October-Design

Wednesday, September 30th, the Federal Government reported the final revised number for Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the Second Quarter. The U.S. economy contracted at -1.2% which was greatly improved over the -6.4% drop for first quarter of 2009. GDP measures all economic activity within U.S. borders.

Consumer and Business spending were better than forecast estimates. Consumer spending retracted at -.9% which was below analyst expectations for a -1.2% drop. Consumer spending represents 2/3 of total U.S. economic activity. Additionally, business investment only fell -9.6% instead of the forecast -10.9%, a better than 1.3% to the good. It’s widely speculated that GDP will see the first positive number in third quarter of 2009, ending four consecutive quarters of decline.

You might look at all the negative numbers and see the glass half empty, however, the rate in which the economy is shrinking has slowed measurably. I see the glass half full and look forward to any recovery (slow, protracted or otherwise) filling up any glass.

To hear the full article published on CNBC, click the audio file link [Listen Now]

Disclaimer- this post is a little self-serving because it contains useful information on Search Engine Marketing (SEM), and because October-Design has launched a new web application called AdPages that helps clients manage SEM and online advertising, and for October-Design services delivery.  Regardless, the information is good and can help you determine if SEM is right for you.

Business is turning over every rock in order to find the most cost effective marketing vehicles, I know, my back hurts for all the rolling stones we have been moving lately.  One vehicle has seen amazing growth and that is Search Engine Marketing. Search engines deliver advertising to consumers when they are looking for relative products and services.  My personal experience with the growth in SEM can be illustrated by the increased bid price for certain keywords.  In the early days (circa 2000) we could bid keywords for .10¢ per click.  Today, the same keywords range around $3.00 – $5.00 that is if you want to be listed on the first page of results.

SEM is booming and here are some of the market drivers making this such a cost effective alternative to traditional phone directory and newspaper advertising.

One obvious and logical driver is the economy.  We have to market in order to sell our products, but revenues are down.  SEM looks like a good alternative to traditional media because of the low unit cost and proven Return On Investment (ROI).

Another driver is ubiquity.  7% of the daily U.S. web traffic goes through Google (Hitwise.com, July 09).  Also Search Bars are now featured at the top of all major browsers in the browser chrome. You now have a very easy path to conducting search queries.

Most important, we use search engines to find the answer to everything.  Nielsen.com reports total searches for the month of April 2009 were up 4% to 8.6 billion, with Google gobbling up 5.5 billion (64%) all by itself.  Not to put too fine a point on that factoid, there is a brandnomer that has recently become popular when describing searches.  Ever used the phrase “Just google it” or “google it”?  “Google” is now commonly used to describe the activity of searching for something online, whether you use Google, Yahoo, MSN, Bing, or any of the other search engines.

In short, search engines are the gateway to the billions of web pages that live on the Internet.  At the 35,000 ft. view, search engines have become the glue that holds the World Wide Web together and makes finding anything possible.  No short feat for a technology that is less than a couple decades old.  It makes sense that business would turn to Search Engine Marketing because that’s where the consumers are, asking for their product information.

October-Design invested in the development of a web application called AdPages.  AdPages was engineered to fill in the gaps or disconnect between search advertising, landing pages and lead tracking.  AdPages collate these services in to one streamlined and user-friendly application.  Our solution combines automated services and human input to deliver the best of both worlds; efficiency where it could be had, and human expertise where it is most needed.  For more facts on Search Engine Marketing and online Display Advertising, you can read our published fact sheet titled “Search Marketing Fact Sheet”.

rwhite35

My last couple blog posts focused on the elusive consumers changing preferences and opinions.  For the last installment in this line of blogging, I offer up a pearl of advice.  No matter what you say, what you look like and where you are, right now you better be focused on VALUE, VALUE, VALUE.

Consumers are spending less than before.  When they do make a purchase they want a value…not the least expensive necessarily, but something they can get the most for the money spent.

Here are a couple real world examples from brands that are doing fairly well in this environment.

1.) VOLKSWAGEN: CC Sedan
Price Range: $27,000 – $39,000
Value Proposition: No Charge for Scheduled Maintenance for 3 years or 36,000 miles.
Estimated value over three years is $6,400.
The consumer take: Not only am I getting the car I wanted but now I get my maintance for 3 years, for free!

