Gartner Symposium ITXPO 2013

Friday 4 October 2013

The World's Most Important Gathering of CIOs and Senior IT Executives,Gartner Symposium/IT^XPO delivers the strategies and tactics essential for advancing your enterprise and professional goals.

6th to 10th Oct Orlando Florida

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Does your company need you? Then you're doing something wrong

Leaders whose teams are helpless without them aren't doing their job properly, writes Brad Hall. Managers should create teams capable of operating independently, starting with scheduling periodic one-on-one meetings, Hall explains. "Outstanding managers build outstanding engines. A manager's greatest achievement should be the power and reliability of his organization,"

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Webinar: How to Win When Mobile Matters Most

Join Urban Airship's Chief Marketing Officer Brent Hieggelke to discuss what leading companies are doing now to prepare for the inevitable: when mobile is the primary influence on business. For many businesses, we've passed the tipping point. The majority of customers interact with brands on mobile. The majority of revenue is influenced by mobile. This consumer-driven trend is accelerating, but marketers aren't keeping up. Many react to the mobile revolution by trying to fit a square peg (the old web) in a round hole. Many allocate only a small fraction of total marketing resources to mobile. This webinar explores the reasons behind -- and solutions for -- this disconnect, believing that winning brands are constantly learning and evolving in the new mobile marketplace.

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Microsoft adds click-to-call feature to search ads

Microsoft has launched a call feature for desktop and mobile advertisements that appear in Bing and Yahoo search results. The click-to-call feature works through Skype and offers marketers data on call length, cost and spending data. Microsoft also updated the ads to include a link to directions.

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Dell's 4 new lower-cost tablets have Intel processors

 
Dell on Wednesday rolled out four tablet computers, two running on Android and two on Windows 8.1, and all employing various Intel processors, instead of the ARM-based processors Dell previously used in its low-end tablets. Pricing for the new models runs from $150 to $500. Jack Gold of J. Gold Associates said the Intel processors represent "a major coup for Intel."

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IAB Ad Operations Summit: Register Now

 
Ad Operations Professionals: Get the tools you need to thrive in this brave new, multiscreen world on Nov. 4, in New York City at the IAB Ad Operations Summit. As advertising across web, mobile, television, radio and out-of-home rapidly come together in single media buys, there is enormous pressure on operations professionals to execute and deliver on the goals of complex multiscreen campaigns. Development of new ad products, cross-platform monetization, managing the impact of automation, finding common metrics to evaluate success… Are you ready?

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How marketers should respond to customers' social soapboxes

Social media has created a world where individual customers can raise or crush a brand as easily as that company's marketing team, so marketers need to communicate honestly to manage expectations, writes David&Goliath founder David Angelo. Telling the truth, such as J.C. Penney's recent admission that knows it put off customers, helps brands establish who they are. "[B]rand winners will be the companies that learn how to whisper their truth into the ears of consumers and then let those advocates tell the world,"

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Burger King pretends to change its name to Fries King

Burger King is continuing its efforts to build buzz around its new fries products, the French Fry Burger and lower-calorie Satisfries, with a social media campaign announcing that the company will now be called Fries King. The fake brand switch was announced with Facebook and Twitter photos showing off a new logo and a supposedly redesigned storefront. While confusing to many consumers, "it does appear to be making people hungry,"

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Profit isn't everything when it comes to selling your company

You may have a tough time selling your business even if it is generating a healthy profit, writes Minda Zetlin. However, you can raise the odds of finding a buyer by assembling a strong team, possessing valuable intellectual property and building a wide customer base

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Incorporate.com   https://www.incorporate.com/

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Mastering the art of B2B marketing

Marketing to other businesses instead of consumers requires a different, less emotional approach, marketing consultant Walter Dailey writes. That said, the first priority should be reassuring other businesses that you're a safe choice, and that requires building personal connections with buyers.

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Google adds gesture-recognition tech with acquisition of Flutter

Flutter, developer of a hand-gesture interface, was purchased by Google, although financial terms weren't disclosed. The venture-funded startup has turned out a Mac application for controlling iTunes, Spotify, Windows Media Player and Winamp, and Google might use this technology for Google Glass and Android, Ken Yeung writes. In addition, Google reported the Hulu Plus app can now operate with the Chromecast dongle.

