Advertising Trends for 2021

We can all breathe a collective sigh of relief: 2020 is over. About the best thing that can be said for 2020 is that she found her paramour, Satan. That spot, from Match.com, resonated with people because it did seem like a nightmare year and the Dark Lord was taking selfies in front of dumpster-fires while the rest of us huddled in our apartments. The upheavals of 2020 changed digital advertising — and not just in the sense that creative agencies worldwide were all working on the same cliche-of-the-century campaign: “in these uncertain times.”

No, 2020 pushed marketers to find new audiences in virtual channels. Companies reckoned with their intensifying proximity to politics. Consumer habits lurched within an economy that kept start-stopping in response to COVID safety measures. And through the smoldering haze of Lucifer and Lady Apocalypse’s love persisted innovations in digital marketing years in the making, contributing to the forecast that Jacob Tyler is calling here and now for the trends in advertising that lie ahead in 2021.

Thinking Virtual

Advertisers find audiences in their preferred channels, and our preferred channels are now more virtual than ever, since 2020 was the year that reality became virtual reality. Consumers will continue to quarantine through 2021, so they’ll want to go to virtual trade shows and virtual annual events, join online communities and download live streaming services. Yes, we’re all pushing through Zoom fatigue and hoping unmasked human interaction resumes on the sunny side of this century. But already it seems as if the days of the webinar — where the authorities on a subject present to their viewers — are numbered.

In its stead, we’ll see remote events and digital gatherings where hundreds or even thousands of people (or their beaming avatars) meet, network, and Q&A with the experts. The communications ecosystem has been reshaped, and we are interacting from around a globe that seems to have shrunk and also gotten much larger all at once.

Taking a Stand

As you may have noticed, the political climate of the US is (to put it mildly) charged. Similar dynamics are roiling other countries, as well, and since many brands are global, businesses have discovered that their response to polemics worldwide impacts their bottom line. Oatly, HSBC, L’Oreal, Soul Cycle, Jo Malone — these are all brands that, in 2020, consumers #cancelled. That doesn’t mean they’re out of business, but it does mean their business is effectively off-limits to many once-prospective clients because of a bevy of different factors. (According to one study, for instance, 29% of consumers are willing to switch brands if those brands don’t show enough diversity.)

Debate the merits of the cancel all you wish, but the underlying reasons for it trace back to issues once thought more or less outside the bailiwick of advertising: political association, accusations of racism, ties to unsavory businesses. Perhaps never before has PR been such a tightrope act, so it’s no wonder some brands are steering away from controversy altogether. Other brands, however, are embracing the polarization with their own “blanding backlash.” Staking a position amid all the lightning-rod issues, they’re paddling against what sometimes feels like a societal drift toward homogeneity and sameness.

What will prove to be the best crisis comms playbook for the near future? Only 2021 will tell.

Optimizing for People

Even before COVID, isolation was a hallmark feature of 21st century life — partly a result of the sensation a lot of us have that we’re beetling through mazes of automated inauthenticity. As a consequence, what many consumers crave when they interact with a brand is to feel like a human is somewhere on the other side of the digital marketing strategy.

Beyond just embracing the trend toward creating content that sounds relatable, brands will also seek out conversations with followers in 2021, responding to comments on their social channels and adopting a many-to-many model of communication (rather than assuming We the Business are addressing you the consumer). Remember: Isolation. People want to feel courted and listened to. And to that end, we’ll see brands infuse their content with a spirit of cultural inclusivity. The hitch? Because of how siloed consumer segments are today, brands may have to pick which culture(s) they speak to. But that’s a challenge they’ll likely learn to be even savvier about as this year unfolds.

Personalizing the Data Economy

With all that said about people just being people, today’s iteration of the Bernbach-Ogilvy schism in advertising has become a battle waged between those who think you should talk to your audience like humans, and those who think you should talk to your audience like humans … through data insights and algorithm-based feeds.

Here’s the case for the machine learning camp: Sure, personalized content is neighborly and all, but responding to every single comment on a brand’s social media is exhausting, and well nigh impossible. Isn’t it better to at least reach people with email campaigns rather than (metaphorical) notes handwritten on stationery?

