Hasta La Creative!

In a world where relationship marketing is the be all and end all, email wins again.

A new study conducted by Lyris and recapped by Marketing Profs, lays out the argument for email (click for infographic).

I’m surprised to see email rank higher than personal referrals. What does that say about the state of our friendships today? Maybe nothing.

Another interesting data point in the graph is how far down mobile devices rank. Mobile is reportedly the new frontier for marketers, although consumers may not see it that way.

This bit from the report is also worth considering:

When consumers research purchases online, 77% say they often spend their time comparing product prices and features. They prefer company channels over independent channels to do this research, by a wide margin.

On the other hand, they rate independent channels as more important for subjective information, such as expert and peer reviews.

People are saying give us “Product pricing and features, please, and save the ‘ad speak’ for another day.” What are we saying back? “Hey look, here’s a shiny new App — it orders pizza for you!”

For me, the takeaway here is people look to email as a trusted channel for receiving pertinent information from trusted friends, family and companies they buy from and are interested in. There’s room for advertising, and content marketing in the overall mix, but there may or may not be room for these things in an email to subscribers.

“Product pricing and features, please.”

To a creative person working in advertising, this sounds impossibly boring. But to a busy person who isn’t interested in what the brand has to say, per se, product pricing and a break down of features and benefits solves their needs, and guides them to a purchase decision.

The post Email Wins Again appeared first on AdPulp.

NFC – near field communication – is a relatively new technology that has the potential to revitalize the direct mail marketing sector. It enables marketers to deliver content via an embedded NFC chip that allows wireless communication when a user touches a smartphone or mobile device to a piece of marketing collateral or brings the device into close proximity with an NFC tag.

Although NFC technology has been around since the 1980s and marketers are increasingly using it today, the technology was slower to catch on in marketing than QR code technology. QR codes – two-dimensional matrix codes that are often printed on direct mail marketing material – have found a ready user audience in the marketing realm for several years now. QR codes appear on everything from movie posters to fast-food restaurant drink cups to ketchup bottles. With QR codes, consumers can scan the printed code with their smartphone’s camera to be connected to online digital content.

Both NFC and QR codes serve a similar function: They are a bridge between the physical and digital worlds. NFC codes create a digital bridge to physical collateral, and unlike calls to action that require consumers to type in a URL or scan a code to get redirected to an online message, with NFC, all the consumer has to do is touch their smartphone or mobile device to the collateral for an instantaneous connection. It’s a unique way to connect the physical and digital spaces. This makes both technologies highly attractive to marketers.

But despite the current popularity of QR codes, many analysts believe that NFC technology is poised to replace QR codes as the marketing tool of choice. That’s because NFC is generally easier to use: Depending on the scanning application, QR codes can take seven or more steps to direct users to the digital marketing content. NFC codes don’t require any action on the part of the user other than bringing the device into close proximity to the tag.

However, QR codes got a huge head-start over NFC, mainly due to the fact that popular smartphone manufacturer Apple has been slow to embrace NFC technology. But other tech giants like Google have recently rolled out new products that use NFC, such as the Google Wallet, which uses NFC to transmit payment details to merchants for wireless transactions. Additionally, Samsung and other mobile smartphone makers have paved the way by incorporating NFC technology in their smartphones since as early as 2006.

NFC and Direct Mail

The use of NFC as a marketing tool is on the rise, but it’s not yet pervasive. That means marketers who use it now are early adopters. This is a unique opportunity for marketers such as direct mail specialist to get ahead of the curve. It is also an opportunity to build a digital bridge for consumers with a tool that eliminates the need for the target audience to take multiple steps to reach online content.

In the past, one obstacle to widespread NFC adoption was the need to embed chips or tags in the call to action material, which could take many forms, including letterhead paper, poster stock, business cards and virtually any other material on which a marketing message can appear. However, the development of NFC-enabled papers and plastics eliminate this barrier, opening up many new NFC applications, including use of the paper to create direct mail pieces of all types.

Developments like NCF-enabled paper, creating cheaper methods of tag production and technology adoption will help push NFC usage rates higher, as will Apple’s embrace of the technology since it is becoming more commonplace. The technology’s applications are practically limitless. Proximity marketing applications can allow merchants to convey messages to any smartphone within range of a particular product, allowing marketers to precisely target messages to consumers and gauge reactions to offers in real time.

Marketers who are early adopters of this emerging technology tool can differentiate themselves from competitors by developing analytics around the technology. This can provide a major strategic advantage. Marketers can also use NFC to improve their tactical approach by eliminating the need to create short URLs, relying instead on proximity to complete the connection between the direct mail marketing piece and the online offer.

By giving marketers a new way to bridge the physical and digital gap, NFC technology offers unprecedented opportunities to brands that want to convey a tech-savvy image while delivering valuable offers and collecting vital consumer insights. NFC is positioned to revitalize the direct mail marketing sector, enabling instantaneous delivery of relevant messages affordably and effectively.

This guest post was written by Jacob Beckley, vice president of Innovation at Fusion92

Email marketing is always changing. While overall read rates declined in Q4 2012, some marketers defied the odds with responsible, well-planned email sending strategies. However, as the top email marketers continue to test and optimize, new subscriber behaviors are changing the rules of the game.

