Our Agency Uses a Hybrid Staffing Model, and it’s Awesome. Here’s Why.

It’s all about the client.

When we started almost 20 years ago we never thought that we’d get big quickly. But it happened. Through hard work, handshakes, and more coffee and whiskey than one should safely consume we built Jacob Tyler to a big SoCal agency. I personally made the mistake of trying to be everything to everyone and hiring for all types of agency positions. By 2012 we had over 35 employees and clients all over the country. And then, the sh!t hit the fan… we became the agency I really never wanted to be. In fact, I promised myself we would never be. Our work started to suffer because we had the wrong team in place, a couple accounts took their work in-house, and a couple more went with other agencies.

As a result, some employees left (which was in some cases a good thing) and some got laid off. It’s the nature of the advertising/marketing/branding industries (especially with technology changing so fast) but even still, honestly, it completely sucked. You build something special. Your dream. And you watch it become something you didn’t plan for and then fall apart. The worst thing? You put other people’s lives in flux. So, after licking our wounds for a while… okay, more than a while, more like 5 years, I knew that I had to go back to my roots and ask, “Is there a better way? A way that’s more flexible to roll with the punches of this industry? A way to come out on top year in and year out?” Turns out, there was. The answer was a hybrid workforce. And after years of trying it, it’s awesome.

What do we mean by “hybrid workforce”? It’s having a core group of full-time employees to handle the everyday necessities of running a business — new business, project management, client strategy and services, etc. — and a crack team of subject matter specialists that can work nimbly on projects as our needs and our clients’ needs change.

‘I knew that I had to go back to my roots and ask, “Is there a better way? A way that’s more flexible to roll with the punches of this industry? A way to come out on top year in and year out?” Turns out, there was.’

Why We Do It

Scalability – Less overhead for our client to cover our costs.
Increased Expertise – We bring in the best people when we need ‘em and we are not limited by the talent of our internal teams.
Internal Knowledge Building – The more people with diverse experience we’re exposed to, the smarter we all become.

How We Make It Work

Smart Selections – We pick people with a minimum of 10 years of experience and those who are self-defined “organizational freaks” or “self starters” because they have to be more accountable.
Video Conferencing – As we have become a global agency, it has been necessary to adopt technology that lets us communicate with our clients and vendors in an efficient and personable manner. It’s great being face-to-face even though sometimes we’re across town, across the country, or in another continent.
Flexibility – Everyone here is flexible. It’s an old trope that in advertising you’re always working. We don’t play by that but more by… hey we give you the freedom you want, all we ask in return is a bit of flexibility to make things work when the client needs it.

When Jacob Tyler was founded, clients really wanted to make sure we were staffed internally and felt it was important to have that “marble” entryway with someone at a front desk welcoming them and getting coffee while they entered a large conference room and felt important. I have noticed that recently (in the past 2-3 years), meeting requests AT our office have slowly declined. With technology really making it easy to meet “in-person” from a distance and create new efficiencies, our clients have realized that it’s just not as important to be face-to-face. They would rather a smart, nimble, and small team to handle their account. That doesn’t mean we’re not willing to host a meeting in person or travel to a client’s office. We always go above and beyond to help our clients feel comfortable when working with us. But the reality is that if we can use technology to save money, save time, and do better work that gets better results, we’re gonna do it. That’s just how we roll around here.

Jacob Tyler recognized as a Top Beer Logo Design Company on DesignRush

This year we are proud to have been named one of the top 25 agencies for Beer Logo design on DesignRush. Thanks for the Kudos and we appreciate you loving our rebranding work!

As well, we have made the best of lists for: Food & Beverage Branding Agencies, Small Business Branding Agencies, and Naming Agencies. We are excited to be honored by Design Rush for our work.

Professional Ghosting: The Disrespectful Art of Prospects & Clients Going Dark.

Recently I was sent an email from Robert Glazer, Founder & CEO, Acceleration Partners (included below) that is something I have been thinking about writing about for a while now. He beat me to it and frankly did a good job. This year alone… and yes, it’s only March, I have submitted three proposals that were requested by prospects with no response. As well, I have submitted four others to clients and prospects that I had to follow up several times before getting a response. In every case, I had a good conversation and was told how the project was a priority for the organization. It is really unprofessional and disrespectful… do they not realize it? It’s not like these were quick emails. These were comprehensive proposals that took multiple conversations with my team and hours to put together. Please just let me know your not interested if that’s the case and value my time. Also, please take the time to let me know why. I HAVE had many clients and prospects do this and it is extremely valuable feedback.

Robert also mentions an article by Adam Grant that I disagree with. Adam says “ignoring someone’s email is an act of incivility and how none of us are really too busy to respond”. I think there are cases where this does not apply. For example, I get approximately 150-200 “sales” emails each week asking to partner with Jacob Tyler Branding Agency . If I were to take time to acknowledge and respond to everyone of these, it would take at least an hour per day… which is frankly wasted time. I would rather be supporting my team and clients than responding to unsolicited requests.

