Tag Archives: marketing agency

Not a Place, But a Feeling

This month, Ideaworks Marketing celebrates its 22nd anniversary, and that has me thinking about home.  Over the last few months, I’ve missed our office at 197 Wyoming Ave. As grateful as I am for the technology that allows us to work from our own homes, there is something special about being together under the same roof.

197 is not a sterile workplace, but a vibrant, homey space where we share a significant part of our lives together. I miss the faces, the hellos and goodbyes, the encouraging words. And I especially regret missed opportunities to gather in our conference room for celebrations large and small – a birthday, a holiday, a special recognition or – this month – an anniversary celebration.

There’s always a bright side, however, and for me it’s been this: Our weekly Zoom meetup gives us all a unique insight into each other’s lives and homes. We’ve met each other in new contexts – in makeshift offices in living rooms, kitchens, and porches. We’ve been Zoom-bombed by children and significant others – including Peter Steve’s beloved Portuguese Water Dogs, Crispin and Dante. And through the magic of green screen backgrounds, we’ve been transported to Alyssa’s honeymoon in Italy, an airline lounge at JFK, and even the Simpsons’ living room!

And, of course, we’ve all been grateful to spend more time with our loved ones. Carla Henry was able to spend a week working from her parents’ house in Kentucky, and I welcomed family, including my two favorite people in the world – 3 ½ year old Harper and her new baby sister Hazel – to come for a visit (in a socially-distant mobile home in my driveway).

In all of these ways, we have adopted new strategies for maintaining team spirit and the feeling of home. We have begun to spend more time in the office, as individual needs require, but we’re following the changing situation and regulations closely. We hope to make our way back to 197 soon.

Stay safe. Wear a mask. And don’t hesitate to reach out to let us know how you’re doing.

Donna Hansbury, President and CEO

Stay Inspired

While I was scrolling through my social media feeds, this anonymous aphorism caught my eye: “When you can’t control what’s happening, challenge yourself to control the way you respond to what’s happening. That’s where your power is.” In our last blog post, we outlined our initial response to COVID-19, but today I’d like to discuss how our agency worked through some of the adjustments we have made during the pandemic and quarantine.

For me, and for the entire Ideaworks team, it all comes down to this: staying inspired.

To inspire – to influence or animate with an idea or purpose — lies at the heart of our identity and mission. Ironically, for the present moment, the word comes from the Latin inspirare, which means to blow into, or breathe upon – but even in ancient Rome it took on the figurative sense of “to excite and inflame.”

To be sure, the quarantine changed the way we operate – for example, by moving conversation and collaboration to online meeting apps and quick text messages. We regularly meet for all-hands check-ins, and I’ve been sharing jokes and thoughtful quotes to keep everyone engaged. But our focus remains the same: coming up with ideas that work.

As our clients faced mounting challenges – including serious reductions in revenue and even the shuttering of businesses – we have been helping them craft strategic communications to keep customers engaged and aware of changes in their hours, their services, their facilities and their menus. More recently, we have been supporting clients’ moves to reopen business with new safety measures in place, and even to launch new ventures in facilities management and food service with enhanced infection control and social distancing measures in place.

As we all find our way through this rapidly evolving environment, please accept my best wishes for continued success in all of your endeavors – not only in business, but also in your personal lives and in your communities. Great things are always right around the bend, and with the right attitude you will be ready to meet them. That’s where your power is. Stay inspired!

Peter Steve, Owner and Chief Creative Officer

A Note From Our Spring Content Intern

Hi, all! I’m Jen, and I’m the new Content Intern here at Ideaworks. I’m a senior at King’s College, where I major in professional writing and minor in literature.

I’ve held previous internships in writing and public relations, and I currently hold two jobs on campus as the English department’s student assistant and as a Writing Center tutor.

My future career goals include any sort of job that will allow me to put my writing and editing skills to use, and I have an especial interest in the field of nonprofits regarding both grant and proposal writing. My hobbies and interests include reading, spending time outside and learning how to cook.

I’m really excited to join the team here to learn more about the digital marketing landscape and pick up some new skills along the way!

Lifelong Learning = The Key to Success

This article was penned by Chelsey Tupper, director of operations and client development. 

Learning has always been an integral part of who I am. That’s probably because I was raised by two parents who realized the value of a solid education and both loved uncovering new knowledge. My mom and dad worked fervently to provide my sister and me with educational travel opportunities and even afforded me the ability to go to the college of my choosing. My parents gained their love for learning from their parents, and at the age of 33, I’m beyond blessed to still have the mentorship of all six of these individuals. I’ve witnessed firsthand from my family the importance of lifelong learning, from reading countless books (for pleasure and work) to learning history and trivia to staying abreast of changing trends in your profession and developing new hobbies. Further, I’ve learned that lifelong learning doesn’t just help you excel professionally but also keeps life fun, fresh and fascinating.

