In the first quarter of 2020, when the WHO declared a world pandemic, Canadian charities, like other charities worldwide, were forced to rethink their fundraising activities in a hurry. Events traditionally held in conference centres, hotels, and other in-person venues were suddenly no longer logistically feasible or were not permitted by law. For most non-profit organizations, the logical response to cancelled major fundraisers was to maximize their online efforts. Within weeks of the … [Read more...]
Advertising in Uncertain Times
The world has changed in a few short weeks. Social behaviours that were once normal are now suddenly taboo. People and businesses all around us are re-evaluating — well — everything. One of our staff put the enormity of the change in perspective this morning by asking the team, “Is it just me or do you get this reflexive that’s not right feeling when you watch a show where people are close together?” It turns out, we all felt the same. Only two weeks into the pandemic and our favourite … [Read more...]
Creating the Perfect Email Signature
Your email signature is more than just your sign-off— it’s your digital business card. When you hit send, you are delivering vital information about yourself to the recipient, giving them a sense of both you and the business you represent. Your signature is also a great opportunity to further connect with your contacts and should be treated as a vital piece of your organization’s branding. With email now being the primary method of communication in business, email signatures should be as … [Read more...]
A New Look for HCA Websites
Have you seen the new Home Care Assistance Vancouver website site yet? Since it’s launch in August, HCA Vancouver has seen a nice increase in visitor engagement. In a year to year comparison, people are spending 25% more time on the website and visiting 10% more pages. For the new site, we set goals to provide a better user experience, improve the return on ad spend (ROAS) and create a look and feel that positively represents the Home Care Assistance brand. On all counts, we consider the new … [Read more...]
Giant Media Firms Boycott Google Display and Youtube. What is the fuss about?
You may have heard back in March of this year that giant media firms in the UK got together to boycott ad placements on Google’s Display and Youtube networks causing advertisers around the world to wonder about the effectiveness of their own Google display campaigns. The concern of these media buying agencies is that their clients’ ads are too often published next to inappropriate content. These agencies argue that Google’s automated systems are not doing enough to guarantee the proper … [Read more...]
What does Programmatic really mean?
The term “programmatic” has been around for several years but only recently has become part of the lingo of the online advertising world. So what does it really mean? Programmatic refers to the process of one computer talking to another to complete an advertising transactional operation as opposed to a human calling another human to book an ad campaign. Google Adwords has used “programmatic” technology since inception. Nothing new. You may also have heard about RTB – Real Time Bidding – … [Read more...]
Do experts need a qualification in anything?
Do you have an opinion on this debate? Mark Ritson, in a recent Marketing Week editorial, took to task what he defines as "so-called marketing experts" who have no formal qualification in the field. My issue is with the label "expert". In today's marketplace it so easy to define oneself as an expert with a few articles or broadcast interviews. Just because someone has a megaphone to voice their opinion doesn't qualify them as an expert. Just look at CNN & FOX NEW's contributors. I'd … [Read more...]
The winner of the RIO 2016 Summer Olympics is ____!
P&G’s latest installment in its Thank You, Mom series: Rio 2016, kills it! If you are one of the 17,909,453 persons who have already viewed the YouTube commercial you know what I mean. If you haven’t seen it, you are missing out on storytelling genius. The first time I saw the commercial I was washing the breakfast dishes as my wife was setting up her yoga class on YouTube. The volume was muted but even without sound the storytelling through the video images brought tears to my eyes. The … [Read more...]