Henry Hyde

Merry Christmas 2011

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:49:07 -0500

This year's e-card features an image composed entirely on the iPhone by Design4 Marketing.

Design4 Creative Director Recognized for Iphoneography

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:30:50 -0500

iPhoneography is a growing medium which is finding its way into everything from gallery shows to advertising media. Design4 has employed images created and processed entirely in the iPhone and other mobile devices in print and online work.

The image "Balloons in the clouds" is a concept piece by Creative Director Clint Cline that demonstrates the creative capabilities of the mobile photography platform. We were pleased to learn that it was selected October 25, 2011 by the mobile app Scratchcam as one of its five selected images of the week.

Does Print Advertising Still Work?

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 16:49:03 -0400

As we become a more digitalized society, many advertisers are left wondering where to invest their dollars. How beneficial are Facebook and Twitter? Are more people reading online advertisements? Are print advertisements passé?

Consider these numbers:

· Most organizations (81%) have chosen to incorporate Facebook in their advertising efforts for the second quarter of 2011.

· Online display ranks at 78% as the most preferred digital advertising method, followed by search at 64% and social media at 52%.

· Published advertising like USA Today or Newsquest revenues have declined 6.2% since last year.

· This has been the 17^th straight quarter of declines in print-based publishing revenue, and digital now represents 20% of total revenue.

· In 2011 print advertising for the New York Times declined 7.5% while digital advertising increased 4.5%.

As consumers gravitate towards the Internet for research, communication and shopping, it would appear as though online advertising is slowly edging out print advertising. But is it really?

Newspaper companies, for example, began offering free Web access with the belief that online advertising would cover the cost. While online advertising has grown, it has not increased quickly enough to make up for the decline in traditional print advertising. Many publications have been looking at ways to make online consumers pay for article access.

The New York Times implemented a new digital subscription plan in the spring of 2011. Readers are able to access 20 articles a month for free, but once they click on their 21^st article they will have the option of purchasing one of three digital news packages.

In the battle of print vs. online, it is often easy for small businesses or organizations to become unsure of where to invest their dollar for maximum profit. But rather than focus on which of the two is more popular in the general population, it is often more beneficial to focus on the audience to be reached. If the target market is Americans above the age of 70, print advertisement is most likely a more profitable investment than advertising on Twitter. If the target market is college students, a Facebook page may be just the trick.

The truth is both print and online are effective forms of advertising. Choose to focus on your specific audience and let them make the decision for you.

Design4 introduces summer intern Lauren Der

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 10:27:24 -0400

Design4 Marketing Communications is pleased to introduce Lauren Der as the latest addition to its communications team. As a summer intern Lauren will assist the firm in video production, social media development, media relations and potential client outreach.

Der is a native of Plant City, Fla. and is currently studying agricultural communication and leadership development at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

In the process of searching for an internship, Lauren was drawn to the social issue mix of clients Design4 represents and the environment it provides its employees. Design4 serves national Christian ministries, pro-family issue advocacy groups and conservative public policy organizations.

"I believe very strongly in the issues and organizations for which Design4 works, and being able to do that kind of work in a company whose desire is to glorify Christ seemed like the perfect place," Der said.

In her free time, Lauren enjoys outdoor activities with her dad, drinking Sonic cherry cokes, exploring her Southern culture and spending time with her donkey, Leonard. She is currently an ambassador for the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and served as the 2009 Florida Strawberry Festival Queen.

Make Your News Release Twitter-Ready

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 14:50:57 -0400

Just as a pithy “sound bite” is needed for a broadcast interview, the press release needs its own version of the sound bite for the message to be accurately retweeted.

A social-media-savvy public relations practitioner has created the “Twittercue”- the practice of adding a set of words to the top or bottom of media releases that enables tweeters to pass along the message without distorting the meaning.

Adding this 140-or-less set of words can ensure that your story is not mangled when it’s repackaged by social media fans.

A great example of why this is needed is shared by the folks at Creative Territory, who wrote about the need for “Twittercue":

A government agency issued a press release during Cyclone Carlos stating that all non-essential public servants with child-caring responsibilities should take personal leave if they could not get alternate care arrangements for their children. Employees should check with their supervisor if they were not sure if they were regarded as “essential”. The tweets from those spreading the word looked something like this:

Non-essential public servants urged to stay at home due to #TCcarlos

The result? Hundreds of public servants with and without children stayed at home without ever contacting their supervisor.

