Cullmann Design Blog

In the past 2 years, there has been a tremendous push to move messaging and advertising to social media. Whether FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn, every market has it’s niche and ad agencies have gotten proficient at targeting groups within these networks. While social media marketing was maturing, there was (and still is) a trend in dismissing e-mail marketing. With relatively low click-through rates, competition with SPAM, difficulty in delivering branding elements in many e-mail clients, it had become easy to cast off for the more attractive and exciting new arrival: social media.

Verification

Despite a dip in popularity, e-Mail is still a force to be reckoned with for communicating with customers. Regardless of audience, e-Mail is still one of the few ways outside of a closed-wall eco-system like Apple or FaceBook, that a marketer has to “verify” identity or ownership of credentials. One field of any online transaction of information is ALWAYS e-mail. A savvy marketer will verify the e-mail address with a call-to-action confirmation as quickly as possible to confirm that the email can reliably be associated with a particular identity. Next to credit card information, this is a very easy and convenient way to apply a small amount of accountability to an online user. The process of having users “opt-in” and define the terms that they would like to be communicated with is important and based on metrics, e-Mail is still the most popular method for online CRM and brand-building communications.

Call To Action & Response

E-Mail offers users an expected behavior that is comfortable for them. A well-designed e-mail program will have a clear “From” identifier, visible before even opening the e-Mail, a subject line declaring the main intent of the message and the message (usually with several call-to-actions). User are familiar and typically follow a pattern of behavior if you structure your e-Mails with consistent design and language. This is where e-Mail excels: While social media channels are still working towards how to handle unique customer response and moving users from the gated sanctuary of a particular social network, e-Mail delivers a personalized medium with the ability for a unique call-to-action. All of this can be done addressing the users as an individual, tailoring content and offering an end-to-end dialogue. E-Mail’s ubiquitous nature allows this to be done across any platform or device (including mobile).

Reach & Audience

One of first and still the most common method of communication on the internet, e-Mail offers the widest audience. A majority of web users claim more than one active e-Mail address1, many having several. There is also a wave of adoption for new audiences. AARP has recently released data showing that seniors are the fasting growing group of adopters2 of e-Mail. Those in emerging markets overseas also represent a growing population of e-Mail users. There is a simplicity and approachability that makes it attractive to new web users and bullet-proof to web veterans. There are several complications when dealing with e-Mail as well. e-Mail is a communication channel protected in the US by federal law. The manner in which you engage your customers (or recipients) must adhere to the US CAN-SPAM Act. Although it’s a simple criteria to adhere to, not observing the standards set by this policy will likely land you in your reader’s junk-mail file.

Privacy (sort of)

Although E-Mail is far from a secure medium, it does offer several advantages over social media, SMS and several other hot advertising mediums. A marketer and e-Mail recipient can both expect that the contents of an e-Mail message will not be seen by dozens of their friends, other customers or competitors. Additionally, this same channel can be acted upon with an expectation that the action will be equally as private. This may seem like a small nuance, but if you are someone buying a present for a loved one, accessing banking information or even making a mundane request from the post-office, you can expect that the exchange is limited to the addressed parties.

Equally important, a user can respond via e-mail without a character limitation, or concern that there will be additional charges on their bill for the communication. These are both issues facing SMS marketing and communication. Although immediate, it is a concern to those not familiar with texting and it’s protocols.

Cheering The Underdog

I am a believer in e-Mail marketing. I don’t think it is a silver bullet or the only solution for marketers, but rather, a tortoise in the proverbial race with the hair. Currently, the role of the hair is played by social media and SMS marketing. I think both of these have a place. I also believe there are many cases where social media marketing is a run-away winner. The power of e-Mail marketing is in it’s familiarity and direct nature. It offers strong ROI and is easy to measure both success and failure. For the average person, e-Mail is approaching 15 years old. Even if you’re not measuring your time in “internet years”, it has come into it’s maturity.

Before you pass-off your next opportunity to pitch an e-Mail marketing plan to a client, ask your self about the message and audience. The solution may be easier and more traditional than you may have thought.

You want more?
Check out MailChimp and CampaignMonitor for great tools to launch your campaign. If you want to learn more about who is opening and how frequently messages are read, check out MailerMailer’s metrics report from 2009.

Director Ridley Scott, of BladeRunner Fame, will be producing the most recent re-envisioning of “A Day In The Life” series. Most popular in it’s form as a coffee tablet book, this series is one of the original “crowd sourcing” projects inviting people from all walks of life and stations to provide a visual record of their experiences on a particular day.

The current incarnation will begin life as a user-submitted video via a dedicated YouTube channel and will evolve into a feature-length film with Scott at the helm of creative. Budding film-makers can submit their own videos and have their work featured in the final cut.

Although the day-in-a-life concept has been around for quite some time, this most recent work seems to be a natural application of the web, and in particular, YouTube. The idea of a truly open submission that captures the creative and mundane alike-presenting it as a perspective on our condition. A draw-back–and one that is substantial–is that the digital divide may leave more in the cold than previous day-in-the-life projects. YouTube’s popularity is worldwide though and the focus perspective should be something more broad than the typical “western” view.

The “Day” will be July 24, 2010, so submit your entry between July 24 and 31, 2010.

