The ability of our Senior PM’s to apply the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) they learned while working toward their PMP credentials adds value to our clients by bringing projects to successful completion. The PMP credential demonstrates to our clients and prospects that our project managers have the experience, skills and knowledge to see their initiatives through smoothly, on time, on budget and with the quality that will deliver return on their project objectives.

What is the PMP certification?
The PMP certification is a globally respected and recognized credential that a project manager can earn through documented work experience, class work, a rigorous exam, and the adherence to a professional code of conduct.
The specific requirements are:

• Participate in 35 hours of project management education
• Log 4500 hours (over a 3+ year period) of project management work history
• Document this experience & education (which takes about 10 hours to fill out – no joke! – and is audited by PMI)
• Pass a rigorous 4 hour test with 200 questions on theory, practice, ethics, formulas, etc.

Adding to the intense requirements, both Lindsay Estrada and Tammy Mack also received their credentials while working full time. We applaud your dedication to growing professionally in your Project Management careers here at RDI.

Click, enjoy and learn.

We’ve done the hard work for you.

How mobile makes traditional marketing more measureable - MobileMarketer
“Mobile is being used to make traditional channels such as print, inserts and direct mail more measureable and actionable. When bridging the gap between print and digital media, marketers are gaining valuable metrics and conversion data that print alone cannot deliver.” We’ll be touching on this topic at our Denver Speaker Series on the promises and realities of integrated marketing next Thursday, July 29th, 2010.
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App Lets Brands Add Groupon-Like Deals to Facebook Pages – Mashable
The App will allow your company to provide a “deal of the day” much like those offered by the popular Groupon.  “The new application is called Group Deals, and it is designed to be like a do-it-yourself Groupon add-on to Facebook Pages and company websites via Facebook Connect. Wildfire users can create and define their own deal-a-day style promotions, which will allow interested brand fans to purchase the deals via their PayPal accounts.”
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Kroger savings go digital with online coupon center – DrugStoreNews
Chances are you have downloaded and printed a coupon from the web, but what if you could skip the printing step? Well, Kroger has introduced a simplified way to upload and redeem coupons at various grocery stores. “How it works: customers will be prompted to link their loyalty card to the website and can load up to 150 coupons by selecting the “load coupons to card” option.” No more need to print coupons, it’s all digital!
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Email Still Driving Shopping over Social – eMarketer
“Despite the hype of viral coupons testing retailers’ agility, studies suggest email is still the more effective promotional channel. In a survey of shoppers in four states, nearly 4 in 10 told cross-channel commerce solutions provider CrossView they preferred to receive promotional messages from retailers by email.”
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It’s Official: Facebook Passes 500 Million Users – Mashable
After much speculation, Facebook announced this week that it reached the 500 million users mark! With no signs of slowing down, if Facebook were a country, it would be the third largest!
Read More 

A comprehensive list of noteworthy news can be found at http://delicous.com/RedDoorInteractive.  Also, be sure to follow us on Twitter if you’d like up to the minute updates on our latest posts http://twitter.com/reddoor.

You may have heard the term “API” once or twice.  An acronym for “Application Programming Interface,” it’s really a fancy way of saying “data access,” and more and more data-laden companies are opening their hard drives to the public.  Although APIs are typically written for programmers and developers, it isn’t difficult to learn how to work with this type of information.   APIs rely on standardized web technologies, and are fairly consistent in the way that information is requested and delivered.  There are some restrictions placed on what can be accessed and sometimes what can be done with that information.  But generally, an open API is a way that data can be freely shared, transformed and presented in a completely new light.  In a sense, it is a socket that allows programmers to plug in and create their own interface and functionalities.  Multiple APIs can be combined to create an entirely new experience, commonly referred to as a “mashup.”  This practice swept the internet in ’05, lending mainstream credence to the concept of Web 2.0.

