customer retention purposes. The development of both these campaigns required a similar process to launch. The difference was in the new school automation using digital ones and zeros. The old school method required a bit more analog and often manual processes. Today with the growth of Voice over IP, these processes might be able to move into the “modern age”...and then some.

The point that we often forget in today’s hi-tech marketing age of Internet-based, cross-channel, integrated and unified marketing campaigns is that many of the old school solutions and concepts can still work and should be utilized in our marketing campaigns. We get so wrapped up in the latest and greatest technology that we forget what worked in the past. We need to utilize technology and automation to merge the old school with the new. Radio is not dead! Television is not dead! Print is not dead! Social networking and web to print solutions are not an ends; they are a means to gain positive ROI. We simply need to leverage our new school processes with the old school mediums. Until then, remember the past successes in marketing promotions and campaigns and elevate them with all the new school technology and processes.

Adam Edelman is the President of Refined Technology Solutions and can be reached at 443-310-8777 or via email at adam@refinedtechnology.com.

Making Email Relevant

2009-05-13T14:10:00.005-04:00

There's an up and coming "digital" company out of Baltimore called Blue Sky Factory. They have a fantastic email marketing engine called "Publicaster". It's been around for a few years. They recently launched a new feature-set of Publicaster that is very interesting. Not from a technical mind-set, but more from a social networking point of view. The feature, called Share With Your Network (SWYN), allows email subscribers to share email content with their social networks. Using a code snippet, email marketers can choose to give their social community the option to share their email message with friends on a variety of popular social media engines, including: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Digg and MySpace.

Up until now, stand alone email engines have not really played in the same sandbox as social networking. SWYN changes all of that. I'm curious as to what the next "angle" Blue Sky Factory is going to launch into the websphere. I'm sure it will be productive and very cool.

Marketers Need Metrics to Integrate "Old School" and "New School" Media

2009-05-04T09:16:00.008-04:00

I saw a great article on the eMarketer web site. A joint study was done by the American Association of Advertising Agencies and the Association of National Advertisers. They found that only 7% of US marketers were very satisfied with their progress integrating "Old School" (traditional) and "New School" (digital) media.

There seem to be several obstacles preventing further adoption of "New School" media. According to the study, the first and largest hurdle to overcome, is the need for solid metrics. The second-biggest obstacle is lack of understanding of "New School" media, followed by hesitation by company executives to "expand their horizons" and the infamous silos that prevent the different organizational entities from, "getting on the same page".

The study found that both customer and agency marketers agree on how to increase the acceptance of the integration process;

* Become as educated as possible on "New School" media.
* As always, set clear goals and business objectives.
* Understand what the customer needs.
* Test and retest (and retest, again).
* Commit to detailed metrics and analytics.

Of course, none of the above matters without a way to measure campaign ROI. The real challenge many marketers face is that the necessary data to measure ROI is often decentralized across the multiple marketing "engines". Data sets and terminology are not standardized.

A strong solution to this challenge would be to utilize greater Marketing Automation. This integration of marketing and technology would allow companies to centralize and standardize their "Old" and "New" school media channels on one platform, thus allowing for a smooth integration of their marketing efforts.

Are Ad Agencies to Blame for the Current Mess We're In?

2009-04-27T12:24:00.005-04:00

I recently saw an article on eMarketer regarding a Harris Interactive poll that found 66% of US Internet users said that advertising agencies were at least partly to blame for the current economic crisis. Why? Because they influence people to buy things they cannot afford. Which means an increase in credit card debt and defaults on those debts. Give me a break! Are you kidding me? Has the media gone so far as to totally control our decision making process? Is the media outfitting itself with mind-control games and subliminal messages. "Just say no" guys, it's pretty simple.

Saw a Poll on LinkedIn About Marketing Hiring

2009-04-26T20:03:00.004-04:00

I recently saw this poll question asked on LinkedIn by Scott Hample, an Onsite Consultant at the US Postal Service; "When will hiring in the Marketing sector return to pre-recession levels?" My thoughts are as follows:

Marketing automation and on-demand solutions will begin to take hold during this downturn and "people" resources might not be needed as much as in the past. Existing marketing mediums as we know them today are slowly being automated. As new marketing mediums evolve, the number of marketing executives might not increase, but the number of marketing enablers such as software developers and digital graphic designers will increase to meet the demand of this growth in marketing automation.

What do you think?

Top 50 GPO Suppliers List for 1st Quarter 2009 - Why the Decrease?

2009-04-22T09:44:00.004-04:00

According to Government Print Management the number of print suppliers obtaining GPO (Government Printing Office)work during the first quarter of 2009,(January through March) was 1112 compared to 1263 during the fourth quarter of 2008, a 12% drop.

The value of the work awarded to the top 50 suppliers during the first quarter of 2009 was $49,223,165 compared to $105,293,322 for the fourth quarter of 2008, a 53% drop. During all of 2008, approximately 1817 suppliers won GPO print work valued at $421,886,169 million.

I'd be curious as to how much of the drop in both suppliers and revenue was a result of on-demand marketing solutions versus an actual decrease in requirements that would have otherwise used print as their vehicle of choice. Your thoughts?

Click Here for the list of the 50 GPO Suppliers.

