'Digital IQ' crucial to business: report
Just how important are things like mobile technology, social media and cloud computing to businesses today?
Can a business expect to survive and thrive if it doesn't stay on top of the latest trends in technology? According to a new report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the answer is, not surprisingly, 'no.'
Websites crucial to CPG brands: report
Major CPG brands spend eye-popping sums of money every year across multiple channels trying to convince consumers to buy their products when they walk into the supermarket.
When it comes to how that money is spent, you're probably more likely to think about high-profile television campaigns than you are to, say, websites. After all, a funny television ad for a cereal probably seems more appealing than a cereal website.
Acquiring talent is the biggest challenge for 2012: report
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. That may very well describe 2012 for media companies.
As detailed in Econsultancy's 2012 Media Growth Trends report companies are optimistic about what they can accomplish this year, but they also face numerous challenges - the least of which is the prospect of deeper economic pain in Europe.
Enterprise iPhone 4S activations surged in Q4
There are a lot of words and phrases that could be used to describe Apple's fiscal first quarter financial results. Amongst them: incredible, unbelievable, record-breaking and earth-shattering.
Strong (to put it modestly) sales of iPhones, iPads and Macs produced over $46bn in revenue and a mind-boggling net profit of more than $13bn.
When it came to the iPhone, the company's latest, the iPhone 4S, proved to be a winner, with more than 37m units sold in the quarter, which covered the all-important holiday shopping season.
US Government agencies upped digital communication in 2011
It may not be the most exciting part of the technology industry, but government is increasingly using the internet to communicate and interact with citizens.
In some cases, use of the internet is becoming a requirement as agencies are required to be a part of 'open government' initiatives.
Relationship building key to in-app purchases
Mobile in-app purchases are expected to hit $4.8bn by 2016, and increasingly they're key to the monetization models mobile app developers and app store operators are employing to keep themselves well fed.
But the dollar signs are somewhat deceptive. Profiting from in-app purchases is a lot more difficult than just enabling in-app purchases, and not all developers will implement the model successfully.
So what's the secret to success?
Beauty companies embrace social, but love traditional channels too
Is the future of marketing social? Few today would argue that social media marketing is going away any time soon, and the most bullish suggest that social is going to increasingly displace traditional marketing spend.
But are the bulls right? If a new study is any indication, not exactly.
Consumers happy with online holiday shopping, but social and tablet need improvement
Digital and multichannel retailers were able to lure consumers into spending record amounts online this year despite a difficult economic landscape.
But there's more good news for online retailers: according to a survey conducted by Baynote, consumers were pretty darn happy with their online holiday shopping experiences.
86% of marketers to use 2D barcodes in near future
Are 2D barcodes, which include QR codes, destined to be a big part of the digital marketing landscape - or are they really just the latest marketing fad?
It's too early to say. Awareness and use of the codes amongst consumers is low on both sides of the pond, but there are signs that QR codes can be employed effectively. For instance, Glamour generated over half a million QR code engagements in a special September 'social edition' of its magazine.
US retailers need to up their multichannel game: report
There's a lot of talk about multichannel retail at the moment, and on the surface, most of the largest retailers in the U.S. seem to 'get it'.
But that might not be the case according to Gartner's newly released Multichannel Forecast for the US and the UK report. In fact, providing a seamless, consistent multichannel experience "business as usual" has retailers in the US "struggling" it says.
