Two weeks ago, Target’s aggressive promotion of its Missoni clothing line, which included sales online and at a pop-up store in midtown Manhattan, caused such a flurry of activity among customers that the discount retailer was forced to close the pop-up store when
\n","author":{"name":"Sarah Gibson"},"yoast":{"title":"TheStreet.com Interviews Merit Mile on Cloud Computing","metadesc":"Two weeks ago, Target’s aggressive promotion of its Missoni clothing line, which included sales online and at a pop-up store in midtown Manhattan","focuskw":"","linkdex":"","metakeywords":"","canonical":"","redirect":"","meta_robots_adv":"","meta_robots_nofollow":"","meta_robots_noindex":"","opengraph_title":"","opengraph_description":"","opengraph_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"},"twitter_title":"","twitter_description":"","twitter_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"}},"content":"Two weeks ago, Target’s aggressive promotion of its Missoni clothing line, which included sales online and at a pop-up store in midtown Manhattan, caused such a flurry of activity among customers that the discount retailer was forced to close the pop-up store when it ran out of merchandise. The activity also crashed Target’s Web site. There is no way a large retailer such as Target(TGT_) should have problems like this, but nonetheless the crash happened, and small businesses relying on Web sales should take a lesson and prepare for particularly busy times or promotions.
\nMark Reino, CEO of Merit Mile, a communications consulting firm that describes its mission as helping companies grow, says small companies can have the same protections as large companies through cloud computing services. Merit Mile works mostly with small to midsized businesses but has a few large accounts, including Microsoft(MSFT_) and Citrix Systems(CTSX). Reino answered a few questions for TheStreet. *Where did Target go wrong?* *Reino:* I think what happened here is, first and foremost, it’s the classic ‘Be careful what you wish for’ … the Devil is always in the details. It’s the execution in those details and, from the consumer standpoint, the fulfillment of the promise. Clearly in the world of e-commerce, companies have the opportunity to create and deliver on an interactive promise. I think what happened here is they weren’t prepared for the success that was ahead of them.
\n*How can a small business avoid Web site crashes such as Target’s?* *Reino:* This is the beauty of cloud computing. The solutions that are available for the multinational Fortune 500 companies are also available for small businesses. Consume as much as you can afford and have the ability to scale as your business grows. Risk avoidance is oftentimes at the same level of priority as revenue generation and profitability. If you are in a business that relies on the Internet and the Web for servicing customers, you need to make sure those initiatives and those decisions from an infrastructure [standpoint] are solid and are not only capable of delivering solutions, but also affordable and scalable.
\n*How exactly does cloud computing work and what can it do?* *Reino:* As a small-business owner you want to focus on things like recruiting the right level of talent or buying more equipment. You want to focus on marketing your services and in creating demand. Chances are you don’t really want to focus on the back-end systems to allow customers to find you on the Web site or maintaining the up-time of your Web site or of the applications that your employees use. The concept of cloud computing allows you to empower a trusted cloud services provider to manage all of your IT so you can focus on your core business.
\nThe delivery mechanism is, of course, the utility of the cloud and how small-to-medium-sized business customers consume their cloud services. Maybe you need the Internet to perform at a higher level at peak times than nonpeak times. The idea of cloud allows you to scale your computing environment on demand and as necessary in a self-servicing manner. The idea of cloud will allow you to throttle up and throttle down as needed. *How do you pick a trusted cloud service provider?* *Reino:* First, assess your current needs. You can do that on your own or with an IT consultant and forecast what you need for the next year. Obtain competitive quotes from trusted IT advisers. When you evaluate those quotes, price is important, but you also want to look at the long-term impact of those decisions. If you hire the cheapest guy that you never heard of, that’s a bit of a risk. You want to go with someone who will be in business for the long term, particularly if it is a big part of your business. Recognize they are a business partner of yours. As important as outsourcing human resources or payroll, outsourcing cloud is mission critical for the small business. You need to have a service provider that not only understands your needs but is also there in the event of trouble. After you put pen to paper and ink that commitment to that cloud or IT service provider, make a concerted effort to engage in a true partnership. Support them when they need support in providing answers to questions about your IT environment, and really make a trusted partner rather than just another office-supply vendor.
\n"}},{"node":{"wordpress_id":95,"link":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/post/cloud-can-avoid-a-target-missoni-mishap/","title":"Cloud Can Avoid a Target-Missoni Mishap","slug":"cloud-can-avoid-a-target-missoni-mishap","status":"publish","format":"standard","date":"Fri Oct 14th 2011","modified":"Mon Aug 14th 2023","excerpt":"Two weeks ago, Target’s aggressive promotion of its Missoni clothing line, which included sales online and at a pop-up store in midtown Manhattan, caused such a flurry of activity among customers that the discount retailer was forced to close the pop-up store
\n","author":{"name":"John Sternal"},"yoast":{"title":"Cloud Can Avoid a Target-Missoni Mishap","metadesc":"Two weeks ago, Target’s aggressive promotion of its Missoni clothing line, which included sales online and at a pop-up store in midtown Manhattan","focuskw":"","linkdex":"","metakeywords":"","canonical":"","redirect":"","meta_robots_adv":"","meta_robots_nofollow":"","meta_robots_noindex":"","opengraph_title":"","opengraph_description":"","opengraph_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"},"twitter_title":"","twitter_description":"","twitter_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"}},"content":"Two weeks ago, Target’s aggressive promotion of its Missoni clothing line, which included sales online and at a pop-up store in midtown Manhattan, caused such a flurry of activity among customers that the discount retailer was forced to close the pop-up store when it ran out of merchandise. The activity also crashed Target’s Web site. There is no way a large retailer such as Target(TGT_) should have problems like this, but nonetheless the crash happened, and small businesses relying on Web sales should take a lesson and prepare for particularly busy times or promotions. Mark Reino, CEO of Merit Mile, a communications consulting firm that describes its mission as helping companies grow, says small companies can have the same protections as large companies through cloud computing services.
\nMerit Mile works mostly with small to midsized businesses but has a few large accounts, including Microsoft(MSFT_) and Citrix Systems(CTSX). Reino answered a few questions for TheStreet. Where did Target go wrong? Reino: I think what happened here is, first and foremost, it’s the classic ‘Be careful what you wish for’ … the Devil is always in the details. It’s the execution in those details and, from the consumer standpoint, the fulfillment of the promise. Clearly in the world of e-commerce, companies have the opportunity to create and deliver on an interactive promise. I think what happened here is they weren’t prepared for the success that was ahead of them. How can a small business avoid Web site crashes such as Target’s? Reino: This is the beauty of cloud computing. The solutions that are available for the multinational Fortune 500 companies are also available for small businesses.
\nConsume as much as you can afford and have the ability to scale as your business grows. Risk avoidance is oftentimes at the same level of priority as revenue generation and profitability. If you are in a business that relies on the Internet and the Web for servicing customers, you need to make sure those initiatives and those decisions from an infrastructure [standpoint] are solid and are not only capable of delivering solutions, but also affordable and scalable. How exactly does cloud computing work and what can it do? Reino: As a small-business owner you want to focus on things like recruiting the right level of talent or buying more equipment. You want to focus on marketing your services and in creating demand. Chances are you don’t really want to focus on the back-end systems to allow customers to find you on the Web site or maintaining the up-time of your Web site or of the applications that your employees use. The concept of cloud computing allows you to empower a trusted cloud services provider to manage all of your IT so you can focus on your core business.
\nThe delivery mechanism is, of course, the utility of the cloud and how small-to-medium-sized business customers consume their cloud services. Maybe you need the Internet to perform at a higher level at peak times than nonpeak times. The idea of cloud allows you to scale your computing environment on demand and as necessary in a self-servicing manner. The idea of cloud will allow you to throttle up and throttle down as needed. How do you pick a trusted cloud service provider? Reino: First, assess your current needs. You can do that on your own or with an IT consultant and forecast what you need for the next year. Obtain competitive quotes from trusted IT advisers. When you evaluate those quotes, price is important, but you also want to look at the long-term impact of those decisions. If you hire the cheapest guy that you never heard of, that’s a bit of a risk. You want to go with someone who will be in business for the long term, particularly if it is a big part of your business. Recognize they are a business partner of yours. As important as outsourcing human resources or payroll, outsourcing cloud is mission critical for the small business. You need to have a service provider that not only understands your needs but is also there in the event of trouble. After you put pen to paper and ink that commitment to that cloud or IT service provider, make a concerted effort to engage in a true partnership. Support them when they need support in providing answers to questions about your IT environment, and really make a trusted partner rather than just another office-supply vendor. —Written by Laurie Kulikowski in New York.
