These days I’d be surprised to find a person in charge of a company’s marketing who didn’t know the pros and cons of Flash. (Even though I still come across websites built entirely in Flash, which is awful for search engine optimization). However, I’m not sure they would necessarily know the benefits of Flex and how it relates to Flash. Let’s take a closer look.

Flash

Flash is great for designers who are looking to create graphics and animation. They can building everything from the ground up to create:

• Visually stunning web pages with capabilities for intermixing rich media such as video, graphics, and animation.
• Interactivity that is persuasive and creates a positive user experience.
• Flexibility for use in many different business applications.
• Extensibility for use in different platforms and devices.
• Small file sizes for quick initialization and load times.

Asynchronous Flash and XML give you greater control over applications, and it can also be used to trigger additional interactions, launch supporting communication channels like email or sms text messages, and store valuable data for reporting and analysis.

Early on, Flash presented many positive use cases but faced significant hurdles dealing with compatibility and lack of installs amongst personal computers. These days 98% of computers have Flash installed, and it works seamlessly with a variety of different programming languages and devices. Furthermore, recent news from Google reports they have made significant steps towards improved Flash indexing for search engine optimization (SEO).

Now enter Flex.

Flex

Think of Flex as Flash for web developers. Instead of using it for visual design, Flex is better suited for business applications that require data manipulation and visualization. It has more components than Flash for achieving this, and the resounding feedback from our Technical Services team is that it is much faster and easier to use. Flex can integrate into any database or work with any web programming language. Flex is a framework for Flash, so you can build something in Flash and then export it as a Flex application. It will work with Mac or Windows, so you don’t have to create separate versions to work on both.

Part of the framework of Flex is that it gives you a lot of different libraries that are at your disposal. For example, Flex easily consumes RSS and XML to parse the feed to display whatever information is needed. This is great for something like a widget where you would want it to check for the most recent information to display.

Sound complicated? Here are a couple of use cases to give you a better idea.

Kiosks

One of the ways Twelve Horses has been using Flex is for Kiosk interfaces. It works very well for getting things to work like.

• Touchscreen Technology
• Text to Speech
• Ticket Scanning
• Credit Card Scanning
• Printing
• Braille and ADA Compliance

Flex also works well for the backend management of the Kiosk. You can check the status of the Kiosk, as well as update it with new content from anywhere in the world. Because all of the interactions with the Kiosk are fed into a database, you can also use it to run reports based on customer behavior and total sales generated.

Project Management

Because Flex does a great job of visualizing data, it works really well for running visual reports like Gannt Charts and graphs related to new business, productivity, status, resource forecasting, profitability analysis, and so on. Combine this with the Salesforce.com toolkit for Flex, and now you can pull data through their API for any object in Salesforce.com. Ordinarily you have to build all those functions into the application, but instead it is done for you. Combine Flex with Adobe Air, and now you have a desktop application that is easily deployed across the entire organization to facilitate everything from time entry to new business opportunities.

As you can see, Flex is another great tool in our quiver of programming languages and frameworks to pull from. It is fast, flexible, and capable of being customized for a variety of different business applications. Contact us to find out how we can further integrate your online marketing endeavors with Flex.

For those engaged in or planning to implement email marketing campaigns, please be advised that new rule provisions pertaining to the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003 (CAN-SPAM) go into effect today. Twelve Horses recommends consulting with your own legal counsel to determine how these rules specifically impact your email campaigns. However, we would like to provide you with some more information. Below is a summary of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved rules.

(1) an e-mail recipient cannot be required to pay a fee, provide information other than his or her e-mail address and opt-out preferences, or take any steps other than sending a reply e-mail message or visiting a single Internet Web page to opt out of receiving future e-mail from a sender; (2) the definition of “sender” was modified to make it easier to determine which of multiple parties advertising in a single e-mail message is responsible for complying with the Act’s opt-out requirements; (3) a “sender” of commercial e-mail can include an accurately-registered post office box or private mailbox established under United States Postal Service regulations to satisfy the Act’s requirement that a commercial e-mail display a “valid physical postal address”; and (4) a definition of the term “person” was added to clarify that CAN-SPAM’s obligations are not limited to natural persons.

