Instagram has more than 30 million users, Greteman Group being one of them.

In an industry such as aviation – where everyone from pilots in the cockpit to CEOs in the cabin are connected to their smartphones 24/7 – mobile’s going nowhere. But up. For now, though, mobile advertising requires a leap of faith. One backed by some intriguing indicators.

If you own a smartphone, you’ve seen mobile ads a time or two (thousand). Most of us just wait out the obligatory three seconds to skip past and get back to “Words With Friends,” or the next song. As prevalent as mobile advertising is, the services have yet to spin straw into gold. The recent Wall Street Journal article “Riches in Mobile Ads, Just No Profits” pointed out that mobile ads drew less than 1% – about $1.45 billion dollars of total ad sales. Consumers’ love for Pandora and Instagram has yet to translate to solid financial performance. (more…)

Businesses on Facebook have been made to feel like second-class citizens. Their less-than-special pages have never functioned like personal pages. Couldn’t like your friends, tag them in photos, or send them a message. (more…)

Mobile marketers rejoice: Industry leaders have finalized guidelines to make on-the-go advertising more streamlined for advertisers, online networks and agencies alike. (more…)

Highly targeted email helped fill every seat at Bombardier's last Safety Standdown.

Effective Email Marketing

Email marketing has always seemed to be the redheaded stepchild of the Internet. Its reputation isn’t surprising, given the infuriating amount of spam and phishing schemes we’re subjected to every day. But despite this, email marketing’s benefits make it a vital part of your total marketing budget. Its main strength lies in its role as a permission-based medium. Because email marketing can only to be sent legally to those that opt-in to receive it, you can safely assume that everyone seeing your message already has an interest in your product or service. Coupled with the fact that it’s inexpensive to get started, email marketing can lead to a higher ROI than other marketing channels. (more…)

Signature Flight Support brought it all together at the recent NBAA Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference in San Diego. It launched a groundbreaking loyalty program and an aviation card that complements and builds upon Signature’s already-strong, values-added program, Signature Status. (more…)

What can marketers and clients do when they want to spread the word about an important topic on a shoestring budget? The answer often lies in guerilla marketing, word-of-mouth and earned-media tactics. (more…)

An update and thank you from Rainbows United recently came across my desk. It announced that the nonprofit’s 8^th-annual Fashion Passion fundraiser drew a record attendance – and funds. The runway show and auction – appropriately titled “Runway” – sold out more than a month in advance and generated $190,000 in revenue, a 21 percent higher return. (more…)

With the New Year comes resolutions, a refreshed outlook on life and – new this year – sponsored stories in your Facebook news feed.

Starting in early January, Facebook users will start to see these ads. These sponsored stories will look the same as other postings appearing in the news feed, but will be distinguished by a link that reads “Sponsored” below the post. (Mobile users won’t initially see the stories, but that’s planned for later in the spring.) (more…)

Full disclosure. Growing up with an aviation photographer for a dad influences my belief in the power of visual storytelling. That said, the facts are also on my side.

The Wharton School of Business reports that quality video can increase retention up to 50 percent over print and accelerates buying decisions by as much as 72 percent. Forrester Research predicts a 70+ percent growth in online video advertising next year.

So, my question to you, what are your plans for video in 2012? If you’re still in the planning phase, here are some examples to prime the creative pump. (more…)

I received a T-shirt at a recent fundraiser. Smart, I thought. What a nice, useful thank you for my donation. More important, it gave me a way to further the cause. Wear the T-shirt the next time I went to the gym and chat up the event when I got the inevitable question. And, honestly, I would have. The color was good. The design was nice. But the size appeared to be XXXL and the neckline was humongous. Not crew. Not v-neck. But a deep, wide scoop. A man couldn’t wear it. And most woman wouldn’t want to.

So, what I’d like to say is if you’re developing a branded piece of clothing or a specialty item – sweat the details. Do all you can in the hopes the recipient will use it – and love it. (more…)