So that's a wrap : )

Ok, so today was the last day to post on this blog for assessment purposes, it has been quite an experience

In all honestly i don't know if this blog will continue, don't know if it's really me but then again you never know I might be really bored one day or have something really amazing i want to share with the blogging world.


I have enjoyed reading them and writing them.
All in all I liked it
hope you enjoyed reading some of my ramblings : )

but I'm probably going to love you and leave you
xxx

Virtual Galleries???

What with the increased interest in the web and all thing virtual, seeing the start of virtual galleries shouldn't be that much of a shock but for some reason the whole concept leaves a weird taste in my mouth. Just seems weird.

Isn't the point of galleries, museums and exhibitions the experience. The actual physical experience of going there and walking through and looking at the things close up. Even the annoying parts of having to look over someone's shoulder and bustle past people to see that picture up close.

But what with everyone getting over the whole concept of doing things personally and intimately and preferring to do even social things online- that is where the museums seem to be going.

                                                                                                Source= The Arts Centre

I suppose that some people might like it but I think it will remain as a way of getting a sneak peek at what's on where for me- I do actually like to go out sometimes : )

It really is kinda genius

Has anyone used genius playlist.
I didn't even know what that it was until about a month ago but now i kinda love it.

                                                                                       sourced from iTunes

How genius works is you set it up on your itunes and then when you play music, itunes suggest other music that you that is similar that it thinks you will suit your taste. And you can also use it one your ipod or iphone when playing music by choosing a song and pressing a button which creates a playlist suited to the song that you have chosen. I like it because instead of just playing all your music on shuffle, it creates a list that suits the style of music you want to listen to instead of jumping from one fast paced song to the slowest song you have.

                                                                                                Sourced from iTunes

I think this is a really great marketing strategy as the few times I have used genius suggestions and bought music I have been really happy so I am a lot more likely to trust the suggestions they have made and buy music that itunes suggests.
I like it, but what do you think?

Would you donate online?

I don't know about you guys but I personally hate it when people approach me on the street asking me to donate to charity. I hate it for two reasons;

1= One of my friends used to do it as work and she was earning serious cash, the earning of cash doesn't bother me as much as ...

2= They try and make you feel guilty for not giving to a good cause when they are probably thinking about they're own pocket. THAT IS ANNOYING

But when I think about it I don't really know what the alternative is? Donating online with no face to face contact??
Are people that altruistic? Doesn't seem like the Red Cross think we are... maybe we do need to be guilted into donation.

What do you think? Do you think that charities could utilise the internet to their advantage in some way. Do you think that you would ever make the conscious decision to visit a website and donate with no prompt?

Facebook in China or lack thereof

At the moment I am in China, bit of a family holiday- all expense paid so I'm smiling.

I lived here for a year back in 2008 so I am pretty used to the internet, my brother on the other hand was completely gobsmacked : o "No facebook- are you joking?" "what do you mean it's blocked, why would they block facebook"
Well that is not something I am going to go into here.

But in terms of eMarketing it is interesting to think about what it means for company's investing time and money into marketing online and utilising social networks, if at anytime websites, blogs and especially social networks like facebook, myspace and twitter can be blocked without warning.

I wonder what impact this has on organisations that have moved away from traditional forms of communication into the realm of the electronic world.

Is it good to invest in something that may be completely unreliable in a country??

Junior Masterchef or Mummy Masterchef

OK so I am a bit of a Masterfchef fan- well not just a fan I was a little bit obsessed.  

So, as it would go when I saw the ads for Junior Masterchef I though might a well have a look and see what its all about. Unfortunately, at 7pm last Sunday I was preoccupied and missed it. 

A friend and I decided to watch it online, which I thought, was actually a better idea because I wouldn’t have to bother with all the ads. 

BUT surely enough there are ads- weirdly they are always the same ad and it is played 7 times per episode. The ads that they have chosen to run during a TV show that is about 9-12 year olds cooking is the oddest thing though. The Ad is for Bondi Vet. Yes I know that sounds fine doesn’t it. Kids like animals. The thing is, this is the main shot in the commercial

Why does the vet really need to be half naked to save animals?? I mean I don’t mind but I just wornder who Channel 10 are marketing this show to- Kids?? Or mums??

And why do they really think we need to be shown the ad so often in order to recall the show- I doubt anyone would forget about it : p haha

e(eek)Mail

Ok so this is my hotmail account…

And yes I currently have 1088 unread emails. They are ALL emails marketing something. I do go through and read emails from my contacts and friends, I do occasionally even read some marketing communications from organisations but most of it I just leave there. I know I probably should go through and delete all these messages but I can never be bothered.

I keep wondering where they all come from?

Well, I know where they come from. last year i went through a couple of open for inspections and put my email down, signed up for discount cards or loyalty programs (like an idiot, who on earth wants a discount card at Spotlight??) and a number of other ridiculous things that i have signed off on.

The thing about this sort of communication that I hate is that they just keep coming. I have not opened an email from Biggin Scott in over a year and yet they keep emailing me. I would have thought that they would realise, like most people who are given the cold shoulder for this long “She’s not interested” and deleted me off their list. Surely there is a better way to go about things?

It just all seems like some bad date that I will be haunted by for the rest of my life. 

So anyway what is the moral of this story??? 

Well just as you wouldn't give your real number to some stranger that you didn't want to talk to, DON'T give out your email to organisations that you don't want to hear from.

