iPhone Apps and Web Development

Facturacion Electronica Mexico desde Salesforce

2010-04-08T15:24:00.000-07:00

En este documento se describe como se realiza la implementacion de factura electronica mexicana en Salesforce. Utilizando el API de Factura Móvil.

Ver diagrama: Factura Electroncia desde Salesforce

Ejemplos de integracion al API de Factura Electronica

2010-02-17T13:47:00.000-08:00

Ya estan disponibles los ejemplos de integracion al API de Factura Electronica

Ejemplos disponibles:

PHP con CURL
.NET Framework 3.5
Objective-C con ASIHTTPRequest

Ejemplos en: http://facturaelectronica.mobi/desarrolladores/

API para facturacion electronica - MEXICO

2010-02-03T17:27:00.000-08:00

La empresa Factura Movil nos presenta su API para factura electronica. Facil integracion con sistemas propietarios por medio de CURL. Ademas, es posible integrar sistemas moviles ya existentes.

Para mas datos y ejemplos visita este link: API Factura Electronica.

Factura Electronica Movil - Mexico

2010-01-25T22:03:00.001-08:00

5 buenas razones para utiliar Factura Electrónica en México:

Leer Post

Mobile Advertising: 5 Things You Need to Know to Succeed in 2010

2009-12-29T20:01:00.001-08:00

1. Your Customers are on More Than One Carrier
The iPhone's web browsing and application market created the inflection point for massive mobile consumer adoption in the US. However, the iPhone's superior handset experience is handcuffed to AT&T Wireless. Many mobile customers are tied to corporate accounts, employee carrier discounts, and contractual obligations that prevent them from switching. In addition, AT&T's official wireless broadband (3G) coverage map excludes 25% of the U.S. population and reliability has been questioned by users in top metros. It was easy to make this point at a recent iMedia mobile class we led for top ad agencies. Most of the iPhone-shakin' audience wanted to know about iPhone mobile ad campaigns for Starbucks and NBC, but had no 3G coverage.
Until the iPhone is offered by other carriers, an iPhone-only mobile initiative may leave many potential customers in the dark. A complete mobile marketing strategy must consider reaching Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile audiences. Of all the smartphone options, Android is showing the greatest momentum with a number of analysts predicting the Motorola Droid will hit 1 million devices shipped by the end of 2009.
A 2010 Prediction For Android:
At WhitePages, we are forecasting that there will be 10 million Android devices shipped in the US by the end of 2010. We arrived at this number by taking the 33.5 million customer base of T-Mobile (the first US carrier to offer Android) and dividing it by an estimate of 2 million Android devices shipped by that carrier to arrive at a 6% penetration rate. We then applied this penetration rate to the much larger and higher-spending customer bases of Sprint and Verizon who just started offering Android devices. The predicted result is 10.1 million Android devices in the US by the end of 2010.
2. Marketing Begins and Ends With Numbers
The mobile marketing platform has lagged behind the web in its ability to provide critical metrics and control for advertisers to measure and optimize ad campaigns. On the web, many ad campaigns drop cookies to manage consumer reach and frequency. This cross-platform capability was not possible on mobile until recently. Companies like Ringleader Digital provide mobile ad-serving platforms with real-time capabilities to track and target users and meet advertiser needs around frequency-capping and acquisition tracking.
Google's mobile initiatives will also help provide the metrics needed for mobile marketing. I met with the Android leadership team earlier in the year to request subscription billing and found out that analytic capabilities were a much higher priority. The Android app market dashboard provides user retention metrics via an active user count — iTunes does not. The Android team shares relevant information with publishers like the recent data on Android OS version share. They are moving in the right direction, but I still find that iTunes provides slightly better analytics than Android. As an example, iTunes provides daily download counts and Android only provides snapshots over time for free apps.
Google's recent acquisition of AdMob has tremendous implications for mobile advertising. AdMob serves ads for more than 15,000 mobile web sites and apps worldwide and openly shares the mountain of actionable data they are collecting. AdMob recently announced support of the Palm Pre/Web OS phones, demonstrating their cross-platform capabilities. Google should continue to share this information and leverage the AdMob acquisition to incorporate their data and expertise, build robust reporting hooks into the Android OS, and improve Google Analytics for mobile. While their free analytics service provides a standard measurement platform, it still has a very web-centric view, with reporting on things like keyword sources that are important for the web but not really applicable to mobile.
3. You Don't Necessarily Need an App for That
By now, most folks are aware of the iPhone application approval process which can take anywhere from two weeks to six months. The BlackBerry App World also requires approval, but it is just a storefront policy, and all apps can be distributed through other markets and channels. Effective mobile marketing campaigns are synched with other channels like TV, web, and product launch events, and can't afford the risk of an application sitting in queue. Both Android and the Palm Pre/Web OS markets have no approval process to slow down the campaign.
However, even without this friction, there are clear differences between building an app and providing a mobile web site. The WhitePage mobile iPhone application has been a Top 10 app for over a year, but we see just as many iPhone users on our mobile website. A recent WhitePages and MediaVest study on a Continental Airlines campaign demonstrated that advertising performance is just as strong on the mobile web as it is on an app. The downside of an app is that the consumer has to upgrade to get new versions, while a mobile web site can simply be updated. In the past, we had to build an app on the iPhone to integrate with the device's GPS for location benefits. Today this important capability is possible from the iPhone's Safari browser.
Browser-based rich media, most often provided by Flash on the wired web, help create ads with impact. Android's open platform allowed HTC to implement Flash on its Hero device. The Palm-Pre/Web OS also supports Flash. Android's growing presence will facilitate rich media even if Apple refuses to get on board.
As long as carriers can scale their 3G networks to meet demand, the future of wireless is going back to the mobile web.
4. Location Demands Persistence and Endurance
80% of the mobile ad campaigns that we run are geo-targeted and geared towards effectively reaching consumers while they are on the go. While location will be a key driver in the future of mobile advertising, the industry will need to overcome a few challenges in order for location-based marketing to truly take off.
The popularity of applications requires persistence and the ability to run more than one application at a time. For example, on my Android device I can listen to Pandora and read Mashable at the same time. The iPhone can only run one app at a time, while both Android and the Palm Pre can run applications in parallel. In order to provide a location-triggered ad, an app needs to be "always on."
The other challenge to location-based offers is the battery drain from frequent GPS/location requests and poor cell tower coverage. Verizon's superior 3G network and the Droid's changeable battery both help to address this problem. BlackBerry is also in a good position, with years of experience in dealing with the energy tax from push e-mail. They have learned to make batteries last longer.
5. A Different Call to Action
The key to the success of any marketing campaign is to make it easy for the consumer to react, but the tools of engagement for mobile are different than the web. The most obvious but often ignored advertiser action is the phone itself. By offering easy click-to-call actions, we have seen +5% conversion results for advertisers. A retailer may be better served by helping the on-the-go mobile user with location and mapping actions to get to their store, rather than asking them to register an e-mail.
In addition to location and calling, creative mobile marketing campaigns should make advertising fun by using unique device capabilities like shaking, blowing, and twisting. Ad agency OMD created the first shakeable ad for Dockers and reported a 300% increase in conversions and 2b impressions for this innovative iPhone ad campaign.
Other mobile action plans include a recent announcement by BlackBerry/RIM to offer the ability for users to click to call, and save to contacts and calendar directly from the ad. To save an event today, a user needs to: 1. Click on in-app ad; 2. Go to a landing page; 3. Copy event info; 4. Launch calendar; 5. Paste event details; 6. Save calendar entry; 7. Re-launch app. Did I lose you yet?
Google recently launched a visual search technology for Android called Goggles, which allows users to snap photos with their phone's camera to return relevant search results about the image. Looking into the future, this capability may offer interesting mobile advertising solutions. In addition to current response mechanisms using a web URL or SMS-short code, the consumer can simply snap a picture to get more information from a billboard, on-pack promotion, or product. Google built on this innovation from its acquisition of Neven Vision whose iScout technology was tested in a Coca Cola promotion in Germany. The beta results are still preliminary, but may prove interesting if Google offers this as a platform for 3rd party advertisers and publishers to integrate in mobile applications and add value to the end user experience.
Will 2010 Be the Year of Mobile Advertising?
There is enough consumer inertia and advertising capability for every brand, publisher, and advertiser to decide if a responsible mobile test or a go-big campaign is appropriate. Millennial Media forecasts the U.S. mobile web will reach 100 million unique users in 2010 — half of the web audience. Morgan Stanley Analyst Mary Meeker has graphed her steepest hockey stick, predicting the web will be accessed by more mobile users than the PC in five years.
If you are a brand, and your agency isn't bringing mobile campaigns into your marketing mix, ask them to, pronto. If you are an agency and need either tests or scale, work with publishers that can provide integrated media programs combining web and mobile.
You don't have to go big, but you have to go mobile in 2010, or you might as well go home.
Please share what your thoughts and ideas on mobile marketing in the comments section below.
More mobile resources from Mashable:
- Top Mobile Productivity Tools for the Small Business
- HOW TO: Choose a Smartphone for Your Small Business
- 10 Amazing Augmented Reality iPhone Apps
- 7 Soothing iPhone Apps to Help You Relax
- The Best Free Twitter Apps for Android
Illustrations Courtesy of What's Up, Android?
Reviews: Android, Google, Google Analytics, Mashable, Pandora, Safari
Tags: admob, android, apple, blackberry, business, Google, iphone, List, Lists, MARKETING, Mobile 2.0

