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Weird Science

Friday, June 19th, 2009

Any good tech-guru knows that the way to increase usage of new technology is to make it accessible. As a people, we love convenience, we crave modernity, and we live for the next “big thing.”

We’ve already mastered the phone that goes wherever we go, and have perfected it with text messages, music, internet access, and a whole wide variety of other add-ons and features that boggle the human mind. So what could possibly be next?

If you’ve read too many sci-fi novels, you might be thinking of a phone that is surgically implanted in your ear, so it is always there, at the ready, when you need it. Technology hasn’t quite reached that level yet (and many of us probably hope that it never will), but some other interesting uses for technology have certainly arisen in recent months.

Our favorite here at Promoting Group is the ringing outfit. This article describes a young fashion student’s latest idea—to have a dress that is wirelessly connected to your cell phone, so that the dress lights up when your phone rings. You’ll never miss a call due to a crowded bar or a too-loud iPod! Sony Ericsson sponsored the making of the dress.

090618 sharapova vmed 1pwidec 83x125 Weird Science

The idea of a light-up, ringing dress (shown here with Maria Sharapova) seems silly, but altogether harmless. However, it does make us think. How convenient do we really want our technology to be? When have we reach convenience perfection? Is there such a thing as too convenient? How convenient is too convenient? And where do “creepy” and “weird” start to outlive convenient?

These are questions that only time can answer, but we are eager to see where the road of technology leads us.

New Travel Websites

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009

voyij2 110x67 New Travel WebsitesAirlines never seem to operate exactly the way we would expect them to. One non-stop flight often costs more than two flights, even though the shorter flights use more gasoline, cover more miles, and use more hours for pilots and flight attendants. Two seats on the exact same flight can vary hundreds of dollars in price. And when gasoline prices and every other product price in the world are rising, air flights are cheaper than they have ever been. How on earth are we supposed to keep up?

Frankly, it’s hard to imagine how flights ever got booked in the first place before travel websites emerged. And can you even remember back to booking flights before the use of the internet? You had to call the airlines separately to look for a flight! What a pain. Now, however, we rely on sites such as Expedia, Orbitz, Priceline, Travelocity, and CheapTickets. With air flights on sale all across the world though, it may be worth the extra effort to hunt even a little further. The sales are out there—it’s just a matter of finding them.

Business majors and entrepreneurs all over the world seem to recognize that the average person may need a little help uncovering those amazing travel deals that are present, but illusive. New travel-booking websites are popping up at an amazing rate, helping people to save a bundle on their flights, hotels, and vacation packages.

Voyij.com specializes in flights, hotels, and packages that are on sale. Voyij won’t pick up on every possibly flight time and price combination that sites like Expedia and Priceline offer, but it will help you pinpoint the best deals that each airline offers. With Expedia and Priceline you may miss certain deals—you picked a flight that left too early in the day, or should have chosen to fly Tuesday to Tuesday instead of Wednesday to Wednesday. Voyij, however, is specifically designed to pick up on deals and sales that other travel websites may miss.

BestTravelDeal.net is a social media site that is comprised entirely of user input. When users find great flight prices, hotel rates, or package deals, they post the details on BestTravelDeal, exposing the hidden sales to the rest of the users. The deals that are posted tend to sell out fast, so make sure to check the site frequently and be ready to act when something good pops up.

DealBase.com is more similar to Voyij, but focuses on hotel deals. If you are planning a vacation that is close to home or if you have already found a good flight price, this site should be your next stop. DealBase finds deals, sales, and special packages offered by hotels across the country, and explains them to you in laymen’s terms so that you can take full advantage of them. That way you can fully benefit from that two-for-one deal that five star hotel is offering, without having to read the fine print to make sure there are no catches you might have missed.

Flight prices are at an all-time low, but finding those deals can still be difficult. Take advantage of all the travel websites popping up and you just may be able to uncover some amazing deals!

Be on the Lookout for the New Google

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

Tgoogle 265x105 Be on the Lookout for the New Googlehere is a new website in the works that we here at Promoting Group are keeping our eyes on, and we think that you should too. Currently, Google holds 60% of the market shares for search engine sites, with Yahoo! following in a distance second place. Microsoft has now decided that they want a piece of the pie, and has announced plans to launch Bing, their answer to the search-engine phenomenon that has become the American way.