Oh well, I’m sure I’ll learn my lesson eventually…

These Folks are Kinky

It’s Tuesday morning and I am sitting in a café trying to think of e-marketing issues that I can possibly write about on my blog- it’s been a while since my last post and I’m beginning to feel guilty about my lack of imagination.

As I sit staring into my coffee, racking my brains for some new and semi-interesting idea I overhear my brother talk about how the café he runs is in the process of creating their website… and BAM (like a comic book punch in the face) there it is- something to blog about.

This blog is going to be a bit different because instead of me telling you about an issue I am going to ask for your input – so please comment with any ideas : )

Kinfolk café is a Not for profit café that runs out of Melbourne’s CBD (look at above post Kinfolk for more information) All of their food is sourced locally and their coffee was 100% donated by DiBella. Kinfolk donate all their profits to four different development projects in Rwanda, Ghana, Palm Island and Melbourne. Kinfolk runs day to day with the support of volunteer staff. Kinfolk is a social business which allows individuals to make a difference in their daily activity i.e. buying a cup of coffee.

"Kinfolk - A place where simple choices contribute to the well-being of people and planet"

                                                                                          Courtesy of ArtShine

So, with all this in mind the question I put to you is… How can Kinfolk use their website in order to create interest from and market themselves to;

•      Volunteers?
•      Potential sponsors?
•      The wider community?
•      Café goers?
•      Foodies?
•      Local and state Government departments?
•      Other not-for profit organisations?

spoken like a real ...

I
Is this the new way to campaign?

This ad was found on Facebook after a friend posted it- The ad is from a website called get up- action for Australians and encourages people to donate in order to get the ad on the television.

The website also encourages individuals to share the ad on Facebook and twitter in order to get the message of the ad out in the world.

Seeing this on Facebook got me to thinking, does the ad actually have to be on the television when so many individuals are sharing the ad on the web already?

I wonder how much more attention it would get on the TV. Of course there are those individuals such as older and younger Australians who would see it if it were on the TV but by putting it online and allowing people to put it on their Facebook etc are they allowing for better targeting.  I also think that it is a fantastic way of getting people to really connect with the ad and its message instead of just watching it like just another election campaign commercial.

I think this ad really works

Let me know what you think?

Here's a link to the website
https://www.getup.org.au/campaign/Australia_GetsUp_2010&id=1251 

Freemium

Okay, so I was recently sitting back at home attempting to do some much needed study or should I say I was procrastinating in the attempt not to study- whoops

Anyway as often happens I wound up watching repeats of greys anatomy on foxtel- as often happens on days like these I became completely engrossed (or just enough to stop me from needing to pick up a text book) the show ended and I wanted/ needed to know what happened next. So online I went and ended up watching the next two episodes of greys. By this time it was too late to start studying : ) 

During the third episode a box appeared saying something along the lines of you have watched 120 minutes please wait 60 minutes before you may continue or to continue watching now click here. When you click it takes you through to a page where you can sign up to pay a certain monthly access fee which allows you to watch X time dependent on the amount you pay.

Well for me the answer was simple.

I closed the site and started watching TV again- by this time there were repeats of Sex and the City on so I was fine. But it just got me to thinking, would anyone really ever pay, I can’t imagine myself being so desperate that I cant wait another 60 minutes for a show but then again maybe some people would be…  So does the freemium model work?

Any thoughts? Can anyone think of a time when they would pay to upgrade for a thing that they can basically get for free?

Marketing on a budget

At the start of the year my brother set up a Not for Profit café called Kinfolk in Melbourne’s CBD. As he was attempting to do so with almost no money I was concerned being the serious marketing student that I am : ) I was concerned about his marketing campaign.

So, how do you market an organisation for free...

The answer is actually quite simple, you let other people do it for you.

Without spending a cent on marketing Kinfolk now have roughly 6 pages of results on google full of articles, comments, blogs and news about the café.

This is intriguingly the result of individuals themselves deciding that they want to spread the news about the café, so the customer’s have been doing the marketing without Kinfolk needing to do anything except provide a good/ amazing (yes I am biased) service

In a way it seems that the meaning of the term word of the mouth marketing has changed it is no longer what we once would have imagined it to be i.e. a person simply telling their friend about a café they went to the other day. In fact it can be a friend telling their 300 friends on facebook or actually writing a blog entry about it that can be read by anyone on the web or even adding photos displaying the venue. The day that Kinfolk opened their doors they had individuals (not friends or family) blogging and getting the word out about the new space.

So I find myself questioning, in a world where anyone can be a reporter do organisations need to spend money on marketing or should they be investing more in the actual product or service and relying on it being able to sell itself over the web?

And here is my attempt at marketing…

If you feel like some amazing food and great coffee with a conscience…

Check out Kinfolk café – I’m there Thursdays : )

673 Bourke Street, Melbourne (near Spencer Street)

http://ygap.com.au/initiatives/kinfolk/  

Hello blogger world

Hello to all you bloggers out there or those enrolled in mkf3881 forced to test their technological skills for this assessment.
I must admit I have never written a blog before or even really read one (whoops) but i am quite intrigued by the whole concept, I’ll probably end up becoming one of those blogger addicts : ) 

Hopefully,this blog will be a fun and light-hearted space for me to share a few of my ideas on current eMarketing issues and for you to respond.  

Ok so here we go

fingers crossed  

xoxo