Tag: Digital Marketing

Rebranding: A Strategic Initiative with Far-reaching Implications for Sustainability and Growth

It’s been a slice since I’ve been on here. It’s because I have recently (well, about five months ago now) started a new job! I’m so excited. It has been the opportunity of a lifetime, and I am learning so much about a new industry and finding myself passionate about the projects I’ve been undertaking. Who is the new company? Delta Water Products! The head office is locally based in Chilliwack and has 14 branches across Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest. I’ve been hired as the new Marketing Manager, and my very first task was to take on the company’s rebranding as it became the parent name to several sub-brands, which required a complete revitalization of the brand.

Now, it’s essential to remember that rebranding is not a mere cosmetic change like a new logo or catchy tagline; it’s a strategic initiative that can redefine a company’s identity, reposition it in the market, and set the stage for long-term success. As businesses evolve, rebranding can be crucial in aligning a company’s image with its vision, values, and the market’s ever-changing demands. Understanding this strategic nature of rebranding can empower those involved to make informed decisions about their company’s future. Let’s delve in to understand better what a rebrand is.

What is Rebranding?

Rebranding is the process of changing an organization’s corporate image. It involves updating or completely overhauling the brand’s name, logo, visual identity, messaging, and sometimes its core values and mission. The goal is to create a new identity that resonates with customers, differentiates the company from its competitors, and reflects its current or future ambitions.

For many companies, rebranding becomes necessary after mergers or acquisitions, market shifts, changes in customer preferences, or a desire to enter new markets. It’s a way of breathing new life into a brand and ensuring it remains relevant and competitive.

What Makes a Successful Rebrand?

A successful rebrand is one that not only captures the essence of what a company stands for but also resonates with its target audience. Here are some key elements that contribute to a successful rebrand:

  1. Clear Purpose and Vision: A rebrand should be driven by clearly understanding the company’s goals. Whether it’s to attract a new customer base, reflect a merger, or reposition the brand in the market, the purpose behind the rebrand should guide every decision.
  2. Consistency Across All Touchpoints: Rebranding isn’t just about changing a logo. It’s about creating a consistent brand experience across all customer touchpoints—from the website and social media to packaging and customer service. Consistency helps build trust and recognition among customers.
  3. Stakeholder Involvement: A rebrand should involve input from critical stakeholders, including employees, customers, and partners. Their insights can provide valuable perspectives on what the brand represents and how it should evolve.
  4. Authenticity: The new brand identity should reflect the company’s values and heritage. A successful rebrand doesn’t mean abandoning what made the brand strong in the first place; it’s about building on that foundation.
  5. Effective Communication: It is crucial to communicate the reasons behind the rebrand and what it means for customers. Transparency helps in gaining customer buy-in and ensures a smooth transition.

Rebranding for Sustainability and Longevity

A well-executed rebrand can significantly contribute to the sustainability and longevity of a company. Here’s how:

  1. Adapting to Market Changes: As markets evolve, so do customer needs and expectations. Rebranding allows a company to adapt to these changes, ensuring it remains relevant and competitive.
  2. Expanding Market Reach: Through rebranding, a company can reposition itself to attract new customer segments or enter new markets. This expansion can lead to increased market share and growth.
  3. Strengthening Brand Equity: A robust and consistent brand builds equity over time. Rebranding can refresh and reinvigorate a brand, increasing its perceived value and enhancing customer loyalty.
  4. Reflecting Growth and Evolution: Companies grow, and their brands should evolve to reflect that growth. Rebranding allows a company to communicate its progress, innovations, and future direction.
  5. Building a Unified Brand Identity: In the case of mergers or acquisitions, rebranding can unify different entities under a single, cohesive brand. This simplifies the brand architecture and helps create a more substantial, recognizable presence in the market.

Case in Point: Delta Water Products Group

A perfect example of rebranding in action is the recent transformation of several well-established brands under the new banner of Delta Water Products Group. With the acquisition of WaterTec Irrigation Ltd., Arndt Motor & Pump Service, and Aquateck West, rebranding and aligning these brands with Delta Water Products and Delta Irrigation was strategic.

