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Marketing in the Metaverse: What Will it Look Like?

by with No Comment ART DIRECTION

With the advancement of technology, terms like the metaverse are transforming from science fiction to science fact. Big tech companies have surpassed the point of just dipping their toes into the metaverse; they are investing greatly in this digital universe so much so that Facebook even rebranded itself to “Meta” with the aim to “bring the metaverse to life.”

But what exactly is the metaverse, and what will marketing in it look like?

For starters, the metaverse is a three-dimensional virtual world that is both immersive and interactive. What this means is that although you may be sitting behind a screen, it will feel like you are actually there. Shared with other users, the metaverse spans various digital platforms, offering a space where real-life experiences come to life. People can shop, work, watch concerts, and hang out with friends in this all-inclusive world.

If you still haven’t grasped what the metaverse is all about, here are a few characteristics that might help you better understand this whole new world: 
  • The metaverse exists consistently in real-time
  • The metaverse never ends and continues indefinitely
  • The metaverse enables people to have a virtual identity, presence, and individual agency
  • The metaverse allows users to own, create, invest and sell in a fully functional universe
  • The metaverse spans both physical and virtual worlds
  • The metaverse allows contributors to create content and experiences
The metaverse truly is unprecedented — and in the realm of marketing, it can do wonders for your business. It allows brands to create an entire world specifically for a product or service and offer customers an engaging and immersive experience. There are already several brands that have integrated the metaverse into their marketing efforts, allowing us to better understand what marketing in this universe looks like. Here is a look at some of them below:
  • Travis Scott and Fortnite:
    In avatar form, rapper Travis Scott gave an 8-minute performance on Fortnite where over 12 million players experienced the event live (compared to a regular concert crowd of 50,000).
  • Shopify AR:
    Shopify added an AR feature that allows users to create 3D models of products they are interested in. They can then try on these products (if we’re talking about clothes) or virtually place their products in real-world spaces (if we’re talking about furniture) using AR.
  • Instagram Digital Collectibles:
    Instagram has introduced digital collectibles as a means for businesses to merchandise NFT collections.
  • Balenciaga:
    In another collaboration with Fortnite, Balenciaga launched NFT wearables that players can buy for their characters and wear throughout the game.
The metaverse is a world full of wonders – and your business needs to jump on the bandwagon before it’s too late. You will be able to connect with your customers in a way that you never imagined possible. It’s a virtual playground that will bring your marketing campaigns to life, so don’t just ignore it. Take advantage of it.
Brand-Ambassadors--All-about-them-and-their-influence-on-brands

Brand Ambassadors: All About Them and Their Influence on Brands

by with No Comment ART DIRECTION
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Newsletters: A Highly Effective Way to Market Your Business

by with No Comment ART DIRECTION
One of the best ways to build a list of potential clients and engaged subscribers is through a regular newsletter that includes your latest news, updates, services, and/or products. It is a personalized way to serve valuable content directly to a user’s inbox.
The role of a newsletter is to mainly inform and educate customers rather than drive sales. It shouldn’t sound like you’re trying to sell something, or else the prospect will possibly ignore you. Newsletters should give off a more helpful and informative vibe.
A newsletter can play different roles. It can invite users to:
  1. Read your latest blog post
  2. Sign up for an upcoming event
  3. Check out a new case study
  4. Take part in a prize draw or giveaway
  5. Buy something from your online store
  6. Read testimonials

Check out recent interviews

Newsletters are a great way to reach users and are especially valuable because you have full control over the content that goes into them. You also have full control over the design of the entire layout.

That said, you should approach every newsletter by providing your audience with immediate value. You’ll soon overstay your welcome if it seems like you’re sending emails to your subscribers just for the sake of it.

Newsletters should not follow a template; they need to add different values at different times. You can create different lists and personalize them. You can also send different content to different audience segments.

Your newsletter should include an appealing subject line and a powerful CTA (i.e. call-to-action). You should also give users the option to easily unsubscribe if they want to.

At this point, the main question is: How long should a newsletter be? The answer is about 20 lines of text or at most 200 words. But it’s not a general rule.

There are more details that our experts can delve into with you directly. Book your free consultation by clicking here.
EXCEPTIONAL-BRANDING-FOR-EXCEPTIONAL-STARTUPS--A-STEP-TO-PAY-ATTENTION-TO

Exceptional Branding For Exceptional Startups: A Step To Pay Attention To

by with No Comment ART DIRECTION

There is something about entrepreneurship that is intriguing and appealing. But launching a startup can be a very tricky and complex thing to do, especially if you’re launching a new concept. Your idea must be attractive, revolutionary, and offer some kind of solution to an existing problem. And your startup should maintain exceptional branding, too. This step can make or break your launch, so don’t overlook it, no matter how overwhelmed you are.