How does this effect you?

As long as you are sending permission-based emails, and your opt-out pages are in compliance, you have very little to worry about. The 10-day mandatory opt-out requirement is still in place, and the Commission determined not to “designate additional ‘aggravated violations’ under the Act.” But you need to be sure you are in compliance. Here is some more information as it applies to the above provisions.

1. The first provision deals with Unsubscribe Requirements. If you require your customers to visit more than one web page or enter a password to unsubscribe from your email list then you are not in compliance. In addition, a recipient cannot be required to provide anything other than their email address. This means you cannot ask for their physical mailing address or request a fee.
2. The second provision addresses the Definition of a Sender. If your company engages in affiliate marketing and sends email campaigns representing more than one brand, there must be a designated lead marketer. In other words, whomever is listed in the “From” line is the designated sender and the one who manages the unsubscribes. Agencies who send email campaigns on behalf of their clients or partners should also pay careful attention to this.
3. The third provision is fairly minor but indicates that you can now list a PO Box as a valid physical address.
4. The fourth provision clarifies the definition of a “Person.” The FTC has made it clear that no organization, association, group, or non-profit is exempt from the rules under CAN-SPAM.

The FTC also made it clear that the same rules apply to any “Forward-to-a-Friend” action. Furthermore, there has been clarification of “transactional or relationship message(s).” If a customer unsubscribes from your list, this applies to any additional email that is ever sent from your brand in the future. This means making sure your data is clean and synchronized and replicated across all departments within the organization.

Hopefully this helps you take the proper course of action regarding your email marketing endeavors. If you need any assistance with your email campaigns and/or the management of your data please feel free to Contact Us.

We live in uncertain times. Volatility in the market place caused by inflation, the mortgage crisis, and rising fuel prices have placed considerable downward pressure upon the average consumer. These factors have a direct impact on the bottom line of most businesses, and play a significant role in how marketers allocate their budgets. Now more than ever sales and marketing strategies must achieve the greatest reach and return on investment possible.

Print buys and traditional media spends require considerable investment and frequency to produce results. Not only are they expensive, but they typically limit engagement to direct pitches as opposed to two-way dialogues with customers. While metrics such as circulation, GRPs, and Nielsen ratings are good, they are hardly exact. Coupons, barcodes, and phone numbers can be put in place to track return on investment, but what if the amount of people that are actually seeing and using them is going down?

Everywhere you look these days you read headlines like:

Top 100 Advertisers Shifted $1 Billion To the Web Last Year At The Expense Of TV And Newspapers

Implosion: Newspapers Down 12.8% In 1Q

Auto Industry Revs Up Online Spending

Anheuser-Busch Looks To Slash Costs, But Not Marketing Spend

Major brands are shifting their marketing and advertising dollars to the web because, why?

• The Web is THE source for information and interaction.
• It represents the largest consolidation of customers with expendable income.
• You can reach customers at the point of making a purchasing decision.
• The online shopping experience is more valuable because of product comparisons, ratings, and feedback.
• You can engage your customer on a personal level and have meaningful dialogue that forms a positive relationship.
• The scale and extensibility of the Web, and web applications, is practically boundless.
• You can target campaigns based on niches, social networks, groups, keywords, customer type, and geography.
• Creative and messaging can be dynamic, interactive, and actionable.
• Companies are not bound by 3rd-party deadlines and campaigns can be launched quickly and cost-effectively.
• It is easy to append, shift,  and replace an online marketing campaign at any point in the cycle.
• The shelf life of a web page, blog post, video, or campaign is potentially limitless.
• And most important of all, you can Track, Measure, and Analyze everything.