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Myspace sees users grow to 36 million after relaunch with content focus

Myspace is growing larger and younger since its relaunch in June, Gavin O'Malley writes. The music-oriented social network boasts 36 million users, with 70% younger than 36 years old, up from 24 million before the slick redesign. Co-owner Chris Vanderhook says the company has put the focus on content, particularly partnerships with artists such as Pharrell Williams, Riff Raff and Killer Mike, and brands such as Bud Light and CRWN.

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Facebook plan: Check in at a business and get free Wi-Fi

Facebook has teamed up with Cisco to launch a program that offers free Wi-Fi to customers who check in on Facebook while at a local business. The CMX for Facebook program will give Facebook more user-location data for improved ad targeting on its platform, while providing businesses with reports on customer preferences and demographics. Bonefish Grill and Evergreen Brickworks are testing the program, but Facebook says any business with a compatible router and a Facebook Page can use it.

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Mozilla adds Flash VM and runtime Shumway to Firefox codebase

Mozilla has introduced Shumway, a JavaScript renderer of Flash SWF files, into its Firefox codebase as part of an experiment ultimately aimed at removing the Flash plug-in from the browser. The substitution would also allow Firefox to display Flash content on nonsupported platforms.

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Yahoo Small Business - http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/

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DemandBase introduces B2B ad-targeting tool for Facebook

DemandBase is adding technology to its business-to-business marketing platform that determines which company a Facebook user works for using his or her IP address. Knowing where a user works allows marketers to target their Facebook ads to a specific industry, company or other niche market and improve return on investment for ad costs by 10% to 20%, according to DemandBase.

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U.S. government shutdown may boost holiday shopping via mobile

 
Mobile may see an uptick in shopping over the holiday season if the U.S. government shutdown continues as marketers target shoppers hunting for timely bargains, observers say. "Retail operators, for instance, will be able to identify underperforming markets –- say, locations in which government work and contracting are major elements of the economy -- and target specific value propositions and price promotions to mobile users in those markets," said Ian Schulte, vice president of new ventures at Latitude.

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Canon   Canon is a leading provider of consumer, business-to-business, and industrial digital imaging solutions. http://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog

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Apple kicks off iPhone trade-ins with credits of up to $280

Tuesday 3 September 2013

Apple on Friday began offering iPhone owners up to $280 in credit for their old handsets toward purchase of a new model as it works to obtain new and keep existing customers. Apple is offering the credits in its stores to those who can prove their older handsets are working and have a wireless carrier service contract.

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Google enters smart watch wars as Samsung's plans leak

Google has upped the ante in the wearable-device competition with the purchase of WIMM Labs, a smart watch designer, the company disclosed Friday, but released few details on the transaction. The move comes against the backdrop of Google developing its own "Glass" device and Samsung Electronics' expected release of its "Galaxy Gear" wristwatch at a Berlin event this week. VentureBeat has published details of what the site says is a Gear prototype that Samsung has distributed.

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BlackBerry must shed "subsets" to remain vital, director says

BlackBerry can thrive as a "niche company" once the Canadian outfit sells off "subsets," said Bert Nordberg, a member of a special panel of its board of directors charged with determining the company's future. Nordberg offered no opinion on what units BlackBerry should retain but pointed to the value remaining in its enterprise business, hardware functionality and secure communications divisions. "If you look at BlackBerry's book value versus its market value, it's clear that there's lots of work to do,"

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It's final: Verizon will take control of wireless unit for $130B

Verizon Communications moved to gain full control of its U.S. wireless assets after Vodafone Group agreed to sell its 45% stake in Verizon Wireless, a cash-and-stock acquisition worth $130 billion, the companies announced after Verizon's board signed off on the deal. "The opportunity really crystallized because of the capital markets. It was really a perfect storm on the financial perspective on the positive side," said Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam, who pointed to rising interest rates as a strong incentive to finally reach an agreement to end their 14-year partnership.