Read more…

Mobile Internet to Dominate Within 5 Years -- Study

2009-12-18T15:49:00.001-08:00

Mobile Internet to Dominate Within 5 Years -- Study

Jeff Bertolucci, PC World

Dec 16, 2009 2:48 pm

The mobile Internet is growing faster than its desktop counterpart ever did, and more users may go online via mobile devices than desktop PCs within five years, according to a new study by investment firm Morgan Stanley.

The intriguing prediction is one of many in the firm's massive "The Mobile Internet Report," a 424-page epic that someone, somewhere is bound to read in its entirety. For the rest of us, the executive summary will do just fine. If you're interested in perusing the full report, you'll find it here.

The report states we're "now in the early innings" of mobile Internet development, which is growing faster than previous tech cycles, including the evolution of the desktop PC. Given the rapid adoption of smartphones, including (obviously) the Apple iPhone and a growing number of devices using Google's Android mobile operating system, Morgan Stanley's conclusions shouldn't surprise anyone.

The study also points out that mobile Net growth is global phenomenon, not one confined to the developed world, which was typically the case with prior tech trends. But despite the worldwide focus, U.S. companies including Apple, Google, and Amazon are taking a leadership role. Furthermore, "a host of relatively young, but seasoned world-class technology veterans," including Apple CEO Steve Jobs and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, are leading the mobile push, the report states.

Five key tech trends are converging to spur mobile Net growth, including 3G (and soon 4G) broadband, the popularity of social networking, online video, VOIP services such as Skype and Vonage, and "awesome mobile devices" that do tasks that until recently were the sole domain of your desktop or laptop PC.

