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| Welcome to the Claymanite. |
As Apple generates a slew of tech-savvy devices that are not Flash-friendly, we could experience a shift in web design. Speaking of a shift, Yahoo recently announced its ability to import Twitter Tweets for its users. Even with all these technological advances, brands are becoming more and more interested in ways to position themselves as "green" companies.
In this issue of The Claymanite, we'll discuss the future of Adobe's Flash, how Yahoo is engaging with other brands and how businesses are using "green" marketing. |
 Gone In A Flash
Our past couple e-newsletters have been touching on Apple's newest technology, the iPad. The first story reviewed the unveiling of the new device and the second story discussed how the iPad could potentially save print publications. In this third story, we'll discuss the lack of Adobe Flash on the iPad and how this could affect the use of Flash on future websites.
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 Is the Information Super Highway Headed For a Traffic Jam?
Remember when corporate mergers and partnerships used to be real news? These days, it seems like a new partnership is announced every day, especially in the online world. But are all of these "deals" really going to help you, or is it just creating a world of confusion?
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 It's Not Easy Being Green
Say good-bye to the phrase tree hugger and say hello to one of the most lucrative marketing strategies out there. You're probably thinking that most people only care about price in this kind of economy rather than being environmentally responsible, but in reality many people take sustainability into account. In fact, in a study noted by Andrew Winston, co-author of Green to Gold, the product attributes most important to consumers were where the product was made, the product's energy efficiency, and the product's health benefits. These three attributes actually were more important than convenience. Unfortunately, with major companies like BP, DuPont, GE and 3M spreading their green messages, it can be difficult to break through the clutter. Irv Weinberg and Carolyn Parrs, both green marketing bloggers, give a little insight on getting your message heard and translated into sales.
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Continuing Blogs from a Mad Man
Is print ready for a comeback? Read Larry's blog and voice your opinions! |
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Our past couple e-newsletters have been touching on Apple's newest technology, the iPad. The first story reviewed the unveiling of the new device and the second story discussed how the iPad could potentially save print publications. In this third story, we'll discuss the lack of Adobe Flash on the iPad and how this could affect the use of Flash on future websites.
To some, this absence of Flash may have looked like a sloppy oversight by Apple, but in reality this was no accident.
While Flash is installed on 99 percent of the developed world's Internet-enabled computers and plays almost 75 percent of videos viewed online, Adobe's technology has also been used to create site-intro videos, gaudy interactive interfaces and pushy animated ads. Flash also takes up a lot of memory and requires frequent security fixes to boot. These traits and the fact that HTML coding and JPEG images are open, free standards, has led Apple to not get on the Flash bandwagon. In addition, Apple has stated that its developers believe that Flash is too "buggy" and unstable to be used on Apple products.
So how does the future of Adobe Flash look? According to Needham & Company, a nationally recognized investment banker, Apple will sell two million iPads in fiscal 2010 and six million in 2011. These projected numbers will be adding to the already 75 million people who have bought an iPhone or iPod touch, both Flash-free devices. This means a large chunk of the web audience would not be viewing sites that use Flash.
Web developers can go in either one of two ways. They could keep creating sites that don't work for a lot of people, or they could ditch Flash and upgrade to a new, more capable version of the Web's basic language called HTML5.
Unfortunately, not all browsers are equipped for HTML5. Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8 does not support it, but upgrades of Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari do suport it. Even if everyone could upgrade to an HTML5-friendly browser, they would still need to settle on a video format for those pages. Luckily there are two options out there, but the industry remains divided between them.
The one option, h.264, offers good quality, but since it's tied up with numerous patents, Web publishers and browser developers have to pay money in certain situations. The other option, Theora, has no known patents covering it and it's free to use. Unfortunately, it's not as efficient as h.264. The real downside to both of these platforms is that neither support Internet Explorer. Theora is only compatable with Firefox and Safari only plays h.264.
At the end of the day, it's going to be difficult to replace Flash. Although with the current sales of the iPhone and iPod Touch, along with the projected sales of the iPad, there's going to have to be a substitution for Adobe Flash.
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Is the Information Super Highway Headed for a Traffic Jam?
Remember when corporate mergers and partnerships used to be real news? These days, it seems like a new partnership is announced every day, especially in the online world. But are all of these "deals" really going to help you, or is it just creating a world of confusion?
The trend for online "marriages" began when Google started buying other online sites to enhance the Google experience. In 2004, Google purchased a photo upload site called Picasa. Then in 2006, Google made huge news when it purchased video monster YouTube.com. In 2007, Google's email product, Gmail, launched officially in non-beta form. And as we covered in our last issue, Google has now launched its own social networking product called Google Buzz.
As a result of all of these deals, marketers had to alter how they approached being found in Google search results. More than just web results, images and videos could now pop up on Google results pages. Google maps, a Google application, shows addresses and directions for relevant businesses tied to your search terms. Recently, Google also began streaming Twitter updates into search results as well, further crowding the search results pages.
