No comments · Posted in Interactive Design

I’ve received a lot of questions lately about whether or not it’s safe to start using HTML5 video for clients. While the answer is a little more complex than one might expect, the short answer is YES!

The goal of embedding video on a webpage (aside from it looking crisp, and streaming well) is to reach the largest audience possible on a wide array of browsers and devices. This became quite a bit more complex a couple years back when Steve Jobs declared that Flash was dead and that it WOULD NOT be supported on the beloved iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod).

While HTML5 video has always worked on iPhones and such, we couldn’t completely go that route and abandon all our regular desktop users that may or may not be using fully HTML5 compliant browsers. In a nutshell, we couldn’t use Flash for mobile devices and we couldn’t safely use HTML5 for non-mobile devices.

The safe answer, as you may have already guessed, was to use both. Historically, we’d have to render the video out in a variety of formats (FLV, MP4, Ogg, etc) to serve the needed version to a particular platform. This was annoying, time consuming, and not cost effective. Due to all of these hurdles many mobile users simply DID NOT get to view embedded video. Thanks to improvements in both the Adobe Flash Player and to modern browsers REALLY enhancing their HTML5 support we can now use a single video file that will play on just about every popular platform you can think of.

This post isn’t supposed to be about Codecs so I’ll keep this short, but the key is to generate a .MP4 file that uses H.264 for video and AAC for audio. There are a few tools on the market to do this, but typically I use the Adobe Media Encoder which has been bundled with the Creative Suite for a while now.

So now we have a single file that both the Flash Player and a HTML5 compliant browser can stream. The next step is to actually embed the video onto you webpage. Since the largest portion of our web audience STILL CAN view Flash we’ll serve that up first and if the browser doesn’t support Flash it will automatically serve up the HTML5 version instead.

We’ll embed Flash like always using swfobject but instead of leaving the alternate HTML content as “Content on this page requires Adobe Flash Player” we’ll stub in the HTML5 <video> tag.

It will look something like this:

Thankfully the HTML5 video tag is VERY simple to use. In this example I have parameters to set the size, whether or not to show playback controls, and finally the source of the video. If you want more information on this tag w3schools.com has a good entry.

View Sample Video

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post and if you want to try this out on your own you can get a head start by downloading my source code below. Keep us updated on what you have tried and if you have if you have any other ways of tackling HTML5 video let us know.

->  HTML Video Embed Source Code (.zip)

No tags

Posted by Chris Mathieu

No comments · Posted in Corporate & Product Branding

New Breed is excited to welcome MyWebGrocer – both as a client and our new neighbor!  As announced in July 2011, MWG has bought the Champlain Mill and will soon be moving their offices into the top floors of the building.

MWG is the leading provider of eCommerce and eMarketing solutions to the grocery and consumer packaged goods industries. They deploy digital solutions such as website design, specialty modules for websites, hosting, sophisticated email strategies, and consulting services. MWG platforms introduce consumers to a new level of convenience in grocery shopping, enabling a more personalized and customized web shopping experience.

New Breed will be providing strategic design recommendations for enhanced user interface as well as some new usability features to improve the way customers find products and interact with sites. We have a rich history of providing world-class interactive design services from corporate marketing sites to web and mobile applications, and we are excited to bring that experience to this growing, dynamic company.

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Posted by admin

No comments · Posted in Corporate & Product Branding

We all know that royalty-free stock photography has become an incredibly powerful resource for today’s design industry. The reasons for its popularity are obvious. Beyond being low cost, the libraries are web-based, making them both easily accessed, as well as searchable. Add to this that a single website can house millions of images, and you can see why designers and clients alike having been looking to these resources more frequently. And while using them in acceptable ways (such as supporting a piece of body content) is fine and will be a continued practice, here is a quick case study on why you should REALLY AVOID using royalty-free stock for any of your primary brand images.

Recently Google (who has been toying with the technology for years in products like Google Goggles) added the ability to use their image search not only by typing in descriptive text, but also by uploading a sample image and finding the closest visual matches on the web. I am not trying to explain how the technology actually works or all of its implications (as an example, Facebook can now auto tag your friends in photos), but rather bringing to light the abundant overuse of cheap stock photography in B2B marketing. So if you’re going to use cheap stock here’s why you DON’T WANT to use it to represent your important brand elements.

stock photography

Posted by Chris Mathieu

No comments · Posted in Go-To-Market Strategy, Information Technology, Integrated Demand Gen

A dimensional mailer is a promotional piece that is anything other than your normal, humdrum, flat envelope mailer. Dimensional mail is a fantastic way to increase demand generation, which makes it a great component of any B2B marketing strategy.

