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Friday, October 28, 2011

What is the operating system of the future agency?

by Guy Kedar, posted on 28 October, 2011 
While working on developing what could be the operating system of the future agency, I was fortunate to stumble upon three talks, given at Google’s Firestarters in London. I would like to share my thoughts on what the future OS of an agency should sprout from based on my work and enhanced by these talks.

‘A servant of two masters’
Today’s digital landscape emphasizes the need for agencies to be centric not only to their clients,the brands, but also to their client’s clients,the consumers. Today’s consumers are ever so empowered, they are faced with an amazing amount of choices, with both content and platforms, and are able to both discover information and to share it in practically no time and with no cost. Providing consumers with added value is therefore key to standing out from the clutter of choices and information and drive engagement with a brand. It is therefore an agency’s duty to bridge between brands’ business targets and consumers’ needs.

Driven by data and insights
Actions (and reactions) performed via digital platforms are visible and measurable and can reveal consumers’ true needs. Brands, on the other side, are now faced with vast amounts of data and many possibilities to engage with their target audiences.
But data alone does not create value unless managed and interpreted into actionable ideas. It needs to be delivered in the right timeframes and to the right functions and be accompanied with actionable recommendations. Agencies need to learn how to capture and process this data in order to produce consumer value adding strategies and enable brands to turn data into value.

Multi-faceted
Faced by multiple options to learn from and engage with consumers, agencies need to develop multiple skills that vary from analysis to strategic thinking, content creation and distribution, community management and more. This has implications on recruitment, structure and culture and demands the ability to offer and to manage multi discipline projects.

Platform agnostic, integrated approach
An agency should be able to look neutrally at the choice of platforms and brand touchpoints, develop a strategy that will maximise the value generated by each and optimise the integration of platforms and of Paid, Owned and Earned channels. When developing tactics, one should think how platforms and channels play together across the desired customer journey. A pinball-machine, or even a football team could serve as metaphors to illustrate such architectures, in both of which the consumer serves as the ball. Multidisciplinary is key and so is the ability to deliver an overall value greater than the sum of those that could be generated by using each platform and/or channel alone.

Collaborative, flexible and fast
Multiple sources of data, multiple options for action and multiple skills and specialities need to be managed effectively to optimise outcomes. Knowledge share is critical and work needs to be integrated from step one of an activity. Nimble client centric teams comprised of diverse disciplines and skills, connected to the rest of the organisation at critical knowledge and workflow touchpoints, may be the answer.

Speed and flexibility are key as real time data enables on-going optimisation of activities and should be capitalised. Today’s agency therefore needs to be able to adjust its tactics/activities in response to consumers’ actions. This requires a more flexible approach towards strategy and working times.

As few agencies can actually own and manage all of the required skills and resources, many projects will require collaboration with 3rd party agencies and vendors.

Diversified remuneration models
New types of activities demand new skills, new working models and new outputs. These in turn need to be translated into new remuneration models as commissions and retainers alone are not sufficient. Agencies and clients, as one, must acknowledge the need to remunerate skill-based, time-consuming and multi-player work in an appropriate and sustainable manner. Project fees and man hour should be acknowledged and priced. A ‘single’ multi-probe activity can consists of all of these models, as well as performance-based bonuses and revenue share.

Letting the people shine
Eventually, all of this stems from the agency’s culture and whereas processes and technology can facilitate workflow, agencies need to know how to make each of its own employees feel they play a valuable part in the creation and execution process. Empowerment is important to allow people to express their voices and to encourage participation and contribution from their skills, experience and passions. It can also contribute to retention and recruitment of talent and clients.

Collaboration requires the ability to let go of idea ownership and work as a team pursuing common goal and this applies both internally and working with multiple partners.

Recognition plays a part in the ability to reach the former as well as to retain ‘star’ talents.

Recruitment plays crucial role as identification of candidates that fit the culture is essential. Flexibility (in approach as well as working hours), curiosity, innovative mind and the drive to experiment (even with the price of failure) are vital characteristics required from our people if we wish to stay on top of this rapidly evolving industry.

Guy Kedar, social media and emerging platforms manager EMEA at MEC

Global Internet Traffic Expected to Quadruple by 2015


via mashable
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1b2qIq/thecuriousbrain.com/%253Fp%253D22205

Has content become advertising for advertising?

by Peter Yared Since the advent of the Web, online publishers have had to create unique content to attract premium ad rates. Over the past few years, however, a flood of subpar content has seemingly taken over the Web, driven by high-growth sites such as Demand Media and the AOL-owned Huffington Post.
These types of sites have enjoyed surging traffic by creating relatively simplistic content, repurposing and "aggregating" premium content, and gaming Google's search algorithm. But this strategy faces a growing backlash and as a result may have hit its natural ceiling, and that could create opportunities for new online-media models.

