The 20th annual South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Festival is right around the corner and we are counting down the days! SXSW, taking place on the weekend of March 8-10, is one of the largest interactive conferences in the nation drawing in over 20,000 people to Austin, Texas annually. We are looking forward to previewing the next generation of innovative technology and digital creativity as well as networking with some of the brightest minds in the industry.

If you share our passion for all things interactive and are planning on attending SXSW, we would love to meet up with you! Give us a shout out at 858-345-1378 or info@cukerinteractive.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

The football battle between the Ravens and 49ers, Beyonce’s sexy half-time show, and a freak power outage combined to generate a record 24.1 million posts on Twitter during Sunday night’s Super Bowl XLVII. That’s up from 13.7 million last year, and doesn’t even include the buzz surrounding the commercials.

The most notable tweets occurred during the stadium blackout at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. This real-time marketing showcased brands that were quick on their feet, and joined in the trending social conversation surrounding the blackout.

From an Oreo tweet receiving over 15,000 retweets to Calvin Klein embracing the hottest new trend on Twitter by sharing a Vine video, the following are the top five brands that embraced those 34 minutes in the dark:

1) Oreo Cookie: “Power Out? No Problem” along with a picture of a cookie with the text “You can still dunk in the dark.”

2) Tide: “We can’t get your #blackout, but we can get your stains out.”

3) Audi: “Sending some LEDs to the @MBUSA Superdome right now…”

4) Calvin Klein: “Since the lights are still out…“ accompanied by a Vine of a muscular man doing sit-ups.

5) Jim Beam: “FYI - This #superbowl blackout is sponsored by #JimBeam Black.”

Cuker is back after attending the 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas! The world’s largest annual innovation event unveiled 20,000 new products and drew in over 150,000 attendees this year, making it the largest CES show to date.

Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs kicked off the event with the keynote “Born Mobile,” which was full of surprises, including a live performance from Maroon 5! The excitement continued as the biggest innovators in the technology industry revealed their cutting-edge products.

We were proud to support our clients, Sony and Technicolor, who participated in the show. Sony had an expansive line-up of new products and technologies that offered something for everyone, and Technicolor was awarded the Videomaker Spotlight Award for their color correction software CineStyle Color Assist.

We had a great time and hope to see you at CES 2014!

2012 is drawing to a close, and retailers and marketers are already looking ahead towards the next big trends in digital marketing. 2013 promises to deliver sales growth in eCommerce and mobile commerce, along with a new string of marketing “buzzwords” such as SoLoMo and big data. From among the clutter, we’ve compiled a list of the top 10 marketing trends every digital marketer should watch in 2013.

1) Mobile Optimization

2013 will show a continued investment in mobile optimized websites and email. Studies show that consumers continue to prefer shopping on mobile sites (14%) over apps (4%). If 2013 finally proves to be the true “Year of Mobile,” mobile optimization will be a priority for retailers.

2) Social Media Integration

In 2013, brands will take the leap beyond siloed Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest accounts and begin to leverage the data from social media into the rest of their marketing mix. Expect to see personalized brand content based on social media user behavior, and social media integration throughout retail websites to encourage user generated content and product sharing.

3) Content Marketing

As always, content is king. In order to attract, acquire and engage current and potential consumers, marketers will continue to curate content that is compelling, relevant, and valuable to fans. Look for more calls to action in a variety of content in 2013, from blogs and social media to case studies and webinars.

4) Real-Time Communications

We will continue to see more marketers take advantage of real-time communications in 2013. While marketing campaigns have been hugely successful in the past, they are often time sensitive and cannot incorporate changing consumer trends. Real-time communications allow customers to engage with brands on their website and through their social media channels.

5) Big Data

With the increasing number of customer touch points, it has become difficult to truly analyze customer preferences. In 2013, we will see big data represented in a way that marketers can interpret and use. This data will influence day-to-day decision-making.