2.) MAYTAG: Laundry, Ranges, Dishwashers and Refrigerators
Price Range: $799 – $2,499
Value Proposition: May is Maytag Month with $600 cash back
(fine print: $100 frig., $150 cooking, $150 cleaning, $200 laundry)
The consumer take: Maytag is going to pay me to buy their product, that’s hundreds of dollars of savings.  (Of course, we all know most are in the market for only 1-2 appliances at any given time so most would not qualify for the full $600.)

3.) FILENE’S BASEMENT: Retail chain
Price Range: Various; Discount European and American Designer Clothing
Value Proposition: Savings of 60-75% on Italian designers and 40-85% on sportswear from American designers.
The consumer take: Filene’s has always offered designer goods at a discount but the percentage savings just went up!

From soft goods to automobiles, knowledgable marketers are now focused on VALUE in their ad message.   To succeed right businesses need to do the same.

Look for opportunities to promote your value proposition for your product service or good.  Hang the flowery, over-the-top “quality” and “service” pitch; consumers are filtering those words out from your message anyway.  Right now, value is king. Give consumers “more bang for their buck” or “more for less” and you will succeed.
rwhite35

Like everything else in our ever-changing world, how we spend our leisure time is being dramatically overhauled by technology. The marketers challenge is how to keep up.

Santa was good to our family this holiday and brought us a Wii with all the accoutrements. Since December 25th, it has profoundly changed how Wii interact as a family and how Wii spend our leisure time. Given a choice between watching TV and playing Wii, the choice was obvious and clear, we chose the Wii. And why not? One is passive and the other active. Depending on the game and peripheral, your whole person in engaged and required to complete the task. The Wii is difficult enough to make the game challenging but easy enough that anybody can participate. And that is the real hook.

According to 2007 Bureau of Labor Statistics survey, The American Time Use Survey (ATUS), 96% of men spend 5.48 hours per day on leisure and sport activities; of that group 81% spend 2.88 hours watching TV*. 81% of women spend 4.76 hours on leisure and sport activities and of their group, 77% of women spend 2.38 hours watching TV. Television is the main vehicle for mass marketing.

Families and game console enthusiast are flocking to the Wii as the console of choice. To support that anecdotal claim, Wii announced it sold more than 7.2 million consoles (world wide) in November 2008 alone. By comparison 10 million Television(1) units were sold for all of third quarter 2008, which was a 12% increase year over year. And 3.5 million XBox consoles were sold for the November time period.

I submit the following to illustrate further the change in our families leisure time use. Sunday nights, before the bedtime routine, is game night at our house. We play board games like Blokus and Rumis (www.blokus.com) which are great games and very enjoyable. But then there was Wii, and ever since, the game draw has been closed. As wistful as that might read, game play has continued but now, more interactive and exciting for the whole family. Wii makes the experience and time spent much more enjoyable. We didn’t change our habit, just how we execute that activity.

And that is the challenge and opportunity for marketers. We are watching television less and playing game consoles more. Marketers are trying to catch up and figure out how to best utilize this new medium. Indeed, I already received one “in-game” advertisement that I recognized as and “advertisement”. The game was Rock Band 2 and the advertiser was Fender Guitars. The advert described how Fender Guitar’s raised fret board is easier for children to learn to play guitar.

As games and consules increase in their ability to virtually put us into the game play, all other passive forms of entertainment will continue to diminish in importance and relevance to marketers and more broadly, people in general.

* Computer and game systems are not line items in the ATUS study, but no doubtedly account for some of the “Television” time reported.
(1) DisplaySearch.com

Four posts ago I blogged about stealth marketing techniques sometimes referred to as “Dark Marketing”. Then last week, October-Design announced the release of Post-Mania, a FREE content management application for websites. What does Post-Mania and stealth marketing have in common?

If you were to happen upon Post-Mania’s project page at SourceForge.net it wouldn’t be obvious that October-Design is the developer. Not until you download the package and opened an installation document or clicked on the Post-Mania logo bug that it becomes clearer. And even then there wasn’t an overt attempt to market to the end user.

What gives with the “super soft sell” you ask?

