We’re sure this has happened to you—you are browsing a retail site and considering making a purchase. For example’s sake, let’s say you are looking for a new hat. You have found one you think you like at Hats R Us, but you want to wait until tomorrow to make your final decision so you leave the site. Then, you move on to check the news on your favorite news site. And behold—a Hats R Us ad shows up on the front page. The same thing happens later in the day when you visit a completely different site to check the weather. Is this a sign that you and the hat are meant to be? Or is this just smart marketing?

And this can even work more specifically. Let’s say in the above example, you were looking for a cowboy hat for that square dance you were planning to attend. You spent a lot of time on Hats R Us in the Western section—and so all the ads that show up are specifically cowboy themed. The Hats R Us truly has your number, and after seeing the ads multiple times, you are more likely to remember and revisit their site when it comes time to make your purchase.

We call this an orchestrated fate for you and the hat. And whether you are a retail vendor, looking to increase appointments or registrations, building an eList, or simply branding, this gentle nudging of people who have visited your site is something we can help you accomplish.

Let’s say you are a hospital, and you have a lot of visitors to the cardiology section of your website. Visitors come, browse for information, but don’t always fill out eList sign up forms, make appointments, or take an action. You don’t have to end your visibility with them when they leave your site. We can help you program your site pages so that if a visitor has been to those pages, when they are browsing other sites your ads recognize that this person has been to your site, and are more likely to display. When it comes time to make an appointment, you are more likely to come to mind—or it’s possible that seeing your ad will push them to revisit and take a next step.

If you want to get into the nitty gritty of how we accomplish this, here are the basics: within your website, we tag pages with a special code. Then we program your ads to recognize that code even after you leave the site. We can tag your entire site, or specific pages within your site to make the ads more targeted (like in the cowboy hat and cardiology examples above).

This benefits you, since your relationship with the consumer doesn’t have to end when they leave your site. And your consumers are happy, since they know you know what they want. And when their cowboy hat arrives, they can be pleased that fate brought them together.

Google likes to have a dog in every fight and the music player competition is no different. There is currently a Google Music Beta which allows you to upload 20,000 songs from your personal collection. They’ve also implemented a lot of features to make sure your music is available to you everywhere. There rumored music download service is also on the verge of being released.

Stiff competition from powerhouses like iTunes, Pandora, and Amazon will make it hard for Google Music to make their mark. Google also must compete with the up-and-comer Spotify, which has integrated itself well with Facebook and has quickly become a Demi & Cooper favorite.

The video below explains what Google Music is all about.

I’ve heard a lot of people talking about the massive impact Steve Jobs has had on the computing world since the news spread over Twitter and Facebook about his passing. I haven’t heard many talk about the quantum impact he’s had on our world as a whole. I’ll explain.

Steve Jobs is a rare individual — rare on a Jeffersonian scale. His push to make computers simpler, cleaner and more efficient began with a design that included a monitor and CPU all-in-one. The stout little original Macintosh Classic, with it’s unique graphical user interface (GUI), was a completely different way of looking at how we interacted with computers and how they fit into our lives. I learned design on a Mac Classic before there was anyone who could teach me about it.

Of course Jobs has had an impact on how computers function. I believe his impact extends beyond that into how we function. He’s impacted how we interact with each other. How we access information. How we learn. And that’s where his impact begins to compound on itself and grow exponentially — in a word, his impact becomes quantum.

Jobs heads up Apple, a company which creates tools that creative people use to create other things. Most creatives design, build, educate and inspire others from the the drawing table that is our Apple computers. From writers to designers to architects to chemists — so many of us start on a common platform which for so long seemed a little rogue — like an outsider’s alternative choice and even a physical identity (are you a Mac or a PC?).

It may sounds obvious, but to me it’s quite profound. For a creative, a computer is like a violin. It can be an object of beauty by itself, but in the right hands becomes a tool to create something amazing. A feeling. A desire. Something that can last a moment (like a website) or something that can last forever (a concept that takes hold of our collective imagination).

Many of us are remembering Steve Jobs today. For me, the best way I can remember Steve Jobs is to keep creating and inspiring others. That’s quantum.

