It’s hot. So hot that my blog is about something completely unrelated to digital media. It’s about summer fashion. Enjoy.

I am a big “rule follower” when it comes to fashion. No white before Easter or after Labor Day. Suede is for Winter, formal parties starting after 6pm mean black tie. I get it. But, in Austin it doesn’t seem fair.

Our summer starts very early and lasts until mid-October. In late July and August it is simply too hot to really wear anything other than shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops. (I know, shudder). This all really hit me this weekend when I looked in the closet at all the linen pants, shirts and seersucker, whit bucs and gingham that I have in my closet that it’s just too hot to wear right now. I hate it because Labor Day is fast approaching and I’ll have to put it all away.

Maybe I’ll issue a edict that until daily temps are consistently below 90 degrees, summer fashion is acceptable. I’ll confront dirty looks from the five people in Austin that even know what I’m violating a rule with righteous indignation.

While the rest of the country is still struggling in an economic recession and suffering renewed job losses as a result of the close of the 2010 Census and its layoffs, Austin seems almost recession-proof. If you need any indicator of hiring stats in Austin, check out the “New Austin Jobs” Twitter feed, job board listings, or read the local news.

In fact, Broad Street Interactive is part of the surge in new technology and media jobs - we’re hiring for digital ad sales. Check out the job description (or apply) here!

Coke just released its new strategy to reach its Korean market by tapping mommy blogs to be make its product more desirable to a younger audience. Coke believes these “digital influencers” will produce a strong word-of-mouth campaign at a fraction of the cost of traditional media. (from Advertising Age, July 2010)

Coke first built a relationship with these bloggers not only to properly inform them of Coke’s products but also to ensure that the blogger’s brand marketing would be consistent with Coca-Cola. Coke’s new attempt in social media marketing seems to be accurately executed, as 43% of Koreans maintain a website or blog daily, while 9 out of 10 twenty-somethings log in to a social networking site daily. Coke hopes to expand their blogging network to the rest of Asia as well as Australia within the year.

Broad Street Interactive frequently engages mom blogs in parent targeted campaigns with much success. Typical campaigns would include healthcare-related, daycare-related, and awareness-related campaigns that would not only benefit the blogger but their audience as well. Moms usually are the chief household operators and make the big decisions that affect the whole family, so it is crucial to inform them about potential products and programs that could enhance their daily lives in a way that they feel safe and secure. This is where building trust with the mommy blogs is critical and knowing what is best for them and our clients can pay off in the long run. A trusted blogger usually means trusted advertisements, which will lead to better campaign results and a higher ROI.

In the end, it is all about connecting a community of online moms and enlightening them about the new and upcoming ways of parenting and the lifestyle that accompanies those trends.

Are you interested in reaching a blogging audience? Contact us!

An article in AdAge this week about how AT&T plans to lift its image via social media “customer care” inspired us to share our own experiences with brands that use social media-as-customer-service (and do it right). As a business or brand venturing into social media, one of the most common mistakes one can make is set up the Twitter, Facebook, etc. accounts, post a few times, garner a few followers or fans, then maintain “radio silence.” The brands that we would qualify as “social media pros” use the medium not only for promotion and marketing, but also for customer service and brand loyalty.

One recent example: A friend spent a weekend at a Westin (Starwood) Hotel in Washington, DC, and returned from his trip with some unwanted “visitors” - dust mites that not only caused an awful rash that sent him to the doctor for treatment, but he also had to disinfect his clothing, bedding, luggage, and most of his home. When he called the hotel’s customer service department, they “opened a ticket” and finally responded to him (after several phone calls) that the room in which he stayed was indeed infested with dust mites. The offered compensation? Starwood Hotel points. When my friend hung up the phone, he Tweeted to his 1,000+ followers about his experience and his dissatisfaction with the resolution. In turn, several of his followers re-Tweeted his comment and shared it on Facebook. Within about 30 minutes, he was contacted by a staffer at Starwood responsible for customer care via its Twitter page (www.twitter.com/starwoodbuzz), an email exchange followed, and he was reimbursed for his entire stay as a result. He shared that information via his social media channels as well. Our grade? “C-” for initial phone customer service contact, but an “A” for follow-up effort via Twitter and Starwood’s customer care social media staff.

