HTML5: The Wilderness Downtown

HTML5 what is this?

HTML5 is the next major revision of the HTML standard. This language brings features such as video playback, geo-location, as well as, new elements including header, nav, section, aside, footer and canvas. Currently, HTML5 is not supported by all browsers, but Chrome, Safari and Firefox are among the advanced and leading the industry. Find out how well your browser supports HTML5.

Marketicity explores a Chrome Experiment

The Wilderness Downtown, created by friends from Google, was built in HTML5. This interactive film uses imagery from Google satellite images and music by Arcade Fire to walk you through the days of old. Marketictiy explored Chris Milk’s downtown adventure. Imagine a whimsical Indie alternative sound taking you back in time to the streets of your childhood. This film uses the new video tag to play all videos and the canvas tag to draw a message to your younger self. Marketicity utilized the dynamic 3-D drawing tool and left a message for others who occupied our building at 109 North Main. Audio and video stream directly to your browser without a third party plug-ins such as Flash or Silverlight through the technology of HTML5. Casara Heaton, Marketicity's own graphic design specialist, sees the wave of the future in HTML5 and this video is a great example of its capabilities.

Walk through The Wilderness Downtown and see how HTML5 is pushing the future of Web.

SEO/Social Media Account Manager

Marketicity Inc., an award-winning advertising and public relations agency since 1994, is reviewing applications for an SEO/Social Media Account Manager. In this role, the individual will be responsible for account management, business development, and recommending, creating and implementing marketing and communications projects for a wide variety of clients.

Confident and creative self-starters will be successful in this role. Our firm will be a welcome challenge for those who are tired of being pigeonholed in a large agency or organization with office politics and rigid roles that make for a boring (or frustrating) work day.

Qualifications:
Basics
• Bachelor’s degree in communications, public relations, journalism, marketing or similar field
• 2-5 years of communications/marketing/advertising/public relations agency experience

Writing/PR
• Exceptional writing skills and thorough knowledge of AP writing style
• Excellent proofreading skills and attention to detail

Business development
• Skills to aggressively develop/increase our client base
• Proven ability to build relationships with clients

Social media/digital marketing
• Familiarity with commercial social media/digital progressive marketing campaigns with the ability to locate/record conversation
• Ability to implement and guide ongoing strategic social media tactics
• Develop and manage digital communication programs

SEO/advertising
• SEO copywriting, PPC ad writing skills
• Media buying is a plus, but not required

Design
• Adobe Suite skills are a plus, but not required
• Knowledge of HTML/CSS is a plus, but not required

Personality
• Ability to work with designers to ensure aligned and consistent branding
• Strong project coordination and organizational skills
• Strong public speaking, persuasion, presentation and interpersonal skills
• Ability to manage and work with vendors and freelancers
• Critical thinking, originality and intellectual curiosity
• Entrepreneurial spirit with driven mentality
• Ability to work in a multi-faceted and deadline-oriented environment

About the Position:
Position salary is commensurate with the successful candidate’s experience and skill set. Marketicity offers medical insurance, a SIMPLE 401k retirement plan and other benefits.

To apply:
Mail or email three writing samples (one news release, two creative writing samples/articles/ads), a resume, salary history and salary requirement to:

E-mail: theteam@marketicity.com

P.O. Box 168
Columbia, IL 62236

St. Louis PR, Marketing and Design Firm Internships

Marketicity offers year-round internships in marketing communications and web design/development. An internship at Marketicity provides first-hand exposure to the world of marketing and design.

Internships are open to college juniors, seniors and graduate students. Hours for the position are flexible and would vary from 15-20 hours per week. Internships are paid and available for credit.