Just launched is Google’s latest, a “What Do You Love?” tool with a simple search box (much like that of the classic Google search bar), delivering multifaceted results about virtually any topic you can imagine. As you type in the subject of your choosing, up pops a page full of distinct boxes from more than 20 of Google’s services, such as translate, maps, youtube and alerts.

In case you’re curious, my first What Do You Love (WDYL) search query was ‘cats’. I promptly found information from translating the word into 57 languages to hilarious feline videos to assistance in creating a debate about cats on Google Moderator. I was even given the option to be alerted by email as new cat-related information becomes available. Meow!

The site is still in beta, but bloggers on tech sites such as Mashable seem to be eating it up. To see if Google’s newest addition is something that you love, try it for yourself at wdyl.com.

This morning the British tabloid The Sun reported that Apple is developing technology that will allow for an external transmitter to deactivate your iPhone camera at concert venues. Obviously, it could be a terrible marketing move — but not just for Apple.

First, let’s learn about the technology, which isn’t entirely evil. Apple filed a patent on June 2, 2011 to include infrared technology in their cameras. Infrared sensors, like the inexpensive ones included in your TV remote, transmit data via invisible light within line-of-sight. Infrared sensors are inexpensive, tiny and the idea to combine them with cameras is brilliantly simple. There could be thousands of uses for this.

As an example of this technology being used for good, Apple envisions museums could use this to lead tours or provide extra information. When a visitor points a camera at an object or display, a small transmitter hidden next to the object will send a data signal to the iPhone to play videos, display text or other information. It doesn’t take too much effort for me to envision the wonderful things this technology could bring. I could come up with about a dozen robust advertising and marketing uses right now.

Now for the evil part. Apple is also including the ability for an external transmitter to disable the iPhone’s camera. The example they use is theaters and concert venues. Some venues already employ wireless phone signal jammers to prohibit texting and phone calls. Now they could place small transmitters around the stage to render iPhone cameras useless. As well, virtual and invisible “watermarks” could also be applied to objects, printed images — or anything — rendering them un-photographable. Again, it doesn’t take too much effort for me to envision the worrisome things this technology could bring — like police officers and TSA agents buttoning the tiny watch-battery-powered transmitters to their uniforms to prohibit recording (something Rodney King would probably take issue with).

Civil rights issues aside, we’re both here to talk about marketing. You and I know that record labels and movie executives will be the two most enthusiastic supporters of this cell phone camera-disabling technology. But in my opinion, they’re some of the people who should dread it the most.

I recently saw the innovative cellist Zoe Keating in concert at the Evanston SPACE, a small urban venue, north of Chicago. Recording was officially prohibited, but around me sat several individuals holding up their iPhones and Android phones, quietly recording bits of the performance. The Evanston SPACE ignored them, as did Zoe Keating. [Please see the update below from Zoe Keating] Where did those videos and images wind up? YouTube. Facebook. Twitter. Their personal blogs. They will be seen by others and hopefully new people will become introduced to Zoe Keating, and the beautiful and intimate Evanston SPACE. Will those people feel satisfied that they no longer need to see Zoe Keating live, or see another live performance at Evanston SPACE because they saw a shaky video with poor audio? Of course not.

As an advertising and marketing agency, we’re constantly looking for opportunities to promote things. Social media is one of several powerful mediums to share information, and fresh content is always needed. Record labels, movie executives, theaters, concert halls, venues and the artists themselves should be embracing amateur photography and recordings (as long as they’re not distracting to others watching the performance) instead of fighting them and creating enemies out of those that support them the most. They should empower everyone in the audience to be what they already really want to be: motivated and happy advocates and ambassadors who want to share their experience with others — and help promote you for free.

Apple files patents all the time for things that they never make it into production, and there’s no word on whether or not this new technology will ever see the light (or infrared light) of day. Hopefully this camera-disabling feature will remain on paper in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and not in your pocket.

For now, look for ways you can empower your clients and customers to help spread the word about you. It’s the best kind of marketing move you can make.

