Mobile marketing developments enhance brand experience

By Johnny Schroepfer

Mobile and emerging technology have historically had more hype than actual adoption or implementation within marketing campaigns, but with the proliferation of mobile devices and digitization, the mobile channel is slowly becoming a necessity rather than a novelty. From an integrated marketing perspective, here’s a look at some developmental areas of mobile and their impact.

Traditional & Mobile Integration in Marketing

Mobile devices can be an extension of the brand experience which connects the end user with the brand messaging. Mobile is often an overlooked or undervalued channel of communication but in reality, it’s one of the most personal forms of communication in this digital world. When campaigns are successfully crafted and executed, the channel that connects the end user with the message has the power to change both brand perception and consumer behavior. With that said, we will continue to see more brands create mobile campaigns or initiatives that complement traditional marketing channels while allocating a significant amount of their advertising budget towards mobile and emerging technologies.

Advertising

The recent launch of the Apple iAd platform will only further prove this point that there will continue to be a major marketing shift. The iAd platform allows developers to create beautiful and rich advertising executions that are less disruptive and reach the consumer at the intersection of emotion and interactivity. In addition to this innovative approach, the developers will retain 60% of revenues, which have already shown signs of success.

Payment

Payment will be another key developing area in mobile. Allowing consumers to easily pay for various products and services on-the-go will benefit both parties. Apples iTunes payment system is a great example of quick, convenient one-click purchasing. Additional examples of up-and-coming payment models include Jack Dorsey's recent startup, Square, which allows consumers to pay and receive payments through their iPhone or iPad. While these payment models will continue to help the mobile space evolve, privacy concerns are still a very hot topic. The recent news of Apple iTunes accounts being hacked will require companies to provide a "reason to believe" and reassure consumers that their information is secure.

Location

I wrote a post on location-based services a few months ago for Vitamin IMC about the opportunity for small businesses to take advantage of understanding consumer insights and needs. Over the past few months there have been several developments and location-based services which have proven that they're more than a fad. Brands that take the time to understand and develop services based around GPS locations can provide personal messages and incentives to highly-segmented groups thus creating relevant content and messaging for consumers who are looking for it.

All of the above, when used strategically in an integrative marketing campaign, will help provide a flawless user experience for consumers. We will continue to see significant developments in mobile and more brands pursing its highly-targeted and relevant services as a complement to their traditional marketing efforts.

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Johnny Schroepfer is the strategy and content director at Vitamin IMC and is a student in the Masters in Integrated Marketing Communications program at Northwestern University's Medill School. He can be reached at johnnyschroepfer@u.northwestern.edu.

Building a personal brand: Vitamin IMC social media panel offers job search tips

By Ashley Graves and Anne Mahoney

Tweet. Blog. Build an online personal brand. Most professionals seeking work in the digital media landscape have often heard that advice.

As many things are, it’s often easier said than done.

What should I tweet or blog about? How should I shine myself up online for potential employers? What’s the one mistake I shouldn’t make (and have I already made it?!?). All are questions that many marketing students and professionals face in searching for a job.

On Monday, Vitamin IMC hosted its first ever social media panel to discuss the essentials and benefits of using social media to connect to a career in communications. Lucky for our audience, we were bestowed with expert advice from some seasoned pros.

We were fortunate to have Blagica Bottigliero, Emmy-winning blogger and member of the Edelman Digital team, Johnny Schroepfer, Medill IMC student, and Gini Dietrich, founder and CEO of Arment Dietrich, share insights and tips on how to use social media tools to build a personal brand and find a killer job.

“What social media has done is completely flatten out the globe,” said Dietrich, referring to the ability to talk to anyone on Twitter, including CEOs and popular industry figures.

A key point in using social media for the job search is that you get out of it what you put into it. Bottigliero advised that job seekers should put twice as much time into their search as they do studying or with other media such as TV or texting.

Job seekers should also be wary of over-spamming new online contacts or being completely self-promotional.