6) Visual Content

2013 will be the year of visual content. Sites like Instagram and Pinterest experienced sizeable user growth in 2012, proving that content does not always have to be written. Marketers will strive for an innovative presentation, with an increase of infographics, picture boards, photos and videos.

7) Mobile Payment

Sales via mobile payment will become increasingly popular in the coming years. A study by Gartner forecasts alternative payments to grow 350% by 2016. In 2013, we should expect some of the big retailers to focus on a mobile-commerce solution.

8) Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search Engine Optimization saw many changes in 2012, and that trend will continue into next year. In addition to algorithmic changes, organizations are starting to increase their SEO headcount as well. A survey by Conductor shows SEO will be all about improving the content development strategy in 2013.

9) Inbound Marketing

The marketing budgets previously spent on outbound marketing will begin to shift towards inbound marketing. This shift from traditional to digital marketing will leverage blogs, podcasts, SEO, e-newsletters and social media marketing.

10) SoLoMo

SoLoMo, the intersection of social, local and mobile, is a powerful new marketing trend with the potential for significant growth in 2013. SoLoMo leverages the GPS technology in consumers' smartphones to deliver highly targeted, location based messages tied in with social networking. For Black Friday, Macy’s launched an iPhone app that sensed when a consumer entered the store, sent push notifications for special promotions, and even provided deal locations by floor and department through map functionality. Look for even more SoLoMo-driven apps and campaigns in 2013.

How have eCommerce, mobile, and emerging technology changed the way that consumers shop at physical stores? This critical question was addressed by our CEO Aaron Cuker on December 4th when he sat on the panel of the CommNexus marketing event, “Digital In-Store: Re-Imagining How We Shop.” Aaron was joined on the panel by other experts in marketing and retail to discuss the evolution of digital in-store experiences.

One message rang clear among the panelists – the success of digital campaigns lies in building an exceptional user experience. Since smartphones now offer consumers unlimited access to price and product information, brick-and-mortar retailers must differentiate themselves by engaging their customers. Aaron shared that “80% of purchase decisions are made with the emotional side of the brain,” and that retailers must create experiences that appeal to emotion in order to convert customers.

Many progressive retailers are engaging consumers through highly personalized experiences. Aaron also discussed the Wetsuit Selector that the Cuker team built for Rip Curl, which recommends the perfect wetsuit for each user based on gender, zip preference, height, weight, and other factors. The Wetsuit Selector was also integrated into Rip Curl’s tablet app and mobile-optimized website in order to introduce this digital tool in stores.

From location-based coupons to tablet ordering at restaurants, the future of retail will belong to those that utilize technology to provide an unmatched physical experience. Learn more about what it takes to build an inspiring, emotion-driven dynamic brand.

The holiday shopping season kicked off over Thanksgiving weekend, and once again the biggest shopping event of the year shattered sales records. Many retailers began their “doorbuster” deals one day early on Thanksgiving night, resulting in a slight 1.8% decrease in Black Friday sales despite a 3.5% increase in foot traffic. According to ShopperTrak, consumers spent $11.2 billion at stores on Black Friday.

As in 2011, Cyber Monday once again broke the record for the heaviest online shopping day in U.S. history. This record-breaking day raked in $1.46 billion in online sales, an impressive 17% increase from last year. Online shopping also broke eCommerce records throughout the entire weekend - according to National Retail Federation, 27% of consumers shopped online on Thanksgiving and 47.5% shopped online on Black Friday, with Black Friday online sales reaching over $1 billion for the first time.

Total spending over the four-day weekend was an astonishing $59.1 billion, up 12.8% from last year. The holiday shopping excitement is far from over, with comScore forecasting even bigger gains in sales throughout December. The bottom line? Online retailers can look forward to a very merry 2012 holiday season.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and here at Cuker we have plenty to be thankful for! This year we celebrated exciting brand website launches and the opening of our new Austin office. We are also thankful for an unbelievable awards season that included trophies and accolades from the prestigious OMMA Awards, WebAwards, and more.

