The 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing Blog

The Truth Tastes Good For Domino’s Pizza May 9, 2011 – 11:15 am				Abdul Fattah Ismail

Back in late 2009, Domino’s Pizza launched a multichannel advertising campaign expressing blunt opinions from pizza consumers about their product.  It was less than flattering.  As an NYC resident, I don’t need to order from Domino’s since superior pizza options are a train ride away.  I did say train ride because my neighborhood has pretty standard, gooey pies. Therefore, I was not sympathetic to their cause.

The marketing management team worked extensively with their chefs and product testers on the product.  Domino’s CEO Patrick Doyle speaks about the transformation in a video here from 2010. Rarely do you see such self-examination from a company, and it paid dividends for the brand.

Our society has been conditioned to believe that firms are manipulating their senses to push products into their homes.  I also believe the use of video interviews within the pizza chain’s headquarters help to give the product relaunch credibility.  You witness management listening to the negative stream and know that they must make an effort to improve the product.

Self-flaggelation can only go so far in our hyperdriven world, so Domino’s went to work on the food sourcing. They also learned to engage with customers through social media portals, fastidiously analyzing the feedback. Last week, the company reported first quarter metrics. Net income rose an astounding 61%, from $10.6 to $27.1 million.  As Mr. Doyle points out in the source article, online communication has empowered the consumer to unforeseen levels.  Brands must make adjustments to their product, or face the consequences.  The consumer always had the power of choice, but were overwhelmed by product advertising, especially in the fast-food sector.  Those days are gone.  Domino’s Pizza should be commended for recognizing the sea change.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, Business News, Interactive Marketing, Marketing, Video Sharing | No Comments »
Tags: Blueliner Marketing, dominos campaign, online advertising agency, online video advertising

Friends Let Friends Vend For Coca-Cola May 2, 2011 – 1:30 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

The world’s soda titans are now going against one another in the tangible and viral streams.   Coca-Cola and Pepsi have been embracers of interactive marketing on several levels.  Pepsico has a Twitter handle that dispenses hot jobs and tweets out advice for professionals along with corporate services.  The handle also links to feature interviews on the Pepsico Youtube Channel with key industry people on brand management, logistics, and other relevant topics.

Coca-Cola developed a friendship vending machine which was used in Argentina this past August, but videos were released on YouTube last week.  The video testifies to the core maxim of this campaign by having a friend lift the other to access the vending slot.  In return, two bottles were dispensed instead of one. Click on the bottle to see the clip.

It is unclear if this particular machine will reach the States, but the interaction proves that marketers must not forget about the physical senses when it comes to engagement. For all of our digital tools we use and the data we mine for research initiatives, the emotions must be affected. The simple act of helping a friend with a task on a physical level can do that, especially when the payoff benefits everyone. In fact, Pepsico is using a social media campaign to alert friends of gifted Pepsi products. The cap has been opened on this online advertising battle.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, Marketing, Video Sharing | No Comments »
Tags: Blueliner Marketing, digital marketing agency, new york interactive marketing agency, product development, product marketing agency

President Obama, Zuckerberg Like Politics in Facebook Town Hall April 21, 2011 – 12:58 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

At times in popular culture, politics and communications converge for an instant.  The moment has become more commonplace with President Barack Obama, a seasoned advocate of social media to enable discussion which leads to organizational growth. Nobody in this digital era used the platform to leverage their political ambitions like he did in 2006-08.  As the historic campaign closed, however, you have seen an ecosystem of opposition movements sprout. The GOP’s Tea Party is just one that reached to national conscience.  Along with some questionable fiscal strategies after the crisis of 2008, they have unsettled Obama’s future standing in the White House.

The economic disaster seems to have a light at the end of the tunnel. That tunnel for the moment is very long for townspeople still struggling with unsuitable employment opportunity. Can this Town Hall still be an effective marketing tool?

