Earlier this year, Google introduced Google Wallet, a revolutionary way to pay for items using Near Field Communication (NFC) to turn your smartphone into your wallet. But Google’s not the only one turning smartphones into something more powerful.

Blackberry announced that starting in 2012 several of its phones will be equipped with NFC technology similar to that used by doors that are unlocked by tapping cards to a card reader.

Image source: Geek.com

So instead of using a card to get into your apartment building or office, you’ll just need your smartphone. Blackberry says this will create an extra layer of security by allowing users to set a PIN on their phone that must be entered after the door has “scanned” their device. Preventing thieves from being able to access your home by stealing your card, they would now have to figure out your PIN, too.

There’s no word yet on whether other phone manufacturers will start adding similar features to future phone models, but with NFC technology already being explored by other manufacturers (again, think Google Wallet), it seems to be a logical progression of events. This could have major implications for both door and door lock manufacturers and security companies. If home security via smartphone is the way of the future, doors that come standard with this technology and integrate into the home’s security system could be a very real possibility. And why stop at the front door? Could we see security system keypads replaced by an NFC receiver? Or perhaps a security system that detects when an NFC-enabled device goes out of a home’s range and automatically arms the system? Smartphones already touch many parts of our lives, and soon they will change the way we think about home security.

What types of marketing techniques will really help your product stand out?  A recent article, “Pat the Bunny-It Can Help Your Agency,” gives us some insight on why stepping outside of the box is a great option for marketers.  Trying to gain the attention of a child is no easy task.  Children’s book authors and illustrators have the daunting task of creating something that will keep a child’s focus for more than two minutes.  “Pat the Bunny” is a popular children’s book that allows for an interactive experience, engaging children through their sense of touch.

Similarly, Dr. Seuss used vivid imagery to attract the attention of young children.  The bright colors and unique illustrations in his books can bring excitement to any child’s face.  So what does this have to do with marketers today?  Gaining the attention of a prospective client requires more than just words on a screen.  Much like children, audiences want to see something that stimulates their senses.  Marketers want their products to be remembered.  By simply adding an image or video to an email, you create a visually appealing experience for the viewer.  Add some creativity to those emails that may otherwise be overlooked… you may even create a long lasting impression on your clients.

A few years ago, K&A put together a white paper on “Missing Males,” and how many – if not most – marketers tend to ignore the male consumer, focusing almost completely on female head of households &/or moms.

Advertising Age recently published further information about how marketers still have yet to embrace this growing consumer base of men. It highlighted a Yahoo survey in which more than half of men said they were the primary grocery shopper for their household… even though a small majority of packaged goods actually speak to them via advertisements. Yet, men still tend to wind up at the butt-end of a joke, implying they’re incompetent, goofy or aloof – especially when it comes to food and consumer goods for the home.

Have dads become more important targets for marketers over moms? That’s not quite the case, as household decision makers are still by and large women. For some, however, there’s something to be desired in advertisements and marketing in which men are left out.

It may be a difficult line to draw, but some brands have revamped their M.O., including Jif peanut butter’s addition to its “choosy moms” tagline and Kellogg’s targeted campaigns on ESPN.com. While the female head of household may very well make the majority of purchasing decisions, it’s clear that men simply can’t be ignored in advertising campaigns. The good news: a fair amount of white space exists here for specifically targeting men. Let’s see what they come up with…

New Client Partners Leverage Agency’s Interactive and Broadcast Initiatives

ATLANTA (October 2011) – Kleber & Associates (K&A), an Atlanta-based integrated marketing and communications firm specializing in the home and commercial building products channel, recently announced its latest client partnerships: On The House, a national radio show hosted by the Carey Brothers, and Cadreas, an online community that aggregates and organizes critical content from and for all construction project participants.

The expansion of K&A’s Media Integration Division provides its current clients the opportunity to cross-promote their products and services across new broadcast and interactive platforms.

“Specializing in home and building products, it was a logical progression to expand K&A’s resume to include clients who also specialize in this industry channel,” said Steven Kleber, president and founder of K&A.

The agency’s partnership with On The House will primarily include external communication support and design.

“Steve and the K&A team are constant sources of information and energy in the home and building market,” said James Carey, co-host of On The House. “My brother, Morris, and I are pleased to be working with them in a strategic partnership as we combine our mutual passions for industry growth and community.”

The Carey brothers share their 55+ years of experience as award-winning, licensed contractors with millions of people nationwide through a weekly radio program and syndicated newspaper column, both titled On The House. The Carey Brothers’ Associated Press syndicated newspaper column, four-hour radio broadcast and daily radio vignette offer audiences money-saving tips on building, remodeling and repairing homes.

