Will the Coin Cause More Spending?

My mind has been absolutely blown by Coin, the electronic credit card that allows you to load all of your cards onto it, and then select which one you want to charge it to by pressing a button. Am I not making sense? Watch this video:

I imagine some day I will tell my children I used to have to lug all 4 of my credit and debit cards around with me when I was growing up. They will think it is ridiculous, similarly to how I think it is ridiculous people used to ride the subway using coins.

My only concern with this Coin product is that I will spend more money.  I recently tried a little money saving experiment due to my full time graduate student budget. When I decided to become a full time student in September, I thought for sure my monthly credit card spending would go down. After all, I would have time to buy affordable groceries at Trader Joe's, I would not be paying to go out to lunch most days like I did at work, having class every night would prevent me from going out for dinner and drinks with friends, and having class Friday night and Saturday morning would really slow down my social life. What on earth would I have to spend money on?

Well, I have no idea, but the first two months my credit card bill was similar to when I was working and had a paycheck. Then, one of my professors brought up that he only pays in cash because it is proven that you spend less if you do so. I had read about this in a few sources, and figured I would put it to the test.

And it's entirely accurate. I was much more cautious with my money, deprived myself of a lot more unnecessary luxuries, and the amounts leaving my checking account each month for cash deposits and to pay credit card bills were a lot less.

I'm sold on using cash for almost everything, despite all points and rewards of my credit card. My hypothesis is that Coin will be successful because it is convenient and because it will encourage more spending. Not to mention it is easier and quicker to use than any sort of mobile wallet or payment application.

Possibly the best feature, in my opinion, is that if you get too far from your Coin, you will be alerted on your phone. Coin uses a low powered blue tooth signal so it knows when your phone is far away from you. So, there is no reason to worry you will lose all of your credit cards at once.  I'm not going to lie, I'm dying to try it out.

And, perhaps it will save me money because I will have less of a desire to buy new, fun wallets all the time as I won't have as much to carry!

Kindle Update

It happened. I almost spoke too soon! I received a belated birthday gift from my boyfriend and it was a Kindle Paperwhite. I was slightly hesitant, but already downloaded and read a free book about Kate Middleton's life (it was suggested, along with about 4 other books on her life...)

I didn't mind it, though I was slightly weirded out not really knowing how much was left. Sure it told me the percentage, but I am used to judging by seeing pages.

I then realized I need a cover, as I a known to be bit of a klutz. Although I have yet to pick one out, I discovered that if I get one that is like a book, it will be like holding a book in my hands. Problem solved!

More updates to come on the transition after I finish my finals and graduate!

Kindle Takeover

In my Mobile Media Management course a few weeks ago, I was the only one in the classroom who did not own a tablet. Many were shocked to discover this, but they also did not know about my lifelong obsession with books, and my dream of someday having my own library in my house. How am I going to build my library collection with all electronic books? I wouldn't be able to, so I've kept on buying physical books (and, for the record, so do many girls in my book club, so I know I'm not alone).

But I do love change. And technology. So it is sort of absurd I do not have a tablet, I will agree.

With Amazon's recent announcement about Amazon Source, a program that allows Kindle's to be sold  in bookstores, I am starting to wonder if the death of the indie bookstore will come sooner in my life than I expected... and maybe it's time to get a tablet and start living in 2013 (almost 2014).

Not having a tablet is sort of a choice (and sort of because I pay expensive NYU grad school tuition). I have a MacBook Air, which is super light so I have no problem carrying it with me wherever I go,  I have an iPhone for staying connected on the go, and the used books I buy on Amazon are cheaper than the tablet versions.

Also, I'm sort of overwhelmed about the choices. I love Apple products, so the iPad seems like a great choice, but at heart I am a book lover and the Kindle Fire seems to be calling my name. Instead of choosing, I just don't choose and therefore, am tablet-less.

I have a ridiculous fear that a tablet reader will for some reason not provide me the same joy as a physical book. For me, reading has always been my escape. I understood what it was like to have sisters by reading one of my all time favorites, Little Women. I got an insider peek at what it was like to be married to one of the most hated American Presidents through Laura Bush's Memoir, and what it was like to be a teenager and having an affair with one of America's most popular Presidents, JFK. I fell in love with old New York through Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence and my fear is that for some strange reason, the experience on a tablet will not be the same.

Call me crazy. I know this is ridiculous. I see a tablet in my future. I will let you know how it goes.

You're Never Too Big

The other day at the gym, I received a good lesson in brand awareness and advertising. I was in the lockeroom when a woman came over close to me, bent over and pointed to my shoes and said "Those sneakers are exactly what I am looking for! I need more of a square toe! What brand are those?"