Aside from my parents and grandparents, I’ve been fortunate enough to have several mentors throughout my life, and the list only continues to grow. I love listening to others and learning all that I can from the people I meet because each of us has our own, unique experiences to share; it’s incredible what you can soak up from others if you just pay attention and listen. Two individuals whom I’ve been lucky enough to have as mentors over the past three years are my bosses Peter Steve and Donna Hansbury. Peter’s outlook on learning and bettering yourself is very similar to that of my parents and grandparents. He is always reading and researching, and he impresses the importance of this practice upon the Ideaworks team. Peter continuously says that reading all we can about our industry and those industries of our clients is what makes us an invaluable partner. And he’s right. Developing fresh solutions to our clients’ challenges and guiding them in the right direction are what make our clients come back to us, project after project, trusting in our ability to help them succeed. Donna has taught me to become a more strategic thinker and problem solver. For example, she has shown me the importance of taking the time to figure out a new program or concept, and not being too quick to ask others for assistance before delving into  it myself. It’s difficult to find solutions to such things if reading and researching aren’t part of your core, everyday tasks – yet another reason to embrace lifelong learning.

Back in April, I spoke at a local university as part of its annual communication conference for high school juniors and seniors. The conference helps students discern career paths within the communication industry. I love speaking to high school and college students because I remember when I was in their shoes, and listening to young professionals share their career stories and advice was always helpful and inspiring. For this particular engagement, I chose to speak about the value of lifelong learning and how vital it is for success in college and beyond. Throughout the presentation, I shared the advice I’ve gained from Peter and Donna, along with what I’ve learned from my own life experiences. Several students asked questions following the presentation, wanting me to share additional insight into how they, too, can adopt the “always be learning” mindset.

While I may never know which tips, tricks or stories from my presentation my audience found most inspiring, I’m confident that they, too, walked away with something valuable. And as I reflect on that experience and the many I’ve had to shape me into the professional I am today, I realize that there’s nothing more gratifying than helping one of those students reach an important realization: Lifelong learning really is the key to success, and you never know where its influence stops. I am certain that my parents, grandparents, Peter, Donna and the many other mentors I’ve been blessed to have would be proud that I am committed to paying forward what each of these individuals have impressed upon me.

Welcome to the Ideaworks team, Carla and Jorge!

 

This fall, we excitedly welcomed two graphic designers, Carla Henry and Jorge Ariza. Carla and Jorge join Patty Pugh on our creative team, responsible for employing their design prowess and artistic aptitude to bring our clients’ visions to life.

Ever since she was a little girl, Carla always had a creative eye, which is why she chose to major in graphic design. Earlier this year, she graduated from South Hills School of Business & Technology with her associate’s degree. Carla joins us from Posture Interactive, a Scranton-based digital marketing agency, where she served as an intern. In her free time, she enjoys playing Nintendo® games, binge-watching TV shows and drawing silly cartoons in various mediums.

 

Like Carla, Jorge has also had a passion for art and design from a young age, starting with drawing in elementary school. He graduated in 2015 from Keystone College with a bachelor’s in visual arts and is currently working on his master’s in graphic design at Marywood University. Outside of Ideaworks, Jorge always strives to develop his skills and works on a variety of different projects. For instance, he is in the process of starting his own clothing line, along with working on a children’s book series for his thesis.

 

We are delighted to have Carla and Jorge on board and look forward to each of them using their unique design talents to exceed client expectations. Please take a minute to welcome them to our team!

Understanding the “value” of value-based agreements

Recently, our agency was asked to participate in an RFP with a technology company that was looking for a partner who would be willing to enter a risk/reward (or value-based) agreement to win the business. While such RFP requirements are not new to us as we see similar requests with growing frequency in the industry, it did get me thinking about the real value of such agreements for both parties involved.

In theory, a value-based agreement has benefits for both the client and agency when executed correctly. From the client side, they receive some assurance that the company they are partnering with has enough confidence in their work to risk some of their compensation. By nature, this type of agreement also creates a more open environment for the exchange of information and the mutual commitment to achieving agreed upon goals.

For the agency, value-based agreements demonstrate their willingness to share the risk for the work they are developing. It instills a genuine focus on creating and executing a strategy that achieves success, although any agency worth its while should maintain this position with all its clients. It also makes the agency feel more like they are part of the client’s team – working together to produce measurable results.