A few weeks ago after lunch, I Tweeted that I was dismayed to discover Central Market didn’t carry Sparkling Lime IZZE (my favorite IZZE flavor). Literally, within about four minutes, www.twitter.com/izzetasteagents were following me on Twitter and two weeks later, my favorite supermarket/lunch haven now carries my favorite IZZE beverage. Grade? “A++” for immediacy, responsiveness, and brand loyalty incentive. Clearly, the “taste agents” are on top of their game and since one-third of Twitter users talk brands, companies have to know what’s being said about their brand (and respond!).

Other top contenders for social media customer care:

Wachovia - www.twitter.com/wachovia, ranks “A” for customer responsiveness on Twitter, but also uses the social media channel to disseminate customer information.

Zappos - www.twitter.com/zappos, online shoe retailer (admitting to a little bias with my own love of shoes), but more than 1 and a half million followers can’t be wrong, can they?

Sephora - www.twitter.com/sephora, ranks an “A” or higher for sheer consistency and number of Tweets, lack of re-Tweeting, and sharing links relevant to its customer base.

Starbucks - www.twitter.com/starbucks, (I know, I know…we’re trying to “drink local” too). Interestingly, the coffee conglomerate has fewer followers on Twitter than Zappos and many other companies (less than 1 million), but we give them a “B+” for customer engagement via contests and other “follower only” promotions.

Whole Foods - www.twitter.com/wholefoods, Tweeting from its global HQ right here in Austin, TX. More than 1.7 million followers reading Tweets about healthy eating and in-store promotions (how else would I  have heard organic cherries were on mega-sale last weekend?), but this primary account is used to respond to Twitter users, followers or not, Tweeting about their Whole Foods experience. “A++” for responsiveness (to both negative and positive comments)!

There are many that rank high on the social media customer care index - www.twitter.com/coach, www.twitter.com/harleydavidson, www.twitter.com/gap, www.twitter.com/burberry, www.twitter.com/jetblue, www.twitter.com/HRBlock, and www.twitter.com/RedCross, among others. The reason?

They know “the four Rs” of customer service via social media: reviewing, responding, recording, and redirecting.

They also understand customer engagement, the immediacy of the social media environment, and the power of social media networks. We’ll be keeping an eye on AT&T’s new customer care initiative (considering the sheer number of mentions they have on social networks - more than 10,000 - in a 24-hour period) just to see if and how high they’re going to set the bar for large companies and “social care teams.”

If your company or brand is ready to dip a toe in the waters of social media, we’re here to help with anything from consulting to managing social media campaigns, monitoring, tracking, and responding. Contact us with any questions!

In other words, is the emperor wearing clothes? We’ve seen this in the world of technology many times in the past few years, most recently with the release of the iPad (and buzz about the upcoming “iAd” mobile advertising platform). And we had a flurry of client calls in the weeks after the release of the iPad, most asking how they can get in on advertising in the “new mobile market.” As an agency, the most important thing we must consider with regards to placing media is ROI for the client. Although the numbers (and the hype) for mobile advertising have been all over the media, hype doesn’t necessarily mean ROI. The media calls mobile the “golden interactive loop,” but just how “golden” is it?

