mariya@digitalalbumsdesign.com, 1 (646) 678 - 6477

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Introducing "The Look", a new contest by PDN, where fashion meets art

• Awards & Exposure

One grand prize winner will receive a Milk Studios prize package worth $5,000. The package includes: one rental of Milk's Formula studio, equipment & lighting rental, and Milk digital capture services.
A winner will be selected in each category and will receive:
• A PDN PhotoServe portfolio ( $860 value)
• A digital camera
• A full page in the September 2010 issue of PDN as well as placement in The Look contest gallery hosted on PDNonline.com

Deadline: 6/21/10

Photo: © Lane Coder

• Categories

Advertising
Editorial/Celebrity
Still Life/Accessories
Personal Work/Fine Art/Avante Garde
Runway/Street Scene
Beauty
Debut [Student/Emerging]


Enter the contest:
http://www.pdnthelook.com/bin/Register

Monday, May 10, 2010

Outdoors Photo Contest- Last Chance to Enter!


AMATEUR GRAND PRIZE

EL DORADO ROYALE, A SPA RESORT
7 NIGHT GOURMET INCLUSIVE
RESORT STAY FOR 2 PEOPLE
$250 CERTIFICATE FROM CANSON MEDIA

PROFESSIONAL GRAND PRIZE

ST. KITTS MARRIOTT RESORT
7-NIGHT LAND STAY FOR 2
PEOPLE WITH SPA
$250 CERTIFICATE FROM CANSON MEDIA
AN RS DR-1 DOUBLE STRAP FROM BLACK RAPID

CATEGORY WINNERS

EACH CATEGORY WINNER WILL RECEIVE:
  • $100 B&H GIFT CARD
  • GOLD PASS - PDN PHOTOPLUS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE + EXPO
  • CANSON FINE ART PAPER
  • $100 CERTIFICATE FROM CANSON MEDIA
EACH CATEGORY PRO WINNER WILL ALSO RECEIVE AN RS-7 STRAP FROM BLACK RAPID AND A STANDARD PASS TO THE TELLURIDE PHOTO FESTIVAL, SEPTEMBER 20-26, 2010 - THIS INCLUDES ENTRANCE TO THE ALL OF THE SEMINARS, SYMPOSIUMS, PRESENTATIONS, AND SOCIAL EVENTS ($170 VALUE.)

EXTENDED DEADLINE: MAY 10, 2010 

FOR THE EXTENDED DEADLINE OF MAY 10, 2010, AN ADDITIONAL $10 PER ENTRY WILL BE CHARGED.

Enter the Contest:
http://www.greatoutdoorscontest.com/bin/Register

Friday, April 30, 2010

MS Design's new website

MS Design is proud to present to you its completely updated website. We hope you like it.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

ad tech- 5 new things marketers should know about analytics

Everything is measurable (and that includes Flash assets)

If digital marketers are held responsible for each dollar spent (and they most certainly are), then web analytics is like their accountant. Thanks to its measuring and tracking power, marketers can vouch for and boast about revenue generated online.

The good news in 2010 is that marketers will have new depths of visibility into how users engage with their web properties.

Everyone likes a website with Flash components because they’re, well, flashy. However, before this year, Adobe Flash assets were a bit of a mystery. They were difficult to track without complicated, customized implementations and costly server calls (depending on the vendor). Adobe’s 2009 acquisition of Omniture, a leading analytics provider, will change this. Analytics professionals will now have a more holistic view of user behavior because Adobe can enhance its current products with tracking tools.

The ability to embed Omniture tracking capabilities within Adobe files will be extremely valuable to marketers, as they will finally have insight into how users interact with their websites and web properties. Measurement functionality will show interactions with the content (e.g., where people are abandoning within a PDF and what content is visible above the drop-off area), which will enable marketers to better optimize their efforts.

Respect free tools

Google Analytics announced new product features in 2009 that are keeping free tools as an extremely viable option for marketers to employ. The updated products allow for additional customization that was previously available only with enterprise solutions. Monitoring and tracking that was once only available through a subscription is now possible with free tools. With these solutions, marketers can customize what’s being tracked and how dashboards display analytics reports. Another improvement is the ability to set additional goals monitored by the software. This means that marketers can set additional alerts to notify them when web performance dips or exceeds pre-set thresholds.

There are pros and cons with using free tools. The main downfall is a lack of privacy and control over tracked data. Depending on the company, free solutions will more than suffice, but for others, enterprise solutions are a better analytics solution. I recommend revisiting these tools with each new release to ensure you're implementing the most comprehensive analytics plan possible.

Multichannel analysis is a must

This year more than ever, marketers will want to analyze data sources across multiple touch points to improve overall customer satisfaction. It will be imperative to understand cross-channel behavior and identify patterns that will help improve end results. Initially, this may seem a bit intimidating; however, there are simple approaches that don't require a major integration of data sources. For example, correlate online marketing campaigns with unique 800 numbers or segment by geographic markets based on offline marketing tactics in those markets.

The key is planning ahead for multichannel campaigns. It’s much easier to incorporate tracking in the beginning instead of playing catch up. You could miss out on valuable data.

Social media integration

This year, marketers need to view social media as a marketing channel that contributes to online revenue. This mentality is already infiltrating most marketing departments, but before launching a campaign, web analytics needs to be considered. How are we going to track this? What if consumers complete a conversion offline?

Tracking promotions is the easiest implementation, as unique links and landing pages can be used to segment referral traffic. However, social media is a fantastic mode for brand awareness. Connecting the dots between a brand-building campaign and other conversion touch points requires upfront, strategic consideration. If marketers can do this, they will have opportunities to learn from socially driven traffic spikes that will provide deeper insight into which stories, posts, or tweets drive buzz across the web.

Mobile devices need to be factored in

I am not here to say that 2010 is going to be the year of mobile. For all intents and purposes, users are already using their mobile devices, and marketers are already using mobile as an advertising medium.

From an analytics perspective, mobile is here. eMarketer reports that 42 percent of mobile users accessed the internet through their devices in 2009, 25 percent used their phones to update a social network, and 30 percent conducted online research on their phone. Measuring and analyzing this behavior will be crucial in 2010 as marketers find new ways to utilize this medium. Mobile users are active and engaged; if marketers can connect here, they can expand these relationships across any number of platforms.