5 Signs That You Need a New Website Design

Fifteen seconds. According to some estimates, that’s how long the typical visitor spends on a website, which means your site should capture a user’s attention from the moment it pops up on their screen. In today’s market, a website is the hub of your digital identity, your company’s interface with the world, the genesis of client conversion and ROI. Simply put: You need a website. But how often should you hit refresh on that site and build a new one?

Businesses tend to redesign their web presence once every three years, for good reason: Trends adapt at such a quick clip that your site needs constant updates to stay relevant amid those trends. That doesn’t mean you should set a timer for three years and call a web design agency like Jacob Tyler as soon as the alarm goes off. Don’t get us wrong, we’d take that call — but we also know every company has its own goals, and the three-year mark may not be right for you. So in the meantime, keep in mind these telltale signs that you might be due for a site overhaul.

Your Bounce Rate Keeps Bouncing Up

A “bounce rate” is marketing-speak for the percentage of visitors that look at one page on your site before leaving — the digital equivalent of someone poking their head into your store and going, “Meh.” Use Google Analytics to track the number of visitors dropping by your site. If that number’s been dipping, your potential clientele might be telling you (or Meh-ing you) that your design is in need of a makeover. 

Your Business Model Has Changed

In site design, form follows function. Imagine you’re a personal trainer who wants the world to know you’re for hire. That business model is simple, so you may just need a brochure site to get your message out there. Now imagine you’ve grown into a global network that connects personal trainers to gyms. That business model is way more complex, so you’ll need to add new functionality to your site like a dashboard, a member login, a CMS that routs payment — the list goes on. Your business goals have evolved, so your site needs to evolve along with those goals.

Your Site’s Not Compatible on Mobile

Your current site may be a magnum opus of clever headlines, sumptuous layouts, A Beautiful Mind-caliber code, but if it doesn’t work on mobile, it’s mostly an invitation for users to seek services elsewhere. About half of all users scroll the web on their phones, so if they have to keep whirling their wrists around and squinting at their screens to check on when their pizza’s being delivered, they’ll probably order a 12” pepperoni through another restaurant’s payment portal. We can’t stress this enough: If your site isn’t compatible on mobile, you, dear reader, need a new site.

Your Site Doesn’t Match Your Brand

Another way to gauge if you need a new site is to ask yourself whether it matches your brand. Let’s say you sell caviar. The layout of your site should be simple and svelte (and maybe a tad salty). Now let’s say you’re in cryptocurrency, a field that’s only been around for a few decades. Consider redesigning frequently to reflect the real-time changes in your industry. With that said, some users dislike change as much as others delight in it. So know thy brand. And when you do decide to refresh that brand, make sure your colors, fonts, and voice stay consistent across your site, logo, social media, and marketing (omni)channels.

You’ve Violated the Three-Second Rule

Let’s face it: We’re all impatient. We want WiFi to always be available, the Chevy in front of us to realize the light’s green, and the website we’re on to load in a few seconds. A slow-loading site smacks of dial-up, a squall out of the ’90s, business lost and opportunities squandered. So if clients mention or visitors kvetch that your site takes more than three seconds to load — permit us a Jeff Foxworthyesque setup here — you might be ready for a new website.

It’s important to hire a web development company to audit your content types, research competitor analysis, customize UX, and make relentless love to their keyboards as they sling code for you. Whatever new website you’re envisioning, you can always set that timer and give Jacob Tyler a call. Or, you know, just check out our site.

Jacob Tyler’s own Maddie Bishop, Senior Brand and Communications Strategist was recently featured in a Small Business Trends article written by Rob Starr. Please check it out below.

Sizing up your competitors is a big part of small business success. In a nutshell, that’s what a competitive analysis is all about. This research will help you understand the strengths and weaknesses of direct competitors. Doing this kind of competitive research will give you a leg up in your target market.

This article will cover some of the boxes you’ll need to check to do a thorough competitive analysis.

What is a Competitive Analysis?

A competitive analysis is the assessment and study of your competitors. By identifying a competitor’s strengths and weaknesses, you can improve your small business efforts. There are quite a few different areas covered. These look at aspects like marketing strategies and target markets. They also cover digital aspects like social media. Usually, there is also a strong content section.