We saw it coming with the release of the iPad—Apple taking “dead aim at Google’s search advertising” with its iAd mobile advertising platform (MediaPost.com). The good news for agencies like ours is that it brings another competitor to the marketplace, expands the reach of our geotargeted, hyper-local mobile advertising. Yes, it has taken some time for publishers to get on the mobile advertising bandwagon, particularly with the dramatic increase in and technological improvements to mobile devices (such as the iPhone, Android, and other “smart” phones) over the past few years. Our agency has worked with some of the “early adapters” for some time now—Pandora, Yelp, and Google Mobile, among others—and with moderate success for our clients. They work wonderfully for national clients, but many in-app mobile platforms still lack geo-targeting capability and strong reporting functions.

We don’t see mobile digital advertising as a replacement for traditional online display ads (did we actually just use the word “traditional” to describe online advertising?!?), but it certainly is another option to offer for campaigns with specific demographic targets. For example, if we have a campaign that has a primary goal of reaching 18-34 year-old males with a precise number of impressions in mind, and a secondary goal of a high click-through and conversion rate (say, signing up on a web site), mobile advertising is something we would consider including in that proposal—from Pandora music to text ads—as long as the target demographic is right for the campaign. Ideally, what we’d like to see is more geo-targeting capabilities on these platforms, along with transparent reporting functions.

At Apple’s Worldwide Developers conference in early June, Steve Jobs announced that the company has signed mobile ad campaigns for several large brands, including AT&T, Best Buy and Chanel, among others. TechCrunch also reports that in just eight weeks, Apple has garnered more than $60 million in iAd commitments for 2010 – or half of all mobile advertising spend forecasted for the second half of the year (according to Apple). The iAd platform will allow users to interact with ads from within an app – without disrupting their primary mode of engagement, whether that be playing a game or watching a video. The platform debuts on July 1.

Read more about Apple’s iAd mobile platform here and, as always, contact us directly if you have a product or service you’re ready to take to the (digital) streets!

As social media is beginning to outweigh traditional media, people are now finding new ways to get their news and entertainment online. It used to be easier to map the demographics of a particular website, but with social sites like Facebook and MySpace, it is becoming harder to target a specific demographic. It is imperative to understand the trends that lead this shift in media and how ethnic minorities are more prevalent online than we may assume.

In a 2009 study by the Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication from Florida State University, data was collected to examine the patterns of social media behaviors of different ethnic/cultural groups in the US. The results showed that ethnic minorities visit social networking more frequently than non-Hispanic Whites.

The data was then extrapolated to determine which social networking site was deemed most popular among the users in the study. English speaking Hispanics again were at the top of the list with MySpace being the most preferred social site, followed by Facebook.

Although these statistics are interesting, finding the reasons why this shift in media is occurring among ethnic minorities will give advertisers and marketers a better understanding on how to engage this audience.

English speaking Hispanics tend to be a younger demographic than non-Hispanic Whites, and there isn’t any doubt that a younger generation is more accepting of emerging technology, but age is only a partial explanation for the use of social media. Factors like culture are more likely the relevant key driver of social behavior online.

Culturally, Hispanics are more collectivistic than non-White Hispanics and tend to look for advice from others when making important decisions. With social sites like MySpace and Facebook, these ethnic minorities can be connected to family and friends who are dispersed geographically. Also there tends to be a lack of content available online that is culturally relevant and in-language; ethnic minorities are forced to use social media in order to create and share their own content.

Although social sites provide a platform that allows people to organize and enhance their experience with others online, culture is still the bond that brings people together. Advertisers and marketers must focus on the cultural aspect when trying to reach ethnic minorities and reinforce their audience’s views and beliefs in the brands they are trying to promote.

This year’s iMedia Agency Summit at the Lost Pines Resort was another great event. We came away with a lot of good new ideas for our clients and learned about some new opportunities in the digital space.  I’m a big fan of separating the wheat from the chaff in digital media, so I loved the keynote “The Tyranny of Dead Internet Ideas” by Upstream Group’s Doug Weaver.

The summit brings the nation’s top digital agency media folks together in a setting that provides education and fellowship. It is a great place to connect and learn from each other. We always come away energized and more focused on delivering results for our clients.