Archive for the ‘Design’ Category
Margaret Gould Stewart: How YouTube thinks about copyright
Posted by Eric Welsh | Filed under Design, Social Media, Technology, Tips and Trends Series
Margaret Gould Stewart, YouTube’s head of user experience, talks about how the ubiquitous video site works with copyright holders and creators to foster (at the best of times) a creative ecosystem where everybody wins.
The Pantone Hotel—For the Designer in ALL of Us.
Posted by Eric Welsh | Filed under Advertising, Design, Hospitality News
At Dana we live in a world of luxury hospitality, rich images, decadent cuisine and fantasy golf courses. And we love it all. But every once in awhile, deep down inside, we secretly wish we could be involved in a project that is uber-stylized like this one, The Pantone Hotel. It’s not for everyone, my parents would never stay here in a million years (my father is color blind). But it does offer an alternative to the traditional offerings one would look for in a weekend retreat in Brussels.
And that alternative is oh so colorful.
“Designed by Michel Penneman and Oliver Hannaert, The PANTONE HOTELTM, Brussels showcases the color of emotion with a distinctive hue on each colorous guest floor. From vivid to subdued, for business or leisure, our unique boutique hotel perfectly suits your savvy palette and colorful imagination.”
Which Department Owns Social Media? — via Mashable
Posted by Eric Welsh | Filed under Advertising, Design, Interactive, Social Media, Technology
At Dana, this is a partnership between the media department and the interactive department. Of course, often times it falls heavier on one side or another. For instance, the interactive department handles all of the social profile development and the media department runs ad placement on those particular channels. Seldom do we partner with a PR firm. Not that we wouldn’t or shouldn’t. In fact, it makes perfect sense to. The responsibilities that social media create are often time based and those that have the time to handle do.
Christina Warren @ Mashable has written a great article about this.
“In its November 2009 report on Social Media and Online PR, Econsultancy found that of the companies surveyed, 35% of companies managed their social media resources under the digital marketing team. PR/communications departments managed 21% of respondents, with 19% saying that social media was managed by a cross-functional team.”
Spaghetti Sauce and the “Long Tail”
Posted by Eric Welsh | Filed under Advertising, Design, Interactive, Social Media, Technology, Tips and Trends Series
Tipping Point author Malcolm Gladwell gets inside the food industry’s pursuit of the perfect spaghetti sauce –
and makes a larger argument about the nature of choice and happiness.
Keep in mind, this was taped in 2004. That is pre-social networking days. Certainly, prior to Twitter and the community concept. But Malcolm asserts, “By embracing the diversity of human beings, we will find a sure way to true happiness.” Now, we aren’t saying that social media and understanding the long tail marketplace is the key to finding joy or anything like that. However, we do agree that the pursuit happiness and perhaps success is diversity in what you do and whom you do it with.
Digital Transformation and Social Media: Notes from Boulder Digital Works
Posted by Eric Welsh | Filed under Advertising, Design, Media, Social Media, Uncategorized
This is a really interesting presentation given by Ed Boches, at the Boulder Digital Works conference. The folks at DANA greatly appreciate his willingness to share with the digital community to further our collective understanding. Please scroll through the presentation and feel free to comment!
[slideshare id=3735846&doc=bdwfinalcopy-100415085609-phpapp01&type=d]
Battle of the Big Three
Posted by Lynn Kaniper | Filed under Advertising, Design, Interactive, Media, Tips and Trends Series
Which of these three mediums is the best strategy in today’s marketing world: traditional media, digital media or social media?
If your answer is any single one of these choices, you’ve definitely missed the mark—because a strong and successful marketing strategy must integrate all three.
Since the rise of the digital and social networking age, there has been much discussion about which type of agency can ascertain the most effective results for clients. Digital agencies might argue that traditional agencies are outdated and unable to adapt to today’s market. Traditional agencies might argue that digital agencies aren’t focused enough on the solid creative imagery and messaging that grab people’s attention. And social media agencies may dismiss both by asserting that neither quite understands the power of word-of-mouth.
But ultimately, integration is the key to survival in the marketing world. Let’s face it, marketing mediums are ever changing, and so are your individual needs. Good strategy means staying in the know and up to date on every channel of marketing, so you can apply a multi-faceted plan to each campaign. That is why working with one shop–one that is capable of utilizing all the available channels of communication–is more apt to carry out your vision in the long run than dispersing your jobs piecemeal to agencies that focus on one specialty alone.
Dana has always believed in integration, which is why our team comprises a plethora of talented professionals in multiple areas of marketing expertise. Often, various mediums can overlap one another and work in tandem to form a consistent, solid campaign that reaches the target audience with the largest number of impressions in many different forms. Our animated model of marketing capabilities shows how all the strategic avenues (traditional, digital and social) work together to cultivate a strong brand. Click here to see for yourself.
Think of your marketing strategy in terms of a jigsaw puzzle. You need all the pieces to fit together so your consumers can see the full picture of your brand. If you separate the pieces for different groups to assemble individually, they may be able to fit their own together, but they’ll still be disconnected from the rest. Your brand image will lack cohesiveness and your consumers may mistake the pieces for the whole.
Don’t limit your marketing reach by relying on disconnected pieces of the puzzle. Learn more about integrating your marketing strategy to garner the best results; contact jzech@danacommunications.com.
Pink Socks & Pocket Protectors
Posted by Bob Prewitt | Filed under Advertising, Dana News, Design, Interactive, Media, Technology, Tips and Trends Series
Marketing in the Age of the World Wide Web
Marketing has always been a combination of art and science. There have always been creative types and account types. Just watch Mad Men.