Advertising and Consumer Confidence - More is Better

2009-04-14T14:41:00.007-04:00

According to a recent Neilsen IAG study (March 2009) of banks, insurance companies and investment firms, the more advertising a consumer saw from their firm, the greater the level of confidence they had in that firm. Alternatively, the less advertising initiated from their firm resulted in a direct decrease in consumer confidence in that financial institution. The proofs in the puddin', at least in the financial vertical; cutting back on advertising and marketing during a down time has negative psychological effects on consumer confidence.
(Please tilt your head before looking at the graph)

When respondents were asked what factors or marketing channels would increase their confidence in the safety and soundness of their financial institutions, they said the following:

1. Positive press
2. Regular, consistent advertising
3. Regular email or direct mail offers
4. Regular online advertising

The bottom-line is that marketers need to "reach out and touch" their customers on a consistent basis. Marketing on Demand and Automation makes that possible.

Experience is the New Reality - Future of the Internet

2009-04-14T10:43:00.004-04:00

Found this video (its bi-lingual in English with Spanish subtitles) through one of my Twitter posts. It takes a horizontal look at the history AND FUTURE of the Internet. Pretty cool stuff and ideas. What makes it so weird is that is that it's not so far-fetched in it's thinking. Take a look...

Video Production to Enhance MOD

2009-03-26T12:35:00.008-04:00

I recently met with a dynamic marketing media firm called Think Again Media LLC. They are a Baltimore-based production company launched in 2002 with roots in commercials, feature films, and documentaries. They recently launched a division called, HYPE-online.com.

HYPE-online provides affordable video production services to create webmercials and video content for your web site. What makes them unique is the process. Their producers will guide you through scripting, schedule your shoot and ensure delivery within two weeks. What they deliver is a professional video of your company, organization or event that will drive your targeted email campaign, give life to testimonials, enhance your brand and be the buzz of your social networks. All this for as little as $1500 per finished minute.

It's fast and efficient. Smells of On-Demand to me...

Check out some of their sample work by clicking here.

Arm's Length Integration versus Real Integration

2009-03-25T10:17:00.005-04:00

I received an email newsletter from LyrisHQ. They had a posting on their blog site by Sean Ryan, the Senior Vice President of Engineering at Lyris. His blog post was entitled, "Does Arm's Length Integration Frustrate You?".

Sean defines "arm's length integration" as, "completely separate applications that use application programming interface (API) calls to exchange finite data. It's as if the applications are standing at arm's length... The difference between arm's length integration and real integration is that real integration isn't about self-preservation; it's about knocking down walls."

Sean adds, "Real integration is about providing a single ecosystem of marketing tools that still do a great job of performing individual marketing functions, but that also work hand-in-hand with the rest of your key tools. It's about letting you login to one site, not five or 10. It's about summarizing all of your key marketing metrics in one place, so you can easily tell which marketing programs are gold mines and which are land mines."

So far, this has been the best summation of Marketing On-Demand Integration that I have seen. Nice job, Sean Ryan of LyrisHQ.

Publishing On Demand? Another Business Model

2009-03-19T12:33:00.005-04:00

Here's a nice twist on self-publishing by a California-based company called Printcasting. Printcasting is a new local media ecosystem that lets everyone share in the work, and the rewards. They're supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation via the Knight News Challenge. Checkout the simple diagram on the right. I think they've stumbled on the art of "Social Publishing."

A Victim of the Meltdown?

2009-03-17T10:53:00.005-04:00

Speaking of Merkle, Inc. (see my last post), a local Maryland database marketing agency, I saw that they just laid off 36 employees yesterday, Monday the 16th. The employee lay-offs were primarily account managers and other employees that serve the firm’s 10 to 15 financial services clients who decided to scale back on marketing (what are they thinking?). Why hadn't Merkle expanded their Service and Solution offering to provide additional marketing on-demand services to provide more stickiness with their financial clients? When I look at their "Direct Marketing Program Management" solutions (see graphic) it seems to imply that they can do a lot to help an organization, as it relates to marketing management. If so, where's the stickiness to provide the additional revenue for client and Merkle alike?

Just wondering...

Challenges with MOD - Email Campaigns

2009-03-16T11:09:00.000-04:00

In today's marketing environment, email is one of many mediums to bring cost-effective value to corporate and agency marketing departments and firms. However, according to Merkle, Inc., a Maryland-based database marketing agency, few marketing executives have fully integrated email into their marketing mix due to a number of common reasons, including:

1. Limited resources monopolized by tactical production issues
2. Too little focus on analytics, program design and measurement
3. Lack of an email address acquisition and channel development strategy
4. Email deliverability issues and difficulties in managing ISP relations
5. Complexities associated with managing data and content

Automating the email campaign process and integrating it with other on-demand marketing mediums, would reduce, if not eliminate, many of the above reasons.

How would you address each of those reasons? I'm curious...

MOD and Social Media - Like Red Wine and Steak!

2009-03-11T11:18:00.005-04:00

The other evening I asked my 15 year old daughter to check her Gmail account as I was going to send her something to read. She replied, "I use FaceBook for email now." My 17 year old son tells me, "No one uses email anymore. Everyone just sends a text message."