For your reference, here is a picture of the shoes I was wearing:

Needless to say, I was pretty shocked and uncertain of how to respond to such a question asking me what brand these sneakers were. Was this a joke?

"Uhhh, these? They're just Nike?" I said, as if I was not sure myself. Did someone seriously just ask me what the swoosh on my shoe represented?

I consider Nike to be one of the largest global brands in the world (So does Interbrand, they rank Nike at #24 in the world). Not only are their products popular, but their swoosh logo is easily recognizable, and they are always doing tons of advertising. They have definitely kept up to speed with the digital media revolution, but they still appear in print, on billboards, etc.

You could say that maybe the woman wasn't a big athlete or sports fanatic. That could be a fair statement, except that she was working out, so she had clearly purchased athletic clothing and shoes before. Also, she belonged to a gym in New York City, so she must either live or work in the city, and must have seen some Nike outdoor media at some point in her life:

Nike Billboard, Times Square NYC. Click here to read more

But, it is a scattered media world and people generally focus on themselves and their interests. It's still crucial to keep on building awareness and targeting new consumers. And despite how big you might think your brand is, just remember that some people do not even know what Nike is. It is possible to not reach a consumer throughout their whole life, or perhaps you can reach them but not make any impact.

For that reason, always keep inventing and promoting yourself. Are you relevant to certain niche markets you have yet to consider? Then promote yourself, or as Nike says "Just Do It."

4 Years Unplugged

I love pumpkin spice lattes and boots as much as the next person, but for me fall is all about my anniversary of moving to New York City and the beginning of my life without cable television, or any television at all. And look, I'm still alive to tell the story!

Four years ago this October, I moved to the Upper East Side of Manhattan with one of my college friends. We both got jobs at the same time, achieving a goal we both had to move to NYC after graduation. Not surprisingly, our salaries were entry level, making it hard to survive financially in the city. So, I was faced with choosing between my two loves: food or the Kardashians.

I mean, I seriously should be the 6th sister, my name does start with a "K"
Photo from vibe.com

I chose food. Our first year in New York we had an old boxy TV but no cable. Then, we moved downtown and never plugged the TV back in (gotta love tiny NYC apartments). I remember in the beginning when I would mention that I did not have cable or a TV, people would look at me like I was a freak of nature. But in the past few weeks I've heard a few people say they do not have TVs and no one else in the conversation seems to think it's strange. Also, some of my friends have cancelled their cable subscription. Finally, I'm fitting in!

To be fair, I might be a cord cutter, but I still watch TV. Here's why and how I've survived these past 4 years:

1. I didn't grow up really watching TV. Not because my parents didn't let me, but because in our first house the TV was in the basement and I was afraid to go down there.  I'm fairly certain that is where it all started. Once we moved, I had already discovered how much I loved playing with Barbies and using my imagination, so TV seemed boring. I then became a competitive swimmer in middle school and swam all the way through college which meant I had swim practice every day during prime time viewing hours. All of my friends were swimmers, so they missed out on TV as well, causing me to think it was normal to not watch TV.

2. The CW put all of their shows online, and since the only show I ever fell in love with was 'Gossip Girl' I really had no reason to pay for cable. Now that Chuck and Blair ended up together and all is right in the world, I can move on with my life.

For this photo and more  C & B click here

3. My parents live in Philadelphia, only about 2 hours away and barely use their DVR so I just load up all of the shows I want to watch and go home once a month to binge view.

4. Netflix... the perfect way to binge watch anything that you know will suit your interest. House of Cards has currently distracted me from all of my schoolwork. I've been telling myself it is giving me inspiration for my thesis on political communications strategies, but we all know that's a lie.

Find out why you'll love it as much as me

5. Shady websites where you can stream episodes of Mad Men. I really could only do this my first 2 years in Manhattan, now I have to use #3 because I don't have the patience or effort to find and load these sites.

6. The gym... I legitimately cannot workout on a machine without a TV because I get so bored. I'd like to thank E! for replaying the Kardashians all the time so I can keep up with my favorite all-American family.

Over a year ago I started babysitting for a family that my cousins put me in touch with. The kids were great, and I thought it would be awesome to be able to watch their TV after the kids went to bed. As it turns out, the TV wasn't that great. First, TVs have become a lot more complicated in the past 4 years and I have a hard time finding the shows on DVR or On Demand and finagling all the remotes. Try explaining to a 3 and 5 year old that you "don't know" how to use the TV. They look at me like I'm an alien or lying to them. Then, I discovered I really have no interest in surfing channels or just watching TV to pass the time. Good thing I have that thesis to work on!

I still get comments from people who ask how I survive without cable, but I'm more concerned as to how I would survive without food. I'm still a true believer that TV rots your brain, and even if I won the lottery next week, I'm not sure I would get cable. It's just something I've learned to live without.

