MINI introduces new technology

Clear concise data visualization can truly be a game-changer. The difficulty comes in finding the best way to present your KPIs in a way that is quickly and easily digested.

To celebrate 50 years of motoring mayhem, MINI has introduced Mission Control as part of its limited-edition Camden package. In their words: “By bringing the engine, HVAC and central systems to life via three distinct personalities, Mission Control sets the stage for the future of motoring.”  Read the rest of this entry »

Boosting sales via social media

Delaware-based Dogfish Head has a recipe for success both in the kettle and in the marketplace. According to Nielsen Co., the brewery spent a mere $2,000 on traditional media in 2008, and nothing in 2009. So what are they doing?

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Learning the do's and don'ts of Twitter

I’m not going to lie. When I was asked to attend the 2010 TWTRCON Twitter for Business conference in NYC, I thought, “Seriously? A conference for Twitter?” I mean, how hard is it to string together 140 characters as an update? Why on earth is there a full conference on this stuff? What’s the big deal?

The answer is actually fairly simple: Twitter is a way to connect with people with whom you normally wouldn’t be able to connect. It’s a simultaneous content feed that allows tweeters to get new information and updates and read about what’s going on within their industry or social network. @MrShri says “Facebook is people you went to school with, Twitter is people you wished you went to school with.” It’s why so many people follow famous brands — because they can! And those brands better be on board. Read the rest of this entry »

Become involved (and strategic) with social media.

Fear is a terrible thing. Especially when it causes healthcare systems to back away from using a potentially powerful communications tool. When it comes to using social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter, healthcare systems tend to fall into two categories. The first suffers from significant fear regarding negative feedback that may come from using such tools. This group also struggles with how much time it will take to make this a successful venture. The second group is “gung-ho” and jump into the pool before they check to make sure it’s been filled with water.  This group tends to throw every possible press release, article and “approved” message they can find onto their social media channels, only to realize  they’ve created a one-way conversation.

There is a better way. Read the rest of this entry »

Creating a customized online risk assessment

So how do you get a cardiovascular campaign to stand out above the clutter when there are more than 50 hospitals flooding the market with similar messages? How do you engage consumers to come to your website and sign up for your marketing materials? How do you get people to realize that they’re at risk for heart disease and proactively seek out a cardiologist in your health system?

These are all questions we were asked by The Chester County Hospital (TCCH) marketing team and questions we asked ourselves as we developed marketing recommendations for their cardiovascular service line.  Our answer was to develop an online risk assessment that would determine an individual’s risk level for heart disease. Read the rest of this entry »

Can mobile media compete with the jumbotron?

These days, it seems like everyone is asking whether something is about to kill something else: "Will html5 kill flash?" "Will the iPad kill Kindle?"

So, with tongue firmly in cheek, I thought, "I gotta get in on this killing spree."

In my daily romp through my normal news sites, I stumbled upon an article about a guy named Fred Ehrhart who is taking advantage of online marketing's incredible targeting capabilities to ask a question usually reserved for jumbotrons, billboards and banners being towed behind airplanes: "Will you marry me?" The ads are all long gone, but they directed his potential bride and anyone else who clicked to this landing page. Read the rest of this entry »

Finding the right social media tool.

My husband is a carpenter, so he’s into tools. As a social media guru, so am I. Whenever we come up with a project, we immediately start thinking about what tools we have and what we may need to buy. We’ll scour yard sales, flea markets and the Internet to find just the right compound miter saw or three-phase plasma cutter — often to the detriment of the job itself.

Though perhaps not as exotic as a four-foot finger brake or Pittsburgh lock-seam hammer, the most exciting social media tool is video. Healthcare professionals are learning to take advantage of video along with everything else in their toolbox, as this online marketing blog explains. Surgeons have used Twitter, for example, to tweet out live procedures from the O.R. — the first being a surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from someone’s kidney. Universities such as Stanford are using video on Facebook for question-and-answer sessions between professors and students. Mainstream media is now plugging into social media for obvious reasons — mainly because they know their audiences are plugged in. Read the rest of this entry »

Is Twitter dead?

Every once in a while you’ll see an article asking “Is Twitter Dead?” even suggesting that if you’ve been avoiding Twitter as part of a “non-strategy,” it may be paying off!

The problem with that perspective is that Twitter is not a strategy. It’s not even a tactic. It’s a channel!

The strategy (and ultimately your goal) is usually specific to your organization so it’s hard to discuss. But we can identify a general growing audience: people who create and consume information, wherever and whenever, with increased frequency, increased brevity and often with groups of people (as opposed to one other person). Read the rest of this entry »

Do you care to watch them...24/7?

Remember the premise of what was arguably the grandaddy of all reality TV shows? “This is the true story... of seven strangers... picked to live in a house...work together and have their lives taped... to find out what happens... when people stop being polite... and start getting real...The Real World.”

New web reality series If I Can Dream (from American Idol creator Simon Fuller), which launched on Tuesday, March 2, takes that premise even further. It follows five aspiring artists live 24/7 on ificandream.com and in a weekly recap on Hulu. Read the rest of this entry »

Even Barbie uses social media.

The 50-plus doll was once limited to traditionally “feminine” career choices such as ballerina, model, teacher or nurse. As times changed and women threw off their shackles (did Barbie ever even have a bra to burn?), her options expanded: paratrooper, paleontologist, pilot and even President of the United States.

Now, for the first time ever, loyal Barbie fans were asked to help her choose her 125th career for the “I Can Be” doll series by voting on the following: architect, computer engineer, environmentalist, news anchor or surgeon. Twitter followers and fans on Facebook voted for News Anchor Barbie — she’ll be available this fall. The social media campaign was such a success that fans insisted on choosing Barbie’s 126th career, computer engineer, coming in winter. Read the rest of this entry »