K&A will also play an integral role in growing Cadreas’ online brand presence, providing a marketing strategy and assisting with social media efforts.

Being a source for all data needed for improving design and building project outcomes, Cadreas offers these amenities via a well-organized and easily searchable database on one website with tools that improve the value of the content.

“In today’s economy, it’s crucial to have a strategic marketing partner who knows how to reach our target audiences,” said Steve Goold, vice president of Cadreas. “We chose to launch our partnership with K&A because of their extensive marketing experience, industry knowledge and reputation in the promotion of aspirational home product brands.”

“I’m thrilled about our partnerships with both On The House and Cadreas,” commented Steven Kleber. “Both offer unique perspectives and opportunities to connect those in our industry for a greater good. As an agency, we aim to help promote and grow awareness of both brands.”

About Kleber & Associates
Kleber & Associates focuses on brand development for clients in the home and commercial building products marketplace. An independent agency with more than 24 years of measurable results, K&A is committed to providing its clients with everyday marketing value while maximizing their marketing return on investment. For more information, please visit www.kleberandassociates.com or call 770-518-1000.

About On The House With The Carey Bros.

James Carey and Morris Carey, known as the Carey Bros., are nationally-recognized experts on home building and renovation. They share their 55+ years of experience as award-winning, licensed contractors with millions of people nationwide through a weekly radio program and syndicated newspaper column both titled On The House.  For more information, please visit www.onthehouse.com.

About Cadreas

Cadreas is the design and building industry’s online community. Cadreas aggregates and organizes critical content from and for all construction project participants: manufacturers; distributors; retailers; design companies; build companies; property owners; property managers; developers; trade, green and award associations; municipalities; utilities; and service providers such as banks, insurance companies, appraisers and inspectors. For more information, please visit www.cadreas.com.

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The Wall Street Journal reported recently on the buying habits of tablet owners – namely that consumers who own tablets have higher conversion rates for online sales than consumers shopping from their PCs. While online shoppers on PCs have an average conversion rate of 3%, tablet owners bought online at a rate between 4 – 5%. Tablet owners also reportedly spend 10 – 20% more on each online purchase they make.

Because tablet owners generally have more disposable income than the average consumer and they purchase more online, retailers are (as they should be) making it easier for those consumers to browse and shop on their mobile devices. These consumers with higher income levels are an ideal audience for home product companies, and tablets provide an ideal avenue to reach them.

Many companies have responded to this growing trend by creating mobile apps for consumers to download. But retailers are seeing that more sales are coming from their websites accessed via mobile devices than their apps. While this does not discount the value of dedicated applications, it does emphasize the importance of good web design and a content strategy focused on accessibility. As many people know, most mobile devices do not support Flash, which is all too often used to create visually attractive websites (Flash can also hurt your SEO, but that is another conversation entirely). Mobile devices also have smaller screens than PCs, and tablet users interact with and navigate websites differently than they would with a keyboard and mouse.

Brands looking to make their websites accessible via multiple devices should not think the only way to achieve this worthy goal is to shell out the money to develop an app. Having a separate mobile website has been a popular solution for many companies looking to go mobile, and in many cases it works beautifully, but mobile websites can create a lot of work for the web department in ensuring content is updated on two sites and maintaining compatibility with the hundreds of mobile devices available. Creating a website using responsive design (i.e. the site uses media queries to detect the type of device being used and display a layout that is optimized for that device) can save much headache and out-of-pocket expense. It also ensures that consumers are viewing the same content regardless of their device. Because the layout of the page is focused on displaying the content in the best way possible, consumers do not have to deal with the hassle of navigating site structures not suited for their screen or system.

Of course, one solution does not fit every company. Some companies have appropriate uses for an app that goes beyond the scope of their website. Other companies need a separate mobile site that displays drastically different content from their main website. Most brands just need to make their sites accessible to consumers on the go. Regardless of your company’s position, your mobile strategy should always start with a consideration of what information needs to be conveyed. Picking the best mobile route to go from that point should be a question of how best to display that content to turn a user into a customer.

Have you seen a company with a stand-out mobile presence? I’d like to hear about it!

Remember when we talked about the facial expression reader, an application that collects data about a participant’s facial expressions when watching video ads? Marketers are speculating that this technology – facial recognition – could be the next big thing in marketing. Imagine if experiences were customized based on how you look when reacting to something? If you doubt this clever technology, think about this: some say that facial recognition is already woven into our everyday lives. Take Facebook, for example, which uses facial recognition to automate tagging when photographs are loaded onto the site.

This technology can be leveraged in other ways, too. Studies have shown that when faced with too many choices, buyers will gravitate toward familiar sources. Marketers can use this to their advantage by gaining successful marketing results.