Josh Bernoff from Forrester Research recently stated, “In the last recession, online spending cratered along with the rest of the advertising industry. But since interactive marketing programs are now fueled by measurable results, not dot-com madness, we believe that they can thrive in a recession.” Bernoff added, “Social applications in particular, such as communities and social networking sites, are cost-effective and have a measurable impact on prospects’ decisions in the consideration stage, which will be important to companies under recessionary pressures.”

Enter Social Media Marketing:

Businesses are increasingly realizing they can start a business blog, build out a YouTube channel, and join a few social networks for a fraction of the cost for a TV ad; and there is an audience. Joe Mandese, editor of MediaPost recently cited a study stating, “for adults 18-34 – social media now is the dominant form of personal communication media, with 85% of this influential demographic group relying on one or more Web 2.0 platforms to stay in touch with others.”

I guess you can call it Viral Marketing…if you want.

What has long been described as viral or buzz marketing is really the practice of getting customers to take action on a particular message by consuming it and passing it on. Because of the extensive reach of the web, a successful campaign can achieve tremendous success for your brand. But how does that relate to ROI? How much does a friend cost or a video view worth? The answer is, it depends. It depends on what you do with the relationship. Did you capture an email address from a sign up form? Did you overlay a link in your video that directed people to shopping cart for a particular product? Did it inspire enough motivation for someone to come down and test drive the latest model of car? Social marketing must consider all of these aspects and then some.

Some Words of Caution:

There is a right way and a wrong way to delve into the practice of social media marketing. If you do not have a clear strategy combined with a creative delivery your campaign will fail. People will not immediately eschew a social campaign because it is a business, but they will have higher expectations and be hyper critical. A few things to consider about a social marketing campaign:

• It must be clever, and it should resonate on a psychographic scale.
• It should be architected to persuade customers down a certain path but never force them.
• It should deliver on its promise.

As the Social Graph demonstrates, not only are you going where your customers already are, but you are giving them the means and the reasons to come back to interact with you. Done right, not only will it raise brand awareness, but it will also boost revenues by increasing direct and indirect web traffic.

Move Forward or Fall Back.

In an uncertain economic climate it is typical for many businesses to batten down the hatches and wait out the storm. They become conservative and unwilling to experiment. They worry that any marketing efforts will simply fall on deaf ears. These are legitimate concerns. Fortunately, the evolution of web applications, and our ability to get a message out quickly, cost-effectively, and with the right measurement tools in place means you don’t have to bind your hands with complacency. You can proactively get your message out and build your web base. Test, Tweak, Rinse and Repeat. Find the people that are searching for what you have to offer.

If you would like more information on social media marketing Click Here or Contact Us.

When I recently came across these old gas price signs I had to take this picture. The days of a gallon of gas costing less than a bottle of water are long gone. But as the cost of crude oil climbs, auto manufacturers have to get more creative with their engineering, as well as online marketing.

Last week this headline hit the news feeds:

Planworks, Starcom MediaVest Group’s dedicated General Motors buying-and-planning unit, has cut 25 jobs. The cuts come as GM is preparing to shift half of its $3 billion budget into digital and one-to-one marketing within the next three years.

This headline demonstrates the shift that is occurring in both consumer habits and the agency world. For example, is Gen Y a) subscribing to print publications and picking up the newspaper, or b) surfing the web and sending text messages on their iPhones?

Looks like GM gets it. $3 billion is no small spend, and it may even exceed data released by BIGresearch who provided a report in 2006 (see below) comparing the amount large brands spent on ads vs their influence on consumers.

