5 Tips to Jumpstart Creativity

It always seems that those great ideas come to us at the worst time...while taking a shower, right before we fall asleep, yet never when we need it most. Whether writing a press release for a client or solving a scheduling problem, creative thinking is an essential skill that will set you apart from the rest. So here are 5 tips to help get those creative juices flowing! 

1. Ditch the quiet office.

Blocking out all distractions actually inhibits creativity. Having a moderate level of ambient noise allows you to think in a more abstract and creative way. Research has found that this noise can be anything from a TV show running in the background to someone using a vacuum cleaner. It has been found that lower or higher levels of noise did not positively impact creative thinking. 

2. Silence the inner critic.

You have heard the saying, "you are your own worst critic", meaning we are the first to shoot down ideas. However, constantly worrying about something not being good enough only blocks the creative flow. 

A great exercise that will help silence this negative voice is brainstorming. Write down everything that comes to mind. Don't worry about it being perfect, some great ideas stem from the most random of thoughts! 

3. Experiment with your work environment.

In addition to accepting some distraction while working, try making changes in your workspace itself. A study has proven that experimenting with color has provided a positive impact on creative thinking. 

Just as red is associated with caution like in a stop sign, the color red can also activate a sense that makes us vigilant. Being more alert helps you perform detail-oriented tasks such as proofreading. On the other hand, hues of blue make you feel at peace and safe, allowing you to be more open to exploring abstract thoughts. 

4. Sift out the busy work.

If your days, weeks and months are packed with “getting things done,” you’re not leaving any room to experiment. Google famously lets its employees use 20% of their workweeks to pursue special projects. Following Google's advice, try taking some time out of your hectic day to let your mind relax. Doing so will cause your brain to stimulate creative thoughts and feel recharged to pick up on your previous project. 

5. Branch out beyond your comfort zone.

Sometimes the best path to creative and inventive thinking is to be intentional about experiencing new things in life. Inspiration can come from listening to a new Pandora station, to having lunch with an old friend from college. So have fun trying something out of the ordinary...you never know what it could lead to! 

Good News for Twitter Advertisers

Within the past couple years, Twitter opened their advertising API to third parties, which has allowed companies to create more sophisticated advertising. When they launched this new program they were partnered with Adobe, Hootsuite, Salesforce, SHIFT and TBG Digital.

On Tuesday Kevin Weil, Twitter's senior director of product for revenue at Twitter, made the announcement that advertising on Twitter will now be open to all U.S. users. The change from invite-only advertising to all U.S. users is due to all the feedback the company has received from businesses. Business owners gave suggestions and areas for improvements, which Twitter took in to consideration and have enhanced their advertising and expanded their targeting and reporting in the U.S.

This change will allow companies to expand their target audience and draw more users to their product or service. Social media has been growing since the big digital push and this will continue to help companies reach consumers. Another big step in the advertising world!

Powerhouse USA Congratulates the 2013 Orlando ADDY Award Winners

The ADDY Awards have announced their 2013 winners, among them Disney’s Yellow Shoes Creative group and Hard Rock Café took home multiple awards. 

The ADDY Awards are organized yearly by the local chapter of the American Advertising Federation. This group selects and recognizes the talent and hard work that go into Orlando ads and celebrates the creative excellence and achievements in our advertising community!

The ADDY Awards are unique among advertising and creative competitions since they include three levels of judging: local, regional, and national. The local ADDYs are given based on the competition in Orlando, which makes it easy to see how well local competitors do. This also allows to local competitors to compete regionally and nationally based on their success!

To see some of Orlando’s best ad works head to http://www.theorlandoaddys.com/winners-2013/

Orlando Ad Market Finishes Strong First Quarter: Good Second Quarter Forcasted

Orlando ad spending has increased throughout the first quarter but despite previous quarters experiencing sluggish markets. Both TV and radio have seen spending gains in numerous categories this quarter.

TV spending was up 10 to 15 percent in January, and it’s expected to be up at least 10 percent year-to-year for the remainder of the quarter. Large categories including auto, financial, telecom and furniture have all increased spending by double-digit percentages versus a year ago, putting a squeeze on inventory.

