Almost daily, we talk about, preach, practice and prove that social media is truly important and significant. The evolution of it is remarkable, and it only continues to provide more and more each day.

As of late, the focus has been on the money making – or saving – one can do with these services. Several new offerings have hit the social scene, presenting opportunities to further market and sell products and services. Moreover, consumers can reap the rewards of the special deals. 

Twitter recently released @Earlybird, a new service that gives followers exclusive deals from Twitter’s advertising partners. This is the social media platforms take on the recent upsurge in online deal offerings.

An equally beneficial sales driver, yet slightly different concept by Facebook developers, called Payvment, is a social network ecommerce platform that allows users to set up a free storefront. This application is a one-stop shop, allowing all the marketing, sales and administrative functions to be done within Facebook.

And we would be completely amiss to leave out Groupon, with its daily deals via email and Twitter, customized to your geographic locale. Additionally, it was just announced that Groupon will now be customizing its offerings to the specific users, treading into customer relationship management waters. The daily offerings will start to be geared more towards each individual’s specific interests rather than the entire audience.

These services parallel each other in terms of an overall goal – the utilization of existing social networks to market and sell products. What better way to drive sales and market products than directly with the relationships that are already established.

Making – and saving – money via social media channels is simple and essentially free. See what kind of ROI your business can get with these great tools.

When Jersey Shore first hit the airwaves and became wildly popular, I distinctly remember a conversation here at the agency about how and why this new reality show was exploding into the powerhouse that it has become.

The discussion involved trends, both entertainment and economic wise. We discussed how The Hills grew to be successful in a period of prosperous economic times. The show paralleled a lavish and extravagant lifestyle that seemed attainable for so long for so many (against all odds).

Then we talked about how Jersey Shore was The Hills of the new era, appealing to the masses because it speaks to the working class, “common” folk. The over-tanned, over-juiced cast of characters is relatable in spite of itself, and the country traded coveting daddy-funded trips to Cabo and $2,000 hair extensions for all-night beer parties and Snooki’s poof. There was a great analysis along these same lines this week on Slate.com, in fact.

So as marketers, why and how does this consumer behavior matter? What does the shift to Jersey Shore mean for your business?

The answer is simple. Messaging needs to cater to current economic trends, just like reality programming. Consumers are interested in what seems relatable and attainable. In booming times, luxury sells, but in times of recession and recovery, reality comes back into view.

And although Jersey Shore is relevant in terms of marketing, by no means should one find it necessary to partake in the fist pump or preach the practices of GTL.

A few weeks ago, I was visiting St. Paul with some friends, and we were looking for a new dining experience. I had recently downloaded the Yelp application on my BlackBerry and thought we should give it a try. After going through the broad list of restaurants and reviews, we came across the perfect place with around 30 reviews – a trendy, Asian fusion eatery called Señor Wongs.

The food and overall experience was rather incredible, and I believe that can largely be attributed to Yelp. But, this accolade leads to a larger discussion – is there value in consumer review sites and applications, such as Yelp and Urbanspoon?

These utilities are undoubtedly valuable to restaurants for a number of reasons. First, it gives restaurant operators a way to gauge the popularity and overall quality of a restaurant experience for patrons. If a restaurant is doing a satisfactory job, it will be reflected in their ratings.

Second, restaurant owners and managers receive feedback they might not otherwise get. And with that feedback, they have the ability to respond to both positive and negative reviews, publically or privately.

The majority of the reviews and ratings are favorable towards the restaurant, but pleasing everyone all the time is virtually impossible. Negative reviews happen, but following up on the business end can truly turn a reviewer’s poor experience into a modified rating or even a second chance. And if a restaurant falls short, there is an opportunity to remedy the flaw and improve operations.

If I had I not utilized the Yelp application, we probably would have eaten at a predictable, standard chain restaurant. Restaurant review sites allow smaller, hidden treasures to be discovered.

For the individual chain or franchise restaurants, Yelp and Urbanspoon help them to stand out and differentiate themselves from the overall chain image by highlighting their exceptional service, atmosphere or local specialties.

I strongly urge consumers and restaurants to start searching, reviewing and responding on these sites and applications. Using these tools can transform an average dinner from mediocre to amazing in minutes.