Consider these examples of situations that, when outfitted with facial recognition, could offer consumers convenience:

1. Ditch the password and login to social platforms by simply using your face. Just a glance to your computer’s camera, and you’re in.
2. Walk into a coffee shop, and the barista already knows what you want based on past visits and what you look like.
3. Receive a coupon for instant use on your mobile device when you enter a favorite retail location.
4. Turn on the television and receive a playlist of suggestions based on past use.
5. Login to video games and begin playing spontaneously.

Although most consider facial recognition scary (hello privacy!), marketers can’t get past the myriad of possibilities, especially the chance to get to know their customers on a deeper level.

What do you think? Is facial recognition a complete invasion of privacy, or is it a chance to help consumers develop a personal relationship with their favorite brands?

How often do you use your smartphone in place of your computer to surf the Internet?  Smartphone technology is very well suited for those of us on the go. The common saying “there’s an app for that” may be more true than we might believe.  With a simple touch of the screen, we are able to gather information all over the web.  Companies are learning that the integration of mobile websites and apps can have a positive impact on business.  The goal of any successful mobile website or app is to create a pleasant experience for the customer, with one of the most important factors being easy navigation.

As technology advances at the pace of a freight train, it’s important that companies are able to keep up. The article “IKEA Rolls out iAd Campaign to Drive App Downloads” gives some insight into IKEA’s clever use of mobile apps.  The home furniture and accessories brand released its 2012 catalogue, which can now be viewed via a mobile app.  After clicking on the IKEA’s iAd, you are sent directly to the Apple App Store where the catalogue can then be downloaded for free.  The convenience and availability of mobile apps attracts customers and can therefore boost a company’s sales.

Target is also a big advocate on marketing through the use of mobile technology.  According to “Why Retailers Should Integrate Mobile Device Technology into Their Marketing Strategy,” Target uses a variety of mobile app strategies to attract customers.  If a customer is shopping at any Target store, he or she can use the barcode scanner on the Target mobile app to scan a product, which will result in detailed information about that product.  Both Target and IKEA are successful retailers that are taking necessary steps to expand their respective brands.  What other companies do you notice that are exercising smart mobile marketing campaigns?

Generation Y (the Millennials) has been getting a lot of attention lately. As the most recent consumer group to enter the housing market, many believe that the nation’s economic recovery rests largely in the hands of this generation. And buying homes is just the beginning. These young, enthusiastic couples and families need things to fill their homes and companies have taken note, launching new ad campaigns targeted directly at Gen Y.

A few weeks ago, I talked about the importance of design to Millennial customers and touched briefly on the idea that Millennials like sharing things with others. The Pew Research Center did a study over this very topic and found that Millennials not only like sharing things now, but they plan on continuing to share as they age. This love of sharing explains why social networks have become so popular among this generation.

Millennials enjoy helping others and building relationships. Helping someone solve their problem is a mutually rewarding interaction to Gen Y. Receiving credit for answering a question is reward enough for these individuals. They enjoy sharing things with the people they know because they want to be the first person to tell their friends. Being first gives them credibility and elevates their status among their network. And speaking of networks, helping each other and sharing new ideas is amplified through social networks. Not only can someone answer a question on a discussion forum, but that question and answer live on to benefit future users. Sharing new ideas is quick and easy on social networks, where information travels at light speed. And as people help and share more online, the number of people they reach increases, their network grows, giving them exponential opportunities to interact. . These types of online activities are just what Gen Y has been looking for – a way to share and help people taken to the extreme.

And of course we can’t forget about doing things for the common good. Not only do Gen Y-ers want to help one another, they want to help society as a whole. Wikis that rely on the efforts of many individuals to survive, attract these types of people. Increasing world knowledge on Wikipedia helps everyone and satisfies the user’s need to share. The crowdsourcing phenomenon feeds off this enthusiasm as well – why leave a decision to one person in a company when there are thousands of online participants, willing to help you out for free? The concept of open source platforms also has become popular with Millennials because a brand’s willingness to share and accept advice from users is what Gen Y looks for. They want to have a say in what a company does, and they want to help you improve.

So why ignore them? If your customer base is willing to give advice and help you make decisions, why not let them? There is a wealth of knowledge that exists in the crowd just waiting to be tapped. And Millennials don’t require much: they don’t need payments, they don’t need shiny bells and whistles… they just need you to be as open and honest with them as they are with you. They need you to trust them. Share with them, and they will share with you. Solve their problems, and they will solve yours.

Citigroup calls it the “Consumer Hourglass Theory.” Others cite a “trading up, trading down” trend. No matter the label, America’s swiftly evolving consumer markets have created a fairly distinguishable divide.  And to win in this economy, you’re going to need to do it without the middle class.