Jumping In to Your Personal Brand

Every brand has a story, and the one brand you will ultimately work for and represent for your entire life is your own. People have always needed to know who they are, what they stand for and their values, but in a digital world, it's even more important because all of your information is out there. Combine that with the fact that people have less than a 9 second attention span, and you really need to find a way to tell your personal brand story quickly, and in a way that people enjoy listening to.

I was puzzled when first asked to think of my brand story. I've only been in the "real world" for 4 years, and my entire life I was known as "the swimmer" - but then I realized, my swimming story is still who I am today. 

When most college students graduate they fear the future of responsibility and that they will never have fun again (no more $2 Tuesdays at the bar and sleeping through a Wednesday morning class). I found myself in a different position upon graduation, I was not worried about fun or responsibility, I was worried about whether or not I'd be able to survive on land.

I was a competitive swimmer my entire life and captain of my college swim team, and that was what I felt defined me. Without swimming, what would I do at 5:30 am when I no longer had swim practice? Without my teammates given to me, how would I make friends? Would I get fat? After all, I had exercised between 3-4 hours a day, 6 days a week since I was 10 years old.

What I quickly learned was that who I was in the pool translated very well to the workplace, and I quickly found myself loving and exceeding at my first job.

Who was I in the pool (and out?) - I'll tell you:

A leader. As captain, I was used to meeting the expectations of my coaches, as well as my more junior teammates, and knowing how to balance both. This skill translated well to working with a boss and learning to manage those working under me.

Leading my team in cheer as captain senior year

Creative. Swimming laps up and down a pool for 4 hours a day is not exciting. Sometimes I needed to make it fun by having everyone in my lane wear pink, or sing songs. Thinking outside the box helped me come up with creative solutions for my company's advertising clients.

Fun practice gear got us through our intense training trip in Hawaii in 2011

Disciplined. I learned through swimming the difference between giving 100% and 110% - I saw first hand that extra hours and practice helps you to win or get a best time.

"Fairfield" would have been much too complicated to spell, this was hard enough.

Team Player. Although everyone thinks swimming is an individual sport, it really is not. Winning my own race meant nothing if in the end my team lost the meet. I learned how to inspire others to do their best while working as work as a team to get the win.

"A" relay team at MAAC Championships, 2008

Risk Taker. The first risk I took was being the only one of my high school friends not to go to Penn State - I was going to Fairfield to swim. I knew no one at Fairfield, and had to learn to adjust to a new setting. I was a backstroker my entire life until my senior year of college when my team needed a  butterflyer, and then I took on that role. Trying new things made me willing to move from a sales team to a research team and then ultimately to a marketing team. I embraced each change excited to figure out just how good I could be at the next challenge.

Hiking a water fall on our 2009 training trip in Puerto Rico

I may have spent 12 years jumping in to a pool, but what swimming really taught me was not to be afraid to jump out.

My Childhood Addiction Rekindled Via Digital Marketing

I had an unhealthy obsession with Barbie as a child. To the point I continued to play with Barbies long after my friends had stopped, and I would hide my Barbies when my friends would come over so they wouldn’t know.

There are a few reasons I think I was possessed by the hot pink wearing blonde. First, I had a wild imagination as a kid. I never was interested in TV, but with Barbies I could create my own stories for their lives and entertain myself for hours. Secondly, my best friend since pre-school, Kari, also had this addiction so I had someone fueling the fire. Third, I loved and still love the color pink. Fourth, I could never get bored! Barbie always had a new car or a new job, the story kept changing. And lastly, my mom had built me a house for Barbie and a school for Barbie.  There was just no reason to stop.

Eventually, I did get bored with Barbie. Probably around middle school. But, when you love something you never truly let it go. My mother continued to buy me collectible Barbies, which I keep in the box. I always was interested in what Barbies my younger cousin had, and then digital marketing came around, allowing me to keep up with Barbie’s life (in an age appropriate manner) all over again.

November 2012 Birthday Gift from mom: Election Barbie with brown hair and green eyes, just like yours truly

Barbie and Ken got back together in a huge Valentine’s Day campaign in 2011. Naturally, my mom bought me the limited edition dolls. This was when I first discovered Barbie was back, and in my opinion, better than ever.

Photo from make. see. do. eat. blog

Fast forward to today when I have a more collectible Barbies and the Barbie Twitter handle is the only non-human on my “pals” Twitter list composed of my friends. Yes, that is correct. Her tweets are just that great.

The genius behind Barbie’s online success is that it’s not pushing a product, it’s bringing to life a person or perhaps even a celebrity, which pulls fans in. She tells you about her dates with Ken, selling her dream house, shopping with her sisters and asks for help deciding which outfits to wear. Mattel didn’t choose to promote products or reasons to buy the dolls, they chose to make a human connection with their consumers.