Perhaps the most common example of an open API is Google Maps.  When you see a map, inside a non-Google website, particularly when there is associated information, such as ‘dog friendly hotels, restaurants, shopping, atms, etc’, specific to that site, you are seeing an example of an API-driven mashup.  Government datasets, traditionally behind closed doors or relegated to hard copy documentation, are becoming increasingly available.  In the UK, the Guardian recently published a Content API that will allow over one million articles to be published anywhere on the web.  Their PoliticsAPI gives the developers a free shot at presenting 2010 election data as they see fit, providing more opportunities for the general public to view, interpret and interact with the information.  In San Francisco, perhaps the coding capital of the world, the local government has opened several APIs including transportation and utilities.  As a result, a person can open an app on their phone and view the location of the nearest train station or bus stop, and the time of the next arrival.  Using a combination of APIs busses can even be tracked in real time.  No more cutting that last email or presentation short in order to make the bus, only to stand in the cold and wait an extra fifteen minutes. 

The open sharing of data has become increasingly important to businesses as they struggle to meet growing consumer expectations and stay ahead of the competition.  Mastercard recently announced that desktop and mobile developers will have access to their API by the end of 2010.  By opening its technology MasterCard hopes to compete with bigger and more advance rivals, Visa and Paypal.  Putting the opportunity for their company’s expansion into the creative hands of developers is not only cost effective, but it allows experts from large institutions to niche services to take advantage of making online payment services.  It’s a ‘win-win’ for both the business offering customers the opportunity to pay online or by mobile phone and for MasterCard.  Other businesses poised to take advantage of the rapidly expanding technology are NPR and Blurb.  NPR plans to leverage its archive of over 250,000 stories while Blurb, the popular online book publishing platform, will give developers the ability to create software that will programmatically publish to the platform. 

For many businesses the opportunities provided in OpenAPI are astounding.  For example, what if car manufacturers opened the doors on their datasets?  Can you imagine using your mobile phone to purchase an upgrade to your car that would remap the fuel and ignition and give you more power?  Or how about being able to monitor all of your driving behaviors and comparing them against yourself and any other drivers of that same vehicle?  How about being able to take a picture of another car at a stoplight and hearing what they’re listening to on their radio, and then downloading the song or instantly being able to retrieve specification, pricing and the nearest dealer?  Ok, a bit scary, but very possible.  In more practical application, an API provides a mean for companies to bridge the gap between the latest in technology, the current level of user expectation and the online channel, all for the purpose of generating revenue.  It also provides a sophisticated mean of crowd-sourcing, or listening to the demands of your consumers and reciprocating in venue suitable to their specific needs.  And while the planning and setup will take some work, the opportunity to reap the benefits are as big as the web itself.

Bio: Stephanie joined the Red Door team in January and has loved every second since. In her role, Stephanie helps Red Door’s clients achieve online success by managing their strategic plans and providing new ideas to support their goals. No stranger to agency life, she has worked with clients from all types of categories, including real estate, fashion and automotive. Stephanie graduated from Florida State University with a degree in Communication.

Q&A Interview:

As a Business Manger, what do you do for your clients? My main responsibility is developing and maintaining successful relationships with Red Door’s clients. I like to think of myself as the ambassador for the client, always keeping their business goals top of mind and ensuring that their strategies are clear to our internal teams.

What do you like to do when you’re not working with clients to improve their online presence? When I’m not working hard for Red Door’s clients, I’m thinking about them during my long runs. I just completed my fourth half marathon in June along with 4 fellow RDIers and I’m taking suggestions for the next one. Anyone want to join me?

What excites you about the interactive marketing space? It never ceases to impress me. There’s always a new technology around the corner or a better way of doing things. I’m lucky that the experts at Red Door share my excitement for new ideas.

What is your favorite local spot to hangout? I love the new Wine Steals at Petco Park. Just a short walk from the office and they usually have a nice Malbec at a great price.

