2009 December « Converge Weekly

Archive for December, 2009

Dec

Square: Twitter Co-Founder Launches New Mobile Payment System

Categories: Digital Trends, Mobile, Mobile Apps and Uncategorized
Tags: android, credit card payment, iPhone, Jack Dorsey, mobile payments, Square

Jack Dorsey revolutionized online socializing by co-founding Twitter in 2006. Now he wants to transform the way people exchange money. Dorsey is leading a new startup called Square which launched its first product on December 2, 2009, resembling a cube: a tiny credit card terminal that plugs into the headphone jack of an iPhone. The goal is to make it easier to complete a credit card transaction, whether you’re a street vendor selling T-shirts or an individual settling a lunch tab with a friend.

Continue reading ‘Square: Twitter Co-Founder Launches New Mobile Payment System’

Dec

Iranian protesters use Social Media to broadcast violence

By Afreen Leave a Comment

Categories: Digital Trends, News and Social Media
Tags: ABC, BBC, citizen journalism, CNN, Facebook, Internet platforms, Tehran, The New York Times, Twitter, Twitter Revolution, Youtube

Photo via FreeeIran on Twitpic

As violence flared Sunday (26th Dec ‘09) between anti-government protesters and Iranian security forces, the world witnessed a second surge in Iranian “citizen journalism” via Internet platforms such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

It has been years since a Western news organization has been able to operate a news bureau out of Tehran. Reporters Without Borders and The Associated Press have reported that a number of journalists and editors have been arrested in Iran since Sunday. Reporters Without Borders also reported that computers were confiscated from the offices of a weekly newspaper and that yesterday “most independent or opposition Web sites were rendered inaccessible within Iran.” Continue reading ‘Iranian protesters use Social Media to broadcast violence’

Dec

Peering into the 2010 crystal ball…

By Farheen Aqueel 1 Comment

1. Growth of digital ad spend

Due to the lower cost of entry, together with all the possible measurement, particularly return on investment, digital marketing will become increasingly attractive over the next year. Next year will see interruptive communication being more and more replaced with persuasion and engagement; a trend that is already happening as mentioned during 2009 and will continue into the next year.

2. Mobile will grow

Mobile as a medium has been one of the hot topics over the past year. Many predicted it becoming a major channel. It has done much globally (especially in developing nations); in terms of mobile money transfers and now more recently with the commercialised roll-out of payment options such as MoWaly and wiWallet. As an extension to an integrated campaign however, marketers still need to get their head around how to use this medium effectively. We feel that 2010 will be the year we see many brands and campaigns getting it right. A phone is no longer just a phone, this is truly exciting and brands need to understand how and what they can communicate on mobile devices that is both effective and non intrusive.

Continue reading ‘Peering into the 2010 crystal ball…’

Dec

Top 5 Reasons for ongoing SEO services

By Mahjabeen Khan 12 Comments

Categories: Digital Marketing and Online Advertising
Tags: advantages of SEO, Google Analytics, Internet, link building, search engine marketing, Search Engine Optimization, SEM, SEO, SEO consultants, Target Market, Yahoo!

For many companies, an ideal world involving Search Engine Optimization would be simple, quick and a one-time task to check off a list. An organization would create a website, optimize its content for target keywords and promote the site. Soon, the website would acquire a strong number of inbound links and start ranking for those target keywords. End of story.

Unfortunately, that’s just not the case. In reality, SEO isn’t just about adding keywords and linking. SEO is increasingly social and sits at the intersection of multiple business functions outside of marketing including public relations, customer service, recruitment and branding. Continue reading ‘Top 5 Reasons for ongoing SEO services’

Dec

Marvellous Vodafone tagging of consumers in the Netherlands

By Reema Dada Leave a Comment

Categories: Campaign Snapshot, Digital Marketing, Digital Trends and Mobile Apps
Tags: Consumer Engagement, Digital Trends, Interactive Marketing, Mobile Apps, vodafone

Here is a fun concept; get a bunch of consumers, put them in a park in Amsterdam and let them run around playing tag. The team that has the most tags get to win a phone for the entire team. In order for this to work you need a bunch of phones, image recognition software and energetic consumers.

