I certainly appreciate the do-it-yourself mentality. Depending on the circumstance, DIY can be a much more satisfying and definitely less expensive approach in the long run. However, on a personal note, I have come to the realization that some things are simply worth paying for, especially when your limited knowledge may keep you from doing it the right way. Oh sure, a loose screw or a bad light bulb — no problem. But, a meaningful project that requires more expertise than elbow grease and demands a little more time — bring on the professionals, please!

In the business world, owners are faced with having to make some of the same decisions as it relates to their web presence. Do I go with the DIY approach or hire a digital agency to take care of it? The digital world is constantly evolving and changing. How does that business owner devote the time and resources to stay abreast of the latest and most effective ways to create awareness, become more visible, gain more customers, and ultimately increase profit? Hiring a digital marketing agency allows access to expertise and resources — someone to bounce ideas off of, brainstorm, and execute more complex integrated marketing campaigns. Hiring a digital marketing agency to concentrate on interactive and web marketing allows business owners more time to concentrate on improving and streamlining the business itself.

Why finish the basement yourself when you can hire an expert and spend more time on those things that are most important to you?

Engagement with our local and global community is one of the most cherished values of social media at LeapFrog Interactive. As a digital marketing agency, we understand the importance of staying connected with people, sharing thoughts, and engaging in discussions about topics near and dear to us.

Today, LeapFrog Interactive surpassed our 100th Facebook Fan. In the grand scheme of brands like Coca-Cola or Starbucks, 100 Facebook Fans doesn't seem like much but it means a lot to us. We want to celebrate by acknowledging our 100th Facebook Fan. And since the 101st Facebook Fan "liked" us at almost the exact same time, we'll acknowledge him, too: Michael Schnuerle and Lewis Bertolucci.

Michael Schnuerle: A Louisville native, Michael was familiar with our company long ago. Having done some website development work with LFI, he found us on Twitter and began following. He runs a start-up called Metro Mapper LLC, helping city governments nation-wide get public data online and into easy-to-understand maps, reducing the headaches of public information requests. Want to see what goes on in the wild world of Schnuerle? Follow him on Twitter: @Schnuerle (but don't ask us how to pronounce his last name)!

Lewis Bertolucci: As a Louisville resident, Lewis actively maintains LimeWedge.net, an online lifestyle magazine featuring the latest in technology, fashion, art, design, trends, style, photography, and the like. LFI has enjoyed many a quip and silly link from Lewis' Twitter account: @Lewis502. He has coined himself an "entrepreneurial social media ninja," and we're here to tell you... he is so right!

Thank you to all of our Facebook fans, Twitter followers, and any one who has ever watched our videos, read our blogs, signed up for our e-mails, or checked out our website! We appreciate you all and thank you :)

The oldest form of marketing is word-of-mouth. Having customers spread the word about a product or service is a company’s greatest marketing tool. With advanced mobile technology and instant posting — tweeting and checking-in — the social world has made it easier than ever for businesses to actively engage in word-of-mouth marketing. Not only can a business tweet, post, or otherwise engage about a product, service, promotion, or coupon, but customers are actively and instantaneously endorsing businesses without them doing much of anything.

Just think — if a customer arrives at a business, let’s say Fred’s BBQ, and she checks-in on Foursquare which automatically posts to Facebook and Twitter, she has endorsed Fred’s BBQ three times to hundreds of people with just one click. Instead of having a great meal at Fred’s and then telling her husband about it — who tells his co-workers, who keep telling others, and it reaches 50 people — she exponentially increases her influence.

This new word-of-mouth will continue to evolve as more and more customers start using greater amounts of social media tools, especially as the phenomenon for mobile connectivity grows.

Our advice? Take advantage of it! Encourage and maybe even reward those customers using social media to promote your products and watch as your check-ins, tweets, and mentions increase.

[ Contributed by Brittany Burdoine-Lewis]

I don’t have to tell you how excited (and relieved) I was to see an article with the title, “Why display ads are cool again.” Much to my dismay, the majority of articles I read last year about display advertising (my expertise at LeapFrog Interactive), were not flattering. The general consensus was that display ads are an intrusive and increasingly unsuccessful marketing tactic. As I discussed in a previous blog, some consumers have felt that the tactics used for targeting were kind of creepy and volatile to their privacies.

Will Price, of WidgetBox, gets it though. Price explores the various positive aspects of display marketing, including it’s real-time web presence, dynamic capabilities, and opportunity for granular measurement.

I’ve seen incredibly impactful display ad campaigns served up in the last few years and I have to say that I completely disagree with those who say display advertising is losing all of its flavor. As long as there are vendors like PointRoll and Spongecell exploring the myriad of innovative possibilities, I think display advertising will always have a place in marketing campaigns, digital or integrated.

We can do so much with display advertising if we let our imaginations run wild. Flash games and sweepstakes, photo contests and product carousels, interactive videos and much more.

As long as there are production teams developing eye-catching creative and publishers willing to be flexible with how they present that creative, display advertising won’t die!

