Village Gamer

Future Shop carries all the major cellular carriers, features a variety of plans, accessories and 100 handsets all under one roof. With an abundant selection, choosing the right phone, plan and setting it up can be a daunting task. To ease the burden or new phone set-up and help Canadians maximize their handset, Future Shop is rolling out new cellular services through ConnectPro, Canada’s premier provider of technology installation and services.

Canadians feeling smartphone angst can take advantage of ConnectPro’s new Smartphone Services. Starting Friday, May 13, 2011, ConnectPro launches the following in all 146 stores*:

1. Smartphone set-up and personalization, $49.99, includes:
   • Initial setup. ConnectPro experts will take care of all initial set-ups on the smartphone, including voicemail password, email, transfer of prior phone data to the new device, Bluetooth set-up and demonstrate the powers the device carries.
   • Personalization. ConnectPro ensures the smartphone user account is configured properly, default apps, software setup and updates, eliminate dead pixels, perform a network test and ensures the audio and input are working optimally.
   • Wireless printer setup. Today’s smartphones are “smart” enough to do more than just call, text and surf the web. Canadians with printers offering web or e-print capabilities, ConnectPro will set up the smartphone to print at the touch of the screen.
   • ConnectPro tutorial. Once the smartphone is set-up professionally by ConnectPro, a demo will be provided of how to maximize the device. Included in the demo are the following: how to connect the device to a computer for updates and media transfer, navigate built-in apps, download new apps, adjust settings, browse the web, save favourites and use the device as a GPS.
2. Smartphone set-up with security, $79.99, includes all of the above, plus:
   • Security installation. Smartphones are much like handheld computers. With that come similar threats that can compromise the functions of the smartphone and information contained within it. In addition to the above set-up and personalization, ConnectPro will install security software to block viruses, malware, harmful websites and apps to keep the smartphone running error-free.
3. Smartphone set-up with protection, $79.99, includes all of the smartphone set-up, personalization, plus:
   • Zagg Invisible Shield with install. Smartphones deserve to be protected from their daily grind. Included in this service is set-up, personalization and the installation of an award-winning Zagg Invisible Shield, bubble-free and perfectly placed to protect the smartphone from unexpected spills and scratches.
4. Smartphone setup with security and protection, $119.99, and includes all of the above.

*In-home Smartphone Services are available for an additional $49.99.

The Online Marketing Summit is coming to Toronto on June 13th and 14th. Taking place at the Hyatt Regency, Sundeep Kapur will be presenting Social Integration: Creating Interactive Conversations Across Channels on the morning of the 13th, while Thought Labs’ Cappy Popp will present Facebook: Beyond the Basics on the morning of the 14th. Each session runs from 07:30 until 08:45 and costs $99.00. I’m not sure if the organizers just haven’t finished updating the site or not, but it seems that Toronto is not getting the full Summit that is being offered in the US, as the agendas and prices are quite different. I had thought that a Summit entailed a number of components, not two presentations on two consecutive mornings.

Score Media Inc., home of ScoreMobile®, has acquired rival offering, SportsTap. The deal reinforces Score Media’s position as a definitive market leader in smartphone sports apps.

Launched in 2007, SportsTap, like ScoreMobile, was one of the early sports app innovators. Its ad-supported iPhone and Android apps have been widely adopted and enjoyed by sports fans across North America. SportsTap is currently the 3rd most popular free sports app on Android (according to Android Market, May 9th) – the fastest growing mobile platform – right behind the 2nd most popular free sports app, ScoreMobile.

According to comScore’s MobiLens™ March 2011 report which ranks mobile sports app audiences in the United States, the combined monthly audience of ScoreMobile and SportsTap would rank as #3 behind ESPN and Yahoo! and ahead of competitors FOX and CBS (according to comScore Inc,  MobilLens US, March 2011 3 Month Average), Potential reach with duplication, Mobile Brands: News – Sports – Application).

“ScoreMobile’s acquisition of SportsTap brings together two innovative and popular services and positions us well to deliver even more exciting experiences for sports fans and creative solutions for our advertising partners,” says Benjie Levy, Executive Vice-President & COO, Score Media Inc. “This deal further cements our position as a mobile sports leader among the world’s premier sports brands.”

