Marketing Can Make or Break Your Business Posted by Priscilla De La Rosa on April 7, 2017 We were recently asked to do a marketing audit by an investor of a troubled startup. We.Software*, a young company offering software design services to healthcare companies, set forth to conquer the world. They had set aside a marketing budget of 100K per year over three years. Three years went by, but they didn’t get the traction. When going back and analyzing the marketing spend by their marketing agency (a boutique agency based in Seattle), we noted that a full forty percent of the budget went to pure design related assets, like logo, website design and document assets. STOP. If your agency wants to spend forty percent of a budget on design related assets, please find a new agency. At the start of a company, lean and agile approaches means spending very little on design assets and more on customer research and product marketing (things that actually grow your business). For a logo, use a crowdsourced asset for an inexpensive logo. For a website, use a WordPress template. As your company matures, there will be a place for more significant spend on design and brand assets. In the meantime, here are things that maybe wise to spend your budget on: Explainer Videos: Helps to communicate who you are and why you are different to prospects and employees. Customer Research: Spend budget on research that delivers tangible information about your customer – this is invaluable and ought to be an ongoing process. Media Spend: Despite popular wisdom, it is never too early to put your name out there. Pro Landing Pages that Convert: You need to get people in your world, and there is no better way. Viewstream can help with any of these items, and we won’t ask you to spend a ton of money on design. By the way, We.Software went out of business. *Not the real name!
Digital-First Marketing Needs a Human Touch Posted by Priscilla De La Rosa on April 6, 2017 Digital marketing for technology companies is fundamentally different than marketing for the non-technical industry. Although it sounds like a simple distinction, if we unpack it, we discover surprising insights. A few months ago, I had some conversations at the digital marketing SoDA conference that opened my eyes to the differences between digital and traditional marketing ecosystems. I’ve been living in the tech industry so long, that a new perspective from outside the fishbowl was clarifying. “As a digital marketer, what is the biggest challenge you face working with your clients?” This seemed like an innocuous question when our workshop leader asked, but the answers I heard were surprising. Except for me, the unanimous answer was: We focus tremendous time and effort convincing clients to believe in digital-first marketing. Then we have to ensure that the digital-first approach is accepted and operationally integrated into the marketing organization. What’s Different? Traditional, mature companies like Coca Cola, Citibank, McKesson and Chevron completely understand how to communicate human feeling and value… Read more of this blog post on Medium.com >>
Top 6 Marketing Trends of 2017 Posted by Priscilla De La Rosa on September 8, 2016 As marketers, we embrace the expectation that we have to constantly come up with new, innovative methods for reaching target audiences. We love to come to work in the morning where every campaign needs to be a “game changer.” We strive to conjure up “purple cows” every day. Marketing spend needs to go further to meet these elevated expectations. But in this new digital reality, how do you be both efficient and effective, and how do you differentiate your brand in a crowded marketplace where everything is presumed to be new? Here is a preview of the six key trends that will dominate 2017 and allow marketers in the know to get ahead of the curve: 1. Customer data is skyrocketing as big campaigns plummet. Data on customers or potential customers is readily available. Demographics, behavior, interests, browsing history, previous purchases, and on and on. All of this data can be used to deliver personalized, relevant content to individuals across any channel, leading to the death of the one-size-fits-all campaign. The days when marketers would do a long march towards a big campaign launch are over. We need to be executing daily, weekly or monthly campaigns that are consistently optimized and put into the world. To discover the rest of the key trends, such as virtual reality and the future of email, download the report today. GET THE FREE REPORT
Viewstream Brings in Nine New Awards! Posted by Priscilla De La Rosa on June 1, 2016 Viewstream is excited to be bringing home some new hardware! Between the awards programs of the Telly Awards, Communicator Awards and Hermes Awards, Viewstream received nine. The 37th Annual Telly Awards has awarded Viewstream five Bronze awards in the category of Online Video. With over 13,000 entries from all 50 states and numerous countries, this is truly an honor. The Telly Awards, a premier award honoring outstanding creative work in video and film productions and online commercials, recognized Viewstream for creative videos for Autodesk and ClearCare. Two of those same videos each received Silver Awards of Distinction from the Communicator Awards, the international awards program honoring creative excellence for communication professionals. Finally, the Hermes Creative Awards has presented Viewstream with two awards in the categories of Microsite and Interactive Capabilities. Our work with Autodesk Suite Recommender earned an Honorable Mention and the Autodesk InfraWorks Microsite earned the Platinum Award, the award given to those entries judged to be among the most outstanding in the competition. We add these nine new awards of recognition to our collection of previous distinctions for our work with clients including Microsoft, Autodesk and Adobe. Thank you to all who helped us get here! Check out the winners: Telly Awards Bronze Winner, Online Video, Autodesk BIM 360 Docs Bronze Winner, Online Video, Autodesk BIM Solutions for Infrastructure Bronze Winner, Online Video, ClearCare Platform Bronze Winner, Online Video, Future of Making Things Bronze Winner, Online Video, Project Alexandria Teaser Communicator Awards Silver Award of Distinction, ClearCare Platform Silver Award of Distinction, Project Alexandria Teaser Hermes Awards Platinum Winner, Microsite Category, InfraWorks Microsite Honorable Mention, Interactive Capabilities, Autodesk Suite Recommender See our complete list of awards here.
Viewstream Marketing Receives Highest Honors for Use of Graphics at the 2015 Telly Awards Posted by Priscilla De La Rosa on September 10, 2015 Viewstream is thrilled to receive top honors at the 36th annual Telly Awards. The Telly Awards, a premier award honoring outstanding creative work in video and film productions, online commercials, video and films has presented our agency with two accolades this year. Of the nearly 12,000 entries, Viewstream was recognized for its creative work supporting the products and brands of some of the largest companies in the world. We received a Silver Telly Awards – the highest honor – for our work with Autodesk Seek in the Online Webisodes, Segments, or Promotional Pieces – Use of Graphics category. Autodesk Seek from Viewstream on Vimeo. Additionally, a Silver Award was presented for Viewstream’s work for Adobe Media Optimizer in Online Commercial – Use of Graphics. Adobe Media Optimizer from Viewstream on Vimeo. We add these two new Silver recognitions to our collection of seven previous distinctions by the Telly Awards for our creative work in online videos for clients including Microsoft, Autodesk, Adobe and ERA Real Estate. See our complete list of awards here.