Where is today's face-to-face communcation?

Much of what you read here in AB&C Blogland relates to technology. We offer our thoughts on the latest developments, trends and leaps forward in the rapidly advancing world of web connectivity. Things have reached the point where you can’t go too many places without spotting someone staring down at some sort of handheld device. Even my travel plans have been affected! It used to be that long car trips to client meetings meant there’d be time to catch up on the latest office gossip.Read full post...

Let AB&C be your GPS.

After getting hopelessly lost in Washington, DC, a few weeks back, I decided to buy a GPS navigation device to make sure that it never happens again. My new friend “Mindy” now guides me through each turn and makes sure I reach my destination regardless of road closures and detours.

As I was loading Mindy with all of my information and favorite destinations, I thought a good marketing agency is like a GPS. Clients provide their information and objectives, and the agency provides a targeted road map to help them reach their marketing destination.

AB&C is a good example. We provide focus and step-by-step directions on how to reach your target audience with a customized message that won’t get lost in the market. Call us if you need a marketing GPS. Just don’t call us Mindy.

The browser wars are back on!

Remember the browser wars of the late nineties? Half the online population thought “Netscape” actually was the Internet and Microsoft was just starting to take the Internet seriously.

Of course, Internet Explorer emerged the victor and whether you’re in the camp that faults Microsoft’s heavy-handed tactics or the camp that recognizes Netscape’s failure to innovate, there’s probably some truth in both.

But now the war is back on. Except it’s not a browser war, it’s a “rendering engine” war.Read full post...

Website design requires a balance.

No matter what you design — from blue jeans to loveseats to SUVs — you have to strike a balance between form and function. Thanks to the patient counsel of my interactive colleagues over the years, I’ve learned that I can’t approach web design the same way I approach print and other media. The scales tip toward functionality, which is determined by the target audience and its needs.

User experience is the number-one priority. Of course a successful website should look good, but, more important, it has to answer the needs of the audience and bring value to the user. Complicated navigation and over-designed pages only distract and confuse the audience, driving them away from the site.

When it comes to web design, balancing form and function is critical. Your design has to be engaging, interesting and compelling, but you can’t overwhelm the user with superfluous bells and whistles. Know your audience; know their needs. Let that knowledge guide you.

The power of celebrity.

Celebrity is potent. We’ve seen the power of celebrity recently with the death of a certain music icon — how it takes over the news and, in his case, a city budget.

The power comes from celebrities’ ability to generate awareness — whether it’s fashion, diet or a cause, if they are affiliated with it, attention will be paid. Sometimes the attention comes about unintentionally, as with the awareness now surrounding prescription drug overdose.Read full post...

Are hospitals turning away patients?

Ten years ago a hospital system in New York City opened several public diabetes clinics to help people better manage their disease. From insulin injection assistance to nutrition education, diabetic consumers could gain the knowledge they needed to change their behaviors. Within seven years, these clinics closed. Did the public need the clinics? Of course. Were they underutilized? Not at all. The hospital was forced to close the clinics because the services did not increase patient volume for treatment procedures due to diabetic complications. The issue here was not the execution, but the intention.Read full post...

New technology from Google to help ad agencies.

Google has long focused on empowering the consumer, evident in its easy-to-use self-serve tools. This focus is especially apparent to agencies trying to manage client AdWords/Analytics accounts (credit card–centric billing, max of 25 Analytics accounts per Google Account, flimsy integration of Webmaster Tools).

Google is taking steps to remedy this, however, with the launch of AgencyLand, a single repository for all agency info, including training, resources and news. It also gives the freedom to share certain relevant portal aspects with team members, enabling managers to share a piece of knowledge without bogging down employees with the whole pie.

Access requires an MCC customer ID (obviously) and an invite, since it’s a pilot offering.

A new look for Twitter.

In a need to monetize, Twitter has redesigned its homepage to make search front and center. The simple search box lets you search (duh), and below it is a ticker featuring three rows of popular topics, broken down by minute, day and week. “Popular topics by the minute” take precedence, and appear in a larger point size, indicating the general of-the-moment nature of tweets. Real pulse-of-the-marketplace info, especially if your market has a presence in the Twitterverse.

Paid search is next, folks. Give Twitter a few days (or weeks) to serve up this feature.

Everyone needs an advocate.

Imagine getting a blood test and never hearing from the doctor about the results so you assume everything is OK. Now fast-forward eight months — you’re paler and more bruised than usual so you go get more blood work. Then you wake up on your birthday and get a call from your doctor telling you to get to the emergency room. That’s exactly what happened to Matt Sheehan a month ago. After going to the ER at Hackensack University Medical Center, Sheehan learned he has a rare blood disorder — aplastic anemia. This means that the bone marrow does not make enough blood cells. It also means that Sheehan has to go through countless tests, transfusions, biopsies and other health nightmares.Read full post...