The short term looks especially bright for Apple, but challenges await.

The "mobile ecosystem" of the iPhone, iPod touch, iTunes, and various accessories and services will continue to bloom over the next two years. After that, however, Google Android, competition from emerging markets, and wireless carrier limitations may pose a threat to Apple's market share, the report predicts.

There's little doubt the mobile Internet will dominate in the coming years--just look how far mobile handsets have come since the debut of the iPhone in 2007. Toss in a growing selection of rapidly improving smartphones, a new breed of wireless-ready tablet devices, e-readers like the Amazon Kindle, and faster 4G networks, and it's easy to see that mobile is the future of the Net.

Contact Jeff Bertolucci via Twitter (@jbertolucci ) or at jbertolucci.blogspot.com .

Apple approves private API call for use by iPhone app devs

2009-12-18T08:50:00.000-08:00

Apple approves private API call for use by iPhone app devs
12:06 pm, December 17th, 2009, John Brownlee

Although their App Store approval procedure has recently been modified to automatically reject apps that use them, Apple’s stance prohibiting developers from using private API calls has been looking a bit wobbly lately. First, Steve Jobs personally approved an app that used a private API to enable video streaming, and now comes word that Apple will officially allow developers to use the UIGetScreenImage() private API call in their applications.

According to the Apple forum moderator who outlined the change over in the official developer forums: “After carefully considering the issue, Apple is now allowing applications to use the function UIGetScreenImage() to programmatically capture the current screen contents.”

Developers should expect, however, to update their applications if a “future release of iPhone OS… provide[s] a public API equivalent of this functionality,” at which point, “all applications using UIGetScreenImage() will be required to adopt the public API.”

That’s an interesting development for a couple of reasons. For one, it actually allows streaming video from the iPhone camera on even older model iPhones, just by pasting enough UIGetScreenImage()s together. More interestingly, it implies that Apple is working to create public API equivalents of a lot of their most in-demand private API calls, which should expand app development possibilities dramatically by the time iPhone OS 4.0 rolls around.

[via TUAW, image via Aral Balkan]

Best book about iPhone programming (covers iPhone's sensors)

2009-12-17T18:15:00.000-08:00

Rate: A+
Author: Alasdair Allan

In this book you will learn about iPhone's sensors, data input, storage, and the basic stuff: xcode premier and submitting your app to the App Store.

The book also covers memory management for the iphone... this chapter is really useful for beginners.

Book's website: http://www.learningiphoneprogramming.com/pages/thebook.html

Sabes que es lo que ven los visitantes de tu sitio web - Website Optimization

2009-12-17T08:25:00.000-08:00

Google nos brinda esta herramienta para saber que partes de nuetro sitio son mas visibles para los visitantes

Browser Size

Vale la pena utilizar esta herramienta, por o menos como referencia de donde debemos poner la informacion mas importante que queremos transmitir a los visitantes.

Website Optimization

Factura Electronica - Comprobante Fiscal Digital en tu iPhone (Mexico)

2009-12-14T16:56:00.000-08:00

Estamos terminando los detalles finales de la nueva aplicacion de facturacion electronica en tu iPhone/Andriod/Blackberry.

Esta aplicacion es ideal para empresas que tienen rutas de distribucion y entregas a domicilio.

Desde tu iPhone puedes enviar al instante el comprobante fiscal digital a tu cliente.

En breve publicaremos mas informacion al respecto.

iSimulate not working - Could not establish connection with application

2009-12-11T09:40:00.000-08:00

If you can't establish a connection from iSimulate to your mac. iSimulate don't send accelerometer, gps or multitouch events; you must be sure that in your Mac's firewall settings you allow all incoming connections.

Console output allowing only essential services:

iSimulate: You are running SDK version 20091203
iSimulate: Started publishing service. Waiting for connecting device...

Console output after allowing all incoming connections:

iSimulate: You are running SDK version 20091203
iSimulate: Started publishing service. Waiting for connecting device...
iSimulate: Connection established.

Building Compelling Applications Using eBay API Platform

2009-11-11T19:13:00.001-08:00

Building Compelling Applications Using eBay API Platform

View more presentations from PayPalX Developer Network.

Developing Secure Applications and Defending Against Common Attacks

2009-11-11T19:11:00.001-08:00

Developing Secure Applications and Defending Against Common Attacks

View more presentations from PayPalX Developer Network.

Increase Conversion and Reduce Abandonment with PayPal Best Practices

2009-11-11T18:54:00.001-08:00

Increase Conversion and Reduce Abandonment with PayPal Best Practices

View more presentations from PayPalX Developer Network.

SEO 101: Tips and Tricks for Search

2009-11-11T18:52:00.001-08:00

SEO 101: Tips and Tricks for Search

View more presentations from PayPalX Developer Network.

HOW TO: Synchronize the built-in Mail, Calendar and Contacts apps on your iPhone with your Google account.

2009-10-22T17:16:00.000-07:00

Google Sync: Set Up Your iPhone or iPod Touch

To set up Google Sync on your iPhone or iPod Touch device, please follow the steps below .

Requirements and Upload

1. Google Sync is only supported on iPhone OS versions 3.0 and above. You can check your current version by going to Settings > General > About > Version. To upgrade, follow the instructions at http://www.apple.com/iphone/softwareupdate/. Please upgrade to iPhone OS 3.0 before setting up Google Sync.

2. Perform a sync with iTunes to ensure that Contacts and Calendars from your iPhone are backed up to your computer. Learn More.