Now, Microsoft and Yahoo seem to be following in the same path. Just a couple of weeks ago, the path was cleared for Bing (Microsoft) and Yahoo to work together to create a better search experience. Bing would work behind the scenes to strengthen Yahoo search while the Yahoo advertising platform would help Bing compete with Google. While that is going on, both Bing and Twitter have been working together so that Bing now imports live tweets like Google does. Yahoo has already made Facebook readily accessible through many Yahoo sites. Twitter is now also looking into advertising platforms because the site is not showing a profit as of now.
Oh the tangled webs we weave.
What does this all mean for a marketer trying to stay in front of an online audience? Nobody really knows for sure. In a February 22, 2010 article by Chris Crum of WebProNews.com, a lot of questions are raised just by the new deal between Bing and Yahoo. Even when all of the kinks are worked out in the Bing and Yahoo deal, search results may vary depending on whether someone is using bing.com or yahoo.com. Moreover, much like Google, Yahoo has established a lot of applications beyond the realm of search including Yahoo Instant Messenger, Yahoo mail, and Yahoo Groups. What will happen to all of those applications during the ten-year marriage between Microsoft and Yahoo?
Feeling distressed yet? It gets better!
While Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft continue to proclaim themselves as the leaders in search, a lot of other sites are also morphing into new kinds of online search platforms. In the same article by Chris Crum, a chart from comScore qSearch appears comparing search market share between December 2009 and January 2010. Google sites and Google are at the top. No surprise there. But number three in search? YouTube.com. Bing market share increased by 11% over a one-month period. Perhaps most surprising, though, is that Facebook search queries increased by 13% over this one-month period. Optimizing for just Google, Yahoo, and Bing is clearly no longer enough.
There are ways to machete your way through this increasingly complicated jungle. Obviously, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is becoming increasingly crucial. Even if your site is optimized and currently well positioned, it is going to be increasingly more difficult to retain your position now that map results, yellowpages.com results on Bing, Twitter feeds, images, and videos are all competing with your company's website for first-page real estate. Know your keywords, know your competitors. But it's also important to play the game. If Google, Bing, and Yahoo are going to bow to social networking sites like blogger.com (owned by Google), Youtube (owned by Google), Twitter, and LinkedIn, then it's important to have a presence on those sites. The more your company name and brand can be pulled into a search engine, the better.
Concerned about the state of online marketing? We sympathize, but we can also offer you a hand. Feel free to contact us -- through whatever means is most comfortable for you. |
It's Not Easy Being Green
Say good-bye to the phrase tree hugger and say hello to one of the most lucrative marketing strategies out there. You're probably thinking that most people only care about price in this kind of economy rather than being environmentally responsible, but in reality many people take sustainability into account. In fact, in a study noted by Andrew Winston, co-author of Green to Gold, the product attributes most important to consumers were where the product was made, the product's energy efficiency, and the product's health benefits. These three attributes actually were more important than convenience. Unfortunately, with major companies like BP, DuPont, GE and 3M spreading their green messages, it can be difficult to break through the clutter. Irv Weinberg and Carolyn Parrs, both green marketing bloggers, give a little insight on getting your message heard and translated into sales.
1. Spell Green With Three E's - The first "E" is for Ecology. Saving endangered species and the rainforest are hugely important but it's only the tip of the iceberg. In today's environment, the green message and movement need to be emphasized much more to make a difference on a planetary level. The second "E" is for Economy. The truth is that a green product's economic advantages can and should be brought to the forefront, even though sometimes those economic advantages are hidden. For example, a manufacturer of organic cloth diapers could promote that its diapers not only minimize eco-damage but also can save a family X amount of dollars. The third "E" is for Efficacy. Green doesn't just have to be good, it also has to work well.
2. Know That All Greens Are Not Alike - Consumers who care about the environment are more of a psychographic than a demographic. Here's a breakdown of the shades of green consumers:
Deep Greens are the most environmentally active segment of the market and the most willing to pay a premium for green products. They're going green no matter what and represent about 19% of the US population.
Medium Greens, or middle of the roaders, will go green if it makes sense to their personal lifestyle and if they see the results of what they do.
Light Greens are the agnostics of the green world. They have a wait-and-see attitude and will buy the notion but will buy the products only if they work within their budgets and in their homes.
3. Educate, Educate, Educate - The more your customers understand why what you do is important in their lives, the more likely they will remain your customers. For example, it would be hard to sell non-toxic cleaning products to consumers if they don't understand what's wrong with toxic cleaning products in the first place.
4. Value Their Values - By definition, green consumers are value-driven consumers. So telling them about your company's values speaks to their values. Let them know about your "Way" of doing business, how you treat your employees, the safety of your working conditions, and what your carbon footprint is and your plans to reduce it. Those are the messages that tell them you are the kind of company they want to do business with.
5. Be Relevant - When you remind consumers that the one environment they have control over is the one they live and work in, when their health and the health of their families is the issue on the table, green becomes not merely relevant but, for most of us, vital.
6. Don't be a me-tooer - Don't get stuck on the notion that all you need is a soft shade of green and a tree a or two on your package to be a "green" marketer. It's not good enough anymore to just be green; you have to be great. Great products - like great people - deliver beyond expectation.
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Sincerely,
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