The CleanPix Blog

The use of QR-Codes are about to revolutionize the link between paper (print advertising) and the internet. Just imagine… you could be walking in Lubbock, Texas along the sidewalk and at the base of the the Buddy Holly statue there is a QR-Code inviting you to scan it with your smartphone. So you bring out your phone and place it in front of the QR-Code. At that instant, music comes up along with a video prompting you to get a real feel for the local culture.

This is how powerfully simple this technology is. Any print ad you make can have a QR code to prompt the reader to link with your webpage, your blog, or your twitter account. Right there, they interact with your promotion of your destination, product or event. QR-Codes are used all over the place. For example, newspapers often use it to extend an article, to give a link to an important visual or to simply update you with the latest development in the news.

For marketers it makes the $$30k advertisement a real platform for linking to all type or web experiences, games, or video. It allows marketers to present them with the opportunity to update the info linked with an ad in a daily manner. Best of all, this technology is simple and easy to work with and cost little to implement. You can quickly google “QR Code Generator” or you can follow these steps.

1) Visit http://qrcode.kaywa.com (Educative use only) to load up a QR Generator service
2) Select the kind of information you want encoded, such as a URL or text
3) Choose how big you want the generated image to be and click on “Generate”

That’s it, the service will create a QR Code you can download and place into any printed document. As of today, the de-facto standard for code scanners is ScanLife which is a free download on the Apple iTunes store.

If you are having some troubles with a link, that can sometimes be caused by the URL you are using that needs CapitalLetters to work correctly. Some scanners make everything lowercase and break the link. In this case, you can use a URL shortening service like http://bit.ly to create a short all lowercase link that will redirect correctly.

Follow this QR Code to learn about Buddy Holly!

“A collection dedicated to the life and musical career of Lubbock’s own Buddy Holly. The center is home to many items donated by friends and family of Buddy Holly, including several guitars, letters, stage clothing, songbooks, report cards etc.”

Note: We found one of several possible services online that provide QR-Code generation for commercial use that is free to use: http://invx.com/

The traditional camera market does not stand still. The latest digital SLR cameras come with great video options, including sound capture, as well as features like slow motion effects. This may be attributed simply to the competitive threat provided by the rapid evolution of the smartphone.

Phones like the new iPhone 4 include an image capture that now rivals many digital cameras. The iPhone 4 can take a 5 megapixel picture (a resolution of 2592 x 1944 pixels). This means an 8″ X 6′” photo at 300 dpi and this resolution is suitable for use in glossy magazines and print publications. These are not small files and this means that they can be repurposed all the way up from use on the Web to newsprint or, as we mentioned, magazines.

As the pictures smartphones can capture get bigger, it means that the file sizes get bigger. It is easy enough to take a large file and scale it down for the Web, but it is not practical to take a small image and scale it up for print. Print publications are not disappearing, they are simply changing. In turn, digital asset management systems that focus solely on tiny thumbnail-size pictures, optimized for a Web browser, are simply going against the current.

Larger quality photo files can serve a myriad of purposes therefore covering a wide spectrum of applications and media outlets. The smartphone makers know this fact and so do their customers. CNN on its broadcast, for example, makes plenty of use of video clips and photos taken via smartphone. As the resolution of these devices gets better, the files inevitably get larger and the viewer experience is enhanced. They say that “content” is king on the Internet; there is no doubt that file resolution goes a long way in enhancing the experience of the content. It appears to me that any system that dumbs down your brand images to no more than thumbnails seems to be a shortsighted approach and counter-indicative to enhancing your communications with the media.

CleanPix is proud to be a part of HITEC 2010, the worlds largest hospitality technology show. We have been invited to give a presentation on “Effective, Web-based, Brand Asset Management for the Hospitality Industry” on Tuesday, June 22, 2010.

Come join us!

The World’s Largest Hospitality Technology Show

HITEC 2010  I  June 21-24  I  Orlando, Fl.
HITEC brings the brightest minds and hottest technology to one place – with over 38 years of success.

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HITEC Education Sessions.

CleanPix  on “Effective, Web-based, Brand Asset Management for the Hospitality Industry.”

HITEC Education conference
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
10:30 – 11:00 a.m. (Eastern Time)

Exhibit Hall A

The lecture will focus on exposing trend and given tips on best practices to give brand exposure and to put media assets in action.