After a gritty, grueling three years in office, Mr. Obama is slowly returning to the environments which guided him to the White House: The social network.  Pun intended.  Yesterday, at a Town Hall meeting with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, President Obama laid out his platform for cutting the fiscal deficit and tax increase measures.  Feedback from the discussion was mixed amongst viewers, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The crowd reaction was overwhelmingly positive from the footage. Take a look for yourself.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, Business News, Interactive Marketing, Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Video Sharing | No Comments »
Tags: Blueliner Marketing, digital marketing agency nyc, new york interactive marketing agency, new york social media agency, Social Media Marketing

From Your Video To Your Promo April 20, 2011 – 12:24 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

I’ve talked here in several pieces about online video advertising as the current marketing trend.  Businesses with products and services needing to catch the senses consider self-video production often, but with anxiety.  Cisco’s Flip cameras are fine to do simple interviews at events or spotlight a nominal product.  Video is even more compelling when paired with an interactive website that contains strong pixellation, endearing the user to experience several pages.  The alcoholic beverage Desperados does a fabulous job of balancing this standard in their latest campaign.  I’ve actually never seen the beer in public, and am not typically a fan of hybrids.  But their business marketing mix has me intrigued enough to buy it, and that is the endgame of a video strategy.

That endgame is a more realistic achievement with a professional agency.  The investment can be tailored for your corporate budget.  Certain businesses have staff with the camera equipment to carry out sophisticated campaigns in high-definition video and spread them virally.  In the hands of a production professional, however, the dividends last for a long time.  A good production house will handle the technical aspects of your video demand, from a script to editing.  They can also assist with logo design, distribution, and product positioning.  Your brand equity is guaranteed to strengthen across demographics. Blueliner Marketing has a video production house located right across the Hudson River in Jersey City for small businesses named Anar Studios.  For more information, click here.

An entry on PRNewswire also discusses the benefit of video production. A picture may tell a thousand words, but a video can sell a lifetime of loyalty.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, Digital Media, Podcast Production, Video Sharing | No Comments »
Tags: Blueliner Marketing, digital marketing agency nyc, Digital Media, eric giovon, new york video production agency, online video advertising

Weekly Blueliner Newsminer April 15, 2011 – 6:10 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

We are back with another edition of the Weekly Blueliner Newsminer.  Let us begin.

1.  Coachella Streams From YouTube

Some of us would love to pack into an RV for that Great American Drive across the Midwest and Rockies for Coachella.  Others would fly into Los Angeles, and battle the highways out to the desert.

Of course with the interactive capabilities of technology, you can click to see the action through YouTube. Video sharing has been a phenomenon for awhile in terms of livestream content, but now you can catch Cee-Lo, The National, !!!, and Damian Marley on your monitor. Then save your frequent flier miles for another destination.

2.  Blackberry Releases Playbook

Blackberry’s new tablet device was released this week, and the reviews have poured out.  My fellow colleague Mohsin Sharief gives a detailed review on the programming structures.  This new edition to the tablet marketplace steams from middling reviews. It appears that the Canadian manufacturer released the Playbook as an unfinished product on purpose. I just can’t understand how a company whose reputation is their encrypted email client server and fail to include it on a new, segmented device. Hopefully, this mistake will be rectified soon.  This strategy will not be in the year’s best at the end.

3.  Best Buy To Shrink “Big Box” Strategy

The headline is a strategy by the Minnesota company which sends a direct message to retailers with large spaces:  slim down. The demise of Circuit City was the first domino in a stream that demonstrates the influence of mobile technology on consumer products.  As content distribution diversifies, the use of a large space hurts on many levels.  It hurts operating margins. It wastes energy. It destroys land that can be used to develop agrarian initiatives. It wastes time.  So Best Buy has optioned to not only reduce the scale of their stores. They also will find landlords with less restrictive leases. They will sell more items of the mobile variety. It’s a solid move, but we’ll see if they can keep up with Amazon.

4.  President Obama Calls For National Single-Password Encryption

I just came across this headline on Wired and the first thought that struck my mind was: intrigue.  The Obama administration has made no secret of their desire to bring the national telecommunications sector to a modern level. They will scrutinize the upcoming AT&T/T-Mobile deal. They want to ensure that an improvement in network infrastructure will legitimately suffice. They are also seeing if corporations from the private sector will rise to the occasion for this cause.  Security encryption will be more pertinent as more devices access content from real time to complete trivial tasks.  In theory, it sounds good. The practice will have to be beyond perfect.