[Contributed by Emily Carroll]

While maybe not as glamorous as some of the other products and services LeapFrog Interactive offers, our archival services are still an important component of any company’s interactive marketing efforts.

For starters, it’s always a good idea to have some sort of backup of all your data.  This is true not only for the information you are currently utilizing on your site but also for any older data that you might want to access down the road.  For example, if you decide to revert to past data and make it live on your site again or if you just want to review data that is no longer available on your website, having an archive allows you to easily retrieve whatever you need regardless of how old this data might be.

When you preserve your data using LeapFrog’s archival services, you also enjoy the extra benefit and security of off-site data storage.  If something untoward ever did happen, be it a brief power outage or something truly catastrophic, your data will be safe, sound, and ready for you the next time you need to access it.

If you like good spy novels and SEO, there is no better piece of writing on the subject than the February 12^th article The Dirty Little Secrets of Search by the New York Times. If the piece was a Russian spy novel, JCPenney would be the Russians and Google would be the U.S. with the black-hat SEOs as the bad Russian operatives. (Please note: I am only speaking of the tone of the article when I am speaking of JCPenney. I personally shop at JCPenney and find their brand extremely reputable).

What plays out in the article is a great piece of investigative writing by the New York Times. The story begins with an analysis of search performance on retail keywords. Across the board, JCPenney appeared in the first position for the keywords. Upon further analysis, it was deemed that JCPenney was using black-hat tricks, in particular paid links, to drive up search results for top keywords including “dresses,” “skinny jeans,” and “home decor.” After discovering the search fraud, the New York Times contacted Google. Google performed an internal investigation, found the same issues, and began a “manual” discounting of links — which in the SEO world means a big "oh, no." Almost immediately, JCPenney dropped significantly within the search results.

The biggest coup of the article is the interview with the person practicing black-hat SEO. Rarely are the individuals who perform black-hat SEO so eager to speak.

So what does this mean for the little guys? If a brand like JCPenney is going to use inappropriate SEO techniques, how can other retailers or businesses keep up?

The truth is the brands that utilize black-hat techniques cannot perform them forever. Time and time again, stories appear of brands getting caught by Google and the damage they ensue is just short of catastrophic. Google will continue to be extremely aggressive against hackers and spammers who attempt to game the algorithms.

Kudos to David Segal for a great story. I tip my "white-hat" to you.

As a digital marketing agency, LeapFrog Interactive is always looking for the next best thing — a technology, a service offering, an upgrade — that broadens our integrated marketing capabilities and service to our clients. On the other hand, with all the new technology and wonderfully innovative ways to explore digital advertising, we understand the necessity to take out and dust off our good ol’ Internet standards each marketing year.

Lately, I’ve noticed that many of our fellow marketing agencies have begun treating email marketing like the redheaded stepchild — it has its place, but is not worth much.

With the dawn of actionable analytics, we now know so much more about our clients and prospects — and so much more about how they behave and respond to messages we put in front of them in the digital space.

We should all be taking knowledge we’ve learned and applying it to the next phase(s) of our email campaigns. In short, my takeaways from 2010 are as follows:

• Don’t make the mistake of foregoing actionable analytics — track something that matters
• Find out what content drives clicks and utilize that in your next newsletter
• Get creative with your testing strategies — find out what time of day generates the highest activity on your website and choose that time for your next email send

Remember that email, like all things digital, performs better when integrated with the knowledge we already have sitting in nice, neat little dashboards. Take it to the next level, people!

Last week I profiled my Top 5 Best and Top 5 Worst Super Bowl commercials of 2011.  As a marketing professional at an interactive marketing agency, it would be crazy of me not to point out what (and who) was missing from this year's Super Bowl ad extravaganza. 

In this third and final installment of my review of the Super Bowl ads, I’d like to visit the brands not appearing in the Brand Bowl that I would have like to have seen.

 #5: Tostitos – Chips and salsa are inherent to Super Bowl parties and celebrations. I would have definitely liked to see Tostitos steal some of the chip attention from Doritos (and hopefully with better ads).

 #4: Walmart – As the purveyor of consumer goods and appealing to a broad array of audiences, Walmart seems a natural fit. After an intense price war with Target during the holidays, a little brand rehab would have been nice during the Super Bowl.

 #3: Ford – Ford has done an excellent job of turning their business around and has a strategic growth model, which will aid them in the years to come. And, as good as Chrysler’s ad was, the story of triumph and grit … is Ford’s story. I definitely would have liked to see them extol their turnaround.

 #2: Athletic Affiliated Brands – Nike/Gatorade/Reebok/Under Armour: Where are you? I understand the broad appeal of the Super Bowl is not a targeted athletic audience like other sporting events. However, when Sketchers can claim to carry a line of fitness shoes, then the other brands need to step up to reclaim the conversation.

 #1: Miller Lite – Since the Budweiser and Bud Light ads this year were less than desirable, I would like to see Miller Lite and Budweiser have a full-blown, knocked-down, drag-out Beer Bowl. Best commercial wins bragging rights for the year. The addition of Miller Lite to the Super Bowl ad mix would definitely push Anheuser-Busch for more creative ad spots.

