As marketers, we are communicators. As such, we wanted to help everyone understand the different types of radiation, its effects and how to mitigate risks of exposure. Radiation is not something we think about every day, so there is understandably a lack of education around the topic.

The following infographic is the aggregation of numerous sources that are authorities on radiation. It details the threat levels of radiation exposure from events like the Fukushima explosion down to a dental x-ray. We hope that it will dispel the magnitude of everyday threats and help increase awareness around what Japan (and the world) is facing in light of these tragic circumstances.

If you would like to help the Japan recovery effort, please text REDCROSS to 90999 donate $10. If you would like to donate more, please continue on to the Red Cross website.

Disclaimer: As a digital marketing agency, Geary Interactive is not an expert about radiation or its effects. We compiled available information and presented in a way that is easily visualized and easy to understand.

Created by Geary Interactive, a digital marketing agency.

USE THIS IMAGE ON YOUR SITE

<a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5256/5552874465_4f0abc284d_o.png"> <img src="http://gearyi.com/fresh/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/RADIATION-Cut-Off-2.png" width="600" height="800" border="0"><small>Created by Geary Interactive, a <a href="http://www.gearyi.com"> digital marketing agency</a></small></center>

Tonight’s telethon is hosted by George Clooney, and other guest include Madonna, Bill Clinton, Taylor Swift, Sheryl Crow, Kid Rock, Keith Urban, Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Dath Matthews, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Stevie Wonder, Wyclef Jean, Bono and many, many others.

If you want to get involved, text GIVE to 50555 to help.

This blog post proves that their move is working.

The videos do not call out Chrome’s competition, namely Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari. Instead, the campaigns encourages users to think about what they really want from a browser. Each video varies drastically from one to the other, but all in all, they tout that Google Chrome improves online efficiency and general snazziness.

To see all of the videos, visit http://www.youtube.com/user/googlechrome. It’s definitely worth the trip.

The Games are only a few days away, and I think NBC is ready. The schmorgas board of content options that viewers will be able to tap into is honestly mind blowing. Utilizing on-demand, mobile, interactive, and live streaming technologies–just to name a few–NBC is doing what the rest of the digital industry hasn’t quite figured out yet; they are providing online content to viewers and still expected to draw record numbers of viewers during their TV broadcasts.

As new technologies have been evolving, advertisers have been attempting to monetize these different formats while appeasing users (ie-not annoying them) and adhering to privacy restrictions. For example, mobile marketing is great in theory, but keeping it user-friendly and quantifiable for advertisers has not completely been accomplished to date.

What NBC is doing with their coverage of the Beijing Games is truly making content available to users no matter where they are during the 17 days of the Olympics. Since Olympic events are so time-sensitive, NBC should be able to entice users to subscribe to online feeds, watch live and canned events, so they can stay up to date (and not have to wait for Bob Costas to tell them).

From a ratings side, NBC will still be able to draw a wide TV viewing audience because the crowd pleasing sports like swimming, gymnastics and track are planned to be broadcast live only on TV.

All in all, I must applaud NBC…they have significantly raised the bar from 2006 and for the industry as a whole.

One could ask if a user watches videos online that fit into their true interests or if they primarily watch pieces that are considered viral (have you seen the water skiing chipmunk?!)?  For YouTube this may be true, but Veoh offers the largest library of online TV resulting in more interest based viewership.  Veoh is even claiming that during beta the program’s ads preformed twice as well as the non-targeted versions.

It will be very interesting to see how this technology develops and what it does to Veoh’s position in the industry.

At the intersection of community and cult lies the treasure hunt marketing tactic.

Warner Bros. been running a highly complex – and awfully cool – experiential web campaign based largely around ‘treasure hunt’ ideas: directing users on through a series of strange-looking and totally experiential (i.e., YOU figure it out, we’re not giving you any stinkin’ nav) sites:

For the best examples, check out: whysoserious.com (and http://www.whysoserious.com/itsallpartoftheplan/) and clowntravelagency.com

To quote AdAge:

in December . . . Instructions (on whysoserious.com) directed users to 35 bakeries in 25 cities across the nation. After asking for an order left for “Robin Banks” (the Joker’s favorite activity), they received a cake with a Nokia cellphone in it, which was used to send them more clues, prizes and, of course, garner scads of local media attention. Clowntravelagency.com directed people to bowling-alley lockers throughout the U.S. and in cities around the world. Those who got there first discovered limited-edition Joker bowlingball bags containing a ball with a telephone number scratched into it and, again, a Nokia phone with a note saying to call the number immediately.