What makes subpar content subpar? Like pornography, you know it when you see it. Take, for instance, "news" articles that simply paraphrase and quote articles written by journalists, or simple "how to" guides that don't explain much and have no accompanying diagrams, videos or other edifying media.

The primary financial driver supporting subpar content is what's known as "personalized retargeting," where ads follow a users around the web. When you visit Zappos.com, for instance, the site places a cookie on your computer that tells an ad network you were just there. Zappos then pays a premium rate to "retarget"--to show you an ad inviting you to come back to Zappos.com long after you've moved onto another site.

If a publisher can get enough eyeballs looking at content, by hook or by crook and regardless of the quality of its offerings, it can sell retargeted ads against that undifferentiated audience. In this model, content has essentially become advertising for advertising--i.e., for retargeted ads. The price for a retargeted ad isn't even connected to the content of the site a user is visiting--all that matters is that the advertiser is reaching its targeted visitor again.

Understandably, performance marketers--those who get paid affiliate relationships, for instance--have jumped on retargeting. Top brand marketers, however, are much more sensitive to the context around their ad, which is why they are more likely to shun so-called content farms and embrace original content.
What's more, re-targeted ads are increasingly freaking people out. While many of us in the industry understand what's going on, others find it creepy to be tracked across the Web. A woman running a nonprofit showed me her Huffington Post home page and asked how HuffPo knew that she had shopped at the two e-commerce sites with ad units on the page.

When women running nonprofits are alarmed by ad targeting, politicians can't be far behind. "Do not track" legislation that will prevent third party cookies from following users around is starting to draw support in Congress. Germany's draconian cookie laws already prevent basic analytics--let alone retargeting--and similar European Union cookie laws are now becoming adopted.

It's important that U.S. privacy legislation not overreach, so that we can find a compromise between user privacy and how websites need to function. For instance, tracking a user across a family of sites--say from Google's homepage to YouTube--is not retargeting. There's value to users when a company can optimize how its family of sites works together.

Even without regulatory intervention, subpar content is starting to hit its maximum headroom. Consumers can only go to so many pages of drivel before they orient back to the good stuff.

In fact, there is a resurgence in premium content. The Huffington Post is hiring writers from the New York Times and the BBC and increasingly producing unique content. Demand Media, one of the leading purveyors of simplified content, recently announced that it was scaling back its content creation army of contract writers. YouTube is shifting from user submitted videos to premium produced videos.

In addition, Google has recently made a series of moves that make it increasingly difficult for subpar content to get Google traffic. The Google Panda 2.0 and 2.5 search algorithm updates have been optimized to return premium, non-repetitive content that users will value after they search, pushing subpar content further down in search results. Google News has introduced incentives for content sites to highlight unique content. Google also announced that it is no longer going to include the search terms that are used when it sends a user from a Google search page to a site, bringing a halt to the practice of tailoring content to match active searches employed by sites like HuffPo.

Just when retargeting is about to hit the precipice, premium advertising is on the verge of a revolution. Offline spend continues to pour into online. Ad targeting systems are starting to look at add social media behavior and a page's content as well. Engagement ad units powered by companies like Flite and Aol's Project Devil are even integrating premium content into ad units.

The resurgence of advertising on premium content sites, in addition to the new and interesting ways for premium advertising to engage an audience is some of the reasons I recently joined CBS Interactive as CTO, so read what you like into my obvious bias. All in all, interesting and fun times are ahead in the world of premium content.
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/5LRpqv/news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20124834-93/has-content-become-advertising-for-advertising/

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Para Blogger Meramaikan #hariblogger di Twitter

oleh: nike prima 

Hari ini (27/11) para bloggers Indonesia merayakan Hari Blogger Nasional. Tagar #hariblogger pun ramai di linimasa Twitter. Ya, meski namanya Hari Blogger Nasional, para bloggers ini tampaknya banyak yang menjadi penghuni Twitter. Hasilnya pembahasan mengenai blog pun justru meriah di linimasa hingga akhirnya menduduki tren Twitter Salingsilang sejak pukul 10.00 WIB.

Bahasan yang dilontarkan Tweeps di linimasa lewat tagar #hariblogger ini bermacam-macam. Mulai dari membahas sejarah blog pribadi mereka, menyebutkan blog favorit, mengucapkan selamat kepada sesama bloggers, hingga pengakuan pribadi dari para pemilik blog yang sudah lama tidak mengisi konten "rumah"nya.


Hari Blogger Nasional diresmikan tanggal 27 Oktober 2007 oleh Menteri Komunikasi dan Informatika Mohammad Nuh pada acara gathering para bloggers Indonesia, Pesta Blogger di Blitz Megaplex, Jakarta.