October-Design is in the “ideas business” (aka Intellectual Property). We are paid for ideas and products that result from all the grey matter we burn up. For us, the new marketing model for reaching consumers can be best summed up as “give and take”. October-Design gives you a little nugget, you take it and have a good experience. Hopefully that parleys into something bigger when you call us for your next big project (a little suggestive selling there).

This kind of passive marketing is a risky proposition. Already hundreds of hours were put into the development, documentation and support of one little, FREE application that doesn’t even scream October-Design. But then screaming wasn’t the point. The point was to get the application into as many hands as possible and let the consumer discover the answer on their own.

Rather than bullying the consumer with adverts and messages upon messages, we chose (at least with Post-Mania) to make it subtle. The Post-Mania example case studies how October-Design attempts to reach consumers with its service and products through the back door, avoiding the consumer advertising filter mechanism. By cooping some of Web 2.0 tenon, we have a vehicle to get the message out and also deliver an end user experience, all for free. Does it work? Check back and I’ll let you know, these strategies take time to build…

rwhite35

Businesses worldwide have realized the benefits of web-based technologies and is looking for meaningful ways at incorporating these technologies into their sales and marketing plans. Indeed, the thrust of this blog is about Web 2.0 implementation. It’s in that vein that October-Design, is pleased to announce, the release of Post-Mania, a file upload and management application for web pages.

Post-Mania is a Content Management System (CMS) for businesses or departments that want to post files to web pages without having to depend on vendors or staff. The system is secure and compact so users and system administrators can run Post-Mania without the headaches of a large-scale application deployment. Post-Mania is web-based. The user only needs a modern web browser and Internet connection…the rest is point-and-click!

The immediate benefit of Post-Mania is realized in the cost savings. Post-Mania is FREE, and released under the Open Source, General Public License. The overall benefits are measured in the ability to release documents quickly and without having to edit HTML or use File Transfer Protocol (FTP) technologies.

If you are a group leader or department manager, and you have to route reports to your group members on a regular basis, Post-Mania allows you to post those to a web page and your members can go to one central location and get their report. Your documents are stored in a central location rather than in an email inbox.

Or, you’re a restaurant and want to publish this week’s menu but don’t want to call on your web guru every time to do so. With Post-Mania, the process is point and click so the menu is posted without a hitch. Documents are stored in a database, so you can go back and reactivate past documents if say a past menu featured fish and you just caught a great deal on Salmon.

To learn more about Post-Mania and how this application can help your business or department, click this link: Home Page to load the Post-Mania home page. Post-Mania was developed and maintained by October-Design for businesses large and small who want to distribute current and important information quickly and without the hassle.
rwhite35

Last week I began a conversation about the growing in-game advertising industy. This week I will touch briefly on this industry’s primary consumers, advertisers, the finanacial potential and the current players.

First, let’s identify the primary consumers of such a media. Hall & Partners concluded a study commissioned by Break Media showing that 70% of Men surveyed between the ages of 18 and 34, would rather surf the web then watch TV (MediaPost.com: October 2008); 26% said they would rather surf the web then have sex! Nearly half the respondents claimed they spent more than 22 hours online, per week. We already know from my last post that the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) annual American Time Use Survey (ATUS) identified the average male spends 5.7 hours per day doing “leisure” activities. About half that time (2.75 hours) is spent in front of the TV (ATUS: June 2008). The ATUS study corroborates the Hall & Partners “22 hours of leisure time” finding. In short, the primary consumer of in-game advertising is male, 18 – 34 year olds with some time on their hands or at their fingered tips as it were.

To answer the question of what products or categories are best suited to advertise in this space we need to ask what would our target demo want and/or need? Can you guess it? If you said, beverages, food, fast cars and women, you’re right. Even at the risk of sounding obvious, the research bares this out.

IGA Worldwide, an in-game advertising provider has delivered campaigns for a broad range of brands including 20th Century Fox, Gillette, Intel, McDonald’s, Puma, Toyota, Unilever and Red Bull; through leading game companies such as Activision (Guitar Hero), Atari (catalog of titles from my era), Codemasters (various fantasy titles) and Electronic Arts (Madden09 – my son’s personal favorite).

