Will You Be At Caribbean Digital Expo 2011? @CbbnDigitalExpo
Posted by SiMedia | Filed under Caribbean Digital Expo 2011, Trinidad and Togago
This sold-out event is the first-of-its-kind conference that brings together traditional and digital marketing and business issues.
CDX 2011
Simply Intense Media will be at the conference exhibiting in the exposition. We invite you to stop by and meet our staff who will be there to speak with you regarding digital marketing, new media and business transformation.
Experience
Simply Intense Media has helped companies innovate by creating new customer brand experiences by combining digital to traditional programs. Si uses a range of advanced tools and creative strategies which lead to tangible business results for our clients and their brands in the banking, finance, retail and FMCG industries.
Transforming Business.
Change isn’t easy and knowing what the right mix of new technologies to use is a science. We start our relationship by looking at what you’ve been doing, what your competition is doing and coming up with a blueprint of how we can build your presence and grow your business with new digital tools.
Success
We’ve provided our innovative solutions to clients large and small. We’re proud of our long-term relationships with our clients and hope you’ll give us the opportunity to meet at CDX 2011 or at your convenience in your offices or ours.
Si Media #29 Long Circular Road St. James, Port of Spain Trinidad & Tobago +1-868-621-5796 www.SimplyIntense.com or follow us on Twitter @SimplyIntenseM
Tags: @CbbnDigitalExpo, @SimplyIntenseM, banking, business transformation, Caribbean Digital Expo 2011, CDX 2011, digital marketing, finance, FMCG industries, retail, tobago, traditional marketing, Trinidad
Have You Seen the New Sleeker, Faster BlackBerry Bold 9900?
Posted by SiMedia | Filed under Tech Talk, Technology, Trinidad and Togago
BlackBerry Bold 9900
The BlackBerry continues to be the leader when it comes to smart phones – it’s the choice of many large corporations around the world for its security, data efficiency, practicality and reliability (except for a few hiccups recently with email service).
This model is faster and sleeker – i.e. Bolder as the name states. Personally, we like the keyboard because we are always “on” and communicating to customers and staff, so typing on a smart phone needs to be efficient.
Here’s the top two reasons we’re excited to have 9900:
Smaller and Lighter
The screen is slightly larger and it’s thinner overall and weighs less, 2.8″ capacitive touch display Full, wide QWERTY keyboard.
Better Picture Quality
The picture is brighter due to better resolution, 5.0MP camera with flash 720p HD video recording capability.
BlackBerry 9900
Other Stats that make it worth it to check out
BlackBerry 7 OS 1.2 GHz Processor 1230 mAH battery 768 MB RAM 8GB on-board memory Micro SD slot supports up to 32GB Dual-band Wi-Fi GPS Tri-band HSPA+, Quad-band GSM/EDGE NFC technology.
- New Augmented Reality enabled with digital compass and accelerometer
- BlackBerry QWERTY keyboard
- 24-bit high-resolution touch screen 10.5mm thin design
- New powerful 1.2GHz processor 8GB onboard memory expandable up to 40GB through uSD card
- Dual-band (2.4GHz & 5GHz) Wi Enabled for new NFC and Augmented Reality
- New digital compass
- Next generation BlackBerry 7 OS Featuring Liquid Graphics
- Fastest BlackBerry Voice activated universal search
- Full HD video recording
- Most pre-Installed apps Iconic BlackBerry
- 6% larger than the BlackBerry Bold 9000
- 16 million colors
- New BBM New BlackBerry App World Docs to Go
- BlackBerry Balance
- BlackBerry Protect Social Feeds
- BlackBerry Music Storefront B
- BlackBerry PlayBook ready
What are you waiting for? You can check them out over at our friends at bmobile – they might even let you take one home!
Tags: Blackberry, blackberry bold 9900, bmobile, bmobile store, new smart phone, new technology, product review
Congratulations to Anya Ayoung-Chee: Project Runway Season 9 Winning Designer
Posted by SiMedia | Filed under Social Media, Trinidad and Togago
“Fashions fade, style is eternal.”
Yves Saint Laurent
Anya may not have been the most accomplished seamstress, but she was the most gifted and positive designer who had a sense of style that was elegant and easy and won her first place in Season 9 of Project Runway.