The strategic acquisition of SportsTap adds to Score Media’s growing portfolio of mobile apps which includes ScoreMobile, ScoreMobile FC and theScore® iPad Edition and increases its global monthly unique user base to more than 3 million. Score Media plans to operate SportsTap as a stand-alone application. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

iStockphoto has expanded its Vetta Collection to include video and illustrations. Vetta is a collection of best-in-class iStock content that has been editor-selected for exquisite quality, art direction, creativity, originality and style.

The Vetta collection was created for creative professionals who demand the finest iStock has to offer and are looking for a more sophisticated take on stock. As is the case with Vetta photos, acceptance criteria for video and illustrations will remain extremely strict.

“It comes as no surprise that the work of our best and most creative artists has become so popular with our customers. We’ve seen Vetta content used in some truly mind-blowing campaigns and projects,” said Kelly Thompson, COO of iStockphoto. “With the addition of video and illustrations, the options they have become virtually limitless.”

Vetta — Italian for “peak” — is the answer for creative professionals looking for exceptional imagery and video. Vetta files are submitted by exclusive iStock contributors to a seasoned group of editors and each is carefully reviewed for its art direction, well-executed concept and uniqueness.

Pricing for Vetta video and illustration files are as follows:

Video
Big Web – 55 credits
NTSC – 90 credits
HD 720 – 120 credits
HD 1080 – 150 credits

Illustrations
Detailed – 40 credits
Complex – 50 credits
Elaborate – 60 credits

Reminder: You have one more day to get your vote counted for the Canadian Video Game Awards Game of the Year. Note: Use of Facebook Connect is required to vote.

On May 2, 2011, the Ontario court approved settlements in a copyright class action involving freelance writers who wrote for Canadian publications. The settlement funds total C$7.9 million. The freelance writers are represented by Heather Robertson, a freelance author, and by Koskie Minsky LLP, a leading Canadian class action law firm.

The case involved allegations that the defendants infringed the copyright of freelance writers who wrote articles and other literary works that were published by Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd., Rogers Publishing Limited, Canwest Publishing Inc. or their affiliates. The plaintiff alleged the defendants disseminated these literary works in online databases without permission.

“This is a tremendous result for Canadian freelance writers”, said Kirk Baert, lead lawyer for the plaintiffs. “Class members saw their articles appearing in online databases without their express permission. This settlement provides compensation for that unexpected use.”

In the next few weeks, there will be an official notice appearing in certain newspapers and magazines explaining how freelance writers can make claims from the settlement funds. The notice will also be available on Koskie Minsky’s website.

Export Development Canada is organizing a match-making event with Konami Digital Entertainment to introduce them to Canadian game developers at the Canadian Games Conference next week in Vancouver.

The meetings will be 20 minute meetings with Konami at the conference, however participants do not have to be registered for the conference to participate in our match-making session.

Prior to this event, EDC will be hosting a panel at the conference on Thursday May 19th titled “The Art of Making a Pitch” which will provide you valuable insight into how to maximize your pitch with a Publisher.  Ms. Careen Yapp from Konami will be participating in the panel, and will provide details on what Konami considers rich content, and what they look for in a pitch.  Also participating in the panel are industry veterans including Scott Simpson from Ascenscion Crossmedia, along with Denis Dyack and Dave Elton from Silicon Knights.

Finally, EDC will also be part of a panel later in the day on Thursday discussing new financing models and how EDC is supporting the financial gaps in the industry.   The organizing committee for the Canadian Games Conference is also offering a 25% discount to the companies participating in this match-making event.

Please contact Rob Caouette or Johanne Henley at EDC before May 16th in order to reserve a time for your private meeting with Konami on May 20, 2011.

SIGGRAPH has released the list of courses that will be available during this year’s conference in Vancouver. According to the SIGGRAPH site, the spectrum of courses ranges from an introduction to the foundations of computer graphics and interactive techniques for those new to the field to advanced instruction on the most current techniques and topics. Conference organizers have also partnered with Vancouver’s UniGlobe Vision Travel to help you Make It Home to Vancouver this August for SIGGRAPH 2011.

