Hashtag Gallery – Toronto Art Gallery
http://www.hashtaggallery.com/ WELCOME TO HASHTAG GALLERY
Hashtag Gallery was opened in April of 2012 with a mandate to bring the brightest artistic talent in Toronto together with established artists from a variety of backgrounds to showcase a carefully curated roster of talent on both the critical and commercial contemporary arts stage. The artists we select to represent are carefully chosen for their technique and artistic ability and represent what we believe to be the next generation of successful Canadian artists across a range of media and disciplines.
What’s in a name? At Hashtag, we want to acknowledge the role that the internet and social media play in all our lives — in the way we stay connected, discover new ideas and interact with creativity. We want to be revolutionary by going back to basics — giving these living, online communities a touchstone in the Toronto contemporary art world, and in turn providing our roster of exceptionally talented artists professional representation within a social, supportive, art conscious community. Hashtag represents the energy of the online revolution, its creative potential, and provides a social and cultural hub for the discovery of lively and engaging fine art.
#THANKSFORVISITINGUS
- Published in Toronto
Online video going mainstream, study
70 per cent of US broadband users watch professionally produced Online Video, according to a new Cisco report.
In 2012, watching video became more than just a hobby for cutting-edge Internet enthusiasts.
“70 per cent of US broadband users are watching professionally produced online video every week with an average viewing time of more than 100 minutes per week,” said Cisco’s Chris Osika.
via TelecomTV | News
- Published in Video, Video Marketing
Branded Video: Extreme Power
Video content uploaded to the internet is a powerful sales and marketing tool, and watching branded video online is now an incredibly common activity, according to the Social Video Report.
With branded online video become increasingly popular, it’s important to get to grips with it and learn how to incorporate it into your overall business strategy. The capabilities of devices used to browse the web are constantly improving, meaning online activities that were previously time-consuming – such as streaming videos – are now easier to do than ever.
With that in mind, it’s important to consider the different ways in which video can help boost the success of your business in the online world.
Using persuasive video
Creating entertaining and informative branded videos can have a strong impact on viewer engagement, meaning the people who watch them are far more likely to visit a brand’s website or YouTube channel than those who don’t.
The survey shows that 64% of viewers who like a brand’s video will visit its website, and 63% will visit its YouTube channel, so if a video is put together well and appeals to those who watch it, it can be a great way to boost customer loyalty and a brand’s reputation.
Web video influences purchasing
Making a sale is one of the most compelling reasons to dive into the world of online video, and it can certainly boost sales if utilized efficiently.
Almost everyone (96%) who chooses to watch a product demonstration video does so with the intention of buying the product afterwards, and 56% say they have actually purchased an item after watching such a video.
Brand Amplification
It’s not only making direct sales that can benefit your business in the realm of video. Increasing brand awareness is another important way businesses can benefit from uploading videos to the web. Content created purely with the intention of being enjoyed (branded entertainment) is very likely to be shared across numerous platforms if it hits the spot with those who watch it.
Over half of viewers share videos, mostly through Facebook and Twitter, with others sending them via email and some linking to them on their blog. Finding the sweet spot that makes users want to share a video is a fantastic way to spread awareness of a brand, as word-of-mouth is one of the most trusted forms of marketing there is.
According to the survey results, the biggest motivation for sharing a video is that it’s funny, with informative and useful videos coming a close second. Other reasons people share things include wanting to spread the message of something they believe in or because they feel it represents them as a person.
Branded Entertainment
Branded entertainment, such as viral videos are the best way to attract new people to your brand, due to their share-ability. By creating an entertaining video that doesn’t overtly promote your products, people will be more inclined to share your video with their friends, thus drawing the attention of previously unreachable eyes. If you succeed in creating a video that is widely shared, you may see vast numbers of new customers coming your way – they may not purchase immediately, but they will at least now be aware of your brand.
Product Demonstration Videos
Product demonstrations, such as how-to videos and product reviews, are actively sought out by people already considering purchasing a particular item. Watching the video is their way of rationalizing the purchase or finding our more on the products suitability for them – or not.
Creating a likeable video is very important, as 69% of people that like a product review video go on to purchase the item afterwards. Likeable videos translate to viewers liking the brand and therefore wanting to purchase from it.
Instructional videos are one of the most popular types of video, with a third of internet users watching them weekly. Offering something of value, such as a how-to video or a product review, is one of the best ways to target consumers who are hard to reach if the content is directly related to their specific interests.
Where Should You Upload and Market Your Videos?
Web users don’t tend to go to brands’ own websites to view related videos, so it’s important to make your video widely accessible via other avenues. YouTube is the most common place people watch videos, closely followed by Google and Facebook.
However; there are often advantages to uploading your videos to your own domain using your own hosting or a 3rd party hosting, but this depends on your video marketing strategy.
YouTube
By far the most common channel people use to view videos is YouTube. YouTube is an incredibly useful tool to assess how well your video is performing too, with in-built analytics functions and various user options such as liking and rating videos, and writing comments.
