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Quick! Make a wish—it’s 12/12/12. Or is that for 11:11…? Whatever it is, we’re a bit superstitious and we want to take advantage of today’s date singularity and share with everyone our 12 favorite digital topics of 2012. Topics below are in no particular order.

There is no doubt that digital media is becoming more and more prominent every day. Everything has a website, it’s all about fans and followers, there’s an app for “that,” and tablets are making print feel irrelevant. However, despite rumors and myths, digital is not replacing traditional media; it is enhancing it. While advertisements have shifted from “buy now” to “follow us,” traditional media is being forced to learn how to play with digital media to create a more well-rounded, powerful campaign. Because of this, companies are starting to take digital media more seriously realizing its importance in creating value for consumers. It’s this user value that provides the most powerful impact.

Thanks to the Y generation, traditional media now plays a different role when it comes to a campaign. It hasn’t lost its power to reach masses, in fact that’s where its strongpoint is. Traditional media’s ability to reach masses is used for “introducing” a campaign and driving consumers to digital media. Digital media in return, ultimately turns into brand loyalty and conversion rates. It is suggested that 70% of budgeting should be spent on traditional media to ultimately drive consumers to digital media. Thus, to be popular online, offline advertising is still key.
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As 2010 comes to a close, we’re recapping Mindgruve’s Top 3 Predictions for 2010 and looking forward to what 2011 will bring.

First, at the beginning of 2010, we said SEO and social media would be huge and they were. In addition to Google and Bing’s search results that feature Facebook and Twitter posts, Clickz notes that link building through social media can help generate leads, while the recent Facebook-Bing partnership indicates the growing importance of social media’s relationship with search.
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In recent months, we’ve seen rebranding hits and misses by several well-known companies that have either left consumers embracing their new image or alienated them with uninformed changes. Understanding how a brand sets the stage for meaningful interaction and advocacy within your audience, we studied these recent efforts to get to the heart of what makes a successful rebranding: balance. Company goals, messaging, culture and strengths must balance with audience expectations and a digital strategy to effectively introduce your new brand identity.

But, before undergoing a rebrand of any sort, it’s important to consider the reasons for doing so:

First, sympathizing with Business Insider, a “successful rebranding involves overhauling a company’s goals, message, and culture.” Simply changing a logo isn’t enough to change the bond you have (or hope to create) with your audience.
Second, knowing your strengths can help develop a new brand that caters to you and drive future success with brand advocates.
Third, rolling out a new brand through a well-defined digital strategy that includes online and mobile channels is imperative in engaging your target at the spaces where they spend a majority of their time.
Finally, as Myspace discovered in their recent brand refresh, awareness of your audience and their expectations of you is just as important as how you view yourself.

An intricate strategy in place to balance these areas can mean saving time and work wasted on an unappealing brand that lacks direction and impact. With this in mind, we took a closer look at two brands that have made strides and setbacks in their brand.

The Hit: San Diego Zoo

Company Goals, Message and Culture: Job well done. Before rolling out a new, cohesive brand for all three San Diego Zoo entities, the goal was to ensure they appear unified and highlight the San Diego Zoo’s efforts in conservation.
Core Strengths: The San Diego Zoo’s strengths lie in the culture that it has developed since 1916. Conservation and education are important elements of who they are and we believe the new brand reflects this well through the identity system and communication of zoo programs and initiatives.
Digital Rollout: Before the new brand was introduced, San Diego Zoo did a wonderful job of engaging the community. After the rebrand, their Facebook page, Twitter page and website continue to create an educational experience that allow the community to help in conservation efforts, play educational games and adopt animals.
Audience Expectations: San Diego Zoo did their research. They knew the name “Safari Park” better represents the experience people have at San Diego Zoo Safari Park. They also understand the fun, family-oriented experience of both parks and the educational experience of the institute needed to be captured in the new identity system when compared to the old, corporate-looking logo.

The Miss: Gap

Company Goals, Message and Culture: Unfortunately, Gap fired a complete dud. Rolling out a new (less than liked) logo in early-October, the public was quick to call them out with “Crap Logo Yourself.” Gap did little to connect their new visual representation with what a Gap spokesperson later told us was meant to “signify Gap’s transition from classic America design to modern, sexy, cool.”
Core Strengths: Gap’s strength as a clothing brand is that they are considered iconic by many, creating what Brand New calls “a cool, breezy, and sophisticated brand visual language.” The hasty switch to the new logo did little to enhance the appeal they had or highlight their shift to “modern, sexy, cool.”
Digital Rollout: Overall, Gap is doing what they can to create a large digital presence (recent Groupon deals and Facebook check-ins come to mind), but have yet to embrace it in a branded way to engage with their customers beyond “big savings.” Prior to the new logo, Gap did a good job at engaging the community with store news, giveaways and styling tips. After the new logo, all hope for a revised digital strategy was lost when Gap failed to properly introduce the online community to it.
Audience Expectations: Gap found out a little too late what their audience wanted. After introducing the new logo and receiving a flood of negative feedback, Gap attempted to quell the mob’s anger by calling it a “crowd sourcing project,” which did little to smooth things over. In the end, Gap ditched the new logo and crowd sourcing plans, illustrating why proactively discovering a target audience is much better than reacting to their negativity.