Dimensional mailers can be costly – for packaging, posting, and design. So why use a dimensional mailer vs. a plain sales letter or postcard? Simply put, because people open them . Research from Baylor University shows that dimensional mail has 20 times the penetrating power and boosts demand generation by as much as 75% over flat direct mail, according to a study by Baylor University for the Promotional Products Association . So even though you are investing more money up front, it is a deliverable that will garner a high ROI.

It makes perfect sense when you think about your mailbox every day – you get a stack of bills, credit card applications, and sales fliers as thick as your arm. And what do you do with all of that? Most of the time, before you even open it, you tear it into little pieces and toss it out.

Then imagine one day, you – or the gatekeeper to your targeted CEO’s or IT managers- have a box, or a tube, or something that looks….special. Is it a gift that you’ve gotten? Did you order something for yourself and then forget it was coming? It gives you a feeling of excitement, that you are about to open something that is going to make you happy.

The same thing goes for receptionists and executive assistants at the businesses you are trying to reach. They get an even thicker stack of bills and direct flat mail, and they don’t waste their time or their manager’s by opening it all. But a box? No way would they throw that out without opening it. It could be an important package, or it could be a free gift from a vendor, which is always a cause for excitement.

So getting your prospects to open their package is half the battle, but the whole point of your B2B marketing strategy is to create demand generation – an ROI that goes beyond simply putting a smile on your prospect’s face. You want them to do something – visit a website, call for an appointment with you, email a sales associate, etc.

A cheap, mass-produced item sends the message that you don’t value the prospect, and it reflects poorly on you.  To get your prospect to actually do something beyond opening the box, it’s important to have a high-quality idea that is well thought out and executed superbly.

Here are nine qualities that every dimensional mailer should posses:

Demanding – Make it absolutely clear what you want your prospect to do with a  strong and obvious call to action. Make them an offer (i.e., a free consultation), and give them an incentive to call you NOW. For example, we sent a working remote control racecar to a select few prospects without the remote , and the messaging inside urged them to schedule a consultation in order to receive their remote. Tricky, but effective!

Example of a clear, bold call to action - a phone pre-set to dial the CEO of the company

Compelling – if you’re going to think outside the box (ironically, by putting something in a box), you might as well push it a little. Create a dimensional mailer with a clever, relevant concept, and carry that concept through everything from the design to the messaging. The point is to create an experience – an excitement that they received this special package, a wow factor that what you produced is creative and interesting, and copy that will compel your prospect to do what you want them to do.

Cool! – Give them something for free – a fun toy that goes along with your concept, a sample of your product if applicable. You want them to open the package and say “Cool!”The wow factor from your concept is what makes your dimensional mailer memorable and worth talking about.

Viewfinder with custom disk targeted at health care CTOs

Lasting – Ideas with staying power have the most potential for demand generation. Make your mailer and/or the gift that’s included an object that is functional. It should be something that your prospect will display in their office and interact with often. Make sure the object/toy/gift is branded with your company name and logo, so that as the prospect sees or interacts with it, they’ll think of your company. Perhaps they’re not ready for your services now, but when budgets are updated and they are ready to engage someone, your client will already be in mind.

Grass is greener when... Lasting as it sits on a desk until a need arises

Targeted – you’ve probably heard the adage, “narrow your focus, broaden your appeal.” You don’t want to send this costly piece to just anyone. As part of your B2B marketing strategy, you will have already done your research on your target markets. You will see the highest ROI if you send it only to well-qualified leads who not only have the need for your product or service, but also already have some knowledge of your company and its brand.

Relevant & Concise – Tell them something they didn’t already know about your company – or about the industry in which they work. Include a letter or a postcard, but don’t get too copy heavy. The point is to intrigue them enough that they’ll want to find out more by calling or visiting your website.

Consistent – Make sure the logos, colors, and typefaces are consistent with the company brand. If you’re sending your dimensional mailer to the right people, they will recognize your company name and might be confused if your mailer is drastically different than your brand.

Integrated – Don’t just send out your dimensional mailer and wait for the phone to ring. Include this mailer as
a part of a larger campaign that aligns to the goals of your B2B marketing strategy. Create a landing page that the mailer directs prospects to. Send a follow-up email that with a link to that page. Make sure all the elements are consistent with your brand and your concept.

Practical – Consider the logistics and the price of mailing out of the ordinary shapes and sizes. It’s fun to dream up the possibilities.“Let’s make it a spaceship!” -a dimensional mailer from another dimension, if you will. While your client may be impressed with the unique concept, they will not be impressed by the price tag associated with creating and posting it.