Email among teens now lags behind Social Media sites such as FaceBook, Twitter and MySpace. With regards to FaceBook, check out the global growth graph on the left. The age group with the greatest growth is 35-49 year old males! Social Media and networking is booming in the business world with companies launching their own FaceBook sites and Twitter "follow-me" feeds.

This move to Social Media adds another exciting medium to the whole Marketing On-Demand engine. Companies better start understanding this medium and put their Social Media campaigns together real quick! Time flies, doesn't it?

Where MOD is Headed in the Print World

2009-03-11T11:02:00.003-04:00

Imagine a magazine or newspaper that updates its marketing ads whenever new content is available from the advertiser. How about a supermarket shelf tag that automatically reflects price changes and promotions... instantly! This video by BNET correspondent Sumi Das shows us how electronic ink is enabling a new age for marketing on demand within the print industry. The potential for this is going to be huge!

Using Mashups to Bring It All Together

2009-03-09T10:26:00.004-04:00

Here's a fantastic "low-tech" video explanation of Business Mashups by Michael Parker, Sr. Director with Serena Software. Marketing on Demand requires a process to link the various independant application modules together. Here is one way to do it!

T-Mobile Ad - Life's for Sharing - Dance on Demand!

2009-03-08T12:45:00.002-04:00

This ad was made for T-Mobile and is set in the Liverpool Train Station. I'm not too sure how many of the people are hired actors and how many are "viral" joiners. But the concept is quite unique. Take a look...

Great Insight from Industry CEO - InterlinkONE's John Foley on using integrated campaign management for self-marketing

2009-03-06T11:35:00.007-05:00

You don't have to be riding on the turnip truck for very long to figure this one out. However, many print providers get "stuck in the mud" with regards to launching marketing on demand services for the sole reason that, "We're waiting on a customer who needs it". Guess what? YOU are the first customer! The print industry needs more mavericks to step up and use the technology for their own marketing campaigns. Listen to what John Foley has to say...

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO

On Demand Price List for USPS Changes!

2009-03-02T10:05:00.003-05:00

I couldn't resist this one. Being an "on-demand" centric blog, I have posted the link for the USPS Price Changes Effective May 11, 2009. Here it is in all of its 44 pages of glory!

CLICK HERE FOR THE REPORT

Have an exciting day! The MOD Director

Take a Quick Poll on Marketing Automation

2009-03-01T20:32:00.005-05:00

Please take a minute to click on the below link to access a quick poll about marketing automation. I'm trying to get a pulse on the marketing community.

Thanks for your support in advance!

http://polls.linkedin.com/p/24940/rfcky

Evolution of a Successful Postcard Marketing Company

2009-03-01T09:00:00.003-05:00

I have been receiving targeted emails from Joy Gendusa, President of Postcard Mania out of Florida. Take a few minutes to watch her interview on MSNBC. The point I want to make is at the end of the piece. She realizes that Postcard Mania needs to "evolve" and has added additional marketing services to her mix.

You can check out the video clip by clicking here.

Keep looking for ways to evolve!

According to an Association of National Advertisers survey...

2009-02-26T16:25:00.006-05:00

Here's an interesting take on "the recession" and the marketing industry:

February 10, 2009 - According to a new survey from the ANA (Association of National Advertisers), the recession had a more profound effect on the marketing industry than predicted just six months ago.

Following up on a survey conducted in August 2008, the second survey reveals that more companies are identifying cost savings and reductions (93% as opposed to 87% six months ago) and that 37% of respondents today plan to reduce budgets by more than 20%, up substantially from the 21% of respondents in the first survey.

The top five areas where marketers plan to reduce costs or expenditures in marketing and advertising efforts:

Top Five Areas of Reduced Spending	July/Aug 2008	Jan/Feb 2009
Departmental travel and expense restrictions	63%	87%
Reducing advertising campaign media budgets	69%	77%
Reducing advertising campaign production budgets	63%	72%
Challenging agencies to reduce internal expenses and/or identify cost reductions	63%	68%
Eliminating or delaying new projects	58%	61%

Other tactics gaining greater consideration by marketers today, as compared to six months ago include:

Nearly half (48%) are looking at reducing agency compensation today, versus 32% six months ago.
Alter mix of marketing channels to lower cost channels (44% today v. 40% in first survey).

MOD NOTE: This mix will only be implemented smoothly if the companies deploy some sort of marketing automation!

In the first survey, the ANA asked if marketers thought their budgets would increase, decrease or remain the same in the next six months. In the recent survey, the ANA asked what actually happened.

In July/August, 53% of marketers thought their advertising budgets would be reduced in the next six months, when in fact, 71% experienced a budget decrease.
Close to four out of ten (38%) thought their budgets would remain the same, but only 23% had their budgets untouched.
In the first survey, 9% thought they would see a budget increase, when only 6% did.

When asked about their predictions for what will happen in another six months from now, 49% of respondents felt that their advertising budgets would be reduced, while 43% think that they will stay the same and only 8% have hope that their budgets will increase.

MOD NOTE: I would really like to know the names of those 8% and see the results of their increased spending during these unpredictable times. Frankly, I believe they're doing the right thing!

