Mar
3rd

Oneupweb : You Met The Mayor?

Posted by Carly Wujcik on March 3, 2010 at 8:30 am

030310_dog I get an inevitable chuckle every night when I get home from work and my husband (who makes a living in the residential construction business while studying to be a nurse and holding a teaching degree) asks me how my day was.

It typically goes something like this:

I: [Open front door, pet dog, take off shoes and coat] “Hi (name withheld), did you have a good day?”

He: [Walks to entry, moves giant dog, gives hug] “Yeah, it was pretty good. (launches into lengthy explanation that may include topics such as scaffolding, hanger joists, barge rafters, informatics, arterial sticks and/or necrotic tissue) How was yours?”

I: [looking puzzled and lost] “Good, really good. We exceeded our follower goals on Twitter and we’re really jumping into Foursquare, which I think will be amazing for our retail clients. Especially since they can reward the mayor in so many different ways. It’s sure to drive repeat business and since it can send location tweets and Facebook posts, it’ll be showing up in real-time results in no time. And there’s something so viral about it—though I’m still trying to figure out what the rage really is. I mean, I don’t really want people to know where I am all the time.”

He: [looking puzzled, lost and slightly frightened] “You met the mayor today, he has a virus and you’re afraid that I’ll find out where you really are when you claim to be at work?”

Both: “So, the dog needs to go for a walk and then what’s for dinner?”

We work in entirely different industries, day in and day out, and it shows in our conversations. The good thing for our marriage is that we typically can’t talk about work at home because neither of us has any idea what the other is talking about anymore. But it gives me a chuckle because the reality of it is, while different, the biggest issue is that our industries just don’t move at the same speed or speak in terms we both find universally understandable. In three years, when he comes home talking about a patient who was awarded free health care after being repeatedly crowned the Mayor of (unnamed) medical center on Foursquare and how cool he thinks that is, I’ll be in the back yard taking a spin on our augmented reality lawn mower and growing tomatoes with my iPhone. (I actually hope that’s never the case, for the record.)

It’s the age old marketing challenge—and as it turns out—it permeates all of our lives. Look around. As you polish up your media buys for Q2 and present your new campaign concepts laced with of-the-moment strategies and jargon—stop thinking about how much sense it makes to you and how well it will go over within your organization. Instead, make sure it benefits your client and that you’re able to clearly communicate that to them. Speak in their language. Solve their problems. And make it relevant. Whatever “it” is.

It’s not about Mars or Venus, it’s about communication—and more importantly, smart marketing.

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Feb
16th

Oneupweb : Neuromarketing, Capturing What People Think

Posted by Steven on February 16, 2010 at 4:49 pm

Beginning in the 20th century, marketers began using focus groups to research the potential public response to a product, service, advertisement and more. Focus groups use a variety of methods to determine a person’s attitude, opinion, perception or belief. Primarily, a person in a focus group is simply asked about how they feel and they give a conscious response. However, purchase decisions are essentially a non-conscious act. Therefore, traditional research methods may not be enough to fully understand a consumer’s emotional state ultimately influenced through marketing.

Enter neuromarketing.

Neuromarketing is the study of neurological responses to marketing messages. While still in an early stage of development, neuromarketing studies are currently being conducted and their findings are being used for online marketing campaigns.

Now, there is some controversy over neuromarketing, but as of yet, there is still no way to pipe advertisements directly into people’s brains—so don’t worry. Current neuromarketing techniques include eye tracking, galvanic skin response and a variety of brain wave measurements.

Oneupweb has been conducting eye tracking studies for many years now. One of the most recent whitepapers is a study of search on social networking sites. The study was conducted by analyzing a subject’s eye movement while searching.

It’s 2010 and technology is changing the marketing landscape—innovators rejoice!

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Jan
20th

Weeding Out The Good From The Bad

Posted by Heather on January 20, 2010 at 3:48 pm

I come across ads nearly every day offering design services at dirt cheap prices. And at first glance, the cost might seem appealing to some. But it’s important to consider the quality of the services that are being offered. Will they produce results that are actually going to land your business on the A-list?

Choosing the right design agency to manage your creative and marketing efforts is a daunting task. And I think it’s safe to assume that finding an agency that you can build and grow a working relationship with is ideally what you want to find.

But first, there are a few things you must do to get yourself ready. Before you even start scouring the internet for a compatible design agency, you must figure out exactly what you want—it’s time to create a brief. This is done in order to clarify things, including the message you want your brand to relay, the purpose behind the project, your target audience and of course, your tentative budget. Having these things established will help you communicate better with whichever agency you choose to work with.

After you’ve created your brief, it’s time to determine what you’re looking for in a creative agency. What factors are most important to you? Is it location, experience, company culture, a well-rounded portfolio—all of the above? Whatever it may be, establishing a few guidelines detailing what you’re looking for in a design agency will aid you in your search to find the right one.

