Vintage Filings Business Blog

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Does your brand really need a Facebook or Twitter profile? If you’re a marketer, joining the conversation on a variety of social networking sites is no longer an option – it’s compulsory.

Your customers and prospects, for the most part, have a greater share of trusted voice on sites like Digg, Meetup, LikedIn, and Facebook than you can amass through conventional media.

“Online social networking is quickly replacing the media buy,” said Rodney Mason, CMO of Moosylvania. As marketers, we are now in the business of social broadcasting our brands – not only within communities like MySpace, Bebo, Friendster – but by establishing our own unique networking communities.”

“Engaging in social networking is not without risk,” said Gus Hattrich, Moosylvania’s president. “As a marketer, you are held to a higher level of skepticism and ridicule, particularly if you make a misstep by not following the myriad of unwritten rules that exist within all online communities.”

To provide you with a roadmap, Moosylvania has done its own extensive research and relied on its in-depth experience to compile the 9-Step Guide to Social Networking. This free white paper offers practical advice that will help you voice the embodiment of what your brand stands for in the most trustworthy way. You will learn:

• how to establish parameters for your communication in social networks
• the social networking tools that need to live on your brand’s website
• the best way to address harsh critics in on-line communities
• how to climb the trust ladder
• what matters and what to avoid

Money Management International (MMI), the nation’s largest nonprofit credit and debt counseling and education organization, announced today the results of its 2009 Financial Literacy Survey designed to measure consumer sentiment toward the importance of financial literacy and current money spending trends in today’s economic climate.

April is National Financial Literacy Month, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Many consumers, some for the first time, are learning to live in a down economy. This month is an opportunity for individuals to learn about financial matters such as developing a budget, understanding credit scores, and managing and saving money. MMI’s financial literacy survey found that 34 percent of Americans think they should be most responsible for their financial education. Another 25 percent think it is up to the government to ensure Americans receive financial education. What’s most important is getting the knowledge, no matter what steps are taken. Educated consumers are empowered to make informed financial decisions.

Key MMI survey findings include:

• Increased savings is on the rise. Compared to MMI’s June 2008 survey, 50 percent more Americans are increasing their savings. Gen Ys are leading the nation at 44 percent.
• A third of consumers say they are spending more quality time with friends and family because of the downturn in the economy. However, 34 percent say they see no silver lining in the current economic condition.
• About 45 percent of Americans are cutting back on grocery shopping. More Americans (55 percent) are using coupons to save on groceries.
• 401(K) contributions remain steady – only 15 percent of consumers surveyed say they are cutting back or eliminating deductions to these plans.

Looking for new ways for your company to go green?  If employees signed up to use Direct Deposit, individually they would save almost a pound of paper every year. In fact, if every employee who had access to Direct Deposit used it, we would save an additional 11 million pounds of paper, 4 million gallons of gas, and avoid releasing 32 million pounds of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere each year, according to a 2009 study by PayItGreen. April has been established as PayItGreen Month to coincide with Earth Day, which is celebrated on April 22.

Electronic payments, including Direct Deposit, are simple, safe and smart ways to help the environment.

SIMPLE – Once consumers sign up for Direct Deposit, their pay is already in their bank accounts when they wake up on the morning of payday. And people who pay bills online do so in 15 minutes a month, whereas those who write out checks take two hours.

SAFE – By using electronic payments, including Direct Deposit, consumers are protecting themselves against identity theft. Almost 85 percent of identity theft is due to “offline” transactions such as stolen bills or check payments.

SMART – Direct Deposit is an easy way to start an effective savings program. People should ask their employers to automatically deposit a portion of their pay into their savings accounts each pay period and deposit the balance into their checking accounts to cover bills and expenses. Consumers will be surprised how a little money saved each month adds up when they choose to split their Direct Deposit. And they can save money paying their bills electronically. With an average of 20 bills and financial statements each month, a single household can spend up to $100 on postage each year and another $50 per year on the cost of checks, late charges and fuel.