Something Different - Coworking at the Beehive

2009-02-25T09:14:00.003-05:00

There's this new concept in idea generation called coworking. It's been around for some time across the globe. Baltimore, MD recently opened a coworking location at the Emerging Technology Center in Canton. Check out this brief video by Dave Troy and friends. It's quite the "buzz"...

A Thought About Cutting Back on Marketing - Don't do it! Just change the way you do it!

2009-02-22T11:00:00.007-05:00

A friend of mine emailed me this quote. By applying marketing on demand solutions to this mind-set, you should be able to better manage advertising costs.

“To put it simply, the literature and experience [we] reviewed tell us that reducing expenditures for advertising during a recession can be an expensive mistake. One study after another, of recession after recession, shows that those who reduce spending usually lose market share and sales. Furthermore, they then take longer to recuperate than those who maintained their levels of spending. The bottom line? The advertiser who does not cut back can move ahead during the recession and afterward, capture share from those who, hesitant and unsure, do cut back.”

O. Burtch Drake – President/CEO American Associate of Advertising Agencies

Personalized URLs - The Ice Cream in a Chocolate Sundae

2009-01-27T09:24:00.006-05:00

Heidi Tolliver-Nigro conducted a PURL survey and announced the results on The Digital Nirvana. Click here to view the blog post for the survey results. A large number of the respondents seem to have a lot of misconceptions about PURLs. Many of the "reasons" why marketers/printers don't use them are due to a lack of understanding of their technical and creative benefits or they lack the proper resources inside their companies to launch the campaigns.

The other issue is that PURLs by themselves don't necessarily provide the "umph" a marketing campaign needs. Some comments that I've heard regarding PURLs are:

"Wow, that's cool... now what?"
"Gee, that's nice."
"Yea...PURLs...interesting technology."

Many of the existing MOD applications on the market today, such as integrated online promotions and automated call campaigns compliment PURLs and increase the response rate of those campaigns. It's sort of like a chocolate sundae; the ice cream by itself is good, but all the other ingredients make it superb!

Matching Marketing Firms with Clients...On Demand!

2009-01-26T13:04:00.004-05:00

I came across this online company called Marketing Matchup (www.marketingmatchup.com). They claim to be the only service of its kind that lets both marketing firms and clients answer a list of questions that defines their expertise and corporate culture (i.e. Labels or keywords). Marketing Matchup then matches marketing firms, who are a strong match, to clients with open marketing project bids.

Truly Marketing on Demand!

Web 3.0 is upon us!

2009-01-25T10:06:00.004-05:00

I've been hearing about Web 3.0 more and more lately. What is it you ask? Mindgrub Founder and President, Todd Marks offers his definition to the next paradigm shift of digital information delivery;

"The Web 3.0 is the perceived next generation release of the internet. It takes into effect the hottest trends of the web 2.0, including rich internet applications and social media, and brings them to the new hardware of the outerweb, namely mobile devices, netbooks and digital signage. Information is searched for, filtered, personalized and delivered to end users based on preferences, biofeedback and location."

You can also find an evolving definition on Wikipedia at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_3.0

The question that needs to be asked is how will MOD integrate into Web 3.0? Looking forward to your thoughts and ideas.

HVAC Filter Reminder!

2009-01-06T08:28:00.003-05:00

It's been three months to the day since I received my last HVAC filter reminder. As a reminder, I filled out an online marketing form around a year ago when I first bought my MERV 7 Basic air filter. It was on the packaging. Anyhow, below is the actual email reminder I received...

From: True Blue Filter Reminder
Date: Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:00:31 -0500
Subject: Change is good.

Hello Adam,

It's that time of year again. Yep, you guessed it, time to change your air filter. (Remember, changing your filter regularly saves energy because your heating/cooling system is running more efficiently.)

Last time you purchased our MERV 7 Basic air filter, size 20x25x1 at Home Depot. If you would like better protection for your family of airborne allergens and pollutants check out our Allergen Protection™ MERV 11 or Ultra Air™ MERV 12 -Our Finest Filter.

We really appreciate your business, Adam. Which reminds us; if you'd like more information about our products or have any questions, you can always give us a call toll free at 1-888-808-9100 or email salesinfo@trueblue.com.

Thanks much,

Your friends at True Blue

This automated marketing "touch" works great for existing customers and there are multiple engines out there that can make this happen. I hope you enjoyed this real-life Marketing On Demand moment and always remember to change your air filters!

MOD Director

Ever Published a Book Online?

2008-11-18T22:13:00.005-05:00

I recently had the experience of writing a kids book and having it published online with Xlibiris (http://www.xlibris.com/). Quite the experience. The company is out of Philadelphia but their customer support center is out of the Philippines. Nice enough people. They were very good about pushing along the whole proofing process, artwork approval, marketing collateral, etc. Although it was an on-demand book publishing experience, they could not remove the live human touch to move the process along. Anyhow… you can order the book online. Go to http://www.rockycrossestheroad.com/ and order yourself a copy of the book. Thanks in advance…

Definition of Cross-Media in the Marketing World

2008-10-30T17:58:00.004-04:00

I just returned from the Graph Expo show at McCormick Place in Chicago. First of all, you wouldn't know that the economy is "suffering". The place was packed. Not sure if anyone was buying anything, but it was packed nonetheless.