Many startups actually fail to launch due to poor marketing or bad product-market fit. So trust us when we tell you that branding is not a luxury, it is a necessity. If you need more reasons, we’ve compiled a list for you:

1. Your Branding = Your Identity 
Today’s marketplace judges a book by its cover, which means visual branding is everything! This includes your brand’s color palette, font, packing, and logo. All these details will determine how consumers see and think about you. Marketing a great product or service is simply not enough. Make sure that those who work on your branding know who your target audience is. More importantly, they should know what this audience likes! You can get in touch with our team for a free consultation if you’d like to know more.

2. Branding helps differentiate you from the rest 

Having a visually appealing brand will help you leave a positive first impression on those who come across it. It will also help showcase the value and competitive advantage you provide the market. You will automatically get a spot in consumers’ minds.

Good and unique branding also helps build an emotional connection with potential customers. You want them to feel that you understand their tastes and preferences and branding can help you do that!

3. Branding boosts your credibility
Credibility rhymes with longevity. Being new in the market means that people don’t know you yet, allowing you to build your own reputation. That is why it is extremely important to lead with a professional visual side. Bad logos and collaterals will make you seem cheap and unprofessional, which is surely not the reputation you want your business to have. However, when your audience sees that your brand has worked hard to build a solid image, they will see you as a professional brand that is worth the consideration.

4. Good branding helps build trust
Building trust between your brand and potential customers is very important for the success of your startup. This trust is based on the first impression consumers get upon the first encounter with your brand, and that includes your logo. Once you win over a potential customer’s trust, you will be able to slowly get them to convert into a loyal customer.You might not be focusing on branding right now, but we’re telling you that you should not postpone this step. If you think you will get funding and customers without professional branding elements, you’re wrong. The market is heavily saturated and competition reigns. Many brands are fighting for the attention of consumers, and so are you. Make sure to build a brand that leaves an impact on people the right way.
If you’re looking to build a strong brand, our experts are here to help. Book a free consultation today and let’s get the ball rolling.
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Avoiding Trouble: 8 Questions Designers Should Ask Clients

by with No Comment ART DIRECTION
The client-designer struggle seems to have no end. Clients’ requests are often too vague to fully understand and designers sometimes don’t bother asking for more details. Thus, designers often end up executing a visually appealing design that sits far from the client’s business goals. All these problems arise from one simple thing: miscommunication.
If there were a proper communication stream between the client and the designer, all these disputes will disappear. In turn, both the client and the designer will come out as winners when the process is over. To ensure such smooth delivery, designers should be willing to dispatch a series of questions to better understand the client’s needs and wants.
One way to organize your questions is according to the client’s goals and style. Let’s start!

Goals

1. What does your brand do?
Learning about the type of business your client runs and what it offers will give the designer an idea of the themes that should conquer. Understanding the client’s customer base will push the designer into using visuals that will pertain to that target group.

2. What makes your brand different?
Designs should always carry the spirit of the brand they are portraying. Thus, designers should always aim to better understand the client’s competitive edge over others in the industry. This will drive the designer to portray these differences in the crafted visuals.

3. What are your brand goals?
If the designer does not know the client’s brand goals, they may end up designing an artistic beauty that belongs in a museum rather than on the client’s social media pages. Knowing what the brand wants to achieve and how it wishes to do so will guide the designer into producing something relevant. It will narrow down their choices and give them an area to focus on.

4. Who are your competitors?
Clients should provide the designer with a list of their most admired competitors – not so that the designer could copy what is out there but to draw inspiration from them. In doing so, the client can highlight other brand’s successes and failures to show designers what they’re seeking to achieve. This will also provide the designer with some insight into the industry they are tapping into.

5. What purpose will this design serve?
Because design is about function as much as it is about form, its type and purpose must be clear from the very start. Is it an online banner, a social media post, a pop-up, or something else entirely? This, in addition to the knowledge of the brand’s goals, will help the designer see things from the client’s perspective.

Style


6. What qualities would you like to highlight in the designs?
After learning about the client’s brand and industry, designers must ask the client what kind of sentiments they want the designs to embody. Formal or fun? Black or bright? In this case, the information provided by the client about their target audience and goals can help the designer better understand the overall feel of the design required by the client.

7. Do you have something in mind regarding the design?
Instead of attempting to come up with an idea from scratch only to be told that it’s not what the client had in mind, designers should make it a point to ask clients if they already have an idea in mind. While the client’s idea may not be implemented in the same way they envisioned it, it would still save time and effort from the designer’s end.

8. Can you provide examples of how you envision the design?
The client can always use words to explain what they want in a design, but providing examples gives the designer a more concrete idea of the overall look and feel of the potential design. It could be a design they’ve come across or even a rough sketch. This goes a long way in closing the gap between the client’s requirements and the final design.

