Why Give-Back Brands Thrive in Times of Crisis (And How Your Brand Can Get Involved)
People have been obsessed with the end of the world since its beginning. For ages, we’ve churned out dystopian fiction and monster movies—think Godzilla stomping across Tokyo or post-societal collapse classics like Mad Max. From a young age, we’re trained to believe...
Working from home? Here’s how to keep virtual meetings professional
Now that we’ve emerged from the longest March in recent memory (who knew one month could last five years?), many of us are settling into new routines. We’re finding new ways to power our workdays, find work-life balance, and maintain a sense of professionalism. Of...
Marketing with an Environmental Impact Mindset
If you’ve taken in any news in the last twenty years, then you are no stranger to the concept of minding your environmental impact. For brands, assessing their impact and going green can sometimes mean the difference between loyal followers and unhappy consumers. But...
Don’t @ Me: The Dos and Don’ts of Brands Interacting on Social Media
Social media is a necessary component of any brand’s marketing strategy. For some, it’s a necessary evil. For others, it’s the lifeblood of their brand voice. Whatever the case, communicating with your audience on social media is an art. So, how do you perfect this...
Marketing in the reset: COVID-19, health crises, and more
10-min 10-sec read, by Christina Brown In a short period, human and market behavior has undergone massive changes due to the rapid onset of COVID-19, or coronavirus. From running out of stock on staples to the closure of schools to cancellations of major international...
What 30 Years of Bowflex Ads Tell Us About the State of Modern Marketing
Sometimes, looking in-depth at a specific brand can give us insight into the marketing field as a whole. In the case of Bowflex, its 30-year history showcases the changing marketing industry and, even, changing cultural norms. Marketing for wellness brands––any...
COVID-19 Update: Even Google is Quiet
First of all, I and the entire Savy Agency team hope you and your loved ones are well. As you know, a global health crisis is impacting every single one of us. Our lives, our jobs, our kids' schooling, our economy—our 12-month projections—are at a halt, except for...
How Google’s Guaranteed Ads Might Impact Your Brand
Few things in the SEO space are stagnant. It seems as if once one system becomes the standard, another takes its place. Before, it was Google AdWords shaking up the industry. Now, it’s Google Guaranteed ads. So, what gives? Is this new system going to disrupt your...
Coronavirus: How Brands Are Reacting
Brands around the world are working to develop communication plans to respond to the Coronavirus, or COVID-19. As of this morning, schools across the country are temporally closing their doors while even more events announce their cancellations. Brands shouldn't be...
Brand Purpose: How Can You Tell If You Have It?
No brand is an island. Each is connected in a complicated nexus that interacts with people and culture in impactful ways. Brand purpose is how you moor yourself in this chaos. How your brand stays centered, relevant, and meaningful. Consumers are pickier than ever...
Injecting Humanity into Your Medical Marketing
In the digital age, storytelling matters. Even for what could easily be a more analytical, information-forward genre like medical marketing. Your website is no longer just a portal for patients to find your address or look up a doctor. It needs to tell your story,...
Analytics Terminology to Know this Year
Data and analytics terminology can feel like jumbled numbers on a page without the right explanation. The raw data in some monthly reporting might be confusing at first, but once you dig in, the content is invaluable for your brand. There are lots of terms to describe...
The Basics of DAM And Why Your Brand Needs It
If you hold any marketing position, we know that you wear plenty of hats. You can switch from a social media manager to a branded content expert in seconds and don’t even get us started on your 180 to SEO whiz. Another trick to keep in your marketer handbook? Digital...
What You Need to Know About the New ADA Guidelines for Sites
When you create a website or social pages for your brand, the ultimate goal is probably good exposure. You want people to know about your brand, purchase your services, and share your message across their channels. But what happens when not everyone can access your...
How Brands are Tapping Into Emotional Intelligence
Think back on a moment that truly moved you. The colors of a perfect sunset. Time spent with friends and family. The song that was playing during a first date or on your wedding day. Our emotional reaction to moments is tied to our sensory experience of them—and can...
Memes and GIFS: Is This…the Future of Your Brand?
One does not simply create a marketing strategy out of thin air. When turning to memes and GIFs in your brand messaging, it pays off to do a little research. Who is your audience? Is the meme or GIF relevant, or are you just adding to the noise online? What is it...