Fall Internship Application Deadline - July 15
Spring Internship Application Deadline - November 15
Summer Internship Application Deadline - March 15

Build Your Skills | Build Your Portfolio

Marketing Communications Internship

As Marketicity’s Marketing Communications Intern, you will create text for newsletters, websites, blogs and social media outlets, while conducting Internet research, managing web content and assisting with other marketing related projects. Confident and creative self-starters will be successful in this role and enjoy the wide array of projects available. Interns will participate in creative brainstorming sessions, team collaboration and client activities.

Requirements:
• Ideal candidates will have progress toward bachelor's/master’s degree in communications, public relations, marketing, journalism, English or a similar field
• Exceptional writing skills and thorough knowledge of AP writing style
• Excellent proofreading skills and attention to detail
• Strong project coordination skills
• Adept public speaking, presentation and interpersonal skills
• Social media and blog management
• Computer literacy with Internet navigation, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook

Details:
• Originality, creativity and the ability to work independently
• Ability to think critically, meet deadlines and solve problems
• Open to college juniors, seniors and graduate students
• Hours for the position are flexible and would vary from 15-20 hours per week
• Internships are paid and available for credit

Application deadlines are: fall internship (July 15), spring internship (November 15) and summer internship (March 15).

To apply:
E-mail resume and writing samples including but not limited to one news release, two marketing communications pieces and/or link to online portfolio to theteam@marketicity.com

Web Design/Developer Internship

Marketicity is looking for a part-time Web Design/Developer intern who is eager to participate in and adapt to creative decisions. As an intern, presentation skills, an eye for design and the willingness to search for creative and technical solutions is required. Interns will participate in creative brainstorming sessions, team collaboration and client activities.

Requirements:
· Excellent knowledge in CSS and HTML
· Working knowledge of PHP, Javascript and MySQL database management
· Dreamweaver CS3+
· Photoshop CS3+
· Ability to convert design comps into web standards compliant, cross-browser websites
· Mac friendly

Interest in the following:
· Content management systems (Wordpress, Joomla, Drupal)
· jQuery
· Open Source software
· Google tools
· Mobile web and application development
· SEO management
· Flash CS3+
· Actionscript 3

Details:
· Originality, creativity and the ability to work independently
· Ability to think critically, meet deadlines and solve problems
· Open to college juniors, seniors and graduate students
· Hours for the position are flexible and would vary from 15-20 hours per week
· Internships are paid and available for credit

Application deadlines are: fall internship (July 15), spring internship (November 15) and summer internship (March 15).

To apply:
E-mail resume and link to online portfolio to theteam@marketicity.com

Welcome Marketicity Summer Interns 2010

As of today, we're extremely proud to have both of our summer interns in house and working with the Marketicity team. Gabriele Bladdick, a senior majoring in public relations at Valparaiso University, joined us May 17 and is working on a variety of marketing communications projects. Gabby is president of Valpo's chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America and has already delivered great work in her brief time at Marketicity. We've determined she may also quite possibly be the biggest St. Louis Blues fan in the history of the franchise.

Our second intern, Jacob King, joined us today. Jacob is a native of Louisiana and is pursuing his master's in computer systems technology at Louisiana State University - Shreveport. In addition to his Web design skills, Jacob is proficient in graphic design. It's great having him in the office and he's already getting his feet wet becoming familiar with several client projects. Jacob is eager to experience life in the St. Louis area this summer and ready to become a Cardinals fan (which is a mandatory requirement for working at Marketicity).

Welcome Gabby and Jacob...

Moving Day Boxes

Marketicity made the big move last week to 109 North Main Street. Marketicity now resides in Columbia's historic William Vogt Building. The boxes are unpacked, the desks are set up and the computers are online. Our office looks rather different today than when it was originally occupied in 1893 as a department store selling everything from groceries, tin ware, stoves, farm equipment, guns, hardware, china and glass ware. And now – 117 years later a company moves in that helps market and promote those items and more. Marketicity is a full-service marketing and public relations firm that has an entire staff of professional writers, graphic artists and web developers.

Stop in to see the place, say hello and a sample of our services.

