Print17 in Chicago Recap
We hope everyone had a great event this year at the Print17 Expo in Chicago.
We were excited meet and talk with everyone!
Got to see a lot of great demos, presentations, equipment and products.
Can’t wait for next year.
Author: John Bracamontes
Welcome Rebecca!
Welcome to the Team Rebecca!
We are super excited to have Rebecca Fields join the team as our new Director of Digital Marketing.
Read on to learn a little more about Rebecca?
Where are you from?
Born and raised in STL!
Where did you Graduate from?
Master’s from Webster and Undergrad from the Harvard of the Midwest (haha…AKA Missouri State)
What are some things you enjoy doing (besides working):
Love working with dogs – currently working with a rescue pup, for the last 3 years, to help her enjoy the company of people and not be afraid! Also love doing home improvements – anything is possible with the right power tool!!
Favorite Movie Genre:
I most often watch comedies – but horror movies are by far my favorite!
Favorite Type of Music:
Anything but country! Favorite band of all time: Led Zeppelin.
Place you’d like to visit?
Anywhere I haven’t been! But, Hawaii is my dream destination – waiting to go until I can spend 3 weeks!
Drink of Choice?
My drink pallet is rather boring – I prefer water – unless you’re talking alcoholic drinks – in which case I love beer that tastes like water! Natty Light please!
We’re Checking out the Eclipse, So Should You
We admit that we are nerds and that means when there is a total eclipse that will blackout over the St. Louis area where we are headquartered, then we’re watching it.
With that said we are working in the morning and afternoon but breaking in the middle of the day to experience this awesome event.
2017 Eclipse!
Goodbye St. Louis and Hello Oklahoma City
Today we were sad to see Kerry spend her last regular day here in the St. Louis office, but excited to have her head to Oklahoma to open our new Oklahoma City office!
We’ll miss the intermittent Hype Horn and continuous replay of Despacito.
6 Influential B2B Execs Share Their Thoughts On B2B Marketing in 2017
B2B marketing has evolved from its meager origins of sales support materials to a highly nuanced complicated field. The following B2B executives express views which not only provide clarity to navigating the current climate, but are also of immediate and timeless value to other areas of your business.
1. John Hayes, CEO of Com
“…there is going to be a staggering volume of content coming from industrial marketers in 2017. Even the ones who are doing it poorly plan to keep on spending money to churn out more and more content. And that content is all targeting the same audience.”
Hayes’s advice to stand out from the crowd is to spend more time developing high-quality content rather than publish as much as possible. Quality over quaintly, always.
2. Bob Bechek, Worldwide Managing Director of Bain & Company
“…don’t be afraid necessarily to stay in one place and build something significant.”
Wise words from the consulting giant Bechek, which certainly applies to our current marketing atmosphere; rather than jump from one trendy platform to the next without thought, build a cohesive strategy and stick with it before making a decision to discard.
3. Diana O’Brien, Chief Marketing Officer of Deloitte
“…thought leadership is an anchor not just to marketing, positioning and content, but it also serves as the fundamental source for our professionals because our people are our greatest asset.”
If you are struggling to develop high quality content, chances are that the people working for you are already capable of producing excellent marketing materials. Enable them to use their voice!
4. Pierre Duprat, Vice-President, Corporate Communications of VINCI
“One can speak of the emergence of social media, 2.0 world. It is a vision software.”
VINCI is the world’s largest construction company, and their marketing gurus recognize that the best strategy is investment in future technologies, which will not resemble the world today. And Duprat makes an important point – as we move closer to fully utilizing resources like virtual reality headsets, marketing in the B2B space will be driven by visuals.
5. Joel Quadracci, Chairman, President & CEO of Quad/Graphics
“We constantly dare ourselves to think differently … to ask “what if” and “why not?” … to experiment. The worst that can happen is we fail trying. The best is we champion the next breakaway idea that catapults us to the next level of success.”
Hopefully you’ve noticed the theme! B2B execs believe in a willingness to try new strategies and technologies in order to develop the best marketing campaign possible, which can be an important differentiator amongst competition in fields like commercial printing.
6. Leon Black, Chairman of Apollo Global Management
“Doing something that is worthwhile in terms of helping others is important.”
Marketing is more than trying to close a sale. In the digital age where there is noise coming from every direction, it is imperative for your marketing to be of actual value for your potential clients or customers.
For more B2B Digital Marketing strategies and tactics check out the rest of our site!