As you can see, a rebranding must be balanced through all four areas we looked at. What recent rebrands do you think are hits or misses?

Marketing within apps and games is revolutionizing how marketers reach new consumers

Due to the continued innovation of the smart phone, mobile apps have become a huge part of the new media industry. In particular, mobile games have seen a big benefit from this rise in popularity, accounting for 5%, or $500 million, of U.S. gaming sales in 2009 alone. These new mediums have given marketers a whole new venue to reach its specific target audiences directly and engage them in a way they have never been able to before. There are many advantages to the use of mobile ads and we believe that they will become a very effective marketing method due to their specificity and diversity.

One advantage is the potential for massive exposure because there are now over 49 million smart phone users. Recent mobile phenomenon such as Angry Birds and Words With Friends has shown that it is possible for marketers to get millions of impressions from a single app or game. Compared to console games which feature less intrusive advertising, mobiles games offer more direct advertising in order to leave an impression on its audience. This new medium also allows for a wide range of creative possibilities because of advanced smartphone technologies such as touch screens and gyroscopes that result in more clicks. For example, Greystripe has shown that their interactive ads for Sony Pictures Home Entertainment increased overall product awareness by 19%. Advertisements can now be just as engaging and interactive as apps themselves which will leave a bigger impression on users. Aside from engagement and production, there are also significant advantages demographically.

Mobile ads allow marketers to more accurately and effectively target advertisements toward certain demographics. In general, smart phone users are a valuable demographic because they are generally between the ages of 18 and 35 and have a large steady income. However, ads can still be placed within many games or applications to reach many specific demographics, making marketers campaigns much more effective. Marketers also have the option of reaching selected demographics by creating ads for a specific app store. Android users tend to be younger than Apple users while Apple users tend to be wealthier and more educated. Finally, ads can be highly localized because of most smart phones built-in GPS capabilities. This makes them particularly useful for local businesses and companies looking to reach potential consumers in a new and captivating way.

Mobile ads are an exciting addition for marketers looking to publicize their products in new mediums. They offer a different level of diversity, creativity and engagement that is difficult to find in other marketing venues. With many companies redeveloping their digital strategies and embracing in app/game advertising, innovation is sure to continue and these ads will become a mainstay for marketers moving forward.

The past few years have seen many innovations in the world of mobile marketing, one of the biggest being the use of digital barcodes. Digital barcodes, or Quick Response codes, are barcodes that, when scanned using a mobile device’s QR code reader, lead users to promotional information designated by the creator. We believe digital barcodes will help mobile marketing finally break into the mainstream. They create a more intimate experience for users as well as increase the effectiveness and response time of opt-in marketing campaigns.

The biggest advantage to a digital barcode campaign is an increase in user engagement. Digital barcodes create a more enticing, personal experience for users that is hard to replicate in other mediums. They also have the ability to quickly show the success of a campaign based on the number of scans per location, which can be measured at any time. Additionally, digital barcodes can drive quality traffic to a company’s website or landing page, allowing for targeted marketing. Finally, consumers that use the bar codes are showing an immediate interest, making it easier for companies to get visitors to interact with their product or service.

This is perfectly demonstrated by a digital barcode campaign that was recently launched by Calvin Klein to support their new lines of X jeans. Billboards were placed in New York and Los Angeles with a digital barcode on them in place of the normally racy billboard. If scanned, the ad promised an uncensored version for private viewing. With the campaign, Calvin Klein enticed consumers to visit its site under their own volition and to engage with their new product in influencer markets.

QR Codes have also been used for other types of campaigns. The nonprofit group Women of the Storm used digital barcodes to rally support for restoration of the Gulf Coast after the BP oil spill. The Be the One Campaign, with the assistance of ScanLife, created a digital barcode that leads to their website. This barcode was then put on display in Times Square as well as printed on stickers and T-shirts. To date, it has resulted in over 120,000 people signing up to support their cause.

While there are many advantages to a digital barcode campaign, there are some drawbacks to be considered. The technology is still very new and in most cases requires a smartphone. Marketers will also need to make sure they have a significant web presence. With this type of campaign, companies must ensure that consumers will remain engaged once they hit the landing page or the campaign is destined to fail.

This technology is an exciting look into the future of marketing. We are currently utilizing one on our building for our Google business listing and believe that digital barcodes offer many options for engaging the audience with creative, versatile opt-in marketing campaigns. While there are still some issues to work around, this technology offers the ability take mobile marketing to a whole new level.

If you or your company is interested in learning more about the potential for digital barcode campaigns, please contact Michael Garten by phone (949.698.2983), on Twitter or through Linkedin.

