Category: Public Relations

Categories
Media & Analytics Media Planning and Buying Public Relations
Understanding the intricacies of rebranding Slacks logo refresh 2 1200x600 c default
Understanding the intricacies of rebranding Slacks logo refresh 2 1200x600 c default

Rebranding an existing brand is no easy feat – especially with a widespread communication tool – jump into our breakdown of Slack’s new logo refresh.

Slack is a corporate collaboration interface. It’s been incredibly successful, growing into an $8 billion company with 8 million daily users in just over 5 years, and now it’s going public. To be more appealing to prospective investors they’ve rebranded, becoming more buttoned-up, sophisticated, and easy to scale. As a marketing research agency, we’re diving into Slack’s rebrand to learn more about these changes, why they were made, and discuss whether we think these changes will be successful… or not.

Let’s start with the practical

Slack’s original design was a colorful hashtag. Sounds pretty simple, but it’s not. Creative services have to scale and apply this logo all over collateral and in its upcoming IPO. Going public means more applications and rapid growth. According to Slack’s blog, the hashtag is made up of 11 different colors and must be placed at exactly 18 degrees off center. If any shading is done incorrectly or it’s placed on a background that isn’t just the right tint of white…well then the whole thing will simply look wrong. That alone is enough to drive any digital marketing agency crazy, but throw in the fact that rapid growth means more differentiated collateral, and it’s more than enough to warrant revisiting the logo.

Using Pentagram as their marketing strategy agency, Slack is repositioning the brand from a fun, playful hashtag to a youthful adult brand. Keeping the logo bright and colorful, they’ve remained young, but moving to a more solid, static, and upright logo does age the brand a bit. To bring back in the hashtag’s lighthearted and lively energy, Slack’s branding agency added what they call “droplets” to mimic the movement and tilted alignment of the original logo.

The difficulty of rebranding

Moving away from the execution, there’s the fact that it’s difficult to rebrand a well-established, public company. Looking to the future, how would an 11-color hashtag age? 10 years from now, would it be an appealing logo? Our web design company is leaning on the side of no. The hashtag is a popular symbol right now, but as time goes on, trends fade. Objectively, a hashtag is not all that aesthetically compelling and the transparency levels throughout this logo can make the whole thing appear too soft.

An important angle to look at is recognition. The new logo is not all that similar to the hashtag. When put right next to each other, it’s easy to understand the progression… but apart? These “droplets” and “lozenges” don’t exactly scream Slack, which is why timing is everything. Yes, Slack is an established brand, but being released in August of 2013, it’s only around 5 years old. As a young brand, in more ways than one, this rebrand is perfectly timed: before going public, where they’d need shareholder approval and after achieving a solid consumer base.  

Building a brand foundation

When it comes to branding, it’s not just the symbolism, scalability, and awareness that needs to be considered—there’s also application. Branding needs to be a solid foundation for any company across platforms. As a successful multi-platform media buying agency, we like to explore the implications of redesign across media and devices. A static, non-transparent logo that can be applied on any background is far more effective. The old hashtag could only be posted certain ways on specific collateral due to its incredibly complicated execution, which limits the brand just when it’s about to grow exponentially. This new logo will drive brand awareness and recognition rapidly with the upcoming IPO.

The application applies to more than collateral and static postings. A logo should be dynamic, drawing attention at every single touchpoint. Let’s start with social media marketing services. On every social media platform, your profile has a picture. As far as business pages go, more often than not the logo becomes the profile picture. With how particularly the hashtag has to be placed, this new, much more dynamic logo would make building social pages so much easier.

Building out a video and social, influencers can be indispensable when assisting a rapidly growing brand to extend their reach. From what we’ve seen with our own influencer marketing agency, having the right people, in the right place, saying the right things can make or break your brand growth. As far as this aspect goes, the new branding is definitely the right choice. As mentioned before, the old logo is not easy to post anywhere, and influencers post using your brand aesthetics. The easier your logo, colors, and style are to apply, the more effective your influencers will be.

Mass communications

With the knowledge, we have from our own PR & media relations agency we know that the final PR posts are often not done by the company that has the announcement. This means that the company that is finalizing the post is the one that places the creative. This brings back in the hoops that an agency has to jump through to effectively apply the hashtag logo, the new logo streamlines the communications cycle to get Slack’s brand out there rapidly.

