Stream Companies recently sponsored Internet Battle Plan 9, an automotive internet sales and marketing conference in Cleveland, Ohio. During Internet Battle Plan 9, 8 speakers, including our co-founder, David Regn, presented workshops about the future of automotive advertising. David presented, “All Things Google,” which explained how dealerships could use Google and all of its components to their advantage.

Throughout Internet Battle Plan 9, it was increasingly clear that in order to be in the digital marketing game, you have to protect and manage the review and reputation … Continue Reading

There’s something to be said about the element of surprise: in advertising, it can either be incredibly effective or just plain fall short. Like all ads, it’s about putting together that perfect blend – striking images, excellent copy and great sound. If it’s the right formula, the right balance, then you’ve got something memorable. Creating ads with twist endings requires a keen attention to all details- just one aspect out of place and the ad can flop.

I first saw this ad in college in 2006. While it may not be the … Continue Reading

What’s Your USP?

A USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is one of the basic ingredients of any solid marketing campaign. Specifically, it’s a summary of what makes your business unique and valuable to the market you serve. It should answer the question: How do the services you provide benefit your clients better than anyone else in your platform?

An effective USP should clearly communicate what your company does and why you do it. It should also be able to convey your most important business goals drilled down to a sentence.

The Process…..Define Your Target … Continue Reading

Posting your video content to the web has a number of benefits for your business or organization:

- Videos provide a dynamic, interactive experience for site visitors
- Videos can highlight promotions, provide tutorials, and show customers how products operate
- Video encourage users to spend more time on a page, thereby increasing stickiness
- Videos can convey more essential data in a shorter time
- Videos with clickable links direct users to appropriate pages in the website or to other video selections, providing additional opportunities for you to cross-sell and upsell

However there’s one oft over-looked … Continue Reading

The Importance of an Integrated Media Mix to Reach a Market of Multitaskers

Last night I sat on my couch watching “Dancing with the Stars” (Team Urkel, folks!) while perusing my favorite blog on my laptop and crushing the competition during a few rounds of Words with Friends on my phone. Maybe you were reading a magazine on your Kindle while the radio played in the background. Or you were at the gym, reading the closed captioning of the news on one of the TVs while your Pandora app played from your iPhone headphones. Raise your hand … Continue Reading

On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control launched a $54 million anti-smoking campaign. This national campaign focuses on the real effects of tobacco usage. Called “Tips from Former Smokers,” television spots and print ads feature former smokers, all of whom suffer from various diseases and conditions including amputations, stoma, heart attacks and strokes. Most writers describe these ads with the word, “graphic,” and seem to focus on the fact that the images are so “graphic.” Here’s the ad that I thought was most powerful:

In my opinion, … Continue Reading

For the past two weeks, Peyton Manning’s release from the Indianapolis Colts has been the biggest story in the football world.  However it wasn’t a football story that landed the star quarterback’s face on the front page of Yahoo! last week.  Strangely enough, it was a story about the generous tip that Manning left his waiter after dining at a North Carolina steak house.  In less than 48 hours, a photo of the tab went from seemingly innocent Facebook posting by a delighted waiter who just wanted to let … Continue Reading

Facebook Timeline for brand pages is coming, and there’s not a thing you can do to stop it.

This transition to Timeline will create numerous hassles for all involved. We’ll all need new artwork, new strategies and a new history.  Yes, I said new history.  I’ll get to that later.

Facebook Timeline provides more room for visual displays.  The super-sized Timeline cover photo is only the most obvious example. Facebook will NOT allow those pictures to be used for advertising purposes. (I can’t wait to see how they are going to police that!) Photos will be displayed in larger formats … Continue Reading

Having a mobile website presence is fast becoming a priority for any business interested in expanding their digital footprint. Consider the following statistics to validate this growing phenomenon:

·         There are currently 297 million mobile subscribers.

·         2.5 billion text messages are sent each day.

·         By 2013, more people will access the internet from their mobile device than from their PC’s – CTIA.

·         More than 70 million PC tablets (like the iPad) will be sold in 2011. – “iPad’s Buzz Saw Success cuts into PC sales”

·         58% of smartphone owners had … Continue Reading

Ok, Dave. Interesting ideas, but mine are obviously better.

I was happy to see that some big name advertisers threw-out the playbook this year and leaked their ads days before the Super Bowl.  I know what you were thinking, “Wait… companies are leaking their ads online, so I’ll be forced to sit through 4 hours of “re-runs” on game day?  How can I possibly watch four quarters of mediocre football without that magical sense of anticipation?” Well, turns out that the Super Blow ad leaks didn’t herald Armageddon.  Instead, they enhanced … Continue Reading