Inspiration: IdeaStorm

We've talked in the past about how important social and interactive media can be for not only pushing your brand's message out to the masses, but perhaps even more importantly as a tool to LISTEN. Comcast helped to pioneer this idea with the Twitter account @ComcastCares, which allowed them to identify users with problems, concerns or questions and address them immediately. Since then, multitudes of corporate Twitter accounts have been established hoping to use this open medium as a way to have more of a two-way conversation with their public, including companies like Dell, Zappos, JetBlue and Honda.

Dell recently took the idea of using interactive and social media even further by creating an online effort allowing customers to contribute their ideas for how to improve Dell products and services. The effort is branded Dell IdeaStorm and is centered around a website at ideastorm.com, but also includes a Twitter account (@IdeaStorm) and presumably a PR push and support in other Dell promotional materials as well, not to mention Dell's countless other Twitter accounts. The IdeaStorm website gives customers an easy way to contribute their ideas and voice any feedback or frustrations they might have, but also allows them to promote and demote the ideas that others have contributed that they feel strongly about.

The key here is that today's consumers want to have a voice. In order to have a successful brand (particularly consumer-facing) it's crucial to allow consumers to take ownership of that brand. Dell does a great job with this branded, integrated effort because it both allows customers to have their voices heard, but also acts as a vehicle for Dell to learn what consumers want. The knowledge they are able to take from this will not only help them in new product development, but it will help them create a successful, consumer-focused brand.

Shameless plug: There's a good chance a similar strategy could be taken with your brand. Interested in the possibilities of using interactive and social media to better communicate with your consumers? The Sutter Group would love to show you the possibilities. Contact me at garret[at]sutter-group[dot]com or on Twitter at @SutterGroup.

by Garret Ohm

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Email and email subject lines

With a number of our clients coming to us with holiday email campaign requests around this time of the year, we've got email marketing on our minds. And since we not only create the designs for these email campaigns but create the content as well, we've been thinking specifically about one of the most important part of a great marketing email: subject lines.

In doing some initial research on subject lines, we came across a great article written by Mailchimp, one of the leaders in low-cost email marketing services.  They have some great metrics on which subject line strategies work, and which don't. You'll be surprised by the results, which you can read in their entirety HERE.

Mailchimp is a great service, especially for small businesses that need to bring their email marketing to a new level of sophistication at a low-cost; however, for our larger clients that have more robust email marketing needs, we typically recommend Blue Sky Factory, a company located in nearby Baltimore. Blue Sky Factory is by far the hottest email service provider in the industry, providing an acclaimed, feature-laden platform and beyond amazing service. Their platform, Publicaster, does things no other email platform can do. These folks just plain know email better than anyone. Make sure to check out their website, and follow them on Twitter!

by Garret Ohm

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