The Twittercue could have been:

NTG non-essent staff who need 2 care 4 kids may take prsnl leave. Chck with supervisor #TCcarlos http://tiny.cc/3pdeaz

A simple fix in today’s social-media environment. What do you think?

A Focused look at Social Media: Facebook Initiatives

Tue, 03 May 2011 16:19:25 -0400

Creating a Facebook initiative can be a great way to generate the opinions of your fans, but it must be done correctly for it to generate success. Though it is exciting as well as beneficial to generate “likes” on your organizations Facebook page, it is even more important to have a high level of engagement and dialogue with your fans. Facebook is the perfect outlet to stir up the fires of fan engagement, and quality is more important than quantity.

One of the first things that you need to focus on when you are creating your Facebook fan page is demographics. Who do you want to reach? It is important to think about who will be reading your information, and try to have compelling subjects to which your audience will relate.

Write your information in the right way. If you are trying to reach a younger audience, then it might be wise to use more upbeat verbiage and punctuation. If you are trying to reach the corporate world, then your writing should be neat and professional. Know who your audience is, and cater to them.

Timing is critical. Posting at the right time can make a huge difference in the success of your organization. This means staying on top of the latest news stories and how they relate to your organization.

Don’t be afraid of questions: you are going to have them, and they won’t always be easy to answer. It is important that you do not avoid questions asked. Instead, answer them the best that you can. If you have an understanding of your audience, then you shouldn’t have trouble predicting a lot of the questions that they will ask. Sharing with your fans allow them to feel actively involved in what you are doing.

Contests are great ways to get your audience involved. Ask fans for their opinions, or have them vote on an issue. The comments and answers that your receive will help you to understand where your audience is coming from.

Ask a question, but only if you want an answer. Posing questions is a good thing, as long as you are ready for answers that you may not like. If your site focuses on posting statements all the time, then you are missing out on a lot of fun dialogue.

From a marketing point of view, the fewer restrictions that are present, the more opportunity that you have for creativity. You have the opportunity to accomplish a lot, quickly and cost efficiently. How will your organization take advantage of Facebook?

Social Media: What can it do for you?

Tue, 03 May 2011 16:17:34 -0400

2 years ago, as social media was beginning to grow quickly, businesses were uncertain of how it could benefit them. Now, businesses are rapidly responding to this growth in social media, as they are aware of the direction that our society is heading.

The Research Brief has found that 90% of marketers indicate that social media is important for their business. One third of all social media marketers want to know how to monitor their social media outcomes and integrate social media activities. As social media marketers begin to understand the positive effects of social media, they will spend more time improving that aspect of their company. More than a third of social media marketers invest 11 hours or more a week to social media. 77% of marketers plan to increase their use of YouTube as well as video marketing

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and blogging are the top 4 media tools used for marketing purposes and 90% of marketers believe that social media is important for the success of their organization. In 2010 Twitter was in first place with 88% and Facebook was close behind with 87%. But since 2010, Twitter lost 4%, LinkedIn lost 7%, and Facebook gained 5%.

The self-employed and small business owners were more likely to agree that social media has influenced the growth to their organization. Small businesses are more likely to use LinkedIn while larger companies typically implement YouTube and are less likely to use blogs.

As nearly two-thirds of marketers indicated a rise in search engine rankings as a benefit of social media marketing, it has the great chance of benefiting your company.

Why wait? Get started now.

First Impressions Stick

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 09:51:37 -0400

As technology advances and brand imaging continues to develop, visual advertising is having a powerful effect because it catches people’s attention in a unique way and draws them to the product. Humans are highly visual people, whether they admit it or not. Studies have found that spontaneous decisions often have better results than thought out decisions. People often make decisions on intricate products simply by taking a quick glance at a picture of an advertisement, which shows the powerful influence that advertisements have on the public eye.

MediaMind recently conducted a study (MediaMind) and found that users are 30% more likely to convert after seeing an ad for the first time, compared to additional exposures. “It appears that users make up their mind about your ad within the first few seconds of seeing it, and it would take more effort to change their mind in subsequent exposures,” according to the study.

Design4 was asked to devise a strategy to convey the public outrage against Abercrombie & Fitch and its sexually provocative marketing messages that are aimed squarely at young teens. As one of its clothing catalogs featured most of its models nude or semi-nude, the strategy devised by Design4 conveyed public outrage targeting this message to teens and to get the retailers attention—all with a relatively modest budget. Visual advertising has a powerful effect on your audience, and is a representation of the morals and values of your company. (A Case Study With Abercrombie & Fitch).