Anya on Good Morning America
During Season 9 of Project Runway, fans had a chance to interact with Anya and the others via Twitter. Anya always tweeted back and thanked her fans on Facebook. She was connected with her audience and won first place in the audience choice voting, netting her $10,000.
One theme always rang true watching Anya – she was genuine, she was giving, and she was never “catty” back like some of the other contestants – always positive. Our hearts wrenched when she lost her money at Mood and only one of her fellow stylists came to her rescue – with very little money, she won the challenge.
Anya never gave up – the more pressure there was, the more she shined
“Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.” Coco Chanel
Anya has come a long way from her audition video and we’re sure that she will have a bright and wonderful future as a designer. We believe she will be a success – even if she would not have won, she still has the support of Trinidad and Tobago.
But, with that said, as the Season 9 Project Runway winner, Anya gets an editorial feature in Marie Claire Magazine’s January 2012 issue, $100,000 from L’Oreal Paris so she can start her own line, $50,000 in technology from HP and Intel so she can run her business and the opportunity to design and sell an exclusive collection on Piperlime.com… so we know that she will be a huge success, look at her Spring 2012 line – it’s amazing:
“Style is primarily a matter of instinct.”
Bill Blass
Stay Connected to Anya
Here are some interesting facts that you may not know about Anya:
- She’s involved with Tallman Foundation, an organization dedicated to intervention in the lives of young people, and particularly young men, in Trinidad and Tobago.
- She’s the only daughter in a family of eight and was born in New York City but then moved to Trinidad with her family when she was two and holds a dual-citizenship with US and Trinidad
- She won the Miss Trinidad and Tobago Universe 2008 pageant
- Her passion for design happened when she attended St. Joseph’s Convent (Port of Spain)
Just because she’s off Project Runway, it’s not the end for those of us who want to see what’s next from this talented woman. Be sure to follow her on her Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/AnyaAyoungChee and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/AnyadeRogue
This photo of Anya says it all!
Tags: Anya Ayoung-Chee, caribbean fashion, exclusive collection, good morning america, heidi klum, hp, intel, l'oreal, L’Oreal Paris, Marie Claire Magazine, mercedes fashion week, michael kors, mood, new york city, piperlime.com, Season 9 of Project Runway, tim gunn, tobago, Trinidad, winner
1984 to Infinity and Beyond with Steve Jobs
Posted by SiMedia | Filed under Apple Computer, Digital Strategy, Technology
We’d like to pay a tribute to one of the most influential men in the past 100 years, Steve Jobs.
We hear Steve Jobs’ name and think Apple Computer but do we remember all the little things about him? Let’s talk a walk back in time to see how really inspirational he is. Here are some little known facts, some flashbacks and a look at one man who has changed how we use technology, communicate and are entertained.
Did you know that Steve was adopted? He grew up in an area of apricot orchards which is now known as “Silicon Valley.” In high school, Steve was known for looking at things differently and used the slogan “Think Different” as Apple’s tag line.
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak Founders of Apple Computer
In 1975, Steve Jobs started hanging out at Steve Wozniak’s “Homebrew Computer Club” in a garage where the Apple I, II and III were created. They later sold off their most valuable possessions to raise $1,300 to start Apple Computer on April Fools Day 1976.
By 1982 they have sold 750,000 Apple II systems for US$1,195 each; and by November 1984 the 2 millionth Apple II computer is sold.
In January 1984, Steve rolled out the Macintosh line the Mac 512K (US$3,200) with only a floppy drive – but it was the first GUI (graphical user interface) driven computer with a mouse as seen below and by May 1984 Apple announced that 70,000 Mac computers had been shipped in the first 100 days.
Mac 512K Steve Jobs
Here is the first commercial that introduced the world to the Apple Macintosh Computer.
Power struggle – 1984
Jobs lost a power struggle with the board of directors and resigned from Apple and founded NeXT, a computer platform technology company that specialized in higher education and business markets. Fast forward to 1996 when Apple bought out NeXT and brought Jobs back with technology that would be used as the foundation for Apple’s OS X which runs today’s computing systems from Macs to iPhones.
Did you know that Steve Jobs bought Pixar from Lucasfilm LTD in 1986?