Getting Started

1. Open the Settings application on your device's home screen.
2. Open Mail, Contacts, Calendars.
3. Tap Add Account....
4. Select Microsoft Exchange.

continue...

Microsoft firma contrato con Twitter y Facebook

2009-10-21T10:14:00.000-07:00

En un afan de ganar mas mercado en la guerra entre buscadores, Microsoft ha firmado un contrato con Twitter y Facebook para integrar las actualizaciones de estatus en el buscador Bing.

En lo personal creo que esta sera una gran herramienta de SEO. Aunque aun no se como almacenaran tal cantidad de informacion. Acaso podra SQL Server con tanta informacion?

Mas informacion: http://kara.allthingsd.com/20091021/exclusive-guess-who-else-is-coming-to-dinner-twitter-microsoft-bing-deal-confirmed-but-so-is-facebook-bing/

Facil Lectura con Kindle para iPhone

2009-10-20T16:54:00.001-07:00

Una de las mejores aplicaciones para el iPhone es sin duda el Kindle de Amazon.com

Este semana instale la aplicacion y ya he leido 2 libros.

Uno pensaria que es incomodo leer un libro en iPhone, pero no! Aun para los que utilizamos anteojos es facil de leer.

La aplicacion te permite descargar los ebooks directo a tu iPhone, aumentar o disminuir el tamaño del texto, cambiar el color de blanco/negro a negro/blanco y a sepia.

La aplicacion tambien funciona de manera vertical y horizontal.

Ademas es posible descargar el primer capitulo de los libros. Asi podras saber si te gustara o no.

Pueden descargar esta aplicacion aqui.

Liga a la pagina de Kindel en amazon.com

AT&T reverses policy on iPhone Internet calls

2009-10-06T15:31:00.000-07:00

By SAUL HANSELL

AT&T said on Tuesday that it would no longer prevent customers with the iPhone from using Internet telephone services that bypass its own voice network.

Until now, AT&T wouldn't let users of voice chat services l ike Skype from connecting over its wireless data network (3G). They Skype application on Apple's iPhone could make calls onl when connected to a Wi-Fi network.

Social Media Is for Narcissists

2009-08-31T10:15:00.000-07:00

A national study fresh out of SDSU is confirming that Generation Y really is Generation Me. The jaw-dropping conclusion? 57% of young people believe their generation uses social networking sites for self-promotion, narcissism and attention seeking.

Jean Twenge, an SDSU Psychology Professor and co-author of The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement, collaborated on a national poll with Youth Pulse that surveyed 1,068 college students. Students were asked about their social media usage, generation attitudes, whether or not sites like Twitter and Facebook were used for self-promotion, and if social media attention-seeking is helpful for success.

While it’s no surprise that social media would cater to a more self-promotional audience, it’s certainly interesting to note that not only does Gen Y think of their social behaviors as narcissistic, but almost 40% (39.27%) agree that “being self-promoting, narcissistic, overconfident, and attention-seeking is helpful for succeeding in a competitive world.”

The study also found that 92% of polled students said they use MySpace or Facebook regularly, and 84% of respondents go online several times per day. Survey respondents were supplied by Youth Pulse, whose SurveyU panel consists of students who were recruited both online and off.

Twenge had this to say about the study results:

“College students have clearly noticed the more self-centered traits of their peers – it’s fascinating how honest they are about diagnosing their generation’s downsides … And students are right about the influence of social networking sites – research has shown that narcissistic people thrive on sites like Facebook, where self-centered people have more friends and post more attractive pictures of themselves.”

While we tend to take a more positive view of social media usage, and believe it to be great for personal and professional branding, as well as social good, it’s hard to not to have a strong reaction to the survey results and Twenge’s commentary.

Where do you weigh in? Social media: is it for those of who are narcissistic and attention-seeking, or is there something more going on?

6 must-follow steps to sell (in any economy)

2009-08-21T10:04:00.000-07:00

The Six Steps
by Brandon Mendelson

1. Tell Us Who You Are. What do we know about you? When I Google you, what is the first result? Make sure you spell out, in multiple places, who you are, what you’re trying to sell, and how it will benefit your customers.

I recommend you to use Google Local Business, a little SEO on your website, Twitter and Blogs.

2. Network For Prospects. Evan White reflects on how they first got the word out about I Wear Your Shirt, “We tapped our friends, family, business friends, social media worlds, and just about everyone we could! If the idea is good, and people like it, you can literally tell everyone. And they’ll listen.” Lean on every resource you have to get the word out.

Facebook and twitter are great tools for networking.

3. Carefully Select Prospects. Make sure you follow Jason Sadler’s advice on cold calling/emailing companies: “Don’t mass email companies. Take the time to contact them individually, say something about their company or mention something you’ve seen them in. This has been the most successful way of ’sales-pitching’ people when I tried (which wasn’t much)”.

4. Be Brief. Like blog posts or any other online writing, the shorter your pitch, the better. Master the art of a brief email and make sure it includes, in bullets: Important facts, benefits, and costs for your proposed partnership or the product or service you’re selling. Use your website to fill in the details that didn’t fit in the email.

5. Master verbal jujitsu. Your potential customer is going to have many questions for you. Can you skillfully answer them? Dr. Marlene Caroselli, a business author and a keynote speaker, offers the best way to prepare: “Gain practice in developing the skill of responding quickly and easily to unexpected verbal thrusts that potential customers often send your way. Enlist the help of a friend. Once a week, have him toss out a far-out question. Without missing a beat, reply to it and — if you can — find a way to make a connection to the product or service you sell.”

