Economy + Marketing Efforts = Moderate Impact
Posted by: JosyAn on: November 27, 2008
Lights, Camera - ACTION!
Posted by: JosyAn on: November 26, 2008
eMarketer projects that the US online video audience will grow to 190 million people by 2012—that will be 88% of the Internet user population.
A call to action if I ever heard one!
Lights, Camera - ACTION!
Here’s a clue who to innovate for
Posted by: JosyAn on: November 20, 2008
eMarketer estimates that 82% of US teens ages 12 to 17 and 43.5% of children ages 3 to 11 will use the Internet on a monthly basis in 2009.
“This audience navigates between a multitude of electronic options for communication, including social networks, text messaging, instant messaging and virtual worlds,” says Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report, Kids and Teens: Communication Revolutionaries. “They expect transitions between communications media to be seamless—messages sent by one means ought to be accessible in another.”
In fact, the distinctions many adults make between “online,” “offline” and “mobile” communications are meaningless to these young multimedia mavens.
“Kids and teens just communicate, period,” says Ms. Williamson.
What tools they use to interact are less important than how simple the interaction is, how seamlessly they can move across devices and how engaging the experience is.
“Marketers have never confronted a faster-moving or more elusive audience,” Ms. Williamson says.
Remember that tweens and teens are an extremely powerful and influential part of today’s economy. I like to call it the Tween Economy and they are indeed an economy of scale. I’m curious if anyone will put the two together in the next 18 to 36 months.
A little ad here and there - No problem!
Posted by: JosyAn on: November 19, 2008
Nearly two-thirds (61%) of mobile users say they would be willing to view advertising on their mobile phone in return for a discount on their monthly bill, according to a survey commissioned by Transverse and conducted by iGR.
I know I’d do it in a heart beat. Would YOU?
More findings:
- Regardless of incentive, the majority of respondents who would accept one (71%) say they would view up to five ads per day.
- Mobile users under age 35 were most receptive to advertisements on their mobile device in exchange for discounts on their monthly service bill.
- 46% of those surveyed said that a 25-50% discount on their monthly bill would be enough of an incentive to provide access to their usage patterns - including browsing, email and texting habits and location - but not personal information such as the content of texts and emails.
- Younger users age 8-25, who are more apt to text, are among the most willing to let mobile companies track and release the number of text messages they send/receive in exchange for ad viewing.
- Those age 26-44, who are more apt to talk, are most willing to allow mobile operators to document and disperse details about their voice usage in exchange for discounted services.
Let’s face it, when we can save money we’ll put up just about anything. Make it free… that might get really interesting!
Oh Baby, Where were you when I needed you?
Posted by: JosyAn on: October 28, 2008
Back in June, one of my friends had her second baby - a boy - her first was a girl born about 18 months earlier. I know - Whoa!
She and I were talking after the most recent birth and she mentioned to me a place she’d discovered a café/boutique/spa for new mommies called Maman, Bébé et Café. I; not being in the-new-mommy-thick-of-things, had never heard of such a place.
Turns out I really wished this place would have existed back when I was a new Mom (almost 12 years ago).
Maman, Bébé et Café is a place where new Mommies can go with their babies and meet up with other new Mommies and their babies to play, chat and participate in various activities. The studio offers pilates and dance classes for Mommy (with baby of course) and feature nutritious snacks from their café. They even provide Mommies on- and off-site baby-minding services which leaves time for some much needed pampering at the mini-spa.
And if that wasn’t enough, MBC also encourage local Mommie and Daddie entrepreneurs. You’ll find Sweetie Cupcakes, natural cleaning products by Creations Maja, artwork by BigBlueHug and work from local artist photographer Julian Habar. La Boutique Azurewraps is also located at the MBC studio. They specializes in cloth diapering solutions, exclusive toys (i.e. alternatives to plastic toys) as well as practical clothing and accessories. Take a look and join their Azurewraps Facebook Group.
The cold months ahead paired with having a baby or a young child at home can often leave Mommy with feelings of isolation (not to mention cabin-fever). The good news is they even have a holistic pre- and perinatal consultant onsite. Wow!
I am pleased to see that there are real support systems for new Mommies (and new Daddies) available today and that the use of the internet is helping to propel these terrific ideas further into the community.
Maman, Bébé et Café is located in N.D.G. (5814 Sherbrooke Street West - Montreal - 514.509.7494).
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Blog Action Day 2008: Pass the Food Please
Posted by: JosyAn on: October 14, 2008
Question. What do you get when you cross a chef who wants to save his native-country from all things processed, a passion for fresh and organic fruits and vegetables and today’s web technology?
Answer. Jamie’s Ministry of Food.
I’m not going to write another post about how Jamie Oliver gets it (btw he does get it), but rather I want to let you know about something that he launched on September 30: Ministry of Food.
Ministry of Food; Jamie Oliver
The art of cooking is dead.