The next BCTIA TechForum – Voices of Experience event is taking place on May 19th at the Sutton Place Hotel. Innovation, Productivity and Jobs: Why BC Should Care with speakers David Emerson and Jock Finlayson will examine the impact of innovation on British Columbia’s economy, and explore what BC must do to earn its place among the most innovative, growing and prosperous economies today. Tickets are $55.00 for BCTIA Members and $80.00 for Non-members or $36.00 Students.

The Hamilton community of the TeamBiz network invites local entrepreneurs and business professionals to attend its first networking event. Organized in partnership with the Hamilton Small Business Enterprise Centre, the event will take place at the Hamilton Small Business Centre (Hamilton City Hall) on May 25, from 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm.

The purpose of the event is to help small business owners from Hamilton and surrounding areas explore new opportunities for contacts and potential partners in increasing business. You can register online for this event. Seating is limited to 75 people on a first come first served basis. The cost to attend is $15 + HST.

“Our community is based online, but in the past few months, many Teambiz members expressed interest to meet each other in person as well”, says Ruxandra Bucataru, Teambiz co-founder.”We recognize that face-to-face interaction enhances online relationships, so we want to create a social and enjoyable pure networking evening, where people have plenty of time to connect, and we are keeping it simple and to the point”.

Several promotional opportunities are also available at the event, from exhibitor tables, to door prizes and contributions to goodie bags, handed to all participants. TeamBiz is a network of entrepreneurs with over 1,000 members Canada-wide. Started as a small peer mentoring group at the Hamilton Small Business Centre several years ago, the network is spreading at a rapid pace, with new members joining every day.

Best Buy Canada is now offering customers the option to purchase previously played games online for as low as $4.99 per game. The online selection can be found in the preplayed games section of Best Buy’s web site and includes games for several popular game consoles including Playstation 3, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, PSP and Xbox 360.

All used games are thoroughly inspected for quality assurance and are backed by a 30-day exchange policy. Best Buy will exchange damaged games for the same title (pending availability) or in-store credit. Customers can also search online for title availability at their local Best Buy using the “check local store availability” feature. Previously played games are not available in Nanaimo, Winnipeg and select Ontario Best Buy Stores. Customers are these regions are invited to shop online for all of the latest titles.

Yangaroo Inc. has signed a multi-year agreement with Black Entertainment Television (BET Networks) to power online review and professional member voting for the forthcoming BET Awards to be held in Los Angeles in June and The BET Hip Hop Awards to be held in Atlanta in October. BET will employ Yangaroo’s patented Digital Media Distribution System (DMDS) Awards solution to securely distribute ballots in digital formats to its voting members. Through DMDS, members will be able to review materials online and vote electronically at the time that is most convenient for them. The agreement with BET follows similar, previous deals Yangaroo has inked with The Grammy’s, The Juno’s, The Academy of Country Music Awards and others to provide award shows with a cost-saving and digitally-streamlined solution.

The research is in and the message from Canadian shoppers is clear – Hell hath no fury like a consumer scorned. According to the Colloquy Word of Mouth (WOM) study of 2,960 Canadian shoppers, bad news about bad brand experiences travels fast — even faster among Canadians than Americans, in fact. More than eight in ten (84 per cent) Canadian consumers say they advise family or friends about a bad experience with a product or service, compared with three quarters of American consumers who do the same.  Comparatively, just six in ten Canadian consumers say they recommend products or services to others.

“The best managed brands know exactly who their advocates are, and they’re usually found in the membership rolls of a loyalty program,” said Colloquy Managing Partner Kelly Hlavinka.  “But this study shows that advocates can just as easily become “madvocates” if their experience with a brand turns sour. Like a guard dog, these advocates are loyal until the owner gets careless, and then they bite.”

