Perception & Attention: How The Presentation of Information Matters

It’s no secret that data and information alone – when presented can lose their ability to communicate meaning without associated visual cues, graphics, context or visual appeal.  McCandless (2010) does a good job of illuminating how putting information into context or juxtaposed with relevant data - can have a deep impact creating a “landscape,” by which information can be better enhanced.  

Runco (2014) talks about hoe perception and attention are linked in a way where one can directly affect the other.  When we apply more attention to something our perception and understanding of it goes up – so the better something gets our attention the more likely it is that we will perceive the message being sent.  

Information is power- and the way in which we present that information can help the information be absorbed and understood at a higher and deeper level.  Looking at the radiation exposure chart is just another example of how information is generally “relative,” to other information.  

References:

Eysenck, M. W., Keane, M.T. (2010). Cognitive psychology: A student's handbook. Taylor & Francis.

McCandless, D. (2010, July). The beauty of data visualization. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/david_mccandless_the_beauty_of_data_visualization?language=en

Runco, M. A. (2014). Creativity: Theories and Themes: Research, Development, and Practice (Kindle). Retrieved at Amazon.com

What Is The Best Marketing Strategy?

What Is The Best Marketing Strategy?

Did you really expect me to be able to answer that?  Perhaps that's the problem with your current marketing plan - do you think there is an easy answer or solution to your current marketing problems?  Sun Tzu said artfully "know thy enemy," now clients aren;t enemies but your competition is.  So how do you get an edge?

Literally - its as easy as knowing your audience.  It is easy to learn HOW to market to people, it is still easy to learn how to anticipate your markets needs or trends - but it is HARD to know who your audience is.   For example, I have recently done work for a toy company - the challenge is that how do you market a toy

aimed at 4-year-olds to the real true audience -the - buyers - or the moms and dads. 

I have talked a lot about how research is king - do the research, learn who your audience is and how they behave and you will already be half-way done with the best marketing strategy - for you!

Top 5 Social Media Conversation & Trends Tools

Social media sites have grown exponentially and it is often hard to get a bead on what the trends and conversations are on social media sites.  Here is my top five list of tools to help you find out what is being talked about on social media.  

1) SM Tool - Boardreader: http://boardreader.com/
2) SM Tool - Whos Talking: whostalking.com
3) SM Tool - Social Mention: socialmention.com
4) SM Tool - Oh My God I Love It: http://omgili.com/
5) SM Tool - Facebook Newsroom: http://newsroom.fb.com/news/2014/01/finding-popular-conversations-on-facebook/

Top Five Emerging Fields To Apply Your Media Psychology Education

Media Psychology is a relatively new and growing field of study within Psychology - and has numerous applications both from a clinical and practical standpoint.  This is my list of the top five emerging industries where a media psychologist, M.A. or  PHD can ply their trade:

Legal - For example a media psychologist or media psychology expert might consult with trial attorneys on the use of images in their presentations to jury's.

Retail - What we wear says a lot about us - which is why retailers are always looking for deeper insights and market research into why people buy; information that is deeper than color and pattern (Under Armour is a good example of how you gather that info check out their blog)

Advertising - whether print, digital, TV or otherwise, we are bombarded by these constantly, media psychologists are great at providing insight into the display of information in a way that can cut through the clutter (Check out the world's first neuromarketing agency).

Web Design - With the advent of content management software, website design is now longer solely the domain of the programmer - with billions in annual e-commerce sales the presentation of your website can have a major impact on your overall success - media psychology experts have a deep understanding of the images and words that make people click - although it would not have taken a genius to tell Kaiser to re-name their "Catastrophic," policy to something else.

Research - The Media Psychology Research center says that "Media psychology looks for solutions by understanding fundamental human goals," and in doing so provides a valuable research angle for countless industries.  Visit the Media Psychology Research Center website for more info on how the research turn into action. 

Wal-Mart's Subscription Service Signals More Focus On Digital Sales

Wal-Mart recently announced that it will be piloting an e-commerce subscription service to rival that of Amazon's Prime membership.  Wal-Mart plans on charging 50 dollars to deliver anything from their online store within three days.  This comes in much lower than Amazon's similar service and looks to take a bite out of Amazon's share of online sales.  With 13 billion in e-commerce sales just last year Wal-Mart is looking to pump some growth into their digital sales and augment their order online and pick up in store service.

For me this is another sign that major retailers are starting to shift their focus to better fit what their customers - want and we have spoken.  Today's millennials have grown accustomed to ordering online, and with the cost of gas and other expenses associated with going out to a store - who can blame them.    According to the US Census Bureau e-commerce sales have grown over 5% since 2005 and continue to grow exponentially. 

For the digital marketer this shift by large retailers to focus on e-commerce sales signals increased job security as companies will began to look for professionals with knowledge of the digital space to help them position themselves to work with large retailers like Wal-Mart and Amazon or to market their wares directly to consumers who are increasingly looking for digital solutions for their everyday needs. 

Anonymous Member: LinkedIn's Dirty Little Secret

If you are not on LinkedIn by now - stop reading this and go set up a profile - it's more important than reading this.  But for all of us who have and who are still unwilling to pay the exorbitant  fee of premium membership have all discovered that lately the social networking giant has begun to heavily monetize its memberships.  From a business standpoint - I understand - but from a user perspective this once open platform of business+social networking suddenly seems shuttered.

Here is a screenshot from my recent "unpaid,' who's viewed you page - essentially its become a useless tool to the unpaid user.  For the paid user - it must be great.  I have a friend who works as a corporate recruiter and she says her firms spends over 14k a year on LinkedIn fees and swears by its ability to let her and their company recruit - in private.  LinkedIn is treading in a dangerous territory - not even Facebook will dare show you who looks at your profile or monetize their membership for fear of not only loosing members but destroying the foundation that social networks are built on - openness and sense of community.

LinkedIn's "Anonymous," feature offered to its premium members is the death Nell for an open and equal platform - its has begin to more reflect the true business world of the have and have nots instead of a true social networking site based on an equal basis for membership. This will ultimately result in the polarization of the LinkedIn user base and a dilution of its true users.   

Rich Media Content: Retailers Move Away From Text

So there I was with a 25-page white-paper marked "Confidential," straining to read the 10 point font as I was reading the lengthy document explaining the guidelines to publishing enhanced content to vender pages on a very large online retailer's .com  Words like "rich media box," and "expanded manufacturer content," have replaced the traditional "description," and "specs," that used to rule online retailers vendor pages. 

In my recent work with big box retailers like Amazon, Walmart and Target, I have really seen how these big box retailers have begun to embrace the idea that video and other forms of rich media do a better job of explaining what a product is and thus selling it.  In fact, in the document I was reading, most of the text that was recommended was aimed at giving the customer "additional detailed information,' about the product - so basically, anything that video or images can't quite capture. In addition to this most of the content has moved lower, and lower, below the rich media content as if it is an afterthought - and it very well may be.  Check out these product pages here and here to get an idea of what I am talking about. 

If the largest retailer in the world is publishing white pages explaining the value of rich media content to its vendors says a lot about the trend in digital marketing away from text and towards valuable visual content.  As a marketer - this means a lot more interfacing with graphic designers and planners to better shape digital assets to meet the needs of not only the retailers but the digital consumer base that is increasingly demanding rich media content over text.