Posts Tagged ‘internet’
CES 2012: Sin City Goes Techy
Thursday, January 12th, 2012
All Las Vegas cliches aside, this show is absolutely incredible. I’ve been to CES before, but haven’t ever stepped foot on the show floor – instead being stuck in dark press briefing suites. After only a day on the floor, I can say that this is absolutely the craziest thing I have ever been a part of.
Besides the endless rows of iAccessories (seriously, if you can put it on or put your in something, it’s here), there is a lot of innovative tech at CES this year – and some of it might actually be useful.
MommyTech (FamilyTech)
Mommy bloggers changed the way the internet world looked not only from a content perspective, but from a marketing perspective as well. Now, a whole new sector of tech is aimed at providing an enriched family experience to consumers – not just moms.
From companies that are offering geo-fencing technologies for cell phones so parents can keep tabs on their teens to prenatal learning technology, it’s all here and it’s all interesting. Gamification is definitely in play as parents look to reward healthy lifestyles and development. There are pedometer-based technologies that look more like toys than a boring pedometer, which could lead to envy among some kids if their pedometer isn’t as cool as the next.
Look for influences in the MommyTech to start changing the way families not only interact with each other, but how they interact with technology. The more apt consumers are to input and share information, the more likely they are to interact with brands using new technologies.
Health + Fitness
This was probably the most-interesting part of the floor that I saw today. United Health Group, an insurance agency, had an incredible booth that not only showcased some of their technologies that are helping companies create healthier employees, but it also was just really well done. The health and tech worlds have long been friends, but up until recently that friendship was purely functional as technologies pushed forward and brought data management solutions and patient care advancements to the health field.
What United Health Group and others in the area bring to the table now is a truly enriched experience for users that puts them in control of information and support for their health needs. Throw in some game mechanics that can be shared with friends/coworkers and you’ve got a modern day recipe for healthy living.
One of the companies in this space that’s been making headlines recently is FitBit. Their pedometers which are crazy-tiny and not ugly at all are being used in offices across the U.S., but their recent product – the Aria scale is almost too pretty to keep in your bathroom. The scale, which connects wirelessly to your home network, allows consumers to track progress, share stats, and connect with friends through their online interface. When paired with FitBit’s pedometer, consumers have an integrated solution that (hopefully) leads to a healthier life.
Motorola, fresh off the heels of their acquisition by Google, launched their fitness-focused product – MOTOACTV. The watch-like device is hyper-tuned to keeping people motivated, while tracking and logging their progress. The device is the same size as a watch and comes running a variant of Android. As my colleague from IPG Media Lab said today “stuff’s going to get crazy when people start rooting these.” The possibilities are endless.
Again, this is a space where people wouldn’t have dreamed about being in 5-10 years ago. Sharing weight loss and fitness information didn’t happen – or at least not outside of Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers groups. Today friends are sharing their runs with apps like Runkeeper, tracking calories with MyFitnessPal.com, and using Nike+ like it’s no big deal. Imagine what’s next.
Up Next…
Car tech, more TVs than you can shake a stick at, social everywhere, and the weirdest things I’ve found at CES.
Disclosure: Some photos and descriptions of products may reference clients of Spring Creek Group’s parent companies, Mediabrands and IPG. These are not meant as advertisements or endorsements and no compensation has been made to this blog or the author.
We Paid Someone to Ghostwrite This
Friday, March 27th, 2009
Everywhere we look this morning, a similar conversation seems to be taking place, as there’s a big hullabaloo going down about the presence of these so-called “ghost-tweeters” on celebrity or otherwise well-known Twitter accounts.
Some folks seem genuinely surprised by this news, and others are taking it in stride. We find ourselves leaning more towards the latter camp, as we can’t really discern a logical difference between someone “ghost-tweeting” for a celebrity and the general activities that Public Relations professionals do all the time. As far as those “fake celebrities” go, as long as they aren’t doing any harm to anyone or breaking any laws, we really have no problem with them either.
Ghostwriting (authorized or not) happens all the time, and the fact that it’s now occurring on Twitter should be seen as something neither shocking nor unexpected. If anything, it simply shows that while basic celebrity name recognition may get people’s initial attention and may attract followers (yawn, Faith Hill) it’s really the quality and freshness of your content (howdy, Shaq) that will keep users entertained and coming back for more.
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Thursday, February 19th, 2009Hey, We Can Quit Anytime We Want To.
Thursday, February 12th, 2009Let’s get this straight. We would never, ever advocate that you use this. Spring Creek Group is in no way suggesting that you even think about doing anything that would keep you from religiously accessing social media sites throughout your work day.
However, we do just like the fact that sites like keepmeout.com exist. “Hey, if you’re addicted to visiting a certain site, then just visit this site and it will prevent you from going to those other sites.” Get yourself off the website sauce by using other websites to do it.
