Google announced this past Monday the new Priority Inbox feature in Gmail last week. As a way to keep inboxes organized, Gmail’s filtering process will not only classify spam messages, but sort into “bacn,” for mail that isn’t junk but isn’t considered important. All other messages will be considered “Priority.”

Gmail will also begin using indicators to categorize messages into three sections: “Important and unread,” “Starred” and “Everything else.”

This feature only applies to users who access their Gmail account through the official portal. This new feature will not be available on a mobile device, iPad or applications such as Digsby. Your iGoogle homepage will be void of this feature as well.

Josh Mathe, a thunder::tech search specialist, said he’s looking forward to using the new Priority feature.

“I’m constantly bombarded with e-mails and it will be nice to have my messages classified for me when I visit my inbox,” Mathe said. “However, those that don’t access their Gmail through the official portal will not be able to take advantage of these benefits. With that said, it’ll be interesting to see how it will affect e-mail marketing practices.”

Read the full post on the Official Gmail Blog, which provides more details on the Priority Inbox and what a Gmail user can expect.

We are looking to add a new member to thunder::tech’s public relations department. This PR pro needs to have excellent skills in media relations, writing and social media. He or she must have a positive attitude and be a team player.

To apply for this position, submit your resume and writing samples on our website. If you have someone in mind for this position, send us a message on Twitter or give us a call!

As the newest crop of interns joins marketing agencies and departments this summer, now is a good time to identify their participation in your brand’s social media efforts.

Over the past few months, many brands have recognized the importance of a social media strategy and have established an active social media presence. Social media marketing takes many forms across organizations and companies – whether it’s an internal function or supported by an agency, whether it’s operated by a single person or by a group of contributors.

Across all industries, a consistent mistake is allowing interns to exclusively manage your brand’s social media presence. Many companies lean on their interns because of their potentially deep knowledge of social applications and ability to stay current with the latest mobile gadgets and technology. However, interns still have a long way to go in learning about these applications from a strategic perspective. Read More...

Prestolite Performance, a performance autoparts manufacturer, officially launched the Modern Muscle X (MMX) campaign and car giveaway this week.

Whether you are a car enthusiast or a lover of all that’s free, you can enter the sweepstakes on the MMX website for the opportunity to choose one of three 2010 enhanced automotive icons: Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger.

Prestolite Performance purchased the three vehicles earlier this year and their team of engineers has been revamping the cars with parts from the company’s brands including Lakewood, ACCEL, Hays, Mallory and Mr. Gasket. Over the past few months, thunder::tech has been creating materials for the campaign including logo design, naming, web design and development, public relations, social media and more.

Watch the video below, produced by thunder::tech, to get a closer look at these enhanced cars.



Although the contest has just started, the campaign has gotten a lot of buzz in both the automotive and traditional media:
• Crain’s Cleveland Business
• Philadelphia Inquirer
• Performance Business
• After Market News

Get the latest updates on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube as the Modern Muscle X engineers continue to add new brand parts through the course of the campaign, which ends Dec. 30, 2010. The winner will be announced in January 2011 on PowerBlockTV.

In the past two months, Facebook has implemented a few improvements to their site. Individual users and companies may have already seen the effect of these changes in their Facebook and Internet experience.

We recently discussed the new community pages that allow users to connect on general topics, brands and interests. Community pages, separate from fan pages, will be populated by user-driven content through status updates and profile information.

Continuing to harness the power of user content, the social network has also created the Open Graph API, which will allow any Web page to have the same features of Facebook pages and make the Web more social.

Watch the newest episode of Good Morning Marketers to learn about these features, including the added “Like” button on fan pages.

What do you think of Facebook’s changes?



To discuss any of these services, contact our team.