Also see:

http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=22292 , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7c_RiV7OQY&feature=related

In terms of ‘crazy & high-involvement digital marketing’, ‘LOST’ has been leading the pack. But I’m wondering if this complex series of ‘trails’ for the new Batman movie may take the virtual crown?

There are benefits to getting a little crazy. Most brands who go here will already enjoy a high awareness – they’re just looking for a memorable campaign. (Dove, anyone?) But while cult drives community, community creates cult. Approaching community as a principal driver rather than a follow-along budget item way down on the priority list offers a unique opportunity to the brand that does it well- and online, new cults emerge every day around the brand experiences that really deliver. Creating excitement, urgency, curiosity, competition, emotional appeal, a chance to engage in play – those are the treasure hunt factors every brand needs to think about.

Because I am a fan, more Batman sites:

http://www.ibelieveinharveydent.com/

And even better . . . http://ibelieveinharveydenttoo.com/ (you have to play with this one)

The official site: http://thedarkknight.warnerbros.com/ (beware the load . . . oh flash, you are such a mixed blessing sometimes)

Sarah

Are your videos optimized for search engines? Now that search engines crawl for video content, the same rules that apply to optimizing Web site text now apply to video content. Key words, tags, and content are all a part of the equation that search engines will use to rank your video.

The importance of SEO for video can be summed up in one word: revenue. Most online video advertisements don’t generate direct revenue on their own like pay-per-view, pay-to-own, or subscription video services. Their purpose is to be “propagated across as many services and viewers as possible,” and to do that, videos must be search-engine friendly, according to video search engine Blinkx.

Marketers also need to keep close tabs on how and where their videos are posted. When a video is picked up by an aggregator, the file name, descriptions, tags, and titles should be monitored, and possibly changed, to ensure that every site displaying your video content will drive the most traffic and business to your Web site.

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Article published by ClickZ on February 5, 2008

YouTube videos can already be seen on cell phones and Apple TV; soon, TiVo users with a broadband Internet connection will be able to search, browse and watch YouTube videos on their TVs. The clips will be streamed to their TV via broadband Internet connection.

It’s inevitable for the lines between TV and Web video to blur. More and more, people want to access their favorite TV shows, news clips, sports highlights, and humorous videos — regardless of whether they’re on a bus with their cell phone, in their living room with their TV, or in the office with the computer.

Still, this TiVo deal will have a limited reach — at least initially. There are only 4 million TiVo users nationwide; most get their set-top box from their cable operator. Nearly two million bought their box directly from TiVo, but only 800,000 have the necessary broadband connection to enjoy YouTube videos over a streaming connection.

Search engine marketing principles show us that landing page content should be a contextual extension of the ad. The same goes for transitional ads. Otherwise, the ad in between pages will seem overtly abrupt, noticeable, and unwanted. Advertisers could also use this technique to present their message as a sponsorship of sorts. For example, an advertisement could incorporate the headline of upcoming pages, then “proudly present” it to users.

Once users reach their intended page, marketers should display an additional advertisement. This has proven effective for both building brand awareness and driving click-through conversions. The actual transitional video ad should lead into the ad on the linked page. This way, users are more likely to notice the ad on the next page.

Read the whole article

Article published by ClickZ on February 5, 2008

Could the strike have a permanent effect on marketer’s faith in TV ads altogether?  That answer remains to be seen, but it looks like it’s a definite possibility.  Nielsen reports that online video sites have more than doubled since the strike in late October.  It would be painfully ironic if the Internet receives generous increases in ad revenue because of the strike because the ubiquitous nature of writer’s work online is the very basis for the strike.

The networks and screen writers should want to resolve their qualms in the near future to stall viewer’s switch to online venues and regain some control over their reality-entrenched current programming.