Ray Ban's New Never Hide Campaign

To promote their new collection of printed and patterned sunglasses, Ray Bans has come out with some really cool ads. Check them out and let me know what you think!

The Rare Prints Collection

The Colorize Collection

Calling all Starbucks Lovers

Starbucks is having a new promotion so listen up if you love Frappaccinos! For all you Starbucks lovers, Starbucks is having their very own Happy Hour at all participating stores between 3 and 5 pm. This Happy Hour will take place from May 7 until May 16. Customers who come in at this time can get a Frappuccino favorite or they can make their own "however-you-want-it Frappuccino®." And they're 50% off! It just can't get any better! So this week, indulge yourself, and take part in this awesome promotion.

If you go to Starbucks' Frappuccino website, you can tour the site and look at all of their interactive promotions for their new "however-you-want-it Frappuccino®." Customers who wish to make their own Frappuccino before going to the store, can join the Facebook Application on the Starbucks' fan site. In addition, Starbucks has a Frappuccino Twitterand Facebook page in which customers can post what kind of Frappuccino they made and can recommend it to others.

On the Frappuccino website (frappuccino.com) customers can view a selection of already-popular Frappuccinos like the ones below:

If they come across a Frappuccino that looks good and they want to know what is in it, they can go to the products page on the website, and look at its description like the one below:

Love Gossip Girl? Well Starbucks has a sweepstakes for that as well as a promotion for the new Frappuccino. Check it out!

Finals + 3 Weeks without a computer = Oh Boy!

So I am currently going on three weeks without a computer. Long story short, my computer is basically dunzo unless I send it to the Apple Company to fix it for a nice chunk of change. I know it's absolutely terrible. I thought that I was starting to get the hang of managing my schedule to accommodate library and computer lab hours for projects, papers, and study guides. I was wrong. I now live in the computer labs every night and the library every minute I'm not in work, class, the gym, or sleeping. I've decided to call the Park computer labs my second home, followed by the library as my third. Hopefully, I'll be able to get all these assignments done in a timely manner! Wish Me Luck!!!

Case Study #3: Mobile Marketing

Over the last few years, mobile marketing has taken the world by storm. Today, marketers take advantage of practically all aspects of cell phone and smart phone technology, such as text and photo messaging, Bluetooth, and downloadable mobile applications. IKEA, a furniture and accessories specialty retail firm recognized around the world, launched a mobile marketing campaign early last year. This campaign took advantage of text and photo messaging, Bluetooth, and downloadable application tools via mobile phone.

When IKEA came out with its new PS furniture collection, it wanted to “stretch the idea of design and empower people.” Because their collection contained such unusual designs, IKEA wanted to help individuals picture certain PS furniture in their homes. To do this, IKEA created a mobile application that provided customers with an interior-planning tool to enhance their shopping decisions. The premise of the application was to make it easier for men and women to bring new furniture home with them to see how it would look in their homes.

How it Works:

When a consumer downloads and enters the application, he or she is instantly shown different pieces of furniture and accessories from the IKEA PS line. As the consumer scrolls through and selects a product, they are prompted to take a picture of the room he or she wants the product to be placed in. Once the photo is taken, an image of the room appears on the viewer’s phone in addition to the IKEA product. The viewer then has the ability to scale the furniture and move it around to fit better in the scene. Once the image looks the way the customer wants, he or she can take a picture of it. If he or she likes the photo, it can be saved on his or her phone or sent to friends by MMS.

Below is an illustration of what the application process looks like:

Target Audience and Distribution:

Since the IKEA PS line is such an eccentric design, IKEA wanted to target its audience toward contemporary German men and women who were willing to make a bold statement in their homes, but had trouble visualizing the image in their households. To launch their campaign to the public, IKEA created in-store posters that urged customers to send a free text message to them to receive a link to download the interior-planning application. In addition, customers on the IKEA website were encouraged to enter their cell phone number in to download the application. Lastly, IKEA installed Bluetooth pillars in certain stores to send out signals to nearby phones inviting them to download the application.

Evaluation:

Overall, IKEA’s mobile marketing campaign received an average user response of 5.21% by Bluetooth post and saw a user base of 15% on the IKEA PS microsite. Also, 6,800 people sent a text to IKEA requesting to download the application.

Personally, I think IKEA’s mobile application was a brilliant idea. It’s perfect for people that have trouble visualizing what the product would look like in their home. As a result, these customers are often on the fence about buying the product, especially when it’s expensive. By providing this application, IKEA enhances the consumer’s decision-making process. IKEA found a basic problem that prevents many purchase decisions and created a simple solution using cell phone technology, overcoming the purchasing barrier many consumers face.

Probably one of my favor ads ever!