According to the Entertainment Software Association, early examples point to the future success of similar products and demonstrates critical mass. The first documented instance of in-game advertising occurred back in 1978 when Advertureland by Scott Adams advertised his then, “soon to be released-Pirates Adventure” video game. In 2002, South Beach Beverage Co., (SoBe for short) paid Ubisoft Entertainment to have the “Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Double Agent” main character reach for a SoBe drink. The hope was that thirsty gamers would reach for a cold SoBe too. These two early examples point to entertainment and consumable products as categories that resonate best with the target demographic.

So what is the potential financial implications of in-game advertising industry? Nielsen Media Research predicts “in-game advertising” industry will be worth $1 billion by 2010 (less than 5% of total ad spending). A recent IGA-Nielsen study shows that 82% of consumers react positively to receiving contextual in-game ads during game play. Research data from 1,300+ consumers indicates brands receive a measurable lift in perception and awareness when advertised in-game (igaworldwide.com: July 2008).
Finally let’s look at the real players in the in-game advertising industry. Microsoft acquired Massive, an early pioneer of in-game advertising, in 2004 so Microsoft could bolster the delivery and revenue for its’ gaming ecosystems. Google’s recent partnership with Mochi Media has assembled one of the largest networks of online games through which Google can deliver ad content. IGA Worldwide continues to add to its’ list of game developers who want on board too. IGA recently announced an exclusive Sony Playstation3 dynamic in-game advertising deal (September 2008).

The main takeaway here is that in-game advertising is a fast moving and rapidly evolving industry. And one that, for now, is effectively delivering impacts both online and through game consoles.

It has been a long held notion that the Internet was going to be the confluence of information, sales and entertainment. Today Alternate Reality Games (ARG) and networked and online games including SIM’s, SecondLife and Halo are bringing that promise to real life, all with amazing narratives and mind-blowing effect.

A long long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, advertisers tried to “engage” the consumer with catchy taglines and imagery that it thought would most resonate with the target consumer. This was largely passive and counted on the fact that the consumer would listen; and also there wasn’t another option. Then came the static white noise of advertising bombardment. There were so many ads and so many messages that the consumer revolted employing such things as Do-Not-Call lists, SPAM Email Filters, Digital Video Recorders, Pop-Up Blockers, radio preset buttons and cancelled subscriptions to newspapers and periodicals. But fear not, the advertising machinery reinvented the way you and I consume ad messages and once again all is right with the world.

I’m writing about product integration and campaign immersion. Products are woven into online, movie and television show narratives, and if a story is engaging and the product makes sense, then the whole user experience is enhanced. Prescribing information for US residents in PDF format. Jul 6, 2005 Isosorbide mononitrate is in a class of drugs called nitrates. Buy Isosorbide Mononitrate Deals On Isosorbide 5 Mononitrate. Cheap isosorbide-mononitrate, quick shipping, and free secure online medical consultations. Last year, October-Design placed several of our client’s products on two top game shows: Wheel of Fortune and Price Is Right. The players were excited to try and win the products and it enhanced the game. A cottage industry has sprung up around product placement.

The above is standard fare, even passe’ compared to ARG’s and In-game Advertising. The industrial rock bank, Nine Inch Nails, offers a published example of an Alternate Realty Games (ARGs) tied to its 2007-2008 tour. If you were one of the many fans attending a 2007 NIN concert and bought a T-Shirt, dig it out now and see if you have any letters on the back that are printed backwards. If so, you’re part of a very elaborate and immersive campaign that promoted the band and other various products. Want to know more, I’ll help you out: http://www.iamtryingtobelieve.com/

In-Game Advertising is easily demonstrated by “Shopping Districts” in SIM2 and “Marketplaces” in SecondLife, two of the top user centric digital 3D Worlds. These virtual properties offer a more overt marketing opportunity with businesses and players in real, virtual (intended oxymoron) transactions. IBM was the first to “host” a branded region in the game of SecondLife where IBM customers can visit and transact with IBM. There’s also a report of an “unofficial” Apple store. According to SecondLife’s website, that economy is growing and has a market capitalization (Lindens, the currency of SecondLife converted to U.S. dollars) of $84 million, though down 18% off its Q2 2007 high of $102 million. Apparently even the digital world isn’t immune from the carbon world’s money woe Paracetamol is also useful in the management of more severe pain, where itQualitative detection of Acetaminophen (Paracetamol) and Salicylate in human serum, plasma or ventricular whole blood – Rapid visual tests for healthcareParacetamol. Pharmland offers the biggest selection of generic drugs including, Paracetamol (Paracip) at the lowest prices. Buy Paracetamol Isoenzyme specificity. It can also lower a raised temperature (fever) Paracetamol mixture BP’ works just as well, but is cheaper (although perhaps notUnlike phenacetin, paracetamol has not been shown to be carcinogenic in any way. s.

