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E-Commerce Growth Expected This Holiday Season

Monday, September 19th, 2011

Online marketers need to brace themselves for a good holiday season. That’s according to a panel of digital marketing experts who predict online sales will grow 12% in 2011. Holiday sales are considered to be sales that take place in the months of November and December. 12% growth would match the same growth online sales experienced last year. In fact, online sales have grown every year since 2005 with the exception of 2008 where it was down 4%.

Most news regarding the global economy is doom & gloom. So how can these experts expect growth in an unforgiving recession? A high share of online consumers are affluent. These consumers are apt to spending a good amount of discretionary income when the stock market is healthy. But even stocks have been lagging and inconsistent this year. All of the quotes tied to the experts who predict a 12% growth in online sales this season allude to these points. Nevertheless, they’re still convinced that it’s going to be busy for ecommerce this holiday season. It’s worth noting that the economy was definitely an issue last year when ecommerce growth was 12% as well. We will hope for the best and know soon enough.

Tags:ecommerce, economy, Holiday Shopping, Marketing, online marketing, online sales, recession
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Twitter Hits 100 Million Users, So What’s Next?

Friday, September 9th, 2011

Twitter announced this week that the social network hit 100 million users and that 50 million of them log in everyday. Wow, that’s an astounding number! Twitter defines an active user as an account holder who logs in at least once a month. 40 percent of current Twitter users are signing in just to observe what’s going on, without sending messages. There are 200 million registered Twitter accounts total.

So now what is next for Twitter? What can users expect to see changing as this social network grows? One thing that CEO Dick Costolo is aiming for is no more fail whales. If you use Twitter often you’ve probably noticed an improvement regarding the site reaching capacity. This is because last year, Twitter beefed up their infrastructure to accommodate to their growth which they plan to keep up with during their next phase of growth.

Twitter also plans to aim for the mainstream. While 40% of users don’t actively tweet, Costolo has talked about creating workflows to turn passive users into active ones. Simplifying a user’s ability to find content is another goal. While there is so much mainstream and niche content floating around on Twitter, many users aren’t up to speed enough to know how to find it. For example, using hash tags and other characters are foggy to many users so Twitter aims to have the content delivered or at least a lot easier to find.

Design changes are also on the horizon for Twitter. They plan to simplify the interface and make it consistent between platforms where Twitter.com will look the exact same as Twitter on tablets and mobile phones.

One thing Twitter will not pursue are obnoxious ways of increasing revenue. Costolo says the health of Twitter is great and although he is presented with hundreds of ways to increase revenue beyond advertising, he declines, “The advertising business will sustain us”.

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Tags:growth, Social Media, social networking, Twitter
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When Packaging Gets Clever

Friday, September 2nd, 2011

Clever, innovative packaging sparks the imagination and draws attention to a product. So often companies neglect packaging all together and miss a big marketing opportunity. But then there’s imaginative packaging like the examples below that go the extra mile and bring a product to life through packaging. A less is more approach with minimal package design focuses on a strong visual rather than taglines and bullet points. Who said packaging has to be boring?

Tags:creative packaging, Marketing, minimal packaging, Packaging Design, panasonic
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Libraries Nationwide Experiencing Growth

Monday, August 22nd, 2011

Speculation of the demise of public libraries has been a talker over the last handful of years. With everything going digital (music, movies, books) it was at least clear that if libraries were going to make it through this transitional period, they would have to be willing to change with the times. The widespread opinion by many was that libraries wouldn’t survive long term but would start to see a decline in overall patronage. If that is the case, we’re not seeing evidence of this yet.

Take Wethersfield Library in Connecticut for example. According to their library director, overall patronage last year increased. More than 193,000 people visited the library in 2010- an average of 550 visitors each day. That’s a 4.5% increase from the previous year. Quite an astonishing number considering what libraries are apparently up against. In addition to their physical visits to the library, 180,500 people visited the library’s website.

In the past year, Wethersfield Library also had 54,800 questions to reference staff (18% increase from the previous year) and borrowed 363,900 items from the library to patrons. 17,00 people attended programs offered by the library, ranging from job-hunting support groups to children’s reading events to movie screenings.

The increased use is similar to increased patronage in other libraries nationwide. The American Library Association has noted that since the recession began, libraries across the country have seen increased use by people who have fallen on hard times or who are seeking jobs and visit libraries to use the free computer to look for work and apply online.

Seemingly, the recession has had a big hand in these nationwide increases for libraries. For example, people have been dropping magazine subscriptions to save money while going to their local library to borrow magazines. While the economy might be a temporary explanation for these increases, it will be very interesting to see where the state of the public library is in another 5-10 years, assuming we climb out of the recession.