For the client, value-based agreements offer a way to evaluate the commitment of the agency they are considering employing. Beyond a screening mechanism, value-based agreements also provide an added level of confidence regarding the investment being made not only in the agency but also in the project or initiative under development.

Regardless of which side of the equation you are on, both parties should expect to receive as much in return as they risk.

Financial incentives aside, the most important consideration for all involved with value-based agreements is the measurement process. But how do you measure the success of a campaign, program, ad, etc.?

Our experience with such agreements has shown that there are key factors that must be in place for such agreements to be successful including:

  • Mutually Defined Measurable Goals
  • Quantitative Baselines for Benchmarking
  • A Means to Empirically Track Performance

If the proper measurements are in place and there is complete transparency on the part of both parties, then value-based agreements can represent the start of a wonderful and lucrative partnership for both the agency and client.

 Peter Steve, owner and chief creative officer

EXTRA! EXTRA! THE NEXT ISSUE OF DAZZLE IS HOT OFF THE PRESS.

The excitement never fades when we unveil a new issue of Dazzle, our award-winning agency magazine. Whether it’s our content team brainstorming topics and writing copy for the featured articles, our design team collaborating on a modern, visually appealing approach, or the two groups working together to finalize a product we’re all proud of, Dazzle’s “road to release” and ultimate unveiling is always fascinating.

This particular issue is centered on growth – within our agency and beyond – as we celebrated our 20th year in business this summer. It is our hope that the articles featured in this issue will inspire the continuous development and success of other agencies, businesses and professionals alike.

While we don’t want to give everything away, here’s a brief overview of some articles featured in this issue:

  • “20 years of Passion and Perseverance,” an infographic look at the past two decades in business, along with a note from our team (pg. 6)
  • “From My Perspective: Growing as a Women-Owned Business,” an insightful message from Ideaworks owner Judy Steve (pg. 9)
  • “Sowing Seeds of Success,” our feature article that highlights new initiatives and our continuously evolving portfolio (pg. 10)
  • “Life@197,” which includes snapshots of what’s new and exciting with our team (pg. 16)

Click here to read the issue, and please reach out to us with questions and comments. You can also email Dazzle’s editor-in-chief, Chelsey Tupper at chelseyt@ideaworks.marketing if you would like additional information on the new initiatives mentioned in this issue’s feature story.

Happy reading from the Ideaworks team!

THE 411 ON VIDEO MARKETING

By: Chelsey Tupper, director of marketing communications
Video marketing is hot and getting hotter. I’m sure you’ve heard it a million times over, but you’re about to hear it a million and one times: If you’re not using video as a marketing tactic, then you’re behind! The rise in popularity of video marketing happened so quickly that now it seems consumers are inundated with video, but when you think about it, the use of video isn’t really that surprising. Tugging on the emotional heartstrings of your target audience is one of the best ways to convince them to buy, and video does an excellent job with this when compared to print ads because of the very nature of video. Through video, it’s much easier to ignite emotion within consumers, which is of utmost importance when trying to establish a relationship with them.

At Ideaworks, we’ve been busy with a variety of video projects for basically all of our clients. Each project varies a bit from technical process videos to feel-good values videos, and we’re also trying to incorporate more video work on our own blog and social media pages. Our entire content team works side-by-side with one of our designers who specializes in video editing to produce quality productions that look great and achieve their targeted objectives.

It will be interesting to see how video marketing continues to grow in the years ahead, but one thing is certain – it surely isn’t going away; if anything, it’s gaining momentum and becoming even more creative and interactive that ever before.

Below are the 10 things you need to know to grasp the 411 on video marketing and why you need to utilize it NOW!

  1. Video boosts conversions and sales: When product videos are included on websites, they can help boost sales conversions by 80%.
  2. Video shows great ROI: Even though video production is not the easiest nor cheapest task, it pays off big time. In fact, studies show that 76% of businesses agree video provides an excellent ROI.
  3. The quality of the video doesn’t matter as much as its content: The latest research shows consumers are mostly put off by videos that don’t explain the product or service clearly enough. Low quality and poor design didn’t matter nearly as much, but don’t discount design entirely. If you need some assistance with your design efforts, please give us a call!
  4. Thirty-three percent of tablet owners watch about an hour of video on their devices every day, and 28% of smartphone users watch a video on their devices at least once a day.
  5. Seventy-eight percent of people watch videos online every week, and 55% of people watch videos online every day.
  6. Fifty-nine percent of senior executives agree that if both text and video are available on the same topic on the same page, they prefer to watch the video.
  7. Using the term “video” in an email subject line boosts open rates by 19%, increases click-through rates by 65% and reduces unsubscribes by 26%.
  8. Ninety-three percent of marketers use video for online marketing, sales and communication.
  9. Video creates trust: The whole concept of content marketing is based on trust and creating long-term relationships. People do not want to be sold to; instead, they crave interesting and useful information.
  10. Google loves video: A vast amount of research suggests that videos increase the time spent by visitors on websites. Thus, longer exposure builds trust and sends the signal to search engines that there is good content on said site. Actually, according to Moovly, businesses with embedded videos on their websites are 53 times more likely show up first on Google.

