Archive: January 2009

As a senior RIA developer at SolutionSet I am always on the lookout for tools to increase productivity and interoperability between team members. A recent addition to our arsenal is an MVC (model-view-controller) application framework called PureMVC. In 2008 I used it on more than a dozen (Actionscript 3/Flex) projects. I found that it really allowed me to focus more on the creative and contextual scope of the project and not get hung up on technical implementation of the underlying framework. It also created very reusable code that could be maintained by any developer accustomed to MVC or Façade design patterns.

One of the really powerful things going on right now in the PureMVC world is the constant porting of the code base to other languages. As of this writing PureMVC is available in many flavors: ActionScript 2, ActionScript 3, C #, ColdFusion, Haxe, Java, JavaScript, Objective C, PHP, Python and most recently Ruby! The new C# port will be really nice when building Silverlight applications. Also the new port for Objective C should reduce the amount of scaffolding to write for iPhone applications.

When working with this framework in a given language, the only difference in implementation is dealing with visual elements. This allows the potential for porting applications quickly and efficiently to other platforms. An example would be porting a Flex application to Silverlight.

Another really interesting thing happening in the Microsoft/.NET world is the move to get more developers creating Silverlight applications. To me this is most evident in the announcement of Eclipse4SL. This is a new development plugin for the Eclipse platform aimed at providing Flex and Java(FX) developers with the tools for creating and deploying Silverlight applications from their environment of choice. I really think this is going to help developers gravitate more towards Silverlight and be willing to give it a chance.

To sum it up, these are interesting times indeed for the RIA development community. The combination of tools like PureMVC for cross platform standards, along with development tools for one coding environment promise to make multi-platform RIAs much more commonplace.

Cash4Gold (which is essentially the nation’s largest pawn shop) made a mass media play of epic proportions with the purchase of a Super Bowl slot. According to AdAge, the company best known for their DRTV ads will air a 60-second commercial before the game and 30-second commercial in the 3rd quarter. From the source:

Cash4Gold’s appearance in the Super Bowl offers proof of the burgeoning power of an often-overlooked breed of marketer. Direct-response advertisers pepper the airwaves with commercials hawking entrepreneurs’ inventions, CDs laden with hits from the ’60s and ’70s, free credit reports and headache remedies. They often capture attention despite their low production values, fast-talking announcers and quirky spokespeople. In tough economic times, these ads seem to gather more traction, particularly as TV networks find it harder to sell inventory amid an economic pullback.

DRTV-pioneer Ron Popeil must be shedding tears of joy right now. And although NBC has banned any 800 number on Super Bowl ads, you can rest assured the direct marketers at Cash4Gold are going to have their website glittering bright for all to see.

But wait…there’s more! Check out our recent post DRTV wins in hardluck economy.

An article by Kathy Sharpe published in today’s iMedia Connection highlights three companies that are offering hope to the American consumer in today’s trying times. From the source:

In hard times, “hope” as a consumer benefit can be a powerful marketing tool, transcending customer relationships and making a powerful brand impression at just the right time in our economic history.

She goes on to detail how these companies are offering to help (yes help!) people manage their budgets, and at the same time removing the barriers to purchase.

That is exactly what Hyundai does with its new Assurance Program. Launched in a series of commercials the weekend of Jan. 3, the spots feature actor Jeff Bridges’ calm, caring, and intelligent voice promising that Hyundai will allow you to return any car you purchase in the next year if there is “involuntary loss of employment. More clearly: If you buy or lease a Hyundai and you lose your job, you can bring it back.

Kind of reminds us of the advertising approach that advertiser extraordinaire Caroline Butler pitched to Howard Humphrey—President of premium-priced Schooner Tuna—when the economy wasn’t doing so well back in ‘80s. You see, Caroline knew that if Mr. Humphrey lowered the price of a can of tuna so American housewives could stretch their grocery dollar, then they would be loyal to Schooner Tuna for life. They would, in fact, see Schooner Tuna as the “Tuna With A Heart”.

Mr. Humphrey bought that idea, and here is the copy from the resulting TV spot:

My fellow Americans. I am Howard Humphrey, President of Schooner Tuna. All of us here at Schooner Tuna sympathize will all of you hit so hard by these trying economic times. In order to help you we are reducing the price of Schooner Tuna by 50 cents a can. When this crisis is over, we will go back to our regular prices. Until then, remember, we’re all in this together. Schooner Tuna. The tuna with a heart.