6. Have no fear. QuotaCrush author Mark LoRa has sound advice for when it’s time to close the deal: “Embrace the word ‘NO.’ Don’t be afraid to ask for the deal. Typical new salespeople let deals fester because they are afraid of hearing the word no. I say, get to the no. Then you find out the real reason for the objection – and eventually turn it into a yes by negotiating.”

Home Made Salsa Brava

2009-08-17T18:26:00.000-07:00

This salsa is ideal to make Patatas Bravas (Spanish Spicy Potatoes) or Pollo Bravo (Spanish style Spicy Chicken)

Cool Links

2009-06-30T12:29:00.000-07:00

How to Be Generous: A Guide for Social Media Brands
http://mashable.com/2009/06/18/social-media-generosity/

5 Ways Twitter Can Save You Money
http://mashable.com/2009/06/18/twitter-save-money/

Google's Web Performance Best Practices
http://code.google.com/speed/page-speed/docs/rules_intro.html

Gmail: Google's approach to email
http://www.google.com/mail/help/tips.html

pactwitter

2009-06-23T15:58:00.001-07:00

[via TheNextWeb]

Marketing as an Investment

2009-06-23T09:46:00.000-07:00

http://www.meettheboss.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=19

With a recession looming, budgets are being slashed in order to buckle down for the stormy times ahead. But while reducing spend can boost quarterly figures, keeping quiet could be disastrous for business. By Rebecca Goozee

Trimming budgets is always the initial reaction to a recession. When expenses are evaluated, it is usually marketing that comes under scrutiny and more specifically, brand building. Coca-Cola and Visa, among many others, has planned to shrink marketing costs as the financial fiasco gets worse and worse. One way to look at this, however, is while the big boys hunker down, try to gain a competitive advantage.

We know that consumers rein in their spending during a recession, so business leaders cutback on expenses in expectation of reduced sales. However, when the economy does regain it's normal robust form, the absence of marketing during the recession will leave a company in a competitive advantage. The latest evidence that the best marketing strategy in relation to long-term ROI is to increase marketing expenditure during economic slowdown is provided by an analysis of the Profit Impact of Marketing Strategies (PIMS) database, presented at a March 2008 conference.

The relationship between share of market and share of voice can explain the findings simply very simply. It is a direct correlation between share of voice, and market share. The higher your share of the voice, the more likely your brand's market share is going to grow the following year. It is obvious that by increasing marketing monies at the same time competitors are decreasing, you have major potential to increase your brand standing. This is due to a myriad of reasons. First of all, larger brands usually have the market cornered on repeat purchases. What this means is that by increasing market share a brand will benefit as the economy rebounds. Also, new product launches may have a more positive impact during slow economic times, while competitors bunker down. This allows brands more coverage in a less saturated market. While all at the same time, media costs are lower, giving advertisers more for their money.

Risk

Learning from past history, overall ad spending falls as investors look to cut costs and increase short-term revenue, as seen in 1991 and 2001, for example. But it seems that this time around marketers have caught on to buying ads on the cheap and grabbing a larger market share. So, what should companies be doing - upping ad spend or keeping a tight rein on their finances?

Jez Frampton, CEO of Interbrand, maintains that most companies have recognized the proven fact that brands that maintain investment fare better in the long-term. "Brands reduce risk and volatility because they are the basis of trust between companies and all their audiences, from customers to staff, to suppliers to investors," he says. "Brands protect price premiums, defend the perception of value for money, encourage and reward choice, ultimately building value for their owners, so anyone who backs off now, does so at great risk."

Frampton goes on to explain that he expects the FMCG industry to continue spending, particularly companies like P&G, who he says have a deep knowledge of the effects of marketing and brand building and a strong insight into the value of brands in defending market position and share. "We would also point to the fact that Christmas is just around the corner, and for retailers the holiday period is make or break every year, so expect spending, but on the same levels as last year? Who knows," he shrugs.

Brands are about the reduction of risk, explains Frampton. If you track the volatility of brand value prices and share prices of companies who heavily rely on brands, such as Google and Apple, and compare them with other companies they have much lower risk factors attached to them. "In the current climate, you want to reduce risk, so consequently, it's not the time to cut in terms of maintaining or building your brand," says Frampton. "It's actually the time to get on with it."

Opportunity

However, despite many successful ad campaigns launching during times of economic slowdown, such as BMW's 'Ultimate Driving Machine' campaign and slogan in 1974, consumers can become unpredictable as they look to cut back, particularly amid today's tight credit market and falling house prices. It seems many factors will determine whether spending in a downturn will work.

Scott Keogh is one executive who won't be cutting back. As CMO of Audi of America, Keogh explains that the reason behind this decision is that the Audi brand has established momentum over the last few years. "We had record sales last year, and if you look at the indicators about awareness, image, opinion and consideration of the Audi brand, our point of view is when you have this momentum and your brand is on a roll, it's a mistake to lay off, disappear for a few years and then try to build that momentum again," says Keogh.

Keogh also believes that consumers buy confidence, and consumers in America in particular become confident in a brand when they see it, whether it is through cars on the street or the ads on television. "Consumers in the luxury market have confidence in active, visible brands, rather than unknowns," states Keogh. "They don't buy unknowns and that's why marketing is important - because it makes you known."

