"Advertising is based on one thing... Happiness." - Don Draper

Don Draper had it right when he said "Advertising is based on one thing... Happiness." He might have lost some of us when he continued explaining what happiness means to him, but he's right about the fact that advertising is largely based on one thing- emotions.

Behavioral Economics… it sounds like it has nothing to do with the business world, but instead seems to be some crazy mixture between psychology and math, right? Not exactly… Behavioral Economics is becoming more and more relevant every day, thanks to smarter consumers who have an infinite number of choices to make every day. Not only do consumers have more choices than ever, but with the popularity of social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, they have thousands of opinions they can search through and listen to as well.

Market research today is studying purchase intent and what consumers want – but they don’t study the reason someone DOESN’T buy something or suddenly changes their mind. Emotions, opinions and peer pressure greatly influence modern-day consumers, and it’s time to start researching how and why this happens. Agencies and marketers need to start thinking more outside of the box to solve this problem, because although you may be working for a Fortune 500 brand, your brand is not as powerful as it was 10 years ago.

A great example comes from a recent Advertising Age article, who discusses marketing focuses for gym memberships. Traditional focus groups have found more people say they would go to the gym if it were closer, if there was free babysitting, or less expensive… But gyms have catered to these needs and don’t see any changes. What agencies need to do is think more outside of the box. One great new idea Advertising Age brought up was charging people for NOT coming to the gym- how revolutionary is that?! Think about it, how much worse would you feel about not going to the gym that is near free as long as you attend as many days as you say you will? Now, this idea may not be the most profitable, but it really gets the juices flowing and makes you wonder what else is possible.

Thus, advertising agencies may hire the best and the brightest in their classes, but if you don’t truly understand who your consumers are and why they purchase the way they do- aren’t you missing the point?

Attaching Digital Content In Places You'd Never Expect...

If you haven’t heard of the latest and possibly greatest in the social media world… then you need to check out Yes the company name and website may seem slightly dirty, but the company creates barcodes that you can “stick” anywhere. A few major corporations (such as Pepsi) have faith in Stickybits and it might just be the next big thing in social media.

I understand the idea of scanning barcodes with an iPhone or android may seem pointless… But I can see where they’re trying to go with this. Pepsi is going to attach fun “bits and stories” to their barcodes on all Pepsi products, allowing consumers to read fun facts and stories about their products, as well as the ability to attach their own.

This whole idea could also revolutionize the health industry, as well as the food industry. Think about this: You’re walking through the grocery store trying to find a quick snack. You’re faced with 18 different choices of crackers, and want to figure out which ones taste the best, are overall the best for you, best price, etc… Instead of trying to make an educated guess all by your lonesome, you can scan the barcode and see what other people have to say about this. No, I do not recommend this while shopping for your entire list of things, but for certain products it could be really helpful to those corporations who choose to embrace this early on.

Another unique, yet highly innovative use of these are for business cards (pic). You can create a simple business card on the website and they print a barcode on the back of it. What could you use this for? Well, since the website allows you to attach anything to these codes, it’s easy to attach resumes, cover letters, previous work examples, websites to the code. Instead of handing over all of these documents, all a recruiter or acquaintance needs is a small card and the rest of your documents are already there.

Even though this company is still in the beginning stages, I will definitely keep my eye on them and see how they progress and morph into their next stage. Innovators surely need to keep an eye on this company, as well as think a step ahead for what they would like to do with such a company.

Trending Now: Mobile Health

Think of any health topic you have ever had a question about... Diabetes? Dieting? Sleep apnea? We've all heard "there's an app for that" one too many times, but thanks to mobile health, there are tons of developers out there creating websites iPhone apps, Droid apps, smartphone compatible websites based on each health or medical question you may have.

Over the past few months I have had the pleasure of working with a mobile health company who is focusing on creating useful and helpful mobile apps for their customers and clients. I knew little about the mhealth world before I began working with them, and quickly found that mhealth can be a very general term for a wide variety of services and information. The mhealth community consists of all sorts of characters, such as doctors, health care practitioners, and those working directly in the medical community as well as advertising agencies, interactive agencies and marketers trying to find their place in the mobile health world.

Over the past few months I have read numerous articles about the possibilities, barriers, risks, and goals of all mobile health voices and can tell that this is the newest hot trend and industry to look out for. There are SO MANY ways that mobile health can go, and so many ways it can be developed. The ideas are endless and it has the possibility to lower health care costs, increase patient/doctor trust and interactivity, and spread information about prevention throughout the US, as well as the world.

Mobile health is definitely a topic to keep up on because the industry is literally changing every few weeks. There is always someone pushing the limits, going further than the last innovative idea.