Ilustrasi diambil dari Gettyimages
http://salingsilang.com/baca/para-blogger-meramaikan-hariblogger-di-twitter-?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Polemik Pulau Komodo di New 7 Wonders

oleh: titutismail
 Tarik ulur Pulau Komodo sebagai salah satu finalis dari tujuh keajaiban dunia alam baru versi New7Wonders masih terus bergulir. New 7 Wonders Foundation (N7W) adalah sebuah perusahaan privat (yayasan) asal Swiss yang telah menyelenggarakan kontes 7 keajaiban dunia baru di Lisbon, Portugal tahun 2007 yang lalu.

Pulau Komodo adalah salah satu dari 28 finalis tujuh keajaiban dunia alam baru. Awal dari proses pemilihan ini sudah dimulai dari tahun 2007 lalu dimana terdapat 440 tempat  dari 220 negara yang dimasukkan sebagai calon nominator kontes N7W. Pulau Komodo sendiri adalah satu dari 3 tempat di Indonesia selain Danau Toba dan Anak Gunung Krakatau yang masuk sebagai calon nominator N7W.

Untuk tiap tempat nominator, negara peserta diwajibkan membayar biaya pendaftaran atau administrasi sebesar $199 per calon. Tahun 2009 Pulau Komodo berhasil lolos menjadi finalis N7W mewakili Indonesia  mengungguli Danau Toba dan Anak Gunung Krakatau. Awal Tahun 2010 Indonesia ditawari oleh pihak penyelenggara N7W, sebagai tuan rumah acara puncak pemilihan New 7 Wonders of Nature pada tanggal 11 November 2011.

Indonesia saat itu melalui Kementerian Kebudayaan dan Pariwisata (Kemenbudpar) menyatakan tertarik menjadi host acara ini. Biaya yang harus dikeluarkan pemerintah untuk menjadi tuan rumah adalah sebesar $45 Juta atau sekitar Rp. 400 Miliar dengan rincian $10 juta sebagai penebus lisensi dari penyelenggara (N7W) dan $35 juta untuk promosi dan biaya penyelenggaraan acara puncak.

Biaya yang sangat fantastis mengingat ini hanyalah ajang promosi pariwisata yang diselenggarakan pihak swasta. New 7 Wonders Foundation bukanlah lembaga resmi yang mempunyai legitimasi atas kebudayaan dunia seperti UNESCO. UNESCO sendiri menyatakan tidak mempunyai sangkut paut dengan N7W dan kegiatan yang mereka lakukan.

Menurut Menbudpar saat itu, Jero Wacik, dengan biaya sebesar itu kita dapat mempromosikan sendiri Pulau Komodo dan bahkan tempat-tempat wisata lain sebagai tujuan pariwisata Indonesia ke seluruh dunia tanpa harus mengikuti kontes yang diselenggarakan oleh pihak swasta.

Ketidaksediaan Indonesia menjadi tuan rumah acara puncak pemilihan New 7 Wonders of Nature rupanya ditanggapi keras oleh penyelenggara. Februari 2011 yang lalu, N7W selaku penyelenggara mengancam akan menggugurkan Pulau Komodo sebagai finalis kontes ini. Namun gertak sambal N7W terbukti hanya wacana saja, terbukti dengan kegiatan promo ini tetap berjalan bahkan berhasil mengajak mantan wakil presiden Jusuf Kalla sebagai duta promosinya.

Sebagai informasi, pemilihan pemenang 7 keajaiban dunia ini ditentukan oleh voting melalui internet dan jumlah SMS yang juga kabarnya dikenakan biaya Rp.1 per SMS. Tidak ada batasan jumlah SMS dukungan yang artinya tiap orang dapat mengirim lebih dari satu SMS dukungan. Sebagai perbandingan, Yordania berhasil mendudukkan Petra sebagai salah satu dari tujuh keajaiban dunia karena mendapatkan sekitar 14 juta SMS dukungan dari dalam negeri saja, padahal populasi negara itu tak sampai 7 juta orang.

Dengan fakta-fakta diatas terlihat bahwa kontes ini hanyalah pencarian keuntungan pihak penyelenggara dengan menjual potensi pariwisata dan rasa nasionalisme rakyat Indonesia. Indonesia dengan lebih 200 juta penduduknya tentunya merupakan pasar potensial bagi penyelenggara dalam meraup keuntungan. Ajang ini tak bedanya dengan ajang pencarian bakat di televisi swasta nasional yang pemenangnya ditentukan oleh jumlah voting SMS.

Hal ini jugalah yang disinggung Priyadi Imam Nurcahyo (@priyadi), seorang blogger senior yang gencar menuliskan fakta-fakta dibalik kontes ini di blog dan akun Twitter pribadinya.  Hal yang menjadi ironi, ketika Candi Borobudur dan Candi Prambanan akan dicabut lisensinya sebagai warisan dunia oleh UNESCO karena perilaku pengunjung yang sembarangan dan kurangnya perhatian dari pemerintah.