For Audi in particular, Keogh believes it is important to keep in the public eye. He explains that in the current financial situation, yes consumers are cutting back, looking from the purchase of their morning latte, to the school their children are in, to the house they live in, and reassessing their choices. "The luxury car market is ruled by BMW, Mercedes and Lexus," says Keogh. "While they dominate share, volume and network presence, the best time to break this rule is when there is reassessment out there and customers hit the reset button and look for alternatives. And that's the opportunity that we see right now, and we want to keep that momentum going."

Keogh sees tough times as an opportunity to get ahead of the competition who are cutting back on budgets. From a practical point of view the advertising marketplace has more opportunities available then ever. "Big sponsorships that haven't been historically available for decades are now available, such as the Oscars for example. And there are a number of opportunities we're being given now that are coming in at less cost. If you stay aggressive at these times that you can snap up opportunities that will last your brand for five, six years, maybe even a decade, which we find very opportunistic."

Through the increase in opportunities, companies are getting more bang for their buck, and Keogh is employing two opportunities to make sure that Audi get the most out of their advertising investments. Historically, Audi in the US has been the great unknown, explains Keogh, and what he plans to do is make the brand the great known, so has intentionally purchased big. "We purchased the Super Bowl this year, the Oscars, the Olympics - we don't want to make the brand this quirky, unknown, just-in-the-know brand, we want to make it popular. As such the current market is working well for us as we can actually get some good pricing now on these broader platforms."

Secondly, Keogh is focusing on purchase confirmation. "When someone buys an Audi we want them to have that confirmation factor, that they feel like they made the right decision. We offer them driving experiences, or the ability to go to Le Mans to see the race team, because this tells the owner you belong to a great brand that's on the rise and that they made the right decision," says Keogh.

Strategy

Marcy Shinder is Vice President of Brand Marketing and Strategy at American Express OPEN, a team dedicated to the success of small business owners and their companies. Being committed to small business owners Shinder is required to be there and continue to provide them with the resources and tools they need to survive and thrive in uncertain times. "While today's economy may be challenging, we remain dedicated to supporting small businesses and, in fact, recognize the even greater role they play in fuelling our economy," says Shinder.

Shinder believes that in today's uncertain economic climate, relevance has become the most essential marketing strategy because it builds customer loyalty. American Express OPEN's customer loyalty marketing strategy is rooted in the concept of giving small business owners the resources critical to business growth and helping them become resilient in the face of challenges. "We're hearing, now more than ever, that our customers are seeking advice about what they can do differently to survive and thrive in a challenging economy," says Shinder. "They want quick access to relevant, actionable information that can help solve problems."

Shinder plans to continue investing in marketing, despite the challenges of a cash-strapped market. Shinder explains that she will continue to invest in projects that are proven successes and provide the opportunity for customer insights and reactions in order to be able to refine and improve them. "OPEN Forum is a great example of a highly successful initiative that is evolving in 2008," says Shinder. "In addition to the OPEN Forum Economy section, the site has been re-launched with a new design and new resources, including video segments. Card members can post advice and insights on the site so that other small business owners can learn from them - one message that has come through loud and clear from them is, 'let's learn from each other so that we can avoid making the same mistakes'."

So it seems that more companies have caught on to increasing market share by upping advertising and marketing spend in tough times but, many factors determine whether spending in a downturn will work, and there are no concrete rules of thumb. Except one - don't gamble. It's imperative to know what you are investing your marketing dollars in and why. Companies who see marketing as an investment rather than an expense will make it through the tough times ahead.

Building European Brands Through Social Media

2009-06-23T09:40:00.000-07:00

http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jun2009/gb20090619_984913.htm

How companies such as Cadbury, Vodafone, and Volkswagen are generating buzz and connecting with customers through Twitter and other sites

By Kerry Capell

When British confectionary giant Cadbury (CBRY.L) wanted to promote its new Crème Egg Twisted bar recently, it turned to social media. Dubbed "Operation Goo," the initiative invites British consumers to become CIA agents. (That's Cadbury Intelligence Agents, of which there are now 9,082.) Their mission, if they choose to accept it, is to track down Twisted bars across Britain via clues sent on microblogging site Twitter. Cadbury then selected 10 so-called "super-agents," who use online clues to track down the "goo." Supplied with Flip cameras by Cadbury, the agents then film their exploits, upload them on YouTube, and win points for generating the most social media exposure via tweets and videos. The agent with the most points by mid-July gets $33,000.

It's the kind of buzz money just can't buy. And Cadbury isn't the only major European brand experimenting with social media. Cell-phone operator Vodafone (VOD), for instance, uses Twitter as both a marketing and customer-service tool. British consumer products company Unilever (UN) is creating online communities aimed at the brand's target customers, urging teenage girls or new moms to create original content from Web films to new product ideas. "Social media is reinventing the way brands engage with their customers," says Norm Johnston, global digital leader at WPP-owned ad agency Mindshare in London.

Moreover, companies such as Cadbury are finding that the likes of Twitter, YouTube, and Bebo are inexpensive and effective ways to advertise. By creating a fun online environment that meshes various social media applications, companies are attempting to attract a powerful army of brand ambassadors whose online tweets and videos are more effective than any 30-second television ad. Cadbury declined to comment on the grounds it is too early to judge the success of its promotional initiative.
Testing Out Twitter

Considering that Twitter itself is just three years old, it's understandable that companies are still cautiously experimenting with social marketing. Switzerland's Nestlé (NESR.BE), for instance, is testing Twitter Pulse, which lets companies capture the stream of Twitter conversations related to their brand and publicize them across the Web. To promote its Juicy Juice children's fruit drink in the U.S., Nestlé runs a banner ad on a range of parenting sites asking questions such as "How do you stimulate your child's mind?" and "How important are vitamin-enhanced foods to you?" Users tweet their responses, which are fed live into a Juicy Juice banner ad on the site.