It’s hard to imagine a world without Google, though it hasn’t been that long since the world was just that. Before Google came sweeping into our lives with it’s unfathomable email allowance bandwidth, near-perfect maps and satellite images, and the why-didn’t-I-think-of-that email “conversations,” there were Yahoo!, Ask Jeeves, (which is now just known as www.ask.com) and the less-popular, though highly-efficient, DogPile.

Then Google was born, and the world changed. The word “google” is now officially in Webster’s dictionary both as a noun describing the site, and as a verb. The phrase “to google” something is now used on a daily basis by those young and old. In the days BG (Before Google), if you didn’t know an answer, you were told to “look it up.” Now, you are told to “google it.”

It’s no wonder then that Microsoft should want a part of the search-engine brand action. It’s said that the Bing advertising campaign will cost over $100 million. As for what will distinguish Bing from Google and other search engine sites, that seems to not quite be known yet. Some have speculated, but for now it seems that the only concrete evidence available is that Bing will be a type of search engine, and users will be encouraged to “Bing it” instead of “Google it.”

Will Bing truly be able to draw Google-lovers away from the site that has become such an integral part of our lives? And if Bing does manage to win over search-engine site goers, what about all of the other aspects of Google? Gmail? G-Chat? Google Maps? Google Images? Google Earth? Google Satellite View? Will Bing stand a chance? Could the Google Era truly be coming to a close?

The questions are endless, so I guess we really will have to wait and see what Bing has to offer once it is launched (which is estimated to be sometime this week or early next week). Keep your eyes open, your search-engine questions ready, and your SEO techniques flexible, as we wait to see if Bing offers Google any true competition.

Humor in Marketing

Wednesday, May 20th, 2009

Everyone likes a funny advertisement. Whether it’s a catchy jingle on the radio, a silly picture on a billboard, or a laugh-out-loud commercial during the Super Bowl, funny almost always seems to win.

It is no wonder then that many marketers and advertisers are turning to humor to spice up their products and services during the recession. McDonald’s dropped their cheerful “We Love to See You Smile” jingle for the now-infamous “Filet-O-Fish” commercial, which became an immediate internet sensation on YouTube and hilarious, yet frustrating, jingle that no one can seem to get out of their heads.

Did this humorous ad bring McDonald’s more business than before? It’s doubtful. McDonald’s is an international company who is well-established among the masses. Since the McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish© sandwich has never been their biggest seller, we also doubt that millions of people ran off to McDonald’s to give it a try upon seeing the funny (yet slightly disturbing) ad.

So why go funny?

For one thing, everyone can use a laugh. As previously mentioned, McDonald’s is an established company, who is probably affected by the recession, but it is doubtful that they were previously suffering from lack of decent advertising. So why not give the people a laugh? It is good for mental health, for physical health, for productivity, and is desperately needed in this depressed economy.

Secondly, catchy humor can be incredibly useful for those companies who are not so well established. The Red House furniture store in North Carolina went from a slow, local business, to an internationally-recognized brand who can barely keep up with the ringing phones. Their latest commercial, filmed in the store and featuring real employees and customers as their actors, became an internet sensation on YouTube with over a million hits. The commercial is ridiculous, and features bad acting, bad lighting, bad comedic timing, a bad jingle, and a gimmick based entirely on the idea that The Red House sells furniture for black people and white people (“and Hispanic people too. And ALL people!”). The commercial is absurd, yet we here at Promoting Group dare you to watch it without cracking a smile.

In conclusion, using humor in marketing can work wonders—it can give people a brief lift and even put your business on the map if your commercial or marketing is funny enough. Be careful though—what is funny to one person isn’t necessarily funny to another. Also be careful when playing with things like race, sexuality, or violence. While some clever ads, such as The Red House one, can pull off saying things like “this couch is perfect for a black person…or a white person!” you never want your ad to come off as offensive. Make sure you screen your ad or marketing strategy by many people to ensure that your ad is both funny and non-offensive. With that in mind, keep the creative juices flowing and see what you come up with.

 

About Promoting Group

Who We Are: Promoting Group is an internet marketing company whose priority is to make your organization rise above the competition. We are a group of talented and dedicated individuals with a passion for marketing and demonstrated skill in public relations and search engine optimization. We will custom-tailor marketing strategies that are right for you ...

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