Think of an ad for a grill served to your phone right after you’ve texted your partner, “Let’s get a grill this summer.” That may feel invasive to some, but it’ll come across as time-saving to others. And the smarter the AI, the more interactive the content, engaging customers with polls and contests and giveaways. Don’t think of data marketing as a self-checkout kiosk — rather, it’s a series of tools that tailor campaigns to customers based on their preferences.

Or so the argument goes.

Going Green

“Sustainability” transcends simple trendiness because its entire premise is future-oriented, and we’re living through the effects of climate change every day. We did mention firebrand issues, didn’t we? Well, environmentalism is one of the fieriest, with swaths of California and Australia erupting into flames, back-to-back US administrations hopping in and out of the Paris Agreement, and businesses shifting their operations and messaging to address the threats of global warming. With studies showing that 81% of consumers believe companies should do their part in helping the environment, eco-friendly brands will seem even friendlier this year, especially as we navigate the perils of a world where we’ve all but trapped ourselves inside our own carbon emissions.

Forecasting trends in digital advertising is an uncertain science, at best, but it’s also not the same as placing bets or guessing at predictions. Rather, it’s an effort to analyze markets, listen to what customers are saying, and shape tools for businesses that need to anticipate how consumer behavior will pattern itself in coming years. No one can peer into the future — much less know when Satan will find his soulmate — but with some attention to the forces reinventing our culture, you can act on (rather than react to) the changes within your industry.

A Checklist to Build the Perfect Website

Take a good look at your car. ‘So what?’ you’re thinking. ‘It’s just a car.’ Well, according to some estimates, the average car is made up of 30,000 parts. You don’t think about all the gears and pipes and turbo air intakes hidden within each model, because engineers have put it together so seamlessly that it just looks like one unit to you — a singular “car.” The same goes for any decent website, which is composed of hundreds of decisions stitched into one integrated layout. The better it’s been built, the simpler it looks.

Don’t be fooled though—building the perfect website requires crossing off a lengthy checklist of to-do’s. Every web design agency has their own schedule of planning and executing a site build, but here’s one we suggest you follow.

Set a Budget

How much does a website cost? How long is a piece of string? A freelance designer can make a DIY brochure site to showcase their portfolio and get everything they need out of it. Whereas a business that wants to track a donation form, build a member login portal, catalog an interactive shopping matrix — yeah, you should probably opt for the DIFM (do-it-for-me) route and benefit from a web development company’s expertise. Added functionality always costs more, so determine which site features you need and how many you’re able to pay for.

Register a Domain Name

Whether you’re going with a free Wix template or shelling out $100,000+ for a site, no one will be able to appreciate it if you don’t claim a domain name, which is basically your address on the internet and costs around $10–20. Check out Domain.com or GoDaddy to see if the domain you want is available, but don’t be surprised if it’s not. (After all, the internet is a star cluster of two billion websites — 400 million of which are active, but who’s counting?) So if the domain you want is taken, ask the web design agency you hired which name they recommend. Tempting as it is to get creative or quirky here, you’ll want your URL to be as similar as possible to the name of your business so prospective customers can find you.

Value the UX

One reason to hire a web design agency is that they’re staffed with UX (or “user experience”) designers. These talented folks are digital artists who keep the experience of their audience top of mind as they create a website design, which should incorporate a color palette and a copy .doc into modules that solve a different problem on each page. The “Donate” page drives visitors to, well, donate. The “About Us” page tells the company story. The “Become a Member” page touts the perks of membership. If all that sounds intuitive, that’s because the UX designer has made the ride feel effortless, so your visitors further your business goals with each click they make on your site.

Make Your Content King

Web copy needs to get to the point. Sure, you want your writing to lure visitors in, but don’t wax poetic. Front-load your copy with the most relevant info about your business: email, address, a few lines about what you do. Use the same tack with social posts and paid advertising — content that people like to snack on and that directs traffic back to your site. With a blog or a newsletter, consistency is key. Publish on the reg to drum up an audience. Optimize it with keywords, and then link out to related blogs and articles. All those strategies impart upon your work enough authority to make it rank higher in Google searches. (Because, really, when was the last time you clicked past the first page of a Google search?)

