If you ask me, and some people do, the two most important aspects of a successful PPC campaign are the Ad Copy and the Landing Page. As you can see from the title, I’m mainly interested in talking about Landing Pages; however, I have to tip my hat to well written Ad Copy because without it the customer won’t even make it as far as your site. I’m not downplaying how important that is, but that’s as far as the Ad Copy will take you. After the searcher decides he/she is going to click on your ad, the fate of the conversion lies in the hands of the Landing Page.

Google has very specific standards in place with regard to Landing Pages and I’m not going to repeat them. You can find that information here: Adwords Learning Center. If you fail to adhere to Google’s Link Policy you’ll suffer either disapproved ads or a Minimum CPC so high it’ll make you laugh. I recommend you adhere to it.

I also want to point out that you can spend A LOT of time on your landing page. You can experiment with every single aspect of it, test multiple combinations, chart the results and ultimately you’ll be left with the optimal result. In fact, I recommend you do that; but if you don’t have the time or energy to take on such a challenge, here are a few quick tips to get the most out of those clicks:

-Always take the searcher directly to the page most relevant to the keyword that was searched. This one is pretty obvious but I see this mistake made on a regular basis. Not only with this improve your Quality Score, it will ensure that your customer views the product you’re offering and greatly increases the odds of a conversion.

-Make sure your page loads in a timely manner. Yeah, Flash is cool, but if its going to take 5 minutes for me to see what your website has to offer, chances are I’m going to tap that back button before it loads and you’re still going to pay for a click. Save the fancy stuff for the homepage and take your customer directly to a simple, informative product page.

-If you offer any kind of deals, make sure everyone knows it. Do you provide free shipping on orders over $50? Do you offer first time customers a 15% discount? Does anybody know? Not only should this information be plainly displayed in your Ad Copy, it should be clearly visible on the Landing Page. Again, if the searcher doesn’t see the offer he/she was expecting, they’re going to bail.

-Be Competitive! Internet shoppers are shoppers none the less. If you’re competitors are all offering their services for a lower price, your customers are going to notice. It’s fairly easy to “shop around” online, the next product is only a click or two away.

-Simplicity. Don’t overwhelm your customers. Don’t flash neon colors into their eyes. Don’t make them navigate through a maze of offers and unnecessary steps. Give them a photo, a price, a deal and a button they can click to buy. Throw anything else into the mix and you’re giving them a chance to change their mind or even forget why they navigated to your webpage in the first place.

Like I stated earlier, you can go much more in depth when it comes to Landing Page Optimization. There are limitless possibilities. Just remember not to overlook the simple things. I’ve seen a surprising number of sites out there that don’t consider the points I’ve listed above.

I’ll leave you with the one thought that crosses my mind every time I approach a new account that needs to jumpstart its search campaign: My mother is out there. She’s not internet savvy, she’s not impressed by graphics and she’s a very busy woman who’s been hunting for bargains her whole life. If you can get her to buy your product online, you’re doing a fantastic job.

Last week we looked at how avatars have grown from a simple icon into a very useful tool for users and marketers alike. We have seen their
application change from a way to express your individuality into a way to express your identity online. Previously, we even looked at the real world application of the avatar. This week, however, we are going to shift gears a little and look at the avatar as a marketing tool.

I Just Wii’d Myself

I can hear you all screaming, “Dean, Where were the first real avatars seen”?

Well, looking back, one of the first true applications of an avatar was in the game Ultima Online (which was also one of the first MMORPG’s). This was the first time that we saw the avatar in its fully customizable form. At character creation you were able to not only pick the hair, hair color, etc but you could also dress him as you saw fit. This was one of the first applications of the “customizable avatar”. Gaming companies started to take notice of this phenomenon of customization and how much it attracted the user’s attention and soon after second generation avatar customization interfaces started to pop-up in video games.