Anyway, here’s the article from Robert below as reference.

As a professional services firm, prospective clients often ask members of our team to provide detailed proposals, estimates and supporting materials as part of their evaluation process. While there’s no guarantee we will get the work, fulfilling these requests takes time, energy and resources, something that most prospects value and appreciate. However, over the past few years, I’ve noticed a rise in professional “ghosting.”

Ghosting has become part of the dating nomenclature. Apparently, it’s the practice of ending a personal relationship with someone by abruptly – and without explanation—withdrawing from all communication with them. People with avoidant personality types seem to think this approach is faultless. But in reality, it’s just rude and disrespectful.

The fact that ghosting seems to be on the rise within professional interactions is disappointing. As mentioned above, we have seen our fair share of prospective clients suddenly stop all communication after we submit proposal information to them. Ironically, but maybe not coincidently, it is often been the ones who asked us to do the most work on the shortest notice who don’t have the decency to follow-up or reply.

I have also read a number of articles about the growing practice of ghosting in recruiting, whereby candidates who take the time to come in for an in-person interview never hear from the company again. Not only is this tremendously unprofessional, it may be psychologically damaging as it leaves the candidate to wonder if they did something wrong or offensive rather than it being because the hiring team just decided to go in a different direction.

If you have been practicing ghosting in any part of your life, it’s time to stop. Here’s why:

Ghosting is disrespectful; disrespect creates ill will and distrust that is often irreparable. It also provides fodder for others to say negative things about you or your company via a public forum.

It’s a small world out there. You never know when your ghosting may come back to haunt you. We’ve even had people apply for a job at our company and forget that they ghosted us in some way years before. Similarly, candidates who have been ghosted are highly unlikely to say good things about you or your organization out in the marketplace or on review sites. And they will never be a customer.

Being avoidant and indifferent in your communication is a bad look. It conveys cowardice and disregard.

Adam Grant recently wrote a great article on why he believes ignoring someone’s email is an act of incivility and how none of us are really “too busy” to respond.

If you care about someone or have used their time, have the courtesy to get back to them, even if it’s uncomfortable because the response isn’t positive. I’ve always found that people can handle the truth when it’s given respectfully.

The point is, be excellent in everything you do, even in how you learn to turn people down or say no. Taking this a step further, I’d suggest you actually go out of your way to respond to anyone who reaches out to you.

Years ago, I made the decision to try and respond to anyone who writes a personal note to me, even though my response is often a polite “no” to most requests for my time. Simply taking the time to reply and show respect for their time reflects my personal brand and our company’s values. Often, the person is both thankful and surprised to hear from me, meaning that I have exceeded their expectations.

If you ask for or use someone’s time or energy, respond back to them. Don’t burn your bridges by ghosting.

San Diego Web Design by Jacob Tyler

How to Boost Facebook and Instagram Posts The Right Way

First, A Disclaimer

You know how you’re not supposed to use the boost button on the social platforms, specifically Facebook and Instagram, because the management and resulting data doesn’t live in the Ads Manager? That’s still a thing. So when we say boost, we mean promoting your organically posted content through Ads Manager. It’s best to have your data in one place for both ease of management and analysis.

Why you need to boost posts

This is pretty simple. If you have a lot of content that you’re sharing that is distinct from your more direct-response-based or brand-boosting social ads and it’s hanging out in organic-no-reach limbo, then you’re definitely not reaching your full audience.

We know Facebook has low organic reach and we know that Instagram is not much better, so it makes sense that you want to get your content in front of the people that follow you. They did already indicate an interest in you by following in the first place, you know. That’s why you need to boost. Capiche?

What objective you should use

Again, don’t confuse your boosted content with your social ads. The point of posting something to social organically is often to reach people with a message or a variety of messages depending on your posting frequency and cadence. Sometimes that message is to click a link or do something other than read, like, or comment, but you should think like a real person thinks and post like a real person posts — with the intent of FIRST getting a message across about something worthy of being consumed. Make your message so good that the natural next step is for the reader to seek a deeper relationship through whatever means they find necessary, be it reading more posts, clicking to your website, or sharing your content with their friends.

What we’re getting at is that you want as many of your fans and followers to see your content often to keep your product top of mind. And you want them to interact with it. That’s proof they like what you have to say. So the short of it is that you should make your objective on your boosted posts either reach or engagement — save the traffic and video views objectives for social ads. (And keep this in mind, the optics of a highly-engaged post say a lot to the potential viewer.)