This rebrand was not just about a name change. It was about unifying these brands’ strengths and unique abilities to offer a broader range of expertise, products, and services. By becoming Delta Water Products Group, the company has expanded its geographic coverage across Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest and diversified its product segments, including Irrigation (Turnkey agriculture irrigation solutions and products), Pumps & Motors (Groundwater, industrial, commercial, HVAC, agriculture systems), Waterworks (Civil and municipal waterworks, wastewater, and drainage), Wildfire Response (Rapid action to supply big water for structure protection and heli teams), and HD Conduit (Cable conduit, fibre optics, and communication boxes).

This rebranding effort underscores Delta Water Products Group’s commitment to sustainability and longevity. By consolidating under a single, cohesive brand, the company has strengthened its market position, making it more agile and better equipped to meet the needs of its customers today and in the future.

I hope this all makes sense to you! Just keep in mind – rebranding is a powerful tool that, when executed thoughtfully, can increase a company’s relevance, market share, and longevity. It’s more than just a visual overhaul; it’s about aligning the brand with the company’s current and future goals. For companies like mine, rebranding has provided a renewed sense of purpose, a more robust market presence, and a clear path forward in an ever-evolving industry.

We took many steps to execute the rebrand, including building a new landing page, updating email signatures, and releasing brand announcement letters. My next big project is building one unified website to consolidate the brands and represent our group. I’ve shared a couple of different brand announcements I made below so you can understand my approach and the new branding. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me anytime!

The Innovator’s Dilemma

🚀 Embrace Innovation + Disruption = A Lesson for Every Marketer

I downloaded a new app called Headway. It’s a great way to learn about new books, and I recommend it to anyone. Here are some of my learnings over the weekend.

Topic: The Innovator’s Dilemma (By Clayton Christensen)

The main idea is that creating a new market poses less risk than entering an established market. It is also more rewarding. Nonetheless, small new markets can barely satisfy the required growth requirements of larger businesses.

In other words, businesses may overlook game-changing opportunities because their model is primarily to maintain the status quo. 🛳️ To lead the pack, marketers must be forward-thinking, disruption-leaning changemakers.

Here are a couple of definitions to start –

Innovation: In marketing, this is the fusion of creativity and strategy. Innovation is our ability to craft compelling narratives and experiences that captivate audiences, redefine brands, and transcend conventional boundaries.

Disruption: Closely connected to the above, disruption in marketing is the radical departure from norms, leveraging innovative approaches to challenge conventions and reshape audience/buyer behaviour on a larger scale.

So, what’s the takeaway for us marketers? Here are a few key points to keep in mind:

🔍 Stay vigilant: Keep your eyes peeled for emerging trends and technologies, even if your first inclination is to tell yourself it’s too small or too niche of an idea. Do you want to cross over strategy between industries? Why not see how it fits? Run some experiments to test the waters – but before you launch anything, earn buy-in from your team. Your role will be to convince them with supporting data.

💡 Think like a startup: Embrace agility and experimentation. Don’t get too comfortable with your current strategies. See the value for your audience. How does that influence business outcomes? And if there is a misalignment, you might focus too much on activities and output. Your strategy must respond to change, not be static or a quest for perfection.

🗣️ Listen to your audience/buyers, but watch the market too: While meeting current needs is significant, don’t ignore opportunities outside your existing customer base. Seek out different and diverse points of view. Your creative director friend? He might have some powerful assertions worth exploring. Always carry paper and a pen as it provides immediate focus and stimulation – good stuff for your head.

⚡ Be proactive: Don’t wait for disruption to hit you—seek ways to innovate and stay ahead of the curve. And you can do it by yourself! Self-learning can help learners become more autonomous, organized, self-disciplined, and able to communicate. Just remember – cross-collaboration over silos and hierarchies.

What are your thoughts on innovation and disruption in marketing?

Inception Marketing

In a world where businesses fight for attention, inception marketing can cut the noise. This unconventional technique aims to implant desire into your buyer’s mind, subconsciously intriguing them to make decisions.

But how would you approach this?