Anyhow, the big buzz at the show was cross-media solutions. I visited many of the vendors and sat in on a seminar on the subject. What I found out was that cross-media is being defined as the integration of direct mail, email and PURLs (personalized URL's) into one application solution. You create the direct mail piece and the email header with the same look and feel. You then publish PURLs to the content of those two media and send the recipient to a personalized landing page (otherwise known as a micro-site). All of this is tracked and triggered based upon logical steps determined by the recipients action. The end-game report gives the CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) some datapoints to sink his/her teeth into to determine next steps in the strategic marketing picture.

OK...sounds pretty cool and all that. However, these so-called cross-media application solutions are missing quite a few other media. I think the software developer that can integrate more than just the "big three" media will be onto something extremely big.

How would you define Cross-Media Solutions? I'd like to hear your comments...

MoD and HVAC Units - PART 2

2008-10-08T10:00:00.004-04:00

If you recall, I posted a blog on Sunday, April 6th, 2008 about an AC filter that I bought for my home AC unit. It had an email reminder option that I filled out and waited to see if they'd send me a reminder. Well, just the other day, I received an email from the company. It read:

Hello Bob,

It's that time of year again. Yep, you guessed it, time to change your air filter. (Remember, changing your filter regularly saves energy because your heating/cooling system is running more efficiently.)

Last time you purchased our MERV 7 Basic air filter, size 20x25x1 at Home Depot. If you would like better protection for your family of airborne allergens and pollutants check out our Allergen Protection™ MERV 11 or Ultra Air™ MERV 12 -Our Finest Filter.

We really appreciate your business, Adam. Which reminds us; if you'd like more information about our products or have any questions, you can always give us a call toll free at 1-888-808-9100 or email salesinfo@trueblue.com.

Thanks much, Your friends at True Blue

Nice email reminder. The only problem is that it came two months too late. The reminder I received two months ago was the banging at 3 a.m. because the filter was blocked with dust, etc. Oh well, they tried. Nice concept when it works properly.

Web to Print Among Swiss Printers

2008-10-08T09:52:00.004-04:00

I thought I'd go International for a change. I saw this comment on www.printplanet.com. It seems the Swiss print community is not yet sold on proactive launching of web to print solutions for their businesses. See for yourself;

Comment from PrintPlanet:

I thought you might be interested in hearing about a survey conducted earlier this year in Switzerland by the Swiss portal www.mediaforum.ch. To my astonishment, the majority of the 200+ printers who responded do not seem to see web-to-print systems as a priority. For the most part, they are content to wait for requests from customers before considering a system. When asked “Should printers offer their customers web-to-print solutions?” only 29% said that printers should do so “as soon as possible.” The answers of the other 71% ranged from “Only if a customer expresses a need for it” to “No, there’s no market for it.”

Do printers in the United States feel the same way about web to print? What are you hearing out there?

Improved Customer Service with MOD

2008-08-26T09:33:00.006-04:00

Or, should I call it Customer Service On Demand?

I recently saw a web-to-print portal that had integrated live chat icons into the web pages via HTML code. It allowed the end user to access a live operator via a chat icon embedded into the page. What made it "work", was that I could chat with a Customer Service Rep at each step along the buying process. It wasn't just placed under the "Customer Support" page. This company was allowing me to access a Customer Support Rep "on-demand". Check it out at http://www.excelprintingandmailing.com/. This is a clear example of "on-demand" blending Marketing and Customer Support.

Nice...

The Future of Marketing - Great Article (so I'm told)!

2008-08-08T18:17:00.003-04:00

The Future of Marketing

By Adam D. Edelman

Today’s business environment is being driven by technology and relationships. Technology seems to be driven by computers and the Internet. Relationships seem to be driven by trust. Have we come far enough to say that we trust technology? The first step in developing a trusting relationship is to reach out and connect. That connection, some call it Marketing, is readily accomplished through technology. The circle seems complete. Or does it?

The challenge with today’s Marketing initiatives is getting our hands around all the different and exciting ways to connect, so that we begin to form those trusting relationships. The marketing mix is definitely out there. Let’s mention a few; direct mail (both shotgun and personalized), email blasts, streaming video, interactive and personalized URLs, outbound and inbound call campaigns (both live and automated), online promotions, interactive telepromotions, mailing list generation, online surveys, telesurveys, radio, mobile text messages, the list goes on…
The future of Marketing will most definitely evolve into a true melding of technology and relationships. The Internet, accompanied by the interactive marketing movement, will make that evolution successful. Picture this scenario…

You’re a Marketing Manager for a nationwide manufacturer of widgets. You are given a project that entails coordinating a National Marketing Campaign for over 2500 dealers. How in the world do you launch and track all the different marketing mediums and then determine if they actually work across your 2500 widget dealers? Now mind you, these dealers aren’t card carrying rocket scientists. They were mostly the, “Blanch get me a beer” type of widget dealers. This campaign had to be easy, intuitive and most of all, cost effective. There are so many direct and supporting marketing mediums in this new age of technology. How do you make direct mail work intelligently with email? How do you make email work intelligently with private-branded, interactive web sites? How do you make those web sites trigger an outbound call campaign? How do you track the inbound calls that the direct mail and email generated? How do you fit radio and cable TV commercials into all of this? Or do you? Oh, by the way, make sure you keep the brand image and all the corporate creative assets in line and on message. Why do Chief Marketing Officers (CMO’s) only have an average lifespan of less than two years? Is it the lack of metrics and proper accountability? Is it the lack of their ability to think strategically and work holistically? What if there was a way to address all these logistical challenges?