\n"}},{"node":{"wordpress_id":96,"link":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/post/merit-mile-communications-employees-design-reebok-shoes-for-charity/","title":"Merit Mile Communications Employees Design Reebok Shoes for Charity","slug":"merit-mile-communications-employees-design-reebok-shoes-for-charity","status":"publish","format":"standard","date":"Mon Sep 12th 2011","modified":"Mon Aug 14th 2023","excerpt":"What’s the latest office team-building exercise? How about having employees create their own custom-designed Reebok sneaker. Merit Mile Communications, an award-winning marketing, web, advertising and PR agency, put its employees to the test recently to find out who is America’s
\n","author":{"name":"Sarah Gibson"},"yoast":{"title":"Merit Mile Communications Employees Design Reebok Shoes for Charity","metadesc":"What’s the latest office team-building exercise? How about having employees create their own custom-designed Reebok sneaker.","focuskw":"","linkdex":"","metakeywords":"","canonical":"","redirect":"","meta_robots_adv":"","meta_robots_nofollow":"","meta_robots_noindex":"","opengraph_title":"","opengraph_description":"","opengraph_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"},"twitter_title":"","twitter_description":"","twitter_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"}},"content":"What’s the latest office team-building exercise? How about having employees create their own custom-designed Reebok sneaker. Merit Mile Communications, an award-winning marketing, web, advertising and PR agency, put its employees to the test recently to find out who is America’s Next Top Shoe Designer – or at least who can create the most stylish casual office kicks. “We ask a lot of our staff each day in our pursuits of extreme client service,” said Mark Reino, CEO of Merit Mile Communications. “Injecting periodic assignments that are both fun and philanthropic benefit everyone while resetting and refreshing our creative compass.”
\nThe first-place shoe was selected democratically by staff vote, and the winner also earned a cash award for its uniquely artistic footwear. Notable designs saw one employee design a shoe modeled after a NASCAR racecar, while another employee designed a shoe that mirrored the look of a client’s branding. The winning design, captured on the firm’s Facebook page, included equal elements of style, color, and aspirational messaging. What’s more, the winning designer not only was the envy of the entire team, but also selected a charity of their choice for a cash donation on behalf of Merit Mile. In this case, Covenant House of Fort Lauderdale, a youth homeless shelter, was the benefactor of the first-ever Merit Mile Reebok Creative Challenge.
\nThrough Reebok’s Reecreate online store, Reebok enthusiasts can mix, match and personalize their favorite sneaker look based on seven different styles of shoes. Users can select a bevy of different color combinations, customize a theme that’s of particular interest to them or even build a shoe that mirrors their favorite sports team. Merit Mile is a forward-thinking, technology-savvy communications agency. The firm takes on business planning and consulting assignments, as well as creative services engagements such as branding and custom web development – all designed to fast track the business growth of its client partners.
\n"}},{"node":{"wordpress_id":97,"link":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/post/creating-and-seizing-momentum-in-2011/","title":"Creating and Seizing Momentum in 2011","slug":"creating-and-seizing-momentum-in-2011","status":"publish","format":"standard","date":"Thu Jun 2nd 2011","modified":"Tue Feb 14th 2023","excerpt":"Over the last few months we have had so many fun and unique professional opportunities that I wanted to kick-start this newsletter with a quick summary of recent events. With any luck, you will not only grasp the essence of the business value we are delivering to our clients
\n","author":{"name":"John Sternal"},"yoast":{"title":"Creating and Seizing Momentum in 2011","metadesc":"Over the last few months we have had so many fun and unique professional opportunities that I wanted to kick-start this newsletter with a quick","focuskw":"","linkdex":"","metakeywords":"","canonical":"","redirect":"","meta_robots_adv":"","meta_robots_nofollow":"","meta_robots_noindex":"","opengraph_title":"","opengraph_description":"","opengraph_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"},"twitter_title":"","twitter_description":"","twitter_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"}},"content":"Over the last few months we have had so many fun and unique professional opportunities that I wanted to kick-start this newsletter with a quick summary of recent events. With any luck, you will not only grasp the essence of the business value we are delivering to our clients, but also recognize just how much we have evolved as an agency (and how much fun we’ve had doing it) since the last time you checked in with us.
\nIn typical Merit Mile fashion we simply had to close out 2010 with a celebration that allowed all of us to forget about projects and deadlines for a few hours, and say thanks to the valuable friends and partners that helped make it a great year. If you were unable to join us for the year-end celebration, please check out the photo album to see what you missed. With momentum on our side we’ve leapt faithfully into 2011, and the new year, so far, has not disappointed. Our work with Microsoft Corp. has evolved into more strategic assignments such as writing, designing, and producing materials for the launch of Windows® Phone 7 to select members of their partner ecosystem.
\nAlso, Merit Mile is now responsible for tier 1 and tier 2 SPLA licensing support; a daily rhythm of providing consultative guidance to global audiences on critical service provider licensing matters. And of course, our stewardship of Microsoft Hosting University, now available in six languages, allows worldwide resellers and partners to grasp the standard offerings as well as the complex intricacies of the Windows hosting stack in a frictionless, self-service manner. Beyond Microsoft, we have also been busy crafting marketing solutions for an interesting variety of clients. Among them, Compass Institutional Marketing – a software company dedicated to streamlining the process of programmatic data entry for a niche market within the financial services industry.
\nIn the pro-bono arena, Merit Mile refreshed and re-launched 9PickUp.com, the vital home pickup service supporting Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse. What’s more? In March we had the humble pleasure of winning 5 ADDY® awards for our creative work across radio, web, and print advertising in 2010. Suffice to say, we are creating and seizing momentum, and hope you find these articles and best practices useful.
\nFor more on how we can potentially do the same for your organization, please reach out via phone or email at the channels listed below. Info@MeritMile.com.
\n"}},{"node":{"wordpress_id":98,"link":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/post/a-worthy-cause-an-impressive-site/","title":"A Worthy Cause, An Impressive Site","slug":"a-worthy-cause-an-impressive-site","status":"publish","format":"standard","date":"Thu Jun 2nd 2011","modified":"Tue Feb 14th 2023","excerpt":"On the pro bono front, Merit Mile has teamed with 9PickUp.com and Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse to redesign and launch their new web presence. Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse, otherwise known as AVDA, is a nonprofit organization
\n","author":{"name":"John Sternal"},"yoast":{"title":"A Worthy Cause, An Impressive Site","metadesc":"On the pro bono front, Merit Mile has teamed with 9PickUp.com and Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse to redesign and launch their new web presence.","focuskw":"","linkdex":"","metakeywords":"","canonical":"","redirect":"","meta_robots_adv":"","meta_robots_nofollow":"","meta_robots_noindex":"","opengraph_title":"","opengraph_description":"","opengraph_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"},"twitter_title":"","twitter_description":"","twitter_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"}},"content":"On the pro bono front, Merit Mile has teamed with 9PickUp.com and Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse to redesign and launch their new web presence. Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse, otherwise known as AVDA, is a nonprofit organization that promotes violence-free relationships and social change by offering alternative choices to end violence and domestic abuse and provides assistance to victims of domestic abuse. AVDA collects household, tax deductible donations through AVDA Home Pickup Service—a fleet of trucks that are dispatched daily throughout the local Boca Raton and Delray Beach areas. The original Home Pickup site was published over 10 years ago and had not been updated for content, design or technical functionality in many years. Merit Mile has completely redesigned, reprogrammed, and relaunched the AVDA Home Pickup Service website located at 9PickUp.com.
\nThe new 9PickUp.com now has a fresh look and feel, including branding that complements the design on their fleet of trucks that are often seen throughout the community. In effect, donors can easily make the connection between the website and the trucks, making recall and brand awareness much more effective. The site presents information about Home Pickup Service and AVDA in a simple, user friendly manner and offers an online appointment setting function allowing visitors to schedule a pickup in a just a few clicks. This functionality also includes a smart scheduling feature allowing the site administrator to time and date stamp all appointments for efficient scheduling and dispatching. The new 9PickUp.com was created using WordPress on Windows. Designing the site using WordPress offers 9PickUp.com easy SEO indexing among all prominent browsers and provides them with ultimate flexibility and extensibility for their current and future web requirements.