Stuart Morse – Business & Leadership – Leaders in Business & Marketing
Stuart Morse is the CEO of The Morse Group.
His experience has been working with Fortune 50 & 100 companies to help bring clarity through creative solutions for leaders and organizations that move teams and catapult new initiatives.
In this episode we talk about the journey from working on farm equipment to equipping executives with the clarity they need to move initiatives, teams and organizations forward.
You can learn more about The Morse Group here: http://morsegrp.com/
State of Digital Marketing 2017
Marin recently pulled together information as a report on the State of Digital Marketing for 2017.
From their site:
“Marin Software interviewed top digital marketing managers around the world to discover the trends, opportunities, and challenges they face in 2017. Read the report to learn the current state of the digital marketing industry, plus expert tips and recommendations for success.
Highlights include:
Digital Marketers’ top priorities for 2017
The ROI potential of different mobile marketing strategies
The main reasons marketers miss out on revenue opportunities
How marketers can increase advertising performance by 70% or more
The hottest marketing technologies industry leaders are looking to invest in next”
We grabbed some of the highlights and shared them here:
- 43% of marketers expect their mobile budgets on search marketing investment to increase between 10% and 30% in 2017
- On the social side, 70% of respondents plan to increase their advertising budget
- Marketers on search and social face an ongoing learning curve due to the constant influx of new features and ad products. As a result, many struggle to keep up with the fast pace of innovation *We at Acumen don’t struggle with this by the way
You can download the full PDF report here: http://downloads.digitalmarketingdepot.com/rs/727-ZQE-044/images/MAR_1706_StateDigAd.pdf
Welcome Alyssa Willey
We are super excited to officially welcome Alyssa Willey to the team as our newest Account Executive!
Alyssa is a rock star.
Has been killing every day since she joined the team.
And we wanted to share some personal info so you can get to know her a little more.
We asked Alyssa a few questions, here were her answers.
Where are you originally from?
Alyssa: I am from Carthage, IL, went to college at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa
What do you like to do when you’re not at work?
Alyssa: I like to sing and dance all day everyday but I really enjoy a good Netflix binge in my free time
What’s your favorite Type of Music?
Alyssa: Hands down favorite type of music is country
What is your favorite genre of movie?
Alyssa: Favorite movie genre would be comedy because who doesn’t like to laugh for hours on end
Where would you most like to visit?
Alyssa: I would love to visit Nashville in the near future
Drink of choice?
Alyssa: Beer for sure. All kinds but nothing beats local craft beer
Ivan Temelkov – Marketing & Business – Leaders in Business & Marketing
Ivan Temelkov is the CEO of Razor Sharp Digital.
His experience has been working with companies, within agencies and now in his own agency. Listen as Ivan talks about his experiences in navigating his career and moves into business.
In this episode we talk about the transitional journey from working full time to starting your own business.
What Acumen Studio Is Not
It’s important for everyone to understand what WE DON’T DO.
We ARE NOT a design / creative agency.
We ARE NOT a PR agency.
We ARE NOT a copy writing house.
What WE ARE is a strategic content marketing agency that uses search engine and social media data to identify market demand, how that demand is sought, how the channels which deliver answers to that demand present options / solutions and then turn that research into a plan which we execute on.
We ONLY CARE about meeting the goals set.
If you want 30 leads each month, then we’ll get it for you.
If you want to understand what channels have the highest opportunity for new sales, then we’ll figure it out.
If you want us to build the assets and infrastructure to distribution, collect and close new business, then we’ll create it.
We DO NOT CARE about Facebook. We care that Facebook can deliver a sales outcome for you.
We DO NOT CARE about LinkedIn. We care that LinkedIn can deliver a sales outcome for you.
We DO NOT CARE about Email. We care that Email can deliver a sales outcome for you.
Get what we’re saying?!
It’s not about the channel, it’s about what the channel can do for you.
The market tells us if it’s working by engaging and converting with content.
We focus on the goal, what the market is asking, where they are asking it and how the channels choose to present content.
Channels come and go.
Trends in design and copy writing come and go.
Our process focuses on capitalizing on the channels and the tactical trends that will move you towards your goals.
So if you are most concerned with creating a strategy to ensure your business is seen online, drives more leads and closes more business then talk to us.
If you are more interested in the shade of red in your email footer not looking the same on your desktop screen and your iPhone DO NOT talk to us!
All We Do Is Win.