5.  Cisco Eliminates The Flip Camera

This news was released earlier in the week. Cisco has struggled for years to gain traction in the consumer marketplace.  They also attempted a videoconferencing console for the living room, featuring Ellen Page of Juno fame.  The shutdown of production for the Flip shows that more is going on in Cisco’s video cone.  This article in paidContent.org talks about the shutdown killing two internal enterprise solutions in one swoop.  I personally thought the Flip had potential to differentiate itself, but felt the price point was a tad excessive. I tested a friend’s version and found the control interface simple to use.  The lead article argues that video quality in smartphones has improved substantially to eliminate niche devices, but I disagree.  In time, that could prove correct. Not at the moment. If marketed properly, Cisco could have kept the switch on. We’ll never know.

That’s the Blue news this week. It’s time to point and shoot forward. Enjoy.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, Business News, eCommerce, Interactive Marketing, Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Video Sharing | 1 Comment »
Tags: Blueliner Marketing, digital marketing agency, new york interactive marketing agency, weekly blueliner newsminer

Google Celebrates Charlie Chaplin at 122 With Interactive Doodle April 15, 2011 – 2:06 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

Charlie Chaplin, the actor and director who influenced film forever with the silent era, is commemorated on Google today for his 122nd birthday.  Google Doodles continue with using interactive logos of creative titans.  John Lennon’s video image was another example some time ago.  The video doodle will be on Google’s homepage for the next 36 hours.  It’s a great entry into the discography of Charlie Chaplin, whose slapstick and pantomime methods still resonate today.  I personally recommend Modern Times and City Lights to start your Netflix queue.

According to this piece from PC Mag, Google recently obtained the patent to develop this web application for future strategies.  It is unclear if Google has a conscious one in mind. If they do, then I see it as an opportunity to targer newer generations with a unique synthesis of advertising and education.   Figures like Chaplin built the channels for entertainment distribution that we enjoy today from any access portal. It is impossible to conceptualize watching a film without sound in a movie theatre where true interactivity exists between the audience and actors.  Today people can barely watch a film without playing Scrabble during the whole running time.

Chaplin held many other talents as a figure in the motion picture industry.  He was a musician, composing many of the scores in his films.  His discography also carried strong political undertones, making statements against fascism and war.  Click on Charlie to see the video.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, Interactive Marketing, Marketing, Video Sharing, web development | No Comments »
Tags: Blueliner Marketing, charlie chaplin, digital marketing agency nyc, google news, google web applications, new york interactive marketing agency

Ford Targets Inner Child Awkwardly April 14, 2011 – 4:07 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

I just posted a bit about Desperados using interactive marketing on a pure level.  Whether you are a imbiber or not, you can’t help but respect the commitment to engage with a viewers’ senses.  In that sense, the marketer fulfilled their assignment. Whether sales trickle down remain to be seen.

Now we have another campaign by a major corporation.  Ford Motors has been riding a strong surge in their share price.  They have been marketing strongly toward multicultural groups.  They have a strong presence in social media circles, as they promoted the 2011 Ford Explorer exclusively through Facebook.  Here’s an example of where the intent is solid in terms of segmentation.  African-American women have not been associated with too many vehicle brands in the past on a virtuous level.  In this spot, Ford is attempting to evoke themes of heritage and loyalty. These hold strong resonance with the African-American community, but I’m not sure this spot achieves the goal.  Feel free to leave your comments.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, Interactive Marketing, Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Video Sharing | No Comments »
Tags: Blueliner Marketing, digital marketing agency nyc, interactive marketing news, multicultural marketing, new york interactive marketing agency nyc, Social Media Marketing

Desperados Beer Twists With A Hint of Lime April 14, 2011 – 2:45 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

Desperados is a beer infused with a tequila kick.  Produced by Heineken and distributed worldwide, the brand is making an impact online with a truly interactive marketing vehicle: the online commercial.