Jobs remained CEO and majority shareholder until 2006 when The Walt Disney company bought it and he became Disney’s largest individual shareholder at 7% and a member of Disney’s Board of Directors.
First big hit – Toy Story in 1995.
From Movies to Music – Steve Jobs Changes Another Industry
The Apple iPod was the game changer the music industry needed with portable music players. Introduced in Fall 2001, there have been 314,546,000 units sold worldwide.
Newsweek - iPod - Steve Jobs
One of the most noteworthy speeches given by Jobs was the Stanford College commencement speech in 2005 where he talked about being a college dropout, an entrepreneur and his battle with cancer.
In 2007, the iPhone was revealed, with 128,964,000 units sold to-date.
Interesting fact – the Android was named this week by McAfee as the number one mobile device for malware attacks and that the number of incidents related to the iPhone was so minimal, they were not even listed.
In 2010, the iPad was introduced with over 15 million units sold and domination of the tablet market.
It’s also been widely talked about, Apple Computer being a cash rich company that has grown under Steve Jobs as leader and CEO.
Revenue Growth of Apple Computer from 1984 to 2011
Steve Jobs is one man who followed his passion, his dreams and did not let his lack of a formal education stop him from creating one of the most successful companies in the world today.
How has Steve Jobs touched your life?
What’s next for Apple? We know about the iPhone 5 and there is talks about solar energy products, but if you were in charge of Apple, what would you want to see next…??
Tags: 1984, adoption, apple computer, apple II, education, imac, inspiration, iPad, iphone, ipod, lisa, macintosh, silicon valley, steve jobs, steve wozniak, xl
Google + User Video Tips
Posted by SiMedia | Filed under Google +
We’re excited to share these helpful video tips with our readers as they start to navigate Google + as an alternative or companion to their social network strategy.
As always, if you’d like to speak with us about how you can achieve your goals for social networking for personal or business use, please contact us.
Tip one: How to change the format in your updates by adding bold, italic to the posts.
Tip 2: What are Sparks and how can you use them? If you have specific interests that you want follow (like cooking, movies, kittens) and want to share with your circles, you can use Sparks to see what’s new.
Tip 3: Privacy – one of the reasons that many people worry about Facebook… but it all starts with the user and setting the proper parameters for your profile. You can control who sees your posts from sharing information with the world to just your circles.
Tip 4: How to mention people in your posts like you can do in Twitter – just add the @ before their name and they’ll also be linked in your post status
Tip 5: Muting Notifications – if you have been following “popular” people on Google +, you may see that when you click on or +1 a status you’ll see everyone else’s comments which can be annoying if it cascades by 10, 20, or more responses. Here’s how to “mute them” so you only see things you care about:
Thats all the tips we’ve got to share today based on the questions that you have been asking us. Please feel free to comment on this post and let us know what your questions are as you start to experience this new social network Google +.
Tags: Facebook, formatting, google + social networking, network, posts, privacy, sparks, status, stream, tips, Twitter, updates, video
Don’t Miss TIC 2011 – Connect with Si – Come to our Seminar & See us at Booth #142
Posted by SiMedia | Filed under Digital Media, Digital Strategy, Events & Happenings, Social Media
Si Media is excited to be support this year’s TIC 2011 (Trade and Investment Convention) at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad, Port of Spain, starting tomorrow, June 15th.
Last year, TIC hosted more than 200 companies in 191 booths from 20 countries, including Country Pavilions from around the world. More than 272 international buyers attended TIC 2010 from 35 countries and more than 4,000 people attended the show. This year is sure to be another great opportunity to network and attend seminars to learn more about how you can expand and build your business.
From 2-3 PM on Wednesday, Si Media will be doing a seminar entitled “Taking Your Business to the Cloud using Google Apps Premium and Si Media: Key to Digital Business Success.” We hope you will join us. You can also partake in a brief registration survey by clicking here – it will help us better understand your business and how we can help you today, tomorrow and for the future.
Please stop by our booth #142 and meet our team. Si Media has been serving businesses both small and large in the Caribbean and have helped them grow exponentially over the years. We don’t just do one quick project, we map out a plan and help you achieve your goals and build your digital business.
We hope to see you at TIC 2011 – if not, please complete our survey (click here) and let us contact you directly to have a private discussion about where you want to take your business.