The takeaway

This new branding is a smart move that builds up Slack for long-term sustainability. When it comes to the application of logos, this new design makes life easier on almost all counts. The hashtag lends itself better to placement and collateral creation. This symbol made up of “droplets” and “lozenges” create a mark that is engaging, strong, and unique. Armin Vit from Brand New said it best in his review entitled “Hash it Out”, “It [the new logo] captures the premise of the platform in a more interpretive way than the literal hashtag and, again, it’s simply a good-looking mark.” As far as changing an established, well-recognized brand goes, now is the best time to do it. Once Slack goes public later this year, huge changes like rebranding would have to be approved by the shareholders. Also, this IPO should signify rapid growth, and after there’s widespread recognition for Slack’s logo changing it becomes a less appealing move. Lastly, Slack is young, just over 5 years old, so this redesign won’t hurt its standing much. In planning for widespread branding that lasts, this redesign is the right choice.

Categories
Audience Branding Consumer Insights Creative & Production Identity Marketing/Business Media & Analytics Media Planning and Buying Public Relations Qualitative Research Quantitative Research Website Development

If you’re a small to mid-sized business owner, you almost certainly don’t have enough time in the day to get everything finished to your satisfaction. Often, the day-to-day operational demands that come with running a business make it difficult to focus on the broader strategic picture — something that is essential for growth.

In order to create a truly high-performance enterprise, it’s sometimes necessary to contract with outside agencies for help with key creative and technical tasks. By working with a trusted agency, business owners don’t have to work outside the limits of their own expertise and have more time to focus on their own high-value tasks.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the most important services offered by today’s top creative agencies.

Marketing research

In order to validate their hypotheses, marketers need to collect hard data, and this comes in form of data collected by a marketing research agency. This research may occur through focus groups and brand awareness studies.

Many brands partner with a marketing research agency to help complete these tasks and conduct primary market research. By working with a consumer insight agency or focus group research company, brands can gather the kind of data that helps identify the strengths and weaknesses of their products and services, while also better understanding their target market.

Additionally, a usability testing company can help a company determine how an intended audience interfaces with a product or service, while Florida research companies specializing in market data can assist with consumer profile services and qualitative research services. This gives their clients a broader picture of who their audience is, and how those audiences are responding to products, services and marketing campaigns.

Creative services

Creative work is the heart of effective marketing and branding. Whether it’s print advertising, sales materials design, collateral design or annual report design, creative work is the conduit through which audiences and brands connect.

Most small to mid-sized businesses don’t have the budget or expertise to deploy an in-house creative team. That’s not an insurmountable hurdle, however; by contracting with a copywriting company, outdoor marketing agency, tradeshow display company or packaging design agency, brands can realize their creative vision and better connect with their customers.

Digital marketing

We’ve reached a point where the terms “marketing” and “digital marketing” are almost interchangeable. Most of us live, work, communicate and play online — which means that businesses need to do their utmost to connect with people in the digital realm.

This is accomplished by the following techniques such as email and content marketing and various forms of pay-per-click marketing services or display advertising services. By working with a digital marketing consultant, a content marketing agency or an email marketing agency, brands can help ensure that they reap the rewards of a digital approach.

A new and critically important trend is voice technology. Given the staggering adoption numbers for smart speakers and digital assistants, forward-thinking brands should also consider pursuing voice development services from an Alexa app company or a top Florida digital marketing company.

Strategy

Great marketing campaigns all begin with a smart, overarching strategy. This strategy should encompass everything a business does in terms of marketing creation and distribution, including various content types and channels.

Marketing data analysis conducted by a marketing strategy agency can play a key role in this process, as it provides a sound foundation on which to build campaigns and test assumptions. Businesses may also wish to focus on more niche areas by employing an audience segmentation consultant or social media strategy company, both of which can play an integral role in helping brands identify and engage with ideal audiences for their products and services.

Today, a comprehensive marketing strategy must cover a wide variety of channels, reflecting the nature of how audiences live, work and consume content today. This means that working with a multi-channel marketing company that specializes in this kind of approach is often a smart idea.

Media buying

When it comes to good marketing, distribution is just as important as creation. You can have the most compelling campaign in the world, but if nobody sees it, what good does it do?

That’s where media buying enters the equation. The right media strategy services or media planning agency can help ensure that your marketing content gains maximum exposure through every relevant channel, including print and TV.