German carmaker Volkswagen (VOWG.DE) is taking a similar approach to marketing its cars. It's running a banner ad that claims to analyze a person's recent tweets and then recommends the car best suited to them. Don't have a Twitter account? No worries—you can enter the name of a tweet-crazed celebrity such as Demi Moore. (VW says her model is a Volkswagen GLI.)

British wireless giant Vodafone is experimenting with several social media initiatives. Last November in Britain, the company launched Vodafone Live Guy, an online treasure hunt where participants use online apps such as Twitter, Facebook, Google (GOOG) Picasa, and YouTube to track down Live Guy—a Vodafone brand mascot—and win one of Vodafone's Dell (DELL) Inspiron Minis, laptops embedded with Wi-Fi and mobile broadband. Since then, Vodafone's British arm has launched a number of other social media ventures. Vodafone UK has launched a Twitter and Google Maps application to promote the end of European roaming charges, allowing customers to tweet where they are going on holiday this year. The tweets are then plotted on a Google map in real time.

A similar Vodafone competition in Britain is the Taxi Grand Prix. Timed to coincide with the current Formula One races, the online game follows 10 British taxi drivers in real time as they race to complete the same number of miles as the Grand Prix drivers. Vodafone sponsors the McLaren Formula One team. Entrants pick two Vodafone McLaren Mercedes-sponsored taxi drivers from a pool of 10 in five British cities. Online players can keep track of how their taxi drivers are performing via real-time mapping, performance graphs, and Twitter updates.

Recently, Vodafone Netherlands used Twitter to create buzz around the Vodafone Mobile Clicks competition (run in conjunction with Vodafone UK). The competition targeted startup wireless businesses, linking the competition's Twitter feed to a specially created site (www.vodafonemobileclicks.com). Vodafone has also used Twitter to build interest in major product launches, such as the HTC Magic, which is based on Google's Android mobile platform. "Because it enables a dialogue, Twitter is a great channel to engage with customers in a different way," says Vodafone Group spokesman Dan Bowsher.

Social media remains a growth area

2009-05-06T11:23:00.000-07:00

Study: Retailers Shift Marketing Dollars Towards Social Media
May 5th, 2009 | by Adam Ostrow

Although many retailers are reducing their online marketing budgets, spending on social media is falling at a slower rate than spending in other online marketing channels.

Moreover, amongst companies that are weathering the current economic storm and expanding marketing budgets, investments in social media are generally on the rise. This according to a new study released today by The National Retail Federation’s Shop.org and Forrester Research.

Overall, the study found that 30 percent of retailers plan to reduce their online spending this year, while 24 percent plan to increase it and 46 percent are keeping their budgets the same. However, the stats get more interesting when you drill down to how both the successful and the struggling retailers are allocating their marketing dollars.

Key Findings

-Amongst retailers that are reducing spending, 56 percent are cutting spending on search engine marketing, while only 24 percent will cut their social media marketing budget.

-Amongst retailers that are performing well (“beating expectations” according to the study), 12 of the 20 will increase spending in social media marketing.

-Further, amongst retailers that are increasing budgets, 80 percent will put more money into search, while 65 percent will put more into email marketing.

Surprising? Not Exactly

While this report shows continued strength in social media marketing, it’s important to note that search marketing is still a much bigger space. Hence, there is generally more money to be cut from search budgets than social media budgets, which explains in part why search dollars are being cut faster than social media dollars.

Additionally, as you can see, retailers that are increasing budgets are putting money into search advertising at a higher rate than social media – again, not surprising because there are simply still more eyeballs to reach through search.

Conclusion

Consistent with other statistics we’ve observed, social media marketing budgets are generally on the rise in spite of an overall slowdown in spending.

Further, the trends in search marketing are consistent with other statistics as well. For example, Google’s most recent earnings report showed the company’s first ever sequential decline in sales due largely to a slowdown in search ad spending.

While money might flow back into search at a quicker rate than social media as the economy recovers, social media remains a growth area, that on a percentage basis is weathering the storm better than other areas of online marketing.

Your Guide To Internet Marketing Services

2009-04-23T16:35:00.000-07:00

Your Guide To Internet Marketing Services
April 23rd, 2009 by Jason Breckenstein

With the economy the way it is, businesses looking for more effective ways to spend need to consider Internet marketing services. Business is happening all the time online, and Internet marketing companies have evolved beyond building a pretty web site with a cool domain name. There is a science to ranking in the search engines, and more marketing departments are realizing the need for a specialized agency to manage their online campaigns as the internet gets more complex.

There are multiple layers to the services web site promotion firms provide their clients. Organic search engine optimization is much different than paid search optimization - but do you know the difference? If you don’t, how do you know if the internet marketing company you are considering is making promises that can be realized?

Organic search engine optimization (SEO) involves designing your website to rank as high as possible in the search results that bring free traffic. This is a much larger challenge for a web site than ranking at the top of paid search results. At the same time, the majority of people using search to find web sites click in organic search results. It is much more beneficial for a business to rank for organic search terms because the influx of traffic to their site will be much greater than using paid search. However, the impact organic search engine optimization can have on web site traffic and the bottom line takes much longer to understand.

Link building is one of the most important foundations of organic SEO. If you can picture the Google search results as an election for the term you are searching for, links are the votes contributed to a certain webpage. The anchor text used in links pointing to a website verifies the content on that site for the search engines. More often than not, the top search result for a term also has the most links about that term pointing to it. Most internet marketing companies offer link building. If yours doesn’t, it might be time to find another!