UPDATE Zoe Keating isn’t just savvy about combining music and technology, she’s also pretty adept at social media. She actively engages with her fans on her Facebook page and Twitter. She wanted to clarify her stand on this and emailed the following note:

“In your story last week about Apple potentially blocking video recording, you mentioned a concert of mine where video was not allowed. The implication is that I didn’t allow the video. I want to set the record straight so that no one is confused: I allow and actively encourage video and photos at my shows. The only thing I ask is that mediatakers be aware of other members of the audience and not impede their experience of the concert (i.e. by holding a camera over your head and blocking other’s view.). At my concerts where video is not allowed, it is because it is venue’s policy that I cannot change.”
Thanks very much, Zoe

Prince William and Catherine Middleton get hitched in less than two weeks, and they officially are the most web-savvy royal couple to date (although past royal couples didn’t quite have a shot at that one, did they?).

They launched their website a few months ago, which sets the tone making the couple accessible—aside from the word “royal” spattered everywhere across the site, they could be the kids next door who decided to blog about the big day. I’m not sure what I was expecting—gold sparkles, family crests, ornate twirly swirlies maybe? Instead, the tone is tastefully simple and almost boring. But it allows me to pretend they are my friends, Will and Kate, so I’m okay with it.

The Twitter Feed on the website posts news from Clarence House, the news feed for the Prince, Duchess, and William and Harry. (@ClarenceHouse is actually responsible for officially announcing to the public the Royal Engagement in a 132 character tweet: “The Prince of Wales is delighted to announce the engagement of Prince William to Miss Catherine Middleton – www.princeofwales.gov.uk”) Better would be a Twitter feed from Miss Kate herself with posts like, “Harry potter 7, bud light and wedding crafts, great night!” or “Guess what!! 13 days, 12 hours, and 3 minutes till Willy and I’s wedding!! AHHH exciting! xoxoxo!!” Wishful thinking for celebricurious people like me, I guess.

The Facebook page and Flickr on the website feed from the British Monarchy. (I do have to complain that the social media icons in the right sidebar are clickable, but take you to the main Flickr.com, Facebook.com, and Twitter.com websites rather than to the profiles you’re hoping to go to when you click, which is a royal mistake.)

They even released a Royal App, which “reveals the tradition, splendour and romance of the seven royal weddings and includes images of wedding dresses and jewellery, gifts exchanged between bride and groom, presents from family and friends, wedding cakes and flowers.”

But what makes me proud of my buddies Will and Kate is their decision to forgo wedding gifts, and instead start up the Royal Wedding Charitable Fund, which allows people to make donations. Love the idea, especially since the Royal Pantry still probably has a few hundred tins of pineapple leftover from Australia’s gift of 500 tins to the Queen and Prince Philip in 1947.

The YouTube goes to the Royal Channel, with interesting and highly viewed videos. None have quite as many views, though, as T-Mobile’s take on the Royal entrance. Here’s to hoping we get a real version of this next week:

I just caught up on my Grey’s Anatomy, and in the episode from 2/3 I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I had played a part in creating the storyline. See, a few years back we had a forward-thinking hospital client, Sherman Hospital, agree to having us do a live-tweeted surgery to show the benefits of their new da Vinci, a surgical robot used to shorten the recovery time for hysterectomies and prostatectomies. One of our creative directors had wanted to do a live-tweeted surgery for a while, and Sherman was bold enough to do it. We were only the second hospital overall to live-tweet a surgery, and the first in Illinois. I was at the hospital that day to escort the media (it was a big news story at the time, covered by WGN TV and the next week mentioned on Good Morning America).

Two Demi and Cooper employees (including my husband) were in the OR, tweeting live updates, picture, and video as the surgery happened. Fast forward a few years, and I’m watching Grey’s Anatomy, with one major storyline the controversy of a live-tweeted surgery.

Dr. Bailey, the mouthy, ambitious doctor is tweeting her surgeries as a teaching tool for 3,000 residents who are following. Dr. Webber, the old-school hospital chief, is officially against the idea, with plenty of objections—what if the patient dies, and she is broadcasting that to the world. Why publish something on a site designed for gossip?