Linimasa Twitter pun tetap ramai menggalang dukungan agar Pulau Komodo terpilih sebagai pemenang di kontes ini New 7 Wonders.

Namun tidak semuanya setuju dengan kegiatan ini setelah mengetahui fakta-fakta dibaliknya.

Jadi bagaimana dengan Anda?
http://salingsilang.com/baca/polemik-pulau-komodo-di-new-7-wonders

How Small Businesses Can Thrive Using Social Media

By Mark Evans - Wednesday, October 26th, 2011

For small businesses, social media has been held out as a low-cost opportunity to jump-start their marketing and sales efforts. After all, the tools are, for the most part, free and they can help level the playing field against larger competitors.

The challenge for small businesses is their ability to successfully embrace social media so it becomes part of how they operate rather than a bunch of free tools with untapped potential. Many small businesses get excited about social media but they drop the ball when it comes to tactical execution. Here are some tips on how to make social media happen.

1. Recognize that just because the tools are free, there is a cost to use them. The cost may not be monetary but, rather, time, effort and resources, which are “assets” that small businesses may not have an abundant supply. To make social media happen, someone has to do social media on a regular basis to gain a solid foothold.

2. Be committed. Like many companies, small businesses enthusiastically rush out of the gate with social media but, in time, lose their enthusiasm so the amount of activity fades and then eventually disappears. Social media is no different than other effective sales and marketing activities; it requires a day in, day out approach that may produce instant or significant results.

3. Make sure someone is allocated to do social media. It could be the small business’ owner, the person who does the marketing, or an intern. At the end of the day, someone needs to nurture social media much like gardeners nurture and grow a garden.

4. Be realistic. Small businesses who think social media is going to dramatically change their fortunes will be disappointed. As much as there are success stories such as Milwaukee restaurant A.J. Bombers, they are anomalies that can create a false impression of what social media can deliver. For most small businesses, it is important to recognize what they realistically want to get out of social media, which could simply mean connecting on a regular basis with their core customers.

5.  Look for inspiration and ideas from other small businesses. This could come from reading social media blogs, going to conferences, or getting together with peers. This is important because it means you don’t operate in isolation, which can be one way that your social media mojo will disappear.
 http://blog.sysomos.com/2011/10/26/how-small-businesses-can-thrive-using-social-media/

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Media Sosial adalah Sarana Promosi

Banyak usaha kecil yang masih ragu untuk menggunakan media sosial dengan alasan mereka belum benar-benar mengerti  bagaimana layanan jejaring sosial dapat membantu meningkatkan penjualan mereka.
Namun, baru-baru ini telah diadakan studi dengan hasil yang akan membantu para pemilik usaha kecil agar berani memanfaatkan media sosial sebagai sarana promosi.
Survei yang dilakukan oleh Constant Contact dan Chadwick Martin Bailey di bulan Januari 2011 ini mengikutsertakan 1.491 konsumen berusia 18 tahun ke atas.

Pada umumnya, konsumen lebih sering online di Twitter daripada di Facebook atau yang lainnya. Sekitar 50% pengguna Twitter online lebih dari sekali per jam.

Twitter sendiri masih terbilang baru untuk sebagian konsumen, karena setengah dari mereka baru mulai menggunakan Twitter kurang dari setahun belakangan ini.

Meskipun demikian, 21% dari para konsumen ini mengaku menggunakan Twitter untuk mem-follow berbagai merk dan produk favorit mereka.

Pengguna berusia di bawah 35 tahun paling banyak mem-follow berbagai merek yaitu sebesar 26%, mereka yang berusia 35 – 49 tahun berjumlah 17%,  sementara yang berusia lebih dari 50 tahun berjumlah 13%.

Menurut survei tersebut, apabila para pemilik usaha tersebut berhasil mencuri perhatian para pengguna, biasanya para pengguna akan memerhatikan merek tersebut selama beberapa waktu. Hanya 13% yang mengatakan meng-unfollow suatu merek setelah mereka mem-follow merk tersebut.

84% dari responden juga mengatakan bahwa mereka membaca tweet dari merek yang mereka follow.
60% dari mereka juga mengaku merekomendasikan merek yang mereka follow kepada teman-temannya, dan separuh dari mereka juga tertarik untuk membeli produk dari merek yang mereka follow.

Berdasarkan hasil statistik di atas, sudah saatnya para pemilik usaha baik yang sudah sukses maupun yang baru mulai merintis usahanya untuk melirik dan memanfaatkan media sosial agar mendapatkan keuntungan yang lebih besar.
(via All Twitter)
http://www.marketing.co.id/duniadigital/2011/10/26/media-sosial-sebagai-sarana-promosi/

Inspiration Gallery #066 – Creative ads

Many designers seek inspiration in the initial stage of a project to get their creative juices flowing and/or to get updated with the latest trends in graphic design. With this post I would like to share some of the great designs that have inspired me in some way and hopefully something will inspire you to.
Executive search dating


Sony - Cheese


Zaini


Bose - Jim Morrison



Electrolux sucks...