Tags:books, economy, libraries, music, public library, reading, recession
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5 Super Creative QR Code Designs

Monday, August 15th, 2011

You probably know by now what a QR Code is because they’re showing up everywhere- on the television screen, product packaging, etc. They’ve become so popular in the past few years due to the extremely high growth of smartphones. QR (Quick Response) Codes are a new approach to content delivery for marketers to connect consumers with a brand. They are great for marketing because they’re free to create, scan fast, have a very high error tolerance, and can link to content in many different ways to interact with consumers. QR Codes are already widely used in Japan, the Netherlands, and South Korea while the rest of the world is now adopting the technology to a larger degree.

When focusing on the high error tolerance that QR Codes have, 30% tolerance in readability, designers and developers are now taking this technology to the next level. By creatively designing QR Codes, you make your 2D barcode stand out. Further, it adds a human element to the otherwise cold and techie appearance. Here’s five clever examples of designer QR Codes.

TRUE BLOOD

M&M’s

HELP JAPAN

MAGIC HAT BREWERY

AYARA THAI RESTAURANT

Tags:android, creative, design, Marketing, QR Code, Smartphones
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Hey Marketers, Don’t Overlook The Power of Packaging

Wednesday, August 10th, 2011

I recently ran across an article that addressed the “Power of Packaging” written by packaging expert Steve Kazanjian. As I’ve tried to put the importance of product packaging into words, I couldn’t say it better than Steve. The article, published on Ad Age, was a slam dunk. Here are some excerpts:

“Packaging is far more that a product’s vessel; it is the physical manifestation of a brand experience. Because of this, packaging should be a critical piece of a brand’s integrated communication strategy”

This is a profound statement regarding packaging. Steve goes on to explain that 100% of a brand’s purchasers interact with the packaging. They touch it, hold it, open it, store it, and dispose of it. At each point of interaction lies an opportunity to create a brand impression. A few examples Kazanjian uses are a follows:

1. The cork bottle stopper for Grey Goose Vodka cues the customer into a connoisseur experience which drives a high price point for the product. Would Grey Goose’s brand be as effective with a screw cap? Definitely not.

2. Lets look at orange juice. When packaged in a clear bottle, it communicates freshness. When orange juice comes in a carton, it says “Pasteurized”. Never thought of it before but I agree 100%.

In 2011, marketers are focusing heavily on social media to create highly personalized brand experiences while overlooking the effectiveness of packaging. Meanwhile, consumers are seeking rich experiences with brands and packaging. Subtle visual and emotional cues that good packaging can provide earns customer loyalty. Packaging is powerful and pays huge dividends to companies who utilize it effectively.

Follow Steve Kazanjian on Twitter.
Follow Ad Age on Twitter too!

Tags:brand identity, branding, communication, customer loyalty, Grey Goose, Marketing, packaging
Posted in Marketing, Packaging Design | No Comments »

Apple Has More Cash Than US Government

Friday, July 29th, 2011

Is there ever bad news these days when it comes to Apple? They’ve been dominating the tech world since the turn of the century with the release of the iPod, iPhone, and now the popular iPad. Apple is on the top of the world.

Well more good news came across the wire in recent days. Strategy Analytics announced that Apple is now officially the world’s largest smart phone vendor holding 18% of the market share. Nokia moved back to #3 in the world with 15% while Samsung’s amazing 520% growth moves them up to second with 17% of the market.

What’s even more impressive than all of this is that Apple’s cash reserves are bigger than the US Governments balance. With a 75.9 billion dollar balance, Apple is the second largest company in the world behind Exxon Mobil.

Tags:apple, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Nokia, phone, Samsung, Smartphone, Steve Jobs
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5 Great Business Uses for the iPad

Wednesday, July 20th, 2011

Lets not kid ourselves. The iPad is a consumer product. Using them we surf the internet, watch videos & movies, play games, view
photos, etc. But iPads are also becoming a great tool for businesses. Here’s 5 great uses in particular that are making iPads a viable business tool.

1. Filling out forms- The iPad is great for managing documents. Filling out forms and signing documents is made easy with some great apps out there. An Easy Sign app actually let you email a document, image, or PDF and then affixing a signature on it. The signature can be freshly signed on the document right on the iPad itself. The app also lets you insert text fields for adding dates, names, addresses, and checkboxes.

2. Accepting and Processing Payments- There are now apps out there that turn your iPad into a full credit card terminal. This allows businesses to sell merchandise, tickets, and other goods anywhere. 3 great apps for processing payments are Intuit GoPayment and VeriFone’s PAYware Mobile.

3. Presentations- iPads are a great tool for presentations. Displaying graphs and charts are slick. iPads have a VGA or HDMI adapter allowing users to run presentations directly into a TV or projector. iPads are also excellent for one-on-one presentations with clients.

4. Web Conferencing- Thanks to apps like WebEx and GoToMeeting, iPads are making web meetings fast and easy. The iPad 2 has both front and rear cameras so users can connect with others using video chat.

5. Collecting Data- Bento is an iPad app that is a wonderful tool for small businesses to create manageable databases and collect data. With Bento, you can create a digital guest book project for an event where guests simply sign in leaving their contact info. After gathering the data on your iPad you can create databases that can be used for your marketing efforts for the future.

