Marketing Virgin

Below is a useful link for web devleopers courtesy of Apple. It explains how to edit your website so that it is compatible with Apple’s Safari application.

http://developer.apple.com/iphone/devcenter/designingcontent.html 

Below is a list of the pro’s and con’s of conducting an e-mail marketing campaign to iPhone users, courtesy of the geniuses at MarketingSherpa. 

Some of the Pro’s:

1.      The iPhone accepts HTML

2.      Readability – zoom, scroll, etc.

3.      You can see who is visiting your landing pages from Apple’s Safari browser

4.      They work internationally

Some of the Con’s:

1.      Email access isn’t quite as fast

2.      AT&T’s network is slow

3.      Your “order now” button needs to be large – to accommodate larger fingers

4.      No Flash capabilities

For more information and to get the full list of pro’s and con’s, visit Marketing Sherpa.

We had mandatory “Valentivities” in the Marketing Communications department. We decorated bags, hung them on our desk, and then filled them with cards and candy.

 Winner of the most creative bag: Jordan

“If your gift is small enough to fit in this bag, I don’t want it.”

Winner of the best Valentine message: Ginger

“Your daddy must have been a baker because you’ve got a nice set of buns”

Congratulations to our winners!

My recommended article for the day:

I picked up the February edition of Inc magazine, a publication dedicated to entrepreneurs, and they have a great beginner’s guide to marketing in the digital age. They also wrote an interesting article on how Ford Model Agency used viral video to boost revenue 140%. Grab your copy today, or stop by my office to get mine.

Do you have a hard time pressing the “send” button when executing an e-mail campaign? We do!

Do you ever wonder what time of the day you should you send an e-mail to get the best open rate?

Matt O’Laughlin, Marketing Business Analyst for Second Act LLC, thinks he has the answer. According to his test results, 9AM CST fared 15.63% better than 4PM and 9.4% better than 12PM. 12PM CST fared 6.9% better than 4PM.

We are using these results to test our e-marketing strategy. So far, so good. Make sure you conduct your own testing as results can vary from B2B to B2C.

I checked my mailbox yesterday and what did I have? A handful of what we call “junk mail.”

You know what I’m talking about - “0% interest until 2012,” “Get two 20 ounce bottles of cleaner for only $9.99!” “Want to refinance your mortgage?” As usual, I immediately threw away this mail while wondering how many trees were sacrificed for its meaningless purpose and pondering its ramifications on our ecosystem. (Okay, I’m from Austin, it’s my inner hippy speaking).

As a person in marketing, I have to wonder to myself, “who the heck came up with this marketing strategy? Isn’t direct mail in this form dead?”

This is why opt-in marketing is so important. In my opinion, it’s the sign of a truly successful marketer. I think this is what social/next gen marketing/web 2.0 is all about. Get your audience to listen to you - voluntarily. Read blogs, subscribe to an RSS feed, join a group, sign up for e-mail communication - these are all things that you want your target market to do.

So here’s to you, Mr. Direct Mail Spammer. I know that the days at your job are numbered.

Keep your trash to yourself…

Did you watch the Superbowl? I ditched all my friend’s Superbowl parties so I could finish up a few home improvement projects. Fortunately I was able to catch most of the commercials (and the last 8 minutes of the game, nice work Eli!).

Amp (energy drink) had a relatively controversial one. Some people found it humorous, many hated it. What do you think? Which ones were your favorites?