Magical Bubba Is An Example Of An Ultima Online Avatar

EA (Electronic Arts) and Neversoft were probably the first two companies to go next-gen with this feature. One of the big draws of avatar
customization is personalization. These two industry giants saw the opportunity to capture users through use of a very in-depth character creation application. This was the first time a user could not only select but then adjust hair, hair color, eyebrows, brow size etc; they even built in a feature for bone structure customization which allowed the users to create very, very distinct images of themselves to use right in the game. Some companies took this a step further by allowing you to map your face to the avatar through use of a digital camera.
But how did this become such a selling point?

An Example Of EA’s Character Creation

A Character Made Using Neversoft’s Interface For Tony Hawk

Once marketers realized the immense popularity of customizing characters (i.e. using one’s own face online, in-depth physical alteration, etc) they eschewed the generic character models of old and started “create-a-character”. Create-a-character soon became a HUGE fad and every
single game followed suit. Often times you could not even see your character because it was a driving game or a first person shooter; however, people still ate it up and the gaming industry continued to thrive on this gimmick. It eventually died down, becoming less prevalent, but what started to emerge because of this were more finely crafted character creation systems. When used in conjunction with the right type of game, these creation systems completely enhanced the experience.

Sony and Nintendo (along with Linden Labs, who we will discuss next week) are at the forefront of this new charge of the avatar. They
have each created distinctly different interfaces and platforms in which the user’s characters interact with the online world. Nintendo has crafted a very unique and very Nintendo version of this called the Mii. A Mii is a very cartoony and quite funny version of the user that is fully customizable. You can use your Mii on your Wii as a virtual wallet to store all of your achievements and points. A Mii is also available to use in certain games on the Wii and once you take it online that is your online identity. The Mii offers a very cool stylized version of an avatar to take online and compete against others. On the Playstation front however, things are a little different. Playstation has modeled their HOME platform in more of a Second Life way. It is a giant interactive environment that acts as the central hub for all Playstation 3 owners going online. Here they will be able to meet and play games together as well as interact and chat. It seems there has also been mention of online stores for your avatar so that you can buy your character Nike shoes. Essentially, customizing your character has become a monetization opportunity for large companies and marketers. Platforms like HOME and Second Life have become the testing ground for this concept (although there have been some lesser known games from Korea testing this as well) and they are at the leading edge of the marketing revolution of avatars. They know that people will pay a small fee in order to get unique items for their character. Some companies have even gone out of their way to set up virtual stores.

An Example Of A Nintendo Mii

An Example Of The New Playstation Home Platform

Next week we will visit the land of Second Life and tie this whole thing together. We will explore their new online stores and how Second Life might eventually morph into Web 3.0 (they are certainly on pace to do so). If they can become main-stream enough and start grabbing merchants to integrate their stores more and more into the Second Life landscape, it seems that more and more people would be willing to give it a try. Eventually the Web will be a virtual landscape where you can walk around and explore and shop all in the same application.

Until Next Time…

Special thanks to best-selling author Timothy Ferris for giving Pepperjam a shout out in his new book “The 4-Hour Workweek.”

In Chapter 11 entitled, Income Autopilot (p. 202) Ferris references Pepperjam as one of the “Hard-Hitting Pro’s” of Online Marketing along with other firms iProspect and Did-it.

Andrew Johnson from Web Publishing Blog provides a solid review of “The 4-Hour Workweek” HERE.

I just received the book today from Amazon. I’m currently finishing “the Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell, but once that’s done I’ll be reading “The 4-Hour Workweek.“

There’s no doubt about it, mobile search is one of the next big forms of marketing.

While not quite internet marketing as we know it (Internet + PC + User), mobile search (Internet + Handheld + User) offers marketers the ability to deliver advertisements (messages) in the form of search (think Google Mobile Search), as well as text. For instance, Pepperjam’s VP of Business Development, Brock Siegel, recently contacted (by cell phone) a nightclub in NYC (The Town Tavern) to see if he had left his wallet there – interestingly enough, Brock was added to the nightclub’s list, but the list wasn’t in the form of e-mail or direct mail. Instead, the club took Brock’s cell phone number and added it to their weekly text message newsletter. Interesting, huh? This stuff works – Brock is not offended by the weekly text message and he insists that if he lived in NYC that the message would actually work. In other words, the text message (weekly specials, entertainment, etc.) would likely get him to the bar.