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Microsoft pays $7.2B to land Nokia's phone business

Microsoft will now become much more of a hardware company after agreeing to pay Nokia $7.2 billion in cash to buy its cellphone business, with Nokia CEO Stephen Elop returning to Microsoft amid speculation he might replace retiring chief Steve Ballmer. The deal includes the Finnish handset-maker's patents and a 32,000-strong workforce. Ballmer offered three reasons for ending their Windows Phone partnership: the companies' separate business needs; the duplicated efforts of building the two brands; and the difficulties of deciding how to invest each partner's capital. Also, executives said uniting the phone and software under a single banner will boost Microsoft's gross margins from less than $10 to more than $40 per unit. Microsoft will continue to license Windows Phone to other handset-makers.

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Microsoft will buy Nokia's handset business

Microsoft reached an agreement with Nokia to buy the Finland-based company's smartphone and cellphone handset business for $5 billion. Microsoft will pay an additional $2.2 billion to license Nokia's patents. The acquisition is part of Microsoft's drive to expand beyond the software business. Nokia CEO Stephen Elop will join Microsoft as an executive vice president of devices and services

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Moneyforyourphone - How much is your mobile phone worth?  http://www.moneyforyourphone.com/

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Retailers text back-to-school messages for 90% open rates

The latest trend in back-to-school marketing for retailers is using SMS to generate high engagement, writes Todd LaBeau, vice president of digital at Lindsay, Stone & Briggs. Kohl's and Abercrombie & Fitch are sending out short and sweet contest messages, whereas Nordstrom and Macy's are concentrating on getting recipients to share. The driver is that nine of 10 text messages are read within three minutes of being received, per SinglePoint Research.

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Money for your phone - How much is your mobile phone worth?   http://www.moneyforyourphone.com/

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How Social Media is Transforming the Marketing Operations Process

Join this webinar to hear experts from IBM and featured analyst firm Gartner, discuss how marketing operations can help marketers collect, measure, and assess every program—from social to mobile to mass marketing. Find out how fine-tuned marketing operations can have a direct impact on increasing campaign effectiveness and optimizing marketing program spend.

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Aetna extends its health care campaign to employers, providers

Aetna today will launch an "Our Healthy" campaign targeted at employers, health care providers and policymakers that highlights its technology and "accountable care" credentials, in an effort to reach the majority of Americans who are insured through their jobs. The campaign, created by OgilvyOne, will have online, print and mobile components running through the rest of 2013 and is part of a $50 million marketing strategy for Aetna.

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Taco Bell's resurgence required a major marketing, menu shift

Taco Bell, which Ad Age has named its Marketer of the Year, turned around four years of poor sales by setting itself up as a lifestyle brand with the 2012 introduction of its "Live mas" slogan and its first Doritos Locos Tacos. The Doritos tacos helped turn a 1.4% sales decline in 2011 to an 8% increase in 2012. Under Draftfcb and Deutsch, Taco Bell heavily targeted millennials on social media and increased its ad budget by 12% in 2012

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Feeling blue? Facebook might be to blame

Thursday 15 August 2013

People feel worse about themselves when they use Facebook, regardless of how happy or unhappy they were before looking at the site, researchers say. "We measured lots and lots of other personality and behavioral dimensions, like, for example, frequency of Facebook use. ... The more you used Facebook, the more your mood dropped,"

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What Carl Icahn's $20 billion tweet could mean for Twitter, traders

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn used Twitter on Tuesday to reveal that he has a large amount of Apple stock, and that he believes the company to be "extremely undervalued." The tweet, and a follow-up about discussing share buybacks with Apple CEO Tim Cook, sent Apple's price soaring, boosting the company's value by about $20 billion. "I don't know that market-moving information breaking on Twitter will become 'the norm,' but it has certainly become important," said Henry Blodget, CEO of Business Insider.

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Facebook product manager Peter Deng jumps to Instagram

Instagram has signed up Peter Deng, a Facebook product manager, to be its first director of product. Deng is capable, but his presence might make it harder for Instagram to retain its own independent culture and direction, Ellis Hamburger writes. "[W]hen you bring in someone used to doing things Facebook's way, there's a real chance you'll end up with something that looks like Facebook,"

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Facebook tests online-payments engine

Facebook is testing a payments engine that could prove a threat to PayPal. The tool would allow users who have previously paid for something on Facebook using a credit card to make payments on third-party sites without re-entering their card information. Still, some analysts are skeptical about consumers' willingness to share their credit card and purchase details with Facebook.