Web Developer Summer Internship

OPPORTUNITY: WEB DEVELOPER INTERNSHIP

Requirements:

• XHTML & CSS, HTML
• PHP, Javascript
• SQL database management
• Dreamweaver CS3+

Additional qualifications:

• Problem solver - "can't" is not in his/her vocabulary
• Ability to convert design comps into web standards compliant, cross-browser web sites
• Eager to participate in and adapt to creative decisions
• Presentation skills
• Ability to work independently and multi-task
• Team player
• Willingness to search for creative and technical solutions
• Eye for design

Interest in the following:

• jQuery
• Open Source software
• Developing with Google tools
• Mobile web and application development
• SEO management
• Knowledge of content management systems (Wordpress, Joomla, Drupal)
• Flash CS3+
• Actionscript 3

Details:

• 10-week summer internships June-August
• Open to college seniors and graduate students
• Hours for the position are flexible and would vary from 15-20 hours per week
• Internship available for credit and is paid
• Internship would work in Marketicity’s office at 109 North Main Street, Columbia, Ill.

To apply:
Email resume and link to online portfolio to theteam@marketicity.com.

Marketing Communications Summer Internship

As Marketiticity's Marketing Communications Intern, you will be responsible for assisting in creating and implementing marketing communications projects and campaigns, writing public relations/social media articles, and providing some agency clerical support. Confident and creative self-starters will be successful in this role and enjoy the wide array of projects available through our growing base of clients.

OPPORTUNITY: MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS INTERNSHIP

Requirements:

• Progress toward Bachelor's/Master’s degree in communications, journalism or similar field (Junior year students, at minimum)
• Exceptional creative writing skills and thorough knowledge of AP writing style (please do not apply without extensive knowledge of AP style).
• Computer literacy with Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook and Internet
• Excellent proofreading skills and attention to detail
• Strong project coordination skills
• Strong public speaking, presentation and interpersonal skills
• Familiarity with social media
• Critical thinking, originality and the ability to work independently, i.e., self-starter

Details:

• 10-week summer internships June-August
• Open to college seniors and graduate students
• Hours for the position are flexible and would vary from 15-20 hours per week
• Internship available for credit and is paid
• Internship would work in Marketicity’s office at 109 North Main Street, Columbia, Ill.

To apply
Email resume and two writing samples (one news release, two creative writing samples/articles/ads) to theteam@marketicity.com.

Summer Internships

Looking for an summer internship?

Marketicity is offering 10-week summer internships June-August to college seniors and graduate students. Hours for the position are flexible and would vary from 15-20 hours per week. This internship is available for credit and is paid.

The internship would work in Marketicity’s office at 109 North Main Street, Columbia, Ill.

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS INTERNSHIP
WEB DEVELOPER INTERNSHIP

SEO 101

SEO vs. SEM
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) "is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" or un-paid ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results," according to Wikipedia. Search Engine Marketing refers to paid online efforts such as AdWords, banner ads or Facebook ads to drive Web site traffic.

Why Care about SEO?

• US Internet users spend an average of 17 hours per week online.
• 65% of Internet users look for information about various products and services on the Internet and buy online
• 22% of users have a specific search engine dedicated as their home page.
• 66% of Internet users make purchases online.
• 52% of Internet users do not click on online ads.

What does SEO include?
SEO is not just about keywords or programming or links. In fact, it is a heavily evolving myriad of multiple elements that help your Web site rise to the top of the organic search effort. Some measurables that pertain to your SEO ranking include:

• Page Rank
• Page Speed
• Hits
• Relevancy
• Frequency
• Bookmarks
• Programming elements
• Links
• Listings
• Keywords
• URL Structure
• Domain redirects

Some of these items require the ability to navigate and edit a Web site's code. However, other elements, such as external links, hits, bookmarks, frequency and relevancy are easier to manage. Efforts to drive Web site traffic often assist with improving many of these efforts and include maintaining a news page on a Web site, social media and local listings.

Page Rank
The primary item - Page Rank - is unfortunately the least definable. Yet, it is believed that quality external links significantly contribute to boosting this score. Read an older post about what qualifies as quality. this is how Google defines Page Rank:

PageRank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page's value. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B. But, Google looks at more than the sheer volume of votes, or links a page receives; it also analyzes the page that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves "important" weigh more heavily and help to make other pages "important."

And this is how HubSpot defines the scoring system in their article The Importance of Google PageRank: A Guide For Small Business Executives:

0-3: New sites or sites with very minimal links
4-5: Popular sites with a fair amount of inbound links
6: Very popular sites that have hundreds of links, many of them quality links
7-10: Usually media brands (NYTimes.com), big companies or A-list bloggers.

Call Marketicity to learn more about SEO, and it's importance to your business.

Is Your Web Site Mobile Ready?

Web sites are not typically created to perform well on the significantly smaller screens of iPhones, BlackBerries and other mobile devices flooding the market right now. However, if your Web site is coded correctly, then mobile surfers should be able to access and view your Web site.

Right now, numerous solutions exist for making your Web site mobile ready. Solutions vary from redirecting to a smaller, simpler site to recoding your current site.

Why be mobile ready?
A Pew research study released news this week that 26 percent of Americans use their mobile phones to find news content. So, you better believe that finding other information is most certainly happening on the Web. In fact, Ebay, Orbitz and Amazon are among the many that have made their Web sites Web ready.

Is your Web site mobile ready?
Simply, check your Web site on a mobile phone browser. Do the pictures appear? What text appears? Is the formatting different? If your Web site is not easily read or is unviewable in a mobile browser, then you should respond quickly to making your site mobile ready.

Another good way to know how soon you need to consider making your Web site mobile-ready, use Google Analytics to track how many hits you are receiving via a mobile device. Google conveniently tracks down what types of mobile devices are connecting to your phone. If you are seeing an increase in mobile traffic, month-after-month, then it is time to talk to a professional about updating your Web site's coding.

Inspiring Printing Processes from Sappi Fine Paper

Inspiration was just waiting in our mailbox.

It is really fantastic how going to a design conference gets your name into so many mailing lists. Now, granted, everyone hates junk mail. But getting packages of free paper and product samples showcasing great flexibility in what the final product can look & feel like - I will never complain. Be inspired by printing processes. From a soft touch spot on a chocolate to a foil with emboss on a fun heart shape - Sappi's greeting cards were a nice surprise at the end of the day.

"Design is art people use"
~Simply stated from the book D.I.Y Design It Yourself edited by Ellen Lupton

So, thank you Sappi for your greeting cards, created by Michael Osborne Design. I am surely to use them to brighten another designers' day.

YouTube 101

YouTube is an easy and cost-effective way to increase Web site traffic, boost rapport with customers and build interest in a brand. There are a number of ways to utilize this tool. For instance, the IRS has an informational YouTube Channel that is frequently updated with commercials, tips and how to's. For our client Garden Place Senior Living, they posted their Charter commercial so that it could reach additional audiences. David Siteman Garland - a popular regional entrepreneurial mentor - also uses regular casts to interview other professionals, provide advice and televise events. These things do not take a grand marketing budget. In fact, they can easily fit into a small- or medium-sized businesses marketing plan.

It's a simple as having a digital video camera (and yes your iPhone counts), some basic editing software, a YouTube account and some creativity. Follow this step-by-step instructional from eHow and make a YouTube video for your business Web site.

Link Up to Build SEO

Web site Search Engine Optimization (SEO) involves a myriad of elements. First, there is the programming - how things are tagged and written in the code of your site. Second is the strategic and frequent placement of Keywords throughout the site. Third.... well, the list keeps going.

But one of the major keys to increasing SEO is LINKS.