As a Business Manager, you are often juggling a lot, how do you manage all of your duties? Organization is a Business Manager’s best friend. Oh, and color coding; someone said that my Outlook calendar looked like a rainbow the other day. It may not make sense to you, but I promise there’s a method to my organizational madness.

You win millions in the lottery, what do you do? Travel. I kind of do that anyway, but it would be nice to do it in first-class style.  And I’d buy Red Door a printer that wouldn’t quit at the most crucial moments. Needless to say, the printer and I are not exactly friends.

What is one piece of technology that you cannot live without? My iPhone. It’s definitely more of a lifeline than a phone. And how else would I beat my fellow RDIers at Words with Friends?

Click, enjoy and learn.

We’ve done the hard work for you.

Why Consumers Connect with Marketers via Email and Social – eMarketer
“Until recently, most efforts have focused on linking existing email strategies with emerging social ones. As combined efforts become more advanced, sophisticated integration will mean segmenting email and social audiences to understand how they overlap, what they want and how messages should be customized for the two tactics.

Based on research from ExactTarget, the motivation for opting in to marketing emails somewhat different from what most studies show regarding liking brands on Facebook or following them on Twitter. Discounts and promotions were the clear winner, followed by freebies and sales. Reasons like wanting to interact with the brand or show their support came in at the bottom of the list.  For social followers, discounts and deals are still highly important. They came in second in a March 2010 survey by Morpace about joining Facebook fan pages. Chadwick Martin Bailey found they were the primary reason to follow a brand on Facebook or Twitter in February 2010.”

When a user is signing up they are showing their affinity for the brand, or at the least, desire to get something in return, particularly some type of discount. Opting into an email provides a clear opportunity to leverage enthusiasm to produce multiple conversions. 

So, if your brand is going to make the effort to capture email, rather than bogging them down with extra form fields on an overlay, consider stacking the functions and give them the ability to extend their enthusiasm in their social networks. 
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RestEngine Social Application Messaging Platform Leaves Beta, Offers Tips – Inside Facebook
“RestEngine, a social application messaging platform and email service provider, has emerged from private beta after five months of refining the product while working with developers including Crowdstar (Hello City) and Lolapps (Band Of Heroes).RestEngine Social Application Messaging Platform Leaves Beta, Offers Tips

By sending emails that note a user’s score, energy level, friends also playing, or next in-game task, RestEngine’s clients enjoy high click-through rates and increased user engagement.”  Relevance is a key factor in the success of email marketing.  Targeting at this level of detail clearly exceeds user expectations when placed amongst the laundry list of ‘1 size-fits-all’ campaings.”
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The Social Media/E-Mail Connection – eMarketer
Following up on the recent flurry of email and social Click! posts, this simple article will help you determine how your brand’s efforts stack up against the norm.  Are you just average, or are you utilizing what have proven time and time again to be the Internet’s most powerful tools?

“One thing that’s clear is that marketers are very focused on linking their existing e-mail marketing with their emerging social media strategies. In a survey published by Econsultancy and Adestra, 37% of e-mail marketers (mostly UK-based, but some from other regions) said they already encourage people to share content on social networks, and another 31% said they are planning to.”
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Facebook Preparing To Announce 500 Million Users – Techcrunch
“Facebook is about to announce that they’ve hit 500 million users — a milestone that cements (as if it hadn’t already) the site’s status as one of the web’s biggest successes ever. Of course, at Facebook’s growth trajectory it hasn’t been a matter of if the social network would be hitting 500 million, but when it would (in fact, the movie poster for the upcoming movie The Social Network uses the 500 million stat in its tagline). Still, it’s finally about to become official.”
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Starbucks Surpasses 10 Million Fans, Closing In On Lady Gaga – MediaPost
“Starbucks’ success with emphasizing product promotions on Facebook seems to validate the results of a Razorfish study last year that found that traditional direct marketing techniques like offering discounts and deals are the keys to building engagement on social networking sites rather counting on some deeper connection to a brand.”
Read More

BlueGlass Online Marketing Conference LA - July 19^th and 20^th
BlueGlass LA is an online marketing conference featuring the top social media, search marketing & business experts in the industry today. It has been designed to give you the best in topics, trends, strategies and networking possibilities.