   Automotive Ad Spend vs. Influence to Purchase
                           Spend/Influence**

Advertiser  Magazines  Newspaper  Outdoor    TV    Radio   Internet
---------  ----------  ---------  -------  ------- ------- -------
General      12.19%/     6.66%/    1.24%/  40.29%/  3.04%/  3.59%/
Motors        16.9%      17.0%     10.2%   17.5%    6.4%     8.7%

Ford         13.08%/     5.89%/    0.82%/  40.85%/  1.52%/  3.85%/
              17.0%      16.5%     11.9%    18.0%    6.7%    8.4%

Toyota       12.95%/     2.58%/    1.09%/  39.47%/  1.40%/  2.79%/
              19.0%      15.8%     10.5%    16.8%    5.3%    8.6%

*Source: BIGresearch SIMM 11 and analysis of Ad Age Domestic Ad Spending
         by Category (2006)
**       % of Total US Ad Spend/Media influence on brand owners to purchase
         a vehicle

What GM undoubtedly sees is an increase over time in the Influence metric for Internet, as well as the eventual merging of Internet and TV.

GM has already begun to foray into interactive websites and social media marketing campaigns.

Here are a few examples:

• GMNext
• Social Media Newsroom
• Chrysler Blog
• GM Fast Lane Blogs

At the heart of GMNext is a two-way dialogue with customers about everything from environment to innovation. It is a commendable endeavor and demonstrates a commitment to an open conversation about the future of transportation. Big brands like GM cannot afford to seem out of touch or archaic. They have to be on the pulse of current and future consumer preferences in order to be relevant in the market place. Using the web to engage customers is an excellent way of gathering data, and it has far more reach and measurement potential than a conversation in a showroom at a local dealership.

Of course, it is all lip service unless GM’s products actually evolve with their online strategies. My guess is they will because they have to, because I certainly won’t be buying another car that only gets 18 mpg. I just hope it is fast enough.

tags: gmnext, general motors, online marketing, social media

On Friday, I attended a luncheon hosted by the Tampa Bay Chapter of the American Marketing Association held at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center to learn how Disney’s theatrical production, The Lion King is promoted through marketing, advertising, and public relations. Whether or not you enjoy Broadway shows or anything to do with Disney, there is much to be gleaned from the incredibly successful marketing of this production. To date, the show has generated more than $3.2 billion and attracted 30 million theatergoers around the world.

The presentation was delivered by Scott A. Hemerling who currently oversees the marketing, advertising, publicity, and promotions as the National Press Representative for the national tours of Disney’s THE LION KING.  Prior to this, he worked in the same capacity representing the third national touring production of The Phantom of the Opera.

Some of the more interesting aspects of Scott’s presentation detailed their careful selection of those cities in which they perform, and how they tailor the marketing strategy for each location. This can consist of everything from messaging to displays to involvement with the community. For a 2nd-tier city like Tampa, their marketing and advertising budget consists of around 12-15% of gross revenue or roughly $125 – 150,000. Much of this goes to carefully selected ad and banner placements and media buys. Surprisingly, none of this budget goes to online marketing, but that is something Scott admittedly said needs to change.

Where The Lion Kings gets its greatest reach, however, is through the strength of their brand. Media outlets want to be associated with the show regardless of whether they are directly receiving ad revenues. They will hold contests and promotions with ticket giveaways to demonstrate a link with the show and their community. Scott and his team are happy to oblige as long as these partners adhere to their branding standards.

It is such a powerful community event that they would be remiss not to be involved. Aside from the entertainment value, the economic impact of the show generates an additional $3 for every $1 spent. Just think about an entire stage crew living in your town for 2 months, let alone many other ancillary items and expenditures.

On top of the marketing budget for each city, there is also a general budget for the creation of tchotchke items like you see in the picture. Notice, by the way, what seems at first like such a simple logo for such an extravagant production translates so well no matter the medium. You could see the lion on a giant billboard, or the head of a tack.

Right now, The Lion King  is entertaining audiences in two locations.  As soon as the Tampa show comes to an end the crew will be packed up in 24hrs and on to the next location, continuously leapfrogging the other production from one destination to the next. It is an impressive undertaking that requires more than a dull roar to fill seats and perpetuate the show. Aside from an aggressive online strategy, Scott and his team have a great formula, and it was very interesting to learn how they have constructed their marketing strategy.