What is Pinterest you ask? Just another social media craze? Craze – yes. Just another – not exactly. For anyone unfamiliar with Pinterest and how it works, it’s basically a virtual list of a user’s favorite things. TechCrunch calls it a “socially curated shopping catalog” and says, “…it is addictive.” And they’re right – it is.

Just yesterday, comScore reported that Pinterest had surpassed the 10 million visitors mark, attracting 11.7  million unique visitors, and has become a top 10 social media site. It received 40 times the number of visits during the week ending December 17 than it had received during any single week in the prior six months. That’s a 4,000 (FOUR THOUSAND!) percent increase, making it the fastest-growing social media site EVER. 

(continue reading…)

It is no secret that consumers are increasingly using smartphones, tablets and computers to watch TV shows online. Media researcher SNL Kagan estimates that households that use online video instead of paying for TV service will grow to nearly 4% by the end of 2011, up from 2% in 2010, in the $30 billion cable TV industry.

Since consumers have gotten in the habit of receiving media content online for free or at a lower cost, cable TV content providers and distributors are adjusting their business models so they can remain profitable.

One idea adopted by companies like Comcast and Time Warner is “TV Everywhere.” In this model, consumers are able to watch shows online as long as they are a traditional cable TV subscriber. But according to The Wall Street Journal, “TV Everywhere” has been slow in gaining popularity because some TV channel owners want to be paid extra to provide their shows over the Internet – as a result only select shows are shown online.

Another popular alternative is Hulu – a website offering free TV shows that is a partnership between Walt Disney, Comcast and News Corp. According to The Wall Street Journal, some media executives value Hulu since it gives content creators direct access to consumers compared to working with cable and satellite distribution companies as well as an online alternative to offering shows through Apple’s iTunes and Amazon.com. 

Although Hulu is a free site, consumers can subscribe to Hulu Plus for $7.99 to receive premium content; Hulu Plus currently has more than one million customers. Hulu Plus is a new revenue stream for content creators but also puts them at risk of angering the distributors, who are their biggest customers since the service can be seen as competition.

As consumers continue to increase their use of mobile devices and consume media online, TV content creators and cable companies will need to evaluate their business model to remain profitable and relevant. 

Ed Samide is a Senior Account Manager at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805.

Mobile phones are the fastest growing segment of the online market. Half a billion people accessed the mobile internet worldwide in 2009¹. Usage is expected to double in the next five years as mobile takes over the PC as the most popular way to get on the web¹. Many mobile web users are “mobile-only,” i.e. they do not use a computer to access the web – ever. In countries like Egypt and India, those numbers are as high as 70% and 59%, respectively. Even in the U.S. 25% of people access the internet solely on their cellphones. Almost one in five global mobile subscribers has access to fast mobile Internet (3G or better) services and according to emarketer.com, U.S. mobile ad revenues are expected to hit $1 billion in 2011, which is a 35% annual growth – that’s quite a number when compared to the expected 10% growth in the traditional online advertising market*. Now for the hundredth time we’ve asked this question on Domus Dish – ARE YOU READY TO MAKE YOUR WEBSITE MOBILE-FRIENDLY YET?

Sheesh.  If you were unaware, (although if you’re on the DD blog I don’t know how you could be) I’m sure these stats must have raised an eyebrow. And I’m also sure you must be thinking of going mobile. Now that you’re (FINALLY) ready to take the plunge, here are some Do’s and Dont’s to keep in mind: (continue reading…)

Learn the URL schemes of iPhone App, how it works, types of schemes, how to utilize them.

Do you know how to create a mobile website? Or more importantly, do you know what a mobile website is? Domus Dish has covered this topic quite a bit, but in case you’ve missed it, a mobile website is what smart phone users see when looking at your webpage from their phones. There are many differences between mobile and traditional websites, which is why your website may not work for many smart phone users. For one Apple doesn’t support Flash (perhaps because Steve Jobs hates Adobe, but we’ll save that for another time), so we need to focus on HTML5, which is the next major revision of the HTML standard and is still in development.  It can be frustrating that there’s such a disconnect, but learn it and move on – you don’t want to miss out on the mobile website movement.

