Hand & Stone
The ODM Group produces and edits television spots supporting the Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa franchises. The television spots are aired Nationwide and highlight the affordably priced, conveniently located, top quality therapeutic message, facial and waxing services. The ODM Group edits the television spots for holidays, new special offers, new store locations, and additional services to promote a high end brand experience at a competitive price point.
Active Voices
The ODM Group worked in conjunction with another creative agency client to create a concept, coordinate, produce, project manage and edit a informational video for MS Active Voices. BioGen Idec, a manufacturer of MS treatments and a leader in MS research offers a range of free, personalized MS support services for people with MS and their friends and family. ActiveVoices is program that allows you to find a mentor, receive MS counseling from a nurse, get financial assistance with drug therapy, and work with a caring ActiveVoice coordinator and more. The video features a Active Voices mentor that connects with a Mentee through activevoices.com. The video was filmed at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA.
Holy Family University
The ODM Group produced and edited two television spots for Holy Family University. We worked in conjunction with another agency in support of the concept development. The concept was supported by two themes, Achievement and Any Direction. The Any Direction spot featured here follows two different students on a typical day as they interact with Holy Family University. The spot uses quick, mirroring action cuts to transition seamlessly from one scene to the next. Power statements appear on the screen, playing off the visual and supporting the new brand. The ODM Group was also responsible for editing the television spot down to a :15 spot for the Philadelphia Phillies Phantron.
Pandora Ratings Released, NASA Tweetup, & Drchrono EMR
Pandora ratings higher than traditional radio in top markets
Pandora, a popular online streaming-radio provider, has released their first set of traditional radio ratings, proving that the online radio trend is here to stay. Industry experts at Crain’s New York Business reported strong numbers in the top 10 markets among listeners 18 to 34 years old.
In New York, Pandora earned a 0.7 average quarterly hour rating, which is higher than two of New Yorks most popular terrestrial stations Z100 and Hot 97. The ratings were even higher in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and Washington, D.C., where Pandora garnered a 0.9 rating.
The ratings report reflects a surge in popularity for online radio providers, and an industry transition from previously popular music downloading services, such as LimeWire. Earlier this month Spotify debuted in the United States offering a similar music streaming service. Both Spotify and Pandora offer unlimited streaming with advertisements at no cost, or users can pay a small monthly fee to avoid commercials, perpetuating the trend of personalized services specific to the user’s needs and wants.
NASA Tweetup
While manned-space exploration through NASA may be a thing of the past, NASA’s tweet-up program is ramping up following the agency’s first tweet-up for a shuttle landing. Space shuttle Atlantis landed for the last time ever on July 21, and 50 NASA enthusiasts were gathered under a tent, sending out real-time tweets to followers with videos, images and behind-the-scenes information.
Tweet-ups are gaining popularity among NASA followers, as they offer an additional level of excitement as the space exploration program discontinues manned-shuttle launches. Plans are being made for two additional tweet-ups. Additionally the European Space Agency and Canadian Space Agency have started tweet-ups of their own.
Social media platforms such as Twitter continue to expand the breadth of comprehensive information available to those interested. NASA is taking this one-step further by allowing exclusive access to a select group of enthusiasts and permitting them to disseminate the information to the nearly 1.2 million NASA Twitter followers. As technology and specifically space exploration continue to evolve, we hope to see more companies offering exclusives in the realm of social media.
Drchrono’s new iPad app allows large adoption of Electronic Medical Records
Global usage and adoption of Electronic Medical Records, or EMRs, could be in the foreseeable future thanks to a new iPad app developed by Drchrono. The company announced yesterday that doctors who use their EMR app to store and track patient data could receive up to $44,000 in incentives and government grants thanks to their “meaningful use” certification. Drchrono’s EMR app is the first of its kind to receive this level of distinction from the government.
Drchrono CEO and co-founder Michael Nusimow said, “The government subsidy offered to physicians who adopt our free EMR solution could be transformational in bringing electronic record keeping into every medical practice”.
This week we at DMN have been tracking the vast collaboration between healthcare and digital technologies. As technology and online communications continue to evolve, we expect to see, and benefit from, more cross-over between these ever-changing industries.
