Nielsen Online’s recent report that users in the US and around the world now use social networks more than e-mail has added new fuel to the fire in the debate about whether social media will replace e-mail as the communication tool of choice.

Have we reached the point where more people will be communicating with one another using Facebook and MySpace than e-mail? Does this mean we are witnessing the end of e-mail and online communication as we know it?

No. At least, not yet anyway.

While social media’s popularity is clearly on the upswing, that doesn’t mean e-mail’s relevance as a means of communication is suffering a subsequent dip in popularity.

E-mail still has several advantages over social networks that help it maintain its position at the head of the interpersonal communications class. The privacy it provides and its ability to record and track conversations as well as retain accountability help e-mail continue to be the best fit for doing business. Facebook and MySpace can serve as a less formal means to discuss business but e-mail’s aforementioned strengths translate into weaknesses with social networks that keep them from becoming a true means of performing business.

E-mail also remains popular with users and marketers alike as a means to deliver newsletters, coupons, and discounts. It’s still a very cost-effective means for brands to deliver these types of ad content to consumers. (more…)

To help provide a better sense of the people we have working here at LeapFrog Interactive, we offer up this new recurring series. This time around, Emily Carroll, a media coordinator here at LFI, reveals her love of 80s boy bands and her beef with a particular horror movie remake, among other things.

What is it you do exactly?: I help brands find the optimal placements for their interactive campaigns to run.

What’s one thing someone needs to know about you to get an idea about who you are?: I’m overly excitable. People don’t understand that about me, and it gets very frustrating because people are very standoffish when they first meet me.

Biggest fear: I’m afraid of bed bugs. Have you seen any? They look like ticks on steroids.

Favorite word: Doppelganger

Least favorite word: Succotash

Favorite weekend activity: Concert-going

Ideal job (other than working for LFI): Coming up with the challenges they do on reality shows—being the “game-maker-upper�? for shows like Survivor and Big Brother.

What song is guaranteed to make you immediately switch the channel?: Anything by Nickelback.

Favorite breakfast cereal: Lucky Charms

What would you like served up for your last meal?: I’d want the Pollo Rosa Maria from Carrabba’s.

Last movie you saw that made you want your money back: Max Payne (more…)

Keeping clients happy isn’t just an aspiration at LeapFrog Interactive; it’s a way of doing business. To discuss how LeapFrog keeps good client service front and center every day, we’ve gathered a roundtable of Client Services’ finest: Account Managers Trish Pendleton, Heather Radford, and Lauren Pate, and Lori Druen, Vice President of Client Services.

How do you keep service a priority?

Trish Pendleton: It’s something that’s always top of mind. Staying in touch with our clients as much as we can. Replying to e-mails right away, even if they don’t require a response, by sending a simple thank you. Making sure our clients know that we’re constantly thinking about and working for them. These are just some of the ways we can give our clients that something extra.

Heather Radford: I think knowing your clients’ business or industry and educating yourself about what they do is important. That way, when they have questions for you, you can answer them correctly in regards to their industry. It also helps to try and make a connection with them, even on a personal level, to help build a relationship.

Lauren Pate: It’s really easy for service to be a priority for us because it’s our focus and what we do all day, every day.

What makes what we do here at LFI different from other agencies in terms of providing client service?

Trish: I think that at LeapFrog client needs are handled with more personal effort. We’re more likely to bend over backwards to accommodate our clients than some larger agencies that I’ve worked at or heard about. This extra effort comes from how we feel about our clients. We consider them our partners, and their success is just as important to us as it is to them.

Lori Druen: We actually practice what we preach. We’re committed to providing a high level of service, and anything less than that isn’t acceptable. We are available to our clients whenever they need us. We don’t shut down our accountability at 5 PM. (more…)

At this stage of the public’s evolving sophistication in its perception and judgment of online media, Ads need to do more that simply appear on a web page and perform some sort of nifty animation. Ads like this no longer have enough juice to attract consumers and stick and stay in their minds. Consumers have become desensitized to advertising that simply struggles for their attention by relying on movement and staccato flashing. If an ad is to have any chance at making an impression and potentially, a conversion, it needs to provide more than visual gimmickry and fluff.

Ads that actually offer something of value to a consumer like useful product information or help in choosing the right product from a selection of products are the ones that are making a connection with the buying public. Consumers might be amused by a cute ad that wiggles and flashes, but they’ll appreciate, interact with, and remember an ad that serves as a means to actually help them accomplish something and further their goal of deciding which product to buy or service to engage. (more…)

Sometimes I wonder what some brands are thinking when they introduce a new product.

Recently, Arby’s, the reigning roast beef brand leader, introduced its new sandwich line: the Roastburgers. My initial impression was, “Arby’s is making burgers now? Not so sure about that one.” Then when I went to an Arby’s to pick up a roast beef sandwich for my wife, I saw a picture of the Roastburgers. I looked at it. Then I looked at it again more closely to make sure my contacts weren’t playing tricks on me.

The Roastburgers, as it turns out, are not really burgers. They are actually roast beef sandwiches. The only “burgery” aspect of them is that they have toppings you’d expect on a hamburger, like tomatoes, red onions, lettuce, bacon, and even special sauce.

Arby’s calls Roastburgers “the burger done better.” Which is nice except a Roastburger is not, in fact, a burger done better. It is, in fact, a roast beef sandwich who knows somebody.

After discovering the truth about these impostor burgers, I wondered if the Roastburgers couldn’t have been marketed in a way that caused less confusion. Wanting more information, I went to the Arby’s website. There I learned that the sandwiches are described as being made with “oven roasted roast beef.” This made me wonder how exactly Arby’s has been roasting the other beef it has been serving up all these years. (more…)