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HITEC New Product Showcase

CleanPix will also selected to be part of the HITEC New Product Showcase (pdf link), for its Asset management via iPhone. CleanPix introduces an iPhone app integrated with its photo asset management service. Take pictures at your hospitality events, update your web site image library or create and send press releases to the media on the fly. This mobile app brings an all-new dimension and flexibility to digital asset managements and brand control.

You may have noticed CleanPix does not have a Flash interface. Flash is a marvelous product made by Adobe that runs code and applications specifically designed for it. By far, the most common application of Flash is within browsers as a plug-in. In fact, some websites are totally made with Flash. This is because Flash provides tools to create an animated and fresh look that, for a long while, simply couldn’t done efficiently any other way. Flash offers great possibilities for video and games on the internet and an all around rich media experience. Most video on the net today is done with Flash. Some of the occasional video we post on the blog is done using YouTube and therefore Flash, because it works. YouTube’s massive success was largely thanks to Flash.

That said, times are changing and modern browsers are baking in support for video and audio without the need of a Flash plug-ins. YouTube has a running experiment for the new HTML5 video support new browsers are offering. Many applications on the web can now be done with simple HTML5, JavaScript and a host of other open source web technologies. Flash is a great product, but it has its limitations.

Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, after being criticized on why iPhone does not support Flash, wrote:
“Flash was created during the PC era – for PCs and mice. Flash is a successful business for Adobe, and we can understand why they want to push it beyond PCs. But the mobile era is about low power devices, touch interfaces and open web standards – all areas where Flash falls short.”

The avalanche of media outlets offering their content for Apple’s mobile devices demonstrates that Flash is no longer necessary to watch video or consume any kind of web content. And the 200,000 apps on Apple’s App Store proves that Flash isn’t necessary for tens of thousands of developers to create graphically rich applications, including games.
(Excerpt from the Apple site).

To deliver media (a website or application) in a browser using Flash content, you need to install the Flash plug-in. To view the latest Flash content, you need the most recent version of Flash. If you want to be secure, you need the most recent version of Flash. You also need a fairly powerful computer… something common in the home perhaps, but we know and understand that the office computers don’t get a computer upgrade every 3 months and many of those computers are not compatible with the latest Flash version. Besides that, your IT staff have a very delicate job deciding what software and versions get installed. This is why we don’t use Flash on our web pages at CleanPix.

Your computer asks you to upgrade new software on a regular basis. Whether you run Windows, Mac or Linux, you are constantly being asked to upgrade to the latest version. This includes your browsers. We decided that we didn’t want you or your clients to be burdened with yet another piece of software you would need to download, upgrade and maintain just to get access to media on CleanPix. CleanPix runs in your browser and all upgrades are done our server, so you never have to install a new application for your desktop or approve an upgrade installation to continue to use CleanPix.

CleanPix supports IE6, IE7, and IE8. We also fully support the latest versions of Safari, Firefox and Chrome. We even have support for mobile devices at m.cleanpix.com, where our customers can login and manage their account using a simplified version designed for mobile phones (You can see the full version of the site by visiting here). Flash simply isn’t required and isn’t needed to make your task easier.

By upgrading and running just one application–your browser–support for everything else done on CleanPix is baked in. This helps get the technology out of your way, out of your IT team’s way and out of your clients way.

Humuhumunukunukuapua’a

… is Hawaii’s state fish.
The best way to experience what hospitality is all about is to go play tourist somewhere. This is actually what I just did. Hawaii is no exception to seeing a downturn in the economy, recovery is sluggish and the tourism industry is suffering greatly, just like all other destinations where tourism revenue is paramount to the bottom line. Nevertheless, Hawaii as a destination provides an exercise in its own branding with great enthusiasm.

My experience as a tourist in Hawaii, despite the slow recovery of the US dollar, was nothing short of awesome. No, it was not the tons of made-in-China trinkets, the ukuleles or Hawaiian shirts that made the difference. Rather, it was the people of Hawaii. They are simply charming, welcoming and relentless at “aloha-ing” you from the moment you step off the plane. The Hawaiian brand is clear and branded from top to toe. You are never snobbed or disregarded, whether you stay at the best, posh hotels or elect to take the local city bus outside the tourism zone.