To Wrap It Up:
There is a reason why many companies now focus on hiring employees with soft skills as much they do on hard skills. Without communication and problem-solving skills, it’s hard to get work done efficiently and effectively – whether you’re a designer or not.

While it is natural for miscommunication to occur between designers and clients (just as it is between any two people in the world), there are things that could be done to reduce the incidence greatly. The above questions are definitely a step in the right direction. We are sure of it.
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Why Hiring a Creative Boutique Differs From a Design Agency

by with No Comment ART DIRECTION

When the word design comes up, many people tend to assume it is synonymous with style. In reality, design spans a wide range of different fields, focusing on aesthetics and function in all its elements.

Large creative agencies deserve credit where credit is due. They have the resources, the brains, and the experience. There is no denying that. However, hiring such a large-scale agency requires an extensive budget – one that will surely pay off in revenue in the future. But, many have argued against the hiring of a big design agency because of the vague dynamic of the client-agency relationship.Taking this into account, here are a few reasons why a small creative boutique agency is sometimes your best bet:

 1. Communication
With most large agencies, it is not possible to just pick up your phone and contact the designer working on your project. If you have an inquiry, your only option is to contact the agency’s support or the department representative. You may also have no idea who the designer is because the project is executed under the company’s name. These barriers are typically not there when working with a creative boutique agency. In the latter, communication has no boundaries. A simple text to the designer is very common (and makes things so simple!).

 2. Cost
When you pay for the services of a large agency, you are not only paying for your design, but also for the brand name, the employee salaries, the rental costs, etc. The cost package is usually very high and sometimes not affordable. While a boutique’s price would still cover these things, they’re usually on a much smaller scale.

 3. Flexibility
If an employee at an agency has a crazy, unconventional idea about a project, the idea must pass through a hierarchal structure to get approval. At a small agency, however, the designer would simply consult with their co-workers or boss, impress the client with their grand idea, and call it a day.

This is not to say there is one rule that fits all as there are always some exceptions. So, it’s important to do your research before putting your business in someone else’s hands. Weigh the pros and cons of the available options and always keep an open mind. Talent and professionalism are certainly important, but it is also equally important to take aspects of support, communication, and cost into account when doing so.

WHAT-CLIENTS-REALLY-WANT-FROM-CREATIVE-AGENCIES

What Clients Really Want From Creative Agencies

by with No Comment ART DIRECTION

All any business really needs to thrive is happy customers. That’s a fact. And the overwhelming majority – 85% to be exact – of small businesses get customers through word of mouth. So in a nutshell, happy customers lead to new customers, driving the success of a business upwards.

Creative agencies are often left with this challenging task in addition to another one: keeping clients happy along the way. More often than not, clients cannot really pinpoint what they want out of their professional relationship with an agency. But there are things you can do to reassure them that they’re on the right path, to show them that you care about their company as if it is your own.

How? We’re here to break it down for you. Clients really just want:

1. To know they’re getting value for what they’re paying
Clients, just like anyone making an investment, want to know that they are putting their money in the right place. As a creative agency, you don’t have to tell them how they are getting value; you can simply show them. With good design and set-metrics, you can show the client numbers and data to give them the reassurance they really need.

2. To know that their ideas are being heard and materialized
Always involve the client in the design process. Ask them how they envision things to be, what they aim to achieve, and what message they want their brand to embody. Listening to their ideas and brainstorming together will make the client feel appreciated and understood.

3. To be able to contact you at any time
Sometimes, the light bulb in the client’s mind goes off outside your working hours. At other times, a brand crisis may erupt, demanding your attention on the spot. It is important to never make the client feel that they are in the wrong for contacting you. On the contrary, try to engage in a discussion and let me know why it is or isn’t feasible to execute their request at the time of contact. If it’s possible to get it done, do it.

4. To see unmatched results, designs, and ideas
Nothing speaks louder than good work. As long as the client is happy with the output and the numeric results, nothing else matters. They will know exactly how they are reaping the rewards of working with you. Make it worthwhile.

5. To know you’re offering them the best service
Clients want constant reassurance that you are their go-to for any kind of problem. They expect solutions at every turn. Engage in constant discussions to ensure a proper understanding of what the client wants at every stage of the business cycle. Always have solutions right under your nose.

It’s important to know…
At the end of the day, the client has the upper hand. That does not mean that they control what you do, but they do have the power to call it quits anytime. But if you show them you are on their side, they’ll stick around for the long haul. No doubt about that.

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No “I” In Team: Q&A With The Tinker Hub’s Designers

by with No Comment ART DIRECTION

Design is an essential part of Zein Design, as the name of the company suggests. To give you an insider look into how the design process works internally, we sat down with our designers for a quick chat. We got to know more about their day, their passions, their clients, and what it’s like to be a designer all in all.