We are living in a period that has produced extremely talented business resources. The global economy has a wealth of software and database architects, engineers and developers. There are going to be talented, visionary leaders that will figure out the logistics of this “marketing meld”. The ideal answer to the above scenario might look something like this…

There will be a back-end, administrative web portal that the Marketing Manager (let’s call him Joe) logs into. Joe will be able to set up a private, manufacturer branded web portal for the dealers to access 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Joe would then set up and name a marketing campaign. This campaign will be modular in nature, allowing Joe to assign specific marketing medium to the campaign. One campaign might allow the widget dealers to launch direct mail, targeted HTML email and “drop-date + 4” outbound call campaigns with pre-approved scripts. Most organizations could never coordinate this outbound call campaign to 10,000 direct mail recipients in a timely manner. But if this marketing platform is integrated with a Mid-West, accent neutral call center, we have another story on our hands, yes? Another campaign might have personalized direct mail with an inbound telepromotions number on the direct mail piece. The database on the platform will be set up to have recorded messages from local sports personalities based upon the toll-free number on the card. Add a PIN to the direct mail piece with a chance to win and suddenly your response rate skyrockets. These marketing mediums, which have already been integrated into the physical Marketing-On-Demand platform, will then be “published” to the manufacturer’s branded web portal. These web portals are the entrance way to widget dealer nirvana. This whole process will maintain the company’s brand logos, color schemes, fonts, content message and any legalize that is required. Joe the Marketer can set up the branded web site and the different campaigns prior to the actual campaign launch date. The automation will kick-in at the assigned launch time. The widget dealers are happy (they don’t have to think), Joe the Marketer is happy (he’s playing golf), the customer only receives information that reflects their buying needs and the CFO, CMO, etc. are able to access online daily, weekly and monthly reports showing the effectiveness of each marketing medium. All the metrics and data are “plugged into” the manufacturer’s legacy Accounting, Customer Relationship and Inventory Management systems. This integration allows the “C-Men” to make the proper strategic decisions in a more timely fashion. The best part of this whole scenario is that the platform is being accessed through a centralized, secure, multiple firewall protected, carrier grade data center. The scenario becomes a business expense, not a capital expenditure and the end result is a dynamic, revenue generating business tool. This scenario is going to happen in the very near future. Technology and Relationships demand so.

Adam Edelman is the President of Refined Technology Solutions, Inc. He can be reached at adam@refinedtechnology.com or by phone at 443-310-8777.

Different name for the same rose

2008-07-30T18:06:00.003-04:00

I saw an interesting article in my DigitalPrint360.com e-newsletter this morning. It spoke about Multi-Channel Communications: Understanding Benefits. It was written by InfoTrends. It talks about understanding the benefits that "multi-channel" solutions can provide print producers. The article is not rocket science. It's really about stepping outside the print producer comfort zone to realize that there are enormous revenue opportunities within "multi-channel" solutions and services.

It seems if every print producer out there would hire a Technology Marketing Consultant; someone who understands how marketing and technology integrate together, they could reap the revenue stream all the way to the bank.

How easy is it to step outside that comfort zone? Let me know what you think.

I'm seeing more and more articles like this...

2008-06-25T09:57:00.004-04:00

I'm seeing many more articles being written about Marketing Automation (aka Marketing-On-Demand). The following article is an excerpt from an InfoTrends report entitled Overview of the Customized Communications Market. To register for the InfoStats e-Newsletter, go to:

http://www.infotrends.com/public/infostats.html. (They deserve the plug)!

The Shift from Print Service Provider to Marketing Service Provider

The traditional print manufacturing business has become increasingly price-driven, and print service providers need new ways to drive profitability. As a print service provider (PSP) in today’s market, you must change your mindset and begin thinking of yourself as a marketing service provider (MSP) to compete effectively. Today’s printers must extend their services beyond print manufacturing and into the communications business to help their customers facilitate the process of sharing information.

Customized Communications: The New Frontier

Customized communications solutions can have a major impact on marketing effectiveness. Today’s marketing professionals face the conflicting challenges of new distribution channels, a 24/7 global economy, pressure to deliver identifiable ROI (return on investment), and the need to deal with rapidly changing technologies. Marketers must effectively and efficiently segment their markets, attract new customers, support multiple distribution channels, identify opportunities for cross-selling and up-selling, and maximize the lifetime value of each customer.

The Customized Communications Continuum

InfoTrends has identified six segments under the customized communications umbrella. Each segment varies in functionality, complexity, required skill sets, and price, thus creating the customized communications continuum. The further up and to the right you go on the red axis, the more complex the solution becomes. The degree of sophistication and value-add opportunity also increases substantially.

· Entry-Level Variable Data: Incorporate simple name and address information as well as some targeted images and text to produce a unique piece for each recipient.