Visit www.payitgreen.org for more information about how getting paid and paying bills electronically can help the environment. To PayItGreen, consumers just have to Assess, Ask and Act.

• Assess what bills, statements and payments they currently have that use paper;
• Ask their employers, financial institution and the companies that send them bills how to manage the bills and accounts electronically, and receive and make payments electronically;
• Act on their decisions by setting a specific deadline to turn off the paper and create a PayItGreen household.

Under-capitalized small and mid-sized businesses are turning to receivables financing for much-needed liquidity in the midst of the nation’s worst credit crisis in recent history. Moreover, once they try receivables financing, more than 80% of those businesses become repeat customers. Recent data shows that month over month, more mid-market businesses are selling receivables as a means to increase cash flow and maintain the viability of their business through the downturn.

In a recent study¹ nearly 60% of companies surveyed reported that insufficient cash flow is their greatest obstacle as banks cut off lines of credit and raise rates. Challenged to make ends meet, many once thriving businesses are finding it difficult, if not impossible to gain access to capital. Recent data from the Liquidity Desk of The Receivables Exchange indicates that these cash-strapped businesses are turning to receivables financing to monetize their outstanding invoices to increase short-term liquidity.

As a sign that businesses are embracing receivables financing, The Receivables Exchange, the world’s first online auction marketplace for the buying and selling of receivables, has seen a tremendous increase in month-over-month trading volume since its November 2008 launch. On the Exchange, small and mid-sized businesses (Sellers) can gain access to capital in as little as 24 hours, a significant reduction from the typical 50+ day payment cycle that the majority of America’s businesses wait for payment on outstanding invoices.

The color green is often the symbol of regeneration and vitality. At a time when our country is in recovery and on the path toward renewal, Americans are encouraged by efforts to reinvest in our nation through innovation.

Results from a survey done by the EcoCAR: The Next Challenge collegiate competition show almost unanimous public opinion around the fact that scientific innovation is essential for the economic and social welfare of a nation. This sentiment hits extremely close to home right now in light of financial issues facing the U.S. and the global community at large. These results also lend increased credibility to the goal of the EcoCAR competition, which aims to spur innovation around advanced technologies that will transform the automobile industry.

Results of the survey also show that public opinion is very mixed regarding what energy resources will most likely power automobiles in the future. Electricity, ethanol, hydrogen, solar power and reformulated gasoline were some of the top options in consumers’ minds. EcoCAR’s student competitors are also placing their bets on various technologies and energy sources as they develop innovative solutions to the issues facing automakers, policymakers, and the public today.

Key findings in the EcoCAR survey include:

• Innovation Rules. 97% of Americans agree that a nation’s commitment to innovate should include encouraging the spirit of innovation in young people because of the fresh perspective they can bring.
• Protecting the Nation. 98% of Americans agree that investing in scientific innovation is essential for the economic and social welfare of a nation.
• Electricity Will Dominate. Thinking ahead to the future, a majority of Americans believe most cars will rely on electricity (55%). More than four out of ten believe ethanol (E85) will be a top fuel source (45%), followed by hydrogen (37%), solar power (34%), reformulated gasoline (29%), biodiesel (27%), natural gas (20%), wind (5%) and other fuels (2%).

The challenge of predicting growth fluctuations in financial markets is one of many business issues under discussion at the 29th annual International Symposium on Forecasting (ISF) to be held June 21 – 24 in Kowloon, Hong Kong. The ISF draws the world’s top forecasting professionals and researchers with its focus on cutting-edge forecasting trends.

Long considered the premiere international forecasting conference, the ISF encompasses a broad range of business sectors. This year’s schedule includes sessions on forecasting for climate policy, long term mobile broadband trends, assessment of forecasts in the current recession, and techniques for predicting sports performance. 2003 Nobel Laureate in Economics, Professor Clive Granger, will be a keynote speaker at the conference.