\nMerit Mile is dedicated to supporting our local community through projects like these and we are proud to support the AVDA charitable mission. To view the new site and schedule a pickup, please go to 9PickUp.com today.
\n"}},{"node":{"wordpress_id":99,"link":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/post/taming-the-magento-ecommerce-behemoth/","title":"Taming the Magento eCommerce Behemoth","slug":"taming-the-magento-ecommerce-behemoth","status":"publish","format":"standard","date":"Thu Jun 2nd 2011","modified":"Tue Jul 9th 2019","excerpt":"When we learned we were developing a robust eCommerce solution for fashion company Laure Nell, I thought my various experiences with different CMS’ and standard eCommerce frameworks were sufficient enough to expect what was to come. From what we’d read on
\n","author":{"name":"Sarah Gibson"},"yoast":{"title":"Taming the Magento eCommerce Behemoth","metadesc":"When we learned we were developing a robust eCommerce solution for fashion company Laure Nell, I thought my various experiences with different","focuskw":"","linkdex":"","metakeywords":"","canonical":"","redirect":"","meta_robots_adv":"","meta_robots_nofollow":"","meta_robots_noindex":"","opengraph_title":"","opengraph_description":"","opengraph_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"},"twitter_title":"","twitter_description":"","twitter_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"}},"content":"When we learned we were developing a robust eCommerce solution for fashion company Laure Nell, I thought my various experiences with different CMS’ and standard eCommerce frameworks were sufficient enough to expect what was to come. From what we’d read on the topic, the documentation for Magento has improved over the past few years, though being relatively new to the platform, we were still left with many questions and almost nowhere to turn for answers.
\nAfter a few days perusing the forums, the documentation, and collaborating with our Magento consultant some relatively simple starter steps that shouldn’t have taken so long to figure out surfaced. This article will attempt to outline some of these starting steps in hopes that it helps someone else in a similar situation.
\nMagento Hosting
\nOne thing we discovered quickly was having Magento installed on a standard LAMP box wasn’t going to cut it. Performance was nearly unusable on a standard Linux server. SimpleHelix ended up being the go-to host for Magento, as their PHP rules are optimized to run PHP-based CMS’ much faster than a default LAMP setup other hosters offer.
\nEssential Magento Setup Tips
\nWe found that Magento’s MVC-based framework did a great job of making it difficult to keep things like CSS and page markup within easy access of each other. There were two primary access points within FTP where we could access most of what we needed in order to manipulate the default Mage core:
\nmagento/skin/frontend/default/default/css
\nmagento/app/design/frontend/base/default/template/page
\nOnce we located these paths and understood the separation of phtml files and Pages/Blocks available through the admin, we hit the ground running. The next step was figuring out how to get at the markup for the stuff we couldn’t find. One Config setting made this process wonderfully easy – pay attention here because every Magento beginner should enable this commonly overlooked setting:
\nSystem > Configuration > Advanced > Developer > Translate Inline > Enabled for Frontend > Yes
\nThis setting essentially makes all database driven dynamic elements able to have their values edited directly from the front-end of the site. For example, changing the text of the Search Box was easily done using this option. Must-have Magento Extensions Being somewhat new to Magento, one of the first areas of experimentation for us was in the dynamically generated navigation bar. The typical workaround for adding static pages to the nav seems to be involving adding categories to the product catalog – not something we were entirely comfortable doing.
\nNavAdmin
\nOur first round of experimenting landed us in search of something that would let us specify exactly what items were being called up in the nav. We ended up with an Extension called NavAdmin. Setup was straight forward but understanding what the extension required in order to reference a page was less obvious. After ensuring all paths were hard-coded to the domain, the extension took a bulk of the worry off our backs. Unirgy_Giftcert Gift Cards are something that will eventually be offered on LaureNell.com. The Unirgy_Giftcert extension from Unirgy covers all of the bases regarding certificate code generation and PINs. Conclusion Magento is a very robust eCommerce platform that has more than delivered against our needs. We think you’ll find that through some due diligence you will discover several game-changing settings and extensions… and ultimately experience an eCommerce platform that is hearty enough to capture nearly all client requirements.
\n"}},{"node":{"wordpress_id":100,"link":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/post/advertising-itching-the-spot-no-other-job-can-reach/","title":"Advertising. Itching the spot no other job can reach.","slug":"advertising-itching-the-spot-no-other-job-can-reach","status":"publish","format":"standard","date":"Thu Jun 2nd 2011","modified":"Tue Jul 9th 2019","excerpt":"Advertising has got to be one of the greatest ways to make a living. The pace is frantic, deadlines often looming, and the landscape ever changing. Over the last two decades technology has revolutionized the way we work, think, create and communicate.
\n","author":{"name":"John Sternal"},"yoast":{"title":"Advertising. Itching the spot no other job can r","metadesc":"Advertising has got to be one of the greatest ways to make a living. The pace is frantic, deadlines often looming, and the landscape ever changing.","focuskw":"","linkdex":"","metakeywords":"","canonical":"","redirect":"","meta_robots_adv":"","meta_robots_nofollow":"","meta_robots_noindex":"","opengraph_title":"","opengraph_description":"","opengraph_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"},"twitter_title":"","twitter_description":"","twitter_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"}},"content":"Advertising has got to be one of the greatest ways to make a living. The pace is frantic, deadlines often looming, and the landscape ever changing. Over the last two decades technology has revolutionized the way we work, think, create and communicate. One thing hasn’t changed at all however.
\nThat one thing that gets me out of bed in the morning – and keeps me focused during occasional midnight-oil burning. The coolest thing about this business is meeting a new client. After nineteen years and hundreds of these introductions it’s still exciting. It’s more than just meeting new people – it’s meeting new challenges. By its very nature – advertising is an intimate process. We collectively peer into the strengths, weakness, the very core of unique companies and industries, challenge the status quo, and navigate towards a new goal guided by specific strategy and planning. Some come to us for subtle tweaks, and casual guidance – others for complete go-to-market strategies and execution.
\nOn rare occasions, we’re able to engage with a client at the very inception of a product launch. This can be personally rewarding even working in traditional and established markets. Having the opportunity to work on a project that will redefine an industry is truly special. Q1 2011 marks one of these special opportunities. Enter our new client – Compass Institutional Marketing. CIM is a perfect fit for Merit Mile. Their unique needs are well matched with the talents and work experiences of our team. They are a smart, nimble, and aggressive company that has created steady organic growth by delivering value and quality services to the institutional investment community.
\nWith the launch of their new product, ProFusion, Compass Institutional will redefine the benchmark of performance in their industry – it’s been our pleasure to help televise this revolution. Here is a sneak peek at the pre-launch site design for CompassProFusion.com. This Web 2.0 friendly site quickly and effectively communicates the product benefits – and continues to support the larger corporate goals. After weeks of research, plans, rationale, and creative discovery – we will be launching a consumer site for CIM featuring their newly branded product. We’ve also been sourced to modify the User Interface of ProFusion, guided by two principle goals: 1. Improved user experience 2. Strategic support of the product and corporate brand Stay tuned in Q2 and beyond as we switch our energies from strategic to tactical. We’ll soon be defining and delivering supporting collateral to truly get this revolution started.
\n"}},{"node":{"wordpress_id":101,"link":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/post/a-best-practice-for-website-data-backups-qa-testing/","title":"A Best Practice for Website Data Backups and QA Testing","slug":"a-best-practice-for-website-data-backups-qa-testing","status":"publish","format":"standard","date":"Thu Jun 2nd 2011","modified":"Tue Jul 9th 2019","excerpt":"Two critical, yet often overlooked, aspects of website creation and management involve testing and backups. Often taken for granted and not included as part of the regular production cycle, these two tasks can make a world of difference.
\n","author":{"name":"Sarah Gibson"},"yoast":{"title":"A Best Practice for Website Data Backups & QA Testing","metadesc":"Two critical, yet often overlooked, aspects of website creation and management involve testing and backups.","focuskw":"","linkdex":"","metakeywords":"","canonical":"","redirect":"","meta_robots_adv":"","meta_robots_nofollow":"","meta_robots_noindex":"","opengraph_title":"","opengraph_description":"","opengraph_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"},"twitter_title":"","twitter_description":"","twitter_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"}},"content":"Two critical, yet often overlooked, aspects of website creation and management involve testing and backups. Often taken for granted and not included as part of the regular production cycle, these two tasks can make a world of difference. Take quality assurance (QA) testing for example.