Honolulu, like any other North American city, does not escape crime (just in case you forget, the “Hawaii 5.0″ police sirens are a daily, noisy reminder), increasing populations of the homeless, and grave pollution issues, due visibly to overuse of plastic bags and other Styrofoam containers, particularly in fast-food throwaways. It appears that Hawaii, surprisingly, has not yet caught up with stringent recycling policies, despite being an island. That said, Honolulu’s tourism zone with its walkways, gardens and beaches is flawlessly cleaned every day. Nothing like the plastic soup one would find on the islands of Hong Kong.

There is a kind of natural ease to its people in welcoming you and smiling, whether or not you buy a trinket or a flower lei. I would say Hawaii, (pronounced “ha va ee”) has an inborn culture of friendliness and softness. A softness in touch with the color of the island winds and most evident at the Polynesian Cultural Center, where dances from the various island cultures are a portrait of pride, elegance and strength — qualities in substance that our modern ballroom gymnastics have all but forgotten. Hospitality means just that: the people are unfailingly hospitable. In sum, this enviable know-how that inhabits the core of their brand should serve as a lesson to any destination or service-oriented industry.

What was particularly stunning, is the amount of work each player on the team delivers, and particularly their true sense of teamwork and assistance to one another: On a snorkeling tour, you would see members assisting each other and being pleasant to each other as well as to us, teaching snorkeling and fitting equipment to each customer, then helping a team-mate cook the burgers and toss the salad, playing with the young kids while teaching eco-preservation and, in unison, picking up and storing all the equipment, and finally staging the grand finale, where all team members stand, waving us goodbye as our tour bus departs. That is hospitality brand with all the “T’s” crossed. I was impressed. They really get it: What makes hospitality is the people more than the destination.

Upon my return, my parents’ first question was: “Are they as nice as we remember them from our trip in the seventies?” Yes, is the answer. And this despite the hardships that many tourism venue players have to endure, not excluding… the launch of the new Apple iPad that happened during my stay in Honolulu. A tech world I had happily and gladly forgotten for an instant. For this and more, aloha and thanks, to you Hawaiian people, mahalo! On the whole this reaffirms what I thought I knew: that BRAND is really a culture and hardly a thing.

This fish got me!

At an age when taking a plane or going for a car or bus ride has become a chore, at a time when the security industry has taken every traveler hostage, at a period when climate changes are wreaking havoc with travel plans, the tourism industry is reinventing itself.

Finding the hot button to initiate a new wave of customers is certainly not easy. Quebec City mayor, Labaume, has hired Dr. Clotaire Rapaille, a well-known marketing guru, to carry out a sort of makeover exercise to rediscover the essential “code” of the city. (Dr. Rapaille claims marketing success with his unorthodox methods applied to other large cities, such as Singapore and Hong Kong, as well as to the auto industry and several fortune 500 companies that he names at every turn – thus marketing himself via traditional, repetitive, branding techniques.)

An old obsession resurfaces to the delight of the press
In the Canadian press, we see mixed reviews: some comment on the $300,000 contract with Rapaille, while others are happy to refuel the French-English saga that has always been an easy subject for the press. Rapaille points out that Quebec City’s obsession with French-English relations is a love/hate relationship and, according to him, makes for a very long-lasting “couple”. (He says: “There is pleasure in sadomasochism,” but, as we well know, he also likes to spice up his own image and play to the press.) All that is lots of fun to observe, but the reality is quite desperate. This destination needs reinventing.

The game
Quebec’s population is quickly aging (something that tourism is facing worldwide) and, as a result, the city is in danger of losing its market share as a desirable destination. It is tempting to say that this poking at the French-English, emotional button in the Quebec affair is possibly Rapaille’s way of creating a media buzz, polarizing attention on his notoriously theatrical ways of proceeding (the marketer selling the marketer). But it works. Everyone, or at least the Canadian press, is thrilled with it: “the cost”, “the controversy”, “the flamboyance of Rapaille”, etc., are all superficial snippets, with little to no analysis, reflection, or much attention paid to the fundamentals or to the urgency of the exercise. Nevertheless, the need to reinvent, reaffirm and keep marketing alive is certainly part of the game, and this on all levels, including journalism – a game, I must add, Rapaille plays like no other.

