Just getting back from HIMSS 2012.  I have been attending this event since 2000.  It’s clear that companies in the health information technology arena need our services now more than ever before.  Whether it’s strategic communication about ICD-10 or targeted content on major healthcare issues.  Our team is poised to support these issues with strategic messaging supported by impactful design.  Also, I continue to see companies with a specific need to enhance their brand communications and identity.  Our goal is to provide innovation and creativity yielding powerful results!

Although, it has been a little wet and on the cold side, the business climate is very hot.  We are very lucky to have San Diego clients and partners who engage with us and understand the power of Intuitive Marketing.  Back in Sarasota tomorrow! 

On January 18, a number of online search engines suspended operations for 24 hours to protest federal legislation introduced ostensibly to fight piracy.  The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the U.S. House and Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) in the Senate represent the latest action in the conflict between the demands of users for unfettered access to information and the need to protect personal property rights.  (While U.S. laws already exist to restrain domestic piracy, SOPA and PIPA are aimed at foreign abusers.)

It is an echo of the music industry’s struggle to protect the intellectual property rights of musicians and composers in the face of unpaid music downloads and file sharing and at first blush may seem a no-brainer.  But online protests such as yesterday’s already are eroding initial support for the federal measures.

The subject is a touchy one.  How much control is too much and how much freedom constitutes abuse?  Absent protected intellectual property and the shelter of the profit motive, what incentive do developers have to devote the months or even years necessary to create online technologies that users crave – indeed require – in our wired and wireless world?  After all, everyone – even developers and other creative types – must eat.

Despite first impressions, it is actually difficult to see how the protesters fail to win this one – at least in the short term.  Their victory, though, could very well carry the seeds of its own demise if it chokes off or cripples the technologies being demanded.

I have a confession:  I have never been good at cattle-call business networking. I mean, I’ve met some very nice people, just none that had the means or a reason to contract for my skills. Give me 10 minutes in any jammed room, and I’ll have met every unemployed person and herbal supplement distributor in it. And, though I’m not particularly shy, I know I could never match the chutzpah of an attorney who handed me her card, advising me to call her if I ever went into foreclosure. (Hopefully, that was her usual spiel and not an appraisal on my future.)

So, while I admire those who can wring worth from designated networking events, for me such meetings are a waste of time. That said, I HAVE had networking success in smaller groups and chance meetings at restaurants, theaters, etc., when the relationship is created more organically. So I concentrate on this path.

When it comes to marketing, what’s wasting your time? What are you doing just because you thought you should, not because it works? Is it a blog you set up and struggle to keep updated? A web site that provides information but doesn’t push it out? Outdated materials with high printing costs that actually do more harm than good? Tons of tactics applied separately, with no cohesive plan?

It’s still early enough in the year to take stock, assess what works and change gears with a plan that is both efficient and effective. Let us know if we can help.

Thankfully we had a great showing on the field this year, ’cause the commercials (except for one or two) were not too impressive. VW’s “Dog Strikes Back” was a favorite around the office along with Bud Light’s “Rescue Dog,” and Acura’s “Reflections” featuring Jerry Seinfeld. For a full replay of this years Super Bowl commercials click here! And let us know, what was your favorite?!

Have you noticed that a lot of companies are choosing to go viral with their 2012 Super Bowl Commercial Campaigns? We’ve seen a lot of organizations using media outlets like YouTube and Vimeo to preview their much anticipated pieces. Allowing viewers to share them on their various social networks and thus gaining substantial traction before the big game.

Do you like this, sort of, premature exposure? Or does it ruin the anticipation, the build-up, the “they spent whaaaaat! for that?” Well, this has been a topic of discussion around the water cooler (or Keurig, to be exact) at the Next-Mark HQ this week: Is the viral exposure gained prior to the Super Bowl worth it?

Absolutely. Companies are trying to minimize the number of people who are not exposed to their commercials. By releasing previews they are getting people talking – garnishing the interest through “likes” and “shares” that they couldn’t capture during a timeout late in the 4th quarter.