Branded Entertainment: The What and the How
Lights, cameras, brands. Imagine your product woven seamlessly into the storyline of your favorite television show or movie. What would that look like? Can you picture the audience’s reaction after the piece is released? That was genius, they might say. Okay, time to...
TikTok Branding: Do You Need It To Keep Up?
Brands are ever-changing. So it’s no wonder that branding is as well. A recent report from Talkwalker and HubSpot looked at social media trends for 2020 and how these are changing the brand landscape (brandscape?) as we know it. At the top of the list is TikTok, the...
A Practical Guide to Your First Integrated Marketing Campaign
It’s the launch day of your big campaign, and you’re ready. You’ve purchased the media space, researched the optimal time to reach your audience, and rewritten the content to perfection. But this isn’t a one channel launch. It is an integrated marketing campaign...
2020 Branding Trends: What to Expect in the New Decade
It’s officially the time of year where everyone rethinks past choices and makes commitments for their future. Maybe for you, that means switching up your diet or your career. For brands, a new year can mean a suite of new trends, best practices, and new mediums. If...
Savy Agency Bend has Moved into the Box Factory
Savy Agency Contact: 541-728-8272 Email: christina@savaygency.com FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Dec 26, 2019, Bend, Oregon — Bend, Oregon's longest-standing digital marketing agency, Savy Agency, moves a block down into Bend's Box Factory as an integral step in the...
CCPA: How Californians Are Opting Out of Personalized Ads
Privacy is not just a buzzword. It’s a necessary right for consumers and one that the internet bypasses or ignores all too often. The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) goes into effect on January 1, 2020, and is raising questions about privacy online and...
Sonic Identity: Could Sound Be the Secret to a Strong Brand Identity?
“Audio is just a great medium for advertising because it’s personal, and it’s all happening in your imagination.” The human body has five basic senses: sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing. In today’s world, companies are engaging these five senses like never...
What Is Brand Consistency, and How Can You Achieve It?
Brands are dynamic, developing things. For those in marketing, brand consistency is the end-all-be-all. If you can achieve a streamlined look, feel, and essence, you are doing something right. However, it would be a big mistake to think consistency is achieved simply...
How to Be Heard: Choosing Your Brand’s Best Social Media Channels
Gone are the days that marketers can broadcast the same message across three social media platforms and expect a positive consumer response. The best channels connect you with your brand champions and allow you to represent your brand voice accurately. So how do you...
5 Things You Didn’t Know a Digital Marketing Agency Could Do
So you’re searching for a digital marketing agency to help build your brand. But you might not know exactly what an agency even does. It’s okay—we don’t blame you. It’s a dynamic industry out there. At Savy, we’re always happy to tell our potential clients a little...
Why Your Brand Needs Custom Images to Compete
Brand imagery has come a long way in the digital age. Image-forward social media sites like Instagram have changed the landscape. It’s more important than ever for brands to present images that align correctly with their brand identity and messaging. Stock image...
Are Monthly Subscription Boxes All Hype, or Here to Stay?
If you scroll through any social media site, you’ve probably seen people vlogging monthly subscription boxes unveilings. While these promotional posts may end up looking the same after a while, the companies behind them are raking in big bucks from consumers’ monthly...
Practical Applications for Augmented Reality: Is It Right For Your Industry?
Today’s consumers love their phones. They also love experiences, and these consumers aren’t putting down their mobile devices any time soon. When consumers share their experiences with the world via social media, it can generate buzz and make brands a hit overnight....
Got Organic CTR? 10 Strategies That Will Boost Your Click-Through Rate
“There’s an old joke in the SEO world that if you’re looking for a good place to hide a dead body, the second page of Google is the best place.” Famed marketing guru, Neil Patel, was onto something here. What he means is that the second page of Google is where good...
Content Marketing for Artists: What It Is and Why You Need It.
Spoiler alert: content marketing for artists does not have to stifle creativity. In fact, if done right, it can do the exact opposite and help to cultivate and foster creativity, not to mention awareness for your brand. Art’s varied form—visual, applied, and...
How Instagram Stories Can Boost Engagement and Grow Your Audience
Most of us, unless living in denial of social media, follow at least one Instagram influencer or brand that we admire. You know the page, with the perfect pictures of beautiful people and places, the witty copy and strategic hashtags (especially when promoting a...
Influencers vs. Brand Ambassadors: Which Should You Choose for Your Social Media Strategy?