What content should be boosted

Ok, there’s a chicken and egg issue here. One one hand your best organic content has proved itself to be worthy of recognition, which makes it prime for boosting (and cheaper per result). On the other hand, you may have some strategic messages that you need your followers to see. Maybe you want to tell them about a sale, a change, or a message that will help them become more knowledgeable about your product. Based on your budget, you can do both or can go either way. But in our view, if you only had $100, you should pick the strategic message over the high-performing content 10 times out of 10. (If you’re really crafty your strategic message could be the high performing content. That’s a real win-win, you sly dog, you.) It’s better to get that one key message out than your top performing post that was of a meme that barely related to your brand.

So there’s our two cents. Boosting makes sense but only if you put a sound strategy behind it. Leave it to chance and you’re pretty much trying to steer a rudderless ship.

Want us to help you boost? Give a shout!

San Diego Branding Agency – Jacob Tyler

How Leading Branding Agencies Create a Consistent Brand Identity – Plus, The Top 25 Branding Agencies, According to DesignRush

NEW YORK (PRWEB) FEBRUARY 21, 2019

A consistent brand presentation across all platforms can increase revenue by up to 23 percent.

However, a brand has many visual and emotional components. Therefore, crafting a consistent identity can be difficult for businesses.

DesignRush.com, a B2B marketplace connecting brands with agencies, discovered how the best branding and rebranding agencies build unified brand identities across many channels. These strategies help growing companies capture consumers, increase awareness and recognition, and ultimately improve revenue.

The top 5 ways that branding agencies create a successful brand identity are:

1. Create A Brand Strategy

About one-third of consumers have a specific brand in mind when they begin shopping.

By creating a brand strategy before beginning the actual branding process, experts can pinpoint valuable audiences and ensure that the brand becomes recognizable and trustworthy to them. This will empower consumers to have that brand in mind when they set out to make a purchase.

Building a brand strategy includes tasks such as:

Conducting market research
Defining the target demographic
Determining goals
Writing the mission and core values of the brand
Creating a brand book that outlines brand guidelines
And more!

2. Design A Logo

Studies show that color improves brand recognition by up to 80 percent – and when coupled with a strategic logo, this visual moniker can be the key to brand visibility.

Thus, branding agencies often design a logo that aesthetically embodies a brand’s products, services, mission and values early on in the branding process. Although a logo is not the only branding element, it is often the most highly-recognized.

Successful logos have a few key design qualities. They are often:

Simple and scalable
Modern yet timeless
Responsive for all digital screen sizes
Memorable and have strong brand relevance

3. Name The Brand, Products & Services

Although brains process visuals up to 60,000 times faster than words, every brand, product and service needs to be named in accordance with the overarching brand identity.

Successful brand or product names should be:

Short or simple
Related to the key mission of the brand
Easy to pronounce

4. Brand The Website

Strong branding on multiple platforms can improve brand visibility by up to 4 times – but a website is perhaps the most important platform.

The best branding agencies take the time to properly brand professional websites. Well-branded sites typically have:

The logo in the top-left corner of all web pages, which leads back to the homepage
Large, easily readable font
A consistent color scheme that matches other visual collateral
Intuitive navigation
Strategic landing pages that match brand goals
And more!

5. Roll Out The Identity On Other Platforms

There are a near-infinite number of digital platforms and interfaces that businesses must brand in order to properly present themselves to their target audience.

Therefore, they must also roll out the brand on other channels, including:

Social media
Marketing campaigns
Graphic and print designs
Packaging designs
Email newsletters
Video marketing campaigns and commercials
Advertisements
And more!

“Branding is perhaps the most important thing a growing business could do to achieve long-term success,” says DesignRush Founder and Executive Director Gabriel Shaoolian. “You never know where consumers may see your brand or what emotional connections they could develop and when. Therefore, brands need to take the time to build a truly unified persona for their brand and distribute that on each and every possible medium.”

DesignRush’s Agency Listing section features the top local and global branding companies. Some of the top branding agencies from around the world include:

1. Art Fresh Inc.

Art Fresh is an award-winning full-service branding studio, focusing on marketing strategy, brand design, marketing communications, building brands and managing them effectively. They provide premium-quality creative design that includes logo design and corporate identity, print advertisements, label and packaging design, brochure design, responsive web design, and various other promotional services to help businesses capture a strong position in the market.

Visit Art Fresh online at https://www.art-fresh.ca/

2. Baldwin&

Baldwin& is a full-service e-commerce agency with offices in Ghent, Belgium, and Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Brands that are looking for a professional partner to help them develop, design and promote their webshop can tell Baldwin& what they’re after and the agency will make it happen, from A to Z.

Visit Baldwin& online at: http://www.baldwinand.com/

3. Brands to life

Brands to life® is a Melbourne-based branding agency working with local, national and international brands. Their branding, advertising, and digital thinking have launched brands, intensified engagement, gotten more bums on seats, achieved more clicks and bigger donations, increased awareness and boosted sales. They breathe new life into brands to create, refresh or re-position them. Brands to life finds simple truths and creates authentic brand stories and unique, memorable identities.