Check out these that have some serious views…

http://youtu.be/WUFSHzT2xuY

http://youtu.be/cpi2IAec9Ho

It’s that time of year again. When we get a chance to watch the work of the nations best creative talent. There’s also the whole Eli – Brady match-up to get stoked for, which should be equally as entertaining as the commercials (let’s hope).

I’ve managed to dig up who some of this years’ big players (off-the-field) are; H&M featuring a half-naked David Beckham, don’t worry fellas we’ve got an equally-as-naked Adrianna Lima in the latest addition from Kia, a plethora of other automobile makers including a Twilight-esque Audi Ad and a lot of barking from VW, the Polar Bears are back from Coca-Cola, and the viral-released Ferris Bueller spin-off from Honda. That’s just to name a few. What other brands are you excited to see? Stayed to hear more on Super Bowl-Ad week.

http://youtu.be/VhkDdayA4iA

Heard about “inbound marketing”? If not, you will.

Inbound marketing is about customers finding businesses, rather than businesses finding customers. It’s the same basic goal, but with a completely different strategy that is based on how consumers act today.

Think about it. How many commercials do you fast-forward past? How many on-line ads do you ignore? Most likely, the answer is most or all. That’s because they’re interruptions. As viewers/users, we don’t like interruptions. We like getting on with what we want to see and do – and when WE want to see and do it.

Thus, the theory goes, many of us basically tune out traditional “outbound” marketing.

Instead, we do our own research and search when we want information, plugging in a few key words and seeing what comes up. Or we go the modern version of old school: getting the opinions of friends and others we trust on-line. That’s where content marketing, search engine optimization and social media marketing/blogging come in, serving as magnets that draw customers to business.

There’s more to it, of course, and there’s definitely still a place for traditional marketing. Rest assured, we’ll be talking about it all again in future posts.

In the meantime, think about how you make your own buying decisions and how that fits in your company’s marketing strategy.

The geniuses at Apple and their longtime agency TBWA/Media Arts Lab have nailed it again with their collection of spots for the iPhone 4S. The “Santa” [http://www.apple.com/iphone/videos/#tv-ads-santa] spot manages to squeeze all the magic of Christmas (and the 4S) into thirty seconds as we learn how Santa now relies on Siri to get him through the night.

The mystical soundtrack, a segment of “Goldengrove 2” [http://tvcfblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/apple-iphone-4s-santa-commercial-song.html] by Keith Kenniff (a.k.a. Helios), sets the mood perfectly for Santa to work with Siri to find houses, get a quick nag from Mrs. Claus, and check destination temps as his cold worsens and his cookie count grows.

The brilliance of branding here (or the value of the ubiquitous Apple brand):  they don’t even have to name the product. Nowhere in the spot is there a mention or title or anything that spells out that this is the iPhone 4S. But who wouldn’t know? The Apple brand lets them take it to the final shot, where the Apple logo hangs in the snow-filled night sky like a full moon. Always there. Always on.

Now, like most great technology ads, this one fudges the speed just a tad. For anyone who has done the math on the logistics of Santa, this also looks like a perfect match. I decided to test Siri on one of Santa’s questions:  “How do I get to Charlie Grant’s house?” Siri did this just fine, although it did take about 15 seconds for the map to pop up for me, whereas Santa had Charlie’s house all mapped out in less than a second. Maybe that house he was in had an amazing wifi connection right by the fireplace. Anyway, with 3.7 billion stops ahead of him, let’s hope Santa only needed directions for a few houses. Otherwise, my math suggests he’d need to tack on an extra 17,000 years of wait time.

Apple and TBWA are even brilliant with their disclaimer. In faded white text toward the bottom of Santa’s sleigh, while  in the much more interesting part of the frame above, Santa is asking “How does the rest of my day look?”, we see “Sequences shortened” (Translation:  Serving Suggestion, or “We made everything happen instantly. Cool, huh?”).

Random factoids:  Santa is left-handed, except when asking how cold it is in Raleigh, where he becomes ambidextrous for about 17 frames. The iPhone 4S contains advanced wireless hand-warming technology, thus eliminating the need for gloves.

Yes, Virginia, I love this ad. It’s fast, it’s funny and, yet again, it shows how Apple can still launch new products with a little help from its famous friends.