Marketing with a “code”
When we look at the tourism industry across America, it is by and large facing an urgent need to reinvent, to re-launch itself into a quest for the hot tourism button. To re-discover the “code” that would literally move people to travel to a destination. So, I applaud the initiative and the boldness of Quebec’s mayor, and what I find particularly positive is that the exercise is not a superficial undertaking, but, rather, that the intent is really to gain a better understanding of the product’s culture, before launching into yet another marketing campaign. It is a look into the core of this destination. Looking into what it is in contemporary terms, what is its very make-up, its actual product culture. The point is not that this specific exercise or the use of Dr. Rapaille may not be the right way to go, but, rather, that it positions knowledge of product culture squarely as the priority over doing advertising as usual with the risk of a focus that is no longer relevant.

Making a Media PITCH has its rules. 1) Go for the sizzle, 2) Be brief and 3) Pitch the right person are likely the forerunner rules to insure success. Amongst other proven guidelines there are: keep the story fresh and do not be afraid to be out-there. The latter proves to be often the most difficult to conquer. “Is my story too boring? Do I really have to let the media know? It seems such an effort and I am afraid it’s a lot of work and may not pay?” are often the main deterrents or excuses to stall and do nothing.

To get free press coverage you have to PITCH. Others do and the media is starving to hear your take, it is a symbiotic necessity. So let’s get going — it does not have to be a nightmare to undertake. At CleanPix, with the introduction of Pressuite.com, we make the process a breeze, and we offer coaching to the clients who want it. YES, we sometimes help hold the creative pen for a brief moment, but it does not take long before they are well on their way. Those who succeed are consistent and keep at it relentlessly.

To make the task even more productive, we recently added a whole new life to our clients’ sizzling stories published on Pressuite.com by joining Lou Taverna’s Hospitality 1ST Client Network. So now, when a brief is posted on Pressuite by our clients to our 4300+ qualified journalist members, the exposure will take a further leap and be distributed though Lou’s Newsmaker Alert email campaigns (70,000 registered members). We are looking forward to seeing increased success in key media news, as the stories of our clients are picked up by an expanding pool of journalists, travel writers of both print publishing and news blogs.

“CleanPix is so good…” a January 4th 2010 feedback comment from a German journalist user prompted me to write the following:

The spark of an idea.

It seems that every day new gadgets are showing up, new computer tablets, new smartphones, new apps, new toys of trade. They all add up to give us the impression that with these tools come more ease and instant ways to connect with others. But is it so? Some would argue that this connectivity frenzy is setting us back, while others see it as an ever expanding land of opportunities.

Lionel Tiger postulates that Social Media cause users to become conformist, and as I understand it, we are somewhat eroding the path of creativity. He Says: “We have reprimated ourselves“.
Lionel Tiger, Charles Darwin Professor of Anthropology at Rutgers University

Clearly we have the gear, the messengers and the audience, but what appears to elude us is the content. Content often seems like a cluster of darts thrown out there at random, unsure and insecure in direction, intent, target and substance. Opponents of social media tools (Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, etc) call it White Noise. As a result, they are often knocked back by the typical argument: “You don’t get it.” In fact, it is true, and I am one of these that likely do not get it. I suppose I am one of those who do not starve for constant entertainment, nor do I fear to lose contact when I do not look at commercials in the breaks, nor for that matter, if the cell is no longer in “roaming” mode. The need to feed silence with substance is a disease that social media practices exacerbate to no end. I sincerely believe that the SPARK of an Idea, can only happen within a moment of silence, and not allowing space for it is a bad idea.

A fragile thing, “the spark of an idea”, comes with observation and lots of it, a kind of self-reflection, like a mirror one could use to tap in for one’s own creative juices. What does it mean? Can we teach that at school? Unfortunately, we do not teach creativity at school, and ever so rarely in the course of the highest University learning. Nevertheless, creativity is what we especially applaud in the best scientists, politicians, farmers, social workers, doctors and in just plain, ordinary folks. Let’s be clear, in art school we teach mostly about art, not creativity; in advanced marketing and design schools we often talk about “creative” as if it was an ingredient one adds to porridge (I know, I have been a student in some of the top Universities). What we too often teach is how to makes things provoking, how to annoy, how to disturb. We teach, promote and validate through our media broadcasts a culture of shock, we promote the peculiar, the extreme, the terrifying, the disgusting and the disturbing, as opposed to the wise. We all realize that very little of our news is about sparking imagination. This may account for the fact that many of our young adults are becoming bored and disinterested with this output. Perhaps the 101 course on “idea education” could be based in validating an idea’s newsworthiness through its potential to spark imagination as opposed to its entertainment shock value.