Swiss software development group Polar Rose is working with mobile experts TAT to develop a powerful facial recognition platform called Recognizr. The software analyzes facial features and attaches your social network profiles for real-time access. What does this mean? By simply snapping a picture of someone, you will be able to see their FaceBook, LinkedIn, Flickr, Twitter or any other participating social media channel. The sample demonstration is an example of the technology platform in its most basic state, but even this preliminary demonstration shows the power of this kind of application.

The idea of being able to access an entire social library with your friends, family and co-workers is very exciting. Technology like this previously only existed in science fiction and extends the utility of mobile devices past its origins as Personal Information Managers like the original Palm, modern applications like Bump and even emerging technology like augmented reality. This application, the first of its kind, brings your online footprint, your brand, out into the open and accessible to everyone you come into contact with. Obviously, there are privacy concerns and personal preferences that need to be addressed before this is adopted by most people, but this is a tilt-point for personal identity and social networking.

Networking is now approaching an unprecedented level with the lines between public and personal space blurred. It’s crucial that we begin to look at what we are exposing to the world and become experts at managing technology and our actions online. I think that the coming years will bring a more liberal perspective on online behavior as today’s high school and college students enter the work-force with their social media baggage in-tow. Software like this, as creative and awesome as it is, should give everyone a some pause in defining their “appearance” and footprint online.

Fallon, a Minnesota based design firm released their Social Media AIR application, Skimmer. This lightweight-app allows you to view, post and search through your Twitter , Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, and Blogger content and feeds. Using Adobe AIR, the installation is easy and takes only a few moments. The application itself is elegant and aesthetically minimal. It’s ability to organize and fine-tune content makes it a very easy to view copious amounts of content from your social media services. Fallon’s focus on design is evident in the application’s construction and user interface. It’s easy to spend hours (…and days…) behind Skimmer’s screens.

Skimmer can be downloaded at http://www.fallon.com/skimmer and can run on any windows or mac running AIR.

In general I am an observer, but this year, I am going to focus my energy on compiling my thoughts and communicating my ideas. In this spirit, I am beginning with my Technology Predictions for 2009. This list represents what ideas and trends that I think will shape new technologies and trends on the internet in this coming year.

Looking back on 2008, there have been many advancements in technology, the way that people interact with one another and how, as a culture we are adapting the internet into our lives. This year we had seen FaceBook branch into demographics that were thought to be flat for new technologies. Social Networking is maturing into a very defined epicenter of our lives. Whether we are interacting socially using FaceBook or MySpace, for Business with LinkedIn or for Entertainment using NetFlix and Joost. The ability to share with and effect one another’s opinions is a powerful and compelling pull for users.

I think 2009 will see the continuation of many trends: continued growth of social networking, wider adoption of web-based tools and “cloud” based storage and distribution. I think the following list will show the most prominent areas for growth this year:

1. Social Media Consolidation-Interoperability
   FaceBook, MySpace, LinkedIn…there are so many networks used by so many groups. 2009 will see the emergence of some type of global identity management. Although a few have emerged this year, a single, widely adopted standard will emerge. My bet is for OpenSocial (Google’s social media identity key)
2. Medical Record and HealthCare Applications
   People becoming increasingly comfortable with managing their lives online will lead to those same users trusting more in online data management. Google will likely emerge as the standard here since they represent the most stable name in technology (with the exception of MicroSoft). This year will see an online personal medical record standard become adapted by a notable share of the general public (at the very least, the early adopter set)
3. Twitter will become popular via adoption by celebrity set/marketing
   2009 will see a surge to Twitter. This wider adoption will result from a celebrity of note using Twitter as a marketing tool. This same surge will also result in marketers using Twitter for “deal” based traffic drives. Small-scale examples are already proving successful for Dell and Adagio
4. AIR/Silverlight will become mature solutions for “cloud-based” computing
   A dependence of “cloud-based” apps will spur an evolution of Rich Internet Application (RIA), Desktop convergence. Currently, Adobe’s AIR and MicroSoft’s Silverlight are the clear candidates that will battle for developer’s attentions in 2009.
5. New online advertising model based on “individual” social media status and/or popularity
   Social Netowrking wesbites and Video sites will force advertisers to embrace new ad-models. These models will be very targeted and account for the content on a given page, the popularity of the content and expected longevity. This will be a boon for those who learn to master the metrics of these complicated new behavior models
6. Windows 7 will be a widely adopted release and MicroSoft’s most successful OS release
   VISTA was a marketing and adoption failure. As a VISTA user myself, I don’t see why there was no widespread move to VISTA (although I myself have moved back and forth between XP and VISTA three times since VISTA’s release). Windows 7, already a very mature BETA positioned for release Q3 this year, promises to make up for lost time. MicroSoft’s low-no hype on this release and it’s base in a currently mature VISTA architecture will have users who have been dragging their feet adopt this new Windows release
7. IPTV and the computer as a true media hub
   YouTube, Hulu, Joost, and network-branded websites will all take a large share of viewer attention. Metrics show that younger users already take preference to the computer as their preferred medium. As the media loosens it’s grip on content and advertising models adapt, more and more viewers will flock to watch their favorite shows on their own schedule, in their own terms and in their own time. Intelligent advertising will focus ads and make those spots that are viewed more relavent and easy to monitor and act upon

Happy New Year.