We have a sneaking suspicion that if that above premise was somehow any more meta, the entire Internet would implode.
Visible Technologies and Spring Creek Group Partner to Deliver Robust Social Media Management and Engagement Solutions to Fortune 100 Clients
Wednesday, January 14th, 2009By BusinessWire
SEATTLE, BUSINESS WIRE –
Visible Technologies:
- Visible Technologies, an industry-leading provider of social media monitoring and engagement solutions, today announced a partnership with Spring Creek Group, an innovative online marketing agency. Spring Creek will offer its customers Visible Technologies’ social media analysis and engagement software platform, TruCast.
- The strategic alliance allows Spring Creek to extend the capabilities of its social media management (SMM) services by enabling clients to more accurately measure their online brand awareness and the effectiveness of their social media marketing programs.
- By deploying proven SMM methodologies and leveraging robust technology tools like TruCast, Spring Creek gives clients such as Microsoft the ability to track relevant brand conversations online, gain actionable marketing intelligence and engage with the social media communities that matter most to their brand.
- Spring Creek Group is an innovative online marketing agency that helps companies of all sizes improve brand awareness and increase site traffic through social media-based online marketing methods. Spring Creek helps brands connect with their customers via innovative social media marketing programs such as branded online communities, blogs and social networks that result in higher brand awareness, increased sales and deeper customer loyalty.
- Visible Technologies provides brands, including Microsoft, Panasonic and Hormel, the ability to bolster brand reputation, build revenue and measure the success of social media engagement. The company’s TruCast2.0 social media monitoring and engagement platform launched in May 2008.
QUOTES
- ‘Engaging with social media is not an option for marketers today ‘ it’s an imperative. Consumers are using social media like blogs, consumer-generated reviews and social networks to compare our products and determine what other people are saying about them. Working with Spring Creek Group and using Visible Technologies’ TruCast platform, we’re able to create social media marketing programs that actively engage customers in a dialogue with one another, and then track and measure the effectiveness of these programs to drive sales and build brand value.’ – Marty Collins, Microsoft Group Marketing Manager, Windows Interactive and Digital Marketing
- ‘Over the past 18 months we have been building our relationship with Spring Creek Group, working in concert with them to help industry-leading clients like Microsoft achieve their marketing objectives through effective social media monitoring, measurement and engagement.We look forward to replicating this success with current and future clients.’ ‘ Blake Cahill, senior vice president of marketing, Visible Technologies
- ‘Our partnership with Visible Technologies has proven to be a huge success helping companies like Microsoft launch, measure and optimize social marketing programs to achieve real business results. The TruCast software platform strengthens our established social media management methodology by allowing brands to easily monitor and track millions of simultaneous online conversations, articles and posts.’ ‘ Clay McDaniel, co-founder and principal of Spring Creek Group
SUPPORTING RESOURCES
- Listen to Marty Collins, Microsoft Group Marketing Manager, comment on TruCast
- Spring Creek Group
- Spring Creek Group Blog
- Visible Technologies
- TruCast
- VisInsightsBlog
About Visible Technologies
Visible Technologies helps companies listen and learn what consumers are saying about them online, and it enables brands to participate in the right conversations with the right influencers at the right time. With this real-time business insight and response, companies build relationships with customers, bolster their brands and grow revenue. Its innovative TruCast platform is the industry’s first complete solution for social media analysis and participation. Visible Technologies also helps brands and individuals manage and protect their online reputations with the powerful TruView’ search engine solution. For more information, go to http://www.visibletechnologies.com, or follow the blog at http://www.visinsights.com.
About Spring Creek Group
Spring Creek Group is an innovative online marketing agency that helps companies of all sizes improve brand awareness, increase sales, and drive site traffic through social media-based online marketing. Spring Creek Group is made up of experienced, skilled, and results-oriented online marketers with a passion for using the most innovative marketing tactics ‘ including branded communities, interactive content, and next-generation social networking’ to drive measurable business results. Members of Spring Creek Group draw on deep e-commerce and online marketing experience at companies such as RealNetworks, Microsoft, Amazon, Judy’s Book.com, Salton, and Disney Internet Group. The company’s clients include both local growing companies and nationally established industry leaders like Microsoft, Corbis and Paramount Farms. For more information, visit www.springcreekgroup.com www.springcreekgroup.com.
Irony in social media.
Tuesday, December 16th, 2008If you’re addicted to the internet, here’s a site to bookmark.
While you’re there, go ahead and put the blog to put in your reader, too.
How Will President Obama Use Social Networks to Make Change Happen?