How can you turn your brand into the Tuna With A Heart? Now more than ever brands have the opportunity to develop and position offers in a BrandActional way—support the brand, drive loyalty, and cause the sale.

Oh. And, unfortunately, Caroline Butler is not a real person. She’s a character played by Teri Garr in Mr. Mom. Totally worth one hour and forty minutes of your time.

• Is ignorance really bliss?

• 25 reasons you’re not followed on Twitter

• The Great Toronto Pun Hunt

• Triple score for this Scrabble keyboard

A. J. Khubani, the chief executive of TeleBrands, which sells products like the PedEgg and EZ Combs, said that his prime-time advertising had increased by about 20 percent over last January. “I like to say that we’re getting beachfront property at trailer park prices,” Mr. Khubani said in this NYtimes article. “We’re clearing stuff at prime time, which we almost never do.”

The article’s author Stephanie Clifford breaks down why DRTV ads are hitting prime-time at a “low, low price!”:

In exchange for the lower prices, infomercial producers are given no guarantees about when their ads will run. The networks give priority of time to the full-price ads, which usually take up the slots during prime time and other popular times. When the networks cannot find advertisers to pay the premium time slots, they will use direct-response ads instead.

Perhaps no informercial has benefited from this bargain access like the sleeved blanket better known as the Snuggie. According to an AdAge article, the gaudy garment has sold more than 4 million units in just over three months. The manufacturer is struggling to keep up with the orders—a problem many companies wish they had right now.

[A quick aside: I myself received a Snuggie for Christmas this year, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t wear it around my drafty apartment on a fairly regular basis. You can’t help but feel elegant in it—almost regal. And at only $19.95 for two Snuggies and two bonus reading lights, it’s a deal you don’t want to miss!]

Often an issue will occur on a windows based system that is not easy to pinpoint. Common symptoms might include the system is slow, stops responding or certain applications may intermittently crash.  In some cases there will be no obvious indicator of what is causing the issue. This problem can especially confusing on a system with multiple applications and possible places to start troubleshooting. There are several helpful tools in these situations. In this edition I am going to discuss using Performance Monitor. While many of you are probably familiar with this tool there is a litany of ways to use it and its depth can actually make it daunting to use. I am going to cover some basics of this tool that may be helpful the next time your windows system is just plain unusable and the regular avenues are not helping.

Right click on my computer and choose manage. Choose Performance Logs and Alerts

Right click on Counter Logs and choose New Log Settings. Name your new log settings something easy to remember.

Each performance object has a selection of available counters. In the screenshot below we can see the available counters for the Processor object. To add a counter simply choose add. This step is repeated for each object. To change object choose the drop down. It goes beyond the scope of this article to go into great depth about each counter however I will recommend what I consider to be a few key counters for some important objects.

-Processor-
%Processor Time
Interrupts / sec
-Memory-
Pages Reads/Sec
Page Writes/sec
Commited Bytes
-Network Interface-
Bytes Received/sec
Bytes Sent/sec
Packets Outbound Errors
Packets Received Errors
-Paging File-
% Usgae
%Usage Peak
-PhysicalDisk-
% Disk Read Time
% Disk Write Time
-Process-
Private Bytes
Virtual Bytes
Thread Count
-Web Service-
Current Connections
Bytes Received /sec
Bytes Sent /sec
Connection attempts /sec
Get Requests /sec
Head Requests /sec
Maximum Connections
Total Not Found Errors

Once all your objects and counters have been added go ahead and click close then apply. Your new performance monitor is now in effect but now what. In order to view the data that is being collected it will be necessary to browse to c:\perflogs “this is configurable”

Double click on the .blg file that corresponds to the monitor you created. This will open the window below. From here it will be necessary to specify what data you are interested in viewing. To do so click on view log data “the grey cylinder icon along the top edge of the graph”

From here choose view Log files and browse to the file that we double clicked on earlier in the article.

Once the log file has been selected choose the data tab. From here choose add.

It is necessary from here to select each of the object and counters that were defined earlier. It is possible to select all them or only a certain subset.