Give yourself a Mad Men makeover!

Didn’t work at a Madison Ave agency in the early ’60s? Tired of dirty looks for drinking in the office at 11 a.m.? Now at least your Facebook icon can live the life, thanks to AMC’s MadMenYourself.

Suit or skirt? Martini or whiskey on the rocks? Cigar or cigarette?

Too much fun. Unlike ElfYourself, SimpsonizeMe and FaceYourManga, you don’t actually upload an image — one less hurdle, which is good. Oh, and (somewhat) easily Facebooked, Tweeted, Dugged and StumbleUponed.

PS – We couldn’t help but get in on the action. Try it for yourself.

Get ready for the new "Alice in Wonderland."

Johnny Depp is the Mad Hatter. Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter are the White and Red Queens, respectively. It’s Tim Burton’s take on “Alice in Wonderland,” and it promises to be over the top. Set for release in March of next year, the movie is already being very cleverly promoted using social media.

On Facebook, you can sign up to be a “loyal subject” of the Red Queen or the White Queen or a “disloyal subject” of the Mad Hatter. And the benefit for becoming a fan? The group that is the largest by 7 p.m. on July 24 will win the chance to see an exclusive new trailer from the movie before anyone else.Read full post...

Alice.com can help with your household shopping.

Would you like a website that would guarantee you never run out of toilet paper? If so, then Alice.com is for you. It’s a new website that sells consumer packaged good (batteries, soap, shampoo, coffee, toilet paper and other common household items) directly to consumers. The site also has planning and budgeting features, smart reminders and coupons (which should give grocery stores a run for their money).

Alice even provides recommendations based on who lives in your household. For example, if you live in a household with all girls, you clearly won’t have to buy men’s essentials. And you can set a time for a reorder reminder. This way, you never accidentally run out.

There is a ton of selection, with thousands of options and brands to choose from, and prices that are close to Walmart’s or Costco’s (without having to pay for gas to get to and from the store). And the best part — shipping is completely free.

Alice.com also has benefits to the consumer good manufacturers. They can access consumer information about who is buying their products (thanks to selling through Alice versus a traditional store). The site also offers a variety of programs including coupons, loyalty programs, product trials and sampling, customer surveys, and category sponsorship opportunities. But is it enticing enough for you to make the switch to online shopping for your household needs? Check it out for yourself.

The Google Chrome Operating System

Google announces an OS. For anyone even remotely familiar with cloud computing (is that term still used?), thin/dumb clients, Android, Chrome and how Google operates, this is not a real big surprise.

Google’s answer to OS bloat is lean and mean (and uses an open-source Linux kernel). Empowering the programming community could (should) bring some true innovation to the OS. Speaking of these developers, Google wants us to remember that “for application developers, the web is the platform.”Read full post...

A unified communication and collaboration tool

What do email, instant messaging, forums and ticketing systems have in common?

They are all mechanisms that two or more people can use to send communication back and forth. The primary differences between each is the number of people participating, the medium in which the messages exists, the speed with which the messages are delivered and the mechanism by which a user is notified of changes.

Email and instant messaging often have a dedicated medium (users of both typically run a special program like Outlook or Mac Mail) and generally happen between two people. A key difference is that email is asynchronous and instant messaging is synchronous. Instant messaging also notifies the user, well, instantly, and e-mail is a bit less “in your face.” But they share the features of a contact list and the ability to exchange text and images.Read full post...

The bi-plane cake for St. Joseph's Children's Hospital

A recent episode of TLC’s The Cake Boss (“Bi-Plane, Bridezilla & Busting Buddy”) featured our client, St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital. The reality show follows Buddy Valastro, the master baker of Carlo’s City Hall Bake Shop in Hoboken, NJ, as he and his team create amazing cakes and pastries.

During this episode, Buddy created a completely edible version of the St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital bi-plane logo and unveiled the cake at the hospital’s annual Cooking for Kids event. Although we were fortunate enough to be in attendance at the event, it was great to see how Buddy and his team created the cake and debated how to bring the logo to life. But what was most rewarding was watching the work that the AB&C team did come to life on TV. Our team updated the Children’s Hospital logo last year and also designed the posters that were visible at the end of the episode when the cake was brought to the event. But the real highlight of the show was when “bridezilla” destroyed her wedding cake and insisted on a new one for the next day!