I could rave about Barbie’s digital marketing strategy forever. But instead, I’ll show you:

Barbie tennis image from https://www.facebook.com/barbie

Dreamhouse packing list from https://www.facebook.com/barbie

Tweets from https://twitter.com/barbie

The 5 Rules of Wearing Patterned Kneesocks

In my first post I explained that there is a market for everything, including patterned kneesocks, you just have to find that market. I also explained that one needs to stand out in a cluttered marketing world, just as I stood out in high school by “breaking the rules” of my high school uniform and wearing patterned kneesocks. There are important things to know before putting on your patterned kneesocks, just as there are a few important things to know before preparing a digital marketing strategy.

1. You can’t put it out there and walk away: So much of traditional media involves putting up an ad on a billboard, or on TV, walking away and waiting to watch your sales soar. Digital Marketing doesn’t work that way. You can’t put up a Facebook post, or content on your website without continuously checking how many people are commenting on it, reading it or clicking on it. Remember it is a blessing that you can be agile and change your strategy half way through if people aren’t engaging, but you have to spend the time and effort monitoring your content.
(So, always keep a spare pair of plain regulation kneesocks in your locker, incase halfway through the school day the principal sees your fancy socks and asks you to change.)

2. Try something new: There are so many platforms out there to converse with consumers, and you won’t know if it will work until you try. Now, this isn’t to say you should have a presence on every single platform that exists, but don’t hold back. Just because you as an internet user are not a fan of Twitter, doesn’t mean your customers aren’t using Twitter. The same goes for content, don’t be afraid to try something new.
(Don’t put on all your pairs of kneesocks at once and don’t be afraid to try out that bold new polka dot pair of kneesocks.)

3. Don’t just rely on the metrics: Everyone loves to see more likes and traffic on a page. Numbers are important. But the comments users leave, as well as what they are liking and what they are spending time viewing are equally if not more important than metrics. Take notice of this, and use it to figure out what resonates with your audience.
(Dear High School Disciplinarian: As more and more of us started “bending the rules” on our uniforms, it wasn’t to create a school wide rebellion. We were just teenagers trying to figure out who we were and what our style was. Thanks for giving us extra time to think about our style while we sat in detention for not following the dress code one too many times.)

4. Visual is everything. Aesthetics can make or break a digital experience. The text and content might be great, but if a consumer gets to the page and immediately feels overwhelmed or not enticed to stay on the page, chances are they will never get to the great content. This does not only relate to images and pictures, it is important for text layout as well. Keep it simple, well designed, eye catching and easy to navigate. Once you hook them, they will come back, but not hooking them due to poor visual design is an unnecessary reason to lose your audience.
(If you’re going to stand out by wearing patterned kneesocks, you better make sure that pattern looks good, because it is going to get noticed.)

5. Be yourself & show your human side: At the end of the day, it’s still about human interaction. People have computers, but people are not computers. They are still impulsive and gravitate towards what they feel strong emotions for. People still want to be loved.  Be personal, have a human (not a computer) respond to comments both good and bad. Show that you care about them so that your relationship is not one they ever choose to walk away from.
(I didn’t make friends in high school because I wore patterned kneesocks, but rather because of the loyal, fun and outgoing person I was. I like to think I’d still have the same friends with or without my patterned kneesocks.)

By the end of senior year, uniform violations were in full swing for the class of 2005. Take note of the uniform offenders: patterned kneesocks, colored undershirts, sweaters and sweatshirts. No one dared to try this until we knew we had already met all of our requirements to graduate. I am in the 2nd row, third from the left.

Brands as BFFs

Digital marketing has allowed brands to enter the online friendship zone with their consumers. If asked which Facebook post had more value to me, Cole Haan's 50% off sale, or photos my best friend posted from her recent vacation to Europe, I'd be hard pressed to choose. I could live without ever seeing either, but they are both important to me in different ways.

Which came first: my love for Cole Haan shoes, or my love for their beautiful digital marketing? I honestly don't know.

The debate between creating a deeply personal relationship with a customer online, or keeping it simple and platonic goes round and round. Personally, I think simplicity leads to a great relationship for the following reasons:

1. If there are too many steps, or "clicks" and information to get to the end result, you're going to lose me along the way, potentially ending our relationship forever.

2. If you hook me within seconds with simple text explaining the offer and great imagery, chances are I'll be clicking "purchase" before I even think about if I really need your product or service (did anyone have their credit card numbers memorized before online shopping? I think I can type my credit card number on my keyboard faster than my phone number)

3. After I've made said simple purchase in #2, used it, raved about it to my friends and loved it, the next time I stumble across your brand online, I'm even more likely to click and/or share.