Tags: advertising, business, caribbean, commerce, convention, education, events, exhibit, exhibition, Google Apps, growing your business, growth, Hyatt Regency Trinidad, international, Marketing, Media, networking, Port of Spain, search marketing, seminar, Si Media, simply intense media, Social Media, TIC 2011, TIC Seminar, Trade and Investment Convention, Trinidad, Trinidad & Tobago
Why Your Business Should Be Using Facebook
Posted by SiMedia | Filed under Digital Strategy, Online Marketing, Social Media
Word-of-Mouth is how people have been sharing good and bad information for generations. With the advent of “social” marketing, emails and instant messaging were next up with forwards from websites. It’s 2011 and there is a social network that is connecting one in every 13 people on the earth electronically, and that’s Facebook.
Did you know that Facebook accounts for 38% of all sharing referral traffic? Twitter and email tied 2nd place with 17% each.
Here are some interesting facts about Facebook that you should be aware of about Facebook:
- 1 Million Links are Shared every 20 minutes on Facebook
- 1.4 Million Event Invites are Posted every 20 minutes on Facebook
- 1.3 Million Photos are Tagged every 20 minutes on Facebook
- 1.8 Million Status Updates are Shared every 20 minutes on Facebook
- 1.97 Million Friend Requests are Accepted every 20 minutes on Facebook
- 2.7 Million Photos are Uploaded every 20 minutes on Facebook
- 2.7 Million Messages are Sent every 20 minutes on Facebook
- 10.2 Million Comments are Sent every 20 minutes on Facebook
- 1.6 Million Wall Posts are Written every 20 minutes on Facebook
- The average Facebook user has 130 friends
- In total: people spend over 700 Billion Minutes per Month – more than on Google
- Average User is connected to 80 Community Pages, Groups, Events
- More than 30 Billion pieces of Content (links, news, blog, photos) are shared each month
A recent study by ShareThis together withStarcom MediaVest Group and Rubinson Partners identified four highlights:
Sharing is Bigger than Fans, Friends or Followers
- 31% of referral traffic is generated by sharing with 10 % of website visits come from sharing
Sharing is about Scale – not being Viral
- Links are clicked on 4.9 times each, so content shared by more people – reach more people
You’re an Influencer if You Share
- Many people are influential on more than one topic, which means that there are a lot of people sharing on different topics
If it’s Relevant, it’s Shared
- Viable marketing information is being shared and is reaching audiences which enhances advertising campaigns
These are some of the studies and analytics that Simply Intense follows. We understand how to take advantage of the social media and marketing tools and put together the right mix for your organization to be successful and capitalize on these tools.
Let us help you be the #1 item that is shared on Facebook and other social networks. Call us today and let’s look at your business today and talk about how we can help you for the future.
Tags: bookmarking, community, email, Facebook, fans, influencers, Marketing, referral traffic, sharing, Social Media, statistics, Twitter, word of mouth
Why Keywords and the New Google 1+ Are Important to Your Business
Posted by SiMedia | Filed under Digital Strategy, Online Marketing, Social Media
If you’ve seen or used the Facebook “LIKE” button, then you might have seen the new “+1” button from Google.
For more users of the Internet search tools (70% of us) we have probably seen this new button on searches that have come up in Google. This is how Google is going to help make what you search for and find more relevant and even endorsed by others. Here’s an example of how the “Plus One” button looks next to the search results:
The benefit is that searchers can endorse you by clicking on the “Plus One” button which will now appear in search results when users search with Google (and have a Google account like Gmail).
What does the “Plus One” button mean for your business? Google recognizes that recommendations from friends, family and acquaintances are more relevant to search so they will be using that input to help your business get found. If you’ve optimized your website with relevant keywords and utilize the “Plus One” button along with other social media sharing tools, chances are you’ll be at the top of many searches.
From the Google FAQ on the “Plus One” button:
“Content recommended by friends and acquaintances is often more relevant than content from strangers. For example, a movie review from an expert is useful, but a movie review from a friend who shares your tastes can be even better. Because of this, +1′s from friends and contacts can be a useful signal to Google when determining the relevance of your page to a user’s query.”
If you want to make sure that your business is optimized for the web, and don’t have the time or expertise to figure it out, let Simple Intense help you. We’re clued in to how this and other components work together and will help you reach your goals.