Here are some fantastic resources to catch up on Mobile Health:






www.mobihealthnews.com
www.healthcareitnews.com
www.unfoundation.org/global-issues
www.imedicalapps.com

So, check them out and follow mobile health news and trends if they interest you because I can guarantee that in the next few years, even the next few months, mobile health will be taking the world and industry by storm.

Location Based Updates...

Foursquare has more than a half million users, 1.4 million venues and more than 15.5 MILLION check-ins.... And has only been around for 1 year! Although the trend hasn't gone mainstream yet, I think it will relatively soon. There are many pros and cons to Foursquare, and it's value hasn't been defined quite yet, but I see many pluses to this start-up.

First of all, many people refuse to use Foursquare because it's deemed "unsafe" to be telling everyone where you are and what you're doing at all times. But twitter and facebook both can find your locations and tweet where you are, while Facebook status updates let people know where you are, who you're with and what you're doing... It's basically the same thing. I think people need to get past this part of it, and see Foursquare and even Gowalla for what they're worth...

Businesses and venues need to start embracing these as well, because once they start offering more discounts and deals for all customers checking in (and special deals to "Mayors", Starbucks) people will be more inclined to check it out and see what good it could do for them. Businesses really need to look into it because it could open so many doors, create brand and product loyalty to their food, products, whatever AND create an entirely new channel to interact with customers. How great would it be to walk into your favorite coffee place, where everyone knows who you are and congratulates you on being the "mayor"... Stupid, maybe... but fun enough for all, and who doesn't want to compete with others to be a mayor when all you have to do is frequent the shop?

I think it will be interesting to see how well these do in the next year and see how they transform. Look out for all of this.

And the job search continues... On to the next advertising agency.

In the past few days, I have learned a LOT about job searching, interviewing, preparation and execution of the interview. Obviously finding a job, especially one that you are passionate about doesn't always seem to be the easiest thing in the world, but if you open your ears and pay attention to people's advice about where to look, what to do, and how they did it... It can make things a lot easier.

I have begun the job search, making searching for a job my day job- even though I still have social media work to do part-time. I have starting looking at every website I can think of, bugging all sorts of people about what they have heard, searching for my passions as well as any entry level position. I have had a few very informative informational interviews where I received information about the company, an idea of what a day in the life is, as well as general information about even MORE things I could be doing to find a job... I've taken away the fact that I need to get creative (I guess I could do more) politely ask as many people as possible about jobs, their ideas for help, as well as scour the web for any and every job!

I have only just started searching, and I'm actually very excited about what the future holds for me (as well as other entry-level graduates!). We really do have our whole lives ahead of us, and while I would love a job that I could immediately be passionate about (social media :) perhaps?) I would be able to be just as passionate about the fact that I have A job.

The search is on, the road is winding, but I'm looking forward to anything that comes next!

No Job Is Beneath You...

This is a great mantra for those of us who are newly graduated, searching for a new career, or currently unemployed... I have recently come across a few blogs and recent articles discussing the fact that graduates or other young adults are upset by the jobs they are being offered, if they are offered any at all. They think working at a McDonald's is beneath them, even though it's the ONLY thing available.

I hope to never be this way, because you never know when a new opportunity will come knocking on the door while you are working at McDonald's, or at a "crummy" entry level position. Everyone has to start somewhere, and if you do your best at any job, whatever it may be... people notice. They notice your attitude, your hard work and your drive, and it always pays off, not matter how long it takes.

So if you get a job, any job, you should be thankful and try your hardest at it. Eventually the tides will turn, and if you have the right attitude, ideas, and help others out, people will notice and you never know where you might end up.

One important key to success is self confidence. An important key to self confidence is preparation.

While reading Malcolm Gladwell's "What The Dog Saw", I came upon a chapter about talent called "The Talent Myth". It talked about how the best companies at different times over the past 10-15 years, including Enron, were OBSESSED with finding talent and letting their "rockstars" do their thing. Malcolm brought up a great point asking what is talent and do we really want EVERYONE we work with to be the most talented?

I would think not. It talks about how the company most obsessed with finding top business school students from the top MBA programs and letting them do as they please, was Enron. Obviously, this did not work out for them. I'm not saying that smart people are overrated, but I think that just because someone is not the brightest in a classroom, does not mean they will not be the best, hardworking employee a company will ever have.

What does getting all-star grades in a classroom even really suggest? I understand that learning is important, and did well in school myself but there are many reasons for this. I think that companies should be looking for real-world experience and how someone uses what they learn and translates it to the job. It is one thing to get an A+ on a marketing test, and a completely different thing to run an entire division of a company.

I think we need to look past grades sometimes, not throw them out completely because learning is important, but start looking for people with tacit knowledge as well. You want a person who can work hard, try hard, and give you results. I'm just saying it isn't always the top student from the MBA program who will do this, but the average student from a public university who knows they need to work harder and shine brighter so that they're noticed.