This vehicle engages the user in several key steps which generates a solid pay off for your time.  Within the first few seconds, the Flash methodology has you working with the control panel.  You have to slide the video knob to open a hole.  You have to connect with your friends through social media, like you always do, to gain progress. Then the thrill comes with a bouncy, energetic party filled with the beautiful and stylish. Who doesn’t want this? With 842,000 views since the post date, people are responding to the campaign.  I was also interested to learn that they are part of Heineken’s beverage portfolio, and the Dutch brewer has a reputation for creative online video campaigns. Therefore, the ingenuity present in this video is less of a surprise. I’ve personally never heard of Desperados before this video.  I don’t even recall seeing it here in New York.  I admit that I am curious now. The website design is also a good counterpoint to the video. You can click the bottle cap to review it.

Enjoy the Desperados Experience below.

The Desperados Experience

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, Business News, Content Marketing, Interactive Marketing, Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Video Sharing | No Comments »
Tags: Blueliner Marketing, digital marketing agency nyc, new york interactive marketing agency, podcast production agency new york, Social Media Marketing

Text Fundraising For Philanthropy Smarties April 13, 2011 – 10:15 am				Abdul Fattah Ismail

Larger philanthropical organizations have utilized mobile marketing to solicit donors from a wide reach of demographics. The outreach has been evident for disaster relief efforts in Haiti and Japan.  Millennials prefer to contribute online, at a clip of 58% in this article.  As I wrote yesterday, their preference for human connection is evident.  Look at the statistics for text donations, released by a survey of Millennial Donors conducted by several firms.  6% of millennials donated by text. The article also states that 85% must trust the organization’s mission and leadership before committing to the cause.

I bring up millennials again because fundraising through text messages has been a fruitful strategy. Some experiences have not been the greatest, but that is the nature of business. Millennials have the dedication to make a diversified impact when attuned and their economic potential is vast.

As a former fundraiser, the objective is to lead those new donors along a path of sustained giving. The goal is achieved through fundamental exercises of engagement coupled with response to feedback.  Like any strategy, text messaging is a tool, but the entire box must be used.

In this video from The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Network For Good COO Katya Andresen offers her advice on building an effective online campaign. Speaking of fundraisers, click on the Red Cross Japan tent to donate. The people were victims of yet more earthquakes over the past week.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, Business News, Content Marketing, Interactive Marketing, Marketing, Mobile Applications, Mobile Marketing, Small Business, Social Media Marketing, Video Sharing | No Comments »
Tags: Blueliner Marketing, chronicle of philanthropy, digital marketing agency nyc, nonprofit news, online marketing strategy, philanthropy fundraising strategy

YouTube Enters Programming Business April 7, 2011 – 1:11 pm				Abdul Fattah Ismail

In a surprising report yesterday, Google announced that it will finance $100 million toward 20 YouTube channels holding original content.  The content will not be distributed toward traditional television, but remain exclusively online.  In fact, the convergence between the internet and video content is a watershed moment for the video sharing corporation.  They are aiming for the traditional network heavyweights.  Online advertising has been moving toward video campaigns, shaping the parameters of scale for media buyers.   Fox and NBC, as we know, use Hulu as a video sharing platform.  Hulu Plus reported a march toward 1 million subscribers after cutting back fees to catch up with Netflix.  

It is unclear how YouTube will solicit creative scions from the traditional networks. Advertisers are scrambling to shift their budgets toward online video distribution. Many could display skepticism of YouTube since Hulu and Netflix are already ahead in the pack.

YouTube could differentiate their channel portfolio by integrating programs turned down by major networks along with targeting multicultural demographics.  One example is next week’s debut of an original series EastWillyB.  EastWillyB is a lens on the dynamics of gentrification in Bushwick, echoing classic cinema like Do The Right Thing.  It also is a synthesis of interactive media‘s rise with people whose stories are underrepresented in traditional programming. Social media and other viral promotions can only help to cultivate a devoted following, making the majors take notice.

YouTube’s rise to international phenomenon came from spotlighting the gifts and duds from local people.  Their new channels should click for the livestream.

*EastWillyB is rated M for mature audiences only.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in 7 Pillars of Digital Marketing, blog, Digital Media, Interactive Marketing, Video Sharing | No Comments »
Tags: Blueliner Marketing, digital marketing agency nyc, new york interactive marketing agency, video production agency ny, web marketing new york, youtube news