As per due course, identifying and understanding your target audience is fundamental. Perhaps serendipitously, knowing who your ‘people’ are is riff with classification – demographic, psychographic, and so on. But how do you distinguish character? Dreams? Accomplishments?

Wear their shoes!

Imagine what it’s like to be a member of your target audience. Consider their daily routines, challenges, aspirations, and sources of joy. Empathize with their experiences, and you can gain valuable insights into what motivates them and how your product or service can address their needs.

I’m not saying it’s going to be easy work. It will take time, bottomless curiosity, and creativity to craft compelling buyer personas that will make a difference in your pursuit of growth. You might even have to look the opposite way. Envision your competitor knocking at your door. How would you understand them? What questions would you ask? Then, alas, you can ask the grand question – what message and associations do you want to embed in your target audience’s psyche?

Your answers should create a deep, emotional connection and tap into their subconscious desires, beliefs, and aspirations.

Remember, storytelling is the key.

Evoke sentiment and eagerness and delve into universal themes that address the human experience.

And sometimes broad is better. Subtle and indirect. The goal is to make a long-lasting impact, build brand affinity, and, most importantly, influence their attitude toward your brand in the long term.

What are your thoughts on this marketing tactic?

The 9-Point Channel Strategy

Marketing in an Age of Complexity

Marketing is an environment defined by complexity and constant change.

For example, AI has automated and streamlined processes such as social media management and content creation. Similarly, over the past five years, the world of SEO has shifted away from simply keyword tactics to a more holistic approach involving the rigorous understanding of user intent and experience.

A recent McKinsey study found that 77% of CMOs believe their role has increased in complexity over the past five years, while other research consistently highlights the importance of integrated, customer-centric approaches for increased growth and revenue.

Amidst this frenzy of marketing metamorphosis, we can now say that leaders need more than campaigns. They need systems. They need ways to leverage digital ecosystems while maintaining a hyper-vigilant approach to customer needs and overall growth. That’s where the 9-Point Channel Strategy comes in.

Delving, Developing, and Deducing

This complexity was not theoretical for me – it showed up daily during my Longboard days, when I was part of a small yet mighty team.

A few months into my role, I began to dream about creating a strategy that could answer some of the challenges our team was experiencing – a lack of organization due to poor project management skills, limited human resources to handle social media and email marketing tasks, and most importantly, misalignment and miscommunication with leadership, as well as missed opportunities to collaborate with cross-functional departments.

I wrote a business case and presented it to the CEO.

In my study, I explored all the potential projects and campaigns we could launch if only we were more organized and had more structure to our efforts. It was also the catalyst for doubling our team’s size. After a quick presentation of my findings, my request was quickly approved. I finally had the go-ahead to develop the strategy that had been rattling about in my brain.

A Holistic View

The lack of a holistic view is one significant challenge that spurred the need to develop the 9-Point Channel Strategy.

In holistic marketing, departments and the strategy work together to accomplish shared goals and support an overarching purpose. A holistic stance paired with a transparent purpose is pivotal to scaling efforts and driving incremental volume and revenue.

It allows you to step back and review your work, gaining a deeper and clearer understanding of how inputs influence outcomes. With this perspective, you’ll be better prepared to make thoughtful, proactive decisions. Once you develop a holistic view, you can begin shaping content and messaging that resonates across physical, emotional, social, and even spiritual dimensions. At its core, this unification can lead to outcomes that stand out and make a lasting impact.

The 9-Point Strategy

The 9-Point Channel Strategy is an integrated approach to channel marketing where the primary goal is to understand your market segments and audience so you can deliver campaigns and projects that will produce results, all while driving your mission and vision forward.

By organizing each channel according to activity and assigning roles and responsibilities to the team (RACI chart), you can plan your delivery and create an inspiring experience that results in alignment between identity, delivery, and experience. This framework provides marketing teams with a structured, repeatable approach to align business goals, customer engagement, and brand growth across traditional and digital channels.

The 9-Point Channel Strategy model resembles a rotary phone because every channel (digit) must be dialled deliberately, in a sequence, and through a central hub (budget + analytics) to connect the organization to its customer outcomes (the call).