Tetis Returns




Arno


Allen Solly


Terri Scheer


Nivea Sun


Spanjaard


Spanjaard


Xbox 360


Xbox 360


Will work for food...


Cemex


Energizer


Energizer


Energizer


Chux Extra Grip Gloves


League of Rock


Absolut


Hugo Boss


Sama Beirut


Sanyo Underwater Camera


Nikotinell
 http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2E3ZUt/www.fromupnorth.com/2010/06/inspiration-gallery-066-creative-ads/

Why Women Make Excellent Entrepreneurs in the Digital Age

Nellie Akalp is CEO of CorpNet.com. Since forming more than 100,000 corporations and LLCs across the U.S, she has built a strong passion to assist small business owners and entrepreneurs in starting and protecting their business the right way. To learn more about Nellie and see how she can help your business get off the ground quickly, visit here or “Like” CorpNet.com on Facebook.

In 2010, women became the majority of the U.S. workforce for the first time in the country’s history. Also, 57% of college students are now women. While men continue to dominate the executive ranks and corporate board rooms, women now hold a number of lucrative careers: they make up 54% of accountants, 45% of law associates and approximately 50% of all banking and insurance jobs. These statistics, which appeared in Hanna Rosin’s Atlantic article “The End of Men,” have prompted considerable attention and debate.

Women are advancing in entrepreneurship as well. An American Express OPEN State of Women-Owned Businesses report found that between 1997 and 2011, the number of businesses in the U.S. increased by 34%, but the number of women-owned firms increased by 50%. That compares to a growth rate of just 25% for male-owned firms and has allowed businesses owned by females to reach 49% of U.S. firms — near parity with their male counterparts.
Why exactly are women advancing so quickly as business owners? Are women better equipped to thrive in this digital age? Is today’s business climate more inviting for aspiring women entrepreneurs?

The “Man-cession” and the Fall of the Single Income Household


The growth in women-owned businesses can partly be attributed to sheer necessity. Increasingly, families must rely on a dual-income household. Following increased unemployment rates and a higher cost of living, women stepped in to supplement household income, often to compensate for an out-of-work spouse.
Men took a bigger hit in the employment market during the recession. Traditionally male-dominated industries, like construction and manufacturing, have been severely affected by the economy. On the other hand, fields traditionally dominated by women, such as healthcare and education, have added jobs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics calculates that women make up more than two-thirds of employees in 10 of the 15 job categories projected to grow the fastest in the coming years.
As the recession hit, job-holding women worked more hours to support their households; and more women became the family’s sole wage-earner. In 2008, employed women contributed to 45% of household earnings — the highest figure in that decade.

The Digital Age and Childcare


Entrepreneurship in the digital age lends itself to childcare, a consideration that affects any discussion of women in the workforce. Young, single, urban woman are outearning their male counterparts; however, this trend reverses as workers age and start families. And even though many companies are replacing “maternity leave” with more gender-neutral “flex time,” it’s clear that working women will always be seeking that balance of career and family.
Virtual workplaces and digitally mobile lifestyles give aspiring women entrepreneurs the flexibility to achieve that balance. Digital tools mean that women can now build a business from home and create unique work schedules.

Essential Skills in the Digital Age



Do women’s strong communication and social skills make them more equipped to thrive in our post-industrial digital age? In short, do women have specific skills — whether the result of biology or social conditioning — that can help them succeed as entrepreneurs? In my experience helping entrepreneurs and small business owners launch their brands, I believe there are several traditionally “feminine” leadership qualities that are more significant now than ever.

1. Women possess strong communication skills and social intelligence. The digital economy requires these skills, and women enjoy a slight edge over their male counterparts (according to numerous studies). Rosin’s article discusses a Columbia Business School program that teaches sensitive leadership and social intelligence, including a lesson in reading facial expressions and body language. “We never explicitly say, ‘Develop your feminine side,’ but it’s clear that’s what we’re advocating,” says Jamie Ladge, a business professor at Northeastern University.

2. Women make good listeners. One study found that the collective intelligence of a group rose if the group included more women. Anita Woolley, assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon University, asks, “What do you hear about great groups? Not that the members are all really smart, but that they listen to each other. They share criticism constructively. They have open minds. They’re not autocratic.”
Whether due to biology or cultural conditioning, women tend to be better listeners and are stronger at drawing people into conversation. This translates to several advantages for the entrepreneur, who can better attune herself to customer needs and build more effective teams of employees, contractors and partners. In fact, many women entrepreneurs often describe building their business as building a team.