4. Forget stumble across the brand online, I'll probably go seeking it, making less work for the brand to reach me. How's that for a two way relationship?

An "All About Me" World

We all know the type: the person who always has to make everything about themselves. They can't be happy for your recent engagement without bringing up their recent promotion, and no matter how bad your day was, theirs was definitely worse.

It appears brands have taken this strategy on in the digital age. Quite simply, newsjacking is when a brand publiclyshares their views about a current event in order to rack up some free attention for themselves. The ever popular example is Oreo's dunk in the dark tweet during the Super Bowl, but if you look closely, you will see newsjacking is all around.

Oreo's famous tweet from the 2013 Super Bowl

This past June, the United States Supreme Court granted same sex couples equal rights and benefits under federal law bu striking down part of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). This was an amazing day in our country's history, and people as well as brands took the opportunity to celebrate.

Wait. Were these brands celebrating, or attempting to get media coverage for themselves?

Take MasterCard for example, who shared their support on Twitter and offered incentives for those also sharing their support and engaging in the conversation:

 

Initially this brings warm and fuzzy feelings to see a brand being passionate about such a cause.

But then you learn that MasterCard also currently happened to be running a sweepstakes with the NYC Pride parade. Would they have been so verbal and trying to get so much attention if they did not have a current sweepstakes initiative?

Did it work? Of course it did, everyone was talking about DOMA that day on Twitter and saw MasterCard tweets. In addition, there is no question of whether MasterCard was loyal and supported gay marriage or not because they already had the sweepstakes running, so the brand appeared to be a truthful proponent. My inbox was flooded with advertising industry news about MasterCard's genius tweets, and many other news sources referenced its tweets that day. MasterCard definitely got some attention. 

There is no doubt that newsjacking is effective. Brands get free press if they do it right (or possibly wrong), gain loyalists who also support the cause and have an opportunity to create content.

But, the tactic is new. Some brands haven't caught on. Will newsjacking have any worth when every brand is doing it for every big announcement? If the majority of brands newsjacked DOMA, would any journalists have bothered to write about MasterCard? Will it get to the point that brands aren't even really true or supportive of the news they are jacking because they are just trying to get attention?

Brands, don't be that friend.

More Data, More Problems?

This past weekend at the Legends of Summer concert at Yankee Stadium, Jay Z rapped his famous line "more money, more problems." As I stood there, in the 99 degree heat, watching a man with jewelry on him worth more than all the jewelry I will probably ever own, on stage in front of thousands of his fans, I wondered "did having more money really bring Jay Z more problems?!"

I obviously understand the concept. The more of something you have, the more you have to deal with it and manage it. Same goes for big data. The world suddenly is overwhelmed by all the information available at our fingertips. According to Google's Eric Schmidt, in 2 days, humans can create the same amount of information that it took from the beginning of time until 2003 to create.

As someone who spends most of their day using numbers and results to prove that an ad campaign was effective, or that a target consumer is in X, Y o r Z advertising medium, I was nodding my head while reading the Harvard Business Review article Advertising Analytics 2.0. I was in total agreement with the statement about how all of the new data can take an existing marketing budget but re-allocate it and create a 10-50% performance increase. Too often I see media bought and sold based on what people like or don't like, all while ignoring statistics.

Check out one Big Data Evangelist's POV

But then I read about Netflix knowing "House of Cards" was going to be a huge success before they even began filming, because they had so much data on consumers they knew what it took to make a hit show.

Is this scary?

Well, Netflix has over 30 million subscribers, and knows what those subscribers watch and when they watch and what they like. I'd be concerned if they were just sitting on that data and crossing their fingers hoping for the best financially...especially in this economy.

For a second, I was worried I was being brainwashed by Netflix, and whoever else was targeting me based on my online behavior.

But then I realized: I'm too busy to research the millions of shows and movies and products there are out there. It could legitimately take me a year to research the best volumizing shampoo now that I have Amazon, and can have any brand of shampoo in the world shipped to me. Same goes for TV, I know it takes a few episodes to get hooked, but then if I don't get hooked...that's time I will never get back. If someone else is going to plug in a few numbers, track my behavior and recommend for me within moments what I am going to like best, and in fact I am going to absolutely love it ... maybe I should just thank them.

Summer Love

I cannot go home to Chester County, Pennsylvania without coming across Victory Beer. I don't even need to go to a store or bar to find the beer, just this past weekend I went home to lounge by my best friend's pool, and her brother came home wearing a Victory shirt because he is doing a summer internship there as part of his Tourism & Hospitality Management degree at Temple University.