Red Door Interactive’s John Faris will be attending this meeting.  Look him up if you’re planning on attending.
Read More

A comprehensive list of noteworthy news can be found at http://delicous.com/RedDoorInteractive.  Also, be sure to follow us on Twitter if you’d like up to the minute updates on our latest posts http://twitter.com/reddoor.

What do local surf breaks and Red Door Interactive have in common? Besides the fact that they are both places where RDI peeps can be found hanging out, they also share other commonalities. Red Door’s Core values, which are inspire, share, evolve, exceed and remain 100% jerk free are often found on the shores of our local beaches. How many times have you seen someone sharing their knowledge and teaching someone to surf, or more personally have you seen someone hanging ten and been inspired to learn yourself? Ultimately local surf breaks such as Swami’s, Windansea, Pipes and Blacks offer the community a place to gather and be motivated by their surroundings. Naming our conference rooms after such places is fitting because RDI prides itself on providing employees with an environment to be inspired and share ideas. So what will our calendars say when we book a meeting in our large conference room? Windansea, Pipes or Blacks? Help us decide!

Leave a comment with your choice, or vote using the surveys on Facebook or Twitter.

Which local surf break should the main conference room be named after?

1. Windansea
2. Pipes
3. Blacks

This week we’re talking to the President & CEO of Red Door Interactive,  Reid Carr. We were curious to find out what Red Door’s clients are typically looking for when they approach him in search of a comprehensive digital strategy. We talked about establishing a total digital presence, how to move the needle and how to successfully measure ROI across multi channel programs in print, search marketing, ppc, display, email, video and affiliate marketing.

 Full Link>>

Click, enjoy and learn.

We’ve done the hard work for you.

Nissan Inks Deal With Apple’s IAd Platform  – MediaPost
To promote its zero-emission Leaf electric car, Nissan has teamed up with Apple’s iAd advertising platform. “Nissan is the only automotive brand to date to use the platform. Nissan reps say the iAds will help the company continue to reach early adopters and will also target the 15,000 or so customers who have already placed reservations for the car. Apple says that iAd allows marketers to advertise with rich media like video and launch games, and allows purchase without compelling users to leave the app in which the ad is embedded.”
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B2Bs Still Struggle to Tie Leads to Marketing Touchpoints- eMarketer
“While online marketers continue to rely on the click as a major measure of effectiveness, often to the neglect of other marketing channels that played a role in earlier stages of the purchase funnel, business-to-business (B2B) marketers around the world have a similar problem. Nearly half of B2B marketers surveyed said their highest level of lead generation measurement capability was to give all credit to the last marketing touchpoint.” Only a small percentage were able to attribute lead generation across multiple touchpoints, and 1/5 of marketers did not use this measurement at all.
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Local Search, Social Networking Grow On Smartphones - MediaPost 
“Local search via mobile is gaining steam as a way to find nearby retailers, according to the latest Smartphone Intelligence survey from online research firm Compete. Almost one in three smartphone owners has called or stopped into a local business after finding it through a local search application during the first quarter. About a third of Android and iPhone users learned of at least two new businesses they were not aware of after turning to local search applications. “Making it easy for consumers to discover businesses via their devices opens local companies up to a whole new customer demographic, and savvy businesses should make sure they’re maximizing this opportunity,” said Danielle Nohe, director, technology and entertainment for Compete.”
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Local Ads Hit Moving Target: The Connected Car - Clickz
The in-car advertising will allow advertisers to deliver ads to people who are actively seeking information just as Web searches do. “We can pinpoint where consumers are and deliver ads and calls to action within a few feet of advertised points of purchase,” says Chris Rothey, VP of Navteq Media Solutions. Drivers can click-to-map and click-to-navigate to the location. A month-long trial in the United States for Chili’s Grill & Bar saw a peak click through rate of 2.49 percent; a recent European trial with McDonalds resulted in a 7 percent CTR and a 39 percent conversion to click-to-map.”
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TweetUp Acquires Twidroid & Popurls – ReadWriteWeb
“Since November 2009, Foursquare has been publishing an open API, allowing savvy individuals and marketers to create something new that leverages the impressive (and growing) amount of data the site is collecting via an estimated 1 million check-ins per day. According to its developer page, “You can use the API to create new ways to check-in to Foursquare or visualize the data generated by the Foursquare community.” Foursquare has shown a willingness to be incredibly open and collaborative with its users. Why not take advantage of this rather Zen approach and do something awesome on the Internet?”
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Embrace the API – AdWeek
“Since November 2009, Foursquare has been publishing an open API, allowing savvy individuals and marketers to create something new that leverages the impressive (and growing) amount of data the site is collecting via an estimated 1 million check-ins per day. According to its developer page, “You can use the API to create new ways to check-in to Foursquare or visualize the data generated by the Foursquare community.” Foursquare has shown a willingness to be incredibly open and collaborative with its users. Why not take advantage of this rather Zen approach and do something awesome on the Internet?”
Read More

