Parents looking to ensure that their child’s feet get the proper care for healthy growth are flocking to shoes endorsed by the American Podiatric Medical Association. Women’s Wear Daily says that the endorsement helps retailers and marketers by giving a solid recommendation for the quality of the shoes. Writes Eric Newman, parents aren’t the only ones lured by the seal. For retailers, it can connote a quality product and serves as an important sales piece. “The seal is definitely an important selling point, if needed,” said Danny Wasserman, owner of Tip Top Shoes in New York. “Parents love the fact that it has validity and that it has got [a professional organization] behind it.”Kids’ Brands Aim to Seal the Deal

At Mashable yesterday, they looked at the power of social media spawned by one this year’s biggest cultural phenomenons.  By embracing social media, the team behind the forthcoming movie have seen over 81,000 tweets this past Tuesday on Twitter.  MySpace also teamed up with UStream to broadcast from the red carpet before the movie premiere, and saw two million unique viewers.  With all of the users tweeting, one can see the overwhelming positive reaction to the film, giving the companies behind the project instant feedback on their marketing efforts and a potential reaction to the movie.  As the article states, they saw a 92% positive reaction.

Social media is a force that can drive your business.  While your fans might not have such a force on the internet, what are you doing to engage with them? Are you listening to them and providing them content to get excited about your business?

CNNMoney.com reports that three marketing firms and hundreds of their online partners made more than $1.4 billion using misleading sales tactics, according to a report issued Tuesday by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John D. Rockefeller IV (D., W.Va.).Affinion Group Inc., Vertrue Inc. (VTRU) and Webloyalty Inc., enrolled consumers in club memberships, sometimes without the consumers’ knowledge or consent, researchers said in the report, released before a hearing Tuesday.None of the companies or their online partners testified Tuesday. The three firms previously have settled lawsuits brought by consumers or by states on behalf of consumers, and recently made changes to their marketing practices. Lawmakers suggested that may not be enough and that legislation may be needed.At issue are enrollments that came as consumers shopping on popular Web sites such as Priceline.com Inc. (PCLN) or 1-800-Flowers.com Inc. (FLWS) clicked on pop-up ads offering rewards for joining an online membership service. Pop-ups typically appeared after consumers provided payment information to the Web site operator, which was passed along to the marketers automatically, the report found.What do you think of the Senate’s look at Online Marketing? We’d like to hear your thoughts.Congressional Report Faults Online Marketing Practices

In a recent article at B to B Online, they look at the increasing importance of mobile marketing.  A big contribution to the growing opportunity of mobile marketing is the increasing popularity ebooks.  In one year, the eBooks have experienced a 177% growth, and they’re expected to sell 10 million ebooks by the end of 2010.  Read more about the opportunity for mobile marketing here.

An article from the New Zealand Herald reports that it’s local businesses are taking Twitter to heart and using it to both market their business and promote each other.  The paper credits the community for adopting to the fast pace social media machine.  They’ve also published an extensive list of those using Twitter effectivly in their region.  Do you know of any other directories that share local businesses Twitter accounts?

Yesterday Google bought AdMob for a reportedly $750M. The deal is expected to close in the next several months, according to Matt Furman, a Google spokesperson. The move, that “this acquisition will enhance Google’s existing expertise and technology in mobile advertising, while also giving advertisers and publishers more choice.”Do you think that this move will cause other companies to re-think their role within the mobile space?Google buys AdMob for $750 million

Seth Godin recently posed the question How much time are you spending on the upside in your organization vs the downside in this post on his blog. He gave the example that hospitals spends about only 5% on the upside actually taking care of patients and about 95% on the downside avoiding lawsuits, further infections, etc. He then mentions that companies should actually be doing the opposite, spending the majority of their time in incredible experiences as opposed to avoiding problems. Seth mentions that companies must invest in having remarkable things happen to customers. Do you agree?