Digital, too, is an important piece of the media puzzle. A digital media buying agency that specializes in this channel can help ensure your campaign gains traction, while an attribution modeling company can provide you with measurable data that confirms whether or not particular marketing or advertising approach is effective.

In today’s changing world, it’s also important to ensure that your media campaigns reflect the viewpoints of all consumers, which means that it makes sense to work with a multicultural marketing agency that has the perspective to connect with all audiences.

Web development services

Maintaining fully-functional websites with smooth and intuitive user experiences should be a key priority for just about any business. Websites serve as the public face of a business and also often play an important role in generating revenue. If a business can’t be trusted to offer the public a professional and reliable website, prospective customers may wonder about the quality of the products and services they will receive.

However, not every business is equipped to maintain a reliable, user-friendly digital presence. In such cases, it makes sense to partner with a web design company or website development company that can handle every aspect of creating and maintaining digital properties. Additionally, a good content management company can help ensure that businesses place high in organic search rankings by following the principles of search engine optimization and content marketing.

Continuity is also critically important, as downtime can result in lost revenue and angry customers. An Orlando web development firm offering website maintenance services can help local businesses ensure that their digital properties suffer from minimal technical interruptions.

By partnering with top Florida web design consultants, local businesses can ensure that their online presence serves the needs of their customers, while also attracting new business thanks to the compelling design and reliable functionality.

Branding

In order to be successful in a highly competitive landscape, businesses need a way to differentiate their products and services — and that’s where the art of branding comes into the picture. Branding agency services and brand naming services help companies establish compelling brands by developing product names, packaging, and other key design elements. For example, a business may choose to hire a logo design company as part of its overall branding strategy.

A brand story agency can also help businesses create a compelling brand narrative, one that communicates the values and vision of an enterprise to its audience. Brand messaging services can also help a company convey their value proposition to consumers while communicating a message that inspires, intrigues and motivates potential customers.

Branding, when done properly, should inform how a business communicates on every level. Hiring a brand strategy firm, or devising a brand style guide, can help brands ensure that their public-facing content maintains a consistent brand voice. Meanwhile, the practice of brand positioning defines precisely how the products and services a business sells differ from that of its competitors.

When looking at creating a new branding approach from the ground up, companies will often seek out the help of a brand strategy firm. These are full-service agencies that can help with all aspects of a new branding program, or the rebrand of an existing company, product or service.

Video production and marketing

Roughly a decade ago, businesses were in scramble mode to accommodate society’s shift to mobile devices. Within a very short period of time, the smartphone and tablet transformed with the way people live, work and consume content. Today, we’re experiencing another major shift, this time centered around video.

Because people (particularly younger demographics) prefer consuming video over other formats, the creation of marketing and promotional videos has become an essential marketing service.  By partnering with a video production company or video editing company, brands can reach new audiences and deliver the type of compelling content that leads to successful marketing campaigns.

Social media platforms, of course, are a powerful distribution channel for video content. By working with a social media video company, brands can leverage the expertise of these agencies and greatly increase the reach and engagement of their video-focused social campaigns.

For businesses seeking top video production, Florida is an ideal place to be located. Along with sunny weather and beautiful scenery, Florida is home to some of the world’s best creative agencies. This means that brands in the market for a corporate video production company to lead their latest campaign are perfectly situated.

Social marketing

Social media marketing services are one of the fastest-growing agency marketing offerings. That’s for good reason: The reach and power of social media are greater than ever, and social media advertising services are subsequently in high demand.

Yet while the right social strategy can pay enormous dividends, many businesses simply lack the experience and expertise to execute a high-level social media marketing campaign. In such cases, these businesses should strongly consider working with a social content agency or social media management company.

These agencies have the specialist skill to create high-performance social marketing campaigns that gain serious engagement among users. Social media can be a powerful (and cost-effective) amplifier for a brand. Yet without the right strategy, even the best content will be ignored.

To ensure that all company social media services are on point, businesses without an internal team of experts should strongly consider working with an agency, one well-versed in search optimization and audience-building techniques.

Influencer marketing

One only has to glance at Instagram today to see the power of influencer marketing in action. Social media influencers and brands have formed a symbiotic and mutually profitable relationship, as popular platform users use their followings and personal brands to highlight sponsored brand products.