It’s important to take the time to plan one of these carefully. They can supply a road map for where your business can improve. Competitive analysis can also point out market weaknesses you can capitalize on.

Why Do a Competitive Analysis?

There are some big benefits to this kind of competitive analysis. Read on to find out how your small business can stay on top of your market share with one.

Alex Azoury, Founder & CEO, Home Grounds, offers up some other insights on why an analysis like this is important.

“There are two good reasons for one of these,” he writes. ” If you haven’t started your business analysis gives you a clear insight into the demand for your product or service. It makes you think about how to differentiate yourself in the market.”

The other reason has a lot to do with getting a handle on other competitors. Azoury explains.

“For an existing business, you must stay informed about your competitors’ marketing campaigns and activity online. Figure out whether you could exploit gaps in their strategy. Use the analysis to measure yourself against the same criteria. Then take an objective look at your business to find areas for improvement.”

How to Do a Competitive Analysis

The idea sounds simple. However, putting together an analysis template that works is a little more complicated. There are several steps you need to go through. You can use these to get a better understanding of your target market. You might be an established business or start-up. Either way, putting this data together gives you an accurate picture of what your competitors are up to.

There are other advantages. It can help you pivot in the marketplace and fill in any gaps. These analyses are also useful for deciding when to develop new products and services. Or they can help you decide when to cancel ones that aren’t working.

Here are some boxes to check for accurate competitor analysis.

1. Use The Web

Getting started with your competitor analysis means getting off on the right foot. Start on the Internet with the search engine you’re most comfortable with. That’s where you’ll find most of the competitor business information you need. However, the starting point might be different than what you’d expect. Instead of searching for a competitor’s name, you can start with your business name.

Google will supply a list of other business competitor names. That’s a good place to start your analysis. The Google search engine results page (SERP) will display a knowledge panel on the right. Check out the bottom. That’s where you will find the names of competitors. Keep in mind that it’s a mix of the three different kinds of competitors. However, it gives you a jumping-off point for your analysis.

Corinne McCarthy is an SEO & Online PR Specialist with Web Talent Marketing, has some other suggestions.

“Use third-party tools (such as SEMRush.com or Ahrefs.com) to find keyword data on your competitor,” she writes. “It’s helpful to export the keyword data in an Excel file. SpyFu is great for looking at competitors’ paid keywords.”

It’s important to take a look at how your competitors are using search engine optimization. Google Analytics is a great tool to be able to engage in how any competitor is using SEO.

“Make sure the competitor you choose is closely related to what you do. To check that they’re an authoritative source, you can use measures like Moz Domain Authority,” she writes. “There should be clues on their website that tell you that they’re legit (years in business, customer reviews, etc).

Finally, there’ s no point in taking notes from a competitor that isn’t successful. Check their website rankings, the quality of their content, and industry awards to confirm that you want to follow their lead.”

2. Put Together a List of Your Competitors

First things first as they say. If you want to know how the competitors in your market are working, you’ll need to know who they are. That’s why the first step is to put together a list of competitors. You may think you already have a good idea. But you need to consider the following to make sure you consider all your competitors

Like the different kinds your business needs to deal with. There are direct and indirect competitors. Understanding the differences between the two can help you put together a good competitive analysis.

Direct Competitors

These are the folks that are selling the same goods and services as you. Either directly in the same geographical area or in the same online space. Essentially, you and your direct competitors are offering exactly the same thing.

Follow this link for some examples in the wireless market. You’ll see that Verizon and Sprint compete directly with T mobile and quite a few others. That should give you an idea about how to put together this part of the competitive analysis.

Azoury has some excellent suggestions.

“Set up a tool to record the information you find. I prefer a spreadsheet, but a table works too,” he writes.

Next, he says you need to enter the names of your main competitors across the top. He suggests three names. Be aware that your competitors may not be who you think. Start with the competitors you compete with directly.

“They’re the ones with very similar products or services who are targeting the same audience demographic or customer persona.”