What are my thoughts on mobile marketing? Where is it going? Why does it hold such opportunity for internet marketers like you and me?

Joe Whyte recently interviewed me on the issue of Mobile Marketing and posted it to his blog at HybridSEM.com – CHECK IT OUT!

You have thoughts on mobile marketing? Let me know your thoughts…

This week we introduce Daehee Park – a world class blogger at itmilk.com and a full-time summer intern for Pepperjam.

Daehee comes to us on loan from Penn State University where he is studying Information Sciences & Technology.

One of the brightest interns we have ever had, Daehee maintains a 4.0 at Penn State and claims that he would drop out of Penn State in a second if Pepperjam offered him a full-time job. My guess is that Daehee will be a member fo the Pepperjam Team for some time to come!

Meet Daehee Park:

For those of you who don’t know the “rules” behind the Meet the Pepperjam Video Series, here they are:

Every Friday Pepperjam will post a new video interview of a member of our staff – everyone will be included – affiliates managers, executives, search-engine marketing managers, directors, software engineers, assistants, online media buyers, and interns. The person being interviewed won’t know he / she has been chosen until about 30 seconds before the interview – this way you’ll get an unrehearsed, real world look at the employee…hopefully, this will make it interesting and non-corporate, which is what we are known and respected for across the internet marketing industry.

Why are we doing this? Well, I am proud of our team and I think you’ll find them as interesting and intelligent as I do. Also, I’m a student of viral video and the social media space and I want to test the waters as it relates to what corporate america is doing (and not doing) to spread buzz and build next generation work places.

Finally, I just thought it would be cool to put some people in front of a video camera that have never done so before, have a little bit of fun, and see if Pepperjam can spread some additional buzz about why we are the leader in online marketing.

FYI – all videos will also be posted to YouTube. If you think what we are doing is outside-the-box and interesting please blog about it and share the story with the world.

Our previous videos include:

Maura Goodwin
Tara Lou
Dean Karasinski
Kim Noler (dated YouTube founder)
Stephanie Yachim
Roxy (Pepperjam’s English Bulldog)
Kris Jones
Katharine Dempsey
Ken Mohn Jr.
Mandy Foley
Tara DeGiusto
Robyn Martin
Kate Sarnak
Aaron Baker
Michelle Foley
Mike Jones
Maggie Oldziejewski
Daehee Park

Other fun Pepperjam Vids:
“What would you do for a One Year Supply of Energy Drink”
Naked Crazy Man Video
Pepperjam Adds Ping Pong Table to Pepperplex
Roxy with the Tony Robbins Beach Ball

I take great pleasure every day advising companies to find the perfect solution that would benefit their online efforts and bring the most cost effective value possible. Is there anything better than getting on the phone, listening to the needs of Fortune 500 companies and assisting them with the best available marketing strategy? Nothing comes to mind, unless we are talking about Snowboarding in Vail, Sailing in the Caribbean, or going on long hikes in Northeastern P.A. with my girlfriend Julie.

I take great pride in my ability to give excellent recommendations. I like to give everyone a chance if the little “ROI Light Bulb” Turns on in my head. I just don’t understand where some people come from. This lead is a bit controversial and pepperjam will have nothing to do with taking this advertiser on successful online journey. (Or wherever the hell he is trying to get to.)

From what I understand, this self proclaimed Israeli politician renounces ideological hubris, and argues that only rational means can win the war on terror. Laughs at Jewish and Muslim myths and preconceptions, based on who has historical right to the land. Apparently he or she attacks everyone on the political spectrum, and continues to blame Israel for the prolonged suffering of Palestinians.