Consumers are constantly connected – being plugged in online and tuned into the television, myself included. It is not enough to just watch television or only surf the web, as most viewers are now consuming both simultaneously.

A new study by Nielsen uncovers that three out of four Americans use TV and the web at the same, with about half of those doing so daily. So, if you are not one of the dual users, you are surprisingly in the minority.

Interestingly, women tend to multitask more often than men, with 77 percent utilizing both TV and web versus men at 73 percent. On average, about 2.5 hours a week are spent consuming the two mediums together.

Many television shows and commercials encourage viewers to go online and access additional content, whether it’s extra footage, background information, games, etc., but only about 7 percent are using the web for that purpose. Most Americans using both are checking email or Facebook, rather than content related to their television viewing.

Primetime shows are not the ones taking the biggest hit, as viewers tend to stick to just television during original programming. News and sports shows are the common television programming being viewed while using the Internet as well.

And these stats are probably even greater if you were to take smartphone usage into account. My usual television watching routine is often riddled with web-surfing and BlackBerry checking. Mobile marketing is also being thrown into the mix and gaining momentum, making marketing channels farther reaching and more accessible.

For marketers, this may be viewed as an added opportunity. The concurrent consumption is a true testament to the fact that marketers should not rely on or limit themselves to just one medium.

The opportunities to get messaging to consumers are only going to continue to evolve and grow. Staying on the cusp of those opportunities is what will set marketers apart from the rest in this ever-changing world.

Let’s face it – money is being watched with a much more vigilant eye these days. And with the hectic lives we lead, it can often be stressful and tedious to be as heedful as we should be. However, with the technologies available today, there are no excuses.

Online banking is great, simply put. With many online services, consumers can set up automatic, recurring payments, so a payment should never be late or missed. Some online banking services allow users to set up email and text alerts to inform when balances are dipping, so the dreadful overdraft can be easily avoided. And just the simple ability to watch account activity is a great tool in itself.

The ability to do your banking via a mobile device is another revolutionary tool that should certainly aid in the fight to be more financially attentive. The on-the-go convenience comes in quite handy when you are on the road or remember you need to pay a bill while sitting through a four-hour meeting.

Budgeting is yet another area that has taken a turn for the better. With free online services such as Mint, you have the ability to track and record expenses and payments right at your fingertips. Knowing where you are spending and the frequency of those expenditures can really open up your eyes, allowing you to use your resources wisely.

And lastly, my new favorite service, BillMonk, masks the slight awkwardness of having to ask friends and roommates for money they owe. This free online service allows users to track, calculate and split expenses for a recent trip or monthly living. It also lets you keep track of non-monetary items, such as books and clothing you have loaned out. Furthermore, BillMonk also ties into Obopay, which is a mobile payment service that allows you to settle payments with friends via cellular devices for a small fee.

Online and mobile banking, email and text message alerts, budgeting tools and payment services are drastically improving our financial capabilities. Excuses are becoming harder to come by for missing a payment or losing track of expenses as services continue to evolve. With these services, our wallets should be getting a little heftier every day.

As frightening and painful as it may seem, there once was a time before smartphones and high tech digital devices. With the advancements and benefits these products have provided so far, it is often hard to imagine life without them.

Today, there are many phone applications and texting services designed to influence behavior and improve health. And with smartphones essentially becoming an extension to our limbs, this could not be a better combination.

Upon searching the terms “health” and “exercise” within BlackBerry App World, a number of applications appeared, encompassing various facets of the term. Exercise regimens, calorie counters, the ability to connect to friends working out, weight loss programs, statistics trackers and general healthy living practices are all options we can access via our mobile device.

When these offerings are right at our fingertips, it is hard to come up with excuses not to participate. Our health can be greatly changed by something as simple as downloading an application and following the often basic, straightforward procedure.

The smartest designed and most successful apps keep things basic and do not require too much thought. When there are just a few clicks or buttons to push, users are likely to use it; however, if the app requires several steps, people are more likely to get discouraged.

Health Txts is a text service that allows consumers to choose relevant health related messaging and have it sent to their mobile device. The service is free for three months, but must be reactivated at that time. Standard text messaging rates do apply.