In the following weeks, I’ll offer one or two case studies on the subject of product integration and advertising immersion sometimes referred to as Dark Marketing. So check back for SIMilar post, you may even find yourself immersed in a marketing campaign.
rwhite35

I went through the drive-thru at McDonald’s fast food restaurant the other day (rare occasion), and noticed that the drink fountain was fully-automated. The machine that filled the drink order was linked to a central processor that managed the order information keyed in by the order taker. All the drive-thru server had to do was put the lid on my cup and hand it to me with a smile, which she did marvelously.

This set me thinking about process automation and how it has reached every corner, every facet of the modern business world and for good reason too. Downward pricing pressure is around every corner. Companies need to innovate in order to keep costs contained. I thought about October-Design and how we have written small and big software applications to automate several processes both internally and externally for ourselves as well as clients.

In McDonald’s case, it would seem the decision was made to keep the touch points (drive-thru window or front counter) uniquely human, with smiling servers and cashiers, and then automate where possible in the food preparation areas. Could McDonald’s, with its $22 Billion (2007) gross income afford to automate the whole “McDonald’s” experience? Sure, but would it? McDonald’s, like all of us, is in the people business. We transact with, cater to and work with other people. Good human interaction drives repeat business.

As our society becomes more segmented for a variety of geo, socio and demographic reasons, the emphasis will shift from process automation/innovation to innovations in the human touch. That future interaction may not be face to face, but will have a face and a voice associated with it. Future innovation will emphasize the human aspect of technology.

As a society we need human contact and human interaction. Blogs, Social Media, Yelp!’s consumer reviews or Cisco Systems recently announced (September 08) video conferencing and collaboration suite TelePresence, all intend to reconnect us on very personal levels. At the same time technology works to offload the burden of “process” on to the machines. The smart money will be thinking about touch points and how we can enhance the human connection while at the same time, leverage technology to contain cost.
rwhite35

The Mobile Marketing revolution really is a three-legged stool. First, there has to be open and free data sharing; then smart devices that account for place, distance and time; and finally standardized communication between devices.

The first two legs are well on the way to full implementation and with critical mass. Now, Close Proximity Wireless Transfer Technology, like Sony’s January, 2008 announced TransferJet, has the potential to bring a communication standard to the marketplace allowing for simple wireless connections and data transfer between devices. For example, a temporary smart mobile device to cash register wireless connection.

Let’s say its grocery shopping time again and you were at home tapping out your list on your mobile device notepad. You have an account with Coupon Clipper (http://www.thecouponclippers.com) and also queued several discount coupons in your digital coupon basket, or you could have run the application RetailMeNot (http:// iphone.retailmenot.com) for iPhone which serves discount coupons too.

Fast forward to the grocery store, and you just finished scanning your groceries at the automated checkout. You’ve checked off all the items on your list and are ready to pay. But you’re smart and you never leave money on the conveyor belt, in a manner of speaking.

Because your device is enabled with Close Proximity Wireless Transfer technology, you can touch the scanner reader with your smart mobile device and all the coupons in your coupon basket are automatically transferred to the store central processor. All valid discounts applied, and the grand total adjusted. Ever more convenient, is that PayPal handles the transaction so no need for cash or credit cards either.

Redemption rates on discount coupons have been in a steady decline concluded a study by Cornell University (The Coupon Report: A Study of Coupon Discount Methods, March 2005). Manufacturers count on coupon redemption for multiple purchases and brand loyalty. The same study concluded that only 7.3% of coupon users, use online coupons. Soon, technology and infrastructure will allow a wholly digital process for managing coupons. Through Close Proximity Wireless Transfer, we’ll have the third leg of a nice stool to sit on while we organize and save a lot of hard earned cash.

Other Coupon Servers:
http://www.Bradsdeals.com
http://www.couponcabin.com
http://www.retailmenot.com
rwhite35