Tags: Facebook, gmail, google, google plus one button, keywords, search marketing, search results, Twitter
Local Culture Meets Viral Video Trends in 2011
Posted by SiMedia | Filed under Online Marketing
Even though about 40% of Trinidad and Tobago have access to the Internet, there are more and more videos going “viral” with hundreds of thousands, even millions of views coming from our communities.
We’re often asked “What makes a video go viral?” Humor in videos has always been a top reason for a video to get more views. One popular YouTube Channel belongs to “Buhwamoder” where he has over 1.5 million views of his videos. Some of the more popular ones include the “Trini Slap Chop” parody of the infomercial for the “Slap Chop” product. He’s voiced over the commercial adding local Trini-flare to the video and over 780,000 views. http://www.youtube.com/user/Buhwamoder
The next reason videos “go viral” is having more than one, creating a series. These video creators know that you need to keep your audience engaged and your subscribers multiplying by having more than one video. Another local video creator “LexoTV” has fused real life, local culture and humor with puppets and created a series of videos with an average of 300,000 views each with titles like “Pastor Stewart,” “Thou Shall Not Horn,” and “Patsy.” http://www.youtube.com/user/rogera43
These videos are prime examples of how to use “new media” and reach a wide audience and build a brand which leads us into the #1 Trend we see for business: Branded Entertainment. It’s getting harder to reach your consumer through a 30-second commercial and video viewership is growing online and via mobile. We believe that branded entertainment will have explosive growth as business want to engage with their consumer by creating content that will “tell their marketing message” in an authentic way and be fun to watch and share.
Considering the fact that over 47% of the global Internet population visited YouTube in April, we can only imagine that with the growth of viewing video on mobile devices and more internet in homes will be more than 65% in 2011.
Video is just one form of “new media” that you should consider for your business in 2011, and not all video has to be expensive or complicated to be successful. One example of is this “Flash Mob” T-Mobile’s Heathrow Airport online ad campaign that has gotten over 5 million views since October. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NB3NPNM4xgo
- It was relatively inexpensive to create with no special effects or celebrities.
- The musicality of the singers in “A Cappella” without instruments was chilling and maybe even more powerful than having a band there
- There’s lots of variety in the medley and the participants to reach a broad audience
- There’s a lot of “reaction shots” with people being stunned and surprised – making it authentic and engaging, even emotional – making this a video that people will not soon forget.
If you’re looking for ways to incorporate video with your 2011 marketing campaign, talk to us, we can help you with the right mix of local culture and messaging wrapped in a unique package that gets results.
Tags: audience, Branded Entertainment, Buhwamoder, build a brand, Flash Mob, Humor, infomercial, local culture, marketing campaign, new media, parody, Pastor Stewart, Slap Chop, Trini Slap Chop, video, Viral Video Trends in 2011, What makes a video go viral, YouTube
What You Need to Know About Digital Marketing in 2011
Posted by SiMedia | Filed under Online Marketing
So many times we are asked about social media, digital media, new media and what should we use as a business, let’s clarify the differences. Traditional marketing is more analog or what we would think about as printed messaging to our clients through ads and brochures. While this works for many businesses, it does not keep up with the growing number of Trinidadians who now have access to the Internet. Did you know that in the past year the number of residents who are on the Internet have doubled to 39.5 % of the population from 18% in 2009?
Building a online (digital) marketing strategy to connect with your consumer both on the Internet and through mobile devices should be on the top of your list for 2011. Studies have shown that the average value of a Facebook connection is $136. With over 340,000 Trinbagonians on Facebook and growing, making connections and having a “social” dialog will not only build loyalty but also revenue for your business.
This chart shows where the top marketers in the world are focusing for 2011, the top of the list is making it easy for their business to be found through optimized search marketing online.
While digital marketing is important, it is also important to understand the value that each channel brings back to your organization. What is the expected growth and what are the best places for your organization to reach out to consumers? Understanding this and getting R.O.I . will make the move to digital marketing online pay back faster for your organization and allow you to do more with less in 2011.
Tags: Digital Marketing in 2011, Digital Media, Facebook, new media, online marketing strategy, revenue, ROI, social dialog, Social Media