• A summary of what you know presently. Use any search engine to get this information from their website. Social media sites can be helpful too. Look for their tagline, unique value proposition and anything highlighting strengths/ weaknesses. Don’t leave any detail out like the email address.
• Target audience. Who are they targeting? One example might be men between 30-50 who purchase custom-tailored suits.
• Products or services – what are they offering?
• General marketing strategy – This is an important part of the competitive analysis you’re putting together. Find out what kind of content they’re using.
• Online marketing strategy – How do they promote themselves? Note your observations about their website and social media accounts. How do they generate traffic and leads, what do they post, do they have reviews or testimonials? Unearth the content strategy.
• Strengths – Look for good content like great product descriptions, a valuable free resource, professional images.
• Weaknesses – Do they respond to complaints? Is the business hard to contact? Things like poor site navigation work against any marketing efforts.
• Competitive advantage – Do these competitors manufacture their own products? What kind of media coverage do they get? What about free resources?

Here’s another helpful piece of advice about how a competitive analysis like this works. If you’re working on your brand, you should only focus on these types of competitors. Find out if their content marketing efforts include a blog. Take a look at their social media to see what they focus on. The chances are you can tweak the content templates they are using for your product or services. A lot of this information is on competitors’ websites.

Indirect Competitors

These are businesses that sell goods and services that are similar in the same market. The idea here is you and your competitor might appeal to the same target audience. If you sell shoes, and company B sells boots, they could be considered an indirect competitor.

Some people think these competitors can actually make excellent partners. Here’s an example. If you sell curling irons you look for a business selling hair care products. Staying competitive at the same time means looking to see if these competitors are scaling up or down.

Tertiary Competitors

These folks are at the bottom of the list. Why? Because they don’t pose an immediate threat to your product or service. However, they do offer something different that might be considered a replacement. A proper competitor analysis here could include the local ice cream shop if you sell doughnuts. That kind of business could change marketing strategies quickly and include similar products.

Deciding which area the competition falls into depends on your individual company. For example, if you sell hammers and nails, it won’t be hard to categorize the competition. That won’t be the case for a software company with different features and plans.

3. Compare Marketing Strategies

Taking a look at your competitors’ marketing strategy is an important step. There are a few things that go into a complete competitor analysis. Remember, this part of the analysis is content-based. Take a look at several different factors including how many blogs competitors are using.

McCarthy has some more advice on looking at your competitors’ marketing.

“Look at the content on your competitor’s website. Focus on key pages like the homepage and service or product pages. Analyze the headings and look for keywords in the page copy. Evaluate the tone, style, and length. Compare to your own website content. ”

“Don’t underestimate website speed,” she writes. “Use Google’s PageSpeed Insights to see how fast your competitor’s website loads compared to yours’. Make sure you aren’t losing potential customers due to a slow website.”

4. Compare Websites

Any good competitor analysis needs to consider what the other business is doing online. You can get some good information from the content on their website. Social media is important too ( see below) but the website is a treasure trove of good info on your competitors.

There’s a whole industry that can help here.

Still, there’s some good information that you can get for your competitor analysis from the website.

• It might start a little like detective work at first. Even if you only get one email address to an employee or customer, you can get some information to follow.
• The website can give you some information about webinars and other social media events. These can be helpful to learn more about competitors’ business.
• The website is a great place to get links to interviews competitors have done in the media.

There are several things that you should consider here. For example, what tone does your competitor use on their homepage? Take note of the images they use. It’s also a good idea to focus on name email of any clients found in testimonials.

5. Compare Social Media

Social media is an important part of understanding what competitors are up to. Important information like how people are talking about that competitor is here. Here are a few boxes you should check to get the most from your competitor’s social media channels.

Take a look at who they are talking to and interacting with. That gives you a reinforced idea of the target market. Take a look at the platforms that are working for your competitors. Not all social media channels work for all small businesses.

For example, YouTube is an excellent social media channel if your goods and services need assembly and explaining. Checking out other platforms like Instagram makes sense. You’ll want to take a look at the language your competitors use on other platforms like Facebook.

Check out how a competitor’s business uses influencers. Make sure to gauge the emotional content of the posts for each social media channel. Don’t forget to check out any LinkedIn channels. The content found there usually tells you something about B2B marketing.

6. Consider Pricing

There are lots of areas to cover. While some look at social aspects like content, others look at figures like pricing. If you are comparing your pricing to the competition, there are a few things to consider. It’s all pretty straightforward if your goods and services are similar. Start adding on features like those with software, and things can become more complex.