Luxury jeweler Tiffany & Co. saw a 33% rise in earnings during its second fiscal quarter and as reported by the Wall Street Journal, “lower-priced silver baubles, once a favorite of middle-class shoppers… are now its weakest sellers in the U.S.” What’s more, Porsche sales management claimed “the highest order intake in the company’s history” and predicts that the numbers will climb higher still. Similarly, BMW and Mercedes-Benz executives reported positive sales, with no indication that demand may slow. And luxury retailer Saks promoted that sales for the first half of this year were up 11% and announced a return to profitability with great resiliency on the part of the affluent consumer.

So is the secret to success as simple as chasing the high-end target market? Not so fast.

Consider Dollar General and web discounters who attract value conscious consumers, capitalizing on the gap between the “haves” and “have nots” Even power player WalMart is mired in the middle. Have you seen the new Walgreens drugstore on Wall Street that sells sushi and offers nail salon services or visited a Costco that serves as a one-stop shop for both bulk pack toilet paper and a bottle of first-growth Bordeaux? Proctor & Gamble, for example, saw how shoppers’ habits were changing, and fundamentally changed how it develops and sells product. The company’s strategy now is to please both high-end and lower-end markets by offering home goods such as soap, toothpaste, razors and paper towels through distinctly price-differentiated brands.

The popularity of Target's new Missoni collection introduction crashed its servers last week. Photo credit: Paul Nelson

At K&A, we’re seeing a considerable and distinct balance between opposite ends of the buyers’ market. There’s a bifurcation taking place in the U.S. whereas the clout of the middle class is seriously diminishing. Just this past week at the Casual Market show in Chicago, we witnessed higher end products and low price alternatives co-existing within the same experiential event… appealing not to the middle-of-the-road consumer, but instead to shoppers at one end of the spectrum and the other. Take EcoSmart and Eco-Fue, two brands represented at Casual Market. Both introduced new Bioethanol fireplaces. EcoSmart’s high price-point fireplace carries a suggested retail of around $1000 while Eco-Fue markets to a more price-conscious consumer with burners starting at $75. Both brands keenly recognize and are taking advantage of the split market phenomena, manufacturing profitable products to meet increasing demand at both ends of the economy.

While median household earnings fell for the third consecutive year according to the Census Bureau and more than 15% of Americans are living in poverty, consider that…

• Luxury clothing and accessories purchases are demonstrating significant strength this year compared to a similar time period last year, according to  American Express Business Insights
• Custom residential markets seem to be recovering faster than other types of housing with Southern California rising for the first time in some 14 months.
• Luxury markets are experiencing greater stability and are demonstrating stronger numbers than other entry-level segments
• Home sizes may be growing slightly, as 60% of residential architects say upper-end home sizes are increasing or staying the same

Most Millennials are old souls striving for a successful, yet carefree existence not easily found in what many would call a difficult reality.

According to MediaPost’s “’90s Nostalgia: Millennials Long for Simpler Times,” by Melanie Shreffler, Millennials surprisingly long for the past… a time when they felt safe and secure. According to Shreffler, these were the “good old days.” For many, it’s hard to think that Millennials have anything less than a privileged life, but it’s quite the opposite. Millennials have spent most of their lives believing that they can do just about anything, an idea that their teachers, parents and friends instilled in them. But this group of mostly 20-somethings is learning that not everything is picture perfect.

Millennials are becoming adults in one of the worst economic slumps the U.S. has seen in decades. Instead of seeing the light at the end of a long tunnel of hard work, many Millennials are finding themselves unemployed. Many of them can’t even find their first job and are working for little or nothing just to gain experience for their resumes. Frequently feeling stressed and anxious, many are afraid to make their next move for fear that it will be the wrong one.

90s show "All That" brings back memories for Millennials

It’s no surprise that now Millennials are gravitating toward activities that bring them back to their childhood and youth – a time when everything was easy. They’re finding comfort in things that transport them back to that time, including indulging in television shows that make them feel as carefree as when they watched it for the first time. Stations like Nickelodeon have picked on this need. The network recently introduced a midnight programming block called “The ‘90s Are All That!” airing programs that were favorites of Millennials a decade ago. MTV is making a similar move by bringing back some of its more popular ‘90s shows with minor updates, including Beavis and Butthead and 120 Minutes.

Others have deemed a comeback for the decade, which is nice for the 20-something Millennials who are stuck between childhood and adulthood. Will going back in time give them the motivation to grow up?

And how do these trips down memory lane affect marketing initiatives aimed at the influential Millennial generation?