Interactive Angle

Making Digital Outdoor Advertisment Interactive

Came across this company while doing some research on the Web.  The company is called MegaPhone.  The idea behind thier service is that they turn can turn any cell phone into a remote controller for a video game. 

Picture this.  You are in New York and you are walking in Times Square.  You look up and to view the large digital screen.  When viewing the screen it gives you a number to call.  Once you make the call, you read the instructions  given on how to interact with the screen.  Using your keypad you press 2 to move up, 4 to the left, 6 to the right, 8 down and 5 to fire.   Finally, you start playing the game and interacting with total strangers in a public.  How cool!

Check it out.

10 Instant Ways To Improve Yourself

Cool article I found on lifehack.org.  The title says it all - 10 virtually instant ways to improve your life.  So simple and straight to the point.  The 10 points are:

1. Stop jumping to conclusions
2. Don’t dramatize
3. Don’t invent rules
4. Avoid stereotyping or labeling people or situations
5. Quit being a perfectionist
6. Don’t over-generalize
7. Don’t take things so personally
8. Don’t assume your emotions are trustworthy
9. Don’t let life get you down
10. Don’t hang on to the past

It truly makes me wonder how many times the problems we have in our life are simply manifested from our minds.  ENJOY! 

   

Principles of Content Marketing (Part 5)

Principle 4- Content is Strategic

A content strategy is the organizing principle behind three elements fundamental to any successful marketing campaign:

• Your brand and marketing messages
• Information your audience values
• The channels your audience prefers

Principles of Content Marketing (Part 4)

Principle 3 - Content is Systematic

Content that builds brand and delivers ROI happens on purpose. Developing it is a systematic and rigorous process that adds value with each step.  The process includes:

Insight - Start by digging deep into the way your audiences think. What is their most pressing need? What is the trigger that will open their mind to your message? When you discover what they value, examine their work styles and lifestyle habits to determine how they want to consume your content and when.

Ideas - Content that moves the needle is much more than information. It’s actionable, empowering, uplifting, entertaining — whatever is most relevant to your audiences. By transforming information into ideas, you can position your brand as a thought leader and change perception in your industry or new marketplaces.

Inspiration - Nothing really great happens if your audience isn’t motivated — to pick up the phone, log on, change their behavior or think differently. Inspiration can be the catalyst that turns a good idea into a wow experience.

Interaction - The highest level of audience engagement is interaction. Are you having conversations with your customers to understand their thinking? Are you getting feedback from employee audiences about communications issues?

Principles of Content Marketing (Part 3)

Principle 2 - Content Builds Brand

Strong brands are powerfully linked to a promise: Volvo and safety. Disney and family fun. Apple and individuality. Content is the information and shared experiences that bring a brand promise to life for audiences. For example, Volvo created a club for customers who survived a crash in their Volvo. Owners tell their inspirational stories of survival and build a community, further reinforcing an already powerful brand.

Principles of Content Marketing (Part 2)

Principle 1 - Content is the new currency

There has always been a basic human need for power through information. Each of us wants the best, the coolest, at the best price. We want to be smart about what’s important to us. Whether it’s a new car or the inside scoop on search engine marketing, knowledge is power — that fact will never change.

What’s changed is the technology that delivers knowledge. Today’s audiences are in control, selecting what they want to see and when. They are generating their own content, viewing 75,000 YouTube videos a day, monitoring millions of blogs and user reviews. Your challenge: Identify the content your audiences value and deliver the information and experiences they can’t get anywhere else. Content is currency — you can bank on it.

Integrated Measurement strategy (Part 3)

Identify the key performance indicators (KPIs) and define an objective

When I start to create a measurement strategy the first thing I do is to define all the key performance indicators (KPIs) that will be used to measure the success of a project.  I usually create a table with a spreadsheet to house the KPI information.  Within the table I create either three or fours columns.  The first column within the table created I use for the name of the KPI, second column is usually the description of the KPI and finally the last column is the objective of the KPI.  If your project is an integrated program that involves many channels then I would also create another column to specify which channel the metric is coming from.  Once the table is created I go through each of the KPIs and define an objective.  This is a key step to the process.  When defining an objective I always ask myself, what will I learn from this KPI or what insight will I gain?  If I am unable to define a clear measurement objective for a KPI it is removed from the list. 

Principles of Content Marketing (Part 1)

I have been working in the Interactive field for a long time now.  In addition to working in the interactive field for a while, I have been really lucky to work with some of the industry’s best and brightest people delivering innovating interactive solutions..  With each interactive project I encounter, I always seem to have the same issue at the end of the project.  This issue deals with content. 

At the end of a project there never seems to be enough content, nor is there a strategy to maintain the existing content or a vision for future.  It just seems there is so much emphasis placed on design and the technical side of an interactive project and really not enough on the content side.  There are tons of guidelines and for the design and technical side, but very few for the content.  Knowing this deficiency I have developed along with my colleagues four principle guidelines of content marketing.  They are:

1. Content is the new currency
2. Content Builds Brand
3. Content is Systematic
4. Content is Strategic

Understanding and respecting theses guidelines is critical for developing successful and sustainable content strategies for any type of project.

Management – Using the right communication channels at the right time

One of the biggest gripes I have is when a manager communicates to a person on their team regarding a conduct issue via email.  It even upsets me more when it happens through instant messaging (IM).  I just cannot understand this.  Do not get me wrong I love email and IM as communication channels, but as a manger there are underlying rules for the use of these tools.  When a conduct issue occurs the number one rule is to always address it in person. If you are unable to do it in person then use a phone.  In my experience most of the time the issue turns out to be a miscommunication.  Too many times I have seen individuals interpret an email or IM the wrong way and get all worked up about absolutely nothing.  This advice may seem really simple and in my opinion it is, but today I just see this happening way too often.