Hi, May I ask you have a look at Obadiah Shoher’s book and blog, Samson Blinded: A Machiavellian Perspective on the Middle East Conflict? Google banned our website from its advertising program for “unacceptable content,” and Amazon deleted all reviews. The book, however, is only honest, and the measures suggested are only rational. Shoher is a pen name for veteran politician. He dealt with antiterrorism issues for most of his career. The Samson Blinded dissects honestly the problems accumulated since the Jews returned to Palestine. Advocating political rationalism, it deplores both Jewish and Muslim myths, and argues for efficiency and separating politics from moralism. Please download the book from www.samsonblinded.org/blog Being banned by Google, we depend on links to bring Shoher’s message. May I ask you to link to us? Sure, we’ll be glad to link back. Thank you in advance, AXXX XXXXX.

 

Brock

Pepperjam’s mission statement of “work hard, play hard” is infamous both locally and throughout the entire internet space. In typical PJ fashion, happy hour this past Friday night started promptly at 5:01pm. However, two of pepperjam’s finest – Kat and Tara Lynn (a.k.a. TL) – bucked the system, said adios to Wilkes Barre, and ventured into unknown territory….Scranton. (side bar: ok, it’s not really unknown territory since I, Kat, live there…. but we thought it was funnier this way)

Perhaps some of you have heard of this little town from the hit NBC comedy “The Office” – or maybe you recall Kevin’s mother in “Home Alone” meeting John Candy in the Avoca airport just outside of Scranton – either way this city is famous. There were rumors of two other “scrantonians” coming “home” this weekend, and TL and myself were on the hunt. Perched high above the ground in my Ford Explorer, cameras in tow – TL and I set out with an undeniable sense of purpose – “pepperjam and the Office will UNITE!” And Unite, we did.

After hours of painstaking stalking, we eventually got word that “scrantonians” would be hitting up their favorite local watering hole, Poor Richards. (Please note all Office Fans, this pub is actually located in a bowling alley… no joke.) Without hesitation, TL and I booked it to the bar! (not the first time we’ve hightailed it to a bar… but i digress.) So what, you may ask, does a bar in a bowling lane in the great city of Scranton look like? Well allow us to give you a visual:

Picture if you will a lovely, plump woman in florescent pink stretch pants, a denim mini skirt, and an ill fitting white wife beater standing guard at the front door… and by standing guard, we mean “working.” Inside, the clientele didn’t disappoint. Take for instance a charming (smelly) old gentleman, drunk, and propositioning me to sing karaoke for him – namely , Poison’s “Every Rose Has Its Thorn.” Yes, I did oblige. When in rome, as they say….or Scranton. (the buck fifty drafts didn’t hurt).

After “wowing” the stunned crowd, TL and I took it down a notch and staked out a prime location to pounce on the elusive “scrantonians.” We found ourselves in between a group of Office fans and few disgruntled regulars who were pissed that we took their seats at the bar. Amid flashing bulbs and blinding lights, two lone figures stood…one half the size of the other…Angela and Brian (a.k.a. Kevin). Hand in hand, TL and I ambushed The Office castmates! Were they overwhelmed…yes. (have you met the two of us?) However, were they enthralled, enchanted, entertained? Obvi. It was at this moment that TL and I knew that this would be the beginning of beautiful friendship…. or at least one hell of a night.

And without further ado, Here are some pics from the fateful night with some witty (?) commentary by me:

TL, Kat, Angela and Brain (Kevin) — The pepperjammers look a little strung out in this pic. I think it has to do with all the hunting that we did in order to capture this awesome pic…. or maybe we are a little star struck. whatever.

TL and KAT wooing Kevin with their mesmerizing ways….. case in point, Kevin’s sh*t eating grin. He hearts us…. or at least me, the one that doesn’t look like she belongs in an insane asylum. (love you TL)

For those of you who have ever been out with any pepperjammer, there are certain truths. The first one being, “The night is not complete without a jagerbomb shot.” In true pepperjam style I asked Kevin if he would partake in a shot with me. The conversation went a little something like this:

KAT: “Brian, do a shot with me!”