How much would you be willing to pay for someone to click on your web site? If you’re looking for an immediate return on investment, consider using paid search. Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising can be very expensive based on your industry, but it is much easier to see instant results. Most internet marketing companies will suggest PPC for clients if they are looking for a fast impact online.

Many corporate marketing departments have people on their staff that already manage web sites and internet advertising. In that case, most web marketing companies also offer consulting services. If you want to conduct your own internet marketing, it is still a good idea to have professionals available to advise before making major changes to organic or paid search projects. Consulting tends to be billable by the hour with most agencies, but having an internet marketing service provider available on retainer makes errors in any project online much easier to correct. Remember, every minute your web site is down - you could be losing sales.

Internet marketing companies are also reaching out to small businesses more than ever by hosting SEO workshops. Most internet marketing training courses consist of a basic introduction to the basics of SEO. Many businesses know who their competition is for consumers online. However, they have no clue what to look for on a competitor’s web site to determine what changes to make on their own pages. With SEO training and consulting, small businesses can determine what needs to be fixed on their own site to perform better in the search results while having a professional easily available when they questions.

The internet is here to stay - embrace it! Make your web site a 24/7 sales machine by putting some Internet marketing best practices in place by working with a web promotion firm. For the long-term success of your business online, working with internet marketing experts is the way to go for the best results.

We at Collective Cube can help you to optimize your website to rank higher in organic search results. Contact us today!

www.collectivecube.com

SEO and 301 Redirect best practice

2009-04-08T11:29:00.000-07:00

SEO friendly 310 Redirect Sample using Classic ASP

<%
if Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_HOST") = "yourdomain.com" then
Response.Status="301 Moved Permanently"
Response.AddHeader "Location","http://www.yourdomain.com/"
end if
%>

By: Social Media and SEO Experts

Local SEO tips

2009-04-01T18:44:00.001-07:00

Creating local content is a great way to SEO up your site.

Verify your site with the Google Maps.
Incorporate your most important keywords into the description.
Add as much relevant content as possible, and make sure to include photos. Google now allows businesses to upload 10 photos to their profile.
Encourage customers to submit reviews. Google provides users with an opportunity to submit a review, as well as displaying reviews from sites, such as Yelp.com.
Include your address and phone number on every page of your site.
Integrate Google maps on your contact page.
Include directions to your business using local landmarks.

facebook facts

2009-03-11T11:46:00.000-07:00

Facebook has over 110 million active users
Is the 4th most-trafficked website in the world
And is the most-trafficked social media site in the world
Most users are 35 to 49 years old
Almost a quarter of facebook users are over the age of 50
Social networks are more popular than email

Old Vs Modern Marketing

2009-02-24T14:08:00.000-08:00

What kind of marketing are you using?

Old Marketing

Inside Sales

Telemarketing

Tradeshows

Seminars

Print Ads

Direct mail/email

Modern Marketing

Social Media

SEO

Pay-Per-Click

Blogging

Optimized Landing Pages/Websites

Jorge Fernandez
Collective Cube, LLC

How to succed in Social Media

2009-02-22T00:34:00.000-08:00

Social Media Marketing is about selling without ads. If you want to succed, you must consider this:

Create original content for your website, blog or microblog
Don't talk about your self or your company
Use your real name
Use twitter
Share some free advice, ebook or consultation to prove you know what are you talking about.

Jorge Fernandez
Collective Cube, LLC

iPhone Apps and Web Development

Facturacion Electronica Mexico desde Salesforce

Ejemplos de integracion al API de Factura Electronica

API para facturacion electronica - MEXICO

Factura Electronica Movil - Mexico

Mobile Advertising: 5 Things You Need to Know to Succeed in 2010

1. Your Customers are on More Than One Carrier

2. Marketing Begins and Ends With Numbers

3. You Don't Necessarily Need an App for That

4. Location Demands Persistence and Endurance

5. A Different Call to Action

Will 2010 Be the Year of Mobile Advertising?

More mobile resources from Mashable:

Mobile Internet to Dominate Within 5 Years -- Study

Apple approves private API call for use by iPhone app devs

Best book about iPhone programming (covers iPhone's sensors)

Sabes que es lo que ven los visitantes de tu sitio web - Website Optimization

Factura Electronica - Comprobante Fiscal Digital en tu iPhone (Mexico)

iSimulate not working - Could not establish connection with application

Building Compelling Applications Using eBay API Platform

Developing Secure Applications and Defending Against Common Attacks

Increase Conversion and Reduce Abandonment with PayPal Best Practices

SEO 101: Tips and Tricks for Search

HOW TO: Synchronize the built-in Mail, Calendar and Contacts apps on your iPhone with your Google account.

Requirements and Upload

Getting Started

Microsoft firma contrato con Twitter y Facebook

Facil Lectura con Kindle para iPhone

Top 10 Mashable Reader iPhone Apps

AT&T reverses policy on iPhone Internet calls

Social Media Is for Narcissists

6 must-follow steps to sell (in any economy)

Home Made Salsa Brava

Cool Links

pactwitter

Marketing as an Investment

Building European Brands Through Social Media

Social media remains a growth area

Your Guide To Internet Marketing Services

SEO and 301 Redirect best practice

Local SEO tips

facebook facts

Old Vs Modern Marketing

What kind of marketing are you using?

Old Marketing

Modern Marketing

How to succed in Social Media

Social Media Marketing is about selling without ads. If you want to succed, you must consider this: