Category: Branding

13th February 2024

Authenticity in Sustainability Marketing in Ireland 

Author: Jane Dane, Brand Director at Idea

In Ireland today, where environmental consciousness is paramount, I firmly believe that authentic sustainability marketing isn’t just important, it’s essential. I’d like to share my perspective on the importance of transparency and the integration of sustainability into your brand’s story, especially with regards to sustainability reporting in Ireland. 

Authenticity in Sustainability: Beyond Buzzwords  

Authenticity in sustainability for me is about a truly honest and transparent approach. It’s about openly sharing not just the successes but also the challenges and the ongoing journey towards a more sustainable future. In Ireland, as green initiatives gain momentum, genuine communication of your sustainability narrative is crucial. This approach has been used really effectively by Apple in their recent Mother Nature ad, it really shines a light on tangible actions rather than vague promises. 

This helps Apple to call out greenwashing as well as building trust with an audience that values honesty and integrity.  

So, what does this look like in practice? 

  • Authentic Language: “We’ve reduced our carbon emissions by 15% this year, and we’re actively working to address the remaining challenges in our European supply chain.” 
  • Inauthentic Language: “We’re leading the way in sustainability,” without providing specific data or acknowledging areas needing improvement. 
  • Transparent Reporting: “Our sustainability report details both our successes in renewable energy use and the difficulties we face in water conservation.” 
  • Vague Claims: “We care for the environment” – a broad statement that lacks specifics or evidence of actual initiatives. 
  • Engaging Stories: Sharing a detailed case study about a specific sustainability project, including challenges, solutions, and real outcomes. 
  • Generic Statements: Using generic or overused phrases like “going green” without backing them up with concrete actions or results. 
  • Consistent Messaging: Regular updates on progress, setbacks, and future plans in sustainability efforts. 
  • Inconsistent Messaging: Making a one-time announcement about a sustainability goal, but failing to follow up with progress or results. 

Remember that it’s important to provide tangible evidence and be open about the journey in the full interest of full transparency and integrity. 

The Art of Storytelling in Sustainability  

In my experience, storytelling in sustainability marketing is an incredibly effective tool. Narratives about the real-world impact of sustainability efforts help brands connect with their audience on a human level. This can be achieved through customer stories, behind-the-scenes insights into sustainable practices, or impactful community initiatives. It’s all about informing, inspiring, and evoking a sense of shared responsibility and action. 

Navigating the Pitfalls: Greenwashing and Overcomplication  

A major challenge in sustainability marketing is greenwashing – making exaggerated or false claims about a company’s environmental practices. In Ireland, where consumers are increasingly savvy about environmental issues, maintaining authenticity is crucial. Additionally, while sustainability is complex, it’s important to communicate in a way that is clear, concise, and accessible. 

Sustainability Report Design in Ireland

An essential aspect of communicating sustainability is the design of the sustainability report. In Ireland, where visual communication and design aesthetics are highly valued, a well-designed sustainability report can significantly enhance the impact of your message. But it’s not just about the report itself; it’s about how we can extend its reach. 

Creating compelling web and social assets from the report can transform key data and insights into shareable content, making the information more accessible and engaging.

This approach includes: 

  • Infographics and Visual Summaries: Converting complex data into visually appealing infographics that can easily be shared across social media platforms. 
  • Interactive Digital Features: Developing interactive elements such as clickable charts or animated statistics that can be featured in online campaigns. 
  • Snippet Videos: Crafting short videos that highlight key points or achievements, perfect for platforms like Instagram and LinkedIn. 
  • Engagement Drives: Interactive campaigns such as Q&A sessions, webinars, or live discussions on platforms like LinkedIn or Facebook, encouraging audience interaction and feedback. 

By doing this, we engage our stakeholders in a conversation, creating a ripple effect that extends far beyond the report itself. This approach increases our sustainability efforts’ visibility and helps to position us as a thought leader in sustainable practices within our industry. 

Who is doing it right? 

I often turn to examples of Irish brands that have successfully integrated sustainability into their brand story and reporting. These case studies can offer valuable insights and inspiration and include Bord Bia, An Post and The Credit Union. 

Conclusion: The Road Ahead in Sustainability Marketing  

Looking ahead, I see a growing focus on people-centric storytelling and the importance of effective sustainability report design in our field. Collaborations with influencers and sustainability thought leaders are likely to increase, using their credibility and reach. Comprehensive sustainability reporting, communicated through well-designed formats and backed by effective campaigns is becoming a crucial part of communication strategies in Ireland and beyond. 

Let’s explore sustainable branding together.  

If you’re looking to enhance your brand’s sustainability narrative or report design, please  get in touch with me at jane@idea.ie 

Let’s discuss how we can support your journey in sustainability. 

Author: Jane Dane, Director at Idea 

 

How to Start a Career in Social Media - Idea Digital

26th April 2023

How to Start a Career in Social Media

Starting a career in social media can seem very daunting. Over the course of the last five years, there has been a huge increase in people applying for social media and content creation related roles. This may make newcomers feel like it is harder than ever to get their foot in the door. We are here to give you some tips and best practices to help you during the beginning of our journey into social media management. 

Throughout this blog post, I will share my best practices when looking to start a career in social media and content creation. The one thing I’d like to state before starting, is, to ….

Online Courses

There are many college/university courses on the market that would set you up well for entering a career in social media management. If you are not in the position to start university or if you wish not to go to university, there are many options online that you can undertake, such as the Digital Marketing Institute

However, I have listed below some other recommendations if an accredited course isn’t a good fit for you.

Never Stop Learning

One thing to remember when looking to start any career in marketing, is that you should never stop learning! You may have the qualification from college, university or an online educator but that doesn’t mean that you’re guaranteed a job straight out of graduating. Once you have completed your main qualification, it is a great time to continue learning. There are so many online courses which I will list down below that are free and can add to your CV to show that you continued to educate yourself and continued to learn, continuing to upskill more even after you had received your initial degree.

  1. Google Analytics Academy 
  2. Hubspot Academy
  3. Semrush Academy

These added certificates and licenses will add to your resume and will show the ambition that you have, the self guidance that you have and the determination and willingness you have to learn more.

Get Creative

One of the biggest tips I can give is to get creative, to not do what everyone else is doing. The great thing about marketing is that it’s very creative and although you don’t have to be the most creative person to succeed with a career in marketing. It is the perfect industry to be able to express yourself in different ways and below I will explain one of the best ways that you can get creative to create your own experience and stand out from everyone else when trying to land your first job and start your social media management career!

Self Made Experience

This is the best piece of advice that I could give you, is self-made experience. Let me explain this in a bit more detail! Self-made experience is taking your own initiative to create experience that can add to your CV to show a potential future employer the hard work that you put in and the passion, initiative and willingness you have to learn.

One of the best ways to do this is to start producing content on a Social Media Platform of your choice. In my opinion, the current best platforms to do this on are LinkedIn, Instagram or TikTok.

Speaking simply from my own experience, during my last semester of college, I decided it would be a great time to begin working on a piece of self-made experience that would help me when going for my first post-graduate job. I set up an Instagram account that shared fashion advice and college experience, which tapped into an audience that related to where I was at in life, building a community of loyal followers. To a potential employer, this helped show my experience in growing an audience online, growing a presence and maintaining a level or trust with the audience. All skills that are very valuable in your marketing career.

It also shows a future employer that you have taken the time to manage a community outside of working/studying and have shown that ambition that a lot of employers will appreciate and will help you stand out amongst others. I think that is one of the beautiful things about starting a career in social media management compared to other Industries, you get the ability to create your own experience and have it on your CV to show that you are trying and showing your experience through the services that you offer your clients and whether that be sharing social media tips on LinkedIn or whether it’s fashion content on Instagram, building a following, building a community, will definitely stand with you when you go apply for a job in social media/marketing.

These are all the best practices and tips that I would give to anyone who is looking to start their career in social media or in marketing in general. Always make sure to not put too much pressure on yourself, to have fun, enjoy the journey and I’m sure you will find the perfect role for you!

Follow us on social media to stay up to date with the latest social media trends.
Also read our blogs for latest news, opinion and tips for branding and digital marketing strategies that help you grow your business.

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Building a Strong Brand Identity

27th March 2023

Building a Strong Brand Identity

What is Brand Identity?  

Your company’s brand identity is built up with a number of things, it’s what your brand says, it’s values, it’s how you communicate to your audience, it’s the feeling people get when they view your product or service. All in all it’s the personality of your company, and it’s the promise you make to your customers. 

The original term “Brand” comes from the mark that cattle ranchers would make to brand their ownership on their cattle. Nowadays the idea of the word “Brand” has evolved into much more than just a symbol or a name. 

A brand is a set of features that separates your company from other companies and/or its competitors. It helps communicate to your audience what it is that you do, and how you do it differently or better. Often a brand is comprised of a name, tagline, logo or symbol, visual design language and a brand voice.  

As Wayfair Senior Brand Manager Jared Rosen puts it, “Brand identity is more than just finding the right logo to place on coffee cup sleeves or mount above your front door. It’s about crafting a personality that amplifies the core elements to your brand’s DNA. Today, the most magnetic brand identities scale across digital platforms, IRL experiences, and even naturally converse with real customers.” 

In conclusion, your product or service will leave your customers with an impression. Your brand identity is the process of shaping that impression.  

Brand Identity Examples 

 Coca-Cola 

Audience 

With Coca Cola having so many different products and types of their drink I feel that their audience is everyone. They have a product that suits anyone and not like any other brand they communicate with the viewers with emotion and create a stronger bond. 

Brand Identity 

Coca Colas brand is based on its name, logo, colour and shape. All of these aspects make up its identity. It is an important factor influencing Coca Cola sales. The brand has is known all around the world as they have built their image on a universal value, happiness. The brand is perceived by customers as a part of daily life and of their life style. Coke is this globalized product that has the same taste customers are looking for and which give the same pleasure of refreshment during break together. 

Nike 

Audience 

According to the company’s business overview, Nike brands each have distinct target audiences. The main Nike brand is most targeted towards athletes, selling related products such as shoes, sporting equipment and clothes. The Converse, Inc. Brand markets more casual goods and is described as targeting premium customers. The Jordan Brand is also a premium brand, but it is targeted more broadly at athletes. 

Brand Identity 

Nikes target audience is mainly aimed at athletes and exercise. Nikes’ identity is made up with a few different aspects such as its name, logo, slogan, colour and shape. The brand is well known around the world to be associated with anything regarding athletes, sports or fitness related. Nike is perceived by its customers to be a way of life, to train hard and never give up. Its slogan “Just do it” has no need for its iconic swoosh logo anymore and is aimed at the not so fit audience urging them to get up and get exercising.  

IBM 

Brand Identity 

IBM has one of the world’s most recognizable logos. Maintaining its integrity is an essential part of protecting the brand. The 8-bar blue logo is more than a signature to our ads or a name on our products and services. To customers, it is a promise that represents trust, value, quality and advanced technology. In a world of confusing, competitive ads and product claims, the IBM logo is uniquely reassuring, conveying authenticity, reliability and quality. The IBM logo is present on every form of IBM communication. 

How to create a Brand Identity 

Find your target audience 

Behind every successful brand is a well thought out brand strategy. Part of that strategy begins with finding your target audience, these are the type of people who will be more attracted to the product or service you are supplying. Once you have determined who that audience is you can then tailor your mission and messaging to meet their exact needs.  

The key focus here is to get specific, figure out the behaviors and lifestyle of a precise audience. For example if were to target “All Moms” this would be too broad. But if you niche your choice down to “Single Moms who work full-time” this gives you a much clearer scope to create your content.  

Research competitors in your Industry  

When researching your competitors be careful not to imitate what it is exactly they are doing. You should only be aware of their brand strategies, and use this knowledge to differentiate from them. The end goal is to stand out from your competitors and convince your audience to purchase from you over them.   

Looking at your competitors or leading brands, study how well they have thought out their brand strategies. Have they missed anything? Are they sending the right message? See how you might do things differently or even better. A successful needs to be clear, recognizable and easy to remember.  

Establish your brand mission and vision  

Crafting a clear expression of what your company is passionate about is extremely important. This is your companies reason why, its everything we have talked about previously until now. But by having those steps completed previously, makes this step easier to achieve.  

Your brand vision can be an aspirational statement that your company hopes to achieve one day. What you hope your company will bring to the table, and how it can benefit/change your target audience.  

Your brands mission is what’s happening now, the building blocks you are placing to achieve your brands vision. Everything from your logo, tagline, voice, messaging should reflect what mission and vision are all about.

If you are looking for the best marketing agency in Dublin, Ireland, visit us today. To know more about our works, click here

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What’s New in Social Media so far in 2023

31st January 2023

What’s New in Social Media so far in 2023?

Social media is always evolving and it can be hard to keep on top of all the changes! We are here to bring you the most up-to-date social media updates throughout the year, starting with all the updates that have occurred throughout the first month of 2023, how many did you know?

LinkedIn Carousel

An update majority of LinkedIn users have been waiting a long time for! LinkedIn is slowly rolling out its new ‘ Create a carousel’ feature. Gone are the days of creating pdf files to load to LinkedIn to appear as ‘slides’! LinkedIn is sticking to their promise of making the platform easier for users to both use and thrive on.

LinkedIn Carousel - social media trends 2023

Instagram Scheduling

Instagram is currently trialing its new in-app scheduling feature. Users who have a Creator or Business account can now schedule their Reels, Carousels and Posts up to 75 days in advance, although this update is still in its initial stages, it is being welcomed by a lot of avid Instagram users.

Instagram Photos making a comeback?

According to the Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, Instagram will be putting the focus back on photos after admitting they focused too much on video content over the last few years. This is a very welcomed change for many content creators around the world!

Instagram Modes

Instagram have announced new ‘modes’ including Quiet Mode, Hidden Words for Recommendations and Not Interested Multi Select.
Quiet Mode will allow you to select days and times where you don’t want to receive any notifications from Instagram. Allowing you to choose the days and times you will be more active on the platform.
Hidden Words for Recommendations – Hidden words currently exist in DM’s and comments but the feature is now being expanded to Recommendations.
Not Interested Multi Select – In the past, ‘Not Interested’ was a feature on the explore page by pressing down on an image that you were not interested in and selecting ‘ Not Interested’ to allow instagram to know not to show content like this to you in the future. The new feature is an update to this, where it now allows you to multi select many images on your explore page that you feel don’t align with you.

Instagram Modes - social media trends 2023

TikTok Audience Insights

TikTok has now launched a new Audience Insights feature in their Ads Manager, to allow you to deep dive into specific demographic details about your audience.

Twitter Swipeable Feed

Twitter is now rolling out a swipeable feed, giving you the option to look at a “For You” feed, or a “Following” feed. Very similar to TikToks famous For You feed!

Twitter Swipeable Feed - social media trends 2023

Twitter Updates Search

Twitter is looking into updating its search feature to now allow spelling mistakes. In the past, the Twitter search field would come up empty if you made a spelling mistake in your search. To search for something or someone on Twitter, you needed to make sure your text was 100% correct. Thankfully, they are updating their system to allow for any slight spelling mistakes, allowing you to still receive the results on your search!

That’s all the social updates for January 2023, but we are sure that there will be many more to come as 2023 unfolds! If you are struggling with your social media or would like to find out more about our social media services, click here to find out more.

Follow us on social media to stay up to date with the latest social media trends.
Also read our blogs for latest news, opinion and tips for branding and digital marketing strategies that help you grow your business.

Digital Marketing v’s Traditional Marketing

16th November 2022

Digital Marketing Vs Traditional Marketing

Let’s start off with an explanation of what digital and traditional marketing are:

Digital Marketing – digital marketing is any marketing that is conducted digitally/online. For example, social media ads, ppc advertising and email marketing, digital marketing is arguably the most valuable type of marketing and is widely used by the majority of companies today.

Traditional Marketing – traditional marketing is any type of marketing that isn’t online such as billboard ads, television ads, newspaper and radio ads. This type of marketing is known for being the best to reach a local audience.

Deciding which marketing technique to use is largely down to the business themselves and the audience they are trying to reach. When trying to decide on which best suits your business, it is common to choose elements of both to help reach your target audience. For instance, a business may find that their audience is very active on Facebook and YouTube and can best be targeted through those platforms but are also avid radio listeners and will find it beneficial to also reach their audience through radio, taking elements from both forms of marketing can ensure you reach your audience holistically.

When people think of traditional marketing, they tend to think of it only being used for the older generations, for people that are yet to utilise social media and other online platforms, but traditional marketing is still a very important tool for businesses to take advantage of, especially if your goal is to reach a very local audience. Ads can have a longer lifespan when conducted traditionally rather than digitally and the audience can be much easier to reach, for instance from billboards than an ad seen from scrolling social media.

Digital marketing is seen as the most popular form of marketing in recent years, due to the increase in online users and usage. As the world is becoming more digital it is inevitable that digital marketing will become a choice for many businesses as it can be a much more cost effective method of marketing than traditional, not to mention the benefits of being able to report and see exact returns on your investment along with the exact audience that is seeing and engaging with your ad, all very valuable information for a business to have.

Which leads to one of the biggest disadvantages of traditional marketing is the lack of reporting and visible correlation between the return on your investments and the increase in revenue/new clients, whatever your key metrics and goals are. Another big drawback for traditional marketing is the lack of interaction with your consumers. There are very few ways a business can hear the thoughts of its consumers on its marketing efforts and their impact on the intended audience. This is where digital marketing excels! Digital marketing allows businesses to see their target audience’s thoughts and perceptions of their marketing efforts along with being able to interact and create a relationship with potential customers and their larger target audience.

Another advantage of digital marketing is your ability to edit and change ads after they have gone live, contrary to traditional marketing where, once you click print or sign off on your ads, they are out there for your audience to see, no edits can be made without going through the whole process of printing/recording the ads again. With digital marketing, you can easily go in and edit your ads, whenever you like.

It can also be argued that one of digital marketings drawbacks is the fact that it relies on technology and if technology acts up or shuts down for a period of time, your ad isn’t reaching your audience at all, that is why a lot of businesses will take advantage of elements of both traditional and digital marketing at once.

A lot of businesses may switch to digital marketing, not only for its cost-effectiveness and reporting benefits but is also a great way to market if you are looking to market to a more global audience compared to traditional marketing’s benefits of a local audience.

Overall, it will completely depend on your business, your target audience, your budget and your goals. They can work hand in hand or separately depending on the audience you’re trying to reach and the objectives your business sets out with.

Check out our Branding and Digital marketing Services:

 

What makes a great logo - Idea Digital

14th October 2022

What makes a great logo?

Going by a dictionary definition, a logo is “​a design or symbol that a company or an organization uses as its special sign.”  

Businesses need a way to differentiate themselves from their competitors. They achieve this with branding. Uniquely styled visuals for their advertising, packaging and messaging. The logo on its own is not the brand but the symbol used to communicate which company owns a particular good or service. It’s a trigger for your awareness of that brand and all that you know and feel about it to come into play. The logo is the identifier of a brand. 

Brand awareness is everything that attracts and connects people to a company’s products and services. How it makes people feel owning, wearing, using and supporting these brands adds to our sense of style, status and identity. All brands have a logo, a brand mark when advertised and shared becomes recognisable as belonging to one company over another. 

So what does makes a great logo? All the designers at Idea will tell you that logos should be unique, memorable, scalable and also work in one colour. Big brands the world over have been updating their logos to look cleaner and stronger at smaller sizes, spurred on by digital and how these logos look on your mobile screens. A quick search on Google will show how big companies such as Airbnb, Google, Spotify, Burger King and Mastercard have all simplified their logos to make them more confident and digital friendly. Interestingly Guinness went the other way and employed Design Bridge to add detail, character and life back into the harp symbol which brilliantly reflects the brand’s heritage. 

Great logos are memorable, versatile, appropriate and timeless. It needs to make sense of what it’s representing and be strong and confident when compared with the competitors. The easiest way to explain the thought and rationale that goes into logo design is to show you some of our own. Here are 3 logos we designed this year with a brief description to explain why we designed them to look like this. 