It is important to know that there are two types of links - external and internal. The latter is easy to accomplish since it is linking within your own Web site to direct people through your pages. External links are a bit trickier.

The key to external links is to acquire QUALITY links. What is a quality link? It's when a trade or industry site links to your Web site. It's when people bookmark your pages and continue to link back to them. Technorati.com writer Sally Ormand writes:

"The more relevent the links are that point back to your site, the more Google (and the other search engines) will see you as an authority on your particular subject matter. After all, if you are getting links from respected sites in your field, you must be an expert, right?"

Now, how do you acquire these authority links?

1. Create lists and submit them to bookmarking and social media sites that entice people to bookmark them. Popular bookmarking sites include Delicious and Digg.

2. Update local listings, such as your Google Maps listing, Yelp.com, SuperPages, MerchantCircle.com, etc.

3. Syndicate trade articles or reviews through sites such as EzineArticles.com or GoArticles.com that link back to your site.

4. Add your blog page to directories such as LoadedWeb.com or swap links with local organizations such as LocalAutoSpot.com (if your business is relevant to cars), the Better Business Bureau or a BNI chapter.

5. Follow other blogs in your field and make comments that show your authority on the topic and drive people to other industry bloggers through links. The goal is that they will return the favor.

SEO, like social media, is a constant effort. And, sometimes it requires purchasing linking opportunities, but only do so for Web sites with high Alexa ratings. Online business is highly competitive so continue to build your online presence and work to stay atop SEO standards.

For more ideas, contact Marketicity or for DIY ideas read 101 Ways to Build Link Popularity.

Mobile Marketing 101

Like social media and the Internet, mobile marketing has its doubters. But the simple truth is that 160 of the 244 million mobile phone users in the United States have text plans. Of these, 54.5 million are mobile Internet users, though 172 million phones are capable of Internet usage. Plus, 27 million access social networks from their mobile phones.

Even though smart phones only comprise one-third of the mobile market, the bigger statistic for mobile marketing is that nearly half of all mobile phone users have a text plan.

SMS Marketing
SMS stands for short-message marketing and refers to text-message marketing. You've seen the ads, text "Vote" to a four-digit short code, such as 5252. however, you can also text promotions or updates. It is perhaps the most personal form of marketing, plus technology allows you to grab the phone number, name and other information when people voluntarily opt-in to a mobile marketing program.

Mobile-Ready Web Sites
During the summer, I heard a statistic in summer 2009 that only one percent of Web sites are mobile ready. Yet, the smart phone market continues to surge. While only comprising one-third of the overall market, smart phones - including iPhones, Blackberrys and Androids - are a growing marketshare with no halt in sight. However, it's not just smart phones that are capable of hosting Internet access. How does your Web site look on the mobile Web?

Mobile Applications
You can't hide from the almighty "app." There are more than 100,00 iphone applications. Add to this the many Blackberry and Google Android Applications. Plus, Windows Marketplace for Mobile is coming soon. Not everyone needs a mobile application, but it is something to think about. It is expected that smart phone users will comprise 50 percent of the mobile market in the next two to three years.

Mobile Networking
Social media is simply inescapable right now. The major social media tools all have applications for smart phones, so people regularly access these outlines through their mobile connection - sending updates, posting links, sharing photos. Part of the future of Public Relations and Networking is social media, especially mobile social applications. It's time to start perfecting your 160-character sound bites.

Learn From 2009's Massive Marketing Changes

A Message from Scott Rodemich

Curious about the approach others in your industry (or other industries) took in 2009? Needless to say, we were cautious about our own agency’s business prospects heading into the year in light of the current economy.

Looking back, however, we saw a large number of clients being savvy “bottom-up investors” in terms of marketing. They reinvested in their brand awareness and identity while others cut back. Here’s what we saw:

Web is King
Not a new concept. However, in terms of marketing, a firm’s Web-based efforts continue to grow in terms of conveying brand, measuring marketing ROI and serving as a business lead generator. Web investments by our clients were exceptional and continue to provide value.