I encourage you to look on the bright side – once you have mobile web mastered you’re opening your business to millions – some analysts even say BILLIONS – of mobile web users. Mobile websites are a new way of digital marketing, and a completely different approach compared to the development of traditional websites. Therefore, you can’t just treat it like a regular website with a smaller layout – there are distinct differences in the website’s development that will drastically affect the final result if they’re ignored. Read on as I list the top ways of making your website mobile friendly.

(continue reading…)

Happy New Year from Domus!  Hopefully, you’re planning on a healthy and wealthy 2011.  And if not, that’s what the bubbly is for.  Take a look at some of our predictions for the marketing world in 2011 and ways to help your business thrive in the coming year:

Companies are becoming their own media

With social media sites, companies can report their own news articles, distribute their own white papers and conduct interviews with their own personnel to share with the public.  While a little guidance and finessing is necessary (that’s where the communications agency comes in) businesses themselves can supply valuable news and content on a daily basis.  The key is making sure your audience is aware and tuned into your efforts (again, an agency’s job) but once they are – get out there!  You may need to decide the best ways for your company to invest in social media efforts in 2011, (Do you have how-to videos already developed?  Create a YouTube channel.  Want to share industry news as it happens?  Set up a Twitter account.) but with the correct strategy, you can spread your message and take part in the conversation.

(continue reading…)

A few weekends ago I was shopping at an outlet mall in preparation for the holidays. I had never previously visited this mall and thus was unsure of all that it had to offer in terms of stores. With a long list of people I needed to buy for and a very limited amount of time to accomplish my mission before closing, I turned to my trusty Android powered smartphone to get a lay of the land. Following a quick Google search, I landed on the mall’s website and was delighted at what loaded. Instead of an unwieldy, Flash-laden website, I was locked into a well thought-out, fast loading mobile website. Thanks to the site, I was able to quickly identify the stores I needed to visit and develop a plan of attack that enabled me to get everywhere I needed before closing.

(continue reading…)

Facing a new reality

In the past 2 years, the percentage of consumers who are using smartphones to access the web has skyrocketed to more than 49 million¹. A recent study by Morgan Stanley predicted that by 2015 there will be more mobile web users than there are desktop users².

As the mobile audience continues to grow, our mobile devices continue to shrink in size and increase in functionality. They’ve gone from oversized “Crackberries” we used for constantly checking email to organic extensions of our hands and minds that nearly do everything for us. Need to pay a bill, make a dinner reservation, turn off your house lights, video chat with a customer service representative or kill zombies? There’s an App for that.

(continue reading…)

If you’re like me, envisioning a room with a new paint color, piece of furniture or window treatment sends shivers down my spine. While I work in a creative environment, I simply cannot visualize new décor for my home as evidenced by a flamingo-pink powder room I once painted – yes, I admit it.

Needless to say, the myriad of new apps and online and in-store visualization tools that are available are sparing me from poor design choices. For all home décor-challenged folks out there these tools will show you how furniture, floor coverings, different paint colors and more will look together by mixing and matching from a variety of pre-set colors and textures.  The easy-to-use tools help consumers channel their inner Martha Stewart and feel more confident in purchasing decisions, in addition to saving time and money by not having to re-do décor or hire a professional designer.

Some of the most popular iPhone home design apps are Colorsnap, Colorchange and Ben Color Capture.  With Colorsnap, you simply take a photo of a swatch you are using.  This can be anything from a close up of your sofa to a print on your lampshade.  Once you take the photo, the Colorsnap app will find a paint color that best matches your swatch.  Colorchange lets you see your interior with the finished product and Benjamin Moore’s Ben Color Capture app matches paint swatches with your interior.  With the snap of your camera, you’ll receive paint recommendations within seconds along with a dealer locator.  All this, and you didn’t even need to leave your couch.

Home furnishing retailers and manufacturers can take advantage of these latest technologies to develop interactive visualization tools that will help make the sale and deliver more satisfied customers.  With a world of people strapped to their phones, not utilizing these app opportunities would be a very poor decision. Like my hot pink bathroom.

Domus, Inc. is an integrated digital and traditional marketing communications agency that delivers unconventional thinking and out-of-the-box strategies that help our clients sustain growth and demand brand awareness.  For more information, please visit us at http://www.domusinc.com.