3. Women collaborate. Women have worked well together since the earliest female enterprises, whether dividing grains in the village or working in quilting bees. Even some of today’s cultural stereotypes have legs, for instance, women’s joint trips to the restroom!
A 2009 Time magazine article by Claire Shipman and Katty Kay says, “[Women are] consensus builders, conciliators and collaborators, and they employ what is called a transformational leadership style — heavily engaged, motivational, extremely well suited for the emerging, less hierarchical workplace.” The article, entitled “Women Will Rule Business,” cited projections from the Chartered Management Institute in the UK. Looking ahead to 2018, CMI believes the work world will be more fluid and virtual, and the demand for female management skills will be stronger than ever.

4. Women prefer lower risk. Researchers have begun focusing on the relationship between testosterone and excessive risk, thus evaluating whether groups of men spur each other toward reckless decisions. Whether testosterone influences decision-making or not, research shows that, as a whole, women prefer lower risk opportunities and are willing to settle for lower returns.

Risk aversion may go hand-in-hand with motivations for starting a business. A 2007 study from the Small Business Administration (Are Male and Female Entrepreneurs Really That Different?) observes the differences between male and female entrepreneurs in the U.S. The results found that male owners are more likely to start a business to make money, and have higher expectations for their business. Women are more likely to prioritize that business and personal lives work in harmony.

The digital age offers a wealth of low-risk opportunities. Ventures like blogging, web-based services, ecommerce and software development require smaller upstart costs than manufacturing-based, brick and mortar type businesses. Cloud-based tools and virtual workforces further lower the cost of entry, making the idea of starting a business more feasible and/or palatable for risk-averse entrepreneurs.

But a strength can also be a weakness. Yes, the tendency to minimize risk can lead to higher success rates for female entrepreneurs (that 2007 SBA study linked above found that woman-owned businesses were more likely to have positive revenues). However, risk-phobia can also mean women are more likely to limit the size of their businesses, and less likely pursue outside funding from investors to fuel growth (which might partially explain the abysmal discrepancy in VC funding between the sexes).

On average, men-owned firms are larger than women-owned firms. In firms owned by men, twice as many have 10 or more employees, and three times as many have reached the $1 million revenue mark.

It’s up to each individual business owner to define the goals of his or her business. If a woman chooses to pursue a smaller business venture that lets her balance her business and personal life in more harmony, more power to her. For now, I think we should celebrate the growth in women entrepreneurs, but also wonder if woman-owned high growth startups are an under-utilized resource in our economy. It’s time we made space for the underdog — if that term even applies anymore.
Images courtesy of Flickr, www.jeremylim.ca, Bertelsmann Stiftung
http://mashable.com/2011/10/25/women-entreprenuers/

Social Consumers and the Science of Sharing [INFOGRAPHIC]

If you’re buying a car, do you check Facebook? Or do you read up on Kelley Blue Book values and scour the company website for every spec, from horsepower to miles per gallon? What about music — do you check Top 40 radio charts or scope out what your Facebook friends are actually listening to on Spotify?
Social media has infiltrated the purchasing funnel, helping consumers make informed decisions, from what to have for lunch to where to go on vacation. Depending on the decision, sometimes you turn to your social graph, and sometimes you turn to Google. So, as a brand marketer, you want to know what online channels you should be targeting in order to reach the perfect audience for your product.
But regardless of what kind of consumer you’re trying to reach or what you’re selling, your SEO better be top notch — search is the most important influence on the web.

The infographic below, featuring data from M Booth and Beyond, analyzes the differences between high and low sharers and various purchasing decisions, helping brands to understand how should be targeting consumers.

What kind of consumer are you? Let us know in the comments below.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

40% of Tablet and Smartphone Owners Use Them While Watching TV

October 13, 2011

American consumers are increasingly connected and our recent survey shows they are increasingly multitasking when it comes to multimedia.

Roughly 40 percent of tablet and smartphone owners in the U.S. used their devices daily while watching TV, while only 14 percent of eReader owners said they watched TV while using their device every day.
And what are smartphone and tablet owners doing while watching TV? Checking email. Email was the top activity for both men and women during television programming and commercial breaks. In addition, women reported engaging in social networking more than men, while men checked sports scores more often.
q2_2011-simultaneous-usage-cm11-3943
Advertisers should take note that while viewers may be splitting attention between two (or three!) screens, 19 percent of smartphone and tablet owners searched for product information and 13 percent searched for coupons or deals while the television was on.
http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/40-of-tablet-and-smartphone-owners-use-them-while-watching-tv/

The Future of Retailing – Flexible Formats

October 14, 2011

Consumers today are increasingly mobile and as technology advancements continue around the world, retailing will evolve to keep pace. And while online shopping has shown impressive growth momentum over the past few years in industries such as travel, publishing, electronics and even clothing, the pace of change has been much slower for consumer-packaged goods.