“The last thing they want to know is all about you,” said Schropefer. “Its about communication and interaction. It’s two ways.”

Key Takeaways…

On building a personal brand:

• Own your own domain name and use your actual name to come up more often in searches.
• Clean up any online information about you that doesn’t look professional (ahem, Facebook party photos from college). And yes, recruiters actually look for unprofessional antics and flag those applicants.
• Go to namechk.com. This site allows you to see where your name is registered on any social media site, and where it isn’t. Make sure you own your name on all relevant sites.

On Twitter:

• Keep interactions relevant. Don’t clog someone’s stream with a surplus of @replies.
• Drive people to your LinkedIn page or website. Twitter isn’t the ultimate answer to connect with people in your job search.

On Blogging:

• Write about what you’re passionate about – people find you valuable if you have a niche and offer information generalists can’t.
• Try not to be negative on your blog; nobody wants to hire someone who complains.

If there’s one thing our audience learned, it was to start the digital conversation now and to make ourselves known to potential employers in an authentic way. Relationships rule. Take the time to research, relate and impress.

As Gini Dietrich told us, “If I receive a resume from someone who has not taken time to connect with my company on social media, I won’t even look at it.”

How’s that for inspiration?

Foursquare: Location-based consumer insights?

By Johnny Schroepfer

Foursquare is one of the best iPhone applications to date. The idea is simple: check-in on your mobile device at various restaurants, clubs or stores to receive points, unlock badges and even become “mayor” of the venue.

Foursquare also encourages competition amongst your friends to see who can rack up the most points in the same city. This “location-based” social networking app has great potential for brands in terms of understanding and rewarding their customers.

While some major brands like Pepsi have taken advantage of sponsoring leader board pages, local businesses are using the app by offering specials for the“mayor” of their venue. For example, I’ve checked-in to bars and received messages similar to “The mayor of Bar X drinks for free from 8pm-10pm” or “The mayor of Restaurant X receives a free appetizer with purchase of $9.99 or more.”

These location-based promotions are a great way to interact with and reward your customers. The application not only tracks where users are checking-in (and how often) but also allows users to write tips and to-dos for each venue.

Local businesses have the opportunity to understand how often users are visiting their store or restaurant, what they’re saying about the service and what they’re suggesting to other users.

Location-based services like Foursquare will help the mobile industry grow in the United States by increasing engagement and providing value to its users.

Would an app like Foursquare make you more engaged with a local business or major brand?

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Johnny Schroepfer is the strategy & content director at Vitamin IMC and a student in the Masters in Integrated Marketing Communications program at Northwestern University's Medill School. He can be reached at johnnyschroepfer@u.northwestern.edu.

Augmented Reality: Rise of the mobile or hype?

By Johnny Schroepfer

Last summer I came across an iPhone 3GS application called Layar, the first mobile augmented reality application. While the actual development of the app was still in beta testing, the concept was impressive and the potential possibilities it offered brands was interesting.

Augmented reality (AR) uses a mobile phone’s camera feed to merge your physical real-world environment with virtual computer generated imagery.

With emerging technology like AR, brands have a whole new area of customer contact points to take advantage of. Imagine walking down the street and launching Layar on your Smartphone to locate the nearest Target, Starbucks or even a historical landmark.

With the use of technology like AR, consumers have the ability to easily seek-out physical locations from their mobile device while brands have the opportunity to deliver location-based messages and incentives.

This year we will begin to see a significant increase in app funding and development within the mobile industry. Augmented reality will play a major part in the rise of mobile technology. But, will these technologies be embraced, or rejected, by major brands and consumers?

So, is this the true year of the mobile?

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Johnny Schroepfer is the strategy & content director at Vitamin IMC and a student in the Masters in Integrated Marketing Communications program at Northwestern University's Medill School. He is a Chicago Bulls fanatic and is looking forward to another exciting Bulls playoff run. He can be reached at johnnyschroepfer@u.northwestern.edu