DSA Online | New Media Updates

About DSA Media

DSA Media was founded in March 1997 in Langley, BC, and has experienced exponential growth over the past 15 years. The DSA Media Network is western Canada’s largest independent media operation, with offices in Langley, Victoria, Calgary and Regina.

The Position

We are looking for a motivated and energetic individual to join our Regina office in the role of Administrative/Accounting Assistant.

We require someone with excellent computer skills and the ability to perform work with a high level of accuracy. Strong attention to detail is a key. The ideal candidate will be able to perform well under pressure and take ownership of a number of administrative tasks assigned. An education or background in media and advertising is a strong asset, but not a requirement.

This work will involve:

• Data entry and report generation
• Media buy file maintenance
• Contact with media suppliers to make time and space reservations
• Working in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint
• Assisting with a number of accounting functions such as compiling campaign back-up and managing data in Media Information Management systems
• Various administrative functions

The schedule for this casual/part-time position will be determined once the right candidate is identified.

To apply, please send a cover letter and resume to lhoffman@dsamedia.ca. No phone calls or visits, please. We thank all applicants for their submissions, but only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

I saw three interesting applications of the QR code this week. The first one was on a large sign for a bank at a busy Skytrain station, listing all the branches in the area on a map, and providing a QR for each. The second was a QR prominently displayed over a realtor’s sign on a neighbour’s lawn. The third was the strangest of all, but I’ll touch on it in a bit.

I’d bet they each went to an appropriate spot, like a map or a listings webpage. But that’s just a guess, because, let’s be honest, who wants to stop in a busy crowd or pull over to carefully aim their focus-challenged phone camera at a sign? And that’s just one of the obstacles with the QR code.

The Problem

Not too long ago, we decided to put QRs on the back of our business cards, so that, when scanned, our contact info could be quickly added to a user’s address book. Pretty cool idea, right? But in reality, the feedback was mixed. Some Blackberrys didn’t have powerful enough cameras to capture the code, some applications just dumped the info into a note app or to the pasteboard, and a few actually loaded it as a v-card like we wanted.

That’s the challenge. You need to get someone who:

1. Owns a competent smartphone
2. Is willing to experiment with one of the many free or paid apps
3. Is interested in interacting with your QR code

And even if you get 1, 2, and 3, you then need to provide a meaningful and consistent experience. I doubt many people will interact with a realtor’s sign, but if I was looking for real estate in a print magazine and saw a QR code that went right to the MLS listing, I’d check it out.

The third use of the QR code that really made me shake my head, though, was a company whose online banner ads included a tiny QR code. Click through rates are already low enough, but expecting someone to pull out their phone and move their experience from computer to mobile based on an ad seems like a stretch. Even if it’s for a mobile-specific product, that needs to be some strong incentive.

What’s Next?

Experts seem to be split about whether the QR is in for the long haul or racing against other technologies to take a hold of the general public. In September 2011, about 18% of smart phone subscribers in Canada used their devices to scan a QR code according to comScore. As marketers and the public begin to understand it more, and devices catch up, adoption rates should continue to rise.

What would put it over the top? I’d say the QR needs a killer app, and not one you can download. Native support in iPhone and Android with simplistic integration right from inside the camera. If Apple put that in the next version of iOS, I think we’d see it really take off.

David Stanger, President of the DSA Media Network, is pleased to announce the appointment of Samantha (Sam) Richardson to Vice President, Director of Media Operations.

Ms. Richardson has nearly 15 years of experience as part of the west coast agency scene, and has been Media Director for DSA’s Langley office since February 2007. She previously worked with Wasserman & Partners and Barlow Media.

This new position will see Sam responsible for the agency’s day to day operations, encompassing all four DSA offices, as well as DSA Online.  She becomes the companies first Vice President in the 14 year history of DSA.

Sam’s nature is to nurture. This has led her to become involved with a number of industry organizations and various charities. In the media community, Sam is currently the Treasurer and an Executive Board Member of NABS West and is a former member of ABCOM and the VMDC. Her charity work includes commitments to Athletes-In-Kind, Big Brothers, the United Way, and the BC SPCA’s End Animal Cruelty campaign to name a few.

Ms. Richardson is an alumnus of BCIT’s Marketing Management Program (Marketing Communications Option).

DSA Media is Western Canada’s largest independent Media Buying and Planning company with offices in Victoria, Langley, Calgary and Regina.

There is a good chance that the Facebook contest you’ve recently entered, started or were thinking about running may be in violation of Facebook’s terms. You know the ones. “Like” this photo and be entered in our contest to win a free weekend stay with Charlie Sheen.

They are a great way to engage an audience as the trickledown effect of each “Like” weaves through the social network and your brand appears in new streams. And they were a particularly strong solution for small businesses operating on small budgets, as the only cost was time and whatever the prize was, most often a service or small product.

But unless the business is using a third party application, such as Wildfire or Strutta, they risk the potential of their page being taken down by the Zuckerberg army. Simply put, Facebook is separating themselves from any liability of having their service associated with the contest. That means entering through Facebook and even contacting winners through the messaging system. This policy change actually goes back to 2009, with some tweaks in 2010, but it’s been widely ignored or missed altogether.

Of course, with third party applications come additional costs. Depending on the goal, another solution for many budgets may be a Facebook ad campaign. Facebook’s click through rates are typically outperformed by other media, but there can be good branding value in the high number of impressions that are served on a cost per click campaign. They also bring some great targeting capabilities.

For more details on Facebook promotions, have a look at Mari Smith’s excellent post on the topic.