THE MEDIA ADVANTAGE - A Marketing, Social Media, Web Design, Graphic Design, Video Production & Photography Agency - Lansing, Michigan

A recent print project…

Scotty V — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 19:45:57 +0000

We are in the midst if creating a whole new look for one of our clients, Splash of Color Tattoos, print materials.

Today we got one of their new sets of business cards back, and they look sweet! Matte finish with spot UV on their logo only.

Puffery in Advertising

Bill — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 18:39:53 +0000

I’m pretty sure most of you have seen examples of puffery in advertising and maybe not realized it. Some basic examples would be a restaurant claiming they have “the best pizza in Lansing”, or “the freshest ingredients”. We see this kind of advertising used all of the time. The Federal Trade Commission is in charge of monitoring deceptive and misleading advertising, but puffery is not against the law. According to the FTC, consumers should know not to take these exaggerated statements seriously. I happen to agree and think that most of us are smart enough to understand what is fact and what is not. Now if a product or service claims to cure cancer for example, they better have some proof to back it up. If they don’t, the FTC would step in and take appropriate action.

There is a blurry line between puffery and misleading consumers with false facts, and advertisers must be careful as to what they say. Overall I think that there is nothing wrong with claiming to have “the best customer service”, because most of us don’t take these claims to heart. What are your thoughts on this kind of advertising? Have you ever been mislead by an advertisement? As an advertiser I would love to hear your opinion.

Enhance!

Scotty V — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 19:59:38 +0000

Like something out of CSI, Adobe is working to make blurry photos a thing of the past. This is only a sneak peek, but Adobe unveiled their new plugin that clears up blurry photos. This would be a lifesaver and the video does no justice to how amazing this is.

Quick Tips to Improve SEO & SEM

Bill — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 18:39:10 +0000

Don’t Rely On the Long Trail. Rather than focusing on broad keywords, like “sports” or “vacations”, use small phrases that are widely targeted. If you sell sporting goods and apparel, use a phrase such as “Men’s and women’s sportswear”. This is a much better idea than focusing on generic terms such as “sports” and “clothes”.
Have a Great Landing Page. Take consumers to a relevant landing page that gives them exactly what they are looking for. If I search for baseball gloves, click on a link and it takes me to a generic landing page with all types of sporting goods, I will probably leave. Give consumers the information they want, if you do this, they will be more likely to stay and purchase from you.
Don’t Over Complicate SEO. Sure, SEO can seem quite complicated, but there a few simple steps you can take to improve your website’s visibility. Start by looking at your website from the eyes of a consumer. Ask what good information do I have, and what kinds of information am I missing that a consumer may want. Focusing on relevant and informative content is the best way to improve SEO. Doing that along with optimizing keywords, headers, tags, and links, will drive more traffic to your site and keep people coming back.
Respect Your Prospect’s Privacy. Don’t ask people who end up at your landing page to fork over lots of personal information. Try to ask a little as possible, such as just an email address. This will allow you to follow up by sending them relevant information, without completely invading their privacy.
Stay Up to Date With Relevant Keywords. Research what consumers are currently searching for, and incorporate those terms into your pages. The market is constantly changing, and your website must adapt when needed.

Apple Unveils The iPhone 4S

Bill — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 02:19:54 +0000

With what seemed to be the entire nation expecting the release of the iPhone 5 today, Apple decided to throw us a curve ball. Instead of the iPhone 5, what we got was the iPhone 4S. What is the difference between this and the iPhone 4 you ask? For starters this upgraded version of the iPhone 4 will have 1 GB of ram, as well as a dual core processor. That means applications will launch and run faster, and download speeds will be twice as fast compared to its predecessor.

And if you like taking pictures or shooting video, this phone makes significant leaps that previous versions could not. Equipped with an 8 megapixel sensor, the ability to edit your photos immediately, as well as a slew of other features, it rivals any point and shoot camera on the market. If video is more of your style, the 4S is capable of shooting 1080p HD video.

Another feature included exclusively in the iPhone 4S is what Apple calls Siri. This is a voice activated personal assistant right on your phone. With Siri you can speak into your phone and ask it to read a text message, or even ask it for nearby restaurants, and you will get a reply. Pretty cool right? Now I only touched on what I deemed to be the most important upgrades included in the new iPhone, but there are also some other cool features of the iPhone 4S.

Now if you are wondering where and when you can get it, pre-orders begin on October 7, and it will be available for purchase on October 14. And as for how much it will cost, here are the prices for the iPhone 4S. Let me know what you think about the new iPhone. Do you love it? Are you disappointed? I would love to hear your opinion.

Browser Wars

Kaz — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 17:47:52 +0000

Welcome to Browser Wars 2011! With the recent release of a slew of browsers, they were put thru the ringer to duke it out for title of best browser. Our 3 contestants are: Firefox 4, Internet Explorer 9, and Chrome 10.

The first test was loading speed, in which each browser was loaded up and opened six websites. The results came in with Firefox as the fastest, then IE9, and Chrome in last.

The second test was a memory test. With the same six sites loaded, each browser was checked for memory usage. The results were same as before, Firefox first, IE9, then Chrome.

In terms of safety, Firefox ranks first, Chrome second, and IE9 third.

And with that, Firefox takes the triple crown and comes out on top as best browser. Which is your favorite browser?

MA had a busy day yesterday!

Scotty V — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 15:32:07 +0000

We had a busy day at the Media Advantage office yesterday, launching two new sites for clients.

For our friends at Town & Country Title Agency, we launched their all new, dynamic site at tnctitle.com. It was great working with these guys and look forward to working with them again in the future.

For our favorite jazz hangout, we launched 621thespot. Their new site allows them to showcase their upcoming events, as well as their mouthwatering food specials and tasty drink specials.

We welcome both to Media Advantage.

Media Ninjas!

Kaz — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 18:44:40 +0000

We got some new muscle here at Media Advantage

First Look at the Latest Mac OSX: Lion

Kaz — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 15:24:19 +0000

The latest feline member in the Mac family has been released to the development community. A member of that community has provided some screenshots via Mashable. Pics below feature new mission control, iCal, address book.

Lansing Downtown Daily #3

Kaz — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 15:30:05 +0000