Simply Blue Energy 

Simply Blue Energy - an Idea Digital Project

A company focused on blue growth strategies to fight climate change by developing marine resources such as Floating Wind Farms, Wave Energy and Aquaculture. Inspired by the wind, our logo derives from a wind rose plot diagram, a chart that is used by meteorologists to measure the speed and direction of the wind.  

Dynamic Partners 

Dynamic Partners - an Idea Digital Project

A collective of experts who work with business leaders and their teams to give them the skillsets and tools required to enable them to thrive. Bringing insight and resource to the relationships between people in organisations takes conversation and a belief that we are better together. This logo captures these conversations by using speech bubbles to represent the D and P of Dynamic Partners with a Venn diagram overlap. The meeting in the middle is where real understanding and change occurs. 

The Arc Collection 

The Arc Collection - an Idea Digital Project

A company dedicated to the curated selection, development and management of short-term luxury rental properties in gateway getaway? cities across Europe. An exclusive and elegant logo designed to visually represents its name by using arcs to create the letters. 

Let’s consider and review some of the most successful logo designs in the market today. 

Nike Swoosh - an Idea Digital Project 

The iconic “swoosh” of Nike evokes a feeling of movement, progression and speed. Very appropriate for a sportswear brand. The symbol of a logo should be highly visible and memorable. Ideally a logo should be so recognisable that a client can recall it even after one quick glance. 

Fedex - an Idea Digital Project

The Fedex logo is famous for the arrow hidden within the letters. The negative space created between the letters E and x creates a forward pointing arrow that evokes a sense of speed, destination and perseverance in achieving goals. I got into a conversation with my sister about how to brand companies and what makes a great logo, a prelude of sorts to this article and I happened to mention the hidden arrow in the FedEx logo. She came back to me a few weeks later all excited about how she finally saw the arrow and now that she has seen it, she can’t unsee it. Small discoveries like this really elevate a logo in the mind of a client. Understanding and appreciating the meaning of a logo and how it cleverly ties back to the relevance of the company really helps to build brand confidence. We all like clever, it shows consideration, thought and understanding. We want our brands to understand our needs and to feel satisfied and better off by our purchases. 

 

When I mention 3 stripes which company do you think of? It’s like asking which company uses the tagline ‘Probably’. Taking something so simple and building a brand that is supported by something so powerful, memorable and simplistic is the gold standard in logo design. The three-striped logo is the cornerstone of Adidas branding. 

This mountain emblem conveys the idea of overcoming challenges, scaling mountains and pushing through to achieve your goals. In the same way we designed the Dynamic Partners logo to feel more approachable by using lowercase lettering for the name, Adidas starts with a lower-case letter to emphasise its sportswear products are accessible for everyone. 

Great logos are intriguing, eye catching, memorable and remarkable. Some may think that a logo should visually represent everything your company is or does, but I hope this article shows this is not what to expect from a logo. Nobody needs to look at a logo and see all of that. Ideally if you can visually capture the essence of the company or product in a simple, emotive and impactful way, it can create an attraction for the brand which is ultimately good for business. 

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Choosing the Right Social Media Channels for Your Business

15th September 2022

Choosing the Right Social Media Channels for Your Business

Choosing the right social media platforms for your business can be difficult, it can be hard to know where to start or what you should be looking for to make sure you choose the right ones. 

To help, we’ve compiled some tips to make the decision a little clearer for you. Here’s some things you need to take into account:

1. Your Audience

Knowing who your audience is, is probably the most important thing to take into account when you are choosing which social media platforms to set your business up on. One of the main reasons businesses create social media accounts is to put themselves in front of their ideal audience, so knowing what social media platforms your audience uses is key to succeeding on social media.  For example, if you are a B2B company, the majority of your target audience may use LinkedIn as their primary social media channel, so that may be the best fit for your business.

2. Your Goals

What are your social media goals? This is something you must focus on setting out before you establish which social media platform you will use. Depending on your social media goals, it may make it clearer which social media channels will benefit your business, for instance, some social media platforms are built for brand awareness while others are built to drive conversions. Understanding your social media goals and what it is you want to use social media for, will help you decide on which social media channel will help you yield the right results.