Ship It!

At long last, the site is finished. Oh, happy day. You’ve bought your domain. You’ve designed your layouts. You’re excited about revving up your content initiative. You’ve been working on this thing for months and you’re ready for it to be over. We understand — but we insist you do some last-minute QC. Proof the copy, triple-check that the links work, write metadata into the CMS, and set up 301 redirects to steer visitors familiar with your old site toward your new site.

One final thing: Plug in Google Analytics to track how many people are viewing your domain, where they’re coming from, and how long they’re staying. (These insights give you a bird’s-eye perspective of your web performance.) Take a breather. And then take the wheel: Hit launch, post about it on Facebook, and congratulate yourself on assembling a sleek and sexy site.

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

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.

Iconic Speakers to Tackle Game-Changing Innovation Issues at Techonomy 2017

NEW YORK, NY – October 16, 2017 – Techonomy, the thought leadership company that poses the most provocative questions around technology, business and social progress, is excited to announce its eighth annual, invite-only Techonomy 2017 conference. It takes place November 5-7 at The Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay, California. The three-day event will bring together a diverse group of business leaders, technologists, academics and government officials for unscripted conversations about the most pressing issues facing innovators, investors and business leaders.

“The past year has thrown startling new hurdles at all of us – from catastrophic weather to political revolution, social resistance, and tech industry crisis. We all need to step back and evaluate the future of the country, the world, tech and business,” said David Kirkpatrick, founder of Techonomy. “As the lines between people and technology continue to blur, we consider the impact and ask what’s real and what’s not in a digital-first world. We ask urgent questions like ‘Who controls the truth when everybody’s a publisher?’”

This year’s theme, The Convergence of Man and Machine, will serve as a framework to explore AI, robotics, IoT, VR, autonomous vehicles and more. The event includes impressive icons of tech and business with unique perspectives on the issues that will shape 2018: Denise Morrison, CEO, Campbell Soup Company; John Chambers, Executive Chairman, Cisco; Lowell McAdam, CEO, Verizon; Mark Bertolini, CEO, Aetna; Beth Comstock, Vice Chair, GE; and many more. Executives from Microsoft, GE, Uber, Facebook, Amazon, Airbnb and many more will join discussions on how recent advances in commerce, health, agriculture and beyond can change the future.

There are several lenses through which the event will examine the fundamental economic, political and technology shifts underway. In several sessions speakers and participants will discuss the new world order in which Amazon, Facebook and Google have formed a monolithic triad of global dominance, begging the question of how to regulate what has become such an intrinsic part of our economic infrastructure. Another pervasive issue is the rise of artificial intelligence and how to measure positive economic gains and modern conveniences against disruption to employment and existing human institutions. We will also address even more fundamental human needs as leaders such as John Kelly, IBM’s senior vice president of Cognitive Solutions and IBM Research, Oscar CEO Mario Schlosser, CEO Tracy Young of PlanGrid, renowned author Dr. Eric Topol, and investor and newfound tech industry critic Roger McNamee consider and discuss a range of topics including how to regulate actions, create perceptions, build things sustainably, transport people, increase health, and give people access to food, water and air.

Techonomy 2017 is uniquely positioned to focus on the most important areas to explore. People from a wide range of backgrounds and expertise have committed to attending and sharing their questions and counterpoints during one of our several open-mic Q&A sessions.

Techonomy is proud to announce continued strong support from our partners, including: Accenture, Cognizant, Grayling, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Phillips, Pitney Bowes, Turner and Verizon.

For the full program agenda, list of participants and more information, please visit: http://techonomy.com/conf/te17/

Jacob Tyler Branding Agency CEO, Les Kollegian is excited to be invited and a part of such an amazing group of companies and individuals/

# # #

About Techonomy Media

Techonomy is a thought leadership company posing provocative questions about the role of technology and innovation in business and society. Through events, editorial coverage and video content, Techonomy seek to accelerate progress and productivity.

Techonomy Contact
Joshua Kampel
President
josh@techonomy.com
617 233 7722

That year-end marketing budget is worth more than you think.

‘Use it or lose it’ is the mantra of many organizations when it comes to year-end budgets. If you’re in charge of the budget, it should be more than just a mantra, it should be your battle cry.