But today, with the explosive growth of interactive marketing (the Web), there is a huge distinction between creative brand development behavior (Pink Socks) and web engineering behavior (Pocket Protectors).
Both behavioral types are necessary to the development and execution of a successful marketing operation. But you need to pay special attention to managing the interaction between the two because, often, they don’t relate well to one another.
Dana participated in a speaking engagement at this year’s PCMA Annual Meeting, and we addressed this very topic. The presentation defined the marketing process that must be employed in the current age—one in which marketing is dominated by the World Wide Web. We identified situations in which you should be utilizing Pink Socks, as well as those in which Pocket Protectors are needed.
Our attendees came away from this event with a basic understanding of the marketing vehicles available through the web (PPC, rich media, optimization, behavioral tracking, etc.). They gained an understanding of the conflict that can exist when Pink Socks and Pocket Protectors are brought together to create marketing communications.
Your marketing efforts don’t have to be obsolete or out-of-touch just because marketing thinking has changed so quickly. But you do need to have a basic understanding of the radically changed and still-changing marketing scene.
To learn more about making Pink Socks and Pocket Protectors work for you in today’s interactive age, contact bprewitt@danacommunications.com.
Tell Us Your Favorite Things!
Posted by Lynn Kaniper | Filed under Dana News, Design, Interactive
Dana is taking a break from tips, trips and trends to remember what makes the holiday season bright. Take a look at a few of our favorite things—then share your own—at danacommunications.com/favorite. Do you celebrate indulgent pleasures or innocent joys? Are your merriest memories naughty or nice? (OK, not too naughty…) For every post made, we’ll add to our donation to the Community Food Bank of NJ. Have fun!
The Importance of Reinventing Yourself (Your Brand) in a Constantly and Rapidly Changing World
Posted by Bob Prewitt | Filed under Advertising, Design, Hospitality News, Tips and Trends Series, Updates
I went to a Bob Dylan concert on Monday night at Temple University in Philadelphia. It was awesome.
I first saw Bob Dylan in 1964. That was awesome too.
Yet, I saw two entirely different concerts by the same guy who rendered his music in two entirely different ways.
His essence hasn’t changed. Bob Dylan will always be Bob Dylan, the great singer/songwriter whose songs have been described by Dan DeLuca, Philadelphia Inquirer Music Critic, as “imbued heartbreak with the fatalistic power of myth.”
But he never stops changing the way he goes about presenting himself and his music. This last iteration is spectacular.
Perhaps Dylan’s most famous reinvention was at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival when he offended folk purists by appearing on stage with an electric band consisting of Sam Lay, Mike Bloomfield, Barry Goldberg, Jerome Arnold and Al Kooper.
That’s one great band, and history has proven that Dylan’s willingness to experiment and “reinvent” himself at the time was a great idea.
Now he has created a band that is as tight as any band I have heard since The Band. They create an almost three-dimensional, pulsating sound—much of which is based on phenomenal guitar work by Charlie Sexton.
What makes that so special is that Sexton played with Dylan from 1999 to 2002 but was never permitted to let loose because Dylan was playing a lot of lead guitar.
Now Dylan plays mostly keyboards and harmonica and lets Sexton be his lead guitar player and significant partner—a major and important part of the show.
What a great way to reinvent himself at 68 years of age—letting someone else share the lead, allowing the team to shine.
I am sharing this because I think it is important for all of us to understand the importance of reinventing ourselves. In the world of marketing, it is important for all brands to reinvent themselves in order to stay relevant in these constantly and rapidly changing times.
I’m not saying you should change the essence of who you are. All brands should stay true to what makes them special. But if you are not changing, growing and enhancing, then you are slowly dying.
These days, we may find ourselves with our heads down, plowing through overwhelming amounts of work. But it’s important to stop for a moment and pop our heads above the crowd to see where we are and where we want to be.
So take a look at your brand and see if there are ways to make it more relevant to the world of today and tomorrow. As long as you don’t mess with the essence of the brand, change is a good thing.
For more information on partnering with Dana to reinvent your brand, contact bprewitt@danacommunications.com.
WHO’S “WHO”?
Posted by Jeff Gurtman | Filed under Advertising, Design, Tips and Trends Series
Seeing the Forest from the Trees
In the world of hospitality marketing, we sometimes hear potential clients say they know “who” they are and “who” their customers are…but do they really? Do you?
Let’s break it down and see:
Who #1 = Your Property
This “Who” relates to the physical attributes of your hotel or resort product, including the services and amenities you provide to guests.
Who #2 = The Customer
This “Who” correlates to the demographic profile of customer types that purchase your hotel or resort product offerings.
Sounds simple enough. But over time, exactly how these “Whos” are defined has changed.
In today’s marketplace, the “Who You Are” is forged increasingly by consumers—via online reviews, social networking and word of mouse. So while you may feel that you have a strong brand presence, the reality is that you may not have redefined yourself accordingly to maintain that brand strength.
The majority of your past customers may still see your brand very clearly, BUT there could be a large percentage of potential customers that view your brand as ambiguous. In addition, you’ll need to question which factors may have changed for your customers: their economics? attitude? loyalty? behavior?
The Lesson
If you do nothing to redefine yourself in 2010, you are in brand flux. Not sure where to begin? Start with your website and social networking tools. Some minor changes will pay off, and your ROI could be substantial.
Still having trouble seeing the forest from the trees? No problem, we can help! We’re in the business of redefining brands that speak to today’s market. To learn more about partnering with Dana to redefine your “Who,” email jhawley@danacommunications.com.