FitBit is a digital device that tracks exercise activity, sleep patterns and calorie consumption and burning. The device can be synced with computers, where the data may be uploaded, viewed and shared with friends, family and coworkers. Additionally, users can collaborate and set goals with their connections. The FitBit runs at about $99 and can be purchased directly from the website.

The path to a healthier and fit lifestyle gets easier every day. And the future will only bring about more evolution in this mobile health arena.

On Wednesday, June 30, thousands of people around the world will be celebrating the transformation of media into a social dialogue. Connect with local social media enthusiasts at the official Sioux Falls Social Media Day Meetup and share your ideas, experiences and questions.

Lawrence & Schiller is hosting the Sioux Falls event at Champps Restaurant (41st & Western) from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Enjoy half-price drinks and free appetizers as well.

Sign up at http://bit.ly/b8NZnF. Share the event details with others who are social media experts, casual users or those who want to learn more. Flex those social media muscles and spread the word on everything from Facebook to Twitter to LinkedIn. You could even post a YouTube video showcasing your excitement. Include #smdaysf in your tweets about the event.

Conversations will focus on:

• Facebook
• Foursquare
• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• YouTube and Flickr
• What’s Next

Bring your ideas, experience and questions about these social media platforms and your suspicions about what’s next in the social media world.

New rules proposed last week by the Department of Education are stirring the world of college recruitment and marketing. According to its press release, the Department of Education hopes the rules will “strengthen the federal student aid programs by protecting students from aggressive or misleading recruiting practices, providing consumers with better information about the effectiveness of career college and training programs, and ensuring that only eligible students or programs receive aid.”

The newly proposed regulations mainly target the recruitment practices of for-profit colleges, such as University of Phoenix and ITT Technical Institute. If the rules become effective, higher-education institutions would be required to reveal the graduation and job placement rates and provide information about student debt levels and incomes after graduation.

The Department of Education hopes to better protect students from “institutions engaging in deceptive advertising, marketing, and sales practices.” Although for-profit colleges are the focus of the proposed rules, the Department of Education’s actions are a good reminder of the marketing and advertising basics for all higher-education institutions.

Properly equipping students for the workforce and being upfront about the cost of education are the foundations of quality educational institutions. Transparently communicating an institution’s commitment to those values builds trust and credibility with prospective students and the public. Aggressive recruiting practices and promising results that can’t be delivered will only erode an institution’s reputation. Honest communication remains the best way to earn trust and enroll students.

As I look at my “mom schedule” this week and see two more nights of baseball practice and practice every single night next week, I am going to have to get creative with dinner plans. In the on-the-go world that we live in, racing from work to pick up the kids and then on to the ball fields and trying to fit dinner in along the way, it seems natural for us to try to order up takeout from our mobile phones.

We’re not talking about the old-school method of finding the phone number in the mobile yellow pages and calling them up. We want simple – we want online ordering. Until now, we’ve been able to access restaurant reviews and view menus from mobile apps like Yelp or Urbanspoon.

Today, I read about a new mobile app called Snapfinger. This application allows for advanced ordering, so your meal will be ready for you when you arrive at the restaurant for pick up. Snapfinger is currently tied into chains like California Pizza Kitchen, Outback Steakhouse and Subway, offering menus from 28,000 restaurants in 1,600 cities nationwide. Snapfinger is tied directly into the restaurant’s point of sale system to ensure accurate pricing, daily specials and restaurant hours.

Pretty cool, check it out. Read more in the original article on the NY Times blog post, On the Go and Hungry? Dinner Is an App Away.

With the soaring popularity of mobile EVERYTHING, we often recommend the use of Foursquare to our travel clients. It’s an engaging way for people to track the places they go and the things they do (or want to do).

But like many other social media avenues, Foursquare is built on a foundation of consumer, not marketer, activity and interaction. So it gets a bit fuzzy. How exactly do you encourage consumers to promote your business within a platform built by the people, for the people?

Well, there are several ways. First of all, Foursquare offers some simple things businesses can do to get in on the action. First of all, get listed as a location. Do a search for your business – if nobody has added it yet, there will be a link to add a vendor. Once you’ve created a profile for your business, you can create specials that Foursquare users can unlock based on their activities. For example, if a visitor checks in at your restaurant, they might get a free appetizer with the purchase of an entrée.

