Monthly Archives: August 2011

The Problem With Choice

Choice Paralysis. The problem the big new entertainment media solutions like Spotify, YouTube, Netflix, HBO Go and others have is simple: Choice Paralysis.

Here’s a story: Most of my home media is on a home server that has a variety of clients (Xbox 360, Boxee, XBMC, Apple TV, PC) strewn about the house connected to TVs for access. This setup allows me to have every TV show, movie, and song I own available practically anywhere at any time. I asked my wife the other day if I should replace the cable box in the bedroom with a new Boxee box. She said no.

Her reasoning was sound: it’s too much choice. There comes a point where we use entertainment media as much as a distraction as it is a destination. After a certain amount of labor to get that distraction… it becomes a chore and not a distraction.

The best thing about cable (without the DVR, of course) and the radio is that you have defined choices. A limited amount. You can decide what you want to listen to by going through the <25 choices of decent channels and stations and landing on whatever is the most pleasing. These new options that give you thousands of choices each? It’s almost too much work for a minor distraction. If I flip on TBS while I’m eating dinner, that’s great. It’s easy. When I load up Netflix and have to pick out a movie or episode of a TV show, I’ve got to work hard for something I want to engage in passively.

What we need to see more of is not only the aggregation that we see now, but curation. Is curation the next phase in modern media channels? It could be. This is why we’re seeing a resurgence of things like StumbleUpon with their new(ish) iPad app. Curated content streams are lagging behind the the loads and loads of choices, but once they catch up things will change.

Update 8/22/11: More on the resurgence of StumbleUpon and how they’ve now overtaken Facebook in social sharing (funny what a dedicated, mobile, social sharing app will do for you) http://www.zdnet.com/blog/facebook/stumbleupon-passes-facebook-in-us-referral-traffic/2902

Google+ Takes Aim at Your Productivity with Angry Birds

Have you noticed that little simon-esque icon at the top of your G+ page? It’s not to be taken lightly.

Whether you’ve been saying “Thank goodness for Google+, it doesn’t have all those obnoxious Facebook games!” or “Why would I bother with Google+? I use Facebook to play games with my friends!”, Google now has you covered. Games have arrived, but you’ll never have to see them if you don’t want to. Google knew better than to pollute the average user’s stream with high volumes of social-gaming spam, but they were also savvy enough to understand that social gaming is one of Facebook’s key features.

From the looks of this video, Google+ Games has something for everyone, just waiting to lure a few more Facebook loyalists to their new platform.

Google has less than 20 games to Facebook’s thousands, but their launch titles are impressive. Angry Birds and Bejeweled are alongside Sudoku and Poker offerings. It doesn’t take long to spy the Mafia Wars clone, either. At least, I think that’s what “Crime City” is. I’m too afraid to confirm that suspicion.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some pigs to demolish.

Purina Email Success

Purina Email Success

Email Campaign Expertise: We Know How To Get People To Open, Ready & Act.

A successful email marketing campaign is a unique science. How do you get someone to read your message, let alone even open the email!? Leave it to the experts here at Infuz to have earned the label of being the “email experts” – as the emails created for Purina® Tidy Cats® litter brands and Yesterday’s News®Brand Litter are some of the best and most consistent performing email campaigns in the company’s history.

For numerous campaigns over the past three years, Infuz provides everything: messaging, artwork, design, subject line testing, html, text only versions, A/B testing and deployment.

In December 2010 through January 2011, we moved the needle in the following ways with our email marketing campaigns*:

BREEZE®Brand Litter System Emails:
• Click-through rate near 30%
• Delivery rate around 97%
• Ranked 2nd overall in open rates for all of Purina’s email marketing during that time period

Purina Tidy Cats Emails
• Open rate of nearly 22%
• Click-through rate near 32%

Yesterday’s News
• Open rate of nearly 15%
• Recorded over 34,000 click-throughs

*Data received from Stratigent

It’s no secret that Infuz knows how to engage, attract and activate through digital media – even through something as simple as an email.

Take a look at some of our highest performing creations to the right.

Tidy Cats Community

Tidy Cats Community

Creating the Purina® Tidy Cats® Online Community: A Place For People Who Love Their Cats To Connect.

If you have a cat, there’s a good chance you’re buying litter. Which is why with nearly 100 million homes with cats in America, cat litter is a $1.6 billion dollar business. Purina® Tidy Cats® owning a large portion of that market share, called upon Infuz to help create a better way to connect and reward its customers through digital media.

Infuz created the Purina® Tidy Cats® Online Community. Knowing that true social networking is best left to Twitter and Facebook, this Community is focused on letting its 3,270 members win prizes, share photos and vote for the cutest of cute cats in a feline version of “Hot-or-Not” called Purrfect Pic. As for rewards, in 2010 members could win a weekly sweepstakes for a $100 spa gift card by joining the Community. In 2011, the prizes now include Tidy Cats® coupons, $100 spa gift cards and $100 Visa® gift cards. These sweeps have been one of the most successful and engaging digital acquisition campaigns ever for the Tidy Cats® brand.

Infuz created everything, from the concept and content to the development and deployment, as well as periodic updates.

The Community is in its second year and by the end of 2011 will receive a variety of exciting updates – including the ability to create individual cat profiles and new Purrfect Pic competitions that take it to the next level.

To see the latest happenings within the community, check it out for yourself at www.tidycats.com/community.

Charter Business

Charter Business

The Overhaul & Re-Launch of a National Brand: Reintroducing Charter Business Online With A Heavy UX Focus.

The Charter Business website was underperforming. Users were frustrated because the site didn’t clearly present information. Customer service and customizing required a phone call, and pricing details were buried or non-existent. Charter Business was frustrated because their website wasn’t helping to retain or attract potential customers.

Infuz recommended starting from scratch by doing a full exploration into why the site’s strategy wasn’t working. The next phase would then use those findings to rebuild the site, based on our findings.

Infuz began the process by setting up a user panel to test the current site’s functionality, with a focus on “shopping for telecommunication services.” Infuz then interviewed different business leaders and decision makers who were current or potential customers, uncovering their wants and needs.

Our in-depth usability testing uncovered pain points not easily identified with a site review. We revamped the site architecture and design with usability at the forefront.

The new site has the following features:
• Services are now divided by business size. Timely featured deals, and product news and offers are showcased on the homepage.
• There’s a “Solution Builder” tool that allows users to build and decide which services work best for their specific needs – along with the corresponding monthly price.
• Getting information about geographically based services is as easy as entering a zip code.
• Now getting customer service or answers to technical questions only takes a couple clicks through a detailed menu.

Infuz built every piece of the site, from back-end and wireframes to the full design you see today. Check it out: www.charter-business.com.

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