· Web-to-Print: Describes a browser-based application that facilitates commerce, collaboration, and/or customer service interaction between those who buy print products and those who sell them. Common functions of Web-to-print solutions include page design, order entry, job tracking, template libraries, soft proofing, and online payment.

· Advanced-Level Variable Data: Advanced-level variable data goes beyond mail merge and simple business correspondence by incorporating completely unique content based on specific, detailed profile information on each recipient.

· TransPromo Communications: These documents use the white space within billing documents, statements, and other transaction documents to deliver targeted marketing messages with full color imagery and/or highlight color text.

· Multi-Channel Marketing Communications: These applications incorporate customized and personalized content into documents that are delivered via multiple media channels including print, e-mail, Web landing pages, and micro-sites. Many tools offer tracking and measurement features for live, on-demand management and immediate measurement of campaign success and ROI.

· Enterprise Integrated Campaign Management: This concept entails a comprehensive marketing solution that incorporates customized and personalized content to deliver the right message at the right time to the right person in the right media—and fully track the results. An essential component of enterprise campaign management is ongoing live interaction with enterprise marketing systems.

The Chicken or The Egg?

2008-05-04T19:19:00.002-04:00

Quick question...

Is it smarter to register the domain name and create the on-demand business around the name? Or, create the on-demand business and hope you find a domain name to match?

Not a difficult question, but one that has some interesting consequences. Let me know what you think.

Found a Pretty Good Online Marketing Blog

2008-04-22T09:12:00.003-04:00

There's an online daily email I get from CityBizList (www.citybizlist.com). It highlights all the local business news in different cities across the country. They offer a few Blogs. One in particular that blends well this Blog's topic, Marketing on Demand, is by Hollis Thomases. Hollis is a nine-year industry veteran and President & CEO of WebAdvantage.net. Her Blog, Business Perspectives on Online Marketing, talks about the different types of online marketing and how they impact the overall marketing mix.

Take a look...there's alot to be learned.

Marketing on Demand versus Marketing Automation

2008-04-18T14:37:00.003-04:00

I've been hearing these two terms thrown around quite a bit lately. Is MoD an end user facing term and MA a producer, back-end administrative term? Does MA help the end user or the producer? Is MA a sub-category of MoD? I'm sure their related...but how? I'd appreciate your thoughts...

Pick a Vertical...Like Raffle Tickets!

2008-04-09T22:53:00.003-04:00

OK...I googled "raffle tickets" and got 928,000 hits. Then, I googled "raffle tickets on demand" and I got 432,000 hits. Decided to go crazy...I googled "Raffleticketsondemand" (one word) and I got zero hits (no surprise there). Did a switcheroo with a space "ondemand Raffletickets" and got 21 hits (who would think to type it in that way?). What does this little experiment show us? I'm curious to know your thoughts...

A couple of interesting on demand raffle ticket sites are:
www.rafflesondemand.com
www.AdmitOneProducts.com
www.ticketmastercustomtickets.com

MoD and HVAC Units

2008-04-06T22:26:00.004-04:00

I went to Home Depot this afternoon to buy an air filter for my HVAC unit. I bought a True Blue Basic air filter. Nothing fancy, but it does the job. I noticed on the packaging that it had a "replacement reminder". It said the following, "Use this easy reminder sticker on your calendar to mark the date of your nest filter change, or register at www.trueblue.com and we'll notify you by email when it's time to replace your filter."

OK, first of all, there was no sticker to put on my calendar. No big deal. I went to the web site and their corporate site was being upgraded. They apologized, of course. However, I was able to click on a link that took me to the form fields to register. It asked for my name, address, email size of the filter I bought and how many weeks/months before I'd like to be reminded. Not a bad idea...sort of like the Jiffy Lube sticker they put on your top, lefthand corner of your windshield.

I'm curious to see what happens in three months time. Will I really get an email reminding me to go buy another filter? Will they be sending out a direct mail postcard reminding me to go buy another filter. Will that postcard have a coupon if I upgrade my next filter purchase? Will it mention the size of the filter I bought to remind me? Will I receive a follow up email in 30 days asking me how the filter is working? You get the point...

These questions can be answered in the affimative if The True Blue Company is using an automated, marketing on demand engine. Let's see what happens over the next 30 to 90 days. I'll let you know at a future date should the on demand wheels start turning.

I'd like to hear your experiences with this type of post-sale MoD program with any other consumer-type product on the market. Let me know what you've seen out there...

The Big Boys Seem to be Waking Up to MoD

2008-04-02T06:48:00.002-04:00

I saw two postings this week that raised an eyebrow. The first was an April Fools Day joke, http://printceoblog.com/2008/04/microsoft-enters-printing-business; Microsoft enters the print on demand business. This shouldn't surprise anyone if it actually happened. In fact...give Microsoft time, they'll figure out how to make it work...at least in theory.

The second one was real, http://printceoblog.com/2008/03/monopoly-its-not-a-game; Amazon wants book publishers to use their own on-demand printing facility. Smells a bit like the Adobe - FedEx/Kinko fiasco last year. We'll have to see how Amazon handles it.

Outside of delivering MoD exposure, what are the ramifications of the "Big Boys" getting into MoD? What do you think?