Read More Here.    http://allthingsd.com

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How to create a website your customers can trust

Small businesses should make sure each Web page serves a clear purpose, according to the Webreep Annual Online Consumer Behavior Report. Pages that are trying to do too much might end up falling flat, the report warns. "If your website isn't easy to use, your visitors will walk. The information on your website needs to be highly relevant and targeted to help your website visitors achieve their goals,"

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Tips for building touch keyboards that decrease mobile form errors

Mobile website designers can make forms easier to fill out via touch keyboards with a handful of tools, including disabling auto-correct for form fields such as e-mail address where the dictionary is likely to be weak. Dedicated keyboards for specific functions also help decrease errors, and making sure "next" and "previous" buttons follow a logical sequence will decrease user frustration.

Read More Here.     http://uxdesign.smashingmagazine.com

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Hooters turns to social media for brand building

The crux of Hooters' "Step Into Awesome" rebranding campaign from Skiver Advertising is social promotion asking users to share experiences on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and elsewhere. Hooters had added its #StepIntoAwesome hashtag to all of its marketing and had more than 10,000 user-posted photos with that hashtag in the first 30 days of the campaign. Hooters even added a "Miss Social" category to its swimsuit pageant for the contestant with the most social activity.

Read More Here.  http://www.mediapost.com

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CNN readying massive website redesign with responsive features, ads

CNN is overhauling its website with a responsive design interface to create a more consistent experience for the 40% of visitors who access the site through a mobile device. The redesign will include new native and responsive advertisement formats aimed at boosting revenue. The public beta debuts in September, and the full site is slated to go live worldwide in November. "I fervently believe that mobile is our future, or a huge part of our future, and what I've challenged not just this team but our ad sales team to do is make the transition that much easier," said CNN President Jeff Zucker.

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Obama's Economic Approval Slips to 35%

Just 35% of Americans approve of President Barack Obama's handling of the economy, according to a new Gallup poll. That's down seven points from June, with Obama's handling of taxes and the federal deficit coming in for particular criticism, but still better than the 26% rating he garnered in mid-2011

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Middle Eastern Subaru dealership causes uproar with Facebook post

Friday 9 August 2013

A Subaru dealership in the United Arab Emirates has apologized after posting a misogynistic screed about female drivers -- in response to a fatal accident -- on its Facebook page. The uproar over the post made its way onto Subaru of America's page, where officials responded by emphasizing that Subaru Emirates and Subaru of America are separately run, and pledging an investigation into the original post.

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Pinterest turns rich pins into price-drop e-mail alerts

Pinterest has added e-mail price alerts to the "rich" pins feature it introduced in May. "Pinterest will send these sale alerts through aggregated and summarized emails, so as to prevent users from getting spammed," writes Melanie White. Amplify social media manager Adam Dacosta calls it "a very clever move."

Read More Here.  http://www.clickz.com

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Should we be able to tweet at the movies?

Going to the movies would be a better experience if cinemas turned up the lights, provided power outlets and encouraged people to tweet and use second-screen devices, venture capitalist Hunter Walk argues. Walk's controversial idea generated plenty of chatter, with some saying that cinemas shouldn't try to turn themselves into people's living rooms. "A movie theater is still a sacred place. Mr. Walk can wait to tweet until he gets home, just like the rest of us," 

Read More Here.    http://hunterwalk.com

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Dell: The new rules of content marketing PDF

The explosion of content marketing, the proliferation of social platforms and the growth of digitally driven channels have fundamentally changed the relationship that today's B2B buyer has with marketing materials and the sales force. Brendan Dell explores the new behaviors and preferences of today's B2B buyer and provides best-practice advice for crafting content campaigns.

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Survey: U.S. firms say generating leads is top content goal

Nearly half of U.S. companies have a formal content marketing strategy and 44% of these companies say increasing leads is the main goal, according to a report from IMN. Price might be a big factor in the strategy's adoption since one-third of respondents said they spend less than 10% of their marketing budgets on content marketing.