Prime-time and news day-parts have the highest demand this year, but other day-parts will also pick up in coming months. With predictions for a strong second quarter the market should remain healthy.

Radio spending has also been ahead year over year throughout the first and second quarters, despite pricing being down as compared to a year ago. Financial, retail and auto advertisers have all increased radio spending this year.

From Dec. 6 to Jan. 2, WMGF averaged a 13.6 portable people meter rating in its holiday season, according to Arbitron, more than five points ahead of the No. 2 station WPOZ-FM, which averaged an 8.5. Stations owned by Clear Channel and Cox perform the best; In December those companies accounted for seven of nine top Orlando stations.

Infographics: The Newest Way to Digest Data

Infographics have been popping up in social media everywhere recently and the buzz is all about how they educate viewers more quickly and efficiently than traditional posts.

Infographics visually express data via the use of small icons, bits of text and basic graphs; this seems to be the best formula to help viewers digest content faster. With info expressed visually and usually in within a moderate amount of space viewers are more likely to view an infographic as compared to a basic post. With the pressure from users for faster data and instant results, infographics seem to be the best way to grab attention.

 In the world of social-media and marketing expediting the relay of data is paramount and infographics are a great way to boost relevance and engage a target audience. To grab attention and engage your audiences experiment with infographics, but don’t rely on them as a primary means of advertising. Infographics should be supplemental to your marketing tactics!

Mobile Business Apps: Increasing Productivity and Revenue

The buzz is all about mobile business apps! Mobile productivity and process apps went mobile in 2012 and revenue associated with them is estimated to be around $25 billion for 2012. Research firm Strategy Analytics says this number is expected to rise to $50 billion by 2017.

The mobile experience has evolved from simple mobile email and messaging apps to productive apps with content authoring abilities like enterprise resource planning (ERP) and consumer resource management (CRM).

The importance of worker productivity on the go has driven the rapid growth of mobile business apps and has pushed the market revenue to new highs. It’s exciting to see the ways businesses are stepping up to the plate when it comes to mobilizing their business operations.

The mobile device has evolved to fit each and every business need and surely the apps market should be one to watch in the times to come. 

Marketing Predictions for 2013

In 2012, there were increased developments for marketers. Social media sites, such as Facebook, created a massive mobile advertising business. Now the question is, what does 2013 have to offer? Advertising experts got together to show marketing predictions for the year to come.

The first strategy experts explored was “Mobile-First Strategy.” Facebook and Google are two sites responsible for the mobile ad spending tripling to $4 billion in 2012. According to eMarketer, “we expect mobile ads to increasingly become the top priority for advertisers on digital, rather than desktop.” This is the result of consumers spending more time and money on mobile devices.

Next experts explored the revision of “Banner Ads.” Banner ads do not work well on mobile devices, which has lead companies to reconsider using them. However, the ads will not be going away for good, instead businesses are working on a more creative way to post them and become user friendly.

Florida's Job Market Continues to Grow

According to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Florida ranks number 2 in the nation for job creation.

The Sunshine State created 23,200 nonagricultural jobs in the month of August and totaled more than 28,000 new private sector jobs created. This is the 11th month-to-month positive job growth Florida has had in the past 14 months, and also the 25th consecutive month of positive annual job growth.

In another interesting report recently shared by the State of Women-Owned Business Report, Florida ranks No. 4 for the most women-owned businesses. Florida has an estimated 587,600 women-owned firms, employing 473,100 people and taking in roughly $77.6 billion in revenue. The number of women-owned firms in the Sunshine State has grown 73.9 percent from 1997-2012.

Facebook Testing Promoted News Feed Posts for Non-Fans

Companies may now be able to advertise in the news feeds of users on Facebook who are not a fan of their pages. Facebook revealed on Tuesday that it will begin testing promoted posts for brands so that they have the ability to reach people who haven’t become a fan of their page.

Facebook spokeswoman Annie Ta announced that Facebook will shortly be starting a very small test which will allow companies to promote posts to users beyond the fans in their news feed. The promoted posts will appear both on desktop and mobile versions of the site.

The promoted posts will look like typical updates in a user’s news feed, but they will be labeled as “sponsored.” As of right now, only fans of a company have the option to view their posts in the fans news feed.