Spoiler alert: Bailey runs into a problem with the surgery, and another hospital suggests a solution via Twitter. Another hospital that is nearby tweets that they have the equipment to help solve the problem. Twitter saves the day. Dr. Webber ends up helping answer residents’ questions while they are waiting for the equipment to arrive.

The lesson? While the Grey’s Anatomy version was a little contrived, the overarching message is something I couldn’t agree with more. Time to jump on board, you old-school fogies! Social media is more than just a way to gossip. At the beginning of the episode, Dr. Webber is telling Dr. Bailey that she can’t tweet her surgeries, and she explains that if he used it, he would understand. I am consistantly shocked at the amount of people who dismiss using social media tools (for personal use, but especially business use) without even trying them first. And if they do try social media and find it just isn’t for them, I am amazed at people who decide it isn’t a good way for their business to reach anyone. Social media tools can be put to good use—if we only take the time to think of how we can possibly use them!

Now I’ve gotta go, since I have to call my husband and let him know we are famous. Afterall, we helped write Grey’s Anatomy last week!

Last week, the president put Facebook up there with the invention of the airplane and electricity, when he said in his State of the Union that “We are the nation that puts cars in driveways and computers in offices; the nation of Edison and the Wright brothers; of Google and Facebook. In America, innovation doesn’t just change our lives. It’s how we make a living.” At first, the comparison seems extreme. But maybe that’s just because we’re living the transition from a world without Facebook to a world where we are obsessed with it. It’s gradual. We’re not watching the transition from a plane flying 10 feet off the ground to bigger, better planes invented, to multiple passenger planes, to airlines, to the point where people’s lives are changed and it suddenly becomes possible to be across the country in a few hours if you want.

Several years ago I signed up for an account, then let it sit for a few weeks. One of my college friends found me before I had entered any information besides an email address. Months later I had hundreds of friends. A year ago or so, I convinced my mom to sign up, and she wrote me, “What’s a wall? I’m so confused.” Now, she’s liking things, posting things, sharing things, and I’m checking Facebook before I grab my son out of his crib at 7:30AM. And again a few times throughout the day. And again before bed. My son will think I’m so old when I tell him I was graduated from college for a few years before Facebook was invented.

When Zuckerberg invented Facebook, he changed life. And in a bigger way than just allowing people to keep up with friends. He changed our view of ourselves, in terms of others. In the Time “Person of the Year” article, it’s explained beautifully: “Facebook runs on a very stiff, crude model of what people are like. It herds everybody — friends, co-workers, romantic partners, that guy who lived on your block but moved away after fifth grade — into the same big room. It smooshes together your work self and your home self, your past self and your present self, into a single generic extruded product. It suspends the natural process by which old friends fall away over time, allowing them to build up endlessly, producing the social equivalent of liver failure. On Facebook, there is one kind of relationship: friendship, and you have it with everybody. You’re friends with your spouse, and you’re friends with your plumber.”

And if you are in business and don’t understand or “get” the Facebook thing, you can’t ignore it. You are becoming the minority. We are a nation obsessed with Facebook. It only makes sense to get on board, and leverage it in the best way possible. Mashable put together a great Infographic that shows some Facebook stats. A few notables:

• 48% of 18 to 34 year olds check Facebook right when they wake up (Phew! I don’t feel so alone about the check before getting the baby thing.)
• The 35+ demographic represents more than 30% of the entire userbase
• 57% of people talk to people more online than they do in real life.
• 71.2% of the US web audience is on Facebook.

Businesses should have Pages on Facebook. It can’t be ignored. You’ve got to get your supporters to Like you, and then you’ve got to treat them with respect and kindness, and be helpful. After all, they are letting you into a part of their life, and you don’t want to annoy them there. If you aren’t sure how to do this, let us help you.

I’ll close with a clip of Zuckerberg’s cameo on Saturday Night Live this weekend. I have to say, I like this guy. For all his strangeness, as portrayed in the Social Network and described in the Time article, he seems very decent, interesting, and I’m not afraid to admit that his big idea changed my life in what I consider a good way. And like he said on SNL, he invented poking. You’ve gotta like the nerd who invented poking. 