3. Research Competition

Research all of your top competitors. What social channels have they chosen, what type of content are they posting, which of their content performs best with their audience, and which social platform are they seeing the best progress on? These are all questions you must answer when looking into your competitors,  to help identify the right platform for your business.

 

4. The content you want to create

Examine the type of content you want to create. Different content works better on different social channels, for instance, if video is something you want to focus on, you may find YouTube and TikTok the best platforms to use.  Each social media platform has a particular type of content that it is known for or that performs best. Take a look at what content you have and what content you have planned to use/create in the future, using this information you will be able to determine the best social media channel for your business. 

Once you have completed the points above, it is now time to compile the information together to help you make an informed decision as to what platform aligns to your goals, has the highest presence of your target audience and fits with the content you want to create.

Also read our other interesting posts:

Do you want New Leads or do you want a New Website?

28th May 2020

Do you want New Leads or do you want a New Website?


Since the COVID-19 lockdown was implemented, we have noticed an increase in digital projects at Idea. Many of our clients are using this time to pay more attention to their digital marketing.

The vast majority of companies have a website and are using some digital marketing tactics, but many aren’t sure what to change, what to do next or where to even start. Sometimes it’s thought the best approach is a new website, but what about everything else? How do you get people to your website, or more importantly, what do you want them to do when they get there?

For many companies, the investment in a website represents a large share of their budget, not to mention the time and effort that goes into a new website (trust me, we know!). 

For most companies, digital marketing activities should be generating revenue and profit for your business. Sales start with leads.

At Idea, we can help you look at your current digital marketing activities and see how you can optimise them to deliver more leads.

These could include:

  • Targeted Google Ads campaigns delivering the right traffic to your website
  • Developing a Lead Generation campaign using landing pages and online advertising
  • Improving and increasing your activity on the right social media channels
  • SEO activity to improve your website’s performance

So where to start? Have a look at your digital presence and ask yourself: where are we at and what do we want to achieve? We can help you with this, from performing a Free Website Audit, to giving advice on what digital marketing activities you should be considering. We can even develop a Digital Marketing Plan for you.

Lastly, it’s worth noting that there are some government grants to help businesses, like yours, improve your digital marketing performance.

So, how can you generate more revenue by increasing leads from your digital marketing? Drop me an email at ciaranfox@idea.ie to see if I can help you answer that question.

website860x557

16th July 2018

Depend on Digital: Adding Value To Your Property Development

Having a strong digital presence is an essential element of property marketing. This medium can be hugely effective by strengthening visual effects and reaching and capturing a wider audience. So what steps can be taken to increase sales and encourage interest in your development?

Website

Having a visually appealing and functional website is a crucial element of your campaign. By developing a an engaging website, you can showcase both the property and its surrounding area with impressive images and videos.

Engaging, informative content through your website on the property and its location will increase brand recognition and boost sales enquiries. Well-researched copywriting throughout the website (e.g blogs which capture themes such as local amenities, interior design options) will help potential buyers visualise living at the property.

Technical content such as interactive floorplans, sitemaps and building specs can also be included on the website to further interest and engagement with prospective buyers.

Social Media

The growth of social media over the last 5-10 years has been astonishing to say to the least. Our mobile phones capture the majority of our attention – so it’s important to have a strong social media presence to capture the attention of potential property buyers. Without a social strategy you missing out on a cost effective platform to reach your target audiences.

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn are very useful for interacting and engaging with your target market. These platforms can showcase the property and location with striking images and video, while also providing valuable and engaging content through posts and captions.

Using paid advertisements, as well as organic content, can be effective for targeting potential customers based on demographic, location and online behaviours.

SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is how you can organically optimise your website to appear higher up in search rankings. By having an effective SEO strategy, you can direct prospective buyers who are searching for property towards your website.  A large majority of your potential customers are researching their future homes online- don’t miss out on targeting them. You can reach users organically by employing both onsite and offsite SEO.

Onsite SEO includes copywriting website content which strategically targets relevant keywords. There are also several technical onsite SEO techniques we can use, including meta tag optimisation and site speed analysis.

Offsite SEO includes running an ongoing campaign on creating backlinks on domains which have high authority ratings, and making optimisations to any Google Map listings that are relevant.