You should now see something similar to the graph below. It’s possible to increase the size of each line in the graph by right clicking on it and going to properties and then width. It is also possible to view this data in real time by choosing view current activity.

Now comes the tricky part interpreting the data.  In my next column I will discuss some of these counters and other ways to view info on some this same data.

Prospects need a hefty dose of risk-relievers before plunking down the cash. And much like the door-to-door vacuum salesmen of yesteryear, a product demo can be the ultimate closer.

A new report released by eMarketer shows that using online video to make sales is picking up pace in ecommerce. And for good reason. The number of consumers who watch retail videos is on the rise—up 40% year over year—and online retailers are responding by making video a priority for their sites.

So drop some mud on the rug and show how your product is the best of the best. Or better yet, put someone else’s product in your blender:

UPDATE: Caught a newsletter yesterday from Doug Mack, CEO of Adobe Scene7, that touched on this very same subject. He pointed readers to two retailers using video effectively on their sites—Cloudveil and Littlewoods. Both are worth a look.

In an incredibly thorough article published on MarketingProfs, authors Barbara Bix and Olga Taylor explain how to best integrate customer success stories into your marketing. From the source:

Customer success stories remove obstacles to the sale. They build confidence that your solutions work as promised. Effective case studies translate the technical merits of your product into dollars and cents for the customer—which in turn makes it easier for decision-makers to justify an investment in your services.

While companies are often flattered by the request and look forward to the free publicity, giving them a say over content and usage is often a needed step. The authors go on to warn how case studies can be diluted by overt self-promotion:

Far from being a mere listing of your product’s features and benefits, a good case study truly focuses on the customer….It is also a story that brings to life a specific business situation that your product or service aims to address.

Finding the appropriate place for case studies in your marketing is the last—and perhaps most critical—step. We recommend putting them after you address the correlating buying barrier.

If subject lines are the gatekeepers of email, yours need to be more Saint Peter and less troll under the bridge. Approachable. Honest. Inviting. Not making subscribers run in fear.

We could talk about the link between subject line length and open rates or which day is best to send emails, but those have been debated over and over. And frankly, we think they’re small potatoes in the large scheme of things.

So without further ado, here are three simple subject line rules that will improve your results:

Be provocative. You either grab their attention, or you’re in the trash. So tempt the reader. Make them laugh. Make them wonder. Make them click.

Be truthful. While open rates are the ultimate measure of subject line success, the ends don’t justify the means if the content fails to meet reader expectations.

Be smart. You should want to learn and improve, not guess and hope. So test. And test. And test again. Follow a simple scientific method and take some chances. The market will tell you the rest.

Recently I saw an alarming post from my former writing teacher on Facebook. It said “Thanks to everyone for their love and support during this difficult time.” Difficult time? I was worried. I didn’t want to bother her if she was in the middle of something terrible. But I did want to be supportive. What to do?

I clicked on her wall. There were tons of messages from friends – but none said what had happened! Some of the messages addressed her daughter so I knew she was probably okay. I deduced it must have something to do with her husband. Nervously I clicked on his Facebook page, which was linked to hers through the “Married” section. His status said, “John is happy and looking forward to going to Madagascar!” Quickly I Googled his name. An article came up from a Madagascar newspaper…. in French. I knew it had to have the answer.

My rusty college French skills only got me so far. Troubled, I looked at my chat list but my only friend who spoke French wasn’t online. I found a French/English translator through Google and entered the article. My worst fears were realized: John was dead.

I immediately went back to my teacher’s Facebook page and expressed my sympathies, then reflected upon what a strange experience that was. We all know personal privacy is as antiquated as the rotary telephone – but even this? The most intimate, private and tender pieces of our lives are available (with a little digging) for anyone to see, comment on, and become a part of.

My mom, who was visiting at the time, said, “My generation would never do that, we would call someone and speak directly.” But what if you’re not a ‘phone friend’? Texting, IM, email, blogs, comment posts and Twitter have allowed for compartmentalization and delineation of relationships in a whole new way. Is it better to post a brief note to let someone know you’re thinking of her – or is that low level of effort just insulting? Is social networking and Internet sleuthing a horrible invasion into someone’s inner life or a valuable way to connect and extend support to your ‘village’ in difficult times?

My answer came in her next post. “Every time one of you writes, my mobile beeps, showing me the message. And I feel just a little bit better.”