Stats Tuesday: US Social Commerce Current State of Affairs

This week we have a really interesting infographic about Social commerce but  I feel that we need some background information to describe what is Social commerce really is. To most of us it is just a Facebook like or pin on Pinterest but there is actually a lot more to that. Who knew that there was actually 7 types of Social Commerce or the proper industry term of Social Species.

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3 Iconic Canadian Brands in the Ominchannel Space

Much has been said about omnichannel, the recent buzzword coined to describe a customer service centred strategy that attempts to merge bricks and mortar and digital into one seamless experience. Statistics and surveys point to Canada as being less advanced in this space than other countries. For example, the L2 Intelligence Report on Omnichannel Retail in Canada reports that Canadian internet users who use multiple channels when shopping are at the lowest percentage of 18%, Brazil being the highest at 59%. Projected for 2016, online retail as a percentage of total retail in Canada is at the lowest at 5.3% (the U.K. listed at the highest of 23%). Despite the low numbers, I was curious to know what some of the most iconic Canadian companies are actually doing in the space, how they are working omnichannel strategy into their brand and how they are engaging and attracting their customers in interesting and innovative ways.

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Social Media and the Olympics: A Growing Trend

In July 1976, 25 year old Jerry Shapiro had just graduated university and was working as a cabbie in Montreal. The 21st Olympic games were on. “I became the go-to scalper of games tickets”, Jerry fondly reminisces. “Everyone knew I was the ticket maven. I was THE GUY.”

The process of how Jerry got to be Montreal’s most famous Olympic ticket scalper is a fascinating study on the workings of social media, especially if you compare it to its current state.

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5 Ways to Show You Care Using Technology this Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s day is fast approaching. It’s a day where we take the time to celebrate love and the people and relationships we care about in our lives. Thing is, on a daily basis, the most serious relationship has become the one we now have with our devices. Spike Jonze’s recent film, Her, was a spot on meditation on this phenom. Now that technology is such a predominant part of our lives, rather than letting it take over our daily existences, how do we make it meaningful and enrich our lives beyond screen time; In real world time?

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Gamification, Mobile Marketing and Baby Boomers

In the recent blog “Responsive Web Design Best Practices for Baby Boomers” (1) we discussed the significance of the Baby Boomer demographic segment for mobile marketing.  Nielson named this segment as Marketing’s Most Valuable Generation.

One widely applied marketing tactic in recent years is gamification. Gamification also has many applications outside of marketing in areas such as education, employee motivation, personal fitness,  or in encouraging people to save energy and natural resources.

Let’s review how gamification can be applied when we target the Baby Boomer generation.

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#UNSELFIE: Our Holiday wishes from Jar Creative

2013 was the year of the selfie. Literally. ‘Selfie’, was not only just added to the Oxford dictionary in 2013, but was also chosen as the international word of year. From the book itself:

selfie noun, informal
(also selfy; plural selfies)

a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website

They are absolutely everywhere. In our Facebook and Instagram feeds, in marketing campaigns … Even President Obama got in on the action recently with the most infamous selfie of the year when he took out his phone and snapped a shot of himself with fellow heads of state during the Nelson Mandela memorial. Somehow, even in the deepest reflective moments, we’ve put ourselves at the centre of it all. Then, the reaction. The Unselfie.

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It’s Movember! And our new project manager Simon is participating!

Meet Simon, our new project manager at Jar Creative.  Simon may have a busy background involving marketing and the Canadian music industry, but this month his most awesome contribution to the team is his participation in the annual men’s health movement, Movember. He’s currently growing a lip sweater for Movember Canada in support of the various men’s health issues Movember draws attention to such as prostate and testicular cancer and mental health issues.
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How Boring Industries Can Still Have Interesting Content

Some say there’s no such thing as boring subjects, only boring writers. I would argue that’s only half true. Some industries are just inherently more interesting to a mass audience. Sports and fashion are both good examples, where even the most mindless, recycled drivel generates plenty of traffic.

Yet for marketers in most industries, finding interesting angles is a daily challenge. Many B2B marketers believe their content marketing is ineffective, and most cite dull subject matter as the culprit.

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Something Special: Sergey Brin, look what we did with our Google Partners Pumpkin!

Two days before Halloween, Jar received a curious package in the mail from Google. The contents: a pumpkin, a carving knife and these instructions:

 

“Great holiday campaigns come from knowing what the spirit of the season is all about. Gather your team, take a break and turn your pumpkin into something special”

Oh yes, and a special hashtag to go along with it all, #GooglePartnersPumpkins

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How to Stop Thinking Like a Marketer – 6 Easy Steps

It’s easy to fall in love with something you’re close to – if you spend all your time with it and it consumes all of your attention, you no longer see the flaws, weaknesses and idiosyncrasies that only you can love.  If this is your relationship with your marketing (whether it’s your brand, website or a campaign), it’s safe to say your judgment is probably clouded and you need to change your perspective.

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