Twiststl

Look out iPhone owners, you won't be ad free when you're surfing from your phone for much longer.  As of July 1st, iPhone's first iAds will be launched.  The ads could signify the next generation of digital advertising because they will load when a device is synched eliminating download time, use rich targeting for each user taking into account location and iTunes preferences, and deliver the high emotive quality of television ads with the interactivity of existing website marketing. 

Many of the marketers that have signed on to advertise with iAds won't be ready for the roll out though.  Apple is handling all technical production of the iAds and it takes 6 to 8 weeks after the creative concept has been submitted for the actual ad to be created that is suitable for the iPhone and, in November, the iPad. 

Have you ever heard of Gowalla or Foursquare?  In case you didn't know, they're location based networking tools enjoying a great deal of attention at the moment. It seems that everyone and their grandmother is jumping on the bandwagon of geo-location and the notion of "checking in." But as Yan David-Ehrlich points out in his article, we really need to decide what we want to accomplish with social media.

A brand is living, breathing and moving. “Today’s brand represents a set of expectations, memories, stories, and relationships that when taken together account for a consumer’s decision to choose your product,” says Kate Leydon, founder of Ruby Room, The Style of Wellness, in Chicago. “If you’re represented by a symbol or mark and that’s it, you’re missing out. You are yesterday’s brand.”

Augmented reality is the newest thing blurring the lines between what's real and what's virtual with some very useful marketing results.