Tumblr Announces Advertising Package

by Mike Reiber

Last week, for the first time ever, Tumblr, the fast-growing but profitless blogging platform announced an advertising package. So what's the big deal? Why would advertisers eschew Facebook, YouTube and Twitter for a site that doesn't collect much user demographic information?  

The answer lies in Tumblr's growth and the fact that it's more visual than many of its peer sites. Tumblr's unique visits reached 58 million in March of this year up from 26 million a year ago according to comScore. Tumblr contains more than 54 million blogs. The site allows users to easily customize and share their blogs. According to the company, the average Tumblr user creates 14 blogs per month and reblogs three. Half of the posts are photos.  

The company has been dipping its toe in the water on a number of revenue generating initiatives such as allowing designers to sell web page themes to bloggers or allowing bloggers to promote their posts on its dashboard. The new ads will appear on the dashboard and directory pages used to highlight content categories and blogs.  

Our team at Axiom is excited about this development. The enthusiast customers targeted by our home and garden manufacturer clients are avid bloggers. They like to write about and share their experiences on cooking, wine, interior design, gardening, out door entertaining, etc. We believe that this will add yet another arrow to the quiver for innovative marketers who want to break out of the Facebook and YouTube pack.  

LinkedIn Buys SlideShare

by Natalie Bell

@nebell90

The age-old saying says that two heads are better than one, but in this case two companies are better than one.  LinkedIn, the top professional social network, purchased SlideShare, a site to share presentations, for $118.75 million yesterday.  Both parties are excited for the possibilities to come.

SlideShare's CEO, Rashmi Sinha, shared his opinions and reasons for the partnership in the company's blog.  He writes about his determination to eventually link the two companies.  This has been a long-term goal that he has made possible through connections and determination.  In his words the acquirement is "a natural culmination of this partnership."

LinkedIn is enthusiastic about the partnership as well.  In their blog they say that SlideShare has done a good job creating a portal for document sharing, and the two companies are excited for the possibilities coming out of this merge.  Deep Nishar for LinkedIn says, "This deal enables professionals to discover people through content, and content through people."  Presentations are a great way of sharing knowledge with others in a profession.  They also are great resources to see samples of people's work and true knowledge.

This acquirement by LinkedIn should prove to be a seamless transition.  Both parties say that SlideShare's capabilities will not be lost.  The companies, to prove this true, put together their own SlideShare presentation further explaining the benefits and reasons of the partnership.  To watch please click the image above.

Axiom Adds Some Bling

The gold keeps coming! We are pleased to announce that Axiom is the recipient of SIX 2012 Communicator Awards – including an award for this very blog!

Thank you to the judges and congratulations to all of our fellow winners!

To watch the award winning Wilsonart (Up)Date Night Series Click Here.
To check out our Mr. Bubble Birthday Bash event Click Here. 

Awards of Excellence

Mr. Bubble’s Birthday in a Box Press Kit

Mr. Bubble Bubble Bash - Integrated Campaign

Wilsonart (Up)Date Night Video Series

Awards of Distinction

Mr. Bubble Bubble Bash - Marketing Effectiveness

Daily Axiom's Blog

Axiom Social Hour Facebook Page

Top 4 Benefits of Gamification

by Ashley Haugen

@AshleyKaia

Gamification, the act of integrating game mechanics into products or services, has rapidly taken over marketing campaigns. Now, we can check-in for badges on Foursquare, try to beat our various social media scores, and earn rewards for shopping at our favorite stores. It seems like everyone has jumped on this “playful” bandwagon to reap the rewards of engaged customers.

It’s an important trend to be a part of. According to Gartner, Inc., "by 2015, more than 50 percent of organizations that manage innovation processes will gamify those processes.” Even more eye-opening is their prediction that by 2014, gamified services will become “as important as Facebook, eBay or Amazon, and more than 70 percent of Global 2000 organizations will have at least one gamified application.”