Visit Brands to life online at: https://www.brandstolife.com.au/

4. Bulldog Studio

Bulldog Studio has a team of graphic designers that develops print projects, branding and packaging projects. Their added value is tangible because they have direct feedback from their clients throughout every step of the process.

Visit Bulldog Studio online at: http://bulldogstudio.es/

5. Catchword

Catchword is a dedicated brand name development firm that has been them industry-leading product, service and company names since 1998. Clients hire and rehire Catchword because they view naming not just as a creative exercise but as a critical component of brand value. Sure, they come up with cool names (some would say super cool), but not before Catchword has a profound understanding of each client’s business and branding objectives.

Visit Catchword online at: https://catchwordbranding.com/

6. Cleverbird Creative

Cleverbird Creative is an 85+ time award-winning web design and digital branding firm based in Chicago. They create beautiful and effective websites for startups, Fortune 500 companies – and everyone in between. Cleverbird Creative marries performance and beauty, with most of their sites not only winning design awards but also seeing an increase in sales, leads, and traffic by an average of 450 percent.

Visit Cleverbird Creative online at: http://cleverbirds.com/

7. ElephantMark

ElephantMark is a full-service website design and branding agency located in Lakewood Ranch, Florida. They build brands from the ground up by creating unique brand experiences and brand strategies. ElephantMark crafts unique brand strategies and helps small and large businesses alike to reach new audiences. A typical scope of work could include a brand audit, brand naming, brand identity design, a brand strategy manual, a website, signage design, advertising campaigns, and more.

Visit ElephantMark online at: https://www.elephantmark.com/

8. Erretres, The Strategic Design Company

Erretres, The Strategic Design Company, is a branding and digital consultancy firm based in Madrid and working internationally in Europe, America, and Asia. Their work is characterized by human-centered and technology-infused design solutions, as well as business innovation and strategy. They are specialists in the simplification of complex problems in order to create identities which bring value to brands and end users. Erretres teams up with their clients at all stages of the process, offering methods and solutions tailored to the particular needs of each project. They are unique, offering both branding and digital international expertise.

Visit Erretre, The Strategic Design Company, online at: http://www.erretres.com/

9. GKV

GKV is celebrating over 35 years of creating advertising, direct marketing, branding, digital and social media campaigns on behalf of their clients. GKV’s success is rooted in their ability to create and execute breakthrough strategies for companies and organizations that are out-spent in their categories. GKV and its clients succeed by challenging the category status quo. On the clients’ behalf, they have created advertising initiatives that have succeeded consistently in the marketplace and in industry award competitions by demonstrating thought leadership, emotional power, and confidence.

Visit GKV online at: https://gkv.com/

10. Jacob Tyler Brand & Digital Agency

Jacob Tyler Brand & Digital Agency is an integrated brand experience agency. They deliver creative experiences and marketing strategies that amplify each brand’s reach, breed customer loyalty, and drive business growth. Everyone thinks they are innovative. Everyone thinks they offer solutions. But Jacob Tyler Brand & Digital Agency helps brands to kick clichés to the curb and focus on exactly what they want to solve for their specific audience — and after over 18 years in business, they’re really great at it.

Visit Jacob Tyler Brand & Digital Agency online at: https://www.jacobtyler.com/

11. KRV Guru

KRV Guru is comprised of a young, energetic, creative and passionate “MARTECH” team who loves what they do and – most importantly – who they work for: Brands. They are known as passionate and crazy marketers in search of innovation. KRV Guru believes that “Marketing is Mathematics” and that they know the right formula to get an answer.

Visit KRV Guru online at: https://www.krvguru.com/

12. Launch Digital

Launch Digital is a creative design and marketing agency working with clients of all sizes and in all sectors. They understand that every brand and project has different values and audiences. Launch Digital has a very powerful in-house creative team with young, fresh designers led by strong marketing directors and management. Their talent and experience produce creativity that is capable of delivering impressive design work for all business types. Launch Digital looks at all of their client’s entire marketing efforts, suggesting amendments and implementing changes with the goal of growing brands, products, services, and market share to give a great return on investment and ultimately increase profit for their clients.

Visit Launch Digital online at: https://www.launchscotland.com/

13. Massive Media Inc.

Massive Media is a branding and experience design agency for companies with ambition. They partner with solution-focused organizations to achieve clarity, effective messaging and the technologies needed to thrive in the wild. Whether the end product is a revised brand, a digital advertising campaign or a new website, Massive Media’s approach centers on deep cultural insights, clear strategic direction and the power of human expression.