KEV: “What Shot?”

KAT: “A JagerBomb”

KEV: “What’s a jagerbomb?”

KAT: “Seriously? You’ve never had a jagerbomb? It’s jager and red bull!”

KEV: “ummmm…i don’t know about that.”

KAT: “Come on….. do it!”

KEV: “alright…”

This is me peer pressuring Kevin into taking a jagerbomb shot. In this picture, he is saying:

KEV: “This is a shot?!? It’s in a half pint glass!”

KAT: “That’s the way we roll.”

KEV: “Is this what they call a shot in Scranton?”

KAT: “Sure is!”

This pic is Kevin showing Angela a Scranton jagerbomb shot, half pint glass and all….she doesn’t seem impressed, does she?

But give this girl a $1.50 draft….and it is an entirely different story.

TL, exhausted from the hunt, tapped out and headed back down to the WB…but not before she got this last pic in w/ Kevin.

I, however, couldn’t get enough of Angela and Kevin (as is evidenced by this pic). After losing TL to the lure of Luzerne county, I jumped in the Limo (what? like you never crashed a celeb’s limo before?) and headed off with the rest of the crew to do a little bar crawl of Scranton. Up next – COOPERS!

This is a little photo of Angela and Kevin (in character) at Cooper’s American Seafood house. Kevin’s favorite part of Coopers? The Mariachi Band, of course! Because what AMERICAN style seafood house doesn’t have a MARIACHI band?? After Coopers we made a quick stop at Farley’s and then ended the night at The BOG. I think it is fair to say that this was probably Angela and Kevin’s favorite stop that night. Here they got the royal treatment — they got to tend bar all night! The bar was packed and Angela and Kevin soaked up the scene. Without hesitation, I’m gonna say that they both had a killer time that night, and one that they will not soon forget! (if they can remember….)

And just one more picture of me and Tess. Tess is Angela and Kevin’s personal PR guru. She is a rockstar in her own right and an amazing chick. The blog just wouldn’t have been complete without a little shout out to her since she made the whole weekend possible.

Welcome to the first in a three part series of a special PepperjamBLOG. Throughout this series I will explore, in-depth a current phenomenon that everyone seems to be taking for granted – Avatars. Avatars have been a part of the internet and its culture as since the beginning. They have stood the test of time and have outlasted other gadgets in the Internets rich history such as chat room and AltaVista. We have seen avatars morph from a quaint graphic to full 3D models. Lets take a deeper look at the avatar. Also, I have given myself a special picture to help me look more like an avatar, I don’t really look like this

In The Beginning

Avatars, icons or whatever you choose to call them, there is one thing that you cannot deny: They are everywhere. From simple programs like Gtalk, and AOL Instant Messenger to more advanced platforms like the Mii’s on the Wii, Playstation Home and Second Life, avatars are becoming as much a part of everyday business on the web as business cards in the real world. They remind people of who you are, what you do, and where you met. Your avatar is your life line to your friends and colleagues on the internet. An electronic calling card if you will. Over the past few years we have seen the avatar grow in depth and popularity. Avatars are quickly becoming the marketing tools of the future.

Avatars started out as simple pictures that one would place next to their screen name on AOL Instant Messenger, a message board or a forum. The pictures acted as your online identity and gave others a glimpse of who you really are. They often showed the world one of three things:

1.) What you ideally want to look like.
2.) Your current celebrity crush.
3.) Your creative side.

It was somewhat of a contest in the beginning to see who could have the coolest avatar or icon to describe them. This little contest is what pushed the avatar from a “snazzy little icon” to the awesome marketing identity that it is becoming today. Essentially it is your personal calling card or “dressing your business to impress”, all of your creativity is going to waste if you don’t have the means to advertise all of your skills to potential clients

As avatars grew in popularity they started to become animated and more customizable and interactive. (which is probably how they have become so ingrained into web 2.0) The avatar eventually grew into a full fledged “character” in video games and they are becoming a very important and awe-inspiring marketing tool.