\nMany web designers/programmers and businesses have the attitude that their website is running fine today and will continue to do so in the future – not taking into account changes in the environment including new browser releases, updated operating systems, hosting infrastructure changes, monitor and browser resolution changes and other frequent changing variables. In order to stay on top of the changes, and to ensure that revisions, updates and new features to a website function correctly, it’s vital to have a QA process in place. QA testing includes several aspects, starting with cross browser testing from a developer’s PC.
\nThis test should include all major browsers (IE, Firefox, Chrome and Safari) and should include the most current browser, along with the two most recent versions. In addition, testing should be performed on Windows and Mac PCs to ensure all site visitors experience is consistent. For sites that offer mobile-specific versions and other sites in general, testing on mobile devices or emulators should also be performed. Once the browser tests are complete on the designer/developer PCs, the changes are ready to be updated to the QA environment. QA testing should be performed on a web server that mimics the production environment. This can be on a local server or in a development/testing environment on the production server. The purpose of the QA site is to be able to fully test out and preview site changes on the same platform as the live website.
\nWhile localized testing will identify issues with site layout, display, etc., it may not alert you to issues with coding. Testing site changes against the actual production hardware, software and databases will provide immediate feedback as to any issues. Once thoroughly tested in the QA environment, the code and design changes can then be migrated to the production directories. Data backups should be included as part of a company’s QA and recovery process. In the event of a catastrophe or loss of data, having backups will prove invaluable.
\nBackups should consist of a website’s content, the graphical design theme or layer, along with the website’s database. Backups of the database should be performed at least once per month, while the content and design should be backed up whenever updates are released. Having both automated and manual processes in place will provide an added level of security, as will having backups store in multiple places on multiple machines. Hard copies on CD or DVD store offsite are also recommended in the event of theft, fire or other physical loss in the office or data center. Both rigid QA testing and data backup procedures are key to releasing clean code changes and being prepared to quickly recover from disasters.
\n"}},{"node":{"wordpress_id":102,"link":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/post/hostapaloooza-rocks-the-world-of-cloud-computing/","title":"Hostapaloooza Rocks the World of Cloud Computing and Earns a Gold ADDY in the Process","slug":"hostapaloooza-rocks-the-world-of-cloud-computing","status":"publish","format":"standard","date":"Thu Jun 2nd 2011","modified":"Tue Feb 14th 2023","excerpt":"Rock ‘n roll was not just a musical revolution; it was also one of the main voices of a social revolution that focused on individuality, freedom of expression, and diversity. The rock ‘n roll generation defied convention and created massive industries such as personal
\n","author":{"name":"John Sternal"},"yoast":{"title":"Hostapaloooza Rocks the World of Cloud Computing","metadesc":"Rock ‘n roll was not just a musical revolution; it was also one of the main voices of a social revolution that focused on individuality.","focuskw":"","linkdex":"","metakeywords":"","canonical":"","redirect":"","meta_robots_adv":"","meta_robots_nofollow":"","meta_robots_noindex":"","opengraph_title":"","opengraph_description":"","opengraph_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"},"twitter_title":"","twitter_description":"","twitter_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"}},"content":"Rock ‘n roll was not just a musical revolution; it was also one of the main voices of a social revolution that focused on individuality, freedom of expression, and diversity. The rock ‘n roll generation defied convention and created massive industries such as personal computing, which led to the greatest explosion of information availability via the Internet, and now to the easiest, most convenient, and least expensive model for application development and deployment: cloud computing. In a guitar case, cloud-based systems enable small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) to have the sophistication and business benefits of enterprise-class systems at a price point they can afford, while also reducing their administrative overhead. The SMB market is primed and ready for cloud-activation now!
\nHowever, there are so many choices—networking, security, storage, virtualization, applications, load balancing, provisioning, and client hardware products—that the research and selection process can be overwhelming. That’s why Microsoft and its industry-leading Dynamic Data Center Alliance technology partners formed a band that is rocking the world of cloud computing for SMB service providers and for their SMB customers. Hostapaloooza is the event managed and promoted by Merit Mile where SMB service providers can learn about comprehensive AND affordable solutions for provisioning and activating cloud-computing services for today’s demanding SMBs, from the leading vendors in cloud computing:
\nMicrosoft Services Provider License Agreement (SPLA) is for organizations that want to offer hosted software and services to end customers. SPLA partners have the ability to deliver a customized service with a flexible cost structure, no startup costs, no monthly sales minimums or required term of commitment. For more on Microsoft SPLA, please visit www.Hosting-University.com.
\nMicrosoft Services Provider License Agreement (SPLA) is for organizations that want to offer hosted software and services to end customers. SPLA partners have the ability to deliver a customized service with a flexible cost structure, no startup costs, no monthly sales minimums or required term of commitment. For more on Microsoft SPLA, please visit www.Hosting-University.com
\n\nWhat’s more, the Advertising Federation recently recognized Merit Mile’s work on Hostapaloooza and awarded us a Gold ADDY for specialty advertising – click here to learn more. Merit Mile has produced and promoted sold-out Hostapaloooza shows in Santa Ana and Toronto. Click here to reserve a place in a tour city near you and see for yourself how Hostapaloooza is rocking the world of cloud computing with alliances and training that turn SMB service providers into cloud-computing rock stars in the eyes of their SMB customers.
\n"}},{"node":{"wordpress_id":103,"link":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/post/you-can-score-with-online-couponing-but-its-no-slam-dunk/","title":"You Can Score With Online Couponing, But It’s No Slam Dunk","slug":"you-can-score-with-online-couponing-but-its-no-slam-dunk","status":"publish","format":"standard","date":"Thu Jun 2nd 2011","modified":"Tue Jul 9th 2019","excerpt":"For savvy retailers, e-coupons have become an explosive business builder—but the operative word is “savvy.” If you're a CPG retailer who hasn't added online couponing to your marketing mix, you need to. According to a recent Forrester
\n","author":{"name":"John Sternal"},"yoast":{"title":"You Can Score With Online Couponing, But It's No Slam Du","metadesc":"For savvy retailers, e-coupons have become an explosive business builder—but the operative word is \"savvy.\"","focuskw":"","linkdex":"","metakeywords":"","canonical":"","redirect":"","meta_robots_adv":"","meta_robots_nofollow":"","meta_robots_noindex":"","opengraph_title":"","opengraph_description":"","opengraph_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"},"twitter_title":"","twitter_description":"","twitter_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"}},"content":"For savvy retailers, e-coupons have become an explosive business builder—but the operative word is “savvy.” If you're a CPG retailer who hasn't added online couponing to your marketing mix, you need to. According to a recent Forrester Research report, E-Coupons Engage Customers Beyond Discounts:
\nBut before you pick up the phone and ask to talk to a Groupon sales rep, know this:
\nOnline couponing is fraught with pitfalls. For instance, depending on expiration dates and unused amounts of the coupon face value, your friendly state tax collector may consider your e-coupons as gift certificates. Remember also that couponing, online or off, is an expense. If you're in a low-margin business, it could be a ruinous expense. Living Social and the like typically keep up to half the coupon purchase price. So if you offer 50% off a product or service, you're really selling it for only 25% of your normal asking price. And you may well wait up to 90 days to receive payment from the couponing website.
\nCan your cash-flow requirements stand that? My point is that while you probably can't afford not to get into the e-couponing game, you absolutely can't afford to do so without objective expert advice (i.e., not a sales rep's.) Before you offer your first coupon, you need a strategy that, at a minimum, addresses these areas:
\nThe last thing most retailers want is to devalue their brand by training customers to always expect a discount on everything. Another area you'll need to address is the backend. Your POS, credit card processing, shopping cart and accounting system absolutely must be ready to accept, process and fulfill your e-coupons. Be sure that the discount appears as a line item in the shopping cart so the customer can see that the discount has been applied. And always, always, always create a coupon-specific landing page on your website.
\nOkay, you've formulated your strategy and gotten your technology together. Now what about the coupons themselves? Here are three things I believe in: # Online shoppers don't read; they scan, so be as clear and brief as you can. The offer should be big and bold, and all terms and conditions should be easy to read and understand.
