February 2012 - Posts

• QR Codes: Thinking Inside the Box

  Feb 21 2012

  QR codes were created in the mid-‘90s in Japan by Toyota subsidiary Denso-Wave for the purpose of inventory tracking. But, nearly 20 years later, these two-dimensional bar codes are being used to enhance brand interaction in an increasingly wide variety of ways. For example: The City of Temple Terrace, Fla., recently installed signs in front of public buildings – such as its city hall and public library – with QR codes to encourage smartphone users to visit the city’s website. Quaker Oats Company recently used QR codes to promote its Quaker Chewy Granola bars to parents of fans of the band, the Jonas Brothers. Product boxes featured an image of the singer adjacent to a message that read, "Send your kids a custom message from Nick Jonas!" On the back, a QR code linked to a microsite explaining that the box contained a free card with a promotional code, allowing the user to request a personalized e-card in which Jonas uses the recipient’s name. A restaurant in Boston recently infused edible QR codes into sushi appetizers. The codes were rendered onto the plates using calamari ink, directing diners to microsites with information regarding the type of sushi being served.   Nicholas Kuebler | Developer no comments

• Brain-Training: The Way to Smarter, More Creative Problem-Solving?

  Feb 13 2012

  Lumosity is a “brain-training” application for the iPhone, iPad and iTouch. Featuring “scientific brain games designed by top neuroscientists,” it claims to improve brain health and performance by enhancing memory, attention and creativity to produce real-world benefits. With partners that include researchers at Harvard, Stanford, Columbia and UCSF, Lumos Labs – the company behind Lumosity – attracted $32.5 million in a third round of venture-capital funding last year. While there are similar applications – such as MindSparke and Posit Science – Lumosity is the largest, with 15 million reported users. So does brain-training with Lumosity work? Lumosity says users report “clearer and quicker thinking, faster problem-solving skills and sharper memory,” among other benefits. If you’re brainstorming ideas or looking for fresh approaches to a project or business, you may want to give Lumosity a try. It just might warm up your brain and help produce a new idea or insight you could use. Tom Rector | Copywriter no comments

• YouTube... to YouHuge in 3 steps

  Feb 06 2012

  You’ve put a lot of time and effort into making a great video that promotes your brand – but it will get you nowhere if nobody sees it. YouTube is the world’s second-largest search engine and, according to one statistic, the amount of video content uploaded to YouTube is equivalent to 176,000 new feature films each week. Your video can easily get lost in that sea of content, but only if you let it. Here are three steps you can take right now to boost your YouTube views: Give your video an appropriate title. This is a major part of YouTube’s search algorithm yet, surprisingly, it is often neglected by content creators. In a nutshell: Don’t use puns or word play, be straightforward, contain keywords related to your message and put your brand name last. Describe your video. Frontload the description with important keywords and a deep link to your site (include URLs with http:// so that it will be clickable). Something to consider: Only the first 27 characters are immediately visible to viewers. If they want to see the rest of your description, they’ll have to click on the "more info" link. Tag your video. This is where you can really give your video an edge in search. You’ve got 120 characters and, ideally, you should use them all. Choose a mix of general and specific words to tag your video.   While you’re going through these steps, think about your audience. YouTubers are more likely searching for entertainment than for things to buy. Consider current cultural and YouTube trends (hot topics, political awareness, celebrity gossip and popular videos) and reference those trends in your keywords, if applicable. Investing 10 minutes of time to optimize your video for YouTube search could make the difference between 3 views... and 3 million. Maria Brenner - Video Production Specialist no comments