You may have noticed, people live on their devices, I know I feel like I’m missing an arm without my cell phone. 82% of buyers research you online before they take action, be it buying your product or service or calling you to schedule a demo. This means your digital presence has to be up to snuff.

There are lots of great ways to help generate leads through your website. Having someone opt in by giving you their “almighty” email address can be very powerful. Previously we posted about subscribe boxes and pop up email collection apps but there are tons of ways to get someone to opt in and make it fun at the same time. One of my favorites is a quiz.

An organically grown email list is key to a strong online presence. However, asking for someone’s email address can be tricky. I had personal experience requesting email addresses in a store and people treating me like I requested exclusive access to their first born child’s naming rights. Anyway, users are reluctant to just give out their email address when they first step foot on your site. They want to be certain they enjoy your content and find value in it. Below I will include a short list of useful lead gen tools to capture emails but first let’s go over a few polite ways to ask for users’ emails.

As most of you know, in a blink of an eye, the carefully curated “good girl” image of one Taylor Swift was destroyed by a series of snapchat videos exposing her to be a liar and destroying her reputation.  For those of you that live under a rock, you can read about it on vox.com.  

“What can we learn from this?” you ask, “How does this have any relevance to my business?” let me elaborate.  

It is no secret that social media is becoming predominantly popular today amongst marketers and businesses alike. However, if you’re a business that is still not on social media then you most likely have a misconception about social media.

ESPN has developed quite a reputation, and depending on who you talk to, it could be one of two things. First, Bill Simmons of HBO does not have the kindest words for his former employer, to put it lightly. Second, the masses have long known ESPN for its comical commercials that feature star athletes and analysts alike. Recently, ESPN aired a commercial featuring David “Big Papi” Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox alongside two of his teammates. Without giving away too much, the commercial deals with his impending retirement at the culmination of this season. This isn’t the first time ESPN has used sports culture to push its name out there. These six commercials embody wit, humor, and much more along the way. Below are some short teasers for the commercials that have people rolling on the floor (literally) with laughter.

Pokemon Go has taken the world by storm, and you have likely seen swarms of Pokemon trainers walking around town or in the park with their eyes glued to their screens. Plenty of people have been praising it. Plenty of others have been bashing it. It is hard to say what effect Pokemon Go has had on people. The verdict: Regardless of whether it is a hit or miss, EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT POKEMON GO. It is bringing recluses off the couch and changing the very dynamics of handheld gaming as we know it.

For all of Australia and New Zealand, we have just started a new financial year. Companies that are strategic and have long-term goals, often already have a marketing plan in place, while other's may have been busy getting their last set of figures in for the year, and missed doing the planning that is necessary to catapult their businesses in 2016/17. Which company are you? 

Just bought a new iphone? Welp, there’s probably already another one in the works. And of course as soon as it comes out we will all just have to have it. Because it is so different from the one we bought not even a year ago right. Why do we have to have something that’s brand new even if we have the exact same one at home already, it's just slightly older? It still works fine and looks pretty good. However as soon as that new one comes out we abandon it like there’s no tomorrow.

Marketing and Advertising have long been known for being exciting, innovative, clever, and plenty of other things that help businesses and brands get outside the box and engage consumers in unique and memorable ways. On the flipside, Marketing and Advertising have also occasionally been guilty of making some disastrous decisions that either hurt a brand or demolish the marketing or advertising budget of the business. I will leave the verdict up to you, but here are some interesting marketing and advertising strategies that make for a good water cooler debate in the office.