\nMake it easy to get the coupons. No required software downloads, just a simple PDF. Avoid coupon codes with letters and numbers that are easily confused. No 1's and l's, no 0's and O's. Better yet, set up your process so that customers can redeem the coupon with a single click instead of having to bother with entering a code at all. As far as the offer itself is concerned, it all depends on your business. However, at least some of these best practices will probably apply to you:
\nForget about brand exclusions; offer the discount across the entire product category. I've barely scratched the surface of all the considerations that must go into a successful online coupon program. Done right it can pay huge dividends; done wrong it can be a painful experience. To avoid the pain and reap the benefits, consult an expert who is knowledgeable on both the frontend and backend of e-couponing—and who knows how to make it work within the context of your entire marketing campaign.
\n"}},{"node":{"wordpress_id":104,"link":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/post/merit-mile-wins-five-addy-awards-for-print-web-and-radio-creative/","title":"Merit Mile Wins Five ADDY Awards for Print, Web and Radio Creative","slug":"merit-mile-wins-five-addy-awards-for-print-web-and-radio-creative","status":"publish","format":"standard","date":"Thu Mar 10th 2011","modified":"Mon Aug 14th 2023","excerpt":"By virtue of the Web, the playing field for nearly all global businesses is level-set, and the same can now be said for the business of advertising communications. At the ADDY Awards Gala on Friday evening March 4, relative newcomer to the South Florida creative scene
\n","author":{"name":"Sarah Gibson"},"yoast":{"title":"Merit Mile Wins Five ADDY Awards for Print, Web and Radio Creative","metadesc":"By virtue of the Web, the playing field for nearly all global businesses is level-set, and the same can now be said for the business","focuskw":"","linkdex":"","metakeywords":"","canonical":"","redirect":"","meta_robots_adv":"","meta_robots_nofollow":"","meta_robots_noindex":"","opengraph_title":"","opengraph_description":"","opengraph_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"},"twitter_title":"","twitter_description":"","twitter_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"}},"content":"By virtue of the Web, the playing field for nearly all global businesses is level-set, and the same can now be said for the business of advertising communications. At the ADDY Awards Gala on Friday evening March 4, relative newcomer to the South Florida creative scene, Merit Mile Communications, walked away with several high-visibility ADDY Awards and left many impressed with the agency and its talented team.
\nThe ADDY Awards Gala was produced by the Advertising Federation of Greater Fort Lauderdale, the local arm of the American Advertising Federation. “Our first go-round participating in the ADDYs was an obvious success, and we’re particularly proud of our accomplishments among nearly all mainstream media outlets. I’m unaware of any agency that accomplished anything remotely similar—for Web, print and radio—and it’s a glowing endorsement for our team and our ability to deliver across all channels,” stated Mark Reino, agency principal.
\nSpecifically, Merit Mile won a Gold ADDY for broadcast radio creative on behalf of client, mindSHIFT Technologies. Merit Mile also won a Gold ADDY for a specialty direct marketing campaign that included branding, advertising, and trade show components for Microsoft Hostapaloooza. Also for Microsoft, the firm was recognized with a Silver ADDY for an integrated online campaign supporting the launch of Windows Phone 7.
\nLastly, the firm won Silver ADDYs for web and print self-promotion advertisements within the French American Chamber of Commerce and the Junior League, respectively. All work is available on Merit Mile’s Silverlight-powered online portfolio located on our Work page.
\n"}},{"node":{"wordpress_id":105,"link":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/post/why-silverlight-4-is-redefining-the-web/","title":"Why Silverlight 4 is Redefining the Web","slug":"why-silverlight-4-is-redefining-the-web","status":"publish","format":"standard","date":"Tue Dec 7th 2010","modified":"Tue Jul 9th 2019","excerpt":"Since the release of Silverlight 4 and Windows Phone 7, we are starting to see a noticeable shift in how the Windows web platform is being used to benefit just about every area of the web. With Microsoft's recent announcement in their change of strategy
\n","author":{"name":"Sarah Gibson"},"yoast":{"title":"Why Silverlight 4 is Redefining the Web","metadesc":"Since the release of Silverlight 4 and Windows Phone 7, we are starting to see a noticeable shift in how the Windows web platform","focuskw":"","linkdex":"","metakeywords":"","canonical":"","redirect":"","meta_robots_adv":"","meta_robots_nofollow":"","meta_robots_noindex":"","opengraph_title":"","opengraph_description":"","opengraph_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"},"twitter_title":"","twitter_description":"","twitter_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"}},"content":"Since the release of Silverlight 4 and Windows Phone 7, we are starting to see a noticeable shift in how the Windows web platform is being used to benefit just about every area of the web. With Microsoft's recent announcement in their change of strategy for browser-based application frameworks, with HTML5 Canvas and Silverlight, it’s fascinating to see the direction the market is going.
\nSilverlight as a framework has seen some major re-tooling over the past year and several game-changing features have caused me to rethink my priorities as a web developer. While HTML and Javascript will always be the tools in my back pocket, I’m beginning to see where Silverlight is going as a platform and how it can and will be used in the future. One complaint developers and users alike have been making for years about Silverlight is its inability to anti-alias text. In .NET Framework 4 Microsoft has added a new property for Text objects called TextOptions.TextFormattingMode. When set to “Animated” Silverlight smoothes font edges in a similar fashion to ClearType. Finally, no more ugly, blocky text!
\nSilverlight 4 also adds some much-needed and often requested features:
\nSince adding some of these new long requested features in the past year, I have seen a dramatic increase in the use of Silverlight across the web. Telerik for example seems to have figured out the possible capabilities of Silverlight as a next-gen web platform, as seen in their demo here. From a cloud perspective, the possibilities are endless.
\nFrom virtual machines to mobile applications, Silverlight is becoming as robust a platform as many Mobile operating systems. Though the web browser side of Silverlight is becoming more refined, the support of Silverlight on Windows Phone 7 is also contributing to its rapid adoption. These new tools and enhanced data support functions are enabling an entire new generation of mobile web developers to forge new territory. Here at Merit Mile, we have also constructed our portfolio using Silverlight’s Deep Zoom functionality and while it may take the browser market a while to catch up to HTML5 Canvas standards, Silverlight isn’t going anywhere. As of December 2, the Silverlight 5 beta has been announced with some more exciting features.
\n"}},{"node":{"wordpress_id":106,"link":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/post/making-sense-of-microsofts-cloud/","title":"Making Sense of Microsoft’s Cloud","slug":"making-sense-of-microsofts-cloud","status":"publish","format":"standard","date":"Mon Dec 6th 2010","modified":"Tue Jul 9th 2019","excerpt":"By now you’ve undoubtedly seen the numerous “To the Cloud!” commercials or come across of the many “Cloud Power” print campaigns that Microsoft has been actively promoting recently. As a SMB business owner, or road warrior passing
\n","author":{"name":"Sarah Gibson"},"yoast":{"title":"Making Sense of Microsoft's Cloud","metadesc":"By now you’ve undoubtedly seen the numerous “To the Cloud!” commercials or come across of the many","focuskw":"","linkdex":"","metakeywords":"","canonical":"","redirect":"","meta_robots_adv":"","meta_robots_nofollow":"","meta_robots_noindex":"","opengraph_title":"","opengraph_description":"","opengraph_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"},"twitter_title":"","twitter_description":"","twitter_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"}},"content":"By now you’ve undoubtedly seen the numerous “To the Cloud!” commercials or come across of the many “Cloud Power” print campaigns that Microsoft has been actively promoting recently. As a SMB business owner, or road warrior passing through airports to make your next important sales presentation, you may wonder how the cloud fits into your life or what the cloud can do for you. Microsoft’s push behind the cloud is focused on three distinctive components which include Office 365, Azure and Windows Server.
\nWhat’s the difference you ask? Each variant of the Microsoft cloud is targeted at specific roles and is intended to compartmentalize the functions of these cloud offerings. *Office 365* Designed to enhance end-user productivity, Microsoft Office 365 brings together cloud versions of Microsoft’s email, communication and collaboration software including Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and Lync Online with their Office Professional Plus desktop suite. Essentially Office 365 makes your data, files, contacts, etc. all accessible from where ever you happen to be. No need to connect directly to your PC back in the office, your critical data is stored securely within the cloud for immediate retrieval. *Windows Azure* Designed for application development & hosting, Windows Azure is Microsoft’s operating system for the cloud. Azure lets applications scale up or down depending on the demand. Developers are free to flex their creative muscles on a platform that already speaks their language including .Net, PHP, Java & Ruby.