How do you counteract bad press? With more press — and a little calculated humor, if appropriate, doesn’t hurt either.

You may have heard about the class-action lawsuit filed last week against Taco Bell for false advertising. The suit states that Taco Bell’s ground beef contains so little meat it does not qualify under USDA guidelines to be labeled as “beef.” Two California law firms Blood, Hurst & O’Reardon LLP, and Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, filing on behalf of Amanda Obney, recruited a lab to test the beef mixture. The lab’s test results found the chain’s beef filling to be made up of only 35% actual meat. That leaves 65% to things like binders, preservatives, extenders and additives — and therefore the suit asks Taco Bell to stop calling their “seasoned beef” “beef.”

I don’t really care one way or the other about Taco Bell. I don’t eat there. I don’t own any Yum Brands stock. Some people love Taco Bell. Some people hate Taco Bell. (Some people think they’re better than others because they hate it.) I’m far more interested in the theater of how a company chooses to respond and handle their message after being dealt a devastating blow. As for Taco Bell’s first move? I think it has been well played.

In a perfect world bad choices never happen. NBC Universal would have never killed their beloved peacock and created a new logo that looks like it was done in PowerPoint (their new logo was unveiled today). David Letterman would have never slept with coworkers. Taco Bell would have never put “Isolated Oat Product” into their ground beef. And Charlie Sheen would have never — well — done most of the things he does. Hold on a moment though. Which one of these seems to be forgiven? David Letterman of course. He diffused his problem immediately — by coming out quickly with the truth and using humor. Wisely, Taco Bell appears to be doing the same thing.

Taco Bell had several options for dealing with this. Of course they could have ignored it, but that isn’t a sustainable tactic as bad press spiraled out of control — especially in this social media age. They could have issued a strictly legal response and counter-sued for defamation, but that would have seemed weak.

Today, Taco Bell launched a multi-pronged attack: Full-page newspaper ads that boldly quip, “Thank you for suing us.”  The ads appeared Friday’s editions of the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Times and others. Their website now has a special button with links to information and a YouTube video of Taco Bell President Greg Creed clarifying that their the seasoned beef is “88% beef and 12% secret recipe.” Taco Bell has even created an #ISupportTacoBell hashtag on Twitter and public support seems to be strong.

History seems to indicate this type of approach has a high rate of success. We’ll see if it works for Taco Bell.

Well, Google’s year-end list is out. We now know what the world wanted to know in 2010. A few that made me laugh from Google’s fastest rising US keyword searches of 2010:

Fastest rising news: #1—oil spill; #6—Lindsay Lohan. Really US? In five digits, you can sink that low?

Fastest rising image search: #1—Jersey Shore. I get this one. The group of 20 somethings offered a lot for us to see. Snooky’s poof, fist pump dancing, the shirt before the shirt. I don’t watch the show, but even I know the group had potential to provide a lot of entertaining eye candy.

Fastest falling Google.com: #5—Susan Boyle. Thank goodness. I had enough of that woman!

Most popular “What is” questions: These are amusing in order, 1-3. The US Internet users, when pondering, “What is X?” most commonly typed, in ranked order: What is #1—love, #2—skype, and #3—lupus.

Fastest rising Google.com: #5—Justin Bieber. Of all the things in the world, the 16-year-old sensation takes the fifth spot, proving Bieber fever has taken the nation. I suppose he was born on the web (discovered on YouTube a few years ago) and had a huge year winning all matter of awards. And he’s sooooooo cute. We’ll give him 2010. And maybe 2011, if he wins a Best New Artist Grammy. But then it has to stop.

Fastest rising diets: #6—The Twinkie Diet. I bet all those searchers thought what I’m thinking: That. Would. Be. Awesome.

Fastest rising Google.com: #2—Chatroulette. The website where people randomly video chat/expose themselves (more of the latter than the former) only became popular within the past year? Seems like it was longer ago. Or maybe I’ve just tried to put it out of my mind. Gross, America. Gross.

Check out the list for yourself on Google’s microsite. See anything else amusing?