New Space. New Instagrams...

"We have been settling into our new (temporary) office located in the heart of Chicago's ‘River North’ neighborhood the few past weeks. And I must say, it's looking pretty good. Along with a new energy and a stronger sense of community the new space has also inspired us to up our Instagram game… let the fun/blackmailing begin!"

'River North'-

 

 

#PTplaylist

 One of the many things we really value at Plum Tree is our people and the culture we create. We are a family of extremely talented, funny, and interesting people, and I truly believe that comes off in the work that we do for our clients. However recently I had an idea to start something called #PTplaylist that I hoped would help highlight these many diverse Plum Tree personalities and tastes in a creative way.

 #PTplaylist is exactly what it sounds like – it's a playlist of music curated by everyone at Plum Tree that we “publish” once or twice a month. I realized I was curious about what people had playing in their headphones during the work day, and soon I started thinking, 'Wouldn't other people be curious about that, too? Maybe even people outside of Plum Tree?' So I decided to send an email out and gauge people's interest. Long email thread short – the idea stuck and people got excited about it. I decided to use a music website called 8tracks to curate all of the songs and I worked with our marketing designer Lindsey to create album art for the playlist.

#PTplaylist Volume 2 from Plum Tree Group on 8tracks Radio.

It was really cool seeing everyone at Plum Tree come together around music and their tastes. But the end result wasn't just a playlist – it has been something that starts conversations and brings new energy to the office, something that reinforces the awesome culture at Plum Tree. We're definitely looking forward to sharing future playlists with you.                                                                               

       -Dave Hennessy, Social Media Specialist/Artist 

(#nowplaying Justin Timberlake “Mirrors”)

Meet eIntelli

eIntelli is a suite of online applications that is designed to help your business grow. Very much like a virtual Sales/Marketing/IT team, their flagship product, eProposal, a proposal writing software-  allows you to quickly and efficiently create business proposals online.

eProposal has many unique features which make it an outstanding product. eProposal is beneficial in many ways. One, it saves a lot of time. As we all know how essential time is, eProposal does just that by offering commonly used templates or previous proposal types- making it easier and ultimately saving you time.

Furthermore, eProposal increases sales conversion. A targeted professional and online proposal stands out from the competition. Not only that, but eProposal is genuinely intelligent. With key features such as receiving immediate client feedback and other statistics indicating how long your prospects spent on your proposal!

eIntelli is continuing on working on great new applications that will further expand the possibilities for all types of businesses. Some projects that eIntelli is currently working and developing on include, eSurvey- an easy to use survey tool that focuses on data presentation; and eStudio, which helps you create your eCommerce site to a neat Web 2.0 experience.

iPhone 5

A new year, a new iPhone. In case you’ve been living under a rock or simply unaware of tech releases, the iPhone 5 is without a doubt, arguably, the most eagerly anticipated consumer gadget of the year. With the release date coming up just around the corner on the 21st of September; the slimmer, lighter, and longer new iPhone is expected to break record sales already and many analysts believe that as many as 58 million units may be sold by the end of the year.

After nearly two years of being in the process of a complete redesign of the previous iPhone; the Cupertino based technology giant has unveiled its thinner and lighter form factor, which carries a 4 inch retina display, faster A6 processor, and LTE support for speedy network speeds- all on the newly polished operating system, iOS 6. And with all of Apple’s faithful followers all eager to purchase “the biggest thing to happen to iPhone since iPhone”, Apple’s unique marketing strategy still remains as a decisive selling point for the most valuable company in the world.

But lets take a quick flashback for a bit. The iconic iPhone, which made its debut in 2007, made a major breakthrough in the mobile industry. This marked the start of a new smartphone industry that is worth a massive $219 billion dollars today. More important, is the significance of the iPhone to Apple’s profit. Over the past six years, Apple’s iPhone has accounted for more than half of Apple’s overall revenue. The iPhone is so important to Apple that its financial and stock performances over the next years will be highly correlated to iPhone sales. The iPhone remains as a pivotal product for the massive company, so much so, that it might as well be called “the iPhone” company.

However, things remain different today with the ongoing growth of competition within the mobile world arena. Unlike in 2007, Apple is facing competition more than ever from its primary rival Android, which recently captured the throne of holding the majority market share of the American smartphone market. This has in turn stirred the recent debates on countless of Apple vs. Android topics which seem to have no end. However, in the end whatever the outcome may be, we, the consumers ultimately hold the winning edge on this game, because competition encourages innovation and pushes Apple and Android device manufacturers to constantly provide new additions to the playing field.