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Chinese marketers stepping up to mobile platform

Eight-four percent of Chinese companies project that mobile sales will grow over the next year, and 16% are already marketing regularly through mobile, an Experian Marketing Services' whitepaper reports. Currently, text is the main marketing channel but other technologies, including QR codes, are expected to take a bigger share.

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Mobile banner ads fare poorly next to native mobile experiences

Brand mobile websites, QR codes and other native mobile experiences outperform mobile banner advertisements by a wide margin when it comes to consumer engagement, according to a global study from media agency Initiative. Voucher code sites received the highest level of engagement at 74%, compared to 52% for banner ads. The study also found that the more time consumers spent browsing with their mobile devices, the more likely they were to also use it for shopping.

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Snap Mobile offers rich-media templates for mobile advertisers

Snap Mobile is offering 11 simple-to-use templates as part of its Rich Media 5 project, which allows advertisers to quickly create engaging rich-media mobile ads in Hong Kong. The HTML5 templates, with more to come, are being offered free to advertisers with a promised three-day turnaround time. "We are making it very simple. All clients and agencies need to do is come up with a storyboard," said Kevin Huang, chief executive of Snap Mobile parent Pixel Media.

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Microsoft expands white-space tests with South African foray

Friday 2 August 2013

Microsoft has expanded its African tests of white-space broadband service to the Limpopo province of South Africa following the launch of trials in Kenya and Tanzania. Microsoft is trying to show South Africa that white-space technology can help meet the government's goal of an 80% broadband reach by 2020, according to a published account.

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Facebook unveils platform for publishing mobile games

Facebook is recruiting mobile-game developers for its new publishing platform that includes revenue sharing. "With more than 800 million monthly users of our mobile apps and more than 260 million people playing games on Facebook, we are using our unique reach and targeting capabilities to help games in our program find and engage a valuable audience of the right users," Facebook's Victor Medeiros wrote in a blog post

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Why Google+ feared the "tin-foil-hat" privacy brigade 
Google reportedly backed away from CEO Larry Page's planned privacy "slider" -- a tool that would have allowed users to select privacy options on a sliding scale -- after realizing that the tool's "tin-foil-hat option" for maximum privacy would have conflicted with Google+'s data-collecting and -sharing strategy. Still, the company is still working behind the scenes to find ways to balance privacy and information sharing...

Read More Here.   http://online.wsj.com

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Mozilla tests personalized browsing that could turn into ad targeting

Mozilla is experimenting with an opt-in system that would potentially allow ad targeting to users of its Firefox browser. The move is surprising "considering Mozilla's recent efforts to curb the ability for other companies to drop tracking cookies on Firefox users," writes Kate Kaye. A Mozilla blog says users would be sharing their interests "with specific websites for a personalized experience" and is intended for content-targeting.

Read More Here.   http://adage.com

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CNN is about "all of the news," Zucker says

CNN plans to focus on boosting its prime-time lineup and enhancing its mobile presence, while offering a broad mix of news, from politics to lighter topics, Jeff Zucker, president of CNN Worldwide, said at an industry event. "What I want CNN to be about is all of the news, and all of the news is not just what's happening in Washington or in the Middle East, but it's also about entertainment and business and sports and culture and [things] that we all talk about," Zucker said.

Read More Here.    http://variety.com

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Calling all young professionals and students: Join BMA!

Just starting out in business-to-business marketing? Need immediate access to a network of professionals who can offer guidance, resources and support? The Business Marketing Association is here to help. If you are 30 years old or younger, we offer a full year of membership in our Young Professionals Program for just $75. This is $135 less than the standard membership fee and is available only to new and renewing members who meet the criteria. If you are a full time student, you can join BMA for $25!

Read More Here.     http://www.marketing.org

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Report: Facebook's video ads to cost as much as $2.5 million a day

Facebook will begin selling 15-second video ads on a full-day basis for $1 million to $2.5 million each day, according to sources. Targeting of the ads will be based only on age and gender, as the social net looks to better mirror the way TV ads are purchased. Users will see a commercial up to three times each day....