Visit Massive Media online at: https://engagemassive.com/

14. MESH

MESH exists to create connections and loyalty to brands. They are an independent award-winning creative and strategic agency with over 15 years of success. MESH works with clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to startups, all of whom are ready to grow and transform their brand. MESH has proven expertise in brand building, strategic account leadership, advertising, creative services, public relations, and traditional and digital media. MESH has provided professional and creative solutions to clients in a wide variety of industries, including Visit Baton Rouge, Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Corporation, Mississippi Aquarium, and more.

Visit MESH online at: https://www.meshbr.com/

15. Milestone Creative Ltd.

Milestone is an independent creative agency that builds close, long-term relationships with clients to grow stronger brands. They believe in the benefits of applying creativity to business. It’s why Milestone started back in 1995 and it continues to be their driving force. From ownable branding to using digital channels more effectively, it’s the creative spark that makes strategy come alive. They develop compelling propositions, competitive positioning, and memorable creatives to help brands make a deeper, lasting connection with customers. Milestone Creative enjoys working with a broad base of clients from both the B2B and B2C sectors. They can provide strategic brand consultancy, integrated marketing campaigns, packaging design, and more.

Visit Milestone Creative online at: https://www.milestonecreative.co.uk/

16. Murmur Creative

Murmur Creative is branding, packaging, and web agency that specializes in the food and beverage industries. Murmur’s goal is always to elevate the businesses and organizations they work with and enrich communities through their work and their relationships. Murmur Creative loves working with like-minded organizations that believe in a holistic approach to branding and design. They are strategists. They are partners. And they are dreamers.

Visit Murmur Creative online at: https://murmurcreative.com/

17. Namestorm

Namestorm has been in the market of business naming consulting since 2005. They have advised startups, medium-sized companies, and well-known companies on their name search and helped them create or find their desired name. Namestorm specializes in naming. This means that they do not offer a wide range of services but are exclusively devoted to professional naming. However, they do branch out. For example, they founded NameRobot, a portal with many unique tools for do-it-yourself naming. With more innovations and cooperations in the field of naming, they continue to strengthen their leading position in their area of expertise.

Visit Namestorm online at: https://www.techliance.com/

18. Nuu

Nuu is a hub for strategy, design, and innovation. Their people lead the charge — a team of strategic thinkers who conceptualize and create in combinations of design, code, culture and unique brand stories. Each of their clients has something to share. Nuu finds it and gives them what they need to tell the world.

Visit Nuu online at: https://nuu.co/

19. Percept Brand Design

Percept is a design agency in Sydney. They specialize in branding, packaging design, print communications, advertising, website, and digital design.

Visit Percept Brand Design online at: http://percept.com.au/

20. Slice Design

Based in London, UK, Slice Design is a branding and packaging design agency that has helped consumer brands grow and get noticed since 2004. They like to think of themselves as a challenger to the larger agencies. As the name suggests, Slice Design cuts through jargon with their flexible, no-nonsense approach and down-to-earth attitude. From their studio in London, Slice Design works for clients around the world, including big household names and small startups, challengers and leaders. Whether a big brand re-design or simple packaging update, Slice Design is proud to remain flexible, refreshingly honest and wholly independent.

Visit Slice Design online at: http://www.slicedesign.co.uk/

21. South Made

As digital marketing evolves, so does South Made. What started as a boutique web design firm has grown into the one-stop shop that is now South Made Marketing. Collectively, they have a background in business management, web design, graphic design, photography, creative writing, social media, sales and marketing. South Made builds brands digitally through marketing, web design, graphic design, branding, strategy, social media, SEO, pay-per-click advertising, videography, photography, consulting, and more.

Visit South Made online at: https://southmade.com/

22. Startling Brands

Startling Brands is an agency full of branding and marketing specialists that work globally with industry-leading, innovative, purposeful companies and institutions. They provide a full range of integrated strategy, brand consulting, creative, marketing and strategy development services to help their clients to create, grow and manage their brands.

Visit Startling Brands online at: http://www.startlingbrands.com/

23. Streng Agency

Streng Agency is not a typical advertising agency. For that matter, Streng is not a typical business. This is due in part to their approach to solving everyday problems as creatively as possible. That includes every decision they make. Streng Agency is contemporary and state-of-the-art in its office space as well as their approach to work. They have made it their ongoing practice to not only hire the best creative professionals that ensure experienced leadership but also individuals that are driven by finding new, provocative ways to change markets. Streng has been providing award-winning customer-generating marketing for over 30 years. During that time, they have developed a wide range of capabilities, specializing in advertising and marketing, strategy, branding, design, web development, digital marketing, and a totally integrated approach to all of these services and marketing tactics under one roof.

