Want to Break the Ice? Use These Apps...

by Mike Reiber

App developers swarmed Austin in an effort to catch the eyes and ears of technology lovers and VC's attending SXSW, the Austin Texas-based technology, music and film conference. For these developers, SXSW is THE PLACE to get feedback from a highly concentrated crowd of early adopters.

The most intriguing apps are those that enable users to find friends and friends of friends when they are nearby. Better yet, the apps are merging two features into a single service that helps users meet someone they should know. In effect, smart phones have become the new icebreaker/introduction tool for users. Below are some interesting apps that merit a look see.

Kismet helps users meet friends through friends by creating spontaneous pop-up events. The app also enables them options of passive sharing and check-ins.

Glomper is a new app that allows users to get pertinent details about an event with photos, conversations, and interactions. The interface feels like Pinterest (a personal favorite of mine) with streaming photos from events aligning down the center of the page.  Users click on an event to see full details -- pictures, attendees and comments.  Users can "heart" something by clicking the outline of a heart.

Glancee looks for people nearby who have friends in common with you and who share the same interests. The app features a new diary feature which enables users to record past connections and log them in diaries for future reference.

Banjo has developed one of the most robust location technologies that integrates with key social networks to provide an on the ground view of what's happening anyplace, anytime.

Highlight allows users to bookmark people they met and automatically reminds them of the interaction the next time they meet.

Ask.com the search engine, launched a new mobile polling app for iOS called Poll Roll. The app allows users to create polls and ask people nearby for their opinions. Poll Roll also lets users create visual polls in which they can attach their own pictures to their questions. It provides the ability to filter responses and leave comments about a poll.

So how do you harness these apps for your business challenges? Privacy issues aside, these apps offer intriguing possibilities. For example, customized messaging in retail environments targeted at the users who've signed up for the app and other persons who share common interests and friends.

Who Said TV News is Dead? Latest Stats Show Impressive Online Viewership Totals

by Dave Sniadak

 @davesniadak

Being a former newsie myself, I make a point to watch my local news as much as possible. However, due to budget cuts and slashed staffs, local broadcast outlets are leaning heavily on national news feeds and viral videos to fill their time slots. My feeling is much like that of the viewing audience: If I wanted to watch a story about kittens "finding their meow," I'll just watch it online. News producers, are you listening?

comScore recently released their February 2012 online video stats, which reinforces my own attitude towards news content. Online news videos garnered almost 815 million views in February, from just 38 million videos posted on the websites of various news outlets. comScore also revealed that all those views came from more than 72 million unique viewers (more than 179 million viewers watching all sorts of online video during the month). A partnership between Yahoo! and ABC News - the two media powers joined forces in October, 2011 - can take credit for half of those views, snagging 43 million uniques and 411 million video views.

Source: Beet.tv

Unique views and content consumption are great indicators that viewers still want relevant news coverage. However, the fact that so many viewers are getting their news after the fact means local broadcasters need to work even harder - with less resources - to find content that's going keep their lights on. It's an endless struggle, but I'm confident that as technology evolves, so will our friends in the media. At least, that's what the kittens have taught me: anything is possible if you put a little meow into it.

Marketing at the Twin Cities Auto Show: There Is A Time and A Place

By Natalie Bell

@nebell90

Last night after work I went to the 39th Annual Twin Cities Auto Show -- by choice.  I love going to the auto show and looking at all the cars.  My love for cars comes to a surprise to most people that know me, except for those who experienced my Hot Wheels years.  When I was younger my father and I would play a game where we had to name each car that went by and boy, did that make road trips to Ohio seem a lot faster.  To car lovers like me the car show is a candy store (only much more expensive)!

Being surrounded by $15,000,000 worth of vehicles was so fun.  Every car was new, shining, clean, and had that wonderful new car scent.  Spokespeople for each dealership were dressed to the nines; women in dresses and heals and men in business attire.  All-in-all it was a classy event.  

With good comes bad, however, and one dealership's marketing was not fitting for the auto show.  Kia Motors had "Kia Karaoke" going on the entire time I was at the show.  In Kia's section there was a stage set up in which visitors were called onto stage, dressed in obnoxious outfits, and singing loudly.  It came to the point where I and others had to walk to the other side of the convention in order to escape the off-key voices.  