Find out more about SEO here.

AdWords

Google AdWords (soon to renamed Google Ads) is a very effective way of increasing your online presence, through both Search & Display.

Search:

Search advertising can help ensure your website is at the top of the search rankings for relevant identified keywords. An example of some keywords could be: “Mortgage calculator, places to live in Dublin, Greystones new homes etc.”. Ads can be targeted to audiences who Google have identified as searching for property based on their web browsing activity as well as a full range of demographic information.

Display:

As property is often sold on a visual basis, display advertising is hugely important to:

  1. Make users aware of your new property development if they are not searching
  2. Keep the development in the user’s attention if they have already visited your website before, by placing visually appealing ads on other websites that they visit.

You can target certain demographics, keywords on websites or individual placements based on website categories, while there are also placements available outside these networks, such as Daft and MyHome.

 

A strategic digital marketing campaign can have a huge impact on property sales and brand recognition – don’t miss out on these essential sales tools.

Need help with your digital marketing strategy? Why not benefit from our experience? Get in touch – info@idea.ie

 

Andrew Browne, Account Manager

 

20th June 2018

If it Ain’t Broke – Why Run with a Rebrand?

 

For many the risk of renaming and rebranding something that is much loved and highly successful can be too great – but for others the danger of becoming ignored and no longer relevant is even greater. So what companies are choosing to give themselves a refresh to stay ahead of the game?

Grass Roots Ambassadorship

Circle K, formerly known as Topaz have begun rebranding the 420-strong network of forecourts around the country. This rebrand is part of a global rollout and is expected to take 18 months to complete with an estimated total cost of €55m (with €35m being invested in the development of four new sites)

Niall Anderton, managing director of Circle K in Ireland, said the Irish rebrand was the final leg of a Europe-wide rebrand by the Canadian group, which also owns the former Statoil network on the continent.

Grass Roots Ambassadorship

The company’s investments to date go beyond the rebrand and new sites – with money also being spent on new pumps, new coffee machines and new premium products. “We have to stay investing in the market so our consumers get the best offers,” said Mr Anderton. Circle K is currently running a television and outdoor marketing campaign this summer to highlight the new brand and the change from Topaz to Circle K.

The current marketing and advertising shows the value of engaging employees with the rebrand by making them brand ambassadors. Ultimately, no marketing strategy or advertising campaign will ever communicate the brand as favourably, or as sincerely, as engaged employees, amplified by social media. Understanding your employees and empowering them with marketing savvy and social media freedom can incentivise ambassadorship and sincere messaging. Your workforce can double-up as brand evangelists, inadvertently communicating the awesomeness of your company to the world!

 

Here are some successful rebrands you may remember happening within your lifetime.

Marathon to Snickers

In 1930 Mars introduced Snickers, a chocolate bar consisting of nougat, peanuts and caramel coated with chocolate and named after the favourite horse of the Mars family. The bar was marketed under the name “Marathon” in the UK and Ireland until July 19, 1990, when Mars decided to align the UK product with the global Snickers name.

Marathon to Snickers

BackRub to Google

Larry Page and Sergey Brin, students at Stanford University in California, developed a search algorithm – originally known as “BackRub” in 1996. The Google company was launched in 1998 by Page and Brin to market Google Search, which would later become the most widely used web-based search engine in the world.

BackRub to Google

Opal Fruits to Starburst

Opal Fruits were introduced by Mars in the UK in 1960 and introduced in the US in 1976 as Starburst. In 1988 the UK name was changed to match the US brand in order to keep a constant brand name.

Opal Fruits to Starburst

Blue Ribbon Sports to Nike

On January 25, 1964, Blue Ribbon Sports was founded by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight. On May 30, 1971 Blue Ribbon Sports officially became Nike with its iconic “swoosh” logo to represent the sound of speed.

Blue Ribbon Sports to Nike

 

Your brand is vital to your company’s potential, and must be instantly identifiable for the successful future of your business, it’s important to get it just right!

Have questions about your company’s brand? Why not pop in and chat to Idea?  

Stephen Gibson, Creative Director

Get in touch

Ready for some lightbulb moments?