When considering new and flexible retail formats for grocery shopping, specific preferences emerge when it comes to particular online delivery options, according to Nielsen’s 2011 Global Online Survey of more than 25,000 Internet respondents across 51 countries. While more than half (52%) of global online consumers say they are likely to place a grocery order online if it is delivered to their homes, less than one-third feel the same if they are required to pick up the online order curbside (27%) or via a drive-thru window (30%). Interestingly, more consumers—just over one-third (36%)—say they are willing to pick up an online order inside the store.

The online shopping/home delivery option is most embraced by consumers in Asia Pacific, where more than three-quarters (77%) say they are likely to take advantage of this option, which contrasts sharply with one-fifth of North Americans (20%) and one-third (35%) of Europeans. “The main resistance in developed countries in Europe and North America is primarily due to the high volume of grocery stores that are available,” said Jean-Jacques Vandenheede, Director Retailer Industry Insights, Nielsen. “In Asia Pacific, fewer physical stores and a very digital consumer base equal a fertile distribution channel for online.”  About half of respondents in Middle East/Africa (48%) and Latin America (51%) indicated they are likely to shop for groceries online for home delivery.
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Using hand-held scanners to record purchases while shopping to avoid waiting on checkout lines was welcomed by half of global online consumers. While interest is again highest among Asia Pacific consumers (60% interested and only 14% unlikely to try it), in each region, more consumers indicated they are likely to try it than not.
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http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/consumer/the-future-of-retailing-%E2%80%93-flexible-formats/

Monday, October 24, 2011

How Recruiters Use Social Networks to Screen Candidates [INFOGRAPHIC]

Over the past few years, we’ve seen social media used in the job market in a number of ways — startups, small businesses and large corporations alike are diving into the socialverse to find top talent, and job seekers are likewise getting creative with social media.

Social media monitoring service Reppler recently surveyed more than 300 hiring professionals to determine when and how job recruiters are screening job candidates on different social networks.
The study found that more than 90% of recruiters and hiring managers have visited a potential candidate’s profile on a social network as part of the screening process. And a whopping 69% of recruiters have rejected a candidate based on content found on his or her social networking profiles — an almost equal proportion of recruiters (68%), though, have hired a candidate based on his or her presence on those networks.

Check out the infographic below for more results from the survey, including what details on a candidate’s social profile make recruiters tick.





http://mashable.com/2011/10/23/how-recruiters-use-social-networks-to-screen-candidates-infographic/

Friday, October 21, 2011

20 Creative, Interesting, and Amusing Advertisements

A good advertisement will draw a prospective customer’s attention towards your product. That is what every business really wants, aside from you actually purchasing their product. In this article we will round up 20 great ads that cover many different styles but all have one thing in common, that is they connect to their audience.


The average consumer isn’t going to spend more than a minute reading or staring at an advertisement they see on a webpage or on a billboard. The average time a person spends on an ad outside is 1.7 seconds, and 15 seconds on the Internet. The Internet has transformed us into fast browsers who skim through articles (hopefully not this one) and quickly glance at product advertisements they see every day. Our attention span has drastically decreased since the Internet came into play and because of that, ads now have to get their point across quickly through something that is pleasing as well as amusing to the eye. Aesthetically creative ads will get a prospective customer engaged in whatever you are selling or saying.

In our society we are bombarded every day with ads for everything under the sun. On average, we see 3,000 ads daily. Because of this we subconsciously ignore them unless we see something we like. Some ads don’t necessarily want to sell you anything, they rather raise awareness; but the same formula goes for them as well. In this article I present 20 ad’s that I believe have successfully shown the prospective consumer their product/message in a quick manner and in a pleasing artistic environment. As we will see from the ads featured, the design is only part of what you will need to create the perfect ad.

Inspiration

Titanic Cinema: Matrix

This ad works because of its clever play on a classic movie scene, which also ties into their product. The scene from The Matrix is pixilated which prompts the consumer to wonder why and then see their quote promoting their product. Simple and to the point with an interesting art direction. This advertising campaign also redid some other classic films like India Jones, so check out the rest of this set.

King Oscar: Open

This ad puts forth an idea that King Oscar’s fish products are as fresh as they can possibly get. This idea is then executed by blending a fish and one of their canned products showing the consumer they will be buying a fish straight from the ocean. This simplistic image gives off just enough to tell the consumer what the deal is with their product.

Pepsi: Straws

This clever Pepsi ad speaks volumes to the consumer; at first glance it gives the impression that Pepsi Cola is the preferred choice of even the straws. And then after that it subliminally pokes fun at one of Pepsi’s competitors by using their color-way for the other can as well as their classic design. This is a very clever ad on many levels.

Ira Motoparts: In The Motorcycle With You

“The transit is a forest. Be on top of the food chain” Starts off this ad, a clever quote compares the streets and highways of the world to a jungle, so in that case why not be the quickest in the jungle like the cheetah which we see displayed in the middle of the ad built out of this companies motor parts. While you might not quickly grasp their message the imagery does pull you in long enough to understand it.