The primary motivation for subscribing to a channel on YouTube is for purchasing; people use YouTube to find out about new products as they come on the market, to watch product demos and for keeping up-to-date with the latest releases.
via The Power of Brand Related Video Online: Social Video Report Analysis
- Published in Video, Video Marketing
BizBOXTV – Online Video FAQ’s
- Published in BizBOXTV News, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto
Toronto Video Production: CIBC Rogers – 1st mobile credit card transaction in Canada
Toronto Video Production: BizBOXTV Toronto Online Video
“CIBC and Rogers today announced they have completed the first point-of-sale mobile credit card transaction in Canada using the secure SIM card inside an NFC-enabled smartphone. Simon Whitfield, Pan American Games and Olympic medalist, performed the credit card transaction, buying coffee at Tim Hortons using the CIBC Mobile Payment™ App on a BlackBerry® smartphone from Rogers.
This new way to pay will be available to CIBC credit card clients using a Rogers smartphone, allowing them to pay for coffee, groceries, and other everyday purchases simply by holding their smartphone up to one of the tens of thousands of contactless payment terminals at merchants across Canada.
“We’re pleased to make history in mobile commerce in Canada by completing the country’s first mobile credit card transaction,” said David Williamson, Senior Executive Vice-President and Group Head, Retail and Business Banking, CIBC. “Getting a coffee while you are on the go is just one example of the kind of transaction that’s going to be made easier when you can pay in just seconds with a CIBC credit card on your smartphone, and we’re excited about the possibilities this offers our clients.”
“Canadians are amongst the most connected consumers around the world, and we have put Canada on the world stage today as a global leader in mobile commerce,” said David Robinson, Vice President of Emerging Business, Rogers Communications. “We are passionate about delivering technology innovations and powering new mobile experiences for our customers,” said Robinson. “Making the first mobile credit card payment means that we are one step closer to allowing Canadians to store everything they need, securely, in their smartphone.”
The new mobile payments capability from CIBC and Rogers means clients will be able to pay with their CIBC credit card, whether Visa or MasterCard, without retrieving the plastic card from their wallet or purse. They can simply hold their Rogers BlackBerry® smartphone up to a contactless payment terminal and the payment will be automatically charged to their CIBC credit card. The CIBC Mobile Payment App will be accepted at the tens of thousands of Visa payWave™ and MasterCard PayPass™ contactless terminals across Canada and around the world.
As the rollout to clients begins, the new CIBC Mobile Payment App will initially be available on two smartphones on the Rogers wireless network – the BlackBerry® Bold™ 9900 and BlackBerry® Curve™9360, beginning November 16th 2012. As of today, NFC SIM cards required to access the solution on Rogers suretap™ ready devices can be ordered online. Additional suretap-ready devices will support the solution in 2013, including Android and Windows Phone 8 platforms, broadening the offer to more Canadians.
The initiative brought to market by CIBC and Rogers represents the first time a bank and a wireless carrier have joined forces to offer a commercially available mobile payments solution to Canadians that leverages the secure SIM card inside an NFC-enabled device. This new solution aligns to guidelines announced earlier this year by the Canadian Bankers Association for mobile payments in Canada, as well as those developed by respected international associations such as the GSM Association (GSMA), the association of mobile operators and related companies dedicated to standardizing and supporting GSM technology and Global Platform, a cross industry, not-for-profit association focused on secure and interoperable deployment and management of embedded applications on secure chip technology.
This new mobile payment solution arrives in Canada at a time when smartphone growth is accelerating among Canadians. A recent Harris/Decima poll shows that 44 per cent of Canadians said they now own a smartphone, and within that group, 47 per cent said they are interested in using mobile payments.
Forecasts for mobile commerce suggest that it will become a significant method of payment in just the next few years. By 2016, Technology Strategy International forecasts that almost 80 per cent of the smartphones in Canada will be NFC-enabled, and IE Market Research forecasts total mobile payments in Canada will reach $14.2B.
“In a few years, a mobile wallet will be as common as a camera on a smartphone. The opportunity in mobile payments for our business is just getting started – our vision is to take the millions of cards Canadians carry today and to make them instantly accessible and secured on the SIM card of a smartphone,” noted Robinson.
www.cibc.com/mobilepayment
www.rogers.com/suretap”
CNW SERVICES.
Toronto Video Production by BizBOXTV
- Published in Calgary, Edmonton, New Releases, Toronto
Toronto Online Video: Le Dolci
Toronto Online Video: BizBOXTV
WELCOME TO LE DOLCI!
We’re Toronto’s fun food education studio — join us for hands on icing sugar filled cupcake workshops – cupcake decorating classes are our specialty!
Located in downtown Toronto, right near King & Bathurst we are the only cupcake decorating studio in the heart of the city.
Launched in the UK in 2009 we have just moved from our icing sugar dusted home in London, UK where we ran some fabulous cupcake decorating classes and met some wonderfully passionate cake aficionados. We hope to meet the same people here and look forward to meeting you and having you taste and decorate our fabulous cupcakes. All of our cupcakes are made with only the finest ingredients, we only use the basics in our recipes, no additives or preservatives we even explore the use of natural food coloring from foods in our classes.
Our goal is to bring fun foodie education to the City of Toronto.
We’re excited to be in this great city and to host you at our studio or at your home or event for an afternoon of sugar filled cupcake creativity.
Check out our classes and join in the sugary fun! http://www.ledolci.com/
Toronto Online Video Production by: BizBOXTV
- Published in Business Profiles, New Releases, Toronto