Read More Here    http://www.bloomberg.com .

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Lenovo will look to leverage cloud storage to improve hardware sales

Lenovo will expand its 5 GB Reach cloud-storage service for files and passwords to all users in North America as it looks to improve sales numbers for its hardware offerings. However, similar efforts by hardware companies Asus and Acer have not increased device sales, according to this report.

Read More Here   http://www.computerworld.com.

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Siemens names finance chief as new CEO

Siemens has announced that finance chief Joe Kaeser will take over as CEO from Peter Loescher, who was ousted amid concern over tumbling profit. Kaeser will be challenged to put the sprawling engineering group back on track but has the expertise for the task, analysts say. "Kaeser was the logical candidate to succeed Loescher. It made perfect sense to nominate him," says analyst Ingo-Martin Schachel of Commerzbank.

Read More Here.   http://www.bloomberg.com

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Nokia exec: "We need a broader ecosystem of applications"

 
Microsoft and Nokia both recognize the importance of recruiting independent application developers. Nokia's Jo Harlow says, "We need more awareness of Windows phones and Lumia, we need a broader ecosystem of applications." She touted the new Lumia 1020 smartphone as an example of the growing partnership between Microsoft and Nokia.

Read More Here. The Wall Street Journal   http://online.wsj.com

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Developers say Google Play game services are working

 
Google is featuring game developers that tout the value of the Google Play game services and new Google Play Games application, Jeffrey Grubb writes. For example, Concrete Software's PBA Bowling Challenge says the game platform's services -- which include cloud-based game saves, real-time multiplayer competition and leaderboards -- were easy to implement and increased time spent in the game by 15%. Glu reports 40% higher seven-day retention for Eternity Warriors 2. "The availability of these features in Google Play game services helps us make our games stickier," Glu's Sourabh Ahuja says

Read More Here. http://venturebeat.com

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Pondering Twitter's staying power

By some counts, Twitter now has 500 million users -- but is that enough of a critical mass to ensure that the microblogging service doesn't fizzle out? Other analyses suggest that the site's active user base is substantially smaller, and that Twitter isn't out of the woods yet. "It's not so hard to imagine the 200 million or so monthly active users finding another club to play in," Rebecca Greenfield writes

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What Facebook could learn from suicidal brain cells

Facebook is getting too tangled and overloaded with features, and it's time for it to start putting simplicity ahead of growth, Jeff Stibel writes. Much as the brain prunes synaptic connections to avoid excessive complexity, Facebook should cut out the distractions and focus on streamlining its core functions, Stibel argues. "[T]here is now more value, more utility, in offering less. ... Just like the brain, Facebook could separate out the fluff and strengthen the important relationships,"

Read More Here.     http://www.wired.com

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The trouble with Chipotle's Twitter shenanigans

Chipotle's recent Twitter "hack" publicity stunt was a lame one at that, Molly McHugh writes. The move highlighted the broader problem with Twitter buzz, which rewards brands for using PR gimmicks rather than building real engagement, McHugh writes. "Twitter is all about notoriety and follower numbers -- it's a social ladder to be climbed. ... [M]aybe we sucked it dry of anything genuine," she writes.

Read More Here.   http://www.digitaltrends.com

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BMA Phoenix Chapter -- Event -- Young Professionals Networking Event with CEO Scott Salkin

This event will be held Thursday, Aug. 8, 5:30 to 7 p.m., at IDS Technology Marketing, 14811 N. Kierland Blvd. Suite 300, in Scottsdale, Ariz., when Scott Salkin, founder and CEO of IDS Technology Marketing, will share real-life lessons and insight from his entrepreneurial journey, turning a business idea into a multimillion dollar B2B marketing firm in just a few years. Scott's discussion will include sharing stories from his 10-year journey from being a high-tech intern to becoming a high-tech marketing business owner; lessons from six years of business ownership; why he decided to give up a comfortable job and start a business in the Great Recession; and his thoughts on what young B2B marketers and entrepreneurs should be focused on as they build their careers. Scott was recently listed as one of Arizona's "Top 35 Entrepreneurs Under 35" and was recognized in 2013 as the Phoenix Business Journal and Business Marketing Association "Marketer of the Year."

