Patricio Robles

Apple unveils AppStore.com vanity URLs during Super Bowl, land grab coming?

Super Bowl Sunday is no stranger to surprises. With brands spending countless millions on Super Bowl ad campaigns, doing the unexpected or revealing something new on America's biggest day in sport is a no-brainer.

One of yesterday's surprises came courtesy of an ad Paramount Pictures ran for the new Star Trek movie, Star Trek: Into Darkness.

by Patricio Robles 04 February 2013 16:49pm 2 comments

Small businesses are not impressed by Twitter: survey

Much of the attention lavished on social networks as marketing platforms focuses in on large brands, many of which have invested heavily in these channels and can boast about large audiences.

One of the most popular social networks with brands has been Twitter, which is now generating hundreds of millions of dollars a year in ad revenue and may go public in the next year.

by Patricio Robles 01 February 2013 14:42pm 0 comments

Are brands overestimating the value of social data?

Brands love social media, and as evidenced by the number of high-dollar acquisitions of social media monitoring and analytics firms last year, they love the data that social media generates.

And, on the surface, there's a good reason for that: popular social networks like Facebook and Twitter give brands a front-row seat to the collective conversation consumers are having about their products and services. From that conversation, brands may, in theory, be able to gain valuable insights that help them connect with consumers and serve them better.

by Patricio Robles 31 January 2013 15:37pm 5 comments

MVCs: five metrics for identifying your most valuable customers

A business can't thrive without customers, and for that reason, the efforts of marketers are often focused on new customer acquisition.

Unfortunately, many companies neglect their existing customers and one of the reasons this happens is that they don't ask a simple question: who are our customers?

by Patricio Robles 30 January 2013 14:11pm 2 comments

J.C. Penney relents, brings back sales

When former Apple SVP of Retail Operations, Ron Johnson, took over as the CEO of American retail giant J.C. Penney, he had hoped to do for his new employer what he had done for Apple, where he led the development of the Apple Store and its Genius Bar.

Unfortunately for Johnson, the revolutionary tactic of ditching discounts and offering consumers straightforward low prices every single day of the year, turned out to be more disastrous than revolutionary.

by Patricio Robles 29 January 2013 15:36pm 0 comments

B2B businesses to focus on their websites in 2013: report

Nearly half of B2B companies will up their marketing budgets in 2013, with more than half of those saying they'll increase their investment in email marketing, social media, online video and search.

But one marketing asset will be receiving the biggest investment by far: the company website.

by Patricio Robles 31 January 2013 13:37pm 4 comments

Consumers increase time spent in retailer mobile apps by 525%: report

In the debate over mobile websites versus native apps, native app detractors frequently make a seemingly good point: there are just too many native apps, so you can't expect consumers to install and use yours.

For companies hoping customers and potential customers, that assumption has a significant implication: if your mobile strategy is native app-centric and you don't have a mobile-friendly website, you might be missing out on the mobile opportunity.

by Patricio Robles 29 January 2013 14:56pm 3 comments

Twitter prepping launch of advertising API: report

Last year, Facebook went public in what was one of the most highly-anticipated and, as it turned out, disastrous IPOs of all time. In the past several months, the world's largest social network has managed to convince Wall Street that it will eventually monetize its billion-plus users.

That's good news for the number two social network, Twitter. Last week, reports surfaced that global investment powerhouse BlackRock is reportedly looking to buy $80m of Twitter shares from early employees, and some believe that the company will look to go public as soon as this year.

by Patricio Robles 28 January 2013 15:31pm 1 comment

After customer goes to jail, NYC restaurant learns that social media can be unfair

Smith & Wollensky is a high-end steakhouse located in New York City but the next time you're visiting the Big Apple, it might not be your top choice for a fillet if you're searching for a restaurant through a popular reviews service like Yelp.

That's because the restaurant is currently suffering from a bout of social media backlash after reports that it made a very bad customer service decision.

by Patricio Robles 28 January 2013 16:33pm 10 comments