To sum up, dimensional mailers make a great component of any B2B marketing strategy. They are fun to create and offer the perfect opportunity to show the creative talents of your team. But in order to ensure that your dimensional mailer creates the desired demand generation, they should possess all the qualities listed above. Otherwise, it may not be worth the cost for your client.

b2b go to market strategy · demand generation · dimensional mailers · lead generation

Posted by Kaela Plant

No comments · Posted in Clean Technology, Go-To-Market Strategy, Information Technology

A great B2B go to market strategy is actually pretty simple, but it’s amazing how many technology marketing companies manage to complicate it. Even the best marketers sometimes take a simple process, make it seem complex, and then spend an inordinate amount of time turning it back into a new, shiny, simplified process – all in hopes of impressing the client.

I have to admit, I have been guilty of succumbing to this reinventing of the process wheel. New Breed is a technology marketing agency, and we have developed some crazy diagrams in the past to try and explain what we do. I remember our New Breed “Marketing Engine,” which was so complicated it was even hard for us to explain it.

When you give your clients a lot of smoke and mirrors, they’re going to see through it. In truth, it is your expertise in an industry – especially in the technology marketing industry – that will win over clients, not a fancy process.

3 simple elements of a successful B2B go to market strategy are:

• Market Intelligence
• Market Segmentation
• Brand Promise

Market Intelligence

For any B2B go to market strategy, a basic demonstrated understanding of the market is needed. The best way to ascertain this information is a combination of primary and secondary market research. In the technology marketing space, there are so many resources available – from publishers like IDG and UBM to research companies like Forrester – that finding the information is the easy part.

The elements of thorough Market Intelligence analysis include:

Customer Research:

• Who are my customers?
• Where are they?
• What is their job title?
• And most importantly, what is it that keeps them up at night?

Market Research:

• What is my market?
• Is it a young market or a more mature market?
• Who are my competitors and what are they saying?
• How am I competing within this market with regard to price, expertise, functionality, etc.?

Market Segmentation

The second element in a successful B2B go to market strategy is market segmentation. The findings from the market research you completed in the Market Intelligence phase determine who is most likely to purchase your product, solution, or service. Many clients initially tell us that their target market is CIO’s in midsized IT companies, but the market is usually more narrow than that. What you are looking for is not just someone that could potentially buy, but someone that needs to buy your product, solution, or service.

Brand Promise

The final B2B go to market strategy element is your Brand Promise. This is the juncture where your market research, the target market, and your client’s technology solution meet.

Questions to keep in mind:

• Is what you are bringing to market something that is needed by your target market?
• What supports your claim that your solution will fulfill their need?
• Why should your target market believe you?

In technology marketing, this is where the rubber hits the road. This space is very crowded, and it is not easy to craft a Brand Promise that is different enough from competitors but still resonates with the target market.

Once these three elements are established, every decision and every tactic used to bring your product to market should keep your market research in mind and be aimed at reaching your target market to further support your brand promise.

For all you technology marketing folks, I hope this was simple enough. If not, leave a comment and I’d be happy to explain further!

b2b go to market strategy · GTM

Posted by Mark Hall

No comments · Posted in Corporate & Product Branding, Go-To-Market Strategy

What are Landing Pages?

Also sometimes called a “Lead Capture Pages”, they are singular webpage pages that a prospective customer will arrive at once they:

1. Click on a banner ad
2. Visit a search engine result link
3. Click a social media marketing link
4. Any other marketing campaign or offer

What is the goal of Landing Pages?

• Drive Conversions (and secondly, to build product and/or brand awareness)

More often than not (especially in the b2b sector) a customer wishes to drive conversions with a landing page campaign. This is especially important when doing paid campaigns such as Paid Search or a Banner Ad to measure ROI.

What is a Conversion?

Really, it depends on the goal of the campaign. The following is a list of common “conversions” a potential customer might make (the more significant ones appear at the top of the list):

• Adding a product to a shopping cart
• Dialing a phone number unique to the landing page
• Filling out a contact form (becoming a sales lead)
• “Liking” a page (aka adding it to their social networking profiles)
• Downloading an informational PDF, such as a white paper
• Visiting your main site to learn more about products or services

How do I build better landing pages to increase conversions?

By paying attention to these four basic principles, you can create much more effective landing pages.

1. Present “Scanable” Content

One of the most common mistakes is making pages that are too dense or have no apparent order or layout. Many social media web studies have shown that most people do very little actual reading until they’ve already fully qualified the source. Instead most people “scan” web pages for useful pieces of information that they can use to get an overall sense of the content being presented. The other danger of having a page that is too text heavy is that your “Call to Action” can be pushed too far down on the page.