Here’s what they said:

1. What’s your favorite thing about being a designer?
The designers expressed how much they enjoy communicating things in a visual manner. In short, they love how they can transform simple ideas into pieces of art. They said that it is particularly rewarding to see the projects they’ve worked on go live. To them, the smallest of things make a difference — from the ability to work on designs with music on, according to Huda, to having your childhood passion for art and design turn into a career, which is true for Razan.

2. What does a typical day for a designer look like?
For starters, there wasn’t an answer that didn’t involve coffee to some degree. They all agreed that they just cannot kickstart their day without a cup of joe. After getting their dose of caffeine, the designers check for any new or pending tasks, look for inspiration, and check their calendars to see if they have any upcoming meetings with clients.

As Zein Design’s founder and director Zein Khalifeh puts it, it’s all “coffee, create, coffee, create, etc.” As for Tricia, she likes to dedicate part of her day “to creating something personal, whether doodling, animating, or looking for inspiration to stay creative.”

3. What everyday challenges do designers encounter?
Perhaps the biggest challenge our designers face on a daily basis is understanding the clients’ needs and, according to Malak, “being creative enough to impress.” As for Tricia, she says one of the toughest things is knowing how to balance the artistic side of things with business goals.

On the other hand, time can be quite limiting. Although creativity and inspiration can make it challenging to meet deadlines, the designers said that there is always a team member willing to give a hand whenever needed.

4. What is the best way to give feedback to a designer?
All it takes is a show of appreciation into the hard work that has been put into the design, Ahmad says. Moving on to feedback, all designers stressed the importance of providing precise feedback, which saves both time and effort. Razan prefers if feedback took place via audio/video calls with clients to better understand their needs. Zein adds that providing examples of what you’re looking for can also help designers see things from your lens.

5. In your opinion, what makes a designer a good one?
A good designer is many things, though imagination and creativity, unquestionably, top the list. Curiosity and passion are also extremely important characteristics that good designers embrace. Without passion, it’s difficult to have patience, an essential quality of successful designers.

According to Zein, designers should always be willing to learn new things and take on challenges with a positive attitude, which she believes is synonymous with being a good listener. Tricia also stresses how important it is for designers “to be open to new ideas and experiment fearlessly through trial and error.”

 6. What, in your opinion, makes a successful designer-client relationship?
Like any relationship, both sides must put effort into making it work.

Designers, on the one hand, must take into account the fact that the client may not be knowledgeable in the area of design. This is where patience and proper communication come into play. In addition to that, designers, according to Huda, should accept feedback, as long as it is constructive.

Clients, on the other hand, should be clear about what they want, trust the designer, and as Razan and Huda said, understand that a bigger logo does not increase the likelihood of success.

5-Marketing-Podcasts-You-Need-To-Listen-To

5 Marketing Podcasts You Need To Listen To

by with No Comment ART DIRECTION
With podcasts on the rise, it’s easy to see why they have gained such popularity in recent years. They are a low-commitment means to expand your knowledge on certain topics, including the marketing industry.
By listening to marketing experts interact with one another as they dive deep into key marketing topics and developments, one can gain insight into the industry without much effort. Listening to others will also certainly help you develop your own perspective on how to approach marketing.
Having said that, here are some of our favorite marketing podcasts that we tune into on the regular and suggest you do the same!
  • The Marketing Book Podcast: With lengthy episodes over an hour long and airing weekly, this podcast is great for individuals who want to stay updated with the latest marketing trends and developments, but don’t have the time to do the research themselves. Every week, host Douglas Burdett invites authors to discuss their latest marketing/sales book releases.

Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

  • The CMO Podcast: Giving a macro view of the marketing industry, this podcast is perfect for individuals aspiring to become Chief Marketing Officers and who want to better understand how marketing fits into the overall success of a business. Host Jim Stengel, former CMO of Procter & Gamble, invites leading marketing professionals at top-tier companies to paint a realistic picture of a CMO’s role within a company.

Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

  • Marketing School: With brief episodes – up to 10 minutes – that air daily, hosts Neil Patel and Eric Siu draw from their own experiences to discuss a variety of topics ranging from content creation, hiring practices, and branding, all the way to ad techniques.

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud

  • Happy Market Research: In this 10-30 minute podcast, host Jamin Brazil tackles marketing research head-on, offering insights from various angles. In every episode, Jamin invites guests to talk about how they were able to use insights to develop actionable strategies.
Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
  • Marketing Over Coffee: This podcast is ideal for those passionate about marketing and technology, and the intersection between these two industries. With episodes typically between 20-30 minutes, and airing weekly, hosts Christopher S. Penn and John J. Wall dive deep into the latest marketing and tech news.
Listen on Spotify