I am not saying karaoke can't be good marketing, but there is a time and a place.  This year's auto show was neither of these.  At a high-energy event this would have fit in perfectly.  However, the auto show draws families and couples seriously shopping, car junkies drooling over the engines displayed, and others just there to look and dream.  No one is there to be loud and party.  The key to a good campaign is to think of your audience.  A great idea can go to the pits if not presented at the right time or place.  Similar to what my fellow employee, Shelly, explained in yesterday's blog, lots of thought needs to go into a campaign as to who your target audience is, what their preferences are, and the way you want them to respond.  

Of course the misfit karaoke didn't ruin people's nights.  With so many cars to explore that would be extremely difficult.  My personal highlights from the night are:

• Seeing the Fisker Karma, which was admired by all at the event
• Sitting in a Range Rover
• Seeing old classic cars
• Sitting in my dream Audi convertible (shown below).

Marketing to Daddy Bloggers

by Shelly Gustafson

While Mommy bloggers continue to be a marketing trend, many fathers are now jumping on the blogging bandwagon with Daddy blogs. Coming in after Mommy bloggers in many ways presents a creative advantage – no one wants to be a one-trick pony in the marketing game and Daddy bloggers have the unique opportunity to learn from the mistakes of Mommy bloggers before them.

This past weekend this new group showed up in full-force for the first ever national Daddy blogger conference - Dad 2.0 Summit in Austin, TX.

Notably, however, the power of Daddy bloggers was heard even before the conference kicked-off in the form of an attack campaign in response to Huggie's “The Dad Test” Campaign (view one of the ads here).

“The Dad Test” came with this tag line: “To prove that Huggies diapers and wipes can handle anything, we put them to the toughest test imaginable: Dads, alone with their babies, in one house, for five days.” 

The comical concept stuck just the wrong cord with this newly influential group that is fighting to have their voice heard and recognized.

Chris Routly from www.daddydoctrines.com, went as far as launching a Change.org petition called “We’re Dads, Huggies. Not Dummies.” It drew over a thousand signatures. And other dads sent emails, tweets and letters to Huggies expressing their disappointment with the stereotyping.

Reacting quickly to the complaints, Huggies has responded by not only revamping their entire campaign (see their facebook for the new “Dad Friendly” version) but also scored brownie points with the dad’s at the summit by attending the conference and addressing the complaints in-person.

Stereotyping in advertising is nothing new but it’s important to look at a campaign from all angles before sending it out in the world. In this case, both Huggies and dads seem to have come out ahead in the end.

Online Reviews Grow In Popularity and Purchasing Power

by Ashley Haugen

Follow @AshleyKaia

I am a huge fan of online reviews. In fact, I am among the 72% of consumers that trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. For example, when charged with the responsibility of figuring out a restaurant for dinner, I head to a review site. When buying a new appliance I turn to consumer reviews to figure out the "best purchase." The list goes on and on, and with the wealth and popularity of online reviews, I'm not the only one.

This year's Local Consumer Review Survey (2012) shows us a positive shift in consumer trust and appreciation of online reviews. The statistics are telling and reinforce the fact that consumers now hold more power than ever for influencing purchases. In fact, 52% of consumers surveyed said that positive online reviews make them more likely to use a local business.

More consumers are reading online reviews now than 15 months ago, with 27% regularly reading online reviews when looking for a local business to use. Only 15% of consumers said that they had NOT used the Internet to find a local business (vs. 21% in 2010).

Here are a few other interesting stats:

• 65% of consumers read between 2-10 reviews (vs. 58% in 2010) before trusting a business. 
• Having a high number of reviews is also important as the more reviews, the higher consumer confidence soars. 
• 58% of consumers trust a business which has positive online reviews (vs. 55% in 2010). 
• Just 28% of consumers cite location &/or price as main decision making factor (vs. 28% in 2010). 

More than anything, these results tell us that business owners need to make sure they know their brand's social buzz. What are customers saying about the service they received? How do they feel about your product? Once you understand the general sentiment and theme of your business reviews, it's easier to set up a strategy to either encourage the chatter, or to address the most common complaints.

The other important takeaway is to make sure your business has a healthy online presence to begin with. The higher number of reviews (especially positive), the higher consumer confidence soars.