A comprehensive list of noteworthy news can be found at http://delicous.com/RedDoorInteractive.  Also, be sure to follow us on Twitter if you’d like up to the minute updates on our latest posts http://twitter.com/reddoor.

 

Point-Counterpoint: Red Door hosts an interactive discussion on the promises and realities of integrated marketing.

Experience the ideologies of notable industry leaders Tom Sullivan, CEO of Vitro, David Oates, President of Stalwart Communications, Joe Hodas, SVP Brand Communications at Vladimir, Dirk Shaw, SVP Digital Influence at Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide and Reid Carr, CEO of Red Door Interactive. These agencies collectively represent an interesting cross section of brands including Asics, Cobra Golf, Certona, Cricket Wireless, Ford, Cisco, Intel, Unilever and Marriott and Overstock.com.

Join our panelists as we debate how complementary philosophies can lead to innovation and immersive brand experiences that integrate traditional and digital communications to the benefit of your customers and your business. Where not long ago integrated marketing simply meant the addition of digital, we’re now witnessing an integration revolution with the growth of social media, multichannel access and personalization.  Join us for a synergistic and informative session that could very well provide the creative and tangible strategies that make marketing in this revolution more fun than ever.

Topics include:

• How is the iAd reshaping advertising?
• The digitization of traditional:  Outdoor now has a power outlet.  Print gets the iPad.
• Tactics for augmenting traditional with digital (and vice versa).
• Multichannel engagement: Can’t you see I’m on the phone/computer/ TV.
• Social media: Changing goals from sales to relationships.
• Mobile devices: Is the holy grail of integrated marketing communications sitting in the palm of our hand?
• Measurement and ROI: Taking metrics beyond hits and eyeballs.
• How to get your marketing partners working together on your behalf.

SAN DIEGO Panelists:

• David Oates, President, Stalwart Communications
• Reid Carr, CEO, Red Door Interactive
• Tom Sullivan, CEO, Vitro

DENVER Panelists:

• Dirk Shaw, SVP Digital Influence, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide
• Joe Hodas, SVP Brand Communications, Vladimir Jones
• Reid Carr, CEO, Red Door Interactive

EVENT DETAILS

The San Diego event will be held on Tuesday, July 27^th  in our beautiful space on the 15th floor of Diamond View Tower; and the Denver event will be held on Thursday, July 29^th at the hip and funky Fuel Café at TAXI.

8:30 – 9:00 AM Registration, Breakfast & Networking
9:00 – 10:00 AM Presentation & Questions
10:00 – 10:30 AM Networking

Cost: $49
SD: Parking validation included for those who park at the Padres Parkade.
Denver: Parking Free

*We will no longer be accepting walk-ins, so remember to register before the event.

