Thursday, November 3, 2011

Innovative mobile applications will drive insurance industry quoting behavior in 2012, according to a new white paper

lonelybrand’s new white paper, "Mobile Applications: Driving quoting behavior in 2012" uses custom data to guide insurance marketing strategy in 2012. The digital strategists at lonelybrand take a close look at ten innovative examples of how the industry can use mobile to drive quoting behavior. The white paper also provides trend analysis and tips on how to get the maximum value out of mobile.

For more information, download the free white paper here.

This 17-page white paper discusses:
  • Game changing mobile white space in the insurance industry
  • Why innovation trumps expectation in the mobile space for the insurance industry
  • Why Apple leads development for mobile insurance applications
  • Why offering free applications might be a symptom of a bigger problem
  • Analysis of 10 leading insurance industry mobile applications
  • Recommendations for mobile application development for 2012 and beyond

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Kickstarter remains a largely untapped resource

Sometimes I wonder if Kickstarter will ever become a real thing. There's a huge untapped enterprise segment for big companies to test - in real time - if consumers will prepay for a potential new product or service. Even the business-to-business segment could take better advantage of a system that forces people who want something to put their money where their mouth is.

Nick Kinports (follow him on Twitter @ADMAVEN) has worked in the interactive technology world for over 15 years, and helps agencies and brands find and connect to digital audiences for profitable outcomes. Want to talk to him about how a complete digital communications program can help your agency or brand grow? Email him at nick@lonelybrand.com

Thursday, May 19, 2011

LinkedIn IPO soars, but for how long?

Nothing much to say here. It's the stock market so nothing is certain and the market always has the final say. I'll be keeping a close eye on LNKD (along with the rest of the tech community).



Nick Kinports (follow him on Twitter @ADMAVEN) has worked in the interactive technology world for over 15 years, and helps agencies and brands find and connect to digital audiences for profitable outcomes. Want to talk to him about how a complete digital communications program can help your agency or brand grow? Email him at nick@lonelybrand.com

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Netflix Proves Americans Will Pay for Media

Unobtrusive access, affordable, multi-screen. All of these words define the Netflix experience. Not coincidentally the video streaming service has been measured by Sandvine to be the largest source of peak downstream traffic in the United States.

Digital advertisers take note: this is a trend that won't be slowing down any time soon.



Nick Kinports (follow him on Twitter @ADMAVEN) has worked in the interactive technology world for over 15 years, and helps agencies and brands find and connect to digital audiences for profitable outcomes. Want to talk to him about how a complete digital communications program can help your agency or brand grow? Email him at nick@lonelybrand.com

Monday, May 9, 2011

Facebook Kills it in Display Advertising

Who would have thought? The real question here is one of value. Is Facebook advertising worth the money? Is it an exercise in branding, conversion, or a little bit of both? Either way, you can't ignore numbers like these...



Nick Kinports (follow him on Twitter @ADMAVEN) has worked in the interactive technology world for over 15 years, and helps agencies and brands find and connect to digital audiences for profitable outcomes. Want to talk to him about how a complete digital communications program can help your agency or brand grow? Email him at nick@lonelybrand.com

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

PMA Game Changers 2011 Chicago

This year we'll be at PMA's annual marketing conference aptly named, "Game Changers". It's April 5-6 at the Fairmont in downtown Chicago.

Notable presenters include:
  • Bryan Reese, Chief Marketing and Innovation Officer, Bolthouse Farms
  • Dana Williams, Director of Marketing, Communications and Brand Integration, Southwest Airlines
  • Terry O'Neil, Executive Vice President for Citi's North America Credit Card division
  • Morgan Flatley, Senior Director for Consumer Engagement, Gatorade
  • Dean M. Barrett, McDonald's Corporation, Senior Vice President, Global Marketing Officer
  • Elisabeth Charles, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, PETCO
At any rate if you spot us say hello, and if you haven't already registered you can do so here.