I'm not much of a beer connoisseur, but there is a cult following for this stuff, which I only discovered after I moved out of PA and found myself face to face with people asking me wide eyed about growing up in the same town as the brewery. People fall hard for this beer - it's no wonder they named their summer ale "Summer Love" - finding Victory beer in a bar outside of PA brings happiness akin to the memory of a first summer love.

MacBook view: victorybeer.com

Victory knows it has a cult like following, which they take full advantage of on their website. The content features a beer finder allowing users to find the bar closest to them that carries Victory (anywhere in the US), an explanation of all of their beers, the restaurant menu, an event calendar and facts and videos about how the beer is made.

On all platforms (laptop, tablet, mobile device) victorybeer.com creates a very classic and traditional American feel by utilizing a red, white and blue color scheme (and of course the name "Victory" helps with American pride as well). But, America is the "new world," just as Victory is a relatively "new" beer, so they remind you that they know what they are doing with the tag line "European Tradition. American Integrity."

If the phrase "American tradition" alone does not let you know you are drinking a quality beer, the website is so aesthetically pleasing (simple, yet artistic) that it just screams "QUALITY!" reminding consumers that paying premium price is worth it for this beer. Good looks go a long way, and the page featuring all of their beers is so creative it feels as though there is something for everyone, from the traditionalists to the day dreamers.

Just a few of the Victory brews! Check out the full list and find what is right for you at http://www.victorybeer.com/beers/

The text is a bit small on the website, but the blue space on the sides of the main content help the eye know where to focus. There is a lot of content on each of the pages, so utilizing all of the space would make it too cluttered.

Find a Victory event near you at http://www.victorybeer.com/events/

iPhone view: victorybeer.com

 If it isn't apparent by now that I think Victory is a great beer with a great marketing strategy, let me tell you about the experience loading their website on my mobile device:  it's brilliant.

Upon opening victorybeer.com on my iPhone I noticed that their main content best viewed on a laptop is downplayed, but easily viewable and most prominent are "Upcoming Events" and the "Beer Finder." Victory knows  that people on the go are pulling up the website because they're trying to find an address of the event Victory is at, or a bar that carries the beer. Brilliant. Plus, their text is huge and easy to scroll, which almost negates my comment about the small text when viewing on a desktop.

Victory does fall short on the iPad experience, where users are not as on the go as an iPhone viewer. The tablet experience appears to be very similar to the desktop experience, which makes sense, until you struggle to hit the arrow keys which are too small for fingers on an iPad. Additionally, the scrolling images are not able to be viewed by swiping a finger across the image, which seems strange to a tablet viewer who navigates by swiping their fingers across the screen. 

Easy to click text on iPhone

iPad view: victorybeer.com

Now, if only Victory would move their social media page links to the top of their website from the bottom, Victory Beer might be successful at achieving world domination.

Victory's Facebook page is pretty cool, despite the fact you can barely see the link on their website

Cheers!

Learning to Live Without

In life we often have to learn to live without something. I learned to live without apples when I discovered I was allergic to them. I learned to live without a sister because I was the only girl born to my parents.

I have learned to live without paying for news. This is similar to learning to live without a sister, because I never had to "give up" my news, rather I never knew what it was like to pay for it.

Many kids do not grow up reading newspapers, and I was one of them. In high school I started to read our local town newspaper, The Daily Local, but only to see if my name made it into articles after each and every one of my high school swim meets. Having an email address and instant messenger account since elementary school, I was accustomed to living half of my life online. Checking "The Daily Local" was simply an early morning ego boost, and took about 2 minutes of my time.

So when I became a grown up, and joined the real world ready to start every morning with the news, naturally I went to the internet. Being a New Yorker, it made sense to read the NY Times, however I discovered that due to a paywall  it cost money to access every article on the site. I could barely afford my rent in Manhattan, so I had to find a better way to consume the news.

There was: free sources such Foxnews.com, CNN.com and Business Insider along with Facebook and Twitter where my friends posted news and updates from around the world keeping me in the loop.

Ha! Why should I pay for the NY Times? Some of the news apps on my iPhone alert me to breaking news for free! How's that for staying up to date?

After reading about the NY Times paywall, I decided to catch up on NY Times Modern Love articles, as I have done sporadically over the past 6 years. However, I was greeted with this message, alerting me I apparently already caught up on some of the love stories recently:

Luckily it is almost the end of June, which means that I could read a few more articles, and now wait only a week until July to read the rest. 

Had it not been the end of June, I may have clicked and paid to view the articles, as it is not an overly pricey subscription (although I would be paying the student discounted price!)

The NY Times paywall structure of allowing users to view some content and then requiring them to pay for the rest seems to be one of the better thought out strategies. NYT still can get advertiser revenue, the fee is fairly priced, and the stories/content are reliable enough that readers feel they are receiving a good bang for their buck.