Yet cracking the code of this emerging world of influencers isn’t always easy for established brands, many of which lack social media expertise. An influencer marketing agency (sometimes called an “influencer management agency” can help fill this shortcoming by pairing brands with the right influencers.

Most brands find influencer marketing to be highly effective, as it connects their products and services with people who have dedicated and highly motivated online followings. This is one reason why working with an influencer marketing strategy agency has become so popular in recent years.

Public relations

The work of a public relations agency is primarily centered on two objectives: Ensuring positive press and public perception, and getting a brand’s message out into the public sphere. A company may choose to do this by scheduling interviews, sending out press releases and other such services.

Because public relations is vitally important work, it often makes sense for businesses to use an outside agency with specialist skills. A media relations agency can help ensure harmonious interaction with the press, while a crisis communications company can step into the breach and manage public perceptions during a period of turbulence.

Press release services and media training services are two other functions often filled by a public relations agency. Businesses seeking help with such tasks can reach out to a Florida PR agency, or an Orlando PR company, for assistance.

The takeaway

The range of services offered by creative agencies has grown significantly. Today, a full-service Florida marketing agency can help businesses with all of the services listed above, allowing its owners to free up much-needed time — and benefit from the deep experience and specialist skill offered by modern marketing experts.

Categories
Audience Branding Consumer Insights Conversion Optimization Digital Targeting Services Media & Analytics Public Relations Qualitative Research Strategy & Positioning
What Makes a Social Media Campaign Successful Alternatives to ROI
What Makes a Social Media Campaign Successful Alternatives to ROI

If there’s one thing we’ve learned here at our Orlando ad agency, it can be very difficult to offer a clear cut return on investment for social media efforts.  In fact, most companies inherently sense that there is some value in having an active and engaging social media platform, but because they can’t always tie it to an actual return, it can be difficult to determine the exact value of a Twitter follower or a Facebook “like.”  While it may be slightly easier to determine a return based on a campaign that successfully incentivizes people to purchase a product, it’s nearly impossible to determine how a successful campaign leads to brick and mortar sales, brand perception and other valuable consumer information.
But, a new method of thinking suggests that marketers look to other data points beyond a dollar for dollar return.  These new media experts suggest that, in the same way that advertisers can’t necessarily calculate an exact ROI based on the success of a single television commercial campaign, they should stop trying to attach a ROI to a social media campaign.  [quote] In fact, with the field of data science constantly growing in value, it’s highly possible that in the future, big data will be more valuable for a company than dollars spent.[/quote]

The following are some metrics that advertisers can use in order to help them determine an actual return on investment for a social media campaign.

Data through qualitative responses: One of the best ways to find out what consumers want from your company is to ask them directly. If the goal of your social media campaign is to ascertain data about customer wants, then incorporating questions that encourage them to engage by providing information such as their favorite websites or types of features they’d like to see integrated with your product, then a breadth of data can be invaluable.

Sharing: People tend to share content that triggers an emotion, and that they feel the need to share with others.  On Facebook, “likes” are valuable, but sharing is what brings your content into the minds of people who wouldn’t have seen it otherwise.  You can calculate shares in terms of impressions, and can compare your shares against previous campaigns.

Click-through rates, conversions and other analytics: You can also use data tracking tools such as Omniture to find out where people are finding your content, how long they stay on your page and other useful information that can help you build more successful campaigns in the future.

Press Impressions:  You know you’ve built a strong campaign if the press are covering it in a positive light.  AdAge and other companies are always reporting on businesses that use social media and digital marketing in innovative ways, and being able to capitalize on this helps to bring attention and viewership to your campaign so that even more people will pay attention.

At our Florida advertising agency, we understand that the importance of developing social media campaigns that drive sales in the short term while also providing a lasting brand-to-consumer relationship.  And in our book, a happy customer is always the epitome of success.

Contact us for help developing your social media campaign today!