For starters, not spending allocated funds this year could mean you won’t receive those dollars next year. It’s no secret that budget planning is rooted in what departments spent the previous year to achieve their goals. To avoid being shortchanged in 2017, come up with a plan to do something your marketing team may not have tried before – a new tactic that could generate leads, drive revenue or build greater brand awareness.

You may be thinking, “Okay, cool. So, what should we do?” When considering what to spend those clams on, think in terms of the objectives you didn’t get to do this year. Some examples to kick start the ideas include the following:

End-of-Year email campaign – Creating an end-of-year email campaign can drum up business fast for the New Year. Consider a 3 email “drip campaign” with a landing page featuring content that addresses common consumer problems. To gain access to the content, the recipient will need to provide a name and email – giving you the contact information of a potential lead. As far as content, provide some thought leadership in your market by offering a whitepaper, video or E-book that provides value about the solving the issues your customers face. As an additional option, use the email campaign to generate buzz around a New Year special offer if your business has a product or service that could benefit customers as they start the year with fresh new purchasing or technology budgets.
Blog Posts – Speaking of content, investing in some fresh content for your website is an affordable and smart thing to do with year-end dollars. Hire a writer or agency that specializes in targeted content that can position your company as an industry thought leader. This is a fast, low cost option that can happen BEFORE the ball drops on 2016.
SEO Audit – Are the keywords on your website hitting the mark? Work with a strategic agency partner that can help your business identify keywords that are relevant to your product or service. An SEO-focused writer can make sure those SEO keyword opportunities are woven through your website in a logical, cohesive way.
Social Media Advertising Campaign – There’s an art to doing a social media campaign the right way. Social media advertising has grown to the point that sponsoring ads is having a powerful effect on driving awareness and conversions. Post one of your best performing offer ads and then sponsor the ad on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter depending on where your customers engage the most. Follow this up by considering an ad re-targeting strategy. Have an experienced firm set up a targeted ad campaign for people who have visited your website. Your ad will show up in their social media feeds, ensuring your product or service is always top of mind. Statistics are showing that retargeting is the most successful form of social advertising right now and social media engagement continues to grow at a voracious rate.
Get your info out there – Everyone’s talking about infographics. Easy to share through social media channels, on your website or in a presentation, infographics are a powerful “at-a-glance” tool for describing how your business can solve customer challenges. Find a partner or designer who is not only skilled at creating a visually appealing campaign but also developing a concept or theme for the graphic. Your customers love infographics. Trust me!

When it comes to year-end budgets, the bottom line is don’t lose it! Find new, affordable and creative ways to raise awareness, generate leads and ultimately, close deals. If you’d like to learn more about the tactics listed above or discover other ways to get the most out of your marketing budget, reach out.

We love talking about this stuff.

Marketing in San Diego | Jacob Tyler

On the Fourth Day of Creative: MaxLinear

As told by our Interactive Art Director, Azenith “Zee” Salenga…

On the fourth Day of Creative, I present to you the 2015 MaxLinear IBC Convention posters! MaxLinear is a technology company specializing in high-performance broadband and networking semiconductors. We were tasked with creating 12 posters for use at the 2015 IBC Conference in Amsterdam. To be a success, phase one of the project required a considerable amount of product understanding.

Prior to kicking off design, the MaxLinear team provided us with detailed diagrams and walked us through each—a few were fairly straightforward, but majority were quite complex. The challenge was to translate these mockups into something that made sense to a novice audience while remaining on brand. After some deliberation and research, we decided to take an infographic approach comprised of minimalistic visuals and illustrations portraying both speed and data.

This was an exciting challenge, but the outcome was truly rewarding. Working with the MaxLinear team was a great experience and we are thrilled to have made a lasting impact on their business and their brand.

Jacob Tyler | Marketing Agency in San Diego

7 Brand Launch Rules For Start Ups

Over the last few of years, San Diego has experienced a significant rise in startup companies. In one six month period last year, 228 companies formed in the area! To those of us who live here in America’s Finest City, this is not a surprise. San Diego’s weather might not be dynamic, but its creative energy most certainly is. Over the last 15 years, Jacob Tyler has helped launch countless brands – many of them startups. We’ve learned a few things along the way. Launching a brand is an exciting endeavor. But like a rocket, you only get one shot. The following seven tips will help you ensure your startup doesn’t crash and burn at launch.