First impressions stick and Design4 makes certain that the public is satisfied with what they see and that their creative design is visually appealing, at first look. At Design4 problems are solved creatively, as ideas become reality and an impact is made.

Start Your Conversation Now: Design4 Mobilizer

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:34:37 -0500

One in five Americans uses a mobile device to access the Internet on a daily basis and experts say that within the next three years the use of mobile Internet will exceed desktop usage. Technology is growing at a rapid speed, and as this occurs, businesses are discovering the benefits found in new devices. Everyone has a desire to be mobile. With such a fast paced lifestyle, our culture has made it necessary for everything to be at our fingertips. Text messaging, Twitter, email, and Facebook, we all want it convenient, fast and mobile.

A new Knotice study found that a mobile device opens 13.36% of emails. Mobile is indeed, the marketing and communication device of the future. Smartphones have become the primary way that people stay connected to friends, coworkers, and the world. In fact, by the end of 2011, it is projected that Smartphones will attain 50% of the phone market.

Research shows that 1/3 of all text messages are acted on within the first few minutes that they are received. That's one of the reasons Design4 integrates text messaging into its marketing efforts, allowing you to start a conversation. The Mobilizer allows you to contact clients that want to receive your information. Clients must opt-in, allowing you to attract only supporters, clients, and customers that want to learn about your organization. The Design4 Mobilizer connects you to an audience by using the speed of text messaging. It will fit your fast paced lifestyle as it is managed from the web.

The Design4 Mobilizer will be a great benefit to your organization as it allows you to build email lists, conduct surveys, get out the vote, promote services for your organization, make announcements, and much more. It is personal, familiar and efficient. If you are interested in a free trial of the Design4 Mobilizer, send an email to lesley@design4.org. To see how easily it works, text "mobilizer" to 24453, and watch the video.

Begin experiencing mobile marketing in its most efficient form. Start your conversation now.

Design4 Marketing Celebrates 20 Years and Launches New Mobile Marketing Tool

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 09:24:22 -0400

Design4 Marketing Communications today launched its 20th year of serving national Christian ministries, pro-family issue advocacy groups, and public policy organizations with the announcement of the D4 Mobilizer, a new mobile marketing tool.

Known for high-impact messaging and media, the agency is expanding its service  capabilities with the addition of mobile marketing, a technology-driven form of  advertising and communication activity aimed at consumers and conducted over a mobile channel, such as a smart phone. Go to www.design4.org/Mobilizer to view a short video demonstrating how it works.

“The Design4 Mobilzer enables our clients to create a quick, low cost-per-contact  dialogue with their supporters or customers. It helps increase reach, influence, and even funding,” said Clint Cline, Design4 President.

Heading the new mobile marketing initiative is Design4 Senior Marketing Director Lesley Shackleford Bateman, a former AT&T marketing and public relations director and an early pioneer in internet marketing.

“Our clients will be able to acquire new supporters and donors, mobilize campaign volunteers and activate voters for a few cents per message,” Bateman said. “They can easily control the amount spent on a campaign – or on a regular basis – by the number of messages sent.”

According to Nielsen, more than 77% of US wireless subscriber lines subscribe to or purchase text-messaging capability. Text-messaging has become a new mainstream vehicle to market every product and service and is ideal when mobilizing support around important political and cultural issues. An understanding of the “texters”  and how they use short-code marketing is critically important to ensure ongoing growth and effectiveness.

“For the past 20 years we’ve given Christian ministries and conservative pro-family groups a creative and constructive voice in the public square,” said Cline. “That means producing fresh ideas…daily…and employing new, high-tech, high-leverage ways to speak them into the culture.”

About
Design4 Marketing is a national full-service marketing communications firm located in historic downtown Plant City, FL. Visit www.Design4.org, follow us on Facebook www.facebook.com/design4 or on Twitter @d4mc.

Pornography Harms: A Briefing

Tue, 25 May 2010 11:18:43 -0400

PORNOGRAPHY HARMS: WHAT CONGRESS CAN TO DO ENFORCE EXISTING LAWS
A briefing for members of Congress and their staffs featuring lead researchers and an ex-porn star's personal experience with pornography

Media Contact:
Lesley S. Bateman | Design4 Marketing
813-849-0076 ext 106 | Cell: 813-335-7060
Lesley@design4.org

Washington, DC (May 25, 2010) – The Coalition for the War on Illegal Pornography today announced the lineup of speakers for a major briefing at the United States Capitol Visitors Center ~ HVC-201 at 11 a.m., June 15, entitled “Pornography Harms: What Congress can do to Enforce Existing Laws.” The event is open to every member of the U.S. House and Senate, their staffs, the Capitol press corps and the public.