Business leaders must keep their eye on gamification and the benefits it can bring to their brands. Below I have outlined a few of the greatest rewards game mechanics can reap:

1. Response Time 

• Immediate engagement by users allows for a faster and clearer feedback loop. Instead of waiting for research results and other time-consuming, expensive reports, gamification often lets marketers immediately see what is effective and what is not. Because respondents are playing in “real-time,” marketers will often see the results of their efforts in “real-time.” Lending itself to the coveted opportunity to make tweaks and changes for a higher success rate. 

2. Call-To-Action

• Games usually have a clearly articulated structure, quite opposite of our chaotic and undefined lives. Clear calls to action are easy for users to follow and complete. This simplicity drives interaction. 

3. Brand Exposure

• The viral nature of gamification increases brand exposure. Most games are meant to be shared and even played in competition with other customers, giving it an exponetial reach. Not only that, but it helps foster brand advocacy, as it rewards customers for using their business. Who wouldn't want to be recognized for brand loyalty? 

4. Image 

• Staying on top of trends not only shows that you "get it," but also shows that you have the volition to actually put it into action. Using gamification for your product or service can help encourage a youthful, cutting-edge image. 

Whether or not gamification is just a fad or here to stay, it has found the inner-child in all of us. Either way, it's a trend that will only be growing. So what's the next era of gamification? Look for it to manifest in the workplace, as it motivates employees to achieve business goals, participate in health programs and drive productivity. 

May Is The Month Of Minnesota Museums

by Nick Egner

What state has twice as many museums to residence ratio than the national average? What state has attracted more than double the museum attendance than it's top five professional teams combined? Well, that last stat isn’t as impressive due to the caliber of teams the state has produced lately...

Welcome to the month of May and the month of Minnesota museums! A partnership of museums, tourism agencies, media, and other affiliated organizations have joined together to spotlight the importance of museums in the community, and probably make a few bucks while they are at it.

With that being said, this is a great program with a heavy dose of social media influence. You can follow the organization on Facebook and Twitter. You can expect a steady update on deals, events, visitor photos, shared visitor stories, and a general dialogue within the community.

I thought this might be a good time to share a few of my favorite museums, what they are up to, and how they use social and on-line media to enhance the visitors experience. 

Science Museum of Minnesota
ARRRRRG, there arrrrre Real Pirates! Check out more than 200 artifacts from North America’s only authentic pirate ship, and catch an Imax movie while you are at it (runs through 9/3). Fun fact: Do you know why pirates would often wear an eye patch? So when they went under deck one eye would already be adjusted to the darkness. That’s right, living and learning is what the science museum is all about. And for you adults 21 years and older may I suggest checking out an event called social science. Why not enjoy the Museum with an ice cold Summit? Social Science is designed to keep the more mature science enthusiasts entertained with a variety of activities. 

How do you keep updated with the goings on at the Science Museum? Follow them on Twitter (@ScienceMuseumMN) which is active about 3 or 4 tweets a day. They also have designated hash tags so patrons can participate in a real time discussion. And don’t be surprised if Iggy asks you a question or two.

Walker Art Center
Holy hipster Batman! All joking aside, the Walker is such a great experience. If you want an artistic multi-media experience second to none this is the spot. The content of the museum is extremely well represented through their online/social media channels as well. Very active on Twitter (@WalkerArtCenter) with about 6 tweets a day, but that really isn’t the half of it. Check out their flickr account. It is a truly beautiful display of pictures that does a good job at capturing the exhibits! 

For another treat, click the media tab on their website and prepare to get lost in an internet time warp. From the blog posts with a variety of focuses, to the Walker video channel, to the real time webcasts, the Walker has done a great job matching the style and feel of their museum to their on-line media content.

Minneapolis Institute of Art
What type of a museum is the best? Is it science? Is it contemporary art? Nope! The best type is free! The MIA is free daily for you to come down and check out their exhibits. I’d recommend “The Sports Show,” but it ends May 13th. My favorite thing about this museum, other than its price, is the “Third Thursday” event. Not only are you invited to check out the exhibits as always, but you are treated to a Summit beer and live music. What is the next “Third Thursday” event? Craft Brews. I’ll see you there! To keep up-to-date with the MIA follow them on Twitter (@ArtMIA). They also have a very nice Flickr account.

Happy Minnesota Month!