Why Structure Matters in Marketing

Most marketing teams suffer from one of two extremes: ad hoc creativity with little consistency, or rigid planning that fails to adapt to market shifts. Neither delivers sustainable growth.

The 9-Point Channel Strategy strikes a balance.

At its core, it emphasizes organization, planning, and resource allocation. These are not administrative details; they are the foundations of scaling. A Harvard Business Review study found that companies that link project management discipline with strategy execution are 70% more likely to outperform their peers.

By organizing around nine integrated channels – SEO/PPC, Content, Swag & Signage, Communications and Relationship Management, Tradeshows & Events, PR & Media, Website & Apps, Email Marketing, and Social Media – companies create a roadmap that both grounds their brand and gives teams the agility to respond to change.

From Brand Awareness to Measurable Revenue

Marketing is not just about visibility. Done right, it drives the business. Done wrong, it can degrade the brand and dislodge the customer journey.

So, it’s vital to understand how each channel works singularly and in groups (Channel Groups). Research by Nielsen shows that brands with strong integrated campaigns achieve 31% more effectiveness than those using single-channel approaches.

The 9-Point Channel Strategy is designed to move organizations along this path. It improves:

  • Brand Awareness: By consistently activating channels that reinforce identity and voice.
  • Customer Engagement: Through storytelling, dialogue, and relationship management across touchpoints.
  • Sales Impact: By aligning marketing activity with measurable outcomes such as lead quality, conversion rates, and pipeline growth.

For example, when I applied this framework in past roles, companies saw up to 600% growth in engagement and $25M in new business pipeline opportunities.

It’s critical to understand that this doesn’t just happen out of sheer application – it’s the targeted execution that matters most. It’s like a causeway. You can allocate resources to support your teams, all while understanding your business needs more accurately.

Furthermore, the 9-Point Channel Strategy guides the creation of marketing and sales materials, the development of strategic regional campaigns, and the collection of valuable data using the software and tools you have in place. By investing more time into understanding the potential of your market and the journey your clients take, you can influence product development, boost brand recognition, and more.

You will also improve your breadth of knowledge and meet changing client requirements more quickly and effectively. Client satisfaction will rise, as will your future revenue and profitability. Your reputation will grow as you raise awareness for your company and industry.

The Agile Imperative

No framework survives long if it can’t adapt. The 9-Point Channel Strategy incorporates principles from the Agile Marketing Manifesto, which emphasizes experimentation, cross-functional collaboration, and responsiveness to change.

Five rules serve as guiding pillars:

  1. Focus on client value and business outcomes over activity and outputs.
  2. Deliver value early and often, rather than waiting for perfection.
  3. Learn through experiments and data, rather than opinions and conventions.
  4. Collaborate across functions, not just within silos or hierarchy.
  5. Respond to change by following a static plan.

This isn’t just philosophy. According to AgileSherpas, 42% of marketers now practice some form of Agile marketing, and those teams are twice as likely to report success as their non-Agile counterparts.

To put agility into practice, leaders need guiding principles that balance flexibility with discipline.

Principles for Execution

To embed agility within structure, leaders must:

  • Align closely with internal and external stakeholders through transparency and trust.
  • Encourage diverse perspectives to fuel creativity and innovation.
  • Operate at a sustainable pace, balancing urgency with long-term growth.
  • Empower small, cross-functional teams who are motivated and trusted.
  • Continuously refine brand and channel fundamentals—because agility alone is not enough.

The best marketing programs are not built on one-off bursts of inspiration but on disciplined iteration. As Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn co-founder, once put it: “If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.”

The Call to Leaders

The 9-Point Channel Strategy is more than a checklist – it is a system for growth in an unpredictable market. By combining structure with agility, organizations can achieve clarity, consistency, and measurable outcomes while staying aligned with their mission, vision, and values.

In an era when customer attention is fragmented and competition is fierce, the companies that win will not be those who do more, but those who do better. Integrated and agile marketing is no longer optional – it is a prerequisite for sustainable success. The 9-Point Channel Strategy offers a path to do just that – driving clarity, consistency, and sustainable growth.

