Today the Gunn/Jerkens team got together for a special celebration: Laura’s birthday! This was our first birthday of spring, and, naturally, it was one to remember! Everyone got their choice of delicious Greek food and a piece of delectable chocolate cake as well as their share of fun conversation.
What was there to take away from this lunch? Apparently everyone at Gunn/Jerkens likes to run, most of them don’t eat cake and I’m the only one with a bowling ball. And of course, Laura is having an awesome birthday!
Happy Birthday, Laura! We hope your first birthday with us is a special one!
We at Gunn/Jerkens have been pulling to get a creative bulletin board in the office for months now, and earlier this week it finally arrived. It’s up on the wall and ready to go, and everyone can’t wait to post their fresh ideas for the office to see!
To commemorate the introduction of the board, today the whole team is getting together for a special creative meeting. We’re going to discuss what inspires, motivates and intrigues us and strive to bring our creativity to new heights!
This brings us to our current situation: searching for inspiration. Everyone is looking for the most motivational and intriguing marketing campaigns, images and ideas. And knowing Gunn/Jerkens, this is bound to get interesting!
With winter holding fast for the last few months, we’ve all been spending a lot of time indoors. Long gazes through windows. Hot cups of coffee. Double-button coats. But guess what? It’s time to get up and do something! Spring is starting this very Sunday, and how else can you experience it if you don’t go outside and take in the fresh air?
You might be wondering what to do to commemorate this seasonal change. Well, here are a few fun ideas to help you kick into spring gear!
-Spend time in the sun. Simple enough, right?
-Fly a kite. Does any activity embody the essence of spring more?
-Grab a ball and a mitt and head for the park. Baseball is the perfect spring sport!
-Plant some flowers. Now is the time for your garden to burst into bloom. Help it along and enjoy the sweet smell of spring.
-Do some spring cleaning. I know what you’re thinking…fun?? It may not seem like fun, but when you’re finished, just imagine how great you’ll feel, especially if you’re one of those people who doesn’t clean till the next spring cleaning!
Some of us found out that today is a Starbucks Tribute Day, so in true Gunn/Jerkens fashion, we all went out for a proper field trip to our favorite local coffee shop!
Our mission began as we set out on foot, and there was plenty of fun along the way!
With our stomachs set on the prize and looking somewhat like the seven dwarves (in this case 13!), we quickly reached our destination. And even better, we all got to enjoy our Starbucks drinks and complimentary treats!
Today is the day! People are lining up around the block at local stores to be among the first to get their hands on Apple’s latest: the iPad 2! And for those who don’t know, the iPad 2 promises to be thinner, sleeker and faster than its predecessor with all new features that will blow your mind.
Sounds incredible, right? It’s easy enough to say that you want one, but how far would you go to actually get one…today? Because if you’re one of those people who believes “must have” is your only option, you might be in for more than you can bargain for.
Just this morning, New York college student Amanda Foote, who held the number one position in the iPad 2 line at New York’s flagship Apple store, discovered that it’s not about what she would do for an iPad 2–but rather what would someone else do for the new device.
After spending 41 hours in line with rain, cold and strange encounters, Amanda decided to sell her front-running position for a whopping $900. That’s an expensive ticket to get your new iPad, but for the man who purchased her place, it was entirely worth it. How far would you go to own the iPad 2 first?
And finally, the question on everyone’s minds: So what does Amanda plan to do with her newly acquired money? If you’re thinking iPad 2, try thinking a little less tech, a little more Gaga. That’s right. Amanda is happy to use her money for concert tickets to see Lady Gaga–proving that some things are simply worth waiting in line for.
When most people think of advertising, they still think mainly of TV commercials or newspaper ads, of good-looking models representing a product. They think of a time when you had to seek out your advertising source. However, all of that is changing. In the new era of marketing, advertisements aren’t something you have to look for–they come straight to you. And the easiest, most efficient way to reach a consumer? Mobile devices, of course.
Using mobile advertising to its fullest, South East Asia- and US-based Chalkboard, a hyper local mobile ad network, is attacking this new advertising age in full force, and to their avail, they’re winning their fight. The company is currently operating in Asia but plans to expand to the US soon.
Here are some cool facts about their mobile advertising:
-Customers are targeted by advertisements when they are within one mile or km of the store.
-Business owners can run as many ads as they want with a flat fee starting at $.99 per day.
-Potential customers within the one-mile/km radius can be viewed on a store’s customer heat map.
Learn more about mobile advertising and Chalkboard here.
A Canadian research company called Sysomos recently did a study on social media and its influences. What did it find? Who is the most influential? The results may surprise you.
The company came to the conclusion that one of the most influential people in social media is…(drum roll please)…Justin Beiber. While this may not exactly be shocking news, it becomes much more interesting when you factor in the claim that not only does social media find him more popular than President Obama, but also that at times during the Libyan uprisings, Bieber was still pulling in more influence than Libya.
Remember the days when you had to actually go shopping when you needed something? You would drive all the way to the mall, brace hoards of shoppers and search endlessly for your product of choice. Then after you got home, you would open your new purchase only to find out that it was nothing like what it looked like on the box. And even worse, it barely worked!
Luckily for us, times have changed. Today buying your goods is as simple as a click of a mouse. Just make your purchase online and wait for it to make its way to your door. And even better, you can read product reviews and opinions beforehand, so you know exactly what you’re getting into.
Now the idea of social commerce is about to go even one step further. Internet search engines Bing and Google are launching Social Search Result updates to include information from your social network in your search results, everything from Facebook “Likes” and comments to YouTube videos, tweets and blog posts. So next time you start a search, you may just find your friends’ advice to help you make your purchasing decision.
This is a win-win situation for consumers, but what does it mean for retailers? False advertising simply doesn’t stand a chance in this new shopping age. Hopefully, marketing firms will discover ways to sell their products while remaining truthful to product performance.
Regardless of what direction this takes us, one thing is for sure: thanks to social media, your shopping experience will never be the same. To learn more, check out this article.
Gunn/Jerkens Marketing Communications is based out of Long Beach, Ca. Stop in frequently to see what’s happening, share your stories, questions and perspective.
