Live the Beautiful Game - Interactive Facial Integration

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

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!

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!

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

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

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

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

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.

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Social Media Strategy - A Practical Guide for Marketers

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!

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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