 

 

Categories
Marketing/Business Media & Analytics Public Relations
Forbes names Bigeye creative one of the top 100 global ad agencies that know social media and google
Forbes names Bigeye creative one of the top 100 global ad agencies that know social media and google

Contact: Shelby Hughes                                                          
P: 407.839.8599

shelby@bigeyeagency.com

FORBES NAMES BIGEYE CREATIVE ONE OF THE “TOP 100 GLOBAL AD AGENCIES THAT KNOW SOCIAL MEDIA AND GOOGLE”

The Orlando Marketing Agency Makes Forbes List Amongst Industry Power Players

ORLANDO, Oct. 4, 2012 – A Forbes article published on August 22 lists BIGEYE on a list of the “Top 100 Global Ad Agencies that Know Social Media and Google.” The Orlando marketing agency holds a powerful position against industry leaders such as HUGE, Ogilvy Digital and Razorfish.

Justin Ramb, CEO and Chief Creative Officer for BIGEYE, is proud that Forbes recognizes his team’s commitment to innovation, collaboration and imagination in digital technology. “It’s an honor to have Forbes to list us alongside other top companies in the industry,” he said. “We truly believe in the power of creativity in the digital space. Our team is committed to finding a brand’s core strengths and bringing these differentiators to life using interactive storytelling technologies and compelling brand strategies.”

Ramb has ten years of experience creating and maintaining strong client-agency relationships, leading BIGEYE to create impressive digital marketing campaigns and website designs for clients including The Atlanta Braves, GE Capital and Love Orlando.

The full Forbes article, which lists BigEye Creative and other agencies that are shaping the future of social media around the world, is available online at http://www.forbes.com/sites/marketshare/2012/08/22/7637/.

About BIGEYE: BIGEYE is a full-service advertising agency located in downtown Orlando, Florida, specializing in brand development, marketing and advertising, media buying, web design, social media management, search engine optimization, and video production. The agency crafts meaningful brand stories and creates memorable marketing experiences that attract, engage, and influence consumers. A team of art directors, designers, copywriters, programmers, and account managers work closely with clients in various industries, including healthcare, entertainment, food and beverage, non-profit, hospitality, and real estate in order to create award-winning marketing strategies with clear and measurable results. The company recently celebrated its tenth year of business in Central Florida.

###

Follow us!

facebook.com/BIGEYEagency       pinterest.com/BigEyeCreative

twitter.com/BIGEYEagency           linkedin.com/company/BIGEYE

youtube.com/BIGEYEagency         Follow bigeyeagency  on Instagram

Categories
Marketing/Business Media & Analytics Public Relations
Sandras BIG Debut
Sandras BIG Debut

Something I have always found interesting is the thought of the unknown. Where will I end up living? In which direction will my career path take me? Is Lady Gaga really going to be the Madonna of today’s youth?
I can honestly say when I set out to enter this ‘real world’ of jobs, bills and florescent office lighting I never anticipated I’d be working in a house, in my favorite part of Orlando, for a company with a mascot named “Biggie” (and a cute one at that). I can also say that at a week and a half in at BIGEYE Creative, I have never felt so at home in a work environment. I come from a world of lights, camera, action … literally. As my college years came to a close, I was dead set on exploring the beast that is broadcast television. Not necessarily in front of the camera (alright, I can admit when I was younger I had aspirations of being the next big meteorologist), but the thing that interested me was what made them tick, what was the lifeblood behind these major television networks.

Enter the world of advertising.

My time with Orlando NBC affiliate, WESH 2, opened my eyes to the world of everything ads. It is advertising that is absolutely an integral part of a stations’ success. This is a part of what the fundamentals of television entail. As I dove head first into developing marketing campaigns for a variety of clients and industries, I found myself more and more captivated by the ever-changing nature of this industry, and how not only television, but radio, print, outdoor, web and now social media, without a doubt could (and would) help businesses grow. What I found to be even more fascinating was in five years, I had seen the map of advertising drastically change. I could have never dreamt when I joined Facebook as a college Junior it would one day be an essential tier to business’ branding and marketing initiatives. It is this change and diversity in our advertising mediums that truly excites me about this business, and from a creative standpoint, the sky really is the limit.

I squeezed every bit of knowledge I could from my experience at WESH, and found where my passion truly lied – the creative development process and the relationships with clients. In my short time with BIGEYE, I’ve seen first hand that those two aspects are also part of their success and passion…and what we have is a match made in heaven. Advertising, marketing and branding has been in existence for more than a century. It is the mediums that continue, and will continue, to shape the way this industry develops. I am ecstatic to not only be a part of a team that shares this enthusiasm for the industry, but one that offers free lemonade to passers-by on the front lawn.

Interested in a career at BIGEYE? See what we’re looking for.