When you find an agency that sparks your interest, be sure to refer back to those qualifying factors (location, experience, company culture, etc) you had initially established. If this agency lives up to those standards, there are a few more things you should look for before contacting them, including:

Portfolio
Check out their portfolio. Are they offering a wide range of creative services? Are the pieces well executed and void of spelling errors and funky photoshop disasters? Does the copy make sense and match the imagery and style? Is the style aimed at the right audience? For example, using kittens and puppies in an ad selling hot rods to middle-aged men most likely isn’t the appropriate approach. And don’t overlook the details. You can usually tell if a design firm is credible by closely examining their work. Do they have a good handle on typography? Is there a sense of hierarchy? Keeping all of these things in mind will help give you a little more insight into what type of work a creative agency is capable of.

Accessibility and Web Standards
Take a look at their site on multiple browsers (Firefox, IE and Safari are fine for starters). Does it look right? Be sure the company practices good web standards. And it might be a good idea to ask a friend who is web savvy to be sure their code doesn’t look like spaghetti (they’ll know what you’re talking about). Syntax is the discipline that exams the grammatical rules and structural patterns that a web developer should adhere to when writing code for a site. A company that takes web standards into account is usually on the right track.

The Future
Do they offer services that are essential for growing a business? Can they offer you other services besides web design, such as print, point-of-purchase, media planning/buying, copywriting, and public relations? Hiring an agency that can provide a variety of services might be your best bet.

Once you find an agency that fits your standards, go ahead and give them a call. Pay attention to how they answer the phone and how they treat your request or questions. Be sure that you feel comfortable and at ease when communicating with them.

Choosing a creative agency is not an easy task. Be sure to take the time to find the right fit for your needs. And do your homework—you’ll be glad you did.

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Dec
4th

The Evolution of Advertising

Posted by Denise on December 4, 2009 at 9:57 am

It seems that the time for TV spots and print ads in the Yellow Pages is becoming obsolete in comparison to the new premier form of advertising—the internet. It’s quite obvious that people are using the internet more and more every day. And why not? People can watch their favorite TV shows at their own leisure on their laptop or their iPod, free of commercials. And when someone is looking to find tips on granite countertop installation, they now turn to the internet instead of the phone book. The internet provides you with a name, an interactive map, and more than likely, a homepage full of photos and customer testimonials.

We’ve reached a time where you don’t just take someone’s word for it anymore. Instead, you look it up online. And this really caters to advertising. People can watch twenty commercials on TV that tell them about the best vacuum in the world, and each claims that it can outperform all of the others with ease. But can it? This is when people start probing. Go on Amazon.com and look at the reviews. Go on YouTube and watch as your everyday person demonstrates his new vacuum and gives you his unbiased take on it.

People like the internet because it doesn’t always shove things right in your face—it takes a more indirect route. You get to select who the information is coming from and make your own decision on what you really desire.

The other remarkable quality of internet advertising is that it can reach the entire globe and not cost you a fortune. If you truly have a good product and you put it online, you will eventually succeed. The trick is getting people to find it and stay interested in it. Now that people have the power to select the advertisements, you have to seize the power to be a blinding beacon in a sea of substandard products.

The good news is that you don’t have to be rich to get rich. You just need a good product paired with some creative advertising to put online for the world to see. Personally, I see this as a win-win situation. The consumer can do enough research to really get the best product and the mom who made her own laundry detergent actually has a fighting chance to run with the big dogs—the “Tides” and the “Alls” who were once untouchable.

Remember, Balloon Boy caught the attention of three hundred million people. And if you’re creative enough, so can you. Hopefully you don’t get prosecuted in a federal court, though.

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Nov
25th

“You” Marketing

Posted by Luke on November 25, 2009 at 4:04 pm

Traditional marketing focuses on making a sale and ends once that sale is made. In other words, traditional marketing is “me” marketing. Here’s our business, here’s our product. Our newsletter will reach out to you each month to check in.

Smart marketing is “you” marketing. “You” marketing is when every message, every conversation and every touch-point is about the consumer. Rather than count your money, you should be counting the number of new relationships at the end of each month.

“You” marketing recognizes the numerous channels and opportunities to connect with an audience. Get rid of the mindset that the bigger the audience, the better. A more efficient mindset to consider is that a smaller, targeted audience translates into a bigger bulls-eye. However, the bulls-eye in this instance is not to close, but rather gain initial approval from the consumer and then broaden it.

Consider a cancer screening center that distributes a press release, outlining a new study that reveals an increased risk for prostate cancer in men with high-protein diets. The press release then links to the website, which offers a free PDF download of the full study. At the end of the study, there is a brief description and link to an application allowing men to enter diet-related information to calculate their individual risk. Depending on your risk, the results may highly recommend that you schedule a screening. This recommendation includes a 1-800 number that connects you instantly with a specialist. The end goal for this center is to generate cancer screenings.

A competitor may decide to rely strictly on Google AdWords Pay-Per-Click advertising to send traffic directly to a page with a 1-800 number. The cancer screening center that distributed the press release enjoys a 40% higher number of incoming calls to their specialists.

Scenarios aside, it’s about finding the right marketing combination that pushes consumers through the sales cycle, no matter how many necessary steps are required in between.

The first step to finding the right marketing combination is to be aware of every single marketing weapon in your arsenal. Apply benefits and features of what you are offering to your target audience’s everyday life.

Oneupweb now offers an expanded list of services to help you take full advantage of your arsenal. Take a look at our weapons cache and take what you need.

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