As we watch the web make it’s transition from 2.0 to 3.0 you will see that a fully customizable version of yourself will not only act as a recognizable business card but will also help you craft your identity online and it will be available to use at every website.

The Real Life Avatar

In recent years we have seen the avatar leap off of the computer screen and into the real world. As we often see, online phenomenons sometimes blur the line between the real world and the virtual world. One recent example is the introduction of Moo Cards. Moo Cards are mini business cards that have many custom images printed on them in one printing. It allows for a truly customizable business card and one that does not grow stale and stagnant to the owner. Moo Cards also stand out because of the size. They are roughly half the size of a normal business card.

Moo Cards in Action

Moo Cards have become very popular with the gaming convention circles and the blogging community. They often have peoples gaming avatar on the back and their personal information on the front, you are able to choose an image from Moo Cards personal collection or upload your own images. The ability to customize is a desirable feature in any web 2.0 application and since Moo Cards are tied very closely to web 2.0 it only makes sense that they are customizable as well.

As we delve deeper into the phenomenon of Avatars you will discover that the more involved a user is in an avatar the more emotional/personal attachment they have to it. They will continue to change the avatar based on their likes and dislikes, buy it new things and give it a new haircut. The avatar often changes along with the person it is linked too. As we progress through the series we will look at how this is beneficial to companies like Nintendo, EA, Sony and Linden Labs and how they have created or supplemented a sustainable business model with something as simple as a customizable character.

In coming articles I will take an in-depth look at how avatars are being used as powerful tools to gain user and customer loyalty and how this “virtual” version of yourself shows your consumer profile. I will also look at what the future of web 3.0 holds and how I already see it forming.

I would love to hear comments and suggestions from anyone reading this, so please feel free to use them.

But is that what you really want? I don’t think so.

Let’s face it, as Search Engine Marketing grows ever more popular the Top Tier Search Engines are doing everything they can to make their platforms more user-friendly. With tools such as Google’s Budget Optimizer and Landing Page Optimizer, the more complex tasks associated with SEM are readily available to the average person. So who needs SEM Agencies these days? Why can’t I just hire anybody with basic computer skills to run my PPC campaigns? Let me tell you why:

Any SEM Agency worth a damn these days runs some type of PPC Management software.

Writing complex ROI monitoring software for your in-house search team probably isn’t the most practical idea out there. Companies like Atlas and DoubleClick offer PPC monitoring software to the masses if you’re able to afford it. The cost of this software is not cheap, but the benefits of implementing this type of 24/7 bid management into you search campaigns are limitless. You get more accurate reporting across all 3 Engines, complex ROI based bid management and more keyword parameters than you can even imagine, and that’s just the beginning. To make the most of this software, however, you need to be trained and you need to have the hands-on experience that only seasoned professionals possess.

There’s low CPA… and then there’s LOW CPA…

So maybe you’ve created you own AdWords account and it seems to be running pretty well. Maybe it took you a couple months to work out the bugs, but after spending 3 hours a day tinkering around in there you finally got your CPA to a respectable number. Guess what? I can almost guarantee you that an experienced search marketer can drop that CPA by at least 20% in less than a month. The intricacies of the Google algorithms will never be fully understood by any mortal human being outside the Googleplex and probably by very few on the inside. The only way anyone can even come close is testing, testing and then some more testing. SEM Agencies again have the advantage. We’ve seen it all before, we’ve had accounts crash and burn for no apparent reason and we’ve had accounts soar higher than we ever could have hoped. Every day the algorithms change and every day we learn something new or figure out how to do something better. It’s the experience you gain as an SEM agency with 50 or so very different accounts at your finger tips everyday that can’t be gained any other way.