Visit Streng Agency online at: https://strengagency.com/

24. Tridimage

Tridimage is a leading 3D branding, graphic design and structural packaging agency in Latin America. Tridimage has creative headquarters in Buenos Aires and has account managers in Mexico, Ecuador, and Guatemala. Tridimage’s reputation attracts the attention of both established and emerging companies operating in Latin America, the U.S., and Europe. Tridimage has worked in more than 30 countries in the world, carrying out more than 7000 projects. Tridimage’s designs have won six Pentawards, three Vertex Awards, and even more accolades.

Visit Tridimage online at: https://www.tridimage.com/

25. Wegacha

Wegacha adheres to the saying “We get it.” They understand that many brands and businesses have imaginations that run wild. And they know that a good business takes time to grow. Luckily, Wegacha is ready to help brands build great things. They are thinkers, dreamers, doers, storytellers and hackers with a cause that will guide clients through this new journey into the digital world.

Visit Wegacha online at: https://wegacha.com/

Brands can view the best branding firms by rates, expertise, experience, case studies, reviews and more on DesignRush. Users can easily filter to compare branding agencies and find the top branding experts to position their business for long-term success.

About DesignRush: DesignRush.com is B2B marketplace connecting brands with agencies.

DesignRush features the top agencies around the world, including the best Branding Companies, Digital Agencies, Logo Design, Digital Marketing, Website Design, eCommerce Web Design Companies, and more.

San Diego Branding Agency by Jacob Tyler

Jacob Tyler ranks #5 on the Clutch 1000

Companies on the Exclusive 2018 Clutch 1000 Announced Today

The Clutch 1000 features the top 1000 B2B companies around the world, ranked by reviews, clients, work portfolio, and brand reputation.

WASHINGTON, D.C, November 30, 2018 – B2B research, ratings, and reviews company Clutch announced the top 1000 B2B companies around the world based on their ability to deliver: number, recency, and quality of client reviews; clients served, work portfolio, and brand reputation and visibility in their target market. This is a new and exclusive honor for B2B services firms in 2018. It recognizes the companies that have gone above and beyond for their clients.

“These 1000 firms demonstrated an exceptional ability to deliver quality products and services for their clients,” Clutch Senior Business Analyst DJ Fajana said. “It’s our honor to welcome them into The Clutch 1000 and highlight their superior commitment to their clients.”

Below are the top 20 on the list. For the full list and Clutch press release here.

Upcoming leaders reports will highlight the leading branding and design agencies across the United States.

Full research: https://clutch.co/1000

1. WillowTree, Inc.®

2. Raizlabs, a Rightpoint company

3. Tenet Partners

4. hedgehog lab

5. Jacob Tyler

6. ArcTouch

7. EMERGE

8. Fueled

9. Catchword

10. Merixstudio

11. Fingent Corp

12. Intellectsoft

13. WDG – Web Development Group

14. Itransition

15. Unleashed Technologies

16. Trigent

17. Orases

18. Dom & Tom

19. Iflexion

20. Experion Technologies

About Clutch

A B2B research, ratings, and reviews firm in the heart of Washington, DC, Clutch connects small and medium businesses with the best-fit agencies, software, or consultants they need to tackle business challenges with confidence. Clutch’s methodology compares business service providers and software in a specific market based on verified client reviews, services offered, work quality, and market presence.

About Jacob Tyler
Founded in 2000, Jacob Tyler is an award-winning Brand and Digital Agency with headquarters in San Diego California. Jacob Tyler focuses on helping companies grow through effective brand development and communication strategies that increase client revenue. The company specializes in developing unique experiences that attract, engage, and convert new customers to its clients’ business – pairing inventive creative with proven digital strategies to build brand campaigns that work. Over the last two decades, Jacob Tyler has worked with hundreds of different clients across a variety of industries, including hospitality, health/life sciences, consumer goods, financial services, education, and technology. Jacob Tyler’s roster of clients includes Novartis, Princeton Identity, YMCA, Hensel Phelps, and more. For more information, visit www.jacobtyler.com.

Clutch Announces More Than 130 Creative and Design Agencies as Global Leaders for 2018

WASHINGTON, D.C, November 27, 2018 – B2B research, ratings, and reviews company Clutch announced the leading agencies from around the world that demonstrate excellence in design and creative. Clutch’s annual report recognizes 130+ top B2B service providers across multiple sub-categories, including web, digital, print, product, packaging, UX/UI, logo, and graphic design, as well as creative and video production.