Okay not dead; but it’s really not in good shape. Jamie recognizes (and rightfully) that with today’s easy access to prepared meals and fast food chains, people aren’t cooking anymore and more importantly – they aren’t teaching their children how to cook healthy meals from scratch. The process of passing down cooking knowledge is literally being extinguished because we are all too busy (or so we all say).
When I was a younger I remember the smells that came from my Mother’s kitchen. I recall the comforting vanilla custard scent of a homemade bread pudding gently baking in the oven or the unmistakable aroma of yeast from a loaf of bread rising and of course, the calming bouquet radiating from the pot roast simmering in the oven.
I think it’s what turns a house into a home. Admittedly, helping my Mom cook was not always high on my list of fun things to do when I was young, but fast forward 25 years and I am grateful to her because I CAN cook. In fact, her lessons drive my passion for it now and without a doubt it influences my current cooking style.
Not everyone had (or has) this advantage growing up and that’s too bad. No worries though: it’s not a lost cause. Thanks to Jamie!
Enter Jamie’s Ministry of Food: It’s all about getting people excited about cooking delicious meals from scratch again. Jamie has a plan to get everyone cooking again and reverse this unhealthy food trend and it’s called Pass It On
Pass It On
Basically, it’s all about teaching, gaining confidence in the kitchen, having fun and best of all… sharing a home cooked meal!
We all know at least two people in our circle of friends who can’t boil water, right?
Well, the idea is to invite those inexperienced friends over and to teach them a recipe. If you can’t think of recipe, why not pick one from the site to get started.
Once your “students” have mastered the recipe they then must then continue the chain of food knowledge by teaching two friends of their own and then they pass it on and so on…
Personally, I think that this concept can be pushed far beyond it’s original intention. Organize an event for a group at work (i.e., the ones that never bring a lunch). The object can be to take the prepared meals to a local soup kitchen. Team up with your local chapter of Meals on Wheels or in the case of my own city Montreal, the Dans La Rue organization.
I really believe that sharing a meal with your friends and family is truly worthwhile but contributing to organizations such as these are even more meaningful as the Pass It On concept becomes exponential; especially when passed on from company to company.
Where do you sign up?
Sign up at http://www.jamiesministryoffood.com/content/jo/registration.html
The process is very simple and like Akoha’s Play It Forward (www.akoha.com), you get to see the chain of people who have passed on their cooking knowledge to others; creating a chain that takes on a life of its own.
The site is packed with tips and tricks for the kitchen. You can download PDF’s on cupboard essentials, kitchen hygiene, kitchen equipment and cooking with seasonal fruits and vegetables. Chances are if you aren’t sure about a particular cooking technique, it’s covered on the site or better yet you’ll find it in his upcoming book also named Jamie’s Ministry of Food.
Whether this will be successful is yet to be confirmed, but I commend Jamie for yet again, trying to change the way people think about food and more importantly nurturing our cooking knowledge (or lack thereof). If history has revealed anything about Our Jamie; it’s that he’ll never give up trying to make a difference and for that I am grateful.
Cheers!
See Jamie’s video message about Ministry of Food here >>>
http://blogactionday.org/js/c81b264d14071ec2dbc61ff2dd89e24ba6d2d87f
Cause-related shopping behavior - What would you do?
Posted by: JosyAn on: October 7, 2008
The differences between X & Y
Posted by: JosyAn on: September 16, 2008
Over the last few months, I’ve had to do some research online on the subject of mommy blogs. To my surprise, found a lot of them. They are an extremely powerful channel for online advertising!
I’m a Mom (he’s almost 12) and I have to admit that I am definitely not a mommy blog reader. I’m more interested in tech gadgets and new media (duh?!).
Anyways, after reading and discovering some jaw-dropping sites and blogs, I had to admit that I was impressed - very impressed. Here are a few of the mommy-based blogs which I find informative in their content, innovative in their approach and most of all beautiful in their design sensibility.
http://www.naturemoms.com/blog/
http://www.urbanmoms.ca
http://themommyblog.net
I recently came across some research concerning the internet behaviors of moms and more specifically the differences in the way Gen X and the Gen Y moms use the internet. The research - conducted by NewMediaMetrics - revealed that there was a significant generational difference between these moms.
Gen X moms *born between 1965 and 1981*
- use photo sites
- rate and review products
- shop
Gen Y moms *born between 1982 and 1994*
- read blogs
- participate in an online community of moms
- create and share their own video
These results remind me of an earlier post on Generation V which I commented on back in August. It seems to me that Gen Xer’s lean toward being Lurkers and Opportunists and the Gen Yer’s tend to be Contributors and Creators.
For the record, I am officially a Gen Xer. What do I do on the internet? Well, I read blogs, participate in social networks (not a mommy community though), shop and create my own content (write a blog). Where do I fit in?
Alas… not really anywhere specific - yet again!
Just the way I like it!
http://josyanmcgregor.com/feed/