When I started The A Group more than 12 years ago, I had no idea I was giving life to a new type of business: martech.  We developed in-house technology to make sure our marketing efforts worked and were simple to use. We knew marketing could not live without technology. It was true a decade ago, and even more so now. Not only digital natives demand it, we all do. We browse online, on our mobile devices but often purchase at a physical store. We want the same information on our desktop computer, tablet and phone whenever, wherever. We measure our tolerance to wait for information in mere seconds. Today’s consumer has an attention span of less than 6 seconds. Last week I attended the first Martech Conference in Boston. The Martech Conference was an integrated conversation of marketing, technology, trends and best practices led by experts, often titled Chief…

Mobile is changing the way we buy, sign up and do most everything online. It’s the fastest growing game-changer/disruptor technology since the internet itself. Here’s a great slidershare on the 50 things you should know about mobile commerce. How have you seen your own purchasing habits change after you adopted a smart phone?

We underestimate our audience all the time. That’s even more true when it comes to technology. As I type this blog, the lady sitting next to me is reading a book on her second-generation Kindle. She’s well into her 70’s.  One of the perpetuating myths I run across often is that people do not know how to use technology. Usually it goes in the form of “our people are not very good with technology. They are ten years behind.” What we have forgotten is that technology is now ubiquitous. It’s not an end or a statement anymore—perhaps it is for the cutting-edge technophile who’s looking for the latest gismo with an on and off button. But today, communication and technology are synonymous. Technology is  no longer a luxury or even a choice. Even the older generations are now becoming digital users. If they want to be a part of their…

CIOs (Chief Information Officers) have a big problem. The pace of change in technology is mind numbing. With the advent of the App store and the exponential proliferation of apps for just about anything imaginable, organizations are having a tough time managing their Information Technology infrastructure. I remember the days when Microsoft software upgrades were done annually and operating systems lasted sometimes two or three years before a new release would be officially support by the IT department. Now it’s down to a daily occurrence. New software, apps, sites, productivity tools are pouring out at us like a tsunami that cannot be stopped. Since April, 50,000 new apps were added to the App store, making it a total number of 650,000 apps and growing. That doesn’t even count the apps that are being created for the Android devices. If you are the CIO of your organization, or head of IT…

Many of my current conversations start with “we need our own app.” I usually answer this question with one of my own, “why do you think you need an app?” The usual answer is something similar to what junior high boys give their parents when they want a new game console: “All the cool kids have one.” But before you try to keep up with the cool, rich kids of technology, I would suggest you take a step back and think about creating a mobile strategy first. Much like creating marketing pieces without an integrated marketing campaign is not a smart idea, creating apps without first designing a mobile strategy is not a good move. Sometimes your best app is not an app at all, but a killer mobile version of your site. Recently, Google put out some good thinking on mobile strategies. Following are 4 questions you should consider…

I have been saying for a while now that technology and communication have fused into one discipline. I don’t think you can communicate effectively in our culture without using digital media. I was reminded of that Saturday night during my late dinner in a tiny Armenian restaurant in Madrid. Restaurant Vartan has been in business for over 33 years. It does not have a website and it is tucked away in a side street away from the city crowded streets. If you do not look for it diligently, you’ll miss it altogether. The fact that I have never been to Madrid and that there are over 3,000 sit-down restaurants in the city to choose from, and that I found my way into Vartan was a feat against all odds. While the establishment does not have a web presence, I found great reviews on the Trip Advisor app on my iPhone.…

“We have a technology problem.” Words I often hear from a client or potential client. While that might be a valid concern, most of the time it’s not the technology problem that’s causing the issue, but a communication one. My company, The A Group, has a technology division where we have developed a sophisticated platform for media-rich tools as well as a powerful and easy-to-use content management system. While I’m happy to sell our products to anyone who needs faster, easier, and overall better technology, I’m always careful to make sure people understand the it’s the communication strategy that drives the technology and not the other way around. This might sound simplistic to some, but I can tell you from personal experience that many churches, businesses, and not-for-profits believe that a shiny new website, a powerful digital media tool, or an iPhone app will cure their communication problems. They won’t.…

How far into the future should your technology plan look? That’s a question I am asked often these days. Technology can be a capital expenditure for businesses and not-for-profits. It seems like yesterday I was sitting in board meetings considering investing in technology, websites, servers, and productivity tools that we expected to be useful for “the next 10 years.” Oh my, how times have changed. Unfortunately today I run into all sorts of limitation issues when clients who bought expensive technology 5 years ago want to continue to use it in today’s context. The proliferation and democratization of technology has taken innovation from the large software and hardware developers such as Microsoft and has moved them down to the level of a college kid who starts a little online tool for his friends based on an open-source platform we now call Facebook. It seems like every day something amazing has…

Yesterday I panicked like I haven’t panicked in a long, long time. As a matter of fact, I can’t remember feeling so lost and out of sorts like I did at the Orlando airport. Most of the time,  I’m very decisive. When things don’t go as planned, I usually have a plan B or C ready to deploy. But that was not the case yesterday. As I walked away from the Hertz rental car return into the terminal, I realized that my iPhone was not with me. It took me all of 5 minutes to notice it was missing. But it was too late. A worker had already taken it from the rental car and kept it. Suddenly disbelief, loss and sheer terror joined me as I raced across the airport trying to not to lose my flight since I had already lost my life, uh, I mean, my phone.…

I have spent the last few days in Singapore listening to reports from around Asia on TWR‘s outreach efforts. There’s an amazing amount of work being done in this region of the globe for the advancement of the gospel including work in closed countries like North Korea, Myanmar and China. TWR is the largest Christian Broadcaster in the world reaching out to over 200 languages in some 160 countries through radio waves, television, print and internet. It’s truly an amazing organization. As I sat with leaders of 12 different countries/regions one common theme began to appear: mobile is our new frontier. TWR Partners of 12 different countries in Asia While radio is still the only way to reach millions in some cultures, mobile phones now make up the fastest growing communication device in the world. Even remote places in India and Africa now have affordable cell service with data plans.…