If you’d like to explore how this strategy can work for your business, feel free to reach out to me anytime – info@chonafecanlas.com.

Thanks for reading,

Blox.

PS – Below is an example of a preliminary exploration I did for a company. Let me know if you’d like to chat more about it!

The Rule of Reciprocation

Next up – Dr. Robert Cialdini‘s Rule of Reciprocation!

Revelation. I’ve taken up something I’m sure a million (or more) of you do. I’m back to listening to ebooks while driving to work. Haha – and you thought it would be something more complicated! I did it before but found I was getting bored of it. I’m unsure if it’s the drone of narration or my susceptibility to zoning in and out. Probably a mixture of both. Alas, as part of my year of sharing insights, I thought it would make sense to dedicate myself to it again. 

So, today, I want to talk about reciprocity in marketing. From a psychological standpoint, this rule is simple. What you give is what you get. We tend to feel obligated to return a favour or gesture after receiving something from someone else. If I come back from the cafe with a donut for you, you will likely buy me a baked good the next time you’re picking up a coffee. 😉 

In marketing, this sense of indebtedness in our actions, or more specifically, messaging, can steer our audience to feel more motivated or compelled to make a decision that will impact their buying trajectory. For example, as part of our ABM strategy, I put together a booklet and sample kit for prospective customers. The act of sending and receiving the package in the mail is not only thoughtful but leverages something of value, something tactile and beautiful, something helpful and intriguing that, in turn, can help the receiving party better understand where our brand comes from and ultimately, our passion and intention of supporting the design and construction community through not only inspiring architecture but inspiration, in and of itself!

Creating this cycle of giving and receiving strengthens social connections and encourages cooperative behaviour among individuals and groups within communities, small and big. I see it as small steps of action becoming big sips of gratitude and many more meaningful opportunities in the future!

Have you taken a reciprocal step? In what way did it change the trajectory of your day? Your goals? Your journey as a marketer?

A brief Forbes article by Jeff Bradford sums it up pretty sweet – https://bit.ly/3NVpYUd

Not done yet! Reciprocity has even been known to foster creativity and innovation, such as this Adobe example in a short Medium article – https://bit.ly/48McaDl

2024 – The Year of Insights

I want to make 2024 the year to share some insights. I have time! You have time! We all have time! While perfecting pour-overs, tackling big hills on runs, or when driving into work – these are all great opportunities to listen and learn something valuable, even if just one small concept, it could turn into a big change-maker!

First up is the Cube of Creativity by marketing strategist Andrew Davis. This framework can help marketers leverage their creative process to promote innovation and encourage better outcomes.

To apply this shift in mindset, we need to be open to embracing constraints, defined by the four sides of a cube –

1 – Eliminate the Unnecessary
2 – Define a Single, Measurable Outcome
3 – Add Unreasonable Creative Constraints
4 – Raise the Stakes

To learn more, check out this episode of the Social Media Marketing Podcast with Michael (Mike) Stelzner – https://bit.ly/3TV2D8T

You can also find more details here – https://bit.ly/3TRFJiF

Hope everyone is off to a productive and fulfilling new year!

Critical Mass – Studying Team Endurance

When Friday Turns to Saturday…

Member A – Marketing is a constantly evolving landscape. 

Member B – Ideas ignite and fizzle away.

Member C – A structured and creative ebb and flow transpires.

Member D – New campaigns take flight. 

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.

.

.

.

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Evolution.

We seek out different and diverse points of view, embrace and respond to change, and plan only to a level sufficient to ensure effective prioritization and execution. We find ourselves encountering a phenomenon called—CRITICAL MASS.

Akin to when celestial planets align, critical mass is that single yet multifarious moment when our efforts transcend the ordinary and catapult into the extraordinary. It’s a transformative point when our brand’s message resonates with such force that it achieves unstoppable momentum, similar to a cascading waterfall or an awe-inspiring avalanche.

Achieving critical mass can ignite a spark in the collective consciousness of a team, sparking a wildfire of enthusiasm that spreads contagiously through diligent becomings – social networks, word-of-mouth, and media channels. One clever idea can transform into an iconic cultural touchstone, etching your brand’s identity into the minds of engaged onlookers everywhere.