Geek Squad: Son Of A

This is a very funny ad with as simple of a design as it can get. The consumer is instantly drawn in by the bold writing and the starting of an expletive and the notices the cut off with the Geek Squad logo and the quote “Fixed before it gets nasty”. This is only one part of a series of many curses, so you can check out the rest of these smart ads.

Fedex: USA-Brazil

This is another ad that shows what simplicity can do for your company’s message. A simple image with an extremely bright idea gives the consumer all they need to figure out what you are selling.

Canal+: iPhone Titanic

This ad may take a bit more time to understand than the rest but the design itself can keep a consumer interested. The large finger and the iPhone in the corner can quickly help the viewer connect the dots with the sinking Titanic ship and show that we can have all our favorite movies right on our iPhones.

National Anti-Counterfeit Committee: Watch

This is one of those ads which was mentioned in the introduction, something that isn’t necessarily selling something but rather giving of a message for a cause or a movement. Well this ad’s imagery gets the viewer involved enough to look towards the bottom and read about how counterfeiting finances organized crime.

Drive Safe

Like stated earlier, ads can give off strong messages as well. In this ad we see a damaged human leg, but instead of bones and blood it looks more like a crashed car. This clever message shows us just what its quote says, "…Car accidents don’t just happen to cars".

Panasonic 3D TV: Dino

Here is another ad that has a lot going on but still is able to get its message across fairly easily. We will first notice the dinosaur in the trashed living room but then see the girl pointing at the TV, which will give us the impression that Panasonic’s 3D televisions are extremely realistic. The great art direction leads to the consumer understanding what product is on display almost instantly.

Celcom Broadband: Coverage

Our next ad puts a very clever twist on a product. We all instantly recognize the Wi-Fi symbol but then notice it is built from famous monuments across the world, once we look further down we notice the product which is giving us Wifi. Once again it is something that says a lot without having to clutter up a whole canvas with different designs.

Ford Germany: Do Knot Forget

Obviously Ford wants you to see that wires are bad, showing us 15 different types of wired knots and then ending with an amusing quote on the bottom of the ad “Do knot forget: Bluetooth comes with every new Ford Model”. This is a very smart approach, showing the consumer a common problem that they might have experienced and then giving them a solution in a very amusing way.

Bangalore Traffic Police: Don’t Talk While She Drives

This ad gets a strong message across in a graphic way. The blood spatter draws the viewer in and shows them that it is coming from the telephone, leading them to picture something gruesome happening to whoever the man is talking to. And then the quote puts it all together that you shouldn’t be on the phone while driving.

Band Aid: Hulk

Band Aid is showing just how flexible its fabric is in this ad. This amusing ad shows that this band-aid does not even snap on the finger of The Hulk who is at the center of this image. It works because it’s simple and it shows you all that is needed and nothing more, its flexible, so buy it!

Some Things Are Not What They Seem: Internet Date

The art direction and illustration in this ad is fantastic, it gives us two separate pictures that are each on a different spectrum and blends them together through a common value which in this case is the internet. The idea is once again simple and not too complicated, and it gets its point across that the Internet is sometimes dangerous so protect yourself.

Heinz Hot Ketchup: Fries

This is one of the more elegant ads featured in this list because of its soft colors and simplicity. It gets straight to the point and that’s it, nothing more to it. A very solid advertisement that is the perfect example of a simple idea illustrating a whole concept to the consumer.

Alca-Luftal: Cow

We first see the image of the large wooden cow being dragged by soldiers, most people will attribute this to the Trojan Horse and then wonder what is inside it, at that point the quote tells us all we need to know, “Watch out for unpleasant surprises”. This ad is different yet it is clever enough to keep a consumer interested for an extra few seconds to get the point and acknowledge the product being displayed.

Rhythm House: 50 Cent Voodoo

Now this ad is a little iffy if you do not recognize who the voodoo doll is, but if you do then it is a great ad and it is directed to the core music audience. This original ad shows us a popular music icon as a voodoo doll, which leads us to ask why and see the bottom quote which is emphasizing to not pirate music. Clever ad that might not hit everyone but if it does it definitely gives off its point.

Western Union: Money Transfer

This ad is idealistically similar to the Fedex one I mentioned earlier, it takes a different approach but the idea still hits hard in a very interesting way. 2 Hands, 2 different types of currency, being transferred along through Western Union. Great idea with simple execution makes for a quick ad that gets a message across with ease.

MTV Switch: Fists of Fury, Tornado

Our last advertisement is raising awareness by showing off a very impressive illustration, which grabs the attention of a viewer. Once they are done looking at this fantasy tornado destroying a city they read the quote and learn about what is going on. This is a case where impressive illustrations can grab viewers in and show them what you want them to see.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2PSWg8/psd.tutsplus.com/articles/web/20-creative-interesting-and-amusing-advertisements