Tourism groups throughout the country are also using Foursquare as part of larger digital marketing efforts. The Pennsylvania tourism board recently rolled out a summer campaign called “The Fantastic Roadtrip-a-Matic”. The effort includes tips placed at 100 locations throughout the state, which visitors can unlock by checking in at these locations on Foursquare. Visitors can also earn Pennsylvania-themed badges based on their activities. A “PA 4 Score and 7” badge is earned by three visits to PA historical sites, for instance.

Currently the restrictions in Foursquare are minimal – anybody can enter a new vendor. There also aren’t a lot of restrictions on how organizations are designated – Pennsylvania, Chicago tourism, and other CVBs are set up as “people,” not vendors. As Foursquare grows in popularity, it will likely go the way of Facebook, where organizations now must be specifically designated as clubs, cities, pages, etc. Businesses would be wise to get in on the Foursquare action while it’s easy to do.

A variety of companies — from the likes of Google and Microsoft to hospitals and doctors’ organizations — have stepped up efforts to promote electronic medical records (EMR). EMRs allow health systems, like Sanford Health, to create a single storage point for a patient’s personal health information and the elimination of redundant questions and additional paperwork.

Despite the movement to streamline the volumes of manila folders holding patient records, adoption of EMR technology is primarily dependent upon the medical professionals, namely the physician.  While doctors and medical personnel understand and value the importance and efficiency of EMRs, studies cite cost, reimbursement, and privacy issues as challenges to overcome.

“Patient Keeper“, a recently enhanced mobile application, “automates a physician’s duties such as viewing patient data from electronic records systems, ordering prescriptions or lab tests, and recording charges for services.” These are all tasks they might otherwise do manually or on another computer, so the firm’s software gives doctors the chance to do their work from virtually anywhere.

Over 23,000 clinics, including Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids, IA, use the software on a variety of mobile devices such as the BlackBerry, laptops, PCs and now the iPad.

If there ever was a site that should have a mobile app, it’s TripAdvisor. Well, now they do. The enormously-popular travel ratings site boasts over 35 million comments and travel reviews. The new TripAdvisor mobile app was announced this week, and with it, users can browse reviews, find flights, get GPS directions and more via their mobile phones. So far, there are versions for iPhone and Palm Pre, and Android is coming soon.

For users without app-friendly phones, there was also a mobile site launched in March. Mobile visitors to www.tripadvisor.com are automatically re-routed to the mobile version of the site.

Now if they could just make and app that does my laundry, I would be sold. But this is a good start. Happy travel-apping!

Traveling through airports, one trend that’s hard to ignore is the rise of the NEW vending machines. Vending machines are certainly nothing new – they have been the sure stop for soft drinks and snacks for years – but recently there’s been an emergence of smart brands tapping into the power of the unmanned retail outlet. A couple years back, I recall seeing iPod and DVD rentals pave the way, followed by a few innovative channel managers like skincare giant, Proactive. Lately it’s a new variety of merchandise at your fingertips. I had a layovers today in Denver and Dallas/Ft. Worth and a few that popped out: Sephora, Best Buy, RosettaStone and even a flower shop.

Don’t underestimate the power of vending machines as a new channel for your brand. Think about it: swipe, click, receive. Not much overhead in that sales funnel.

Starbucks (SBUX) is everywhere, right?  You can barely get around without running into one – at strip malls, hotels and even in grocery stores. And if you’re like me, the day just doesn’t start right without the treat in a green and white cup. .  But despite a sometimes-negative reputation for over-exposure, in today’s adage.com article, Starbucks loyalists “drink only 3 of every 10 cups at the chain,” which in turn points to a even more surprising fact, Starbucks holds only about 5% market share.

These stats, while interesting, point to the larger strategy of marketing in today’s world. Even though the creative marketing “brand” is alive and well, Starbucks is also honing in on sales metrics, using research and data to drive towards the future.  In addition to ensuring a consistent product and a high-quality customer “experience,” the next SBUX move to gain market share and increase sales is based upon the numbers.

As a marketer, do you know how often your most loyal patrons utilize your products or services over competitors? Where is the forecasted growth in your market? How does the latest consumer spending uptick in luxury goods impact your strategy?  Do you have a strategy to increase those numbers?