Identify your audience, and find out everything you can about it. Before you launch a brand, it’s important to determine the audience for your product or service. Know who they are, what they want and how to best communicate to them.

If your name doesn’t say what you do, make sure your tagline or logo does. Not every company name is descriptive of its operations – and that’s OK. But a succinct tagline or a descriptive logo can capture a brand’s story and communicate in a glance.

Highlight your differentiation. It’s a simple but too often missed rule. Unless you’ve created something so unique that no one else does it, you have competition in your market. Make sure your branding and marketing efforts highlight what you do differently and why you do it better.

Tell your story. Why does your brand exist? Make sure your brand has a story that defines the motivations for your existence. A brand story will help humanize your brand and create a connection with your audience.

Be clear. Being a new brand means no one has ever heard of you. When you catch the attention of your audience, use it wisely. Have a clean and concise message about what you do and why you do it best. Create messaging that people will share via word of mouth. This form of grassroots marketing is incredibly powerful. Companies like Uber were able to explode and a global level in large part due to word of mouth.

Your launch never stops. There is no defined period for launching a brand. Unless you decide you want to stop attracting customers, consider your launch to be endless – and market accordingly.

Figure out what works, then look at it with fresh eyes. There are very few secrets to creating a successful brand. But that doesn’t mean you have to design a familiar logo or marketing messaging that’s been around the block a few times. Look at what has worked in the past and build on that foundation to create something new that excites and engages your audience.

Want to learn more about the finer points of a brand launch? Contact us using the form to the right!

Jacob Tyler | San Diego’s Best Web Designer

17 Quotes on Design Philosophy From Apple’s Sir Jony Ive

Recently, Apple announced it was “promoting” its lead designer, Jony Ive. The promotion is little more than a title change, as Ive has led Apple’s world-changing product design since joining the company in 1996. “Sir” Jony Ive (he’s been knighted by the Queen of England) is well known across the globe for his innovative designs that made Apple the world’s biggest company and changed the way we interact with technology.

As designers, we draw inspiration from a variety of sources – the word around us, the innovative products and services of our clients and the work of great designers past and present. Ive is certainly one of those greats. The following collection of quotes from Apple’s creative maestro offer an interesting look into the philosophy that drives Apple’s world-changing designs.

“Simplicity is not the absence of clutter, that’s a consequence of simplicity. Simplicity is somehow essentially describing the purpose and place of an object and product. The absence of clutter is just a clutter-free product. That’s not simple.”

“There’s no learning without trying lots of ideas and failing lots of times.”

“Different’ and ‘new’ is relatively easy. Doing something that’s genuinely better is very hard.”

“We shouldn’t be afraid to fail- if we are not failing we are not pushing. 80% of the stuff in the studio is not going to work. If something is not good enough, stop doing it.”

“There is beauty when something works and it works intuitively.”

“If something is not good enough, stop doing it.”

“If you are truly innovating, you don’t have a prototype you can refer to.”

“What we make testifies who we are. People can sense care and can sense carelessness. This relates to respect for each other and carelessness is personally offensive.”

“Apple’s goal isn’t to make money. Our goal is to design and develop and bring to market good products.”

“True simplicity is, well, you just keep on going and going until you get to the point where you go, ‘Yeah, well, of course.’ Where there’s no rational alternative.”

“What I love about the creative process, and this may sound naive, but it is this idea that one day there is no idea, and no solution, but the next day there is an idea. I find that incredibly exciting and conceptually actually remarkable.”

“A small change at the beginning of the design process defines an entirely different product at the end.”

“When something exceeds your ability to understand how it works, it sort of becomes magical.”

“Designing and developing anything of consequence is incredibly challenging.”

“Making the solution seem so completely inevitable and obvious, so uncontrived and natural – it’s so hard!”

“It’s a very strange thing for a designer to say, but one of the things that really irritates me in products is when I’m aware of designers wagging their tails in my face.”

“The best ideas start as conversations.”