Thursday, November 6th, 2008“Presidential Candidate” Obama was a master of using the Internet to generate money and fan support. Rather than ignoring young voters who couldn’t afford campaign donations, he encouraged them to evangelize on his behalf, an effort that has earned him a new address in Washington D.C.From something as simple as soliciting donations through a tremendous amount of emails to his supporters, to something as complex as recruiting Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes to create his own social media networking site (myBarackObama.com), it’s apparent that the president-elect certainly understands the impact and influence that the social media ecosystem holds.
So here are some of the questions on our minds at Spring Creek Group, now that he’s built this network.
- Where will it go from here? Will it simply be a fundraising tool, or will this social media network be used as a means of continuously engaging and informing the electorate?
- Now that he’s proved he can use the power of Social Networking to get people to political events and voting booths, how will he leverage this medium to get them actively engaged in community efforts?
- Since he doesn’t have to ask me for money now, what kind of emails or communication will we receive from him or his staff each every week?
President Obama has already announced Change.gov. If you were him, how would you use social media channels to keep your fans involved with the process of government?
Who Clicks on Banner and Display Ads? And Do They Matter for Direct-Response Marketing? How About Brand?
Monday, February 18th, 2008Well, a variety of research and pseudo-scholarly articles have been published of late on this topic.
One of the most interesting blog posts we recently discovered, though, actually covers a variety of related topics: yahoo vs google audience profiling, whether or not ad clicking=ecomm buying, etc. There is even a cool graph, reproduced here:
Don’t forget to check out the comment thread — some great add-on commentary, in particular a link to a study of eye-and-mouse movement over webpages that seems to suggest that banner ads are becoming like the unheard/unnoticed “white noise” of the internet.
Best Search Blogs 2007 List (and a question)
Thursday, January 3rd, 2008So Search Engine Journal posted a long and comprehensive list of nominees for best search engine blogs recently. You can find it after the jump here.
If you kept up with the flow of posts and articles to all of these sites, you would certainly be well informed about the state of all things search-engine-industry related. But looking at a list of this size, it begs the question: would you really want to, and would you even be able to do so if you did?
In today’s super-flat, broad-AND-deep, online media world, is it even possible to keep up with your RSS reader anymore? Back in the olden days of consolidated editorial publishing, there were maybe 10-20 industry and mainstream news media pubs a given marketing exec had to keep up with. A challenging task, but not an unmanageable one if he or she had access to a quality clipping service and a capable in-house or agency PR and Communications team who could remain vigilant about addressing crisis management and proactive about driving key messages with their “pitch list” the rest of the time. By my (quick) count, there are at least 50 unique blogs and sites represented in this list specific to Search. Now, I know that there aren’t nearly that many covering every industry, SEC code, or vertical…. search is aggressively covered because, well, it’s search – the most popular web application in the history of the Internet, and it’s an inherently online service so online media are going to provide ample coverage. But Search gets covered aggressively as an “industry” in mainstream pubs, newspapers, and elsewhere too. Total it all up, and you’ve got to stay on top of hundreds of online and offline/barely online media outlets and properties to stay current on the industry? Good luck.
Perhaps it’s not quite as bad if you are in a less “new media” industry… something like, say, shoelaces… or piston rings. But even for consumer brands like, say, Etnies shoes, or for middle and major market business services companies like, say, Bain Consulting, keeping abreast of “the state of your brand and industry” is an exceedingly much more difficult task now than it was ten or twenty years ago.
And what about the Communications and word of mouth implications of the new media landscape?
In today’s multi-channel media world, it can sometimes (not always – let’s not get carried away – but sometimes) matter more whether you get 10 good blog posts than if you get one good national publication “hit”, if your goal is getting brand engagement and word of mouth.
With the volume of content being published these days, brand managers need more than just a big OPML file to keep up with everything that’s being discussed about their products, services, and brands. They need technology tools built to collect, analyze, and make sense of all the white noise… and often times they need extra resources (or a partner) to help them understand where the brand equity trend-line is headed and how to formulate a strategy for how to better manage their brand presence online.
Having a social media market research and engagement program is rapidly turning – for many industries – into a “gotta have” aspect of the Marketing function rather than a luxury bolt-on for bleeding-edge marketers only.
The good news is that the technology tools are advancing rapidly, and addressing each level of the marketplace. And Spring Creek Group is certainly not alone in offering a Social Media Management strategy and program for partners who want to learn where to start, what to do, and how to do it when it comes to this new and evolving channel.
Maybe you don’t need to keep up with 50+ blogs to stay on top of your market — in all likelihood it’s more like 5 or 10. But the real question is, should you and are you? If not, perhaps it’s time to start at least understanding what’s going on out there that’s pertinent to your industry, your business, your brand, and your customers. From attention and understanding flows insights and strategy… from which can emerge a gameplan for what, if anything, to do about it.
Happy posting (and reading) in 2008.
