Epic Grandpa photo courtesy of Andre Hunter.

What takes 8 research sessions, 18 site visits, and 6 clicks in a span of 17 days?  According to Google Research, that is the path a consumer takes to make a hotel booking.  Keep in mind that 55% of website users spend less than 15 seconds on a website.  So how do you make a memorable impact? How do you become a “marketing dream team?” Continue reading…

Giving is great for business… as long as that’s not why you’re doing it.

Authenticity. It’s easy to mess it up if your heart’s not in what you’re doing. After all, authenticity is, well… authentic. Missing this point is precisely the reason so many companies’ corporate philanthropy campaigns fail to impress. Continue reading…

Have you walked into a store to find a coupon appear instantly on your phone? Then you’ve been beaconed. Check out a few impressive stats on these miniature marketing marvels hitting the digital landscape.

What Beacons are and How They Work

Beacons are small, battery-powered transmitters that send targeted messages to nearby mobile devices via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology. At anywhere from $5 to about $50 each, beacons are relatively inexpensive. Cost factors include features such as battery life and signal range. Continue reading…

Tell a Story to Create a Connection in Tourism Marketing

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away they all lived happily ever after.

As human beings, we crave stories because we’re brought-up on them. They’re how we communicate with one another. So, it’s only natural that we want to connect with a place, an idea, or a brand through a story. And, an essential element of a story is a strong cast of characters based on commonly understood archetypes: “The Hero,” “The Caregiver,” “The Lover,” “The Rebel.” Continue reading…

Rebranding is all about making changes. And when it comes to change, it’s all about rolling up your sleeves and getting started. (Photo courtesy of Danielle Macinnes)

What is Rebranding and Why Did We Do It?

Did you know Smith + Jones has been around for more than 30 years? That’s certainly something we’re very proud of, especially in an area where businesses come and go as easily as the snow melts—and in an in an industry that changes faster than your last Instagram photo. Continue reading…

Very funny horse face photo courtesy of Ivan Shi.

According to the USA Today “Ad Meter,” of the 15 most popular 2016 Super Bowl commercials, 13 were funny. Does this mean they worked? Well, that depends on how you define “worked.”

According to artist and writer Craig Damrauer, “Advertising = Hey you + buy something.” Funny ads, like Hyundai’s “First Date” or Doritos “No Dogs Allowed,” definitely get our attention. In today’s social world, they also get the attention of our friends: 900,000 shares of the Doritos commercial on game day alone. Continue reading…

Lovely pink alarm clock photo courtesy of Mpho Mojapelo.

I remember hearing that an entire SuperBowl’s worth of web impressions happens on the internet every minute. That was in 2010. So, you can imagine that web impressions in 2016 are astronomically higher. In fact, web impression opportunities for advertisers have more than doubled since then. For one, smartphone penetration in the US is up from 43% in 2011 to ~70% today. Continue reading…