Leaders are listed in alphabetical order below:

3rd Edge	Aeolidia
altr	Alty
ANDESIGN	Appetite Creative Solutions
ArtVersion	barrettSF
Bates Creative	BEXBRANDS
Beyond	Black Bear Design
Blue Fountain Media	Blue Label Labs
Blue Water	BLVR
BMG Media Co.	Boldare
Bop Design	Brand+Aid
Brave UX	Bulldog Drummond
Camp Creative	Citizen Group
Clay	Clockwork Design Group, Inc
Commotion Engine	Constructive
Craftoon	Creative Navy
DDW	Deal Design, Inc.
December Labs	Demo Duck
Despark	DMI (Digital Management, Inc.)
ds+f / Don Schaaf & Friends, Inc.	Duncan Channon
Echo&Co	efelle creative
ELEKS	Emotive Brand
ePageCity	Exit10
Experience Dynamics	Explainify
Fgfactory	Fresh Tilled Soil
Fuzzy Math	GloberDesign
Grappus	GreyBox Creative
Gunderson Direct	Guy Bauer
Havas Canada	Heartbeat Agency
HMG Creative	Hub Strategy and Communication
HUEMOR	Hunter
Indigo Productions	Jacob Tyler
Jake Group	Jordan Crown
KEXINO	LAI Video
Left Hand Design	Lien Design
Lollypop Design Studio	LooseKeys
McLean	Mighty
MiresBall	Momentum Design Lab
Morsekode	Motto
Mubaloo	MultiVision Digital Productions
Mutual Mobile	Navitas Marketing
New Haircut	New Pace Productions
NEWMEDIA	Noise 13
Oranje	Parachute Design Group Inc.
Paragraphs, LLC	Pat Animation Studio
PLATFORM	Praxent
Proof Branding	PUREi
QNY Creative	QubStudio
Radish Lab	RainCastle Communications, Inc.
Ramotion	Rep Cap
Rip Media Group	Ruckus
Rule29	Sayenko Design
Slide UX	SmashBrand
Sparkhouse	SPINX Digital
Spiracle Media	Starfish
Strano + Pettigrew Design Associates	Studio Pigeon
Studiotale	SullivanPerkins
Switch Video	The DVI Group
The Gradient	The Miller Group
The O Group	Think Company
ThreeSixtyEight	Tiny Frog Technologies
Traction	Traina Design
TRIXMEDIA Inc	UX studio
VeracityColab	Verstiuk Production
Verve Logic	Wow-How Studio
Xhilarate	Ydraw
Yum Yum Videos	Zync

“Being a creative and design leader means having not only an arsenal of techniques but also an ability to think outside the box and understand the unique challenges companies face in markets,” Clutch Senior Business Analyst Ilse Heine said. “These agencies are unrivaled in their commitment to personalized and detail-oriented customer service.”

“We are thrilled to be a part of the Clutch global leader list and frankly in the company of so many great agencies” said Les Kollegian, CEO of Jacob Tyler. He added, “There are over 10,000 agencies listed on the Website so this is a great accomplishment for our firm and I am very pleased with the level of vision their service provides.”

It’s free to get listed on Clutch, but only the most highly recommended companies in each industry are recognized as leaders. The 2018 list of Clutch Global Leaders names 1000+ companies across five research categories; all companies featured proved their industry expertise and ability to deliver.

About Clutch

For Best Results on Social Media, Use This Messaging Framework Immediately.

Today, we’re dropping some social media knowledge that you can put into play immediately. We all know that smart messaging plays a critical role in reaching audiences effectively and this tried-and-true method has served us well for years. We recommend rolling out all three in a non-repeating cadence each week. Give it a try.

Knowledge Messaging
The crux of social media marketing is offering value, right? Why else would anyone follow your brand? They wouldn’t. The cool part about sharing knowledge is that it can work for every brand because making people smarter is always in style. Here’s a couple examples to illustrate what we mean and to get your creative juices flowing.

1. This blog that you’re reading right now, shared to social media. It’s something that you and other marketers need and it’s knowledge that we have. So we share it in a way that they can be used immediately.
2. Any famous guitar brand. Yes, of course share great photos of your guitars. But also, make your community experts on everything from materials sourcing through final production. No detail is too small to share. You’re not sharing features, your sharing the brand in all its nitty-gritty glory. “See that fretboard? Brazilian rosewood. One of the most durable woods on the planet and perfect for a rocker who puts a ton of miles on his guitar. It’s the best.”

Emotive Messaging
This one’s so easy it’s actually kind of hard. When you’ve done the work to truly understand your target consumer you find out what makes them tick. And you find out that little insight that makes your product work in the context of their lives. From here you can create messages that tap into that to make them think, react, or buy. Why did we say it’s hard? Because the emotional execution of that message has to be spot on without pandering, without being cheesy, or feeling overtly “marketing-y”. Don’t let that stop you, though. You have to break a couple eggs to make an omelet. (Or if you want our help, let us know. It’s what we’ve done for 18 year and it’s what we live for.)

Trust Messaging
How do you build trust on social media? With reviews, testimonials, positive comments, and good ratings. Once you have those you can start showing them off in fun pieces of creative and pushing them out on your social channels. Pop a great customer quote into an image or a short video, talk about why you have a 4.9 star review on Facebook, or repost a review that a great blogger did about your product. Brands live and die on word of mouth. When you give your consumers a trust signal through the experience of others you help fortify that word of mouth in amazing ways.

