Yesterday, Techvibes released its monthly Start-up Index for Portland. Techvibes uses Alexa and Compete to compile these rankings.
Criteria for inclusion are that the companies are:
It's nice to see several MMG past/present clients on this list. Our client Iterasi, which launched at DEMO a few weeks back to great fanfare, made its debut on the list at #19.
You can view the list in its entirety here.
In an article on their Web site about How a Holiday Becomes a Card-Sending Occasion, Hallmark argues that “…if you think that special date on the calendar is a "just a Hallmark holiday," think again. There are fascinating histories behind every holiday for which Hallmark makes cards.”
And today is what many would call one of those "Hallmark holidays"—Valentine’s Day. A day where lovers dine. Mothers bake heart-shaped cookies for their little ones. Husbands send flowers.
And specifically, many of us exchange cards. Lots and lots of cards.
According to the Greeting Card Association, “The first Valentines in America were exchanged during the Revolutionary days and were mostly handmade with sentimental verses written in flowing script. In 1840, Miss Esther Howland, an imaginative artist and entrepreneur, became the first regular publisher of valentines in the United States, eventually heading her own publishing firm that specialized in Valentine cards.”
Since then, a whole industry has popped up making big bucks off of the day. Stores change their merchandise and storefronts mid-January. Chocolate wrappers everywhere turn pink and purple. 1-800-Flowers makes a killing. And industry icon Hallmark and other greeting card manufacturers are some of the hugest beneficiaries:
Beyond Christmas, Valentine’s Day is the second biggest greeting card holiday, accounting for 25 percent of total sales.
Hallmark estimates that we will give out 190 million greeting cards today, not including the classroom made variety, which would tip the scales at 1 billion total. At $3 a pop or so, that means sales of greeting cards for just today may reach nearly $600 million.
I really don't see "Hallmark holidays" going away anytime soon. And lots of companies make their milk off of this fact.
My question to you, though, is that even if the history of Valentine's Day and any other "Hallmark holiday" is fascinating, is it really worth a greeting card? Hallmark thinks so. By the flowers sitting on my desk today, other people think so, too. But what's your take?
It is no secret to anyone who knows me even casually that I'm a bit of a podcasting nut. I listen to podcasts at the gym. At home. On the bus. On walks to the grocery store.
So much for music. Podcasts are really the soundtrack of my life.
So as a marketer, I found this new article released by eMarketer really interesting. Currently, only 18.5 million of us listen to podcasts regularly. But by 2012, this number will reach 65 million. In just 4 years, that's an increase of 251%. Talk about a huge leap.
Looks like podcasting is moving from the early adopter phase and into the mainstream.
These numbers are enough to make any advertiser do a double take. Many podcasts have very niche audiences, allowing for specialized audience targeting. And unlike radio, podcasts can be played again and again, and at the listener's discretion—particular when they have time to really listen to what's being said.
If the predictions hold true, I'm interested to see how advertising and sponsorships are proliferated through podcasts in the next few years as more people than ever tune in. Perhaps integrating a podcast strategy into your own business is something you should consider if you haven't already.
And as a welcomed personal side effect, I really hope these statistics mean I'll soon have a whole slew of people to gab with about the latest episode of All Songs Considered!
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