I’ve got an idea. If what you have to offer is blue sky, say it, if it is powder snow, say it, and if it is white sand and a beach ball, say it. Say it simply with real emotion as if you were offering it, fresh out of the box yet again… that will always work. Do this TODAY… and tomorrow repeat it anew, with the same vigor and freshness— that is what branding is all about.

It is holiday time and I was thinking of pudding. You know figgy pudding. I have never had any but some how I started to think of the term the proof is in the pudding. I have no pudding today but I  have had some recent conversations with some of our clients about their PressBriefs. I thought I would share them with you and their recipe for PressBrief success. (for the Post Hotel Chrismas Pudding … see below.)

Here are the main ingredients they use in their PressBriefs:

1. Be Brief  (Pinch of This) I mean just a sentence or two.

2. Sell the Media to be interested in the story. (Use Sizzle) The media will write the story not you.

3. Variety in your PressBriefs Culture, Environment, Events. And, it is ok to have a few that are longer in length. That said a PressBrief, is a media PITCH,  it is not a press-release that you have to labor over for hours and let steam over several pages.  ( Think of your Brief as a deligthfull and appetizing Hors-D’oeuvres.)

4. Taste test what you are doing. Look at the reporting and see what is getting the views. Taylor your Pressbriefs to their taste.

5. Link your PressBriefs to the story Ideas page on your website.

6. Refrain from using PressBriefs for postings of a full or partial year events calendar. If you have 10 calendar events, make 10 individual “PITCH” puddings, I mean PressBriefs. Yes, follow the best practice of  a media PITCH, one story with its few sizzle points, fresh hot from the stove. If you make 10 PressBriefs you are launching 10 search leads on Google and feeding multiple RSS feeds … So you see…brief is most effective.

7. Make the PressBriefs fun!!!!!!!!!!!
Example: “It is cold here but fishing is hot“
This one liner was responded to in 5 minutes after being posted on Pressuite.com

8. Try to add in your weblink an image selection or key picture that is consistant with the PITCH. This way the images are immediatly available to the media professional to construct a story for their publications or blogs.

9. Don’t limit yourself to just images. How about adding video to make it more delectable.

10. Weather you cook it at -10 or + 34 degrees Fahrenheit, a few minutes is all it needs from start to finish and you will smell the success.

Pressuite has over 3500 media specialists, journalists and travel-writers from all over the world and 3-5 new members are added every day awaiting to hear from you. They all need fresh pudding to feed their own news networks and blogs…Get cooking… Publish a new brief today.

Enjoy the results and happy holidays. Here is the delicious Figgy Pudding Recipe provided from one family member The Relais and Château Post Hotel.

“Après -Ski” Christmas Pudding
from the Post Hotel, Lake Louise.
(serves 8)
110gr. (3 ½ oz)        Beef Suet
110gr. (3 ½ oz)        Breadcrumbs
280gr. (10 oz)        Dried Mission Figs, cut in cubes
180gr. (6 oz)            Sultan Raisins
120gr. (4 oz)            Brown Sugar
50gr. (1 ½ oz)        Sliced Bleached Almonds
50gr. (1 ½ oz)        Candied Lemon
2                Lemon Zest
3                Whole Eggs
3cl.                Whisky

Mix all above ingredients together and place in buttered Christmas pudding mould. Poach for 3 hours just before serving at 275 F.

Today Internet is on cloud nine. Bravo! It has changed the way we live. 40 years ago, spam was something I put on my toast. Like many of us, I was not wired, 8 to 10 hours a day, in front of a computer screen, did not wear reading glasses, nor did I drive home from work with my GPS and my iPhone in one hand and the proverbial cup of coffee in the other, watching simultaneously the weather forecast projection on the windshield of my hybrid, while the energy consumption indicator pulsed in a 3-D rendering on the LCD dashboard. Let’s celebrate!

My zen guru texts me that multi-tasking does NOT exist. I obstinately pretend it does as I am oohmmmm…ing along. Surely she was right when she said, with great wisdom, that “suffering is optional!” Perhaps the Internet suffers from too much attention from us all.

Just now, I clicked via Google on the link to the UCLA engineering site, where the birth of the Internet took place 40 years earlier. The link showcased, the ephemeral nature of the Internet with — a site error message! … I guess they are busy celebrating!