What has Microsoft done wrong in its marketing? Slate reporters created this nifty overview of Microsoft’s marketing efforts and what they do and don’t do that promote the success of the brand.What do you think?

The Institute for International Research (IIR) is currently seeking corporate practitioner presenters for:

10th annual Shopper Insights in Action Conference

Due to the high volume of submissions, we suggest you submit your proposal early and no later than Monday, November 30, 2009 to Amanda Powers, Senior Conference Producer at apowers@iirusa.com or call 1-646-895-7332.

Shopper Insights in Action is recognized as the world’s leading conference focused on understanding shopper behavior and translating insights into action.

2010 will be a true best practice and idea exchange for those responsible for driving shopper-centric programs in the brand and retail worlds. It is the only unbiased shopper-rooted platform where practitioners can properly benchmark their research/marketing practices against the leading brand and retail companies.

2010 Main Themes & Topics:
• New Methodologies for Understanding Shoppers
• Bringing Insights into the Next Era: New Qualitative & Quantitative Techniques
• The Psychology of the Post-Recession Shopper
• Adopting to the New Era of Simplicity
• Clear Messaging Amidst Media Saturation
• Holistic Solutions on a Global Level: End to End Insights to Activation
• Tying Store Design and Layout to Shopper Insights: What Shoppers Do and Don’t Want
• The Blurring Lines between the Shopper and the Consumer: Where Does Branding Meet Shopper Marketing? (Opportunities, winning stories)
• In-Store Metrics & Measurement
• In and Out of Store Technologies that Engage Shoppers
• Small Shops, Big Lessons (If you’re a smaller retailers or a brand that has had great success partnering with alternative channel formats, let us know)
• New Technologies: Virtual, What’s Next?
• Communicating Insights through Storytelling Techniques

And so much more! Check our blog for more details.

Shopper 360: http://bit.ly/Shopper360BLOG

Speakers receive FREE admission to the conference as well as any pre-conference activity such as workshops or symposium.

What if I am not a corporate practitioner (from a client side company) but still would like to participate?

More than 75% of our content will be delivered by corporate practitioners. If you are a consultant or solutions provider and wish to be a part of the program, please contact Jon Saxe, Senior Business Development Manager at jsaxe@iirusa.com or 646-895-7467.

For consideration, please e-mail apowers@iirusa.com with the following information by November 30, 2009
• Proposed speaker name(s), job title(s), and company name(s)
• Contact information including address, telephone and e-mail
• The main theme you plan to address
• Which format you’d like to present
• A brief summary
• Please indicate what is NEW about the presentation
• What the audience will gain or learn from your presentation (please list 3-5 deliverables)
• Previous conference presentations
• Short Bio & speaker headshot

Tips/Guidelines
Due to the high volume of proposals we receive, not every submission is selected. We rely heavily on three components:
1. Content matches interest of audience identified through research
2. Compelling topic that showcases something new and exciting. It must show how to insights were leveraged to drive action/sales/loyalty
3. Speaker is able to provide details in the format of a case study or interactive session. This event is about sharing with members of your industry, so the speaker must be willing to showcase the “how-to” details.

All the best,

Amanda Powers
Senior Conference Producer
Institute for International Research

10th annual Shopper Insights in Action 2010
Event Date: July 11-14, 2010
Location: Marriott Chicago Magnificent Mile, Chicago, IL

Kids in select markets will now have an easier time choosing what to order at the popular Mexican-style restaurant, Chipotle. QSR Magazine reports that the move comes after research showing that Chipotle’s customers did not understand the extent of its menu, which, according to spokesman Chris Arnold, contains more than 60,000 ingredient combinations.While Chipotle has long offered kids’ options, it never put them on the official menu…But now the kids’ choices have made it onto the menuboard in Boston, Dallas, Sacramento, and Denver, as well as statewide in Arizona and Wisconsin.How do you think Chipotle will market their new kid-friendly menu?Chipotle’s Secret Menu