Experts from a variety of backgrounds will speak on four leading harms of pornography, how existing laws can and should be enforced against illegal material and what Congress can do to protect and prosecute.

The lineup includes:

• Dr. Mary Anne Layden of the Sexual Trauma and Psychopathology Program at the Center for Cognitive Therapy at the University of Pennsylvania who will address the addiction to pornography;

• Forensic pediatrician Sharon Cooper, M.D. of the University of North Carolina who will address the harmful effects of adult pornography on children who view it;

• Internationally acclaimed speaker and author Gail Dines, Ph.D., Professor of sociology and women’s studies at Wheelock College in Boston who will discuss her studies on how pornography debases men, women and the culture.

• Attorney Laura Lederer, perhaps the leading voice in America on human trafficking, who will discuss the link between pornography and sex trafficking.

• Former pornography star Shelley Lubben (www.shelleylubben.com and www.thepinkcross.org )

who will address how the pornography criminal enterprises treat women in the industry.

• Donna Rice Hughes, the leading voice on internet safety for children in America, who will address the urgent need to protect children now from the harm of Internet pornography.

• Patrick Trueman, former Chief of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the US Department of Justice, who will close out the event discussing the fact that NONE of the Federal laws against illegal adult pornography are currently enforced by the U.S. Department of Justice and what Congress can do to enforce these very laws.

A growing body of research suggests that the habitual use of pornography — especially Internet pornography — can damage people of all ages and both sexes, negatively impacting their relationships, productivity, happiness and their ability to function in society. Event information may be found at http://bit.ly/cL551APornHarms. For additional research and resource information on pornography visit www.PornHarms.com and www.SocialCostsofPornography.org.

About The DC Group on Pornography
The Coalition for War on Illegal Pornography associated with The DC Group on Pornography, a group of national organizations which meet quarterly in Washington, DC for the purpose of education, strategic planning and action. The group has met with the Department of Justice (DOJ) on several occasions asking that Federal Laws prohibiting interstate transportation of adult obscene pornography be enforced.

# # #

How to get your organization’s name into the mainstream media.

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 09:32:34 -0400

As a business owner, it is vital to your organization to ensure the proper media outlets are being utilized in order to provide publicity for your organization.

I recently read an article from the Center for Media Research, which discussed how often journalists rely on public relations professionals to receive accurate information concerning their story. It also said reporters use social media tools to find information they may need. However, they are cautious to use these sites because social media sites are not always reliable.

These two results pose the question: How is your organization being portrayed to the public through social media and public relations tactics?

Therefore, it is very important to utilize social media tools for your organization as a way of free publicity, as well as to put information on the Internet through a company Web site. The Web site will provide reliable, thorough information for anyone, including journalists.

However, having a reliable public relations representative may be able to provide you with access to more publicity, including a direct link to the news media.

“Don Bates, founding director of the GWU Strategic Public Relations program, cautions that, though ‘Social media provides a wealth of new information for journalists... getting the story right is as important as ever... PR professionals... have a responsibility... to ensure the information they provide journalists is accurate and timely...’”

According to the survey in the article, “most journalists turn to public relations professionals for assistance in their primary research.”

“44% of editors and reporters surveyed said they depend on PR professionals for ‘interviews and access to sources and experts’

23% for ‘answers to questions and targeted information’

17% for ‘perspective, information in context, and background information’”

Having a public relations representative is crucial to the growth and prosperity of an organization. Design4 is just the place to help you with those public relations needs. From promotional videos to a publicity strategy, we can help you get the word out about your organization.

How to be Found on the Web

Thu, 06 May 2010 10:56:21 -0400

Ever wonder what impact social media might have in the future and how you'll be impacted? In an article from Advertising Age, experts say in 2012 social media will be completely intertwined with the Internet. Socially-enhanced experiences on the Internet will become commonplace and friend networks will become portable. It will create a more personalized setting as a way to promote ideas to target audiences. Every Web site will eventually have some sort of interaction with its audience through the use of social media tools. Therefore, it is imperative to stay up-to-date with these new tools.