Advocates and Madvocates

According to Colloquy’s study, consumers can be broken into three categories or mind-sets:

• Three in ten (31 per cent) are word of mouth super-Advocates, or “WOM Champions,” who intend to recommend their favourite brands.
• Almost one quarter (24 per cent) are described by Colloquy as “Madvocates,” who are predisposed to engage in negative word of mouth practices after suffering a bad experience.
• Fortunately, “Pure Madvocates” — consumers who say they will never be advocates and are oriented to negative word of mouth only – are a rare breed, making up just seven per cent of the general population.

The Loudest Voices

• Canadian women are the most likely to be word of mouth champions (47 per cent); and twice as likely to advocate as “madvocate” (22 per cent).
• Almost half (44 per cent) of all affluent consumers earning $125,000 are word of mouth Champions, but an almost equal portion (38 per cent) are Madvocates.

In 2011, word of mouth Champions made up 31 per cent of the Canadian general population. This group is especially important to the marketers looking to arm themselves against the large proportion of the Canadian population prone to sharing their negative experiences. Marketers trying to locate these brand Champions should look no further than their own loyalty database. WOM Champions make up a third of total reward members, and only account for 18 per cent of those not participating in any program. In essence, there are almost double the Champions within reward programs members then there are among non-member population.

“Loyalty marketers must accept the responsibility for the impact their programs can have on generating both positive and negative word of mouth,” said Hlavinka.  “The best defence against negative conversations about your brand is a good offence – engage and empower the Champions within your own rewards programs”

Colloquy’s study also focused on how Champions differed in their communications methods from less engaged consumers, as well as Madvocates, by examining loyalty programs members. The following trends emerged:

• For both general members and Champions, there is a lot of staying power in “old school” methods — with face-to-face communications, phone calls and email topping the list of communication methods used by reward program members.
• However, the study also showed that Champions are much more engaged than regular consumers when it comes to “new school” methods, which include social networking communities, mobile messaging, and product review sites. Overall, Champions are 50-100 per cent more engaged across these platforms than other non-Champion members, making their involvement in a word-of-mouth campaign essential to its success.

“Marketers need to know that Madvocates are just as connected across multiple communication platforms as Champions,” said Hlavinka. “Madvocacy is an attitude possessed even by a proportion of a brand’s best customers. So, while you have a highly connected group of Champions engaged in word-of-mouth, you also have those ready, willing and able to discuss negative experiences within your program.”

Advice for Marketers

1. Find the word of mouth Champions and treat them well. Your Champions are also your potential Madvocates.
2. Don’t abandon traditional communications. While social media platforms are popular, email and good old phone calls and conversations top the list for brand discussions.
3. Concentrate on delivering on your brand promise. Please customers with excellent products and a rewarding experience and they’ll talk about you – in their channel of choice.
4. Don’t discard the Madvocates. They have the energy and inclination to tell positive stories if treated right.
5. Build community forums. Build a single, authoritative go-to place where customers can talk about your brand.

Colloquy is a provider of loyalty marketing publishing, education and research and is owned by Toronto-based LoyaltyOne.  Colloquy’s WOM survey, featuring completed responses from 2,960 Canadian consumers nationwide, was conducted in December 2010.  A white paper presenting the complete results of the study, as well as additional tips, is available online free of charge.  Colloquy previously published a 2009 study titled The New Champion Customers: Measuring Word-of-Mouth Activity Among Reward Program Members.

Reminder: Today is the final day for submissions to apply for the Shaw Rocket Fund Digital Progam.

A new survey from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) of 8,900 businesses shows that, if given the opportunity to start over, the vast majority (83 per cent) of entrepreneurs would choose the same career path.

It should come as no surprise then that 78 per cent of business owners would recommend small business ownership as a career option for young people. Unfortunately, business owners’ comments all point to the same common denominator: Schools are not promoting entrepreneurship as a career option. “Schools are set up for kids to start a career, not start a business,” said one member from Alberta.

And, according to CFIB research, the education system hasn’t fully embraced entrepreneurship as a viable career option for young people, with 56 per cent of business owners indicating that they did not feel as though there was enough of an emphasis on starting a business as a career option in schools today. “Given the many opportunities and rewards that entrepreneurship has to offer, it is only natural that business owners would recommend it as a career option and believe that schools should do more to encourage it,” reasoned CFIB’s vice-president of research, Doug Bruce.

