Connecting the Dots / An Agency Blog

Stimulant recently asked Engine Digital to submit 5 examples of random things that inspire us on a daily basis. The only caveat was that we couldn’t choose anything related to advertising in any way, shape or form. You wouldn’t think it would be that difficult but since almost everyone here at Engine lives and breathes advertising and nothing else the job ultimately fell on me. I’m a well-rounded guy and frequently have conversations that have absolutely nothing to do with advertising of any kind so I thought it would be a fun little project. But you know the old adage about assumptions right?
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Wow! We’re so busy with 2010 that we’re having trouble keeping track of the accolades that are still rolling in from 2009. Which, in all honesty, is just fine with us.

The SWISS WATER® Process, along with Engine Digital, was featured in the December 2009 issue of Direct Marketing Magazine for our “Relax. Enjoy. Awaken.” campaign as being one of the best of the year. Our relationship with the fine folks at Swiss Water started back in 2008, and the campaigns that we’ve launched since then have far exceeded expectation from both a marketing perspective and as a heavy hitter on the awards circuit.

Unfortunately, Direct Marketing is a print only magazine, but you can still download a copy of the issue that features The Swiss Water campaign via PDF with this link.

SoDA 2010 Digital Marketing Outlook – released today!

The Society of Digital Agencies released their 2010 Digital Marketing Outlook today and it’s packed full of great survey data from hundreds of executives from major global brands, traditional and digital agencies, and vendor / service providers. Some key stats and points of view that have caught my eye so far:

• 81% of brand execs expect an increase in digital projects for 2010
• “The most effective digital platforms have shifted from ‘disruptive’ to ‘productive’ by providing a service or utility…[they] fundamentally change the approach from “how we reach our customers” to ‘how we make their lives better.’” K. Blitz
• 59% of respondants say that cost-per-click, conversion, and ROI are the digital marketing metric they’re least interested in
• Most important technical skill sets to hire / contract in 2010 (in order): Flash, ActionScript, CSS, PHP, iPhone SDK – showing that the microsite is indeed still alive and kicking

Get the report after the jump…

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We’ve been following Foursquare on this blog since it was introduced to Vancouver because we knew that even if Foursquare isn’t around in the future, location based digital experiences will be.

As we said earlier, this technology is in its infancy, and it’s evolving. On November 16th, Dennis Crowley from Foursquare announced in Amsterdam that Foursquare would be teaming up with the Augmented Reality app, Layar. Now you’ll be able to hold up your phone to a real world setting and have the benefits of both apps at your fingertips. Get all the details here.

Inevitably, this story will be continued.

The theory of value is subjective. In regards to a product or service, value must be useful in satisfying the wants and needs of the consumer, we’ve also seen value generated when something is in limited supply. While this idea holds up in the comparison of two products side by side, it does not induce a desire of want in the customer who is inundated with hundreds of choices for nearly the exact same product or service.

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