The first step here is to benchmark your prices against the competition. You might be able to get some numbers off the website. If not, you’ll need to dig down a little deeper. Try looking for name email info from testimonials to contact.

If you have direct competition selling at the same prices, you can drop your price to increase sales. Dropping your price can force competitors to innovate in order to reduce costs and keep pace.

7. Use a SWOT Analysis

After you’ve gathered up the data you need, your business needs to put everything together. That’s where a competitor SWOT analysis comes in handy. The word is an acronym. It stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. These are flexible. They can be built to analyze your own business or that of your competition. Some companies use them as a baseline. The analysis points to their own company and gives them a starting point for the competitor analysis

There are many advantages. One big one is businesses can see areas to take advantage of in the market through their competitors using SWOT analysis.

Ty Stewart, CEO & President of Simple Life Insure, adds a reason for using these .

“The best tip I have to perform a successful competitive analysis is always to have a specific end goal in mind,” he writes. “Without that fixed, concise purpose fueling an analysis, you’ll end up with a whole lot of data but little direction to run with it. ”

He says you can shape findings by having a specific question or project that competitive analysis answers. That way you’ll get a lot more from the work.  These SWOT analysis tools can help.

Competitive Analysis Template

Being able to corral all this information together in a template is good. There is some flexibility here. However, a good template will have all of the following content.

• Revenue – The clearest path is checking the website of the competition, or look for press releases.
• The Target Market – Look through the content on social media platforms.
• What makes their products different and unique.
• The number of employees.
• Their products and services with pricing.
• The marketing strategies they use.
• The social channels and websites they operate in.
• Content on the history of the company.

Here are a few tips on getting a competitive analysis template. Looking for an online worksheet is a good idea. But you’ll need to be careful to make sure it has all the categories you want. There are some industry leaders offering them, like Shopify.

If you’re making your own, don’t forget to include sections for social media and website content. You won’t be able to get an accurate analysis without considering digital marketing.

Conclusion

Understanding what a competitor is doing can help your business to succeed. That’s what a good competitive analysis is all about.

Mia Ballan the Founder of Money-Minded Millennial, provides a good definition.

“The key to performing an effective competitor analysis is to choose the right competitors. The criteria you should look out for are: 1) are they relevant 2) authoritative and 3) successful,” she writes.

Maddie Bishop, Senior Brand & Communications Strategist at Jacob Tyler, has the last word:

“The best competitive analysis research is not only interesting but useful. It should offer an insight into how your brand can grow, pivot, or innovate within and beyond its marketplace.”

Before you start, Bishop says, you need to ask three questions. Here is the list Bishop supplies.

Define what you need to learn. Do you just need an overview of the market, or are you looking to see how you can dominate it?

Decide who your competitors actually are. It may not be as obvious as you think. Are they the leaders in your market? Those making a similar product or offering a similar service? Or, those who have made a strategic move you aspire to?

Question whether you really need a traditional competitive analysis.  It’s unlikely you could achieve market-leading success simply by copying their tactics. Of course, sometimes you just need an overview of where you stand. But if you’re trying to inform your next strategic move, there might be a better way. Perhaps you could actually learn more from some thoughtfully chosen category case studies?

Remember there are several things that a good competitive analysis should do. First and foremost it should identify gaps in any marketplace.

A good analysis can also be the first step in developing brand-new products and services. Done right, it also helps to identify important market trends. In the end, it is designed to help you sell and market your products and services more effectively.

Digital marketing agencies help drive business results in the form of conversions, web traffic and retention rates. DesignRush identified 2020’s best digital marketing agencies that provide services in digital advertising, website analytics, SEO, content marketing, social media and more.

Below is the list in alphabetical order.

NEW YORK (PRWEB) MAY 29, 2020

Digital marketing agencies help drive business results in the form of conversions, web traffic and retention rates.

DesignRush, a B2B marketplace connecting brands with agencies, determined the top digital marketing companies of 2020 that provide a range of services to help brands with digital advertising, website analytics, SEO, content marketing, social media and more.