Tags:apple, business, iPad, iPod, presentations, tablet, web conferencing
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Google+ Vs. Facebook: Feature-By-Feature

Monday, July 11th, 2011

Recently Google launched its new social network, Google+, in hopes of delivering a huge blow to the Facebook empire. My first thought was this: I don’t want to invest the time in diving into Google+ when Facebook suits my online social needs perfectly well. My plan was to wait until I witnessed a large amount of my friends migrating over to Google+. Within a few days, I was noticing many of them were far too curious and invites were flooding my Gmail. So what else could I do but check it out myself. Here’s a little info on the features of both:

FEEDS

The feeds in Facebook and Google+ are very similar in that they both allow users to post text, links, photos, and videos. Facebook’s feed has “Top News” as well as the “Most Recent” posts which are visible to whoever your “friends” are. Google+ has a “Circles” friend organizational tool where posts can be shared with as few or as many people as you like. However, its criticism is that it is much like a populated Twitter feed.

FRIENDING

Google+ works different than Facebook in “Friending”. Adding contact in Facebook is a two-way street where users must accept you as friends in order for you to connect. Google+ allows any users to follow you while you can follow anybody as well without having to accept friend requests. This is a huge difference between the two making Google+ more like Twitter than Facebook. The “Circles” feature in Google+ allows users to put all of their contacts into groups and if desired, be able to communicate with particular groups without all of their friends seeing a particular post. That’s a very handy tool.

Google+ users can also create profiles using any name they’d like, far different from Facebook’s real-name only policy. This could potentially make it difficult to find people you’re looking for.

NOTIFICATIONS

Notifications in Facebook and Google+ are pretty identical. Both tell you when someone comments on your post, tags you in a photo, or wants to be your friend. The only difference is that Google+ shows all notifications beneath the same tab where Facebook has a tab for messages, friend requests, and other activity.

BUTTONS

The buttons for Facebook and Google+ are very similar where users can click the buttons to show approval of particular content. Facebook however, also has sharing capabilities where a user’s “Likes” show up in their feed. Google+ doesn’t do this.

PHOTOS

Facebook has turned into the largest photo sharing site on the web making it simple to upload, share, and tag photos. The Google+ functionality is very nice as well and differs from Facebook because users can edit their photos easily. Editing features including rotate, crop, adding colors, and effects. The editing can be done in the photo album itself by clicking an “Actions” tab. Also, in Google+, comments appear to the right of the photos rather than the bottom like Facebook so you don’t have to keep scrolling up and down.

VIDEO

Video functionality is something that Google+ could offer that Facebook couldn’t. That is until Facebook announced last Wednesday their merger with Skype. A very good move by Facebook to quickly answer to the only clear cut advantage that Google+ would have. With that said, Google+ does have the edge in video. Facebook’s Skye video doesn’t have group-chat functionality where Google+ features “Hangouts” where you can video chat up to 10 people at once.

PRIVACY

Facebook has been heavy criticized in their privacy efforts especially in recent years. Setting your profile so your thoughts and actions are not viewed by the entire world is very difficult. In an effort to capitalize on this blunder, Google+ goes out of its way to make privacy controls a prominent feature. The privacy policy itself is much easier to read. It should be of note that Google+ doesn’t allow for a completely private profile. Facebook allows users to adjust their privacy settings themselves (though most users do not have a great understanding of them) and Google+ has placed privacy at the core of the social network.

So what is the future of the two social networks? It’s hard to foresee Google+ taking over in the short term as a lot of Facebook users, including myself, have invested a lot of time in building networks, pages, photo albums, etc. In the long term it will be interesting to see if Google+ will turn into the new hip place to be on the web and if Facebook will fade away like Myspace. My guess is no but a lot can change in a couple of years.

Tags:facebook, friends, google, photos, Social Media, social networking, Twitter
Posted in Marketing, Social Media | No Comments »

USB Flash Drive Market On The Rise

Wednesday, July 6th, 2011

Some have speculated that USB flash drives would be a short-lived phenomenon, although market research has projected the USB flash drive market to reach 568 million units by 2015, suggesting steady growth.

This makes sense because of the many benefits associated with flash drives. Whether it’s personal or business, USB drives offer a wide variety of benefits such as ease of use, durability, portability, and increased data storage space among others.

Most businesses are now switching their media to USB flash drives, especially for promotional use, away from dated storage media such as compact discs, floppy drives, and SD cards. Some speculated that there would be no need for USB drives as we go deeper in the digital age but end users still find a lot of value in having a tangible product in their hands.

As a packaging manufacturer for nearly 30 years, we’ve experienced quite an increase in interest for USB flash drive packaging especially in the last year. This suggests that the growth is occurring and the demand for USB drives will persist. Companies who use USB drives for promotional use are differentiating by customizing their flash drives and through packaging.

Tags:compact discs, flash drive, packaging, thumb drive, USB, usb packaging
Posted in Custom Packaging Products, Marketing, Media Packaging | No Comments »