Quick Tagging (try it)

Terrific. You made it. Thank you for dropping by and welcome !

First, you're here because you either

1. text-messaged the word 'chapper' to Qtags [78247] on your cell phone and followed the instructions in the reply message, or
2. navigated to this page via alternative web travels.

If 2, and you'd like to gain an appreciation for 1, then, right now, go ahead and text-message 'chapper' to Qtags [78247] on your cell phone [available on all wireless carriers in Canada and the US].

Within about 5 seconds, you'll receive one or two reply messages on your cell phone. Look for the url to this web log post. That message on your cell phone is my custom message to you. You can send custom messages, too ! Free !


So, now that you're here, before jumping into the topic of High Performance Sales and Marketing for a Post Television Age and how Qtags is relevant, let me make one point.

The point of me asking you to pull out your cell phone and to 'text' the word 'chapper' to 'Qtags' [78247] is so that you will have first-hand experience in using a very powerful digital sales and marketing tool for a post television age - cellular text messaging.

If you've managed to follow the texting instructions above, you are now done learning the technology. It's that simple. You are now an expert-user on one of today's digital marketing tools - again, cellular text messaging. In other words, anyone who has a cell phone can do it. Hmmm. That's quite a collection of people.

Think about this. What percentage of your buyers carry and use a cell phone everyday ? What sort of lasting impression would your brand leave if you 'connected' to them via a Qtag ?

Call to action.

To illustrate the power of this interactive tool, here is a 'call to action' for you now that you are here. Please have a look at the 'Chapman & Associates' post so that you will gain a better understanding of what we do for our clients.

Briefly, in general terms, we help companies market and sell more effectively in a post television age by showing them how to leverage and integrate contemporary information and communication technology (ICT) into their sales and marketing efforts.

By taking you through a Qtags exercise, we provide people like you with a simple yet effective demonstration of one example of how you can integrate ICT into, in this case, a poster or an introduction and turn it into a much more interactive, digital (memorable) event.

In addition, this demonstration provides a 'call to action' for all visitors {a request to look at Chapman & Associates} that sums up the value proposition in terms of WHY YOU would want invest the time in setting up your own Qtag 'remember-me' service. Doing so is an ingenious (FREE) way of increasing overall awareness about who you are and what you do.

Now that you know what Chapman & Associates does, should you like to learn how to spend less, selling more in our world of new media, new clients, and new consumer in a post television age, contact Chapman & Associates.

Qtags for you and your business.

Now, let's see if we can get Qtags working for you and your business. Why, as a business owner, a VP of Marketing, a Brand Manager, a Chief Marketing Officer, or a VP of Sales would you want to think about integrating Qtags in your sales and marketing ? How would taking advantage of Qtags help your sales ?

Well, let's start with an interesting fact. Americans today are spending 30% of their media-consuming time surfing the web, yet today, corporate America spends less on online advertising than they do on Yellow Pages. And America's Yellow Page ad spend represents less than 5% of America's total ad spend.
(source: Business 2.0, Imagining the Google Future, February 1, 2006)

Do you see the disconnect here ? Are you interested in tapping into the online, virtual universe of today's digital consumers ? Are you a little swamped with your day-to-day activities ? Are you not quite sure where or how to start ? Good. Listen up. You're at the right place.

Another scenario.

Let's look at a particular scenario for you to think about. In the photo below (courtesy of the Allison Gower's blog) you see a crowd of people at your local arena. And there's a couple of guys looking at a poster.


Those two guys there are having a little 'mono-a-mono' with that poster. They're experiencing a little silent, fleeting, one-to-one time in their own mind. Now, that poster (or print, radio spot, billboard, or TV ad) in today's world, ought to have a call to action. Otherwise, it's a fleeting moment of nothing more than subconscious brand building. Relatively wasteful by today's standards.

And although advertising agencies will tell you that building 'brand awareness' and 'brand recognition' is an important result of a properly designed and developed marketing strategy, I'll submit to you that using a poster to generate actual behaviour in the direction of an actual purchase is where the new marketing paradigm is going.

Interactive Branding.

In other words, what's really important in today's overcrowded world of traditional advertising is to kick the 'passive' habit. Embrace new media. Integrate and weave contemporary information and communication technologies into your sales and marketing processes so that you can make all of your advertising and marketing 'engageable', instant.

Today, it's about Interactive Branding. Great creative today includes driving behaviour that can be measured, interactive, experiential. Get the viewer to instantly interact, where, when, and however he/she can. Cell-based ondemand, couponing and contesting. Integrated web experiences. Viral multimedia tactics. Do-it-yourself strategies. There are lots of ways to begin making your brand interactive in our digital world. Enter Chapman & Associates.

cell or pen ?

Think about this. If you were to randomly ask 10 people on the streets of America today to quickly produce either a pen & paper or a cell phone, how many do you think will reach for their cell phone ? 6/10 ? More ? What do you think that number is in Europe ? Asia ? How about for the elusive 18-34 year old demographic ? Think about that. Now think about Qtags.

Specifically, WHAT IF on every piece of marketing collatoral - posters, brochures, business cards, tent cards, displays, labels, magazine ads etc - you began offered the call to action to 'text' a word to Qtags so that you could send them a follow up message of your choice instantly and directly to their cell phone. What would you want to tell them ? I have some ideas, by the way. Think about the possibilities. What can you imagine ?

Recap.

Let's recap. I verbally asked you to text message the word 'chapper' to 'Qtags' [aka 78247] on your cell phone key pad. I generally ask people to do this as part of my '5-second response' to the common polite question 'So, what do you do ?'

Result.

The result: the request opens up the opportunity for a topic of conversation, they get an actual demonstration of what I 'do', I get my particulars onto this person's cell phone, they get the chance to 'come and visit us' on the web for a more 'formal' overview when and as appropriate, Chapman & Associates taps into word-of-mouth advertising, engages the customer in text-messaging, and another person is aware of C&A's area of expertise and possibly even starts to viral market on our behalf. In other words, it's all good.

Get started. Next step.

So, let me ask you. Now that you have a way to instantly make your advertising interactive with a Qtag 'call to action', what's the best way to start ? Answer: Email me. Try it. I'll get this happening for you for literally, 'pennies a serving' ... in fact, we might even let you try it for FREE! It's within you're power. For more info, drop us a line or send your business card particulars. Looking forward to hearing from you and hearing all about your business.