When an idea reaches critical mass, it propels forward and impacts a team’s ability to meet goals.

Here are some ways your team can make that impact based on some common marketing objectives – 

Boost Brand Awareness

As your name, products, and services become more recognized, brand awareness will naturally increase. When your brand reaches a certain level of visibility, popularity, or adoption, it triggers a self-sustaining momentum (critical mass), fostering a positive feedback loop that fuels growth and solidifies your brand’s position in the market.

Obtain New Clients

Your team can focus on targeted campaigns to showcase your USP (unique selling proposition) and differentiators while also highlighting your clients’ success stories and effectively communicating the value of your product to attract a steady stream of interest (demand generation), then ultimately converting that interest into actual sales and new clients (client acquisition).

Strengthen Relationships with Existing Clients

You can contribute to this effort by implementing a preferred client program, personalizing your internal and external communication via channels like social media, email, and content, and creating a detailed plan and strategy around launching new products that address client challenges, needs and pain points. 

Increase Sales

As your market presence and brand awareness expand, so does sales potential. A larger customer base combined with the effective execution of a strategy will lead to more opportunities. Your marketing team can collaborate closely with your sales team to generate and nurture high-quality leads, provide sales enablement materials, and optimize the customer journey to convert prospects into loyal clients.

So, what do you think?

Critical mass is a powerful catalyst for any growing team. By reaching this point of substantial growth and influence, your team’s efforts – recognizing ‘critical mass’ as it occurs and creating models to emulate its course – become pivotal in driving continued success. 

Inspiration can be a behemoth, and it is waiting for y’all!

The Power of Infographics

Be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom!

Capturing imagery + text in an intertwined relationship is fascinating work. There’s something about mingling elements, contrasting colours, and purely expressing a message that excites me.

Infographics are a great example of this type of communication. Well done work leaves me breathless (in a good way). So, to jump right into it, here are some things to consider when creating powerful infographics.

First, a basic definition:

in·fo·graph·ic

/ˌinfōˈɡrafik/

noun

An infographic (information graphic) is a representation of information in a graphic format designed to make the data easily understandable at a glance.

Why do we use them?

Infographics are a great way to communicate ideas quickly and effectively. They help to simplify the process of presenting a message or data and help to establish connections, patterns, and relationships that allow us, as the viewer, to gather specific information.

Why are they important?

Poor content incites boredom. What’s poor content?

Anything that’s too wordy, difficult to understand, or mind-numbingly full of roundabout detail. And it’s not about getting a quick fix. Some of us—me on occasion—enjoy digesting a mouthful of words. Still, no one can deny that pictures make everything easier to take in! 

In 2019, 74% of marketing content contained a visual element. That’s not surprising, considering a whopping 90% of all information transmitted to the brain is visual.

Leaving us to believe that when you come across visually appealing content, you are much more likely to retain it. You might even share it with someone else after you’ve frolicked in its delight. 

Shareability is huge.

Taking inspiration from that which is shareable is also a thing.

I often create based on how much I liked LOVED something. I am graphically illuminated so much easier these days with all the impressive infographics to learn from!

They’re important, guys, for so many different reasons. But to summarize—infographics are important because they help us tell a story in a way that’s accessible to our audience.

Just the words below will let you know why.

Words that your infographics should be –

What’s the blox. way to create infographics?

Follow these steps:

1 – Find an appropriate ‘chunk’ of content you would like to translate pictorially, or that is so dang interesting, it’s already sparking imagery in your head.

2 – Follow your brand guidelines—typeface, colour, spacing, tone etc.

3 – Create to your heart’s content but make sure each element flows into the next. Continuity is critical, or you risk altering the message or even worse, spreading an inconsistent idea.

4 – Aim to make your infographics attention-grabbing and playful. People are much more likely to engage if they’re looking at something that incites positive emotion.

5 – Incorporate text carefully and precisely The text you add should uplift and reinforce your main message. Make sure it supports the imagery you are using!

Now, the fun part.

Here are some infographics I created for Clearbridge Business Solutions.