Oscar Winner for a Short Film: Logorama

Case Study #2: YouTube vs. Copyright

Since its creation, YouTube has faced lots of copyright persecution. YouTube, a video-sharing site, allows registered users to upload videos and unregistered users to view them. Although the site contains defamation, pornography, and copyright restrictions, the site is unable to control everything that is uploaded to it. As a result, YouTube has been sued, as well as, criticized for its failure to check that its videos respect the laws of copyright.

When a registered user uploads a video, a message saying: “Do not upload any TV shows, music videos, music concerts, or commercials without permission unless they consist entirely of content you created yourself” appears on the computer screen. Although, this warning is shown prior to uploading, many unauthorized clips are uploaded each day. Because YouTube does not view the videos before they are posted to the site, they are often blamed for copyright infringement. Thanks to the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, however, YouTube is able to leave the search to copyright holders who can issue a takedown notice to the site if there is a problem.

In the past, Viacom, Mediaset, and the English Premier League have all filed suits against YouTube. In these suits, each company argued that YouTube does not do enough to protect copyrighted material.

In 2007, Viacom sued YouTube for one billion dollars worth of damages, stating that over 150,000 unauthorized clips of its material were found on the site and had been viewed about 1.5 billion times. When the lawsuit was settled in July 2008, Viacom was given access to the records of what people watched on YouTube. As a result, many bloggers and consumers complained about Viacom’s potential privacy violations. They argued that if Viacom were to use the information collected from Google’s YouTube to track down and sue those who watched unauthorized copyrighted clips on the site, they would be in violation of the right to privacy. Since the lawsuit with Viacom, YouTube has created VideoID, a program that checks uploaded videos against a database of copyrighted content in order to reduce violations.

Over the last few years, there has been a lot of speculation whether taking down an unauthorized video on YouTube is enough. Many copyright holders feel that YouTube should be doing more than VideoID to ensure that a video is not in violation of copyright law. Many consumers, on the other hand, sympathize with YouTube rather than the copyright holders. They feel that it would be difficult to control the millions of YouTube videos uploaded each day and to ensure that each follows the guidelines of copyright.

In the end it is all a matter of who is responsible. Should YouTube be responsible for the millions of videos posted each day on its site or should it be copyright holders’ responsibility to search the site for violations? What do you think?

Say Farwell to Internet Explorer Six

Earlier today, Aten Design Group, a design firm in Denver, Colorado, hosted a mock funeral for Internet Explorer 6. The firm's funeral invitations were placed on their website, stating: "Internet Explorer Six, resident of the interwebs for over 8 years, died the morning of March 1, 2010 in Mountain View, California, as a result of a workplace injury sustained at the headquarters of Google, Inc."

At the memorial service, Internet Explorer Six resided in a coffin for its mourners to see (see image above). Those who attended were asked to share memories of the Internet Explorer software. One man was quoted saying, "I feel terrible admitting this, but ... I never really liked him. He had so many hang-ups, and he looked awful -- especially in his later years. But... he was always there when you needed him. You have to give him that."

When Aten Design Group first posted the mock funeral invitations, they were expecting a small number of attendees to pay their respects. As word spread about the death of Internet Explorer Six through online comments and Twitter tweets, the company soon realized that they had to book a larger space to hold the service. Although Internet Explorer 6 technically isn't dead yet, it is lagging. With a shift in website design from text heavy formats to more interactive multimedia formats, such as video, slide show, and sound, Internet Explorer 6 is unable to run the new technology as effectively as Safari, Firefox, or Internet Explorer 8.

To Read More, visit CNN at http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/03/04/ie6.funeral/index.html?hpt=T2

Just When you Think Google Controls Enough...

Just when you think Google has enough, they're granted permission to "buy and sell electricity in bulk like any other utility" by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). According to Google, they acquired this right as to gain more power for their own activities and operations. I guess it's safe to say...There is nothing Google can't do.

Don't Mess with the Boss!

Live Nation's Ticketmaster finally reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission for misleading Bruce Springsteen fans to buy more expensive tickets to his shows. The two reached an agreement in which Live Nation will refund all deceived customers the difference between the marked-up price and face value price of the tickets they bought.

Last year, it was discovered that Ticketmaster was redirecting fans to their other site TicketsNow.com because the Ticketmaster site contained "no tickets found" for Bruce. This redirected site then offered tickets to fans for two, three, and even four times the price of the original tickets. What's worse is Ticketmaster still had tickets available! They just LIED so they could GET more MONEY. Luckily the Federal Trade Commission caught on to their scheme.

Live Nation has gone on to report that there was a glitch in their system. I think that's what you call trying to save your ass.