Expanding product lines and reformatting grocery offerings are a large part of Starbucks’ plan to obtain its goals. By understanding that four of every five cups of coffee are consumed at home, the company knows that they need to go beyond its retail stores to gain a larger customer base.  Taking a lesson from one of today’s best brands, leveraging quality analytics, measurements and return-on-investment analysis is fundamental in guiding strategies and tactics for effective marketing to grow and expand customer base.

Sidenote: If you’re a true Starbucks customer (or loyalist), check out this site to find out your true Starbucks personality.

The usage of smartphones is increasing at a brisk pace, and so is mobile banking. A recent study by Mercatus shows that banks that offer mobile banking services can increase new customer acquisitions by nearly 60 percent. But why exactly is that?

Today’s society is fast-paced, convenience driven and desires to do everything on the go. So it only makes sense that banks offering convenient services such as mobile banking are reaping the rewards. Having the ability to access personal financial information via mobile devices allows for great flexibility and expediency. Consumers who opt in to this service no longer have to worry about being able to transfer funds or make a payment – they can now do it anywhere, at anytime, via their mobile device.

This study also shows that when choosing a bank, consumers prioritize mobile banking over the availability of online banking, easy access to ATMs and nearby branches. Consumers would rather have the option to bank from their mobile phone than have a bank branch or an affiliated ATM near them.

The fact that having mobile banking options plays such a large role in choosing a banking institution speaks largely to the reality that businesses need to stay fresh and on the cusp of digital and mobile offerings for consumers.

Other fascinating findings from this study include:

• Costs of acquiring customers decreases by as much as 20 percent based on the efficacy of mobile banking related marketing.
• Mobile users can be serviced at a 20 percent lower cost than a traditional bank patron.
• Mobile banking consumers tend to fall in the 18-39 year old range, as well as a higher income bracket.

So, not only can mobile banking be a rather lucrative offering for banking customers, but it can also lower costs associated with those customers. Mobile banking is the way to go – have you joined the revolution?

What’s the ideal training ground for an ad agency president?   If you answered, “being a marching band instructor”, you’re either a master of unconventional thinking, or you’ve spent some time with  Scott Lawrence, the President and CEO of Lawrence and Schiller.

This year’s SDAF Silver Medal Winner has spent the past twenty-five years applying the same principles he used to lead award-winning marching bands in Marion and Wakonda to dramatically impact the fields of marketing and community service.  Scott has the unique ability to bring together a diverse group of people, define roles and expectations, and then drive their performance to excellence through the force of his high-energy personality. 

He eventually worked his way to Director of Account Service at L&S; and in 2002, Scott became the agency’s President and CEO.   He led the charge in reorganizing the agency into Directed Teams to generate higher levels of creative performance and client service.  And today, he plays a strategic role on nearly every agency account and maintains key relationships with business and community leaders throughout the upper Midwest.

He has also utilized his gift for making connections to contribute to our community.  Scott has held many leadership positions over the years with the Lincoln High School Booster Club and Festival of Bands activities.  He’s led numerous committees in his church, and has coached his children’s sports teams to many tournament and league championships.  He’s served as president of the South Dakota Symphony.  And this year, as Campaign Chairman of the Sioux Empire United Way, he helped our community reach a record for fundraising in a year when only 15% of the United Way chapters in the nation met their goals.

Scott’s boundless passion, unflagging enthusiasm and talent for communication have made a dramatic difference everywhere he’s focused his efforts.  The leader of the band has proven to be a first-rate leader in every sense of the word.

From travel and tourism to higher education, telecommunications to healthcare, 12 different Lawrence  & Schiller clients took home honors Saturday night, at the 44th Annual South Dakota Advertising Federation’s Addy Awards. The diverse collection of winners represent a 25% higher number of clients than any other marketing agency in the awards show.

Best of Class Mixed Media Addy award was presented to the University Center for its “At the Center of it All” campaign. Workplace Technology Center also won a Best of Class Addy. Its “English to IT”  took home the Best of Class Addy for Consumer or Trade Publication.

Lawrence & Schiller congratulates all of its clients who won at the Sioux Falls event. All together the group received 24 Addy Awards.