You’ve taken the time to craft your message, polish your visuals, and launch your brand. Now how do you get it in front of your ideal audience? Considering 40% of the global population uses social media, you might want to start with channels like Facebook, Instagram,...
3 Brands That Are Crushing Experiential Marketing
Future generations of humanity almost always experience the world in vastly different ways than their predecessors. For instance, the number of major differences between generations like the Baby Boomers and Millennials can be staggering. Whether it’s because of...
Will The New YouTube Algorithm Impact Your Content?
Internet algorithms dictate everything we see online. They’re continually evolving, and sometimes that makes it hard to keep up. It’s almost as if new algorithms come and go. Just when we think we’ve figured them out, they’re gone as fast as they arrived. But on the...
How the Future of AI Makes Us More, Not Less, Human
If you were the kind of kid who dreamed about living like the Jetsons, we’ve got some good news for you. Though machine maids and butlers with human-like intelligence still sound like something from a sci-fi movie, AI has become part of your daily experience. It’s...
Virtual Reality is Here to Stay. Here’s How You Can Use It.
Imagine slipping on a headset and arriving at your afternoon business meeting. Or test-driving a car without ever leaving your couch. For years, many industries have viewed virtual reality as expensive, inconvenient, or irrelevant. After all, who has space for a...
Startup Fails (And What We Can Learn From Them)
During the most recent U.S. recession, Mike Kappel found himself in a difficult position. He was a serial entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Patriot Software Company. And he was running a failing business. In a 2018 Forbes article, Kappel recounts the lessons he...
Memories Over “Things”: The Growing Pull of Experiential Marketing
“They may forget what you said — but they will never forget how you made them feel.” —Carl W. Buehner What if a vending machine fail was the key to one of your brand’s most successful marketing campaigns? This is exactly what Orangina set out to accomplish with their...
Structured Data, Schema Markup, and Why It Matters
Imagine trying to learn a new language without studying its vocabulary. Worse yet: what if there was no way to study its vocabulary? You might be able to memorize specific phrases to achieve certain results, but would you understand what you were saying? Would you be...
Personalized Marketing: The Line Between Customized and Creepy
Imagine that you’re walking down a busy city street. As you near a bus station, the screen on the side of the shelter lights up. Its processor collects data from the cell phone in your pocket, greets you by name, and displays a personalized ad for your favorite brand...
Exploring Voice Search SEO: What You Need to Know
“Can you imagine a future with no websites?” This is the question introduced by David Bain, Founder and Host of Digital Marketing Radio, as part of a 2018 panel for SEMRush. For those of us who came up during the dot com boom, the knee jerk answer is a resounding no....
Is Brand Activism the Future of Marketing? A Case for Value-Driven Brands
Anyone who hopped online to buy gear from outdoor recreation giant Patagonia on December 4th, 2017 was surprised by what they saw. Instead of colorful outdoor equipment and scenic vistas, the site featured a black background with white text. That text simply stated,...
Why Does Your Site Need a High-Quality Backlink Strategy?
Every time you type a keyword or phrase into your search bar, you set off a complicated behind-the-scenes sequence of events that ends with your search engine results page (SERP). In less than ½ a second, search engines like Google analyze your phrase, compare it to...
User Generated Content: What It Is and Why It Works
"The secret to the campaign’s success was that it required participation from millions of people around the world. " In 2012 Pete Frates, a lifelong athlete and previous professional baseball player in Europe, was diagnosed with ALS. He was 27 years old. ALS, also...
The Top Reasons Marketing Firms Need More Storytelling
"The golden key to more effective marketing: skillful storytelling." We all have that one friend. You know, the one who turns even the most mind-numbing story (laundry day, or a trip to the grocery store, for example) into a humorous, memorable saga. That friend takes...
Traditional Advertising Firms vs. Digital Advertising Firms
Working at a digital marketing agency, the team at Savy sometimes faces the challenge of explaining exactly what we do. The terms “brand design,” “digital content,” and “Accredited Google Partner” get blank stares and polite but baffled nods. Luckily, nearly everybody...
Brand Disruption Isn’t All About Your Product
Disruptive innovation isn’t a new concept. In fact, brand disruption is such a modern-day mainstay that, in many ways, it has become our singular goal. But as more and more companies compete to create the most revolutionary product, other opportunities for brand...