\nWindows Azure relies on SQL Azure – the cloud-based relational database service (RDBMS) built on SQL Server technologies. It is a highly available, scalable, multi-tenant database service hosted by Microsoft in the cloud. As no physical administration required – software installation and patching is included, since Azure is a platform as a service (PAAS). *Windows Server Hyper-V* Designed for private cloud offerings, Windows Server Hyper-V lets you harness the power of cloud computing by pooling computing resources, automating management, and improving scalability, provisioning, and agility. Cloud power allows for management across physical and virtual, on premises and off premises. Cloud power helps drive down operation costs by automating the management of datacenter resources.
\nWith Microsoft’s private cloud using Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V and System Center, you can build out a scalable and efficient cloud infrastructure to transform the way you deliver IT services to your business. From an end-user seeking 24/7 access to your data, to a developer launching and application that’s secure and scalable, to an organization interested in taking advantage of combining resources and improving performance – Microsoft offers a cloud that fits most everyone’s needs.
\n"}},{"node":{"wordpress_id":107,"link":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/post/cloud-for-the-masses-office-365-for-small-businesses/","title":"Cloud for the Masses, Office 365 for Small Businesses","slug":"cloud-for-the-masses-office-365-for-small-businesses","status":"publish","format":"standard","date":"Fri Nov 5th 2010","modified":"Mon Feb 22nd 2021","excerpt":"Microsoft has just released Office 365, a cloud-based collaboration tool aimed at businesses of all sizes. Now SMBs can test the waters of cloud computing, while increasing productivity. Essentially all the documents, files, contacts, calendar needed to run your business
\n","author":{"name":"Sarah Gibson"},"yoast":{"title":"Cloud for the Masses - Office 365 for Small Businesses","metadesc":"Microsoft has just released Office 365, a cloud-based collaboration tool aimed at businesses of all sizes. Now SMBs can test the waters","focuskw":"","linkdex":"","metakeywords":"","canonical":"","redirect":"","meta_robots_adv":"","meta_robots_nofollow":"","meta_robots_noindex":"","opengraph_title":"","opengraph_description":"","opengraph_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"},"twitter_title":"","twitter_description":"","twitter_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"}},"content":"Microsoft has just released Office 365, a cloud-based collaboration tool aimed at businesses of all sizes. Now SMBs can test the waters of cloud computing, while increasing productivity. Essentially all the documents, files, contacts, calendar needed to run your business are now available online, via the cloud, 365 days a year. Whether traveling for business or on vacation, you can keep in touch with your organization and keep in the loop on important projects, all from a basic Internet connection. From independent professionals to SMBs and large enterprises – Office 365 helps save time, money while making collaboration and communications easy for all. Office 365 combines the familiar Office desktop suite with cloud-based versions of Exchange, SharePoint and Lync.
\nWorking with the tools people know and use today, Office 365 provides anywhere access to email, important documents, contacts, and calendars on nearly any device. Included within Office 365 for Small Businesses are the following Microsoft applications:
\nLatest version of Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS), which has millions of business users today Office 365 for Small Businesses provides web-enabled tools to smaller businesses and professionals who are looking for cloud-based productivity tools without the IT hassles.
\nThis latest Microsoft offering provides SMBs with real-time access to their data, co-workers and their favorite Microsoft Office applications all from the cloud. SMBs can focus on growth rather than being IT experts. For more information you may want to visit https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/admin/add-office-365-online-services.
\n"}},{"node":{"wordpress_id":108,"link":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/post/merit-mile-staff-trades-keyboards-for-hammers-to-help-habitat-for-humanity/","title":"Merit Mile Staff Trades Keyboards for Hammers to Help Habitat for Humanity","slug":"merit-mile-staff-trades-keyboards-for-hammers-to-help-habitat-for-humanity","status":"publish","format":"standard","date":"Wed Nov 3rd 2010","modified":"Mon Aug 14th 2023","excerpt":"Despite tough economic times that have many small businesses preoccupied simply with surviving, some companies are still finding the time to give back to their local community. That’s what Merit Mile Communications, a full-service marketing agency located in Boca Raton
\n","author":{"name":"John Sternal"},"yoast":{"title":"Merit Mile Staff Trades Keyboards for Hammers to Help","metadesc":"Despite tough economic times that have many small businesses preoccupied simply with surviving, some companies are still finding","focuskw":"","linkdex":"","metakeywords":"","canonical":"","redirect":"","meta_robots_adv":"","meta_robots_nofollow":"","meta_robots_noindex":"","opengraph_title":"","opengraph_description":"","opengraph_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"},"twitter_title":"","twitter_description":"","twitter_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"}},"content":"Despite tough economic times that have many small businesses preoccupied simply with surviving, some companies are still finding the time to give back to their local community. That’s what Merit Mile Communications, a full-service marketing agency located in Boca Raton, FL, demonstrated on a recent Friday by sending its entire staff to a Habitat for Humanity construction site in Boynton Beach.
\nSporting company t-shirts, everyone picked up tools and got to work. Some of the team climbed up on the roof and started nailing down plywood. Others on the ground crew staged materials, cut boards and removed debris. “We always stress to our clients the importance of collaboration and plain old hard work. This was an opportunity to really walk the walk,” said Mark Reino, president of the forward-thinking firm. “Building a house is conceptually similar to developing and executing a marketing strategy. It has to start with a solid foundation and requires attention to details to make a noticeable impact.”
\nThe Merit Mile team, whom the agency compensated for regular working hours, found the experience gratifying. Unsuspected talents were discovered, and even a graphic designer who was a complete novice at construction was expertly handling a nail gun by the end of the day. “Habitat for Humanity makes it easy for companies to get involved, and I recommend the experience to other businesses,” said Reino. “When we give back to the community and help put a roof over a family in need, it shows that anything can be accomplished when people join forces”.
\n"}},{"node":{"wordpress_id":109,"link":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/post/merit-mile-communications-shines-golden-as-the-winner-of-3-coveted-2010-communicator-awards/","title":"Merit Mile Communications Shines Golden as the Winner of 3 Coveted 2010 Communicator Awards","slug":"merit-mile-communications-shines-golden-as-the-winner-of-3-coveted-2010-communicator-awards","status":"publish","format":"standard","date":"Fri Sep 3rd 2010","modified":"Mon Aug 14th 2023","excerpt":"The winners of The 2010 Communicator Awards have been announced by the International Academy of the Visual Arts, with Merit Mile Communications, on the list as an esteemed winner of 1 Gold Award of Excellence and 2 Silver Awards
\n","author":{"name":"John Sternal"},"yoast":{"title":"Merit Mile Communications Shines Golden as the Winner","metadesc":"The winners of The 2010 Communicator Awards have been announced by the International Academy of the Visual Arts, with","focuskw":"","linkdex":"","metakeywords":"","canonical":"","redirect":"","meta_robots_adv":"","meta_robots_nofollow":"","meta_robots_noindex":"","opengraph_title":"","opengraph_description":"","opengraph_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"},"twitter_title":"","twitter_description":"","twitter_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"}},"content":"The winners of The 2010 Communicator Awards have been announced by the International Academy of the Visual Arts, with Merit Mile Communications, on the list as an esteemed winner of 1 Gold Award of Excellence and 2 Silver Awards of Distinction for work with multiple clients. As one of the largest and most competitive awards program honoring the creative excellence for communications professionals, this year’s Communicator Awards received over 7,000 entries from across the US and around the world.
\nMerit Mile Communications walked away with the Gold Award of Excellence for Microsoft Hosting University in the highly contested Websites – Computer / IT: Software category. Hosting University also earned Merit Mile a Silver Award of Distinction in the Online Advertising & Marketing Newsletter category. Rounding out the trio of victories for the firm, Merit Mile won another Silver Award of Distinction for their efforts associated with the Florida Denture Institute in the Health Website category. “We felt strongly about our chances because the work, particularly with Microsoft Hosting University, is groundbreaking. It’s even more satisfying to take the Gold in what’s likely the most competitive category in business-to-business marketing,” stated Mark Reino, President, Merit Mile Communications.