Presented annually by the International Institute of Forecasters, the 2009 ISF marks the first time the conference will be held in Asia. This year’s event is co-organized with the Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM).

“The Symposium provides a platform for leading forecasting professionals to reveal their insights into the field, with a particular focus on the services sector this year,” says Professor Haiyan Song, Chair, Professor and Associate Director of SHTM and the General Chair of ISF 2009.

Unless Congress acts quickly, the world’s toughest prohibition on lead in consumer products could cost the U.S. thousands of jobs and millions of dollars says those familiar with the new restrictions. Not to mention taking the sparkle out of kids’ costumes, accessories, clothing and more – think Halloween with no tiaras for princesses or jewels in pirate loot, but the nightmare begins with job losses and warehouses that will have to destroy millions in inventory.

“We all want to protect children from harmful exposure to lead,” says Sheila Millar, a veteran consumer product attorney with Washington, D.C.’s Keller and Heckman, LLP. “But the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008 will effectively ban products – such as rhinestone-studded jewelry, clothing or footwear – that have shown no association with lead exposure in children. This is causing enormous losses for manufacturers and retailers during one of the worst economic downturns in decades. Many of those retailers and manufacturers are small business owners – the very people most affected by this economy.”

According to a story in Congress Daily on March 20, 2009, the CPSC, “placed the cost of lost business at well over $1 billion.”

The Social Media Academy has released its first corporate research report today, exposing the social media status of six global enterprises including Dow Chemical, John Deere, NetApp, New York Life, Toyota, and Vodafone. The report was generated based exclusively on publicly available data by dissecting the social web. The data was aggregated from over one million people who publicly expressed their opinions and emotions in social networks, groups, communities, forums, blogs and other social media related places. The “Mind Share Report” demonstrates not only that social media is used by businesses across all industries but also that it poses a significant threat to companies who do not understand how publicly available information can be used by their competitors to create devastating effects.

The report provides insights into each company’s brand position, their customers’ sentiment, partner engagement and touches on the competitive threats to which the companies are exposed.

Social Media Academy founder Axel Schultze, an accomplished entrepreneur, book author and social media strategist said: “We had a pretty good understanding about the estimated outcome – yet it was shocking to realize how vulnerable businesses are that stay away from social media. The present case demonstrates how a small group of social media savvy consultants can compromise a global enterprise based on publicly available data.”

For each of the researched companies the report shows the customers web locations, some opinion leaders and influencers, depicts the sentiment of the discussions & posts and provides an overall impression as well as a detailed analysis as to what those customers like or dislike, what their needs are and what they are excited about. For instance Jenny Rairigh from Pennsylvania stated on Mar. 17, “Traded our Toyota for a Ford Edge. First American car purchase in a LONG time. Feeling patriotic.” In another example Janita Pavelka an influential networker with over 2,000 followers on Twitter commented, “Yes, we are moving to 21 acre farm and looking for a tractor. A used John Deere would be ideal I think. What do you think?” It underscores that companies either better service those customers or open a door for the competition.

Janice Chai-Chang, one of the students said: “We worked with over 10 different reporting tools mostly from new software companies focusing on social media analytics. Having said that, most of the analysis was performed using methods and models created by the Social Media Academy to eventually compile such a report.”

Organizations charge their CFOs, controllers, and other business users with meeting governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) requirements for their business processes. However, while there are general computer control and IT security systems, these users have no readily-available, automated way to carry out their application-level GRC duties. The result? Internal and regulatory audits are conducted manually, exacting a high price in time, money, and aggravation.

In its latest white paper, Lumigent Technologies, Inc., the GRC business apps company, reveals how a new class of enterprise business application is emerging to drive down the cost of regulatory compliance: Application GRC — automated, business-focused GRC control systems that complement primary financial applications. By continuously monitoring a financial application’s source data and key business controls, application GRC solutions provide business users with off-the-shelf applications that automate compliance efforts.

You can download the free white paper here.