The top digital marketing companies of 2020 are:

1. Altitude Internet – altitude-internet.co.uk
Expertise: Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing and Copywriting, SEO and more

2. Anderson Collaborative – andersoncollaborative.com
Expertise: Integrated Marketing, PPC, Consulting and more

3. Become Digital Today – becomedigitaltoday.com
Expertise: Social Media Marketing, Video Marketing, Branding and more

4. Brand You Development & Coaching Limited – brandyou.ie
Expertise: Email Marketing, PPC, SEO and more

5. Brandsensations | Inbound Marketing Strategies – brandsensations.com
Expertise: Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing and Copywriting, Email Marketing and more

6. Brandtellers Studio, Lda – brandtellers.com
Expertise: Social Media Marketing, Integrated Marketing, Content Marketing and Copywriting and more

7. CedCommerce – cedcommerce.com
Expertise: Email Marketing, Video Marketing, PPC and more

8. Codedesign – codedesign.org
Expertise: Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing and Copywriting, Email Marketing and more

9. Comrade Web Agency – comradeweb.com
Expertise: Integrated Marketing, SEO, PPC and more

10. Cyclone Social – cyclonesocial.com
Expertise: Social Media Marketing, Integrated Marketing, Content Marketing and Copywriting and more

11. Dgmark Agency – dgmarkagency.com
Expertise: Social Media Marketing, SEO, PPC and more

12. DIAP Media – diapmedia.com
Expertise: SEO, PPC, Content Marketing and Copywriting and more

13. Digit Bazar IT Solutions Private Limited – digitbazar.com
Expertise: Social Media Marketing, SEO, PPC and more

14. Divergent Creative – divergentcreativegroup.com
Expertise: Integrated Marketing, Content Marketing and Copywriting, Email Marketing and more

15. Dobies Health Marketing – dobies.com
Expertise: Social Media Marketing, Video Marketing, Content Marketing and Copywriting and more

16. Double Up Digital – doubleup.digital
Expertise: Content Marketing and Copywriting, PPC, Marketing Analytics and Big Data and more

17. EloQ Communications – eloqasia.com
Expertise: Social Media Marketing, Integrated Marketing, Content Marketing and Copywriting and more

18. ForeFront Web – forefrontweb.com
Expertise: Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing and Copywriting, PPC and more

19. GB-Agency – gb.agency
Expertise: Social Media Marketing, Email Marketing, Branding and more

20. Get The Clicks – gettheclicks.com
Expertise: Consulting, PPC, SEO and more

21. Hedges & Company – hedgescompany.com
Expertise: Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing and Copywriting, Email Marketing and more

22. HMG Creative – hmgcreative.com
Expertise: Social Media Marketing, Email Marketing, PPC and more

23. Jacob Tyler Brand & Digital Agency – jacobtyler.com
Expertise: Strategic Marketing, Social Media Marketing, SEO and more

24. JRB Team – jrbteam.com
Expertise: Social Media Marketing, Email and Marketing Automation, Inbound Marketing and more

25. Landis Communications Inc – landispr.com
Expertise: Social Media Marketing, Integrated Marketing, Content Marketing and Copywriting and more

26. Launch Digital – launchscotland.com
Expertise: Social Media Marketing, Branding, SEO and more

27. Markitects Inc. – markitects.com
Expertise: Social Media Marketing, Email Marketing, SEO and more

28. Martal Group – martal.ca
Expertise: Integrated Marketing, Content Marketing and Copywriting, Email Marketing and more

29. Matrix PR – matrixdubai.com
Expertise: Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing and Copywriting, PPC and more

30. Milia Marketing – miliamarketing.com
Expertise: Social Media Marketing, SEO, PPC and more

31. MONSOON Digital Marketing – monsoon.agency
Expertise: Social Media Marketing, Integrated Marketing, Email and Marketing Automation and more

32. Mystique Brand Communications – mystique.ca
Expertise: Integrated Marketing, Email Marketing, SEO and more

33. Osmond Marketing – osmondmarketing.com
Expertise: Integrated Marketing, Content Marketing and Copywriting, Public Relations and more

34. Penny Marketing – apennymarketing.com
Expertise: Social Media Marketing, Video Marketing, Content Marketing and Copywriting and more

35. Planned Growth – plannedgrowth.com
Expertise: Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing and Copywriting, Email Marketing and more