\nThe Communicator Awards is the leading international creative awards program honoring creative excellence for communication professionals. Founded by communication professionals over a decade ago, The Communicator Awards is an annual competition honoring the best in advertising, corporate communications, public relations and identity work for print, video, interactive and audio. The Communicator Awards are judged and overseen by the International Academy of the Visual Arts (IAVA). The IAVA is an invitation-only member-based organization of leading professionals from various disciplines of the visual arts dedicated to embracing progress and the evolving nature of traditional and interactive media. Current membership represents a “Who’s Who” of acclaimed media, advertising, and marketing firms including: Condè Nast, Coach, Disney, The Ellen Degeneres Show, Estee Lauder, HBO, Keller Crescent, Monster.com, MTV, Polo Ralph Lauren, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, Tribal DDB, Victoria’s Secret, Wired, and Yahoo!, and many others. See www.iavisarts.org for more information.
\n"}},{"node":{"wordpress_id":110,"link":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/post/merit-mile-communications-publishes-marketing-industry-best-practices/","title":"Merit Mile Communications Publishes Marketing Industry Best Practices, Client Case Studies, and Intel","slug":"merit-mile-communications-publishes-marketing-industry-best-practices","status":"publish","format":"standard","date":"Fri Aug 27th 2010","modified":"Mon Aug 14th 2023","excerpt":"Merit Mile Communications; a full-service provider of marketing, web, advertising and public relations services; announced today the unveiling of their much anticipated new website
\n","author":{"name":"John Sternal"},"yoast":{"title":"Merit Mile Communications Publishes Marketing Industry Best Practices","metadesc":"Merit Mile Communications; a full-service provider of marketing, web, advertising and public relations services; announced today the unveiling","focuskw":"","linkdex":"","metakeywords":"","canonical":"","redirect":"","meta_robots_adv":"","meta_robots_nofollow":"","meta_robots_noindex":"","opengraph_title":"","opengraph_description":"","opengraph_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"},"twitter_title":"","twitter_description":"","twitter_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"}},"content":"Merit Mile Communications; a full-service provider of marketing, web, advertising and public relations services; announced today the unveiling of their much anticipated new website, www.MeritMile.com. The agency has been building up to this and other announcements in their recent social media activities, all aimed at truly differentiating their agency, and in turn, defining them as an authority in the integrated marketing communications industry globally. Already within 2010, Merit Mile launched websites in 4 languages and won 3 coveted Communicator Awards for work with entrepreneurial as well as multi-national corporations.
\nThe upstart firm; with strong competencies in branding, copy writing and Web 2.0 development; was also acknowledged – alongside client GeniSys Global – within a keynote address at the 2010 Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in July. The new website amplifies the firms positioning as a brand steward for small-to-mid-sized businesses as well as enterprise corporations. Working among a wide cross section of vertical industries and across business-to-business and consumer segments, the site offers practical marketing guidance for marketers, entrepreneurs, and cross functional business leaders. “Marketing forces – driven by social media, the cloud and Web 2.0 – will transform all conventional business models over the next several years,” stated Merit Mile President, Mark Reino.” I see Merit Mile’s role as one of a trusted advisor helping clients capitalize and get ahead of competitive forces while embracing these new phases of growth.” The new website supports assertive strategic marketing claims with straight-forward evidence documented within succinct client case studies, testimonials, and industry best practices – all for public consumption.
\nMoreover, embracing the social media landscape, the site also includes a social media courtyard where visitors can read feeds or link directly to various Merit Mile social media home pages. Similarly, the strategy aspects of the new site are complemented with a unique expression of the agency’s creative work on display in a rich media portfolio section. Within this portfolio, the agency presents client work across a number of different business segments and various disciplines including marketing, web, advertising, and public relations. For more information on Merit Mile Communications please visit or call +1-561-362-8888.
\n"}},{"node":{"wordpress_id":111,"link":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/post/want-awareness-and-demand-in-the-virtual-world-the-advertise-in-the-real-world/","title":"Want Awareness and Demand in the Virtual World? Then Advertise in the Real World.","slug":"want-awareness-and-demand-in-the-virtual-world-the-advertise-in-the-real-world","status":"publish","format":"standard","date":"Fri Jun 4th 2010","modified":"Tue Jul 9th 2019","excerpt":"With the advent of Web 2.0, who needs offline advertising? You do. Read on to learn how offline awareness and demand generation tactics such as television, radio and outdoor advertising is still a critical part of the media mix equation. When e-commerce was younger
\n","author":{"name":"John Sternal"},"yoast":{"title":"Want Awareness and Demand in the Virtual World?","metadesc":"With the advent of Web 2.0, who needs offline advertising? You do. Read on to learn how offline awareness and demand generation","focuskw":"","linkdex":"","metakeywords":"","canonical":"","redirect":"","meta_robots_adv":"","meta_robots_nofollow":"","meta_robots_noindex":"","opengraph_title":"","opengraph_description":"","opengraph_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"},"twitter_title":"","twitter_description":"","twitter_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"}},"content":"With the advent of Web 2.0, who needs offline advertising? You do. Read on to learn how offline awareness and demand generation tactics such as television, radio and outdoor advertising is still a critical part of the media mix equation. When e-commerce was younger, it was an article of faith among marketers that online advertising alone could not generate sufficient response for an online enterprise to succeed.
\nCreating awareness required offline advertising. Then the Internet evolved into Web 2.0, followed by the social-media juggernaut, and some savants proclaimed advertising in what used to be known as traditional media to be irrelevant. Turns out they were wrong. If your online business is a household name, like Amazon or eBay, you may not have to advertise in any media, online or offline. But if you don’t yet enjoy that level of awareness, you won’t achieve it, or anything close to it, without investing some of your advertising dollars in offline media—especially television, radio and print. Why is this? One reason is the annoyance factor of online advertising—popups that cover what you’re trying to read, banners that spring into irksome action when your mouse passes over them, a video loop of someone dancing for joy over a low mortgage rate. Maybe this kind of thing was a novelty at one time, but I don’t need research to know that invasive interactive advertising is universally resented now—which means the brands behind these ads are at risk of being resented as well.
\nIn contrast, print and radio ads, blessedly static and non-distracting, don’t force themselves on you. And TV spots you’re not interested in at least afford you the chance to refill your drink… or get bypassed by DVR technologies. Moreover, print, radio and TV advertising is often consumed by those actually interested in the product information they provide. According to leading media agency WebWindows, as well as findings by Google and Deloitte, another reason is psychological: “[N]ewspapers and magazines are integrally woven into the collective psyche of the people and even in the times of the Internet, they remain the main source of news, analysis and information.” In addition, “newspapers are synonymous with trust and quality and so people put more faith in the print media than in any other media.” Compare that to the Internet—the least trusted medium of all. If Marshall McLuhan was right and “the medium is the message,” is it wise to rely solely on online advertising to establish your brand and image? Of course, it’s not all about image.
\nOnline sales require driving traffic to websites and here, too, offline advertising delivers. Recent research by SendTec and JupiterResearch shows that offline advertising initiatives drive online response. Among the findings: * 66% of those who responded to an offline advertisement visited the website or a search engine to learn more * TV and print ads are the most likely offline formats to drive online search response (70% and 57% respectively), 32% for radio, 27% for direct mail and 17% for outdoor * Mobile technology is enabling consumers to react more to offline ads that are outside the home, with 66% conducting searches on their handheld devices in response to a magazine or newspaper ad Okay, but how many people really respond to print and broadcast ads? According to editorialtoday.com, “more than 53% of television viewers have been triggered to search information online by television advertising, while 42% of magazine subscribers have been driven to a website by magazine ads. … Ads in newspapers drive 34% readers to look for services and goods online.” That’s a whole lot of eyeballs and wallets, folks. The there’s the matter of immediacy. Online advertising tends to take a very long time to take effect. SEO usually takes weeks before results become noticeable. Building reciprocal links and blogs can take even longer. Response to most offline advertising occurs within days or even hours. If you can’t afford to spend way in advance of any return on your investment, you can’t afford to ignore offline media. So what kind of offline advertising works best to drive traffic to your website? The same kind that’s always worked—ads with a come-on: * “For a free sample while supplies last, go to …” * “Get your XX% discount coupon at …” * “To activate your free trial, go to…” * “For financial peace of mind, go to…”
\nThe bottom line: More than ever, as the virtual marketplace for pay-per-click, SEO/SEM and behavioral targeting becomes increasingly crowded and fragmented, baking television, print and radio advertising into your marketing mix is a necessary complement to your online demand and awareness strategies.