Back to Basics - Definition of On Demand

2008-03-30T13:43:00.006-04:00

I was reading today about the definition of "on demand" as it relates to the printing world. It seems about 60-70% of current print jobs are considered to be “on-demand”; requiring less than a standard turnaround (I believe that used to be called a Rush Job)...and an estimated 75% of short runs of 4-color work already average fewer than 2,500 pieces. I need a concensus of the numbers to "ratify" the definition...please.

Question one: What is the timeframe for "standard turnaround" time?
Question two: What is the turnaround timeframe to be considered "on demand"?
Question three: What is the average number of pieces in an order to be considered "on demand"?

Looking forward to hearing what you think!

Can a paper napkin become MoD?

2008-03-28T08:04:00.000-04:00

I recently saw a print ad appearing in Sweden’s Metro newspaper that applied the creative concept of using a napkin... just a napkin...to make a BIG statement about a juicy hamburger. When a marketer decides to utilize an object, such as a napkin, in their print ad, they offer another sensory tool besides just sight...that being touch. How does that medium play into the MoD concept? How are we able to mimic that physical "object" in other MoD mediums? It's a fairly simple question. I'm looking for a thought-provoking answer...Let's hear one please.

What Does True MoD Look Like?

2008-03-25T12:09:00.003-04:00

Does MoD mean allowing a marketer to launch;
a.) a one-off marketing media (direct mail only) campaign or;
b.) a campaign combination of integrated marketing media (direct mail+email+print ads)?

I recently read a study by Bigresearch. They are a consumer intelligence firm providing analysis of behavior in areas of retail, financial services, automotive, and media. They have this service called the SIMM (Simultaneous Media Survey) that monitors more than 15,000 consumers twice each year. They also conduct the Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey (CIA) which monitors the pulse of more than 7,000 consumers each month. That plug being given, they recently released a study called, "BIGresearch’s SIMM 11: New Media Continues to Grow in Influence to Purchase". It's full of interesting statistics about New Media and it's impact on purchasing across different ethnic groups.

The study seems to show the first example of MoD. It doesn't show how the results would increase (or decrease) if a campaign of integrated marketing media was used. Does it matter? You tell me...

MoD and Sunday Paper Ad Inserts

2008-03-23T10:32:00.004-04:00

OK... here's a different twist.

I took the Sunday ads section, you know, the one with all the consumer electronics and food advertisements, and counted how many of those ads had any type of cross-media marketing.

Here's what I found:
Out of the 16 advertisement inserts, eight (50%) had their web site address on the front page of the ad insert, five (31%) had their web site address on an inside page of the ad insert BUT NOT on the front page, one had a toll-free number to call (along with the web site address) to find out where the closest store was to be found and three (19%) had absolutely no cross-media marketing.

Perhaps if there was an easier way for the advertiser to access other MoD applications they could impact their response rate in a positive fashion and tie it to revenue generated. These ads weren't just brand building, they were trying to get the consumer to buy something specific. Why didn't they utilize other on-demand applications?

Do you think making it easier for the advertiser to access and launch other MoD applications is the responsibility of the advertiser or the newspaper that delivered the ad? Tell me what you think...

Impact of MoD on HR Allocation?

2008-03-19T22:13:00.004-04:00

So...I've heard some discussion that MoD can impact HR allocation (i.e. jobs). The Marketing department could theoretically lose some pawns off their chessboard. In the print producer environment, the pre-press jobs could be "reallocated" to other areas of the organization. Of course, that's assuming the on-demand workflow solution is robust enough to eliminate the human touch factor. When a technology hits mainstream Corporate America that clearly helps the revenue driver (that would be the customer), you can imagine the trickle down effect it would have on the rest of the organization that depends upon that revenue driver for milk and eggs.

Then again...I could be wrong. What have you seen out there?

The "Going Green" Marketing on Demand Machine

2008-03-18T10:43:00.004-04:00

OK...I keep hearing about "Going Green" in the print and graphic art industry. How does MoD fit in with this "Green Machine"? Using other on demand mediums besides print could obviously save a tree and reduce "global warming", I suppose, assuming you believe in all that buzz (again I ask, what is the definition of buzz?). If you stop using PRINT on demand and start using email blasts on demand, that should help the trees, I suppose. Then again, the question needs to be asked, "how many emails are actually printed out on paper? Hmmmm....?

What do you think about all this "Going Green" and its effect on MoD?

Saw a great article...

2008-03-17T09:06:00.002-04:00

The post-ON DEMAND Conference editorials are always full of interesting ideas and opinions. I saw a great article in www.whattheythink.com. Barb Pellow, Director at InfoTrends, writes in her recent article, It’s a “My Media” World and Equipment/Software Providers Get It! , "From a software perspective, traditional Web-to-print is being transformed from a storefront concept to the much more robust concept of multi-channel Web services." I ask the question, does "multi-channel Web services" equate to Marketing on Demand? What do you think?

Opening thoughts

2008-03-16T23:00:00.003-04:00

This blog was borne out of the need to clarify where the evolution of marketing is headed. So much static in the industry. Definitions need clarifying and buzz-words need definition. This blog will be deemed a success if all walks of Marketing life contribute; ad agencies, graphic artists, direct mail shops, schools of higher education are but a few of those organizations and institutions we hope will add their breathe of knowledge. The door is open...