1. Want to know how to maximize Facebook for your cause or business? Check out Facebook's APIs: Application Programming Interfaces with the newest called Facebook Connect, which is designed to make friend networks portable. It links Facebook profiles to another Web site in order to allow your friend network to be able to see all the sites you follow. This generates a large amount of awareness for other sites, as well as a way to target new audiences.

2. Since Content from your friends is more relevant to you than content from strangers, it's no surpirse to see the emergence of Google Social Search, which is going to revolutionize the way search engines format their seach results. Google Social Search is designed to help you discover relevant publicly-accessible content from your social circle. It pushes blogs and Twitter information from personal networks to the top of the search engines results as a way to help you discover relevant publicly-accessible content from your social circle.

3. A third tool is consumer ratings, a useful tool to help optimize the consumers experience. Without user ratings, the site could lose impact, which would be detrimental to the growth of the site if the user is not happy. Feedback will become much more prominent of the actual Web sites.

Keep updating social media in your organization and look to the future for new ways to grow on the Internet.

Video PR: "Show Me, Don't Tell Me"

Thu, 06 May 2010 10:54:36 -0400

Did you know that more than 70% of U.S. Internet user watch video clips? That percentage is larger than blogging and social networking. Besides Google, YouTube is the most used search engine.

This fact reverts back to the adage, "Show me, don't tell me."

iMedia Connection recently wrote an article about The Fine Art of Video PR. They listed a few helpful hints: what to include in composing a video, where to place the video online and how to receive exposure from target audiences.

Recent studies have shown that people are more likely to trust their peers than other expert's advice. Therefore when composing a video, it is best to incorporate testimonials, case studies or reviews into the video. These third-party sources can provide credibility for your organization.

However, gaining exposure to a video can be even trickier than composing it.

First, the video must be submitted to as many online aggregators as possible, such as video sites (YouTube), corporate sites, social media profiles (Facebook), SMNR's (Social Media News Releases) and SERP's (Search Engine Results Pages).

Then to increase exposure make sure to add compelling titles, such as "How-to", as well as keywords, descriptions and tags. For company sites, add meta data to pages and embed the video on the page. Make sure to include keywords, images, links and RSS feeds to support the page optimization.

Lastly, share the video with those whose testimonials you have used so that they will show their peers and possbily post it online as well.

By following these steps, you can Show and Tell your audiences what they need to know about your organization.

For some examples of video at work, visit Design4's video page, and for more detail on the strategy we used to gain exposure, email Design4 Marketing Communications.

How To Use Social Media to Drive a Public Event. Quickly.

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:42:16 -0500

History in the making again last week as we had the pleasure of helping the Family Policy Council of West Virginia (FPCWV) in its efforts to convince lawmakers to let the people vote on the definition of marriage. At least 78 percent of registered West Virginia Democrats say they support a marriage amendment that was introduced with broad bipartisan support, but key lawmakers continue to block efforts to place it on the ballot allowing the people to vote. The leader of the FPCWV called us knowing there was less than a week to mobilize supporters and church leaders so their voice could be heard by legislators. Only a few days before he launched a petition drive among West Virginia voters with the goal of 2,500 signatures in a week as evidence to lawmakers that the people wanted to vote on marriage and knew that lawmakers were obstructing that vote. Discussions led to a decision to hold a marriage rally and press conference on the steps of the state Capitol, just a few short days away, and deliver the petitions in person.

Design4 Marketing worked hand-in-hand with him to develop media and messaging that included:

scripting for a radio ad that ran statewide
signage and graphics for the web site and on-the-ground
press releases and media alerts
email messages
identifying and utilizing key influencers through social media to encourage people to attend the rally and sign the petition

The results? Amidst freezing weather and snow, more than 150 people showed up on the steps of the West Virginia capitol building, where the executive director and general counsel of the FPCWV delivered two large boxes, saying:

"In these boxes are more than 4,600 petitions, asking for a marriage amendment. We told leaders here we would collect 2,500 in less than a week. Instead we gathered nearly double that." (By Friday, 5,416 petitions had arrived).

Don't ever underestimate your abilities when you've got the right message!

Radio Advertising and Social Marketing: Extend Your Reach

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 11:44:38 -0500

Not only do email campaigns bloom with the addition of social media, but so do other types of marketing campaigns. Our experience echoes this writer's sentiment:

"...it's easy to think that social media is choking off all marketing efforts. Truth is, for email marketers, social media is one of the most useful tools available to make campaigns bloom with more targeted, relevant and successful emails."*

By including a social sharing feature in email campaigns, marketers can extend the reach of those campaigns by letting members do the sharing with others who they feel will be interested in receiving emails. Like the old shampoo commercial: "They'll tell two friends, and so on, and so on." The result is a boost in brand awareness."*

We recommended one client add a social media component to a traditional targeted radio advertising campaign – and it increased traffic to their web site by 10-fold! By targeting influencers and like-minded individuals, we significantly extended the reach of this campaign.