• South Dakota Tourism
• Midcontinent Communications
• Sanford Hospital
• Dennis Daugaard for Governor
• University Center
• South Dakoa Office of Highway Safety
• Workplace Technology Center
• The Golf Course At Devil’s Tower
• Visit Spearfish
• South Dakota Symphony
• Sioux Falls Green Project
• Lawrence & Schiller

Just the facts – A great post from our often quoted friends at the Center for Media Research, facts you can use during your reports, speeches and water-cooler arguments during 2010.  Ah, we love stats.

Mobile Phones

• U.S. mobile phone users 13+: 223M
• Number of mobile Web users: 60.7M (up 33% from 2008)
• Percentage of mobile devices that are smartphones: 18% (up from 13% in 2008)
• Percentage of mobile device owners that streamed audio: 8%
• Percentage of mobile device owners that viewed video via their mobile phone: 7%
• Percentage of mobile devices sold in Q3 2009 that were smartphones: 25% (estimated 40%-50 in 2010)

Source: The Nielsen Company, November 2009

Looking Ahead To Mid-2011

• Estimated smartphone user base: 150M
• Estimated mobile subscribers: 300M+
• Estimated users of mobile web: 120M
• Estimated users watching mobile video: 90M

Source: The Nielsen Company, November 2009

Growth of cellphone only homes in the U.S.

• 2009… 21%
• 2008… 18%
• 2007… 15%

Top 5 Smartphones (% Ownership)

• Blackberry 8300 Curve: 17%
• Apple iPhone 3G: 15%
• Apple iPhone 3G S: 12%
• Blackberry 9530 Storm: 6%
• Blackberry 8100 Pearl: 5%

Source: The Nielsen Company, November 2009

Top 5 Mobile Web Sites

• Google Search
• Yahoo! Mail
• Gmail
• Weather Channel
• Facebook

Top Social Networks on Mobile Phones

• Facebook
• MySpace
• Twitter

Top 5 Mobile Video Channels

• YouTube
• Fox Interactive Media
• Weather Channel
• Comedy Central
• CBS

Internet

• 195M Active U.S. Internet users
• 160.3M People who accessed the Internet via a broadband connection: (93.3%… up 16% from 2008)
• 138.4M Unique viewers of video (up 11.4% from 2008)
• 11.2B Total online video streams viewed monthly (up 17% from 2008)
• 200.1 minutes Average time spent viewing online video per viewer monthly (up 12.5% from 2008)

Social Networking

• Facebook reaches 56% of the active U.S. Internet universe with an average usage of 6 hrs a month per user
• Facebook is the #3 site visited by users 65 and older
• Twitter grew 500% year-over-year
• Time spent on social networking sites in the U.S. increased 277%
• The average U.S. worker spends 5 hrs a month visiting social networks at the office
• 32% of all mobile web users visited a social network

More notes from the International Advertising Bureau’s MIXX conference. 

Can you imaging spending 3/4 of your ad budget in ditial marketing?  Adobe can, and they do.  They have created proven campaigns, and alleviated concerns by sharing data and results.  The first speaker of the conference, Anne Lewis, Senior VP of Adobe, set the theme with this statement: It’s ALL Advertising.   When you think about it, it’s true.  Every piece of material we put out there for a brand can either credit or discredit that product or brand.  It’s important to make sure that what you are putting out there is relevant to your target audience. 

In September I had the opportunity to attend the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s annual MIXX conference.  I had the chance to attend idea-stimulating workshops, listen to speakers from a variety of companies, and learn about new trends in the digital industry.  In the next few weeks, I’ll be posting excerts from my notes.

The Consumer Revolution

Yahoo! did a survey and found that 77% of those surveyed wanted to find an ad again, but they couldn’t find it.  The people surveyed wanted to save it, store it, share it.  There is a large expectation gap of what online provides and what users want it to do.  Stay focused on the consumer.

• The web – massive in scale, but individual areas for all the niches, like interest groups the web brings those communities together.
• The web – not daunting but it needs simplification. 
• It is about LIFE, not online, or offline, all the time. 

It’s a mesh of:

My World               The World            

Friends                  Knowledge

Family                    Information

Values                   News

Interests                 Entertainment

Locale                    Editorial

Combine the two to give more of what they want and less of what they don’t.  Figure out what matters most.