2. Write Meaningful and Direct Headlines

Avoid writing headlines that do not show the value proposition of your product or service. These should not be vague and rather tell the user the main benefit directly. In the sample below, Elance is clearly stating that by using their services you can find online workers to help with your business efforts.

3. Have a Prominent Call-to-Action (CTA)

Another common problem is having either no call to action, or inversely too many choices for a user to easily decide on an action. Ideally there is a single call to action for landing pages, although in some cases it may be acceptable to have multiple (for instance when your target audiences are varied). In the social media marketing sample below, Skype has a single option to “see our new subscriptions” which is made even more prominent by use of an accent color (in this case, a bright green).

4. Include “Social Proof”

By simply citing other entities that use a particular product or service you can quickly build social proof. One way to do this is to include logos or names or existing customers. Another is to use comparative charts to show advantages you might have against competing products or services. Another example might be to include testimonials or cite memberships and social media marketing associations you belong to. For example, stating that you are a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. In the example below hootsuite lists existing clients such as Facebook, TED, FOX, etc.

lead generation

Posted by Chris Mathieu

No comments · Posted in Go-To-Market Strategy

Google has done it again! Their recent Google+ recruitment tactic has gone viral and created an enormous buzz. In just two weeks, Google+ has gone from an invite-only field trial to a social network about to surpass 10 million users. There is speculation that users could reach 20 million soon. Google+ has managed to create this hugely successful viral marketing campaign for its most recent stab at a social network, but I would argue that it’s more about the exclusivity of membership than the product itself.

For those of you who haven’t been invited to this “Super Cool Kids Only” club, here’s a little background. Google+ is a social networking site that is meant to incorporate all the best elements of social network rivals Facebook and Twitter, but with added features exclusive to Google. Here are a few of the Google+ specific features:

• Instead of a News Feed or Wall, you have one Stream where you see your updates and those of your friends.  Like Twitter, you can follow someone who you’re not necessarily friends with and read and comment on their statuses.

• You can create Circles that are groups of your friends and family. Each time you post a status, picture, video, link, etc., you can choose which circles can see your post.

• Sparks enables you to type in things you are interested in, so any posts about that particular subject will show up in your stream.

The two features that are getting the most buzz are Hangouts and Huddles.

• Hangouts is a video conferencing feature that allows you to video chat with multiple users. It has a built-in type chat feature to share links, and you can also post a video and watch it simultaneously.

• Huddle is a feature of Google+ for mobile, which allows you to have a chat room with several users rather than just one at a time.

By keeping membership exclusive, Google has evoked an enormous buzz around Google+. One by one, bloggers in the industry began announcing they were finally “in” – making those without an invitation even more eager to get their hands on one. The idea of receiving an invitation quickly developed into a sense of entitlement, especially in the marketing community. Receiving an invite before your peers gives you a sense of superiority. But how long will the sensation last?

While 20 million users is still a far cry from Facebook’s estimated 700 million, the rate at which Google achieved success early on is admirable. Whether interest will continue to grow or wane once the novelty has died remains to be seen.

When I hadn’t received an invite in the first few days, I have to admit I was disappointed. However, now that I am “in” and have passed out my own invites, the newness is fading. For now, I am comfortable sticking with formerly established social network Facebook for social purposes and LinkedIn for business while the buzz fades.

How about you?

google · social media

Posted by admin

No comments · Posted in Uncategorized

Recently, blogs have been abuzz with posts about LinkedIn Ads versus Google AdWords and Facebook Ads, as well as reviews of LinkedIn’s updated advertising platform. Both of these topics certainly merit discussion. The competition between the three media giants is currently awash, but that may change with LinkedIn’s latest advertising platform update. (Read more about it here.)

The new LinkedIn ads specific to recruitment can help connect applicants to those key folks in their network who might be able to help them find a job.  This tool can be powerful in that it leverages the connections you might already have to find that perfect job.

Linkdin Recruitment Ad

LinkedIn has also made changes to their basic ad program by combining the traditional ad with real time social actions. This marrying of the two now increases the validity of a particular ad, assuming the activity on your corporate profile is positive in nature.

Adding the social component to LinkedIn ads

What I want to know is: With these new updates, will LinkedIn continue to create a strong bond with the Business Professional in the future?

After spending the past year looking for employment (yes, I am finally employed), I have come to appreciate LinkedIn’s job postings. There are many advantages to using LinkedIn Jobs as opposed to CareerBuilder or Monster. LinkedIn is not an independent destination site that only supports job postings, it is also my source for networking with colleagues, peer-to-peer discussion within my industry’s groups, and a news source for industry trends and hot topics.