Facebook Launches In Depth Guide for Business
With an increasing number of marketers looking to advertise on Facebook, it is no surprise that the social network has launched a new site dedicated to Facebook for Business. The new site provides a step by step guide on how to “Get the basics on setting up and building your business with Facebook.” Marketing tools such as Pages, Ads, Deals, Social Plug-Ins, and Sponsored Stories are now easily accessible.
Although Facebook hopes to be more helpful to businesses that want to use the platform for advertising purposes, companies should keep in mind that launching a Facebook page or running a Facebook ad, for instance, are tactics that are most effective when integrated within a larger marketing strategy.
While sharing successful Facebook case studies may be inspiring to businesses, especially those who are new to the platform, it is important to clearly incorporate strategies that target key objectives. The most successful social media efforts are those where objectives, goals, and tactics are carefully planned to maximize engagement and overall success.
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Stage an Email Intervention
Skype 5.5 Integrates with Facebook
Skype and Facebook continue partnership with updated software and deeper Facebook integration
Earlier today, Skype, a free online video-chat service, launched the version 5.5 update to its Windows software, adding various features including increased Facebook integration. For the past month, a beta version of this software has been available. The newly integrated Facebook tab allows users to experience both Skype and Facebook platforms in a unified interface. Through this tool, users are able view their Facebook News Feed, update their Facebook status and view or “Like” wall post comments. These improvements further enhance the already solid relationship between Facebook and Skype, which began earlier this summer when Facebook announced that Skype video calling is available within Facebook. As both of these companies evolve, we hope to see other companies collaborating and sharing platforms that ultimately will enhance and benefit the user experience.
Stage an Email Intervention
Gmail invites users to save their friends and hold an email intervention
Google has just launched a campaign to attract more users to its already popular Gmail service. It asks current Gmail users to “save their friends from outdated email” by staging an “email intervention”. We at DMN would like to ad that we do not believe the chosen campaign name, “email intervention”, is meant in any way to trivialize the clinical use of this term. The site reads, “You’ve probably already improved the lives of your friends and family members by helping them switch to Gmail, but what about that one friend who still hasn’t made the switch?” the site reads. “It’s time to take a stand and stage an intervention.” Google has supplied three specialized e-mails, available at emailintervention.com, that existing Gmail users can send to friends along with a prepared intervention video. Google’s Gmail is estimated to have 200 million users, placing it third in the ranks of web e-mail providers, following Yahoo Mail with 270 million users and Microsoft with 350 million. Earlier this year Microsoft launched a similar effort to attract users from competing services. However, Google’s campaign does not target individual users, as Microsoft’s did, but rather allows users to take initiative and send comical, yet informative, intervention e-mails to multiple friends at once. More and more we are witnessing companies equipping their customers with tools to spread the word, and thus generate business and increase the customer base. It is interesting to note that a company as widely recognized as Google is placing the success and growth of their company in the hands of their customers.
White House Embraces Twitter & Smartphone Apps Monitor Health
White House representatives offer “Office Hours” to answer fiscal questions on Twitter
The White House staff is pushing the boundaries as usual, but this time in social media. Following a business-as-usual fiscal debate on Monday, President Obama and his advisers began utilizing Twitter to help citizens understand the debt ceiling and deficit reduction negotiations currently taking place.
Throughout the week, National Economic Council members Brian Deese and Jason Furman have been holding “Office Hours” where they post and respond to questions and comments live on Twitter.
The Obama Administration has recognized the power of large-scale online engagement as an effective communications medium, from the election to a recent Twitter town hall meeting discussing the economy and jobs.
As White House-hopefuls prepare for the upcoming campaign season, we expect to see an even greater use of these tools to reach and interact with voters.
Latest smartphone developments monitor heart rate and measure health
Perhaps smartphones really can do everything. Recent developments by Palo Alto-based Azumio include the Instant Heart Rate app, which lets users monitor their heart rate by holding their finger over a phone’s camera for 10 seconds. In the past nine months more than 8 million people have downloaded this app on iPhone and Android devices.
A multitude of apps and devices have surfaced in recent months that use smartphones and their many sensors to perform a host of medical tasks such as scanning inside a child’s ear, measuring blood pressure, and even checking for malaria.