I am so excited to share these because designing them was such an enjoyable experience. I feel like I achieved what I was going after—visually describing our work and what we want to be known for (our #bestwork). I hope you like them! If you have any suggestions for modifications, let me know, I am always happy to make things #better!

Yearning for more design content? Check out these blog posts:

A Design Thinking Process

Blogging Graphic Design Process

Logo Design

Elevate Your Marketing Approach

It’s been a while since we’ve presented. With everything going on – ‘the virus’ (as my daughter likes to say), working from home and adjusting to business challenged by a paused economy, we’ve put a hold on Marketing Training. To be honest with you, I’m just amazed to hear about some environmental happenings – jellyfish swimming in the Grand canal for example, just astonishing. Perhaps all this social distancing and staying at home will amount to noticeable improvements in our current climate. That’s something that actually matters today. I have a theory on how COVID-19 relates to AI, but that’s my vision, for now, have to figure out how to break it down first before I go off as I do, you know the gist. For now, here’s a presentation on elevating your marketing approach. Enjoy!

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Startup Development

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to break down the steps that were involved in developing a digital marketing startup agency. Now, I don’t have a formal background in business or marketing, so it’s taken me awhile to put all this information together. One thing I know about being a mostly abstract thinker is that, following a logical progression based on reasoning and detail is a lot easier than gathering data that is specific to a certain cause and effect. So, this is my attempt at quantifying and qualifying the work I did at VanWhistle Media. Note: I am no longer affiliated with the company. The reason why I left was that my creative vision did not align with the founder’s business style. The owner is always in charge – #winknudge! Jeremiads aside, I am now identifying with the title Creative Director because my work crosses over the walls of artistry into a very consummate dedication toward design and strategy.

If you have any feedback, I am all ears. Please reach out!

Duration: 6-month contract

Goal: To establish company through brand development and product awareness.

Outcome: Sizing market, understanding market potential and organizational design.

Milestones: 

  1. Startup Development (stages / discovery, strategy, implementation, mid-measurement *wider release required)
    • Concept & Research
    • Commitment & Traction
    • Software application – Pipedrive, Qwilr, Pomodoro, Canva, Basecamp, Ahrefs
  2. Sales & Marketing (stages / discovery, *heavy strategy, implementation, mid-measurement)
    • Working directly with company CEO
    • Development & Launch
    • Sales strategies and marketing approach – solution selling (action), insight selling (aim), prospecting methods and scripts, Letter of Engagement, Value-Based Price Sheets, Mom & Pop Store Spring Promo, Door to Door Mapping)
  3. Creative & Technical Writing (stages / discovery, strategy, implementation, early measurement *wider release and further market research required)
    • Strategic Development (responsible, transparent & accurate)
    • All creative and copy across multiple platforms
    • Campaign Creation – #ourlocalcrew (awareness/brand image), #targetaudience (definition), #thursdaytheory (attraction)
  4. Brand Development (stages / discovery, strategy, implementation *establishing workflow, process & guidelines)
    • Promote brand
    • Promote products/solutions
    • Buyer Persona and Market Research – Brand Concept Kit, VWM Complete Branding Package)
  5. Solution Development (stages / discovery, *heavy strategy, implementation, early measurement)
    • Website Revamp/Rebuild/Build (The Hub Concept)
    • 1st Meeting Form, Digital Marketing Plan, Value-Based Price Sheets
    • Media Kit, Digital Presence Business Model, Step by Step SEO Guide
  6. Content Creation (stages / discovery, strategy, early implementation)
    • Simpler & Larger, Passion & Efficiency, Seller & Buyer
    • The Hub Concept, Digital Collaboration
    • Digital Presence, Make Change Happen
  7. Art Direction (stages / discovery, strategy, implementation)
    • Communication style – branding, project documents
    • Design style – marketing & sales collateral, Media Kit, logos
    • Contract and proposal templates (100% original design and content)
  8. Project Management (stages / discovery, implementation, early measurement)
    • Coordination & Scope
    • Bottom-Up & Kanban
    • To promote and encourage incremental, logical change without triggering fear of change itself