Ever heard of QSO? Probably not. Pepperjam invented it. QSO stands for “Quality Score Optimization” and our C.O.O Michael Jones blogged about it earlier this week. Basically, through methods I won’t disclose, we’ve come up with a way to insure that every keyword we bid on for a particular account gets the highest Quality Score possible. This, in turn, lets us get the lowest possible CPC with highest possible CTR for any given term. Not a bad little system. We came up with this system only because we had the resources and the ability of professionals. We educate ourselves and brainstorm various strategies for almost 60% of our time and we spend the other 40% implementing those ideas. The results speak for themselves.

Shouldn’t your entire Internet Marketing operation be under one roof?

Finally, as I stated above, anyone can build out a somewhat successful PPC campaign. Can the same be said about Affiliate Marketing, SEO and other more advanced Internet Marketing strategies? How about making all of these very different techniques work together as a whole? I’m sure it can be done, but it’s not easy. If you’re trying to do it on your own it’s an incredibly daunting task. A good Internet Marking agency can synergize their Media, Affiliate, SEO, SMO, PPC, and other online efforts into an overall product that can’t be matched. The result is an Online Marketing campaign with no holes, no potential customer left un-served and a reservoir of collected data that any marketer would kill for.

I could go on and on, but you should have gotten the point by now. I know its tempting to think that anyone can run a successful PPC campaign and, to a certain extent, that is true. But to really make the most of every dollar spent you need the combined experience and overall professionalism that only a veteran SEM Agency can provide. That’s what we provide here at Pepperjam and I’d like to think that our clients wouldn’t trade that for the world.

Later tonight at a ceremony being held at Lehigh University Pepperjam will become the recipient of a prestigious 2007 Ben Franklin Technology Partners Innovation Award.

I thought I would take this opportunity to thank my incredible team for their intelligence, hardwork, dedication, and creativity. Tonight at the event I will accept the award on behalf of the Pepperjam Team.

Below I’ve included some info about the Ben Franklin Technology Partners Innovation Awards and the organization itself. Note that we were not funded by BFTP; instead, we occupy the third floor of a building (The Innovation Center @ Wilkes-Barre), which receives continued financial support from the BFTP.

Ben Franklin Technology Partners Innovation Awards are presented in eight categories, to companies or individuals who have achieved business success through Ben Franklin funding and assistance, have helped others to achieve success, or have improved their business through innovation. Each award recipient represents a person or company that exemplifies achievement in that particular category.

The purposes of the innovation awards are to congratulate winners on their success and achievement, to highlight the effectiveness of the Ben Franklin program, and to inform entrepreneurs and established manufacturers about the resources that are available to them in northeast Pennsylvania.

Ben Franklin Technology Partners is one of the most highly regarded and longest running programs in the country dedicated to growing a state’s technology-based economy. Ben Franklin Technology Partners pioneering organization has been embraced by five different Pennsylvania governors and the Pennsylvania General Assembly since inception in 1983 and remains the country’s gold standard for state and regional technology-based economic development programs. The longevity of Ben Franklin Technology Partners is due to their positive impact on Pennsylvania’s technology economy.

Positioned strategically throughout Pennsylvania—with regional headquarters in the Lehigh Valley, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and State College—BFTP supports and executes the Commonwealth’s technology agenda, builds on regional strengths, capitalizes on new opportunities and addresses the specific needs of diverse communities. Ben Franklin Technology Partners serves as catalysts for economic growth by providing access to capital, business expertise and a network of resources that fosters innovation, growth and success.

Ben Franklin Technology Partners Mission Statement:
To invest in the transformation of the Pennsylvania economy through technology, innovation and strategic partnerships that fosters a favorable business environment for high-growth companies.

The Goal of Ben Franklin Technology Partners:
To ensure that the state’s emerging and growing technology enterprises have access to the resources they need to become more efficient, more competitive and more successful in the global marketplace.