For everyone following along at home, you know that we finished the previous insight blog entry looking at the difference between quantitative, qualitative and market intelligence data as they applied to a hypothetical situation. Using all of this data, we came to understand ‘why’ males ages 40-50 were frequenting a certain convenience store on Friday evenings to buy certain snacks. We came to a greater understanding of what motivated their behavior by recognizing a dilemma that led to an insight. Voila! We’re done, right? Addressing a dilemma with data, observation and market intelligence to build something meaningful and actionable = insight, right? Not so fast. We are still lacking one very important element: imagination.

The word ‘insight’ gets misused a lot. Some of this stems from a lack of understanding and incorrect assumptions, most often arising when we think insight is something that it’s not. We might see a research study that makes us raise an eyebrow. We might see someone doing something that prompts us to rethink a cause and effect. Or we might stumble upon some facts that need to be analyzed deeper. All of these are critical breadcrumbs on the road to insight. Alone, they are simply breadcrumbs.

When it comes to acquiring new users in the conversion funnel, few marketing tactics are as effective as pay-per-click advertising, also known as paid search, or PPC. Paid search is used primarily to drive conversions. Successful paid search campaigns require a clearly defined path for potential customers to convert. That journey is continually optimized so the greatest number of qualified users convert, or complete a desired action. A well-executed paid search campaign will maximize conversions and generate a greater return on your marketing dollars.

Business-to-business (B2B) marketing is long considered to be all about relationships. You’re not selling an impulse or one-off product or service, you’re usually getting into a long-term deal. And people take their time making decisions about such things. ‘You’ve got to get to know them and work the relationship over time. After all, people don’t really buy services, they buy people.’ You’ve heard it. Probably even said it. Me too.

Think social media management is just creating, posting content, and repeating? Think again. Any social media manager will most likely tell you that most of their time is devoted to responding to messages and comments from followers and social users and joining conversations across the web. 80% of social marketers said that their key strategy is to increase engagement across social channels. Being active and present is one of the most important things a brand can do within their social media platforms. Check out these 5 tips for successful community management for any brand.

We live in a world where we elevate the small things to big things. Where the irrelevant sometimes rises to be critically important. Call it a byproduct of sculpted social media profiles, 24-hour news channels, the belief that our opinion should never be questioned, the advent of the ‘everybody gets a trophy’ generation. 

Dear Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce,

Building a brand-new website can be a daunting task for a business, especially if you are starting from scratch. You may be debating if you should have a custom site built or try to build it yourself. If you’ve spent any time researching some website-building tools, you’ve likely heard of services such as Squarespace, Weebly, and Wix, and others.

When it comes to executing a successful marketing campaign, it's all about iteration and learning. We can't expect to know all the right answers from day one. Sure, can gather great insights on how to achieve our campaign objectives, but how do we bridge the gap between campaign planning, execution, and the results we're seeing in order to optimize for the best possible campaign performance? The answer? Reporting! Or, the way we analyze and communicate the results, trends, and insights based on our campaign's performance. 

Digital advertising is an essential part of the marketing mix and according to eMarketer, will surpass traditional media spending this year. This really isn’t news to anyone. Digital dollars can be tracked and attributed to specific conversions and are much easier to figure ROI for brands.  It’s the dream of any planner to point to a medium and say “X” tactic brought in sales, conversions, enrollments, whatever the objective may be.

Changing behaviors through mass communication and marketing isn't the easiest thing to do. You're attempting to connect with your audience at their core, trying to influence deeply rooted behaviors. At VI, we've got a long history of working on campaigns that focus on behavior change objectives. Often during campaign planning, we use a few different types of creative messaging strategies to impact our target audiences and nudge them toward that change.

Picture this. You’re at a swanky restaurant. Your waitress approaches. She asks how you’re doing. You misinterpret this normal interaction as a cue to unload every graphic detail of your latest squabble with your husband. Next, you walk her through the play-by-play of the nightmarish parent/teacher conference you had last week. When the meal comes, you eat it with your hands…with gusto. And it’s not a sandwich.