Advertising articles

Mobile App Marketing: Advertising Tips for Publishers
Author: Freak Blogger
In the past traditional advertising had been looked at as nothing more than an interruption in your viewing experience whether it be for television, magazines, newspapers or searching on the internet and receiving a gazillion pop-ups. There is a new type of advertising that provides a completely different twist and offers engaging entertainment that is educational as well as informational. This new medium is called ‘app-vertising’ and this proves to be the future of social application advertising in a huge way.
Advertisers have been looking for ways to capitalize on in-app advertising and because of the flexibility and richness of interfaces such as the Droid and the iPad platforms are available for advertisers to develop ads that are more relevant to the applications they are advertised in, than any of the more traditional methods such as banner ads or commercials.  Many commercials are very popular because they have been associated with large events. With in-app advertising, many advertisers can take advantage of that same association with interactive mobile ads. These are the early days of in-appadvertising, but you are beginning to see some consistencies developing that are becoming more apparent. Because of this there are some items you may want to keep in mind when developing your next in-app advertising campaign.

Allow Your Users To Be In Control

An engaging story disguised as an advertisement will intrigue a user to want to be involved. Allow the user to interact with the advertisement and give them a few options to choose from. These options will allow them to learn more and become interested and each option will ultimately lead to one place. Here is a perfect example (albeit Apple’s iAd)

Load Times Are Important

If your load time takes longer than 5 seconds, rethink your idea. You need to get the user involved in less than 5 seconds or they will hit the ‘skip’ button. Remember to keep in mind that working with a 100kb per second base; you will always want to maximize your download time.

Targeting

Google took the first step forward by allowing advertisers to target each mobile operating system independently and by carrier through keyword search.  Being able to target by mobile operating system is very valuable to app marketers who do not generally have their app available across all the different operating systems. Google is also offering the option (although it is opt-out) to block advertisers’ ads from showing to users searching on mobile devices. This has the potential to improve the ROI for Internet marketers should mobile search become a large portion of Google’ssearch query volume.

Call-To-Action

One of the best ways to ensure that users engage with your ad is to offer them something valuable in return, such as discounts and coupons or free music or apps. Whatever the offer, don’t forget to make the call-to-action buttons large and the hit areas larger to reduce false taps These are only some ideas that will allow you to take advantage of this promising new area of advertisement. As time moves forward you can bet there will be much more to come.

Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ezine/5990885

Tags: android, app, appstore, business, iphone, marketing, marketing tips, mobile, mobile marketing

Helpful Tips For Acquiring Great Images and Uprinting Coupons
Author: Rick Bell
We allrecognize how effective a goodimage can be. In fact, just about every effective design has pictorial elements. You may wonder, however, how to go about finding quality photos. By employing a couple ofcommontechniques, you can find greatimages without much effort or cost, and can also reduce printing costs by using Uprinting coupons from sites like Top Printing Coupons.com.

When designingan advertising piece, it is crucial not to skimp on using images. Pictures do a lot more than just make a design more attractive to the eyes. For materials that contain a lot of text, adding in an image could serve to make the text appear less burdensome. Moreover, the right image will convey a specific emotion or mood and allows you to enhance whatever message you are trying to communicate.

If you do not mind playing the role of photographer yourself, taking your own photos is a great way to get images for free. This however, can take time and effort, and unless you have a knowledge of photography, the images will likely appear amateurish.

In most instances, designers want to use top notchpictures, which can be obtained in one of two ways. First you can hire a professional photographer. Of course, this would be quite expensive, but the benefit is that you will get unique, high quality photos. As for the cost of hiring photographers, you can probably find affordable photographers by employing students or hobbyists.

A more sensibleoption for many designers is to make use of stock photos. A couple ofwebsites that offer stock photos are Getty and Corbis. Stock photos can be sold in a wide range of prices, and for cheaper photos, you might consider sites like istockphoto or bigstock. When designing your print pieces, make sure you use free comp photos in the beginning. This is often a good idea, as the last thing you want to do is pay for a bunch ofimages that wind up not being used in the final printed piece.

Based upon how much printing you do, the amount you spend on printing could possibly getreally large. One way to lowerexpenses is by utilizing Uprinting coupons. I routinely save ten or twenty percent off my print orders by turning to such coupons.

Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ezine/5781688

Tags: advertising, design, marketing, photography

Dear Brands: Here is what I, a consumer, would like to see from you…
Author: Stephanie Roselund
Stay tuned for “Dear Consumer: Here is how I, a brand, deserve your respect and attention…”
Dear Brands,
I can’t get away from you right now, what with all the Superbowl ad buzz and all.  And that’s OK, this is actually a fun time of year to deal with you.  You pull out all the stops, get super creative, and make me look forward to what you will do next.  I am amazed at the amount of time and money that goes into the days around the SB – trying to get the most attention, getting people excited for the event itself, and then trying to make sure the buzz translates into long term results.
I don’t know that I will make purchase decisions based on how you reach me this weekend (or any other time you can grab my attention).  But… I will learn new things about you, better understand what you want me to know, and ultimately, that will influence me – for better or worse – when I need to go buy something. 
So, let’s start with that as a good first step for what I expect from you if you want me to listen and act: 
1.  Be entertaining and creative – make me excited about hearing your message, and get me engaged so that I remember key things later when it counts.  Make me laugh, make me cry, make me discuss with my friends.
Superbowl time is an aberration in terms of being able to have omnipresent brand messages.  But it general:
2.  Be careful where/how you talk to me.  I personally get very frustrated by ads that I have to watch while my video loads.  I don’t like ads that pop up unprompted on my screen while I am logging into email.  Those things backfire with someone like me – and while I’m sure you’ve spent good time and money on getting my attention in this way, it’s not the kind of attention you want!  Put things in context, and get me when I’m in the right state of mind to hear from you .
3.  Don’t talk just to talk.  I have Liked some of you on Facebook, and can get good info that way when I want to.  Sometimes you post updates that have good recipes, deals, or news that I care about.  But sometimes, it feels like you are saying things just to stay visible.  Much like the above, that can be annoying and end up backfiring.  It’s OK to be silent when there is no new news.  That makes the important things you have to say stand out that much more.
A key question for you - what is my price for engaging or acting?
4.  Shift some of your focus/budget into incenting me to care.  There are lots of ways you can increase engagement, including the points above.  Giving me the possibility to win something fun and unique for engaging with you would be very appealing.  I did some research in the fall to help drive the direction of adpropo.com.  I asked what features people “Must” or “Would Like To” have as part of a site that brings brands and consumers together in a much better way.  Here are the results:
5.  Address my questions, concerns, and comments.  I have read alot of examples lately of brands that have messed up in this new world of immediate and widespread social communication.  We all make mistakes, and we all appreciate people taking responsibility for their actions.  So if you mess up, just own it.  It might hurt at first, but if you step up and address it, I will respect you more in the long term for sure. 
That’s all for now.  I do appreciate your efforts (and look forward to much better and more meaningful connections on adpropo.com!).
Your Friend,
Stephanie

Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ezine/5757561

Tags: advertising innovation, advertising solutions, advertising trends, branding, consumers, marketing, online advertising

Political Marketers Gear Up For the 2012 Season with Interactive Direct Mail Tools
Author: EFGroup
Don’t expect traditional direct mail to get the winning vote on its own. In a move to help bring direct mail efforts to life this year, political campaigns are adding features such as quick response (QR) codes and social media links to static direct mail pieces. “Direct mail is so important when you run a campaign, because you can identify potential voters and target voters by where they are registered to vote,” says Carlo Key, judge of Bexar County in Texas. “Adding QR codes to mail allows recipients that are interested in hearing more to interact immediately.” In 2010, Key won his freshman political campaign against a seasoned incumbent for a County Court of Law seat in Bexar County Court, Texas, with the help of QR codes on direct mail pieces. The campaign, which Key created in conjunction with San Antonio-based agency The EF Group, was centered around direct mail pieces which featured QR codes. Recipients were encouraged to scan the barcode to find out more about the candidate. Those who did were shown videos and social media pages for Key. “We thought it would be a good way to get new people into the voting world and give them a reason not to just vote for the incumbent,” says Jason Ellis, president of The EF Group, of the previous campaign. Ellis expects politicians to use direct mail pieces with QR codes in the 2012 presidential election as well. “QR codes give recipients a great reason to immediately interact with a direct mail piece,” says Ellis. “You can personalize a QR code to the person. It doesn’t just have to be linking to a YouTube clip of Obama speaking; it could link to a clip of him speaking about a particular issue that individual cares about.”
Jerry Cerasale, SVP of government affairs at the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), expects direct mail and mobile to come together quite a bit in battleground states and just before election day. “The area where mail and the phone can come together well is right near the end of the campaign to get out the vote,” says Cerasale. With the cost of postage going up, expect political direct mail pieces to be smaller this year than in year’s past. Thomas Frank, managing director at the edge division of K-Global, a political consultancy firm, says that politicians are cutting back on the size and shape of direct mail and are shifting mail messaging to drive people online with social media links. For example, last fall, Frank worked on the “Save George” campaign for the American For George Coalition. The effort, which included direct mail with social media links, petitioned Super Committee members of Congress to reject proposals for the $1 coin and protect the $1 bill. “Rather than just stating the facts on the postcard, the idea is to get more people engaged in the ongoing conversation online,” he says. “I expect to see more of this during this political season.”
While direct mail’s message might seem fixed once it is printed, marketers have the ability to change landing pages and QR code content on-the-fly, as well as update social media pages. This is especially helpful in the political arena, where issues change daily. “Maybe some new event has happened and the candidate has to respond to it,” says Jeffrey Platt, director of product marketing for small- and mid-sized businesses at Pitney Bowes. “The campaign has the ability to change the landing page and it update it with current content. This approach makes direct mail dynamic in ways that it hasn’t been for politicians before.”

Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ezine/5656687

Tags: barcodes, direct mail, election, interactive, marketing, mobile, political, qr codes, san antonio, social media, voters

How to get Branding Within Budget
Author: Sue Collins
Designing your brand new Corporate Identity is one of the most exciting and inspiring moments for any aspiring start-up entrepreneur. But few really grasp the importance of laying sound foundations for your brand identity at this early stage, which will invariably set the tone for the way clients, investors and partners view your entire business. But in these cash-strapped times for the economy when even the biggest corporations are watching their pennies, making an investment in professional graphic design hardly stands apart as your top priority. Managed sensibly however, you can enjoy the benefits of top-notch identity design without breaking the bank. By following some of the simple tips we will move onto later, proper planning and foresight, you should easily be able to address branding and corporate identity creation in your business plan. Entrepreneurs by their nature are not afraid to splash the cash, and rarely shy away from spending money where they believe it pays. The deciding factor in any business decision is not always the bottom line and the expense – but is always to do with value for money, whether parting with any particular sum proves worthwhile in real, everyday terms. So the big question is; will good identity design and branding help your business? Here it pays to rely on your own instincts and beware the advice of agencies and other parties. Only you, the start-up or SME owner, are in a position to judge the value this could add to your company’s prospects. The answer will invariably concentrate on SALES, being the lifeblood of any small business. Start by asking yourself some straight-forward questions – When you consider your strategy for getting the business off the ground, who will you be targeting?  How will you approach these individuals, and what impression do you want them to form about you and your fledgling organisation? Who are your competitors and how do they attract sales? These will help you decide what your budget should be. Next you need to map out your requirements, covering at least the first year of operation. When it comes to engaging designers or a creative agency, focus on the first piece of the jigsaw. Make sure you invest substantially in your first design manual. This document, often called a ‘House Style Guide’, contains design guidelines and branding instructions for any designer(s) picking up your creative work down the line, saving unnecessary expense replicating jobs which should only be done once. The manual can be supplied in soft-copy digital format to reduce costs and will usually include a few design templates. These need to cover every item you foresee a requirement for, from business cards to newspaper ads. Most of all, ensure that you spend your start-up funds wisely. Work with the right people and spend on ‘creatives’ once wherever possible. One of the most common mistakes business-people make is cutting corners on design. As a Dubai design and print agency, we come across countless requests for business cards to be re-created from scratch using a scanned image of a colleague’s card. With no template and no editable design files to hand, the work involved in replicating the artwork accurately is huge. This happens each time an individual’s supplies run out, incurring design charges time after time – exactly the type of false economy you want to avoid as a new business getting established. Engage the right design company, work out your long term goals and requirements, then make sure you obtain the deliverables that make all the difference in your first few years – guaranteeing greater efficiency, flexibility and speed of delivery. This will also help maintain consistent design and lay the best possible foundations for your prized new brand.

Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ezine/5592733

Tags: branding, brochure, business start up, corporate identity, design, graphic design, logo, marketing, print

A Reputable Printing Company in Orange County?
Author: Michelle Janson
Companies with good reputation in the area of printing and mass print production are hard to come by in Orange County. Why is that? Because so many companies promise you so much, make sure when you are first selecting a company to get one with the best reputation in the county. What kind of reputation has this company earned from its clients? Does it get repeated business from them? These are all important things to consider when thinking of your variable data printing.
What is Variable Data printing you may ask? It is just the fancy name for something you have already been using. Variable Data Printing (VDP) includes the mass print production of a specific piece with personalized, or variable, fields. Variable printing data can include first and last name, company, or even images (company logos). This approach is usually used for marketing and direct mail campaigns but can also be used for sales collateral, presentations, DVD labels and more.
Why such things are important, when dealing with Variable Data Printing services? It helps you to get high quality materials on time and for a good price. VDP can be very cost effective, if you can trust your printing partner. All the approvals and preparations of printed materials layouts and templates can be costly and time consuming. However, if you can find a partner, who can properly handle your templates, you can save all the time and trouble of constantly having to communicate back and forth with them. With the help of a reputable printing partner, you always get your copies delivered right on time.
So, when searching for your Variable Data Printing Orange County partner, talk to those customers on Yelp and other review websites as to who they think is the best. It really is a great took to use. One of such companies to consider in Orange County is Main Graphics. They have been on the market since 1988 and they are well known in the community for high customer retention rate and for their actual variable data printing? Cool huh? So take a cue from those who know and get your variable data printing done today. A good reputation helps. 

Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ezine/5556371

Tags: marketing, orange county, variable data printing