Nick Kinports (follow him on Twitter @ADMAVEN) has worked in the interactive technology world for over 15 years, and helps agencies and brands find and connect to digital audiences for profitable outcomes. Want to talk to him about how a complete digital communications program can help your agency or brand grow? Email him at nick@lonelybrand.com

Thursday, February 3, 2011

E-mail Marketing and Snowmageddon 2011

Much of the country is recovering from some wicked weather.

It got me thinking about segmentation.

When was the last time someone reminded you to cross-reference your e-mail marketing and customer outreach schedule against weather patterns?

If you know your customers (or, for the agencies and consultants, your clients' customers) will be stuck at home or an airport with nothing to do what are you waiting for?

Gently remind them to upgrade that weather-related insurance policy, buy that space heater they have been wanting or subscribe to your very entertaining content. Better yet - offer the affected region a special discount, trial or piece of content for the day to stimulate interest and sales while demonstrating how in-tune you are with their situation. Acknowledge those stuck in transit by ensuring your efforts are smartphone-friendly.

Help your customers solve their immediate needs when you know you'll have their attention. Digital communications tools backed by a disciplined process make it cost-effective and easy to turn on and off. So, much like the weather, you can keep stakeholders on their toes.

E-mail marketing is the tip of the iceberg. If you want to learn more about how digital communications tools can help you or your clients accomplish business goals you can always contact me or follow me on Twitter.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Content and Social Media Marketing Success Secret 2: Surrounding Consumers with Branded Experiences

Part 3 of a 3-Part Guest Series by Susan Gunelius. Read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

In Part 2 of this content and social media marketing series, you learned the importance of creating a core branded online destination to act as the central hub for all of your content and social media marketing activities. The next step to achieving content and social media marketing success is to extend your brand further across the digital space.

People like to experience brands and content in different ways. Every consumer audience can be segmented into smaller groups of people who have different wants, needs and preferences for brands. Therefore, you need to offer your audience varied branded experiences so they can self-select how they want to experience your brand and content. One size does not fit all!

While your core branded online destination is always the nucleus of your online brand presence, it’s important that you take the time to offer multiple branded online destinations. For example, everyone doesn’t like to use Twitter, nor does everyone like to read e-books. Therefore, it’s essential that you offer a variety of methods for people to engage with you and your brand across the social Web.

Once your core branded online destination is established, begin spreading your brand tentacles across the Web. Create a Twitter profile, a Facebook page, a LinkedIn group, a YouTube channel, and so on. Quality of content and interactions always trumps quantity, so don’t spread yourself too thin. The objective is to offer varied branded experiences while continually publishing shareworthy content and participating in meaningful conversations. At the same time, all roads must lead back to your core branded online destination.

As you extend your online presence across the social Web, be sure to stay consistent to your brand’s promise. If your content, conversations, and destinations don’t accurately reflect your brand image and message, your audience will become confused and turn away from your brand in search of one that does consistently meet their expectations for it.

Think of content marketing and social media marketing as a long-term, brand-building strategy. Over time, your content will spread farther as more and more people engage with it across your varied online destinations. Inevitably, organic growth will drive your brand and business to new heights as long as you’re committed to sticking with it for the long-haul.

You can read more about creating a content and social media marketing strategy in Susan Gunelius' new book, 30-Minute Social Media Marketing, which is now available in book stores and online. ADMAVEN readers can follow the link to get a free bonus chapter, which is available for download from McGraw-Hill.

Susan Gunelius spent over a decade directing marketing programs for some of the biggest companies in the world, and today, she is President and CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. You can follow Susan on the social Web on Twitter (@susangunelius), Facebook, or LinkedIn.


Nick Kinports (follow him on Twitter @ADMAVEN) has worked in the interactive technology world for over 15 years, and helps agencies and brands find and connect to digital audiences for profitable outcomes. Want to talk to him about how a complete digital communications program can help your agency or brand grow? Email him at nick@lonelybrand.com