Do this all make sense? Good. Get to work. And don’t forget to tag us to show us how things are going.

Bistalk Radio Interview on ESPN 1700 with Les Kollegian and Richard Truss

Les Kollegian and Richard Truss interviewed by Bob Ryan on ESPN 1700 and had a fun and insightful conversation on small business and branding. Check out the podcast below to listen to the whole show.

The New Girl: How to Get Your Start in Advertising

As a millennial, it can be challenging to be taken seriously in the business world. We either don’t have enough experience or don’t have the connections that only come with years of experience. So, how do you get your start?

I’ve learned in the last year that everyone has experience. Everyone has internships and connections, and it’s hard to feel unique as a millennial. When I graduated college last year, I knew I had to put together a plan. A plan that involved me standing out amongst the other of thousands of young adults that wanted to work in the advertising and communications industry.

I slowly learned that applying aimlessly on LinkedIn and Indeed wouldn’t work for a job that I was truly passionate about. Millennials face many challenges of rejection and many don’t have thick enough skin to realize that it’s normal.

After leaving my very first job in recruiting, I knew this time that I had to do things differently if I wanted to break into this industry. I had some experience now, so I figured it would be easier, I was wrong.

I made an excel sheet of every single PR, advertising, marketing, and communications company in San Diego. I wrote down the name of the company, what they did, and who to contact.

I fixed up my resume next. I wanted to be in a creative industry and my resume looked like something you turned into high school English class for credit. I went on to canva.com and started to create my one-of-a kind resume.

Once my resume was updated and I had all my contacts, I started to send out 20-30 resumes a week. This went on for a month, and let me tell you; not hearing back from a company is so much worse than getting that typical rejection email. I wasn’t even looking to see if the companies had openings, I simply just sent them my resume and followed up once a week.

I think that’s the biggest issue with millennials; we are scared to be “annoying” and follow up because we take everything personally. I was not scared to annoy my possible future employers and no longer afraid to fail. The important thing to understand is that there is a professional way to do this. Once you send an email, you should follow up a week later. After that, follow up one more time, and then move on and keep on going.

Find other ways to personally connect with people. LinkedIn is one of the best ways to make connections, or joining societies in your local area (such as, PRSA [Public Relations Society of America] or attend the Creative Mornings meetings in San Diego monthly). I met so many people while trying to find a job, and it made such a difference with my confidence.

After a month of interviews and 24 hours of stress a day, during the last week of April (right when I was questioning if I should just move home to Orange County), I got a LinkedIn message from Les Kollegian. He had accepted my request from weeks earlier and messaged me with a generic, “Thank you for adding me to your LinkedIn account”. I took this as an opportunity to respond and asked if he thought I was a good fit for his company and to hold onto my resume. To my surprise, he responded and said that he would, “get back to me”.

A couple weeks earlier I had googled, “best advertising places to work in San Diego” and came across Jacob Tyler- Branding & Digital Agency. There weren’t any positons that I thought I would be a fit for, but I still emailed him my resume. I then added him on LinkedIn giving myself an extra chance to be noticed.

Les is the CEO and Chief Creative Officer of Jacob Tyler- Branding & Digital Agency. Les gets 100 applications a day, so why did he respond to me? Why did my tactic work and what made me stand out?

I was persistent.

Two weeks after messaging on LinkedIn, I was continuing to apply for jobs while at the local coffee shop and having the worst day. I then remembered that it had been some time since I heard from Les, so I went back to LinkedIn and followed up.

Two hours later, I got a call form a random number and answered with a confused, “Hello?”.

It was the infamous Les and he said, “Hey, I figured I should return the favor and follow up with you since you followed up with me. Let’s chat.” We ended up talking for an hour and he offered me an interview for the next day.

I came in the next day and walked into the vibrant office with the bright red walls and sat down with Amy Antony, VP Operations & Project Management. There was a connection with this office, like I knew that it was meant to workout. The way I was spoken to, and the way they believed in my skills was refreshing.

I started work the following Monday as the Project Coordinator and have been here for a month now.

It has been challenging, but rewarding. I’m learning what I always wanted to learn in an environment where I’m getting what I need while also being pushed to reach my potential. In the end, the best thing I can say to that struggling millennial is: keep going. Don’t be that person that takes “no” for an answer.

Don’t be afraid to be persistent, don’t be afraid to reach out, and don’t be afraid of rejection. This industry is built for people with thick skin, and millennials need to know that in the end, it will workout. You just have to keep on pushing and persistence makes for a killer work ethic that advertising agencies won’t be able to reject. One day, you will find someone who is going to give you a chance to prove yourself, and you better be ready to do just that.

In this industry, you have to want to kick-ass and know that it’s your time to make your mark, and just remember; success is earned, not given.