The 6th Annual Interactive Day San Diego has wrapped and we couldn’t have asked for a better day of fun and learning with industry thought leaders regarding mobile, web design, online video, SEO, social media, email marketing and more!

Together with SanDiego.com and Chad Robley, sponsoring IDSD 2010 was an honor for Mindgruve and we’re already looking forward to next year! If you didn’t get a chance to check out the event, here are our highlights:

Opening Session: 2020 Vision: The Most Important Advertising Issues for This Decade with Jack Myers, Founder of M.E.D.I.Advisory Group
Jack Myers kicked things off by discussing the changes happening in the market today, forcing advertisers and marketers to be more innovative than ever. Read the full recap…

Email Plus with Joel Book, Exact Target
Pointing out that email marketing is nothing new and still a very lucrative business, Joel Book explained some key insights, including the fact that 75% of social media users say email is the best way for companies to communicate with consumers. Read the full recap…

SignOnSanDiego.com Social Media Demonstration and Q&A with Mike Hodges, SignOnSanDiego.com, and Indra Gardiner, Bailey Gardiner
Mike Hodges led the group in a social media demonstration, discussing the importance of creativity in order to have more consumer impact. Indra Gardiner also shared her thoughts on how social media guidelines are key to leveraging client and company interactions. Read the full recap…

Advanced SEO with Rand Fishkin, SEOMOZ.org
Rand Fishkin discussed the balance of SEO vs PPC budget and the four areas of SEO acceleration, laying out the formula to increasing individual rankings: low competition + high search volume + high value to visitor. Read the full recap…

Mobile Marketing with Amielle Lake, Tagga
Amielle Lake explained the marketing shift taking place in the industry, moving from traditional to digital to mobile marketing. Noting that the mobile target is millennials, digital moms and techie men, she emphasized that efforts are most effective when it is campaign driven to offer immediate and branded payoff to consumer. Read the full recap…

ValueClick Media Demonstration and Q&A with Tony Winders, ValueClick Media, and Tamara Bousquet, MEA Digital
Together, Winders and Bousquet provided session attendees with insight into the importance of ad exchanges, demand side platforms (DSPs) and ad verification in a media plan. Read the full recap…

Marketing Convergence – Are You Ready? with Warren Raisch, Digitaria
Warren Raisch led the discussion by providing key insights regarding marketing in the industry, noting that mobile is becoming the ultimate Channel Aggregation point and that 92% of social users trust a recommendation from people they know over the marketing channels. Read the full recap…

Luncheon Keynote: The Identity Web with Paul Ollinger, Facebook
Facebook’s Western Region VP of Sales discussed how the internet has changed social marketing to make it enormously effective for marketers, pointing out that relationships and authenticity will allow businesses to truly learn, grow and create a social web. Read the full recap…

“POV” Point of Video with Tod Sacerdoti, BrightRoll
Providing insights into the growing online video space, Tod Sacerdoti noted that online video advertising is the future and is the best place to involve yourself. Also offering tips for moving into online video advertising, Sacerdoti says it is important to test, measure and optimize, as well as remove under-performing content. Read the full recap…

Mindset Marketing with Denny Reinert, Placecast, and Andreas Roell, Geary Group
Using Placecast as an example, Reinert led the session with a special focus on reaching consumers while in the right mindset. For location-based marketing, an opt-in mobile service is the right way to engage with consumers. This and a combination of other factors create relevance and increase purchases. Read the full recap…

Website Redesign for Lead Generation with Rick Burnes, HubSpot
Burnes discussed that the purpose of a website redesign is to be found by more prospects and convert those prospects to leads and customers. All website redesigns should have specific goals in mind, while being aware that some design and taste sacrifices will need to made to generate traffic. Read the full recap…

Digital Download: What You Need to Know About Ad Networks with John Yearout, Undertone Networks
After reviewing the timeline of ad networks over the last 15 years, Yearout pointed out that as DSPs become more prevalent, ad networks need to deliver unique inventory, targeting, products, insights and research to stay relevant. Read the full recap…

Sorenson Media Demonstration and Q&A with Eric Quanstrom, Sorenson Media, and Montana Triplett, Tremor Media
Both industry experts made a point of saying that online video is still the wild wild west for marketing and advertising. A customized user experience should be based on your objectives. Read the full recap…

Google Analytics with Joshua Knox, Google Analytics
Google’s goal, as explained by Knox, is to speed up the web to improve conversion flow. Knox also led the group in better understanding the impact AdWords has in creating valuable traffic when used correctly. Read the full recap…

State of the Industry Roundtable
At the close of IDSD, Panelists Heather Blank, Responsys; Torrey Lincoln, LinkedIn; Brian Lynch, Yahoo!; Paul Ollinger, Facebook offered their thoughts on the State of the Industry as well as some companies to keep an eye on in the coming months.

If you’d like to learn more from or contact the presenters, a list of slide decks and twitter handles can be found at the San Diego Advertising Club Facebook page. We hope to see you next year at IDSD 2011!

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