Marketing profanity filter: Are these words offensive?
by Randy Mitchell, Creative Director This morning a coworker surprised me with an unexpected remark. “I never hear you swear,” she declared. “Do you ever use profanity?” That started the thought train rolling. I definitely try to have my personal profanity filter on at all times. However, I am guilty of using marketing profanity on a daily basis. What is marketing profanity? That’s simply my name for words that have somehow become offensive. In most cases, these terms were perfectly acceptable five years ago, but now, they have crossed the line into the unspeakable category. I’d like to share a few surprising examples. We’ll even run these words through our state-of-the-art marketing profanity filter
The 5 Questions You Need to Ask to Assess Your SEO Performance
by Kathryn Brill, Social Media and Content Marketing Specialist Back when your website was first built, you optimized it to be found in search. You followed best practices around SEO performance. But it’s been a few years—and a few Google algorithms have come and gone. How is your website’s SEO performing now? This can be a difficult question to answer. Google is notoriously tight-lipped about what goes into its SEO algorithm, and is constantly making changes to provide better quality search experiences. And a site that was excellent the day it was built may have deteriorated over the years. So how can you check on your site’s SEO and make sure it
The “stat story:” How marketing statistics became the message
by Randy Mitchell, Creative Director “Why don’t we make the stats into the story?” That was how the whole movement started. Some strategic visionary decided that marketing statistics were compelling enough to be the focus of entire campaigns. At the time, this thinking must have seemed like heresy. B2B marketers firmly believed that the findings are there to support the story, not replace it. Successful B2B campaigns focused on weighty matters, such as prospect pain points, industry regulations, customer feedback and product differentiation. Using marketing statistics as the lead for communications was simply not a viable strategy. Until it worked. In fact, the approach kicked stats. Suddenly, response rocketed because target segments did not want
Boomm Wins Two Summit Creative Awards
Boomm B2B Marketing recently received two Summit Creative Awards for two brand campaigns. The Summit Creative Awards recognizes outstanding work by small and medium-sized agencies. There were over 4,500 entries from 25 countries in 2019. Boomm won a Gold Award for its work on a rebranding project for Magnetrol International, a global level and flow solutions provider. Magnetrol has over 85 years of innovation under its belt and a solid reputation. But the company wanted to refresh its brand messaging to focus customer attention on important values and stay top of mind for decision makers. Boomm crafted a new brand voice and vision, summed up in a simple tagline: Level Matters.
Voiceless B2B videos that say everything
by Randy Mitchell, Creative Director The people have spoken. Sort of. Actually, they remained silent and the statement they made shook the world of B2B videoproduction. Today, up to 85% of social media videos are played with no sound according to Hootsuite. Consider the ramifications of that finding. It means only 15% of viewers are getting the message if your B2B video relies on a voiceover to tell the story. If you’re speechless right now, you’re not alone. But this movement was definitely coming, particularly when you consider today’s business environments. Many people watch B2B videos at their desk or in open offices, where common courtesy demands silent viewing. The real concern now is what
Social Media ROI and What’s Really Valuable
by Kathryn Brill, Social Media and Content Marketing Specialist Is social media really valuable? How can you prove social media ROI? These questions are on the minds of many clients. Before they invest money in a social media program, companies want to know that it will deliver. But measuring social value can seem like a slippery business. It’s not as easily tied to sales or revenue as many other marketing programs. Connecting the dots on social engagement and business benefits is complicated. And not everyone agrees on what makes for strong social media performance. Most of us have an instinct that social media is part of a great marketing strategy. But how
Boomm Recognized for Social Media and Integrated Marketing Work
La Grange, IL., June 20, 2019 – Boomm B2B Marketing recently won two Hermes Creative Awards, recognizing excellence in marketing and communications from a large pool of international submissions. The agency’s social media and integrated marketing work received a Gold and Platinum Award, respectively. Both awards won by Boomm were for work with Magnetrol International, Inc., a global provider of level and flow instrumentation solutions. Social media strategy and management for Magnetrol received a Gold Award. Boomm crafted a week-by-week editorial calendar full of high-value content, ranging from promotional to educational, for three social networks. The informative, relevant posts increased community engagement with the Magnetrol pages and established a thoughtful social voice
How a B2B campaign crushed clichés and won the highest honor
by Randy Mitchell, Creative Director Clichés are the curse of B2B campaigns. If you don’t believe it, pick up an industry trade publication and flip through the glossy pages. Or visit a trade association website and check out the digital ads. Most of the approaches will seem blatantly obvious and sadly homogenous. Why does this happen? Because B2B topics are so difficult to explain and clichés offer an easy way out. That fact hit home just one short year ago for the Boomm creative team. We were surveying the landscape before diving into a massive rebranding for an industrial client. Most of the B2B campaigns we saw featured the same four elements: Serious looking
Changing the world for B2B brands
by Randy Mitchell, Creative Director Here’s a promising sentiment for every creative out there: Your ideas can change the world. You simply have to share them with the right people. But where are the right people? Who can give your best ideas the stage they need? It would be natural to assume your best shot at creative immortality is to work on mega brands, like Coca-Cola, Nike, Major League Baseball or McDonald’s. I have a different perspective, because I worked on all of those accounts. It looks impressive on a resume, but in reality, I was merely one of the huddled masses yearning to breathe free. Those brand behemoths had no idea who I
Finding your assets with both hands
Keeping digital assets organized and available can be harder that you think. by Fred Gaede, Chief Creative Officer “Can you send me that high resolution logo file again?” “But I emailed it to you only last week!” “I know, but I can’t find it and I don’t have time to search for it. Please, can you just send it to me again?” Sound familiar? Probably. Whether it’s locating the correct logo for your PowerPoint, the correct photo for your blog post, or the latest PDF of your product brochure, managing digital assets can be not only a hassle, but also a headache. While many major corporations may have an IT or marketing department that controls