 

Foodies, Rejoice!

Looking for that table for two? OpenTable, an online real-time restaurant reservation service, seats 9 millions diners a month at no cost to over 25,000 restaurants nationwide and in several major international cities. Reservations can be easily made through its website or smartphone application.

Similar to other restaurant reviewing services, OpenTable features different city categories which enables users to see the top or most visited restaurants within any metropolitan area. From weekday lunches to Michelin star awarded restaurants, OpenTable’s online booking service makes it fast and efficient for users to find available tables that meet the desired criteria for cuisine, price, and location at any given time.

Once users confirm to make a reservation, they can be qualified to receive OpenTable reward points that can later be redeemed for discounts at member restaurants. This provides the extra incentive for customers to fully experience this solid service.

But it doesn’t just end there. This nifty service isn’t only a great tool to make reservations, but it has expanded to become a great resource for collecting and reading restaurant reviews. So good that in the past four months, its top four most-reviewed restaurants has collected 6,307 reviews, in comparison to Yelp’s 4,001 reviews for the same exact restaurants. So whether you’re making a reservation or simply just browsing to find reviews for that next restaurant, OpenTable can be the solution for you.

So what makes this service unique compared to its restaurant reviewing competitors such as Yelp and Zagat? OpenTable users receive an email survey from the service after they have been confirmed to have visited a particular restaurant. This process has enabled OpenTable to collect higher quality reviews because the users must be eligible to review, unlike its competitors, where virtually anyone can post- which tends to lead to countless of spam reviews. More importantly, this unique way of reviewing restaurants has led to very specific reviews that describe the exact time frame of ones visit. Because restaurants constantly change chefs, menus, and even ingredients; many reviews can ensure exactly what a restaurant contains at a given time.

OpenTable’s success in providing optimal reservations and reviews has enabled them to collect over 450,000 reviews a month. Ultimately, what can be learned from OpenTable’s full palate is that social engagement remains as a vital tool for success. In turn, this unique and successful process has allowed them to reveal their hidden gems of countless substantial restaurant reviews while providing the optimal experience for all types of restaurant-goers.

On The Go

Thinking of finding the perfect weekend getaway? From igloos to Frank Lloyd Wright designed houses, Airbnb; a trusted community marketplace, allows people to list, discover, and book virtually any form of accommodation around the world through the internet and on any smartphone. This thriving social networking service and application provides millions of people with exclusive unforgettable travel experiences through its vast growing community of users.

Additionally, by having a history of over 10 million nights booked in 192 countries, Airbnb continues to be the epitome within the social networking sphere of the travel industry. This unique form of hospitality exchange service has changed the outlook on how social networking and mobile technology are becoming key players in changing and expanding travel.

Another form of social media that complements travel is an application called Tagwhat, which holds the tagline,“your mobile tour guide for the world”. This neat yet in-depth tour guide draws upon the endless amount of content inside the web and various social networks to create the ultimate tour guide. By using your location and point of interests, this creative mobile tour guide creates a knowledgeable road map that is constantly updated to enhance your experience and destination.

Ultimately, mobile technology is changing the way we travel, interact, and make consumer choices.

A recent study by Expedia, the Internet-based travel website, revealed some fascinating statistics which demonstrates how consumers fully take advantage of the “on-the-go” lifestyle through last minute and spontaneous consumer decisions. According to Expedia, More than 65% of people who book a hotel room within 24 hours of checking in do so from a mobile device.

“Mobile booking helps take the stress out of travel planning... It helps everyone from the time-pressed road warrior to the globetrotting tourist reserve top-notch flights and accommodations as easily as possible”.

In this day and age, being able to reserve anything through a mobile device is the ultimate convenience for anyone with the on-the-go lifestyle. Not only that, but this concept has created a new outlook on what the future holds for new developers and startups within similar fields.    

Furthermore, it can be interpreted that the whole process of traveling can be translated through mobile usage and how much of a great value the mobile industry is towards the overall travel industry. From the beginning stages of booking accommodations to the final stages of enhancing destinations and creating virtual assistants, travelers are able to make the most of their mobile devices by experiencing new and efficient ways to roam the roads.