For many clients, a mobile site will most likely be the most cost-effective option. In fact, for some, it may be their only option. And while this might sound like settling to some, the impressive web capabilities of newer Smartphones and the development of HTML 5 allow a mobile site to offer much of the same functionality and content that an app can. Take a look at each option.

** According to a report released in January by Mobile search company Taptu, they estimated a total number of 326,600 Mobile Touch Web sites. This compares with 148,000 iPhone apps in the App Store, 24,000 apps in the Android market and 4,000 apps in Blackberry’s App World (as of
December 1st).
*** According to a 2009 Forrester Report

Basically, if you want to create a mobile site or web app for a product or service, you only need to do it once and it will be accessible from all web-enabled Smartphones. An app, on the other hand, will require producing up to three separate versions to reach the same audience – adding to already significantly higher development costs.

So, what’s the answer to the question posed in the title? The answer is: don’t forget to ask the question. Depending on your client’s situation, the answer will change – and in certain circumstances it might be “both.”

What are you most likely to use – a mobile site or an app? Let us know in the comments.

*AdMob Mobile Metrics report, May 2010.

Allstar Products Group, the makers of Snuggie, take the thousands of parodies on YouTube – 1,440 to be exact as of this posting – in stride. They even post some of the videos on their website. And now they have recently announced the Snuggie Choice Film Awards Contest – allowing contestants to submit “a Snuggie brand commercial, short film, documentary or parody.” The winner will receive $5,000, a trip to NYC and the opportunity to produce a potential 2011 Snuggie ad.

I believe this campaign is genius because it reaches out to both those who love and those who love to loathe the Snuggie. The folks at Allstar Products Group are following the number one rule of social media – engagement – by letting their fans, followers and haters become a part of the brand.

The real beauty of this contest: Snuggie will no doubt generate more attention and nab some fun commercial ideas. Only truly brave companies have the guts and creativity to embrace mockery and turn it into a promotion of their product. Certainly other businesses can follow this example, not only in terms of multimedia usage but also by Allstar’s willingness and ability to turn the negative into a positive.

Ballesteros had been employed as office manager for the Des Moines landscape architecture and planning firm Confluence. A California native who grew up in Iowa, she also has been a commercial property manager in the Des Moines area.

Ballesteros is a member of the Mid Iowa Rollers roller derby team.

“Denise’s well-honed organizational skills will enable us to better manage our growing media planning and buying function as we continue to help clients build their brands,” said Doug Jeske, agency president. “We believe her roller derby experiences also will prove useful, especially during value-added negotiations.”

Founded in Des Moines in 1984, The Meyocks Group specializes in integrated brand communications for clients in the food, agriculture and health business sectors.

Recently, I came across this typographic image created by French graphic designer Fabien Barral (click on image to see larger version). While I don’t wholeheartedly agree with all of his “rules,” I do think they provide some interesting insight into how the mind of a designer works.

Many people think there is a secret formula or approach to good design. While there are certainly trusted tactics and strategies to get the mind rolling, you can’t neglect to allow for that time where your mind is permitted to wander and an idea is allowed to percolate (see “rules” 5 & 7).

My favorite “rule” from Fabien is number 3 — “The best designers are the ones who find the good clients.” I believe good clients are the ones who not only appreciate good work, but also expect it – and they appreciate the time it takes to get there. At the Meyocks Group, we are fortunate to have a variety of clients who fit that description.

In the past, browsers could only display a limited number of “web-safe” fonts. The majority of websites that sported fancy fonts like Futura or Univers had to use images instead of the actual text and this can have an adverse effect on search engine optimization. The copy on your web pages is what search engines, like Google, use to find and index your content so that it can be served up to customers looking for your product or service on the web.

The main advantages of embedding fonts using @font-face are that it is a cross browser solution (meaning it’s supported by the major browsers), it allows you to use actual text versus an image (which will improve your search engine rankings), it’s scalable, and it gives web designers the freedom to work around “web-safe” fonts.

Of course, there are a few drawbacks to using @font-face. Not all font foundries are on board with freely sharing their fonts, so the pool of available fonts is mostly full of freebies (sites like WebINK do offer foundry fonts for a monthly fee). Also, while your fancy embedded fonts will look good on the user’s computer screen, you can’t print the fonts used with @font-face. Instead the font will default to whatever is installed on the user’s computer. Possibly the biggest drawback is each embedded font takes a second or two to render in the browser, so users will see the text in one font family and then it will switch to the preferred font family once the font is fully loaded.