Yesterday we profiled the Top 5 Best Super Bowl commercials of 2011. However, an analysis of the Super Bowl ads would not be complete without the Top 5 Worst Super Bowl commercials of 2011. The list was a lot harder to pick than the "best of" list because I thought there were many mediocre ads this year, unfortunately.

Let's see if you agree...

#5 Mercedes-Benz “Welcome”

I thought this ad was actually pretty well done….until the inclusion of Sean "Puffy" Combs. The new Mercedes looks great but the infusion of a celebrity, just for the sake of having a celebrity, was slightly disjointed.

#4 Sketchers “The Breakup”

I was not as opposed to using Kim Kardashian in this spot as other reviews I have seen. My problem with the spot is the sexual undertones with the trainer. I think I would have appreciated the ad if they talked directly to not getting the benefits from the trainer but instead saw benefits with Sketchers. Instead, the ad came off as objectify0ing Kardashian.

#3 Pepsi Max “Torpedo Cooler”

I thought this ad was way too predictable. Typical jock picking on typical nerd with the typical shot-to-the-groin.  Even the Josh Duhamel and Matthew McConaughey look-alikes couldn’t save the commercial for me.

#2 Budweiser “Wild West”

I saw the behind-the-scenes/making of this ad and I was really hopeful for the execution.  I was severely, disappointed. The Clydesdales are such an iconic part of the Super Bowl ad tradition that to have them as a supporting character was a bad call on the brand strategy. Additionally, I did not understand the Elton John song reference.  Loved how the ad started but hated how it ended.

#1 Groupon

The group of ads by Groupon was the easiest choice to pick for the most hated. I have seen the rebuttal by Groupon and I applaud the rebuttal. However, the ads needed 5-10 more seconds to direct them to the Save the Money website. The clear of CTA left the ads, for me and many others who watched it, tasteless and out of touch.

That concludes my Top 5 Super Bowl Ad series. Let's raise our pens to the best and worst of 2011... here's to many more years of advertising cheers and jeers during Super Bowl madness!

Welcome to my wrap-up of the 2010 Super Bowl Ads. As a digital marketing agency, our team is constantly on alert for the next great ad. The Super Bowl is one of our favorite times of year because we get to see the culmination of marketing strategies come to life.

Although LFI didn’t have a pony in the race, we enjoy viewing and judging how fellow Creative professionals execute innovative advertising. 

Without further ado, here are my top 5 picks:

#5 Coca-Cola “Siege”

The ad beat out the Doritos “The Best Part” to take the fifth spot. I liked the story telling of the ad much more than cringe, albeit-funny, feel of the Doritos ad. The Helen of Troy references were great.

#4 Volkswagen “Black Beetle”

I loved the metaphor of the VW Beetle with the insect beetle. The ad had a great, upbeat tone and introduced the new design unique and interesting away. It definitely made me go ‘Aha, of course” at the end of it.

#3 NFL “American Family”The NFL knows and understands its brand (which is why I hope the season continues with a work stoppage next year). The ad definitely connected their brand as iconic as the cast of the TV shows they portrayed as well as put NFL into the fabric of our every day lives. The NFL definitely scored with this ad.

#2 Volkswagen “The Force”

This was a close runner-up. Volkswagen connected with the American way of life and culture in a way that was funny, without being boorish. I think this ad will go down as one of the best-recalled ad of the Super Bowl.

#1 Chrysler “Born of Fire”

Eminem’s second Super Bowl ad, in my book, was a superior ad to all of the others. It had emotions, patriotism and a comeback, personified by both Eminem and Detroit. The ‘America’s Brand’ really stepped up to improve their image and remind a younger generation about their Grandparents car. Will it make me a buy a car? Maybe not (the Chevrolet “Status” commercial was the best at obtaining my sale). But this ad definitely made you stop and watch.

So that's my Top 5 Best Super Bowl ads of 2011. Check back soon to see picks of the Top 5 Worst ads.

As millions of viewers sat down at parties, bars, and restaurants to watch Super Bowl XLV, the tech team at Cowboys Stadium and the NFL prepared for the most high-tech Super Bowl ever. From offering free Wi-Fi to all fans, teams, and media personnel, to the development of the official NFL Super Bowl mobile app, digital connectivity reigned supreme.

The app, known as the mobile guide, let fans attending the game use the check-in feature when they arrived, find parking, and easily navigate the stadium to find concessions and restrooms.

I downloaded the app and I can only image in a stadium that seats 100,000 how helpful it was to be able to find the right parking and easily navigate to your seat once inside the stadium. The app allowed users to zoom in and out to reach their seating level and then find food, drinks, fan shops, and restrooms near them. Unexpected that the NFL would create an app for fans? No. But it does present an interesting option for future major sporting events. Imagine if you could have an app just so you are not wandering around aimlessly looking for food or the restroom. This is only the beginning of the expanse of digital technology at venues.

Now I’m just waiting to see who will be next to develop a similar app — NBA, MLB, the World Cup, the Olympics. Who will it be?

[Contributed by Brittany Burdoine-Lewis]