I guess it's safe to say...You don't mess with the Boss when it comes to his fans

Case Study #1: Nike vs. Puma

When one thinks of sneakers, people instantly think of Adidas, Puma, and Nike. It has been programmed in our brains to think of these brands when we need sports shoes, running sneakers, or just cool and comfy sneaks. Where a person's loyalty lies depends solely on their experience and opinion of the brand. Personally, I'm a Nike's fan when it comes to work out sneakers. Comfy and casual sneakers are a whole other story.

As the internet has progressed over the years, people have become more computer savvy and the market for goods has shifted from the producer's hands to the consumers. To keep up with the times, Nike was the first sneaker company to create a program on their website in which customers could customize a pair of shoes of their choice. As a result, mass customization has taken flight and many companies are replacing their mass production of goods with the idea of mass customization. Today, Nike and Puma both use this marketing technique to attract customers. With NikeID and Puma's Mongolian Shoe BBQ, a customer can design the shoe of their choice based on a selection of different colors and shoe designs. So who has the better website and marketing strategy?

When one enters the Puma website, it instantly comes to the viewer's attention that Puma stays true to their color scheme of red and white and that they aim to please low-maintenance customers. When one goes onto the site, it is easy to navigate one's way because of their breakup of shoes by gender, sport, and design. For those who know exactly what they want and don't want to spend a lot of time searching for it, Puma is the way to go. As for its shoe customization, Puma has a separate site known as the Puma Mongolian Shoe BBQ. This site focuses on the spices needed to create the ultimate shoe of your choice. Unfortunately, Puma does not offer as large of a selection as Nike when it comes to the colors and shoes one can use. Puma sticks mainly to more rustic colors in order to stay true to their shoe BBQ campaign of spicing up one's shoes. As a result, the color selections are deeper, earthier colors. For some customers, these color choices may not appeal to them. As a result, they may go to the Nike site to create a shoe using a broader assortment. Also, since there are only three shoes to choose from on the Puma website, buying custom designed sneakers can be more costly than customizing a pair of Nike's.

Below: An image of the shoes I designed using the Puma Mongolian Shoe BBQ

Nike's website is the complete opposite of Puma's. When you first enter the Nike site, it gives off a very modern, high-tech vibe due to their black and silver chrome layout. As you enter their home page, the viewer instantly sees an image of Kobe Bryant playing basketball in his matching Nike sneakers and uniform. For anyone entering the site, this image instantly gives them the sense that Nike is the shoe to wear when playing sports and that Nike knows what they are talking about when it comes to shoes. When navigating on the site, it takes a bit longer to find exactly what you are looking for. This is because Nike appeals to consumers that know exactly what they want and are looking for the perfect shoe to fit that need. As a result, Nike separates each shoe based on the sport one plays or activity one does.

When using the NikeID program, it was difficult to create the shoe of my choice as quickly as I was able to with the Puma Mongolian Shoe BBQ site. Since Nike has so much more on their site, using a computer with a slow network makes viewing the site and creating a shoe nearly impossible. Since Puma's site is much simpler, I was able to create a pair of sneakers much faster and without any problems. As for Nike, I had to restart my shoe multiple times due to the server not being able to read the page fast enough or the website freezing.

Below: An image of the shoes I designed using NikeID

When it comes to sneakers, Puma is a much easier and faster site to use to create a pair of sneakers or to search for a type of shoe you may want. Nike, on the other hand, is a much more desirable site if you need a shoe for a certain sport or activity. Also, Nike is more appealing if you want to create a shoe with a wider assortment of both shoe styles and colors. Both websites work efficiently for their target markets. Puma's simple site appeals to consumers who like to find items quick and easy while Nike's modern and cutting-edge site appeals to consumers with more specific sports related needs.

The IPad or the IBad

So Apple just came out with the Ipad which is just a fancy name for a bigger Ipod touch. I'm sure many people have been waiting for it to come out and are really excited for such a spectacular invention, but one has to wonder, what's the catch? Apple is always making devices with some sort of problem that they know won't develop until later down the road when warranties are over. For the MacBook Pro it was the logic board, for Ipods it was the battery, so what will the problem be for the IPad? I guess we'll all have to wait and see.

But the better question of the day is will the Kindle be outshone by the IPad? I know many people that were extremely excited for the Kindle to come out and thought it would be great to read books on a small little device when traveling. Now that the Ipad has come out, however, many people are questioning whether the Ipad is a better choice than the Kindle. Although both forms of technology are in the same price ball park, the Ipad offers many more features than the Kindle. The Kindle only offers the reading of books and texts while the Ipad offers everything from the web to email, from photos to videos, and from music downloads to book downloads.

So the real question that should be on everyone's mind is do you really need an Ipad? Yes it is high-tech and cool, but isn't that what a computer is for?