• Your LinkedIn Profile essentially serves as your resume. It is easy to update and transparent to potential employers.
• Your Recommendations are the equivalent of your references. Therefore it is important to have at least a few.
• Your affiliation within groups allows for interaction and networking with peers, as well as alerts for job openings in your industry.

While in my recent job search, I didn’t have the benefit of being able to use LinkedIn Recruitment Ads. However, I could have definitely benefited.

With regard to the new additions to the basic LinkedIn Ads, there is definite benefit to leveraging the power of social activity in the ad space. The ability to view peer endorsements further breaks down the wall between marketers pushing a product message and a personal colleague’s recommendation of that product.

Facebook has something similar with their ad network, whereby you can see how many of your friends ‘like’ that page or product.

While Facebook is continually trying to woo businesses by making their network friendly to advertisers, they will still be primarily seen as making connections on a much more social and personal level. LinkedIn has really been successful in capturing the business professional audience and will only make those connections stronger if they continue to innovate better ways to connect.

linkedin · social media

Posted by Jayme Clark

No comments · Posted in Go-To-Market Strategy

This summer at New Breed Marketing, we’ve invited James Mckee, a professor at Champlain College, to work in our office part-time. Jay brings years of experience both in the field and as an educator, and we are thrilled to have him. He has shared with us a brief background of how he ended up here and what he will be doing.

This whole thing started several years ago in 1997. While teaching advertising at Champlain College, I realized how fast things were changing in my field and, despite reading Ad Age and Adweek, and making every effort to keep up, I was feeling a little out of touch.

Since I had been setting up internships for my students, I was in touch with a number of ad agencies and marketing firms in Burlington, Vermont. I thought, what if I offered my services to one of them on a limited basis for the summer?

The first firm I approached, Peter Jacobs at Shark Communications, said that he had a project for me and that I might really be of benefit to them. My project consisted of overseeing the design and construction of some panels highlighting client work. It was great “working” in my field, and the employees at Shark Communications were great to work with.

Fast forward to 2011:

Much, much more change has occurred in the field since 1997. As an academic, it is extremely difficult to keep up with those who are working daily in advertising or marketing. Yet it is so important to be up to speed.

This time, I asked Brian Mullins, Executive Creative Director at New Breed Marketing in Winooski, if they might be interested in having me do some work for them this summer. One of my former students, Katy Kent, works at New Breed. The tables turned when she gave me my first assignment; I was to write for a blog about using social media to generate leads for B2B companies, a significant portion of New Breed’s client base.

I’ve also been able to contribute and lend my expertise in other areas. Each week I sit in on the sales/business development meeting. One of the recent topics to come up was dimensional mailers, which is something I’ve had success with in my career. I was happy to share with the New Breed Marketing business development team some of what I’ve learned based on my experience. I’m looking forward to the rest of my summer here, and hope to share some of what I learn with my students this fall.

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Posted by admin

No comments · Posted in Go-To-Market Strategy, Integrated Demand Gen

Lead your leads to value, not a sale.

Last week I made my annual journey down to Boston for the Marketing Profs B2B Forum ; held this year at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel. Like most great conferences, this one was chock-full of great content on lead nurturing, demand generation and social media all for the B2B marketer, however when you leave the only thought in your head is, “I don’t even know where to start, how am I ever going to implement anything.”

However, for me there was one ‘aha’ moment and one piece of knowledge that stuck out from all the rest. This piece of knowledge wasn’t something that was earth shatteringly new, but it was presented in such a way that made so much sense for B2B marketing . Tyler Garns from Infusionsoft was giving a presentation entitled “From Ripe to Ready: Lead Nurturing is the Silver Bullet in B2B Marketing.” Half way through his presentation on how to build a demand generation strategy and the importance of doing so before implementing any tactics, he paused and said, “Lead your leads to value, not a sale.”

This short sentence sums up everything we are doing in B2B marketing. With the almost dizzying rush to create content, to fill the demand generation lead pipeline and then nurture those leads into a closed sale, we need to remember that valuable content it what will win. Valuable content must be useful to our target audience, it must contain substance and it must be developed with the true intention of helping others overcome whatever challenges they are facing.

Moving forward, this is going to be the mantra I follow and the test I use to evaluate content that is created for demand generation.

In closing, I hope I have provided you some value and that you too use this test when writing your next B2B marketing blog post, recording a webinar or developing the topic for your next demand generation whitepaper.

conference · lead generation

Posted by Mark Hall