If you have any questions about the Speaker Series, please contact:
Erika Werner, San Diego event: ewerner@reddoor.biz
Scott Esmond, Denver event: sesmond@reddoor.biz

Click, enjoy and learn.

We’ve done the hard work for you.

Why We Check In: The Reasons People Use Location-Based Social Networks – ReadWriteWeb
In this week’s Click! we’ve taken a closer look at the growth and opportunities around  “geo-location” or location-based technologies.   As the use of location based services continues to skyrocket, restaurants appear to be the primary benefactor.  Users of the technology are provided with opportunities for being be wooed into a new experience at a nearby location or simply find their favorite fix in a matter of seconds.  The restaurant example cited on the Wikipedia page for Location-based advertising notes that in addition to a user becoming aware of the location, they can instantly access a map of how to get to the spot.

“Services like Foursquare, Gowalla and others make it easy to post your physical location to the Web – but what makes people want to do that at all? Fifteen-month-old Foursquare is adding 100,000 new users every week, and Facebook has made it clear that location is a feature it is preparing to offer soon. What’s the motivation for users to register where they are in the offline world online?”  

This article from Read Write Web surveys users of the services to find out why.
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Restaurant Owner Increases Sales by 110% with Foursquare Swarm Badge Party - HubSpot Blog
“How do you attract a flash mob of 150+ people to your restaurant? Offer the possibility of a Foursquare Swarm Badge, of course! Last week, restaurant owner Joe Sorge attracted 161 Foursquare users at the same time to his burger joint in Milwaukee, AJ Bombers (pretty impressive considering there are approximately only 300-400 total Foursquare users in the area). Even more impressive is the fact that the restaurant more than doubled its typical Sunday sales, with an increase of 110% that day.”
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What Twitter Places Means for the Future of Location - Mashable
What does Twitter Places mean for you or your business? Like most of us you probably use twitter to communicate and spread information to your followers, but with Twitter Places you will be able to take the power of your tweet to a whole new level. “Location-sharing — via applications that use geo-location to tie locations to places for the purpose of letting users broadcast where they are — is prime for a breakout moment. Places add context to tweets, and it’s this context that will finally help location-sharing holdouts understand why location matters and how they could benefit.”
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PayPal Launches Mobile Express Checkout To Enable One-Click Buying On Smartphones - TechCrunch
eBay has expressed that mobile is the future for e-commerce. The numbers only reinforce this as “mobile payments are poised to reach $200 billion by 2012″, according to Juniper Research. eBay is focused on making  PayPal the leader in the mobile payment realm, and they are on track to doing just that. ”PayPal’s mobile transactions have grown as smartphone usage has increased, from $25 million in 2008 to $141 million in 2009.”
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Verizon Wireless Said to Start Offering IPhone in January - Bloomberg
According to UBS AG analyst John Hodulik, “The iPhone, which has been the sole domain of rival AT&T in the U.S. since June 2007, will give Verizon a boost in its competition for smartphone customers.” He estimates that the “92.8 million Verizon customers will likely buy 30 million iPhones per quarter.” What does this potentially mean for your business? More people using your mobile site with their smartphones.
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E-mail Continues As A Marketing Overachiever - AdWeek
“Despite all the complaints one hears about e-mail spam, a survey in the U.S. and 12 countries in Europe and Asia/Pacific finds plenty of consumers willing to act on marketing e-mails that catch their fancy. Released this week, the study shows 58 percent of respondents saying an e-mail marketing message has prompted them to make a purchase at an offline store or via a call-center order desk.”
Read More

A comprehensive list of noteworthy news can be found at http://delicous.com/RedDoorInteractive.  Also, be sure to follow us on Twitter if you’d like up to the minute updates on our latest posts http://twitter.com/reddoor.