36. RadiantBrands – radiantbrands.com
Expertise: Content Marketing and Copywriting, SEO, Consulting and more

37. Seo and Marketing PTY – seoandmarketingpty.com
Expertise: Social Media Marketing, Email Marketing, PPC and more

38. TAGETMedia – tagetmedia.com
Expertise: Social Media Marketing, Video Marketing, Content Marketing and Copywriting and more

39. The Creative Exchange – thecreativeexchange.co
Expertise: Social Media Marketing, PPC, Amazon Marketing and more

40. Toast Studio – gotoast.ca
Expertise: Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing and Copywriting, Email Marketing and more

41. Trevelino/Keller – trevelinokeller.com
Expertise: Social Media Marketing, PPC, Email Marketing and more

42. Ultimate SEO LLC – ultimateseo.org
Expertise: SEO, Content Marketing and Copywriting, IT Services and Networking and more

43. V12 Marketing – v12marketing.com
Expertise: Inbound Marketing, SEO, Public Relations and more

44. Wirefox Design Agency Birmingham – wirefox.co.uk
Expertise: Social Media Marketing, SEO, Consulting and more

Brands can explore the top digital marketing agencies by location, size, average hourly rate and portfolio on DesignRush.

About DesignRush: DesignRush.com is a B2B marketplace connecting brands with agencies. DesignRush features the top agencies around the world, including the best Digital Agencies, Logo Design, Branding, Digital Marketing, Website Design, eCommerce Web Design Companies and more.

If you squint hard enough, you can see a faint light at the end of the tunnel. The pandemic crisis hasn’t gone away, but we are slowly inching back towards a normal life. There are signs everywhere. Recently, the beaches in San Diego opened for exercise, swimming and surfing. And today, restaurants and retail have been given the green light to open, under certain restrictions. All of this is good news, because all of us are desperate for a sense of normalcy right now—and more importantly, our small businesses need to open so that they can survive.

At Jacob Tyler, we have a positive outlook on the future. We’ve been lucky enough to stay busy during this time, and we are determined to help those businesses who have been hit hard by the lockdowns bounce back. Whether they’re our clients or businesses we patronize personally, we want to see everyone stay safe, and succeed. But selfishly, we’d also like to see our friends and family in person again, and see our cover model, Svetlana, who can’t visit the states due to the travel ban. We will do all of these things, and hopefully soon.

That being said, we’ve made the most of the current situation by having fun and working our butts off. We hoped you enjoyed our COVID Quarantine magazine covers. We had fun making them as a little creative release. This will be our final issue, but not our final message. We’re still here, and ready to help whenever your business needs us. For now, though, we’re taking a break and closing our offices Friday for a four-day weekend. Have a happy Memorial Day friends.

Model: Svetlana Mit – Jacob Tyler Graphic Designer

Things We’ve Learned To Live Without.

We’ve just finished up week seven in quarantine and the abnormal is starting to become normal, for better or worse. It’s amazing what you can live without when you’re forced to live without it. Of course, some things are tougher than others. The widespread destruction of livelihoods is hard to reckon with, but we’re taking a positive outlook that the economy will snap back into place soon. We’ve seen it with many of our clients who continue to push forward during this time. The little things, though—the minor inconveniences—are becoming normal. Here are the things we’ve learned to live without at Jacob Tyler.

Haircuts

Long hair is officially en vogue. Because, you know, there’s nowhere to get a haircut. While some brave souls have turned to their spouses or roommates for an amateur trim, most of us are just letting it flow—especially our cover model, Christina Malave.  Growing your hair out can be freeing, and now is a great time to give it a try. Because you pretty much have to.

In-Person Meetings 

Memba those? While the Jacob Tyler team was already well-versed in videoconferencing (we have been conducting most of our client meetings that way for a few years), we’ve further proved the concept during quarantine. The benefits of video conferencing are many, and it’s great to see our clients and others get accustomed to this form of communication. We expect to see a monumental increase in the use of videoconferencing going forward—and we think that’s a good thing. Of course, we do miss seeing people in person. We’re hoping we can get together soon.

Dining Out

We miss going out to restaurants. There’s no two ways about it. But we’ve also learned the value of take out, grocery shopping, and eating at home. Whether we’re cooking our own food or ordering from a local restaurant, eating at home has a certain comfort to it that we’re enjoying… and best of all with our family! Most of us, anyway.