For more information on how we did it, contact Design4 Marketing Communications.

*Excerpt from Neil Berman, Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Do Un-Clicked Ads Have Value?

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 11:43:50 -0500

Of course!

Do billboards, radio, TV, or print ads have value if there's no direct response?

Of course!

We recently counseled a client that "click-thrus" in online advertising and social media can be likened to "direct response" and their "message views" as "brand awareness." A recent study proves the point that online ads can help improve exposure, brand recognition and brand identity.

"According to Nielsen, one of the top trends in the coming year among advertisers will be to accurately measure activity and link online ads to offline purchasing behavior. A study was done recently by comScore, aimed to understand the impact of online display advertising. The results showed that unclicked ads still had a very powerful impact on the consumer. Further, the likelihood of consumers performing a search using the advertiser's branded terms increased 38%, while consumers' likelihood of buying the advertiser's brand either online or in a retail store increased by 27% and 17% respectively. These statistics provide evidence of the power of online ads, clicked or not, in the digital realm."

When creating a campaign, remember to measure the full realm of its impact, whether in brand awareness or direct response.

Successful Campaigns

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 11:43:50 -0500

The New Year kicked off at Design4 Marketing with an avalanche of radio and TV/web ad scriptwriting and production. With our signature humor, we've taken typically dry material to make a point and, in these cases, encourage action. We're building on this successful model by integrating social media and mobile marketing opportunities into these campaigns.

Everyone loves a success story, but one jumped out of the fourteen examples in this recent article on social media success:

Case-mate "Recession Case" drives record sales. Andrew Knight, VP of e-commerce, readily admits he was skeptical when a 22 year old on the marketing staff brought him the idea of selling a cardboard case for the iPhone (see image, above). Appropriately dubbed the recession case, this would retail for 99 cents.

"My initial thought was that this was never going to work. I was thinking we might sell a couple hundred but most of them we would just have to give away. What I underestimated was the power of social media!" said Knight. What happened is that Knight had met blogger Larry Greenberg through Twitter and Greenberg posted an article about the Recession Case. The next day, almost every major tech news site picked up on the recession case: Gizmodo, Engadget, TechCrunch, CNET, Mashable, etc.

"We broke our daily site traffic record by five-times and we set an all time revenue record in the same day! Our Facebook & Twitter traffic skyrocketed as the story spread virally and people shared it with friends and family. In four days we had sold over 7,000 recession cases! It was truly unbelievable how fast it took off," said Knight.

Case-mate also offered free personalized "Sharpie Script" on the recession case. This sparked a mini-phenomenon of its own, as people were buying cases for each other to simply send a personalized message (aka being social).

Knight points out another added bonus of the social propagation, "Our search rankings have improved nicely. Our two most important terms are 'iPhone case' and 'iPhone cases.' We are currently #1 for both of them on Google!"

Successful Facebook Marketing Tactics

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 14:47:56 -0500

What do you think is the most common marketing tactic used by companies on Facebook? More importantly, what do you think is the MOST effective?

A recent survey showed that the most common tactic was posting status updates, followed by friending potential customers in order to drive traffic to corporate material. However, one of the most effective tactics involved creating a Facebook application; fan surveys were another strong tactic.

The results are not too surprising, given that users like an interactive experience online--surveys and well-crafted applications make this possible.

We'd like to hear from you! What social marketing tactic yielded your highest results last year? Go to our Design4 Facebook Page and post your comments.

The Rise of Mobile

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 14:47:30 -0500

Seems like every article forecasting marketing trends of 2010 includes mobile marketing right at the top. What's different in 2010? As one writer says "The phones are smarter, the networks are faster, an open development ecosystem is leading to faster innovation, and specialty mobile agencies have built up a solid knowledge base of what works."

Having recently obtained an i-phone, I've entered the realm of those who browse faster on bigger screens. The phone is "location aware," making it easier to target my interests and ultimately my purchases. Opportunities abound for those who know how to harness this power!

Design4 Marketing began adding mobile strategies to its campaigns this year and will roll out its own platform for reaching the mobile market in January. Stay tuned!