Read More Here.     http://bmaphoenix.org

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Oracle, Salesforce integration leads to high expectations

 The recent announcement of service integrations between Salesforce.com and Oracle has conjured up images of improved products and business intelligence in the minds of enterprise customers. These hopes include Oracle's Endeca using Salesforce data to manage sales and customer information, plus integration of order processing and fulfillment. The companies will listen to customers to guide their next steps, said Kendall Collins, executive vice president of products at Salesforce.com.

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Will Gmail's new sorting feature hobble marketing?

Gmail now provides users a set of inboxes that automatically sort messages it deems "Promotions" or "Social" into tabs that are separate from a user's main inbox -- a feature that has implications for e-mail marketing. MailChimp and Return Path have noticed a small decline in open rates, but it is still too soon to determine the full effect. "Our advice is: Don't panic," Constant Contact CEO Gail Goodman said.

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Mobile is catching up with desktops for marketing e-mail openings

Mobile is catching up with PCs in terms of consumer open rates for marketing e-mails, according to research by marketing solutions provider Harland Clarke Digital. Smartphones tend to be used for this purpose during work hours, and tablets see more e-mail openings in the evening.

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Field research is key to effective marketing, Motorola Solutions' Conrado says

Getting marketers into the field and having them meet more often with sales teams and customers will allow companies to better understand clients and correct buyer-process maps, says Motorola Solutions' Eduardo Conrado, senior vice president of marketing and IT. This process also involves having more of a local presence to make sure materials match regional cultures, technologies and habits.

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You are probably doing brainstorming wrong

Brainstorming is a powerful tool for driving innovation, but it needs to be conducted in a manner that's free of preconceptions and unthinking constraints, write Alan Iny and Luc de Brabandere. If you're brainstorming the wrong way, you won't come up with useful ideas, they warn. "It's always easier to blame the tool than to question your technique, but would you blame the hammer if you hit your thumb?" they write.

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Is Wall Street to blame for the decline in U.S. innovation?

Wall Street's financiers aren't using their capital to effectively drive innovation, and that's sucking the creativity out of the U.S. economy, argues Lynn Parramore. The expectations of analysts aren't helping, Parramore argues, citing Lawrence Mitchell, who wrote about a survey in which 4 of 5 CEOs "at least moderately mutilated their businesses in order to meet [financial] analysts’ quarterly profit estimates."

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Hong Kong banks keep leadership in the family

Monday 29 July 2013

Hong Kong's family-owned banks are struggling to find a new generation of suitable executives to take over for white-haired CEOs. David Li Kwok-po, the 74-year-old CEO of Bank of East Asia, repeatedly pushes off retirement as the bank wrestles with succession issues. "The choices for the next boss of a family-owned business are always limited, as he must be a family member who is willing to take over control," says human resources consultant Alexa Chow Yee-ping.

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When will American companies start spending again?

 The latest round of earnings reports suggests that American CEOs continue to prioritize reducing expenses to support earnings. "Corporate America has cost-cut just about as much as they can," says Jeffery Saut of Raymond James Financial. "I think the economy is going to pick up, and if you're understaffed and don't have enough throughput in your factories, yeah, I think you're going to miss out on some things.

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How federal agencies train future leaders

A study from the Partnership for Public Service and McKinsey & Co. suggests that the federal government's agencies aren't doing enough to train and develop the next generation of leaders. Still, there are some bright spots: The Department of Defense develops senior leadership through a two-year program that includes lessons in military leadership outside one's branch, academics and real-world application.

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Filled with social media regret? You're not alone

About a quarter of social media users say they've posted content on social networks that could be harmful to their job prospects, according to a FindLaw.com survey. The study also found that about three-quarters of young users had deleted posts after having second thoughts about how something they'd shared might be viewed by current or potential employers.

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Island hotel integrates Twitter throughout vacation experience

Guests at Sol Wave House in Majorca, Spain, can log in to a Twitter-powered Web application that can only be accessed over the hotel's private Wi-Fi network, giving them a semi-private space in which to chat -- and potentially flirt -- with one another. The hotel also offers Twitter-themed suites, cocktails and candy, and allows guests to order room service or poolside drinks using dedicated hashtags.