Download this Email Intelligence Report now from Return Path to tap into the latest data trends and analytics to optimize your email campaigns and email ROI.

To promote an upcoming sound art and music installation exhibit, Bonniers Konsthall, a contemporary art gallery in Stockholm, created, with help from DDB Stockholm, a Spotify track list that became the invitation to a new exhibit, More Than Sound.

A target group of art critics and bloggers were emailed a personalized link to the track list that contained the invitation (made up by the track titles) and music, created by experimental music producer Hans Berg, which consisted of music samples from the exhibit.

Inventive.

Marketing firm Epsilon is out with its sixth Look Book that highlight creativity in email marketing.

Liquid Skies est le projet de court-métrage d’animation d’Annis Naeem pour ses études au Art Center College of Design. Avec une réalisation réussie et un parti-pris graphique, cette vidéo narrant les aventures d’un astronaute est à découvrir dans la suite.

Previously on Fubiz

• Cybo – Sky Walkers
• A History of the Sky
• Canary Sky – Tenerife

Copyright Fubiz™ – Suivez nous sur Twitter et Facebook

Maybe it’s the transitory nature of business these days or the the strict focus on business/clients and profitability, but finding and being a mentor is still invaluable to our industry and an enriching part of our humanity.

Early on, there were no formal mentoring programs where I began, but there were a lot of smart, fascinating people who were willing to talk about their work, their thought processes, and their clients. I’d watch how they presented, how they worked with clients, and how they handled themselves and their craft. There was much to study and absorb.

Slowly, I struck up conversations with them and developed relationships with my secret mentors, and it wasn’t just people from the creative side. I got to know senior account directors and media planners. Even the crusty, old guy in the studio was a source of wisdom and experience.

That’s one of the great things about our business: There’s always something new to learn if you’re open to it. I’d encourage people who are breaking into the business to poke your nose into a veteran’s office or cube and get to know them. Show some enthusiasm. That’s how you start a relationship. Later you might ask his or her opinion about your work or for career advice.

You don’t have to act on all you learn and hear, but you might walk away with a piece of knowledge you didn’t show up to work with. You can use what you learn from others to help chart your own course.

If you’re a veteran, show some patience and interest with the newbies. Don’t forget we were all newbies once upon a time. Spend more time chatting with your next generation, and get to know their work, life, and expectations. Your thinking and work will benefit from their freshness. Think of it as a reverse form of mentoring.

Give it a try. Ignore your e-mails and silence your Blackberries for a few minutes and reach out. It’s well worth the effort for everyone.

John Kistner is a freelance Creative Director/Writer/Closet Cartoonist. You can check out his handiwork here.

In a world where clutter is king, advertisers everywhere are doing their best to break through the noise. A word of advice (or three) — keep it simple.

That’s exactly what Australian agency Cummins Nitro did in their campaign for Tourism Queensland.

Challenged to “create international awareness of the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef” and drive tourism there, the local agency executed a campaign that placed classified ads in newspapers across the globe. Unusual? Not if you’re looking to fill a position for “The Best Job in the World.”

The job profile called for an island caretaker whose responsibilities would involve menial jobs like cleaning the pool and feeding the fish. The chosen employee would also be expected to blog weekly about their adventures on the island. Throw in a rent-free three-bedroom villa, a roughly $8,800/month salary and… BAM! One fan-freakin-tastic job.

Now, in an economic recession when thousands are looking for gainful employment… who wouldn’t love a 6-month paying gig feeding fishies on a tropical island, right?

This simple idea sparked an international movement. News and media sources picked up on the incredible job offer, millions of people flocked to the campaign’s website — islandreefjob.com — and by the end of it, over 34,000 people from 200 countries had submitted 60-second videos about why they should have the best job in the world.

Cummins Nitro put the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef back on the map. And if that wasn’t enough — they have racked up in Cannes this week, picking up three Grand Prix awards in the PR, Direct and Cyber categories thus far.

And the lucky bloke who got the job…?

A Brit by the name of Ben Southall, who reports for duty next Wednesday, July 1st. You can read more about Ben’s adventures at bestjobben.com.

Deanna Lazzaroni is a self-professed sponge of creative advertising, armed with enthusiastic vigor to tackle the challenges of the mighty marketer’s world. She’s ripe for the picking at deannalazzaroni.com.

Para anunciar que agora seus clientes podem ver programas de esportes em alta definição, a Direct TV apresentou uma campanha bem bacana. Veiculada em banheiros, a famosa mídia indoor, os cartazes mostravam cenas esportivas, porém com um detalhe: o anúncio mostrava bolas de verdade.

Este diferencial, que chamava atenção dentro dos banheiros, era para lembrar o cliente que ver televisão em alta definição é ver as cenas com muito mais detalhe e realismo. Uma pequena solução criativa que da um “plus” a mais na peça, impactando, de forma inusitada, o receptor da mensagem publicitária.

Criação da Leo Burnett de Porto Rico.

LOWE, Bangkok found a way to do something creative with Direct.

[via Ad Goodness]