But what about me? What about the user who grew up not reading the newspaper and learned to keep up to date with current events through various internet sources? The user who never received news from the nytimes.com, but from news sites that allow access to all content because they have broadcast backing them, or tons of paid ads. The user who has friends that pay NY Times subscriptions and write paragraphs about their thoughts of the situations on their Facebook pages? How will the NY Times get me to pay?

I don't think the biggest problem facing the NY Times is getting people to pay to access the content online. I think their biggest problem is an up and coming generation that doesn't understand the need to pay for news and has grown up learning to live without.

For readers like my parents, the NYT goal is to convert them from print to digital, which they will pay for instead of paying for print. For me, it's not about finding a way to make me pay, it's about finding a way to convince me to do something I've never needed to do before and do not understand. Good luck.

P.S. Breaking sports news update for all my Boston and Los Angeles friends (thanks to a Facebook friend I have not seen or spoken to in 11+ years):

Ms. Prestige

The best part about taking the Fascination Test was that I did not have to sit face to face with someone to review the results. A few weeks ago I took the PRINT Assessment through the NYU Wasserman Center for Career Development and the only way to view my results was to make an appointment with a Wasserman counselor. I had taken the quiz online out of curiosity, expecting the results to pop up at the end. But no, before they would fork over the results I had to sit in front of a counselor and tell her which two categories I thought I landed in. Naturally, I chose the "nice" categories, "to be needed and appreciated" and "to be special and find meaning in life."

I was dead wrong. The PRINT Assessment however, was dead right about me. And I now know it is right even more because my Fascination Test results were very similar to my PRINT results.

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce myself, Ms. Prestige (aka "the need to succeed and achieve" if you ask PRINT.)

Due to the fact I was recently sitting at Wasserman nodding as the counselor asked if I was competitive, overly enthusiastic, used to winning and being recognized as #1, the Fascination results of being a "Connoisseur," known for its triggers of prestige and passion are not a shock to me. I've had a few weeks to realize those things were true, and to not be ashamed of them. That said, hearing that happiness would only come to me through being #1 at everything and always having competition was not the easiest thing to have a stranger tell me. To me, it sounded like she was describing a monster without friends. But, after realizing how much happiness I have had in competing to be #1 in the past, and after reading Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In, I now am grateful to have taken such an assessment early on in my career and life.

None of the results are a surprise, they are truly me, but Lean In helped me to realize I was partially ashamed of those qualities. Society has lead us to believe that females should not be overly competitive, ambitious or uncompromising, all of which fall under the "Prestige" category. Thus why I did not select anything regarding success or achievement when the NYU counselor asked which category I thought I fell into.

photo from Forbes, to view more quotes visit http://www.forbes.com/pictures/fdmj45file/leadership-insights-from-sheryl-sandberg-6/

It's hard to be a female and to be #1. In fifth grade all the boys who sat at my table made fun of me for being the only student in the class to have earned "Distinguished Honors" at the end of the year. I'm not entirely sure I should have earned the award because I did not even know what it was for at the time. Turns out, it's the award for having straight A's the entire year.  Perhaps if my girl friends had made comments I would have attributed it to jealousy, but when the boys were making fun of me, I just felt ashamed. Luckily I was not ashamed when I received partial scholarships to both undergraduate and graduate school (and luckily I knew what they were).

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference All-Academic Team 2009

This trend continued with my swimming career. Boys called me "Tree Trunks" in high school because my legs were so muscular.  This time I didn't care (as much) because Tree Trunks herself was always winning her races, being praised by her coaches and was the only member of her high school swim team to compete on a Division I college team. In college, I was the only freshman to break a school record and compete as a member of an "A" relay composed of all upperclassmen.
 

Go Stags! Fairfield University Swim Team "A" Medley Relay

There are times I finished last in a race, and times I did not get straight A's. But overall, my 26 years of life have been filled with competition, winning, respect for winning and hard work to achieve it all. I have chosen not to be ashamed, because according to the Fascination and PRINT tests, I am biologically wired to be this way, so I might as well use it to my advantage.

GIRL POWER

Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Sandals)

My Rainbow sandals have traveled the world with me, and been there for many important milestones throughout my life. The same pair of Rainbows that accompanied me on my first trip to Europe 6+ years ago to study abroad, also traveled the streets of New York City with me to find my first apartment. A few years after securing me an apartment in NYC, the sandals helped me become a “true New Yorker” when we had our first trip to the Hamptons. In between each of these milestones were countless spring and summer days that I would not leave the house without my trusty Rainbows on my feet or in my bag.

