I got elfed

Yesterday I got an email from my sister, the subject was "I got elfed." I thought, 'what did she send me now' because she is always sending me something a little off the wall but funny. I clicked on the link and two elfs pop up, one had my face on it and the other had her face on it. Then they started to dance to this big band type Christmas song...and it was too cute for words! After the dancing elfs disappeared my curiosity of where this came from led me to the OfficeMax website. Who knew OfficeMax could be so creative to create a viral campaign such as this?! Well, they sure did succeed because I've been emailing my buddies across the country 'my-elf-dancing-self' and they too had been elfed!! I even had a friend of a friend in Switzerland who got elfed!

I did some research to see who the clever ad agency was that created this elfamorphosis. And apparently this elf phenomenon started in 2006 and generated more than 11 million elves last year! This year, visitors have the option to either "Elf" themselves or expand the elf concept by "elfing" themselves along with three other friends -- creating a band of four elves. And for the scrooges out there, OfficeMax created a new character called -- ScroogeYourself.com.

This is a perfect example of a successful viral marketing campaign using an interactive video clip. Everyone loves to see pictures of themselves and post them online for all their friends and family to see. So when you put your face on a very cute animated elf, who doesn’t want to pass it along to their friends and then their friends and so on…resulting in millions of elves by the end of the holiday season. We have been following this viral marketing trend for quite some time now, check out our white paper at www.thecyphersagency.com and click on the “hmmmm” tab.

But here is the BEST part about this blog – watch us get “Elfed!” http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9625690954

Cyber Monday – Is your website ready?

As I ate my favorite Special K cereal today, I caught a short segment on the morning news about Cyber Monday – the Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday. The National Retail Federation coined the term back in 2005 when they saw sales spike the Monday after Thanksgiving as people returned to work. The possibilities are endless when you think about alllllll of the stores you can visit anytime of the day or night without having to physically walk into any stores. Talk about competition, can IT get any tougher? The answer is YES. More than 70% of online retailers are planning special promotions for the five Cyber Monday’s this holiday season, compared to the 42.7% two years ago, according to a survey by Shop.org.

With this being said, is your website ready to compete with top online retailers this holiday season like Amazon.com, Overstock.com, or even Best Buy?

The key to cutting through the clutter and reaching these online shoppers is to optimize your website with special keywords and to purchase relevant Google AdWords. For example, this year I’m searching for the perfect organic blanket for my new little nephew. Although I might change my mind if the blanket is not soft and cuddly! But the point is if I’m searching for this ‘organic blanket’, the Google results are full of unheard of retailers across the world. What is stopping your shop from coming up in the #1 spot on Google for an ‘organic blanket’ or a ‘cashmere sweater?’ Well – we’d have to research the answer to that question. But marketing your website gets increasingly tougher each day because top search engines like Google, MSN, and Yahoo are constantly evolving and changing. Therefore, you have to stay on top of your website’s optimized keywords to ensure they are ranking you as the top player in your space.

If you haven’t already – start testing the ‘search engine optimization’ or ‘SEO’ waters. You’d be surprised how a little tweaking to your website and a few purchased Google AdWords can put you ahead of your online competition. Besides – think about how you found us? We like to call it the mysterious SEO phenomenon!

So this holiday season think about if your website is ready to handle the 68.5 million people who plan to do some holiday shopping online at work. I will continue my quest for the perfect organic blanket for my nephew and good luck to you in conquering your holiday shopping quests!

To read our white paper on Search Engine Marketing go to www.thecyphersagency.com.

Liz Gaither Joins the Cyphers Team

We are pleased to announce the addition of Liz Gaither to our account staff. Liz is now our Public Relations Account Executive.

Liz built her public relations career at RMR & Associates in Rockville, Maryland as a Senior Public Relations specialist. At RMR, Liz managed, planned and executed marketing and public relations campaigns for seven technology companies and cultivated new business. A graduate of East Carolina University with a BA in Communications, Liz has newly relocated to the Annapolis area with her husband.

In her new role, Liz will serve as an account executive and will provide public relations services for customers. Additionally, she will pursue new business opportunities. “We are excited to have Liz join our team – her public relations experience, especially in technology sectors is a perfect complement to our account staff”, explains David Cyphers, President of The Cyphers Agency.