The Cyphers Agency is proud to announce the addition of Danielle Destrade Ali to the Word of Mouth Department. She will bring support on the WOM front, which includes responsibilities like content management, blogging, internet research, contests, events, flashmobs, or anything else cool we think up!

Danielle is originally from Tennessee, but joins us from Missouri. There, she attended the University of Missouri School of Journalism, which is the world’s first journalism school (and she won’t let you forget it either). She majored in Convergence Journalism, which studies new media and Web 2.0. She digs sushi, Friday Night Lights, Oprah (her ultimate idol), and Diet Coke (she has two before lunch). She is also learning to drink coffee and be a better cook.

Welcome, Danielle! We look forward to working with you. Can’t wait to see what she is up to? Check out what she has to say over on Twitter.

The Cyphers Agency is happy to announce that Tessa Carroll has officially joined our ranks.

She has become part of our account team as an account coordinator, working with clients such as Strayer University, The National Chicken Council, The Chesapeake Bay Trust, and others. She brings experience in and knowledge of marketing, social media, and public relations with her, helping us strengthen our marketing efforts here at The Cyphers Agency.

Tessa is a graduate of Kent State University with a degree in Public Relations. She is a Baltimore City living Pittsburgh transplant with a mad love for Steelers and Nittany Lion football. She also digs cooking and dance parties (who doesn’t?).

Find out more about what Tessa is up to. Welcome, Tessa!

The Cyphers Agency is proud to announce another addition to our ever growing team. Kari Miller joins us as an account coordinator, providing support on the account management front. She will be working with clients such as Plastic Surgery Specialists, Severn Savings Bank, and Heim Lantz, among others, and will help strengthen our marketing efforts.

Kari graduated from Elon University with a degree in Strategic Communications and a minor in Psychology. Aside from advertising and marketing, Kari loves Mexican food, downtown Annapolis, the beach, and country music in the summer. Her favorite tv show is The Office (whose isn’t?) and she enjoys travelling and even spent some time in London. Cheerio!

Welcome Kari, we look forward to working with you.

The decision of where to place your marketing message used to be a no-brainer. Your choices included broadcast, print or in store media placements. It was simple and the media was simple. As the use of the “world-wide-web” became mainstream, online advertising was born. Marketers were able to add banner ads, email marketing campaigns and more to their arsenal of media options. Then just as marketers became comfortable with the options in online advertising, we have seen the emergence of Social Media and Mobile Marketing. And these platforms are evolving at pace never seen before.

It is more important then ever to understand your target audience and where they are spending their time consuming media. It is becoming more and more about the user experience everyday.

First Changes

Mobile marketing in its simplest form appears as SMS messaging: the user sends a text message to a short code and receives a pre-programmed response from the advertiser. Advertisers have seen the marketing benefits of Mobile Marketing at the point-of-sale influencing purchasing decisions, building consumer relationships, and providing increased consumer intelligence. It is pretty obvious why technology is evolving at such a rapid pace.

Evolution

Already, Mobile Marketing has evolved from standard SMS messaging techniques to Image Recognition technology. We are also quickly seeing the potential of Augmented Reality in the consumer experience. Take for instance Stella Artois’ Le Bar Guide, where using augmented reality allows a mobile application to overlay the profile of bars surrounding your current location. The recent launch of Apple’s iPad has even further exposed potential Mobile Marketing and its effects on how we look at the very definition of “mobile”, and how advertisers choose to spend marketing dollars. Time, Inc. recently released this video demonstration of how tablets are changing their advertising model.

Mix It Up

And while the world of marketing is ever changing, traditional methods still have a place (Apple’s iPad is advertised on the back cover of my latest issue of National Geographic, after all). Traditional marketing still has relevancy, but it might sit next to some new, technologically savvy neighbors in your annual marketing plan. Proper use and integration of new technologies with older ones will be the key to success.

Recently, we let you know about a new account win for The Cyphers Agency: Severn Savings Bank.

In order to meet 2010 benchmarks, Severn Savings Bank is looking to increase their loan portfolio and number of deposits over the next 9 months. After listening to their needs, accompanied by in depth market and local research, The Cyphers Agency will conduct 2 separate advertising campaigns. Each will attract different consumer bases: individuals 45-60 and individuals 25-44.

Overall, we look to position Severn Savings Bank as a local financial institution that offers peace of mind for those looking for a smarter banking relationships. Through a complete brand development campaign, the tag line,”It’s Safe Here” helps address consumer fears about making poor banking choices, while the tag line “Toobigaphobia: Fear of Big Banks” with accompanying imagery speaks directly to that fear.

To break it down further, we will approach our audiences with two different ad messages. Our first audience, which is comprised of individuals 45-60, need a local bank that they can trust: personal attention and a true relationship with their relationship manager. “Think of it as a Financial Kinship,” if you will.

The second audience, individuals 25-44 are looking for something a little different. They require a local bank with real people, but they need more than that. Since this audience is always “on-the-go” and quite tech saavy, they search for accessibility and online convenience in a financial relationship. They need “Online Banking with a Pulse.