Personal PR and Marketing (aka Social Media)
Do you have a personal and/or business Facebook page yet? If so, are you using it to connect with customers and provide valuable information? Are you using it to measure ROI on marketing efforts? Are you using it to increase brand awareness? And since it is also a quasi-PR tool, is it being monitored daily? Do you Twitter? Do you know whether you should Twitter or Facebook (or both)? Answering these questions and developing targeted business solutions was one of the fastest-growing segments of our business in 2009.

Organic SEO vs. PPC
Organic searches are when someone types a word or phrase into Google, for example. The highest-rated sites for those terms appear in the middle of the page. Getting your company as high as possible in that section is an effort called organic Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Conversely, the ads at the top and side of search pages appear via Pay-Per-Click (PPC) campaigns. For the right companies, PPC campaigns work. But, we found new clients who were being ripped off by paying PPC amounts for their own brand names – brands they’ve built over the years – while being ignored in the organic section of Web searches. In turn, we designed solutions to improve organic SEO rankings and better target their PPC efforts.

Marketing ROI
Do you know if a specific marketing effort works or not? You should. New, free tools exist to let you know if you marketing efforts are leading to greater awareness. And remember, advertising is for awareness. It’s up to your sales team to take that awareness and bring it to the bottom line. We’ve helped monitor the success of marketing in ways not previously possible … an important factor in the challenging climate of 2009.

Print and Video Are Not Dead
We saw a leveling of corporate investment in print and video projects this year – not a downturn. That’s good. Companies realize there is still a time and place for something their client can feel, hear and see in person. The twist, however, is that these pieces are being incorporated into the Web to increase the brand ROI for each print or video project. For one client, a short video on their site is the page that generates the most traffic. For another, we completed a new corporate video and brochure early in 2009. The client incorporated these pieces into their Web presence, as well.

Looking Ahead
So what’s on the horizon … Marketicity is moving forward to assist clients with the mobile revolution, including mobile networking and PR through social media, texting promotions, mobile coupons and mobile-compatible Web sites. Smart phone purchases continue to skyrocket and companies must be able to share their message on the computer and on a mobile phone. Mobile technology also presents a variety of client retention and operational efficiency opportunities for clients and their customers. It’s just another extension of what’s been an exciting time for us.

In Summary
Looking back, it was a good year. Business for our firm was up 20 percent. We were blessed with new and existing clients who saw the wisdom of investing in a down market. We also saw clients ready to move forward with their customers’ embrace of technology.

Bottom line: if you believe everyone sat on the sideline in 2009 and muddled along, they did not. We hope you have a tremendous 2010 and would welcome the opportunity to help you improve brand awareness this year.

Prairie Farms 2009 Annual Report

In a mere six weeks, we completed the Prairie Farms 2009 Annual Report. Always a tight deadline, this project is edited, concepted, designed and printed within the six-week time frame.

This year, we strove to push the design of the report to a more sophisticated level that bolstered the emerging branding makeover Prairie Farms has presented in the last year. in particular, Casara Heaton, our Graphic Design Specialist, improved the readability of text layout, updated chart graphics and modernized the design, including the cover stock choice.

This year, in particular, we are really excited about the print edition of the 2009 Prairie Farms Annual report. It is truly a team project that requires speedy turn-around from Prairie Farms and Marketicity. Can't wait to see what we develop in 2010!

We've Moved! (temporarily)

While we wait for our new office to be complete, we are temporarily located in our new space at:
119 S. Main St.
Columbia, IL 62236

Our temporary office is located about one block away from our final destination at 109 N. Main St. in the heart of Columbia's business district in the St. Louis metropolitan area.

If you are in the area, please stop by and visit us! We are excited about the reviews of our new exposed-brick, open floor plan office. See you soon!