Source: Mayolounge

Dec

Style your Nikes with Nike iD iPhone App

By Reema Dada Leave a Comment

Categories: Campaign Snapshot, Digital Trends, Interactive App and Viral Marketing
Tags: Digital Marketing, Nike, Customer Interactivity, Marketing Trends, iPhone App

Nike created a great application for the Nokia Series 60 phones a year back. They have now introduced the same possibility for the iPhone users to take part of the Nike iD experience.

Nike iD mainly focus on footwear providing a selection of shoes which can then be personalised by the customer. The customer can choose which area of the shoe to personalise, changing the colour and fabric to what they desire. This customization allows for a large amount of different designs to be created. And, if the customer does not want to have to design the shoes themselves, they can choose from a range of pre-made designs or buy designs other customers have made.

On 14 October 2009 the NIKEiD App for iPhone and iPod Touch was released on the iTunes App Store. The App is free to download and allows users to search products created by the NIKEiD community and purchase items from the online store. The iD Studio Finder allows the user to find out exactly where the Nike iD Studios are located, and how to book an appointment with a design consultant. Users can also save their designs to their myLocker accounts.

Continue reading ‘Style your Nikes with Nike iD iPhone App’

Dec

3D TV: Not So Fast

By Mahjabeen Khan Leave a Comment

Categories: Digital Content and Digital Trends
Tags: 3D in theaters, 3D movie, 3D movies, 3D technology, Digital Content, DirectTV, Panasonic, Satellite television, Sony

Consumers are falling fast for 3D entertainment. For proof, consider the success of Avatar, an otherworldly adventure film full of three-dimensional imagery that in just two weeks has grossed more than $640 million at the box office.

In hopes of capitalizing on the public’s burgeoning thirst, Hollywood studios are cramming 3D content into more films and TV manufacturers are equipping gear so that it showcases the technology in people’s living rooms. Continue reading ‘3D TV: Not So Fast’

Dec

Puma boosts team spirit in Europe

By Reema Dada Leave a Comment

Categories: Campaign Snapshot, Digital Marketing, Digital Trends, Interactive App and Viral Marketing
Tags: Digital Marketing, Digital Trends, Interactive App, interactivity, International, Puma, The Euro

Puma created a complete 360 degree mobile marketing campaign during the Euro called “Together Everywhere”, which showed a high level of creativity.

The campaign was launched simultaneously in 13 countries allowing fans to team up and support their teams. Fans who joined could invite 10 of their friends and each time their supporting team scored a goal Puma would call the supporters with a dedicated ring tone and connect them to 10 friends in a conference call order to share their excitement.

Continue reading ‘Puma boosts team spirit in Europe’

Dec

22 Social Media Marketing Trends for 2010

By Reema Dada Leave a Comment

Categories: Digital Marketing, Digital Trends and Social Media
Tags: 2010, Digital Trends, Marketing Trends, Social Media

Dec

IKEA Couponing – A Mobile Marketing Campaign

By Reema Dada 1 Comment

Categories: Campaign Snapshot, Digital Marketing, Digital Trends, Mobile, Mobile Apps, SMS and Viral Marketing
Tags: Digital Trends, MMS, Mobile App, Mobile Marketing

Earlier in 2009 IKEA launched a new line of furniture, IKEA PS, whose objective was to stretch the idea of design, to think about empowering people, and to minimize the impact on the world.

With such unusual designs, IKEA felt they had to do something special to help customers imagine how this furniture would fit into their houses, so they turned to a mobile augmented reality solution.

The beauty of the IKEA application is the simplicity and strong appeal of the basic proposition: wouldn’t it be nice if you could bring all these new furniture designs home to see how they might look in your own house. While this would be very difficult to do in the physical world, it is a perfect application for mobile augmented reality.

Continue reading ‘IKEA Couponing – A Mobile Marketing Campaign’

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