\n"}},{"node":{"wordpress_id":112,"link":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/post/macro-marketing-ready-for-your-mid-year-review/","title":"Macro Marketing: Ready for Your Mid-Year Review?","slug":"macro-marketing-ready-for-your-mid-year-review","status":"publish","format":"standard","date":"Sat May 15th 2010","modified":"Tue Jul 9th 2019","excerpt":"With only 6 weeks left until 2010 business half-time, there is no better time than the present to assess your work-in-progress marketing successes, challenges and balance of year opportunities. Here are 3 suggestions for your mid-year marketing review process
\n","author":{"name":"John Sternal"},"yoast":{"title":"Macro Marketing: Ready for Your Mid-Year Review?","metadesc":"With only 6 weeks left until 2010 business half-time, there is no better time than the present to assess your work-in-progress marketing","focuskw":"","linkdex":"","metakeywords":"","canonical":"","redirect":"","meta_robots_adv":"","meta_robots_nofollow":"","meta_robots_noindex":"","opengraph_title":"","opengraph_description":"","opengraph_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"},"twitter_title":"","twitter_description":"","twitter_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"}},"content":"With only 6 weeks left until 2010 business half-time, there is no better time than the present to assess your work-in-progress marketing successes, challenges and balance of year opportunities. Here are 3 suggestions for your mid-year marketing review process all focused on macro marketing viewpoints. If you’re a business owner, marketing manager, or Fortune 500 executive, you are likely on the hook for reviewing and reporting on the state of your business as we close out the second quarter of 2010. Many companies have rigid processes for mid-year reviews, some have none. Here are my suggested best practices that should evidence your strong areas, identify weaknesses, and give you big picture insight into where you should focus attention in the remaining 6 months of the year. By now, you’ve read enough Merit Mile blogs to recognize we are big believers in planned success.
\nIn short, you will want to measure mid-year performance on both macro marketing initiatives and micro marketing initiatives, but let’s center this dialog on the larger aspects of your marketing business. Every business is unique to a degree, but if you modify these suggestions to include your own business terminology and idiosyncrasies, these reports will certainly be useful measuring sticks for your organization.
\nRevenue Reports
\nHow did your organization (company, department) perform against your plan for the first 6 months of the year? These reports are simple, quantitative and evocative. In addition to the mid-year gross revenue number, isolate performance month over month and year over year. Create a simple mechanism that allows you to visually measure revenue so you can quickly identify trends.
\nAll good marketers recognize the need to not only straddle the line between sales and marketing, but also make it your business to be a healthy if not aggressive revenue champion. # *Budget Reports* How has your organization performed against the level of spending approved for the first 6 months of the year? In addition to the total spend, look at your line items. Is the pay-per-click budget in line with forecast? Did you under-spend in some areas that may allow you to increase budgets in higher performing tactics for the balance of year? One report that will get your CFOs attention is the marketing spend to revenue ratio. There is no rule of thumb or industry standard metric on this topic, but create one that is applicable to your environment.
\nThis report will be very useful for mid-year review as well as your 2011 planning and budgeting exercises down the road. # *Headcount and Resource Reports* Are headcount and associated expenses on par with plan? Turnover in an organization or a department can wildly impact the bottom line. If you’re noticing a trend, try to isolate the root cause and even consider an internal audit to improve this hugely important aspect of your business. How about agency fees; are they scaling up or down based on your service levels and deliverables? Don’t be afraid to get better aligned with your agency. If they have not gotten on your calendar for a mid-year planning session, be sure to make this a priority. The closer you are aligned with your agency, staff and partners, the better they will perform. If you find yourself lost on how to create these reports, there is hope. From an Excel spreasheet, to your QuickBooks accounting software, to Salesforce.com, these and many other valuable reports are easily created. What’s more, once you create them, pulling these reports in real-time will be easy and painless.
\n"}},{"node":{"wordpress_id":113,"link":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/post/interorganization-network-ion-executive-officers/","title":"InterOrganization Network (ION) Executive Officers","slug":"interorganization-network-ion-executive-officers","status":"publish","format":"standard","date":"Tue May 11th 2010","modified":"Wed Feb 15th 2023","excerpt":"Conducting research on the status of women participating on U.S. public company boards. bq. “2010 is proving to be an exciting year and one in which we hope to see some progress in achieving our mission. We will continue to benchmark our successes and challenges, and plan to accelerate our efforts
\n","author":{"name":"Sarah Gibson"},"yoast":{"title":"InterOrganization Network (ION) Executive Officers","metadesc":"Conducting research on the status of women participating on U.S. public company boards. bq. “2010 is proving to be an","focuskw":"","linkdex":"","metakeywords":"","canonical":"","redirect":"","meta_robots_adv":"","meta_robots_nofollow":"","meta_robots_noindex":"","opengraph_title":"","opengraph_description":"","opengraph_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"},"twitter_title":"","twitter_description":"","twitter_image":{"source_url":"https://apiold.meritmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/3.jpg"}},"content":"Charlotte Laurent-Ottomane of Women Executive Leadership (Ft. Lauderdale) has been named President of ION and will serve a two year term. ION Announces 2010-11 Executive Officers – Focus Continues on Increasing Number of Women on Corporate Boards Fort Washington, Penn. – May 13, 2010 – The InterOrganization Network (ION) announced its new slate of executive officers for 2010-11. Charlotte Laurent-Ottomane of Women Executive Leadership (Ft. Lauderdale) has been named President of ION and will serve a two year term.
\nIn addition to the President, ION‘s Executive Committee will be comprised of Toby Gordon of Network 2000 (Baltimore) as Secretary, Ziporah Janowski of Financial Women’s Association of New York (New York) as Treasurer, Member-at-Large Jilaine Hummel Bauer of Milwaukee Women Inc (Milwaukee) and Past President Rona Wells of Board of Directors Network (Atlanta). “The business case for board diversity, in particular the inclusion of women on corporate boards, is strong and based upon both sound research and practical experience. Even though the challenges are great, I’m encouraged by the energy and passion of the members of ION and other similar organizations across the U.S. that continue to work tirelessly toward our mission of increasing the number of qualified women in the corporate boardroom,” said ION President Charlotte Laurent-Ottomane. “ION has grown significantly since its inception in 2006 and is now comprised of 14 member organizations. We added two new members from Minnesota and Texas in recent months. ION now represents more than 10,000 women across the U.S. We have a wealth of talent in our member organizations that is represented by the ION board of directors.
\nThere are currently many initiatives underway that include:
\nConducting research on the status of women participating on U.S. public company boards. bq. “2010 is proving to be an exciting year and one in which we hope to see some progress in achieving our mission. We will continue to benchmark our successes and challenges, and plan to accelerate our efforts until we’re satisfied there’s an equitable balance in the corporate board rooms across America,” Lauren-Ottomane said. Earlier this year, ION released its sixth annual report on the status of women directors and executive officers. The statistics went beyond examining the status of women in the largest U.S. public companies to include businesses that comprise the backbone of these regional economies. The report’s findings are consistent with those found in national studies: the low number of women directors and executive officers in U.S. public companies has varied little over the last few years.
\nIn the 14 regions represented by ION‘s member organizations, women hold between 7.6 and 17.8 percent of the board seats and between 7.0 and 15.2 percent of all executive officer positions in the companies included in the research. This year’s report also features interviews with 11 “Guys Who Get It” – CEOs or board Chairmen of major U.S. public companies who understand the value of diversity at the top. About ION The InterOrganization Network (www.IONwomen.org) is a national nonprofit organization representing approximately 10,000 women dedicated to increasing representation of women on for-profit boards and in executive suites. ION creates a national voice for its 14 regional member organizations to influence, build awareness and expand opportunities and connections. These executive women’s groups join together as ION to combine their energies, leverage their strengths and maximize individual and aggregate influence with the goal of increasing the number and percentage of women who comprise the leadership of corporate America. ION member organizations, including their headquarter locations are:
\nION‘s founding sponsor is KPMG LLP, the audit, tax and advisory firm and U.S. member firm of KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”). KPMG International’s member firms have 137,000 professionals, including more than 7,600 partners in 144 countries. Contacts: ION President Charlotte Laurent-Ottomane: 561-395-4581, charlotte.ottomane@nvestcom.com c3PR Principal Mar Junge: 408-730-8506, mar@c3pr.com
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