Web designers and clients alike have reason to celebrate this new advancement in browser capabilities. But remember—don’t go too crazy with your new font freedom, it’s a general rule of thumb to never have more than three different fonts on a page. Remember, even though @font-face is continually gaining more and more support, some old browsers will never support it, so you should always have a fallback (degradation FTW!). For more information on free fonts to use, visit the following sites: http://code.google.com/webfonts or http://www.fontsquirrel.com.

Urbanec earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis on international business, marketing and management. During her college career she interned at Delta Dental of Iowa and a marketing communications agency in Des Moines as well as in positions near her hometown of
Arlington Heights, Illinois.

“We’re happy to add Maggie’s educational background and enthusiasm for marketing communications to help us continue building our clients’ brands,” said Doug Jeske, agency president.

Founded in Des Moines in 1984, The Meyocks Group specializes in integrated brand communications for clients in the food, agriculture and health business sectors.

Today, social media allows consumers to do the same. You might remember the backlash Motrin received from angry mommy bloggers after running some off-putting ads, or the ongoing beating Nestle has received for a slew of social and environmental issues. And more recently, the response to BP’s negligent and apathetic response to the crisis in the Gulf. Social media has given consumers an easy and effective way of providing feedback to companies. Not just by speaking up when problems arise, but by showing some love (or should I say Like) when brands get it right.

Businesses should embrace this feedback – solicit it even. And, most importantly, act on it. Follow the lead of Comcast, Dell, and GM and take advantage of these outlets to connect with fan, reach out to potential customers and win back the jilted. (B2B, this goes for you too.) Listen to your customers and use their insights to tailor your goods and services to their needs. They’ll thank you with their dollars.

Oh, and if you aren’t sure where to start, we’d be happy to lend a hand.

We are conflicting collections of wants, needs, dreams, desires and even regrets. Believe it or not, people even have a good sense of humor about their own lives. (Well, many of them do anyway.)

Try to understand what’s going on in your customers’ heads and hearts and your brand’s much more likely to connect. See Toyota’s Swagger Wagon campaign video below for an example. (And yes, I know: the suburban rap’s been done to death, but this one so perfectly nails all the right beats – both musical and lifestyle – that I can’t help but believe that it elevates the genre.)

This ad could have just said, “We have five doors and a great safety rating.” Instead, it says, “Sure, your lifestyle’s changed a bit now that you have kids and a family. Maybe you’re not as cool as you used to be, but you’re still pretty cool in new ways.” See the difference?

Don’t be afraid to get personal. Engage your customers at an emotional level. Make them laugh. Make them smile. Make them cry. (Because you connect not because your product or service stinks, mind you.)

They’ll love your brand all the more for it.

Cisco Systems’ most recent study of web traffic suggests web usage will quadruple by 2014.  The most explosive growth will occur in online video traffic. According to the study, about 91 percent of web traffic will be in online video in 2014 – comprised of both traditional web video and on-demand services from television providers.  Clearly, the time when multimedia was seen as helpful but superfluous is over. More businesses are implementing web video and other multimedia elements on their websites and in advertising campaigns. Where does your company fall?

Video can be one of the tougher multimedia components to master. Access to a video camera or web cam is necessary, and video editing knowledge is always a plus. However, videos don’t have to be complex, long or visually stunning. Some of the most popular viral videos are simply home videos captured on someone’s cell phone and posted to YouTube.

Remember, in any social media campaign, authenticity is vital. You are working to connect with your community and customers, and people can see past a façade. Remember to relate anything you do – whether it’s video, blogging, or tweeting – to the audience you want to reach. Understanding your network will help you determine content. Are they interested in entertainment or information? Do they expect serious videos, or those with a funny recurring character? Reach out, listen to suggestions and engage your network to reap the greatest rewards from social and multimedia.

Although the marketing programs can be similar for each type of business, it’s true that how their respective programs are carried out differs. But does that mean it is inherently easier or makes more sense for a B2C company to execute a social media plan than a B2B company? A recent study by Marketing Profs Research would suggest it’s not. According to the study, illustrated by the graph below, there seems to be little difference between the activity of B2C and B2B companies as it relates to social media.

My theory: when social media first came on the scene, B2C companies felt more natural in dealing with their customers through various social media channels, so the volume of B2C companies involved was greater than B2B companies. However, as social media evolves, B2B companies are realizing that social media works for them, as well, and hopefully, the question posed at the beginning of this article is becoming more and more irrelevant.

What do you think? Is it easier, or make more sense, for B2C companies to utilize social media than for B2B companies?