CFIB Sr. VP of Research, Economics and Western Canada, Laura Jones, was also quick to point out that 92 per cent of business owners indicate running a business is a rewarding career. “Entrepreneurs are happy to go to work every day because they have the freedom to be their own bosses and tailor their line of work toward their own strengths and interests,” she explained. Adding, “If entrepreneurial skills and aptitudes were sufficiently encouraged in the education system,  the next generation of business owners will be in  for a great career which not only permits them to build on their talent and expertise, but also fulfill them personally and professionally as well.”

Entrepreneurs have no regrets is the second in a series of short reports on entrepreneurship. The first report is titled “The Secrets of Entrepreneurial Success” and the series commemorates CFIB’s 40^th anniversary and celebrates 2011 as the federally designated Year of the Entrepreneur.

Washington, DC company Blackboard Inc. has announced plans to open a new data centre in Canada this summer, responding to growing interest from Canadian institutions for an in-region facility to host and manage their learning environments. The new data centre will be located in Calgary and will be the company’s seventh production facility. It joins Blackboard’s existing hosting facilities in the United States, the Netherlands and Australia.

Blackboard Managed Hosting currently supports about 8.5 million active users and approximately 950 education, corporate and government clients worldwide. Overall, the number of clients hosted by Blackboard has grown by over 20 percent in the last two years.

As the management of learning environments becomes more complex and the need for more reliable uptime becomes more important, institutions have increasingly leveraged Blackboard’s hosting capabilities. In doing so, they’re achieving greater uptime and a partner with the technical expertise to manage installations, upgrades, and day-to-day system maintenance, enabling their institutional IT staff to spend more time working to improve overall systems to better support learning programs.

“Opening a data centre in Canada underscores our commitment to providing the best mix of technology and services to institutions in Canada,” said Harry Choi, vice president of Blackboard Managed Hosting. “We’ve seen that clients who rely on our deep experience and technical expertise spend less time worrying about system management and can devote more of their attention to improving and growing programs, so we’re excited to present a stronger set of capabilities to Canadian institutions.”

The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) is launching a unique program in June to help Okanagan companies develop solid marketing strategies. The BDC’s Marketing Booster Program is an affordable, results-oriented program designed specifically for growing businesses with limited marketing resources that will be offered at BDC’s Kelowna office beginning on June 15.

BDC chose the Okanagan to deliver the Marketing Booster Program because of the large number of entrepreneurs and growth-oriented businesses in the region. “A business will initially grow using an ad hoc marketing approach. But eventually, it will need a structured marketing strategy to gain market share, access new markets and ensure long term profitability,” says Luanne Chore, BDC Consulting Partner for the Okanagan. “A solid marketing function is vital to any organization, especially when businesses must confront such challenges as economic uncertainty, intense global competition and rapidly changing technology.”

The 12-week Marketing Booster Program combines small group sessions with extensive one-on-one coaching. It begins with three, half-day group sessions held at weekly intervals during which a BDC marketing consultant leads training and discussions on nine key areas:

• Customer Relationship Management
• Competition
• Positioning
• Creating a Marketing Action Plan
• Managing Products and Services
• Managing Communications
• E-Business
• Managing Distribution
• Managing Your Sales Team.

By the end of the nine workshops, participants will have practical tools to grow their businesses, including customer satisfaction surveys, value propositions and action plan templates. BDC’s marketing consultant will then provide one-on-one coaching and guidance to help each company develop and implement a marketing strategy.

Enrolment in the Marketing Booster Program is limited to 10 businesses. Participants are expected to be either the business owner or the individual responsible for marketing.

The group format is cost-effective and allows participants to share experiences and brainstorm with like-minded entrepreneurs. “The principles of marketing are the same for all industry sectors,” says Chore. “Group synergy is one of the most effective aspects of the Marketing Booster Program.”

For more information or to register please contact Luanne Chore, BDC Consulting Partner, at (250) 470-4804.