If you work with brands that maintain digital properties, you have opportunities to recommend and integrate leading-edge technology into your digital programs. And with some luck, you’ll have successfully amplified that brand with the buzz generated, helped that brand gain market share and maybe even won an award or two! In this economic period of slashed budgets and diminished expectations, now is the time to really dig to uncover and leverage new, cost-effective ways to differentiate your brand while still positively and proactively engaging your customers.
One area where brands and their agencies are still focused (or need to be if they are late to the party!) is the social media space. And for good reason–social [...]

ToysRUs bought the domain name Toys.com at auction for $5.1 million after a heated bidding war with domain holding company National A-1, owner of a portfolio of names that includes free.com and divorce.com.
Was this a good purchase for ToyRUs? It is if they want to own the online space for toys. Wonder what their estimate is to recoup the investment for this domain? Is the long term goal branding, increased market share via more traffic to the site, taking advantage of type-in traffic or to save money on paid search?
Clearly ToysRUs has been eyeing this asset for years and finally had the chance to buy it and did so when they had the chance, despite [...]

An article this morning on mobile commerce - “Survey Says: Retailers Need to Go Mobile” - referenced a recent survey conducted by Foresee Results that reported nearly a third of online shoppers said they used their mobile phone as part of their regular shopping trip. Whether used for calling or texting a friend for advice prior to making a purchase, or for taking a picture of a product with their mobile phone and sending it to themselves to look at it later from home, the mobile phone has become an important tool that consumers use when making purchase decisions. The article went on to explain the need for brick-and-mortar retailers to consider developing and [...]

Before widespread adoption of the Internet, Facebook, Twitter or even email, using your telephone was the only form of social networking that involved dedicated technology of any sort. The only way to reach out beyond your immediate physical location to contact someone was to pick up your phone handset, spin that rotary dial and ring someone up.
Even today, the immediacy and intimacy of voice still far outshines email, instant messaging and text messaging for true interpersonal communication. Knowing this, why is voice hardly considered for digital applications and not integrated into all web sites and other digital media as a standard practice?
In my opinion, too many of the tools we have today (such as voicemail) [...]