Azumio is expected to release an app that can quantify stress levels by performing routine stress checks on the user.
These developments by Azumio have helped raise awareness around the potential of smartphones as biofeedback devices and perpetuate the growing trend of mobile health in our increasingly mobile society.
Tattoos for Diabetes Testing, Domino’s Tweets Displayed in Times Square, & Hulu for Sale, Apple May Purchase
Nano tattoos
Now more than just expressions of identity, tattoos are serving a new purpose pushing healthcare innovation a bounding leap forward. Recent technology developed at Northeastern University is creating under-the-skin tattoos that monitor the wearer’s blood levels of sodium, glucose and even alcohol with the use of iPhone camera technology. The tattoos contain a 100-nanometer-wide set of sensors go under the skin, like tattoo ink. While the blood-testing device is currently limited to iPhone technology, if successful we would expect other manufacturers to adopt this as an innovative tool. This is further indication that smart-phone technology is continually changing not only social aspects of our society but providing essential health and convenience-benefits to those willing to embrace it.
Dominos’s Viral Pizza Campaign
Domino’s marketing efforts of late strive for transparency and brand authenticity by using original, un-retouched photos of its pizzas in ads. The company is taking this promise one-step further by running an electronic ticker in Times Square displaying in real-time for all to see what consumers are saying about Dominos. The campaign, which began Monday, runs until August 23. All tweets, good bad or indifferent, will appear on the infamous billboard in one of the country’s busiest intersections. This marks a new phase of online communications in which companies no longer fear the potential for negative comments. Domino’s is removing all layers of transparency, and more importantly, control, in what most companies would deem a risky move. As companies continue to embrace social media, it is essential that they remain authenticate to their brand and take time to listen to their customers and respond. We reiterate to our clients that through any channel of communication consumers will speak their mind. Social media continues to force brands to live up to consumer expectations.
Online TV streaming hits a fever pitch
Acquisition bidding is underway for online television service, Hulu, which, according to Bloomberg, is valued at $2 billion. Some speculate that Apple has already begun acquisition negotiations with Hulu. Current Hulu investors include Disney, News Corp and Comcast among others. Apple could be a strong contender, as it is well known in the industry that Apple is sitting on roughly $76 billion in cash following a successful third quarter. It has been widely reported that Apple is looking to get into the on-demand subscription video market to compete with other companies such as Netflix, AmazonPrime and Wal-Mart’s new service, Vudu.
Online Shoppers Prefer the Tablet
According to a Forrester Research report, based on a joint survey with Bizrate Insights, even though just 9 percent of shoppers own tablets, sales from tables account for 20 percent of e-commerce sales. The report also said that 60 percent of people who own tablets have used them to shop, leading to the conclusion that tablets could someday be favored over smartphones and computers.
Sucharita Mulpuru, the e-commerce analysts who co-wrote the Forrester report said, “Everyone thinks that mobile phones and mobile commerce are the next big things, and I think what this data shows is it’s probably actually tablets.” She further commented saying, “We have always capped e-commerce at 10 to 15 percent of total retail sales, but this potentially has the capability of really expanding e-commerce much beyond that.”
Tablets allow shoppers an experience similar to flipping through a print catalog – something that cellphones and computers do not. Sucharita Mulpuru also explained that retailer can even send personalized catalogs to customers’ tablets based on their interests and purchase history.
The advantage for retailers is their ability to show off products rather than compete based on price alone. As for shoppers, the tablet has really revolutionized the online shopping experience.
“The element of discovery is missing online, because most people go to Google, and Google isn’t about discovering something online, it’s about typing something into a search box,” said. “This is much closer to the actual physical browsing experience.”
Although Forrester found that forty percent of tablet owners use their tablets instead of their personal computers when both are available, retailers haven’t quite caught on. The average retailer has spent $14,000 developing tools for the online shopper, which Forrester calls “anemic.”
Forrester expects that a third of adults will own tablets by 2015; however the likelihood of this may largely depend on tablet costs and tool development that caters to those who may not necessarily be familiar with Gilt’s Jetsetter App (app for travel that uses the iPad’s accelerometer and gyroscope to show resorts from different angles).
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