Sources:

https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/2017-year-of-video-marketing

https://www.dreamgrow.com/8-reasons-why-your-business-should-use-video-marketing/

Image source:

https://artplusmarketing.com/social-video-marketing-strategy-an-infographic-73ecfa09811b

THE VALUE OF MAKING YOURSELF VALUABLE

Take a few seconds and think of an item or experience you value. What popped into your head? Why? Do you value this particular thing because it was given to you by someone you love? Do you value this memory/experience because it played a huge role in shaping who you are today? It probably wasn’t too difficult to think of one or even several items or experiences you value. As humans, we seem to place a value on everything, whether it’s positive or negative; we might do this consciously or subconsciously. In the same way that we place a value on possessions or experiences, we also do this when it comes to colleagues and professional relationships.

Years ago, marketing and advertising agencies enjoyed a special kind of monopoly that has since disappeared thanks to the advent of the internet. Agencies didn’t have to concern themselves with competition from websites offering less expensive prices for graphic design or “marketing” services. However, now, we do, and with that comes the need to make ourselves even more valuable to clients than ever before. Let’s face it, if clients don’t find value in the services we provide, the relationship is over.

You might be thinking, “Well, of course I am much more valuable than some website,” but are you really? Do you stay up-to-date with current trends, which change as rapidly as the weather? Do you read any marketing article you can get your hands on – even if it isn’t necessarily the area in which you specialize? Most importantly, do you take the time to research, read and learn all you can about your clients’ businesses/industries? If you answered “yes” to each of these questions, then kudos, you’re right on track. If you answered, “no”, then it’s time to change.

While it’s important to stay updated on all things marketing so you can suggest the best strategies and tactics to clients, nothing is more valuable than when you approach your client with a trends report or an article discussing a topic pertinent to the industry in which they serve. This not only shows you have your client’s best interest at heart and want to see him or her succeed, but it also places a value on your relationship with said client – a value that is invaluable in this day and age. Any agency is going to welcome new clients on board and sell, sell, sell its marketing services, but those agencies that take the time to know and study their clients’ businesses and industries are the ones who will easily differentiate themselves amongst the competition.

Any possession, experience, relationship or service that you regard as being valuable is actually invaluable, i.e. you still wouldn’t give up said item even if offered millions of dollars. As a marketing professional, this is how you must be viewed by clients because you must become an incredibly valuable asset to them in order to establish those invaluable relationships that are key to your business success.


Chelsey Tupper, director of marketing communications

 

FROM MY PERSPECTIVE: GROWING AS A WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESS

Earlier this month, individuals around the world recognized International Women’s Day, celebrating the many commendable achievements and advancements women have made in the workforce and beyond. As I reflect on International Women’s Day and what it means for Ideaworks, I am grateful for the opportunities we have had through the years to grow and develop as a WBE-certified women-owned business.

This year marks our 20th year in business, and it is an honor to work with such a talented group of career-minded women, including Ideaworks’ president & CEO Donna Hansbury, vice president of creative and operations Patty Pugh and director of marketing communications Chelsey Tupper. Together with these ladies and the rest of our talented team, we have dedicated ourselves to delivering the best marketing and creative work for our clients. Our entire team showcases attributes that I believe are crucial to have not only in a women-owned business but any business enterprise. Characteristics like sheer talent, respect for one another’s unique abilities, and a willingness to work hard, dive deep and actively immerse ourselves in each client’s industry. These are the qualities that make our agency valuable to our clients and competitive in today’s ever-changing marketplace.

It’s an honor to have built this business and team with my fellow female executives. While I am especially reflective as March comes to a close, I am genuinely grateful year-over-year that Ideaworks is a women-owned business, dedicated to solving clients’ most pressing marketing challenges with innovation, creativity and an exceptionally talented team.

Judy Steve, owner