Gasoline

Gas is dirt cheap right now. Well, dirt cheap for California. Normally, we’d be excited about this, but we don’t really drive anywhere so it’s not helping. Here’s to hoping the prices stay down when the driving starts up.

The Beach

This one has been tough. We’re a San Diego agency with a San Diego attitude, and the beach is part of who we are. Being locked out of our favorite place has not been pleasant, but thankfully that part of the lockdown has mostly ended. We’re now able to surf, run and walk on the beach in America’s Finest City.

Good Commercials

We’ve all seen the big brand commercials during this time. They’re heartfelt, emotional and…boring. After five largely identical commercials from different brands in a row, it gets to be a bit much. That being said, we realize that agencies and brands have very little resources for new commercials, so they are relying on existing b-roll and voice overs to make themselves heard during the pandemic. We’re looking forward to the return of creative and funny commercials, hopefully soon.

– The JT Team

Model: Christina Malave: Jacob Tyler Senior Account Strategist

The Jacob Tyler Mother’s Day Quarantine Gift Guide.

It’s Mother’s Day again, which means you’re probably struggling to find the perfect gift for your mom. Aside from a card and flowers, finding the right gift can be difficult—especially during a pandemic. But fear not, we’ve put together a helpful quarantine gift guide that will maybe help you find the right gift. Maybe not. Probably not, actually. But a few ideas can’t hurt. Here we go.

Do a Drive By

Nothing says “I love you mom” like rolling up the street slowly to her house and surprising her with a visit! The drive by has become all the rage for kids’ birthdays during quarantine. It’s time to involve mom too. The hardest part of being in lockdown is not being physically close to those important to you. You may not be able to give mom a hug, but she will surely appreciate seeing you in person, rather than on that Zoom meeting she can’t really figure out.

Send Her a Picture Book 

If your mom can’t be with you, you can still involve her in your life through photographs. And with apps like Chatbooks, you can automatically create photobooks that will be printed and delivered to your mom. While we haven’t used Chatbooks, we love their ads so we’re already sold.
Teach Her How to Use Video Conferencing Technology

If your mom is as technology impaired as some of ours are, Mother’s Day is a great time to teach her to use video conferencing tech. Whether it’s Zoom, Facetime or any other of the technologies that have become “essential” during quarantine, helping your mom learn to use video conferencing will allow you to stay in close contact and see each other while you’re apart. Just remember to show her the kind of patience she showed you when you stuffed your GI Joe figures down the toilet when you were 8 years old. You owe it to her.
Protect Her from Murder Hornets

The hits just keep on coming. We’re already dealing with a global pandemic, and now there’s Murder Hornets? If we’re being honest, we don’t really know if Murder Hornets are actually dangerous to humans, but to be safe, you may want to get your mom a bug-blasting salt shotgun.

Your Time

Spending time with you is all your mom really wants, and that’s what makes this quarantine so heartbreaking. We do, however, have technology that can bring us together when we’re apart, so dedicate significant time to your Mom this Sunday. Whether it’s a video conference or a phone call, do more than just check in. Make her your priority, as she has always made you hers.

– The JT Team

Model: Amy Antony: Jacob Tyler VP of Project Management

Could your business use some TLC?

There’s no denying that this time has been incredibly painful for a large number of businesses. But eventually, things will come back online. No one is sure exactly when that will be, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. This time, however, is not simply a waiting game. It’s an opportunity for people and businesses alike to get some “me time.” At Jacob Tyler, we’ve been taking creative batting practice—as evidenced by our latest ridiculous fake magazine cover. But we’ve also been helping our clients take the time to work on their business, rather than in their business.

Our current reality is the perfect time to refresh your brand, your messaging and your marketing strategy. It’s the rare opportunity to work ON your business and tie up all those loose ends that have been loose for longer than you can remember. When things are “normal,” you end up focusing on what’s right in front of you, leaving important long-term tasks on the shelf. Now is the time to get to work on them, so your business will be ready to crush it once the economic lights are turned back on. The time’s yours. Use it wisely.

– The JT Team

Model: Tom Mcfadden – Jacob Tyler Creative Director