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Has Facebook missed its chance in China?

Tencent's WeChat social-messaging application has 195 million active users in China, and about 400 million registered users in total. That suggests that WeChat has attained the kind of critical mass that could make it impossible for Western rivals such as Facebook to get a foothold in the Chinese marketplace, Jon Russell writes. "Every day that Facebook is not in China, WeChat's presence among users, advertisers and ... [mobile providers] becomes stronger," Russell writes

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Pinterest to introduce recommendations based on Web tracking

Pinterest will use data gathered through its embeddable "Pin It" button to recommend boards and pins to users based on websites they have visited, the company announced. "If you're planning a party and have gone to lots of party sites recently, we'll try to suggest boards to make your event a hit," Pinterest said in a blog post. Although advertising uses of the data and recommendations are likely around the corner, Pinterest is offering users the opportunity to opt out of the service using a browser's "Do Not Track" feature.

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Twitter examines abusive-tweet reporting following U.K. outcry

A journalist who successfully fought to have more female faces included on British banknotes was bombarded with rape threats on Twitter, prompting calls for the social network to take more effective action against online trolls. Some groups called for a boycott, and a U.K. official criticized the network for its "inadequate" handling of the episode. Twitter's Tony Wang said the service is testing an expansion of its "Report Tweet" button, currently available only in the iPhone application

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Online publishers embrace native ad formats

Wednesday 24 July 2013

Almost three-quarters of U.S. online advertisement publishers are already offering some sort of native ad capability, according to a survey from the Online Publishers Association and Radar Research. Engagement is the most popular metric for defining the success of such ads with more than half of publishers using it, followed by 43% who rely on traffic numbers. Native ad spending on social sites is projected to reach $2.36 billion this year, according to a separate analysis from BIA/Kelsey.

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Eye-tracking tool boosts value of display ads

Eye-tracking firm Sticky is offering digital advertising publishers a tool to determine the likelihood that a website visitor will see an ad and for how long. The tool makes ads more valuable by ensuring quality ad placement and allowing publishers to charge more for ads seen for longer periods of time. The tool also helps brands identify which websites give their ads the highest performance.

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Philippine marketers catch on to advantages of mobile

Citing consumer targeting as the most valuable aspect of mobile, about half of marketers in the Philippines report they had invested in the platform as of May, according to survey by Mobext Philippines. One commonly noted limitation, however, is the low penetration of smartphones in the country. 

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PayPal charts its own course in Australia for mobile payments

PayPal is pursuing its own, independent course for mobile payments in Australia, bypassing partnerships with banks or telecoms with a focus on point-of-sale vendors and individual businesses. Now PayPal is joining with EatNow and OrderMate to expand its reach in the restaurant industry.

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Source: Smartbrief

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Mobext extends co-funding program across Asia as mobile marketing soars

Mobext is now offering its ATOM Fund co-investment program for first-time mobile advertisers across Asia after an experimental run in the Philippines. "ATOM Fund has had a positive impact on Philippine advertisers, especially in overcoming analysis paralysis when it comes to investing in mobile," said Arthur Policarpio, head of Mobext Asia-Pacific.

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Developing-world Facebook users flock to mobile access

At least 100 million people around the world use Facebook on feature phones rather than smartphones, the social network has announced. That speaks to the site's increasing importance in developing markets, where regular cellphones are widely used. "Millions of people in developing markets like India, Indonesia, and the Philippines are relying on this technology to connect with Facebook, without having to purchase a smartphone," Facebook said in its announcement.

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Buckingham Palace tweets news of prince's birth

The U.K.'s royal family tweeted regular updates about the birth Monday of Kate Middleton's baby, who is third in line to the throne. Buckingham Palace's socially savvy strategy whipped Facebook and Twitter into a frenzy, but may also have helped lessen the need for invasive, paparazzi-style media coverage of the birth. "If the updates are disseminated via Twitter like so many bread crumbs for the hungry media, then perhaps the paparazzi's zeal to break the news of every pregnancy-related development becomes less menacing,"

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