 

My beloved Rainbows, showing the mold of my foot

There is no denying that Rainbows are a popular sandal, almost everyone I know owns a pair. I find it interesting that they do not do much advertising and are still able to have so much success, which I attribute to word of mouth and a truly great, lasting product. The simple Rainbow story is that the product is customized, eco-friendly and most importantly…comes with a lifetime guarantee.  As a product, the Rainbow sandals basically tell their own story for the brand.

I am not sure I will ever be wealthy enough to have shoes custom designed for me, but Rainbows are made of sponge rubber which mold to the wearer’s feet, making them “mine.” Even putting on my roommate’s Rainbow’s for 2 minutes to run downstairs and get my laundry is uncomfortable, as they have been molded to fit her feet, not mine.

Besides the comfort level of a sandal, which is hard to find, Rainbows are made my hand, and made to last forever. Rainbow has a guarantee for the lifetime of the sole. They have won my customer loyalty by knowing that if I ever wear through the top or bottom layer of the soul, they will replace my shoe entirely. The straps are made to never break or wear out, but if by chance they do, they will also be replaced by the company for free.  Just knowing that the product is made to last a lifetime, which allows the company to offer such a guarantee, lets consumers know that the investment will be worthwhile.

As I mentioned above, Rainbow does not do much advertising. A few surfer magazines here and there, but beyond that they rely on word of mouth, promotion/sponsorship of events and social media. As I study digital marketing, it’s interesting to see how a company who does barely any traditional marketing, has taken on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The product may be great and sell itself, but the brand has recognized that a community has formed around the product, and that it is important to give the customers an online hub to keep them engaged.

The brand falls short in their positioning of this product, which they position as mainly a product for surfers. All of their imagery and the few ads I have seen show it as a shoe designed for surfers. The surfer positioning made sense being as Rainbow launched in southern California, and surfers were the ones to wear flip flops year round, but the market has really expanded. Hipsters and preppies alike have adapted the Rainbow sandal to their lifestyle. While the product lasts forever, they do get dirty and grungy looking. More advertising not directed at surfers could easily remind other consumers of the need to purchase a new pair, in a different color or style.

Lastly, the website is a bit plain. There is nothing engaging when you first go to the page, just a large image of a surfer. While most people going to the site might be doing so to purchase, sharing the Rainbow story and guarantee would only encourage purchase. The “History” and story behind all of the great aspects of Rainbows are hidden on the webpage, and most users may not even think to click those links. The price is steep for a pair of sandals, so anyone just going straight to the “Products” tab on the website might not know they are worth the investment. If you’re selling a great product, I believe in letting the potential customer know just why it is so great.

Welcome to Patterned Kneesocks

Welcome to Patterned Kneesocks, a blog dedicated to my exploration of all things digital marketing. As part of my Master's level Digital Marketing course at NYU, my fellow classmates and I are creating blogs to share our discoveries and opinions of the digital marketing world.

Patterened Kneesocks will explore trends in digital marketing, my opinions of what is successful digital marketing (in particular as it relates to shifts in marketing strategies), changes in the overall marketing landscape and what I learn about the digital world along the way, as it is currently unfamiliar territory to me.

Personally, I am excited at the idea of keeping a blog. My love for writing stems back to my elementary school days, where I would beg my parents to take me to the drug store so I could buy notebooks to fill with stories. I attended Fairfield University for my undergraduate education, and remember the day my advising professor told me I had enough room to take on a second major and still graduate on time. I immediately responded "English." To me, there was nothing better than spending my last two years of college reading and writing. I have always envied bloggers, especially those who are able to make money off of their blogs. In a busy NYC world of full time working, grad school, volunteering, socializing and soul searching, I have yet to dedicate the time to blogging, or even writing. So, here we go!

Why "Patterened Kneesocks?"
I have worked at a media company for over 3.5 years now, and if there is one thing I have learned it is that there is a market and a marketing strategy for everything and everyone. This includes products such as patterened kneesocks. When was the last time you saw someone wearing kneesocks? Better yet, when was the last time you saw an advertisement for kneesocks?

There is a market for patterened kneesocks, which I discovered in high school. I attended a strict Catholic high school in the suburbs of Philadelphia, and we were required to wear plain white regulation kneesocks. My friends and I were obsessed with wearing patterened kneesocks instead, and every day hoped to avoid getting any demerits for wearing them (I'd say combined we had an 80% success rate). To this day, my high school friends and I still discuss our ridiculous love for wearing patterened kneesocks, not only to rebel, but to define ourselves and express our individuality. It may seem silly to have cared so much about kneesocks, but kneesocks were the only part of the uniform, which included a kilt, oxford shirt and sweater, we could easily "edit."

The kneesock market may be small, but it still exists and therefore should not be ignored.

In a cluttered online advertising world, marketing efforts need to stand out to be noticed, just like my patterened kneesocks did amongst a sea of plain white kneesocks.