By Emilie DeLong, Media Supervisor

Mobile Broadcasting to Come to Northern Ohio

The fact that people are watching their favorite shows outside their living rooms is not news, but being able to watch live local TV for free at speeds up to 100 mph might be. Television stations are working to debut a new service, mobile broadcasting, in Northern Ohio and across the country that allows users to view live broadcasts from their cell phones, laptops and other portable devices.

With DVRs and sites like Hulu.com, it will be interesting to see if people would rather watch live TV when on-the-go or continue to log-in for already broadcast programs. It will also be interesting to see how advertisers determine how to best use this new broadcasting format. As always we will continue to keep an eye on this new opportunity to determine how consumers are accepting it and how best to leverage it for our clients.

For more information on mobile TV check out this article by The Cleveland Plain Dealer on Cleveland.com.

photo credit: masochismtango 

By Ann Oliver, Account Director

Using Mobile Technology to Reach Moms in New Ways

My daughter was growing bored sitting, once again, waiting for her brother’s baseball practice to wrap up. The usual distractions and games had grown tired, and I was running out of tricks. I checked the time on my Blackberry, noticed the icon for Pandora and had an idea. In less than 90 seconds, my daughter was happily singing along on her very own “Hannah Montana” station I created in the Pandora app. Occupied child, happy mom.

The call for app-based mobile experiences just keeps getting louder. commScore estimates that there are now more than 200,000 mobile apps available across various smartphone platforms, and the numbers keep growing.  That got me wondering, are mobile applications a good way for marketers to reach busy moms?

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By Jenny Fuerst, Director, Corporate Communications

Acquisition Doubles the Firm’s Digital Capacity

Today, Fahlgren announces that we’re acquiring GRIP Technology, a leading Web design and technology development firm located in Columbus. Its services include Web application development, Web site design and development, e-commerce, e-mail marketing, intranets, extranets, search engine optimization and marketing, and strategic Web consulting. GRIP is co-owned by Scott Sanders, Dustin Leggans and Bill Kiefaber.

“It’s no secret that the online world is growing, and our clients are asking for more and more digital work from us every day. It’s an integrated part of virtually every campaign we create,” said Neil Mortine, Fahlgren, Inc. president and CEO. “We are thrilled to be able to double our capacity in this area. GRIP is a natural fit as they complement our team, and we already have a great working relationship. We’ve been sharing clients and projects with them for more than two years. We’re impressed with their offering and client service and delighted to welcome them to the Fahlgren family.”

“Our business model is very client-centric,” said Scott Sanders, founder and president of GRIP and the new leader of Fahlgren Digital. “When I founded GRIP in 2002, I set out to develop a digital agency that was committed to helping its clients reach their business objectives, not just build great Web sites. Technology is only a tool, one part of the equation. It’s our goal to offer more than just great online creative and coding; we provide solutions to meet business objectives. Joining forces with Fahlgren, which shares the same client-centric business model, we can now offer our clients the full support of a leading, independent full-service agency.”

 For more details, check out the news release.

By Marty McDonald, Vice President

Five tips for keeping up with mobile travel technology

As a leader in Fahlgren’s tourism practice, I read a lot of articles and blog posts about trends shaping the travel industry. Last week I came across an article in USA Today titled “Smart phones have changed the way we travel.” You can say that again.

The article gives a long list of examples of how today’s travelers are using smart phones, and provides more evidence that the travel industry is leading the way with some of the most innovative applications. As marketers, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by new technologies.

So do you need a mobile Web site? Should you create an app? The answer is almost always “it depends,” and it would take much more than a blog post to explain how to evaluate your specific needs. In today’s world, it’s easy to get “caught up in keeping up,” meaning that there’s a huge temptation to jump into new trends because everyone else is doing it. I would contend that the most important thing you can do is relax and take a step back.

If you’re in the beginning stages of creating your mobile strategy, here’s a list of five basic things you can do to ensure your strategy is on target before you take a costly leap into mobile marketing.

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By Amy Dawson, Senior Vice President/Healthcare Account Director

Marketing to a “Bundle of Contradictions”

I’m a parent of two teen girls. They’re great daughters, but I often wonder how I will keep my hair from turning gray between now and 2015 when the youngest graduates from high school. Both girls are absolutely obsessed with their cell phones and maintaining their extensive network of friends through texting, MySpace and Facebook.

In fact over the weekend, I was at the Verizon store twice. The first time was to repair a phone that wasn’t working, causing my oldest to panic over the number of text messages she was missing. Her Facebook status cited that her phone was broken so all of her contacts were aware she was out of texting commission. The other Verizon visit was for a phone upgrade for the younger daughter - and not just any phone would work. It had to have certain features and benefit to be acceptable, and to give her thumbs their daily workout.

So when I read a new white paper this morning, “The Teenage Girl as Consumer and Communicator,” released by Euro RSCG Worldwide PR, I wasn’t too surprised.

The white paper confirmed something I’ve seen in my two girls - and in every teen girl I know - they go online to maintain their friendships. In fact, 71 percent are online with friends, not just surfing randomly. And their value-minded moms seem to be influencing them with 77 percent more likely to buy sale-priced items than one at full price.  This is great to hear, considering how fickle teen girls seem to be with their tastes and preferences changing all the time.

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By Amy Dawson, Senior Vice President/Healthcare Account Director

8 in 10 Internet Users Go Online for Health Information

More physician practices and hospitals are starting to embrace Facebook as an important tool in their arsenal of marketing tactics. As marketing dollars shrink, competition intensifies, and more people look to social media as a way to become informed, empowered healthcare consumers, any hospital or practice would be wise to consider how social media can enhance their existing marketing plans. We’re now in the era of Health 2.0 - using social software and its ability to promote collaboration between patients, their caregivers, medical professionals, and other stakeholders in health. It’s really pretty cool when you think about it.

Consider this: eight in 10 Internet users go online for health information. Sure, there are things to consider like staffing, HIPAA, content and more, but can you really afford to be absent from this space and let your competitors be the only voice in the discussion?

I’ve spent the last week looking at a variety of healthcare brands - both hospitals and physician practices - and how they’re using Facebook as a marketing and commnications tool. Some are early adopters and recognize that as their younger patients age, more of them will seek information online rather than schedule an appointment with their doctor. After all, it’s faster and easier than ever to get information online. One caveat here - accessing information online doesn’t replace the value of seeing your physician face-to-face but can certainly help you ask the right questions.

Here are a few examples of Facebook tactics used by healthcare providers that I think are pretty interesting:

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