Thank you to all of our wonderful clients for a fantastic and successful year – we couldn’t have done it without you! We also want to take the time to thank all our industry partners, associates, and vendors. Finally, a special thank you to our family and friends for all your support and enthusiasm over the years.

From all of us at Cuker, have a Happy Thanksgiving! Cheers!

Today’s brands selling online are all looking for ways to optimize conversions, from increasing landing page and sales conversions to reducing shopping cart abandonment and bounce rates. The solution? For many brands, it’s all about learning your customers’ pain points and understanding why they may be dropping off during conversions.

Cuker has a variety of conversion optimization tips that address the most common concerns of online shoppers. These cost-effective tactics can be easily integrated into your current eCommerce strategy. Here are just a handful of ways to optimize your conversions:

1) Offer Free Shipping

According to a study by PayPal and comscore 46% of online shoppers abandon their carts because shipping costs are too high. One way to reduce shopping cart abandonment is to offer customers free shipping on minimum purchases.

2) Offer Time-Based Promotions

Another common reason for shopping cart abandonment is that the customer isn’t ready to complete the purchase. Encourage customers to purchase sooner through time-based promotions, such as “Buy now and receive a 10% off coupon code at checkout!”

3) Send a Trigger Email

Even after a cart has been abandoned, there is still time to save the sale. If you’ve captured your customer’s email address during the checkout process, send a trigger email to remind the customer of the items left in the cart and to offer a coupon.

4) Upsell Your Products

Increase your sales conversions by recommending like products to your customers based on viewed items, through a “recommended products” section on your product detail pages or during checkout.

5) Set Up a “Goal Funnel”

Are you unsure of where your customers are dropping off in the conversion funnel? Google Analytics allows you to set up a “goal funnel” to track conversions such as checkout, contact form completion, or contest entrance, and determine where customers are abandoning the conversion. This insight will help you understand your customers and inform where and how you should optimize your conversions.

Looking for additional ways to increase your conversions? Cuker has the solutions for all your digital and marketing needs.

Cuker is back after attending the 2012 OMMA Awards in New York City. The respected Online Media, Marketing and Advertising (OMMA) Awards took place on October 1, 2012. It was an honor to be a part of the seventh annual celebration, and to be nominated along with clients Dunlop Tires and Little Giraffe for two awards in Web Site Excellence.

For Dunlop Tires, the Cuker team was nominated for the website revamp of Dunlop’s motorcycle tire division. The new and improved DunlopMotorcycle.com includes photo galleries, team rider pages, a dealer locater, as well as a series of technical videos to feature the groundbreaking technology behind Dunlop tires. The site competed against Nissan and Jeep in the Automotive category. Nissan was awarded top honors.

Cuker was also nominated for our work on eCommerce website LittleGiraffe.com. Luxurious children’s apparel brand Little Giraffe needed a new website that would expand their brand globally and provide a full-featured eCommerce store. LittleGiraffe.com features interactive product descriptions, a store locator, blog, and photo submission feature, as well as a complete online store. Fellow nominees in the category of Retail were Pier 1 Imports and Barneys New York. The award was presented to Barneys.

Our Digital Marketing Manager, Shelley Burns, represented Cuker at the awards. It was a great event and exciting to be included with the industry’s finest talents and campaigns. “We were truly honored to be recognized by the OMMA community and it was a privilege to participate in this celebration of the industry's biggest innovators,” Shelley said. “Also, congratulations to finalists Little Giraffe and Dunlop Tires - we love having such great clients who are willing to push the creative envelope with us!”

Though we did not take any awards home, receiving two nominations in the Web Site Excellence category was a huge honor. These awards are given to web publishers and/or web developers whose outstanding content, visual design and user interface create recurring value for users. It was a privilege to be nominated, and we would like to congratulate Nissan and Barneys for their innovative work and top honors!