It’s been quite a journey…

As 2015 ends, we at Next-Mark are putting the bow on our 11th year in business. A lot has happened since that fateful day we first opened our virtual doors. We’ve worked with amazing clients from around the world, helping new companies get started, venerable companies change with the times and established companies grow even stronger. In those 11 years, we grew as they did, adding staff and services and becoming a full-tilt bricks-and-mortar operation.

Throughout those years, we worked hard at keeping our clients ahead of ongoing change during what was one of marketing’s most volatile periods, a decade in which businesses and consumers forever changed their relationships.

For instance, during the past 11 years:
Mobile phones went from a convenience to a lifeline to, in some cases, an addiction. Enter Smartphones, and possibilities exploded. Knowledge literally was in the palm of the hand, and marketing could to be anywhere the consumer was. Moreover, tablets have created a new category of interaction and communications.

Consumers were introduced to the era of “talk less, say more,” with micro-content on social media sites that marketing extrapolated into pithy pitches.

They also got over the fear of “big brother” knowing all about them, to the point of expecting curated marketing messaging personalized just for them. With this knowledge, of course, came the responsibility for marketers to actually deliver information that mattered to each individual.

Media and advertisers began offering stories and promotions that require virtual reality glasses to view.

The average American began spending an hour and 40 minutes a day on his or her multiple social media sites, checking feeds and, perhaps, being diverted by personalized ads.

Fighting through the marketing clutter got harder, as democracy ruled and any size, type and quality of company could reach their audiences.

Fragmentation of attention reached new heights, as individuals watch (often recorded) TV while surfing on iPads, glanced at their smart watches and answering every mobile ding. With this came new focus on messaging that matters.

The need for speed increased, as consumers sought information and goods in as few clicks as possible or through frictionless payment integrations, allowing them to go on with their hectic lifestyles and their next online connection.

As we enter 2016, these and other constantly evolving technologies, trends and expectations no doubt will keep marketing on the move, and we will continue to keep our clients out in front.

Wishing you a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!

Experts agree that online marketing is going to grow in leaps and bounds in 2016, with new formats and fresh ways to use old ones. It’s the wave of the future and those that don’t catch it could find themselves left far behind.

While opinions vary as opinions will, following are a few of the trends that the collective brain trust agrees should remain on businesses’ radar for 2016.

• Content will remain enthroned, and unique story telling will keep customers and prospects interested by giving them information they actually want.
• This year’s strategies won’t necessarily work next year. As in all things marketing, Innovation will be key.
• In addition to ever-popular videos, visuals such as infographics will continue their upward movement in marketing plans, delivering messages and reducing landing-page bounce rates.
• Wearable technology will add more details on people’s habits to the information already in all the embedded technologies that collect and exchange data. For marketers, this means outreach that can be behavior-driven.
• Businesses will put more “social” in social media, stepping outside the box to show personality and create conversations.
• There will be shifts in SEO best practices to match changes in technology.
• Web sites will continue to transition to be more user-friendly for mobile.
• Among platforms to watch for relevance to your business:
  • Live streaming video apps – such as Blab, Meerkat and Periscope – that enable a more personalized customer experience.
  • Snapchat, which is all about exclusive content that’s shorter, more to the point and has an expiration date so the old stuff doesn’t linger.
  • Instagram, which is seen as a major player as business marketing moves to mobile.
  • Periscope, an emerging video app is gaining strides in real-time business communications.
  • Expanding search engine capabilities on social networks, such as Pinterest.
  • Mobile payment apps that speed purchases and provide rewards that keep users coming back.
  • Virtual reality devices, such as the soon-to-be-released Oculus Rift, which could take online advertising into a new dimension.

Got it? If not, we do.

Let us know if we can help as you face the brave new world of digital marketing in 2016.

In the mid ‘60s Marshal McLuhan introduced the timeless phrase: “The medium is the message”.   With this, he proffered that the form of a medium embeds itself in the message, creating a symbiotic relationship by which the medium influences how the message is perceived.

A couple of weekends ago, as I was admiring the graffiti murals throughoutMiami’s Wynwood neighborhood, McLuhan’s phrase really hit home. I saw a sugar skull painting for the beverage Oculto (matching their branding ) that was creatively splayed across a wall along one of the areas main avenues. While I applaud their efforts, however, I am unsure if the Anheuser-Busch product stands up to the craft of the art of the mural in this mecca of authentic street art.

Wynwood, the art statement, located in an old Puerto Rican section of the city, has become an awe-inspiring street graffiti museum with works from more than 50 artists representing 16 countries who have covered over 80,000 sq.-ft. of walls. This walking tour will make you rethink of you definition of graffiti.

Six years ago, renowned community revitalizer Tony Goldman set out to transform the warehouse district of Miami by turning the buildings into giant canvases for street art. Starting with a complex of six separate buildings, his goal was to create a public center­ that would develop the area’s pedestrian potential. Now, brands are beginning to utilize the walls for advertising and promotions.

In this day of cluttered media, Oculto is attempting a creative way to make a brand feel and appear hip, young and authentic to reach certain demographics while giving the product street credibility. While it’s not anything new, I think it’s great that street artists can be compensated for their craft, as Luis Valle was for this product. (Let’s hope he wasn’t paid in bottles of Oculto, a mediocre beverage with a hint of tequila, as I have read some unflavorable reviews of the product.}

More often than not, street artists create this art via their passion, sweat and tears. Although it’s often associated with vandalizing, graffiti has evolved into an art form. Typically, it is done metaphorically and goes against the mainstream, and that’s why I love it.

Colossal Media, a leading advertiser in outdoor hand-painted campaigns, is just one example of a company that lets its clients tell their stories though cans of spray paint. Today in Wynwood, you’ll see brands aligning themselves with street culture such as Heineken and Anheuser-Busch (which recently launched a new multi-million dollar campaign that culminated in an over- the-top-celebration at Wynwood’s Soho Studios) splattering themselves across the walls.

Take Shepard Fairey, for example. He’s an American contemporary street artist who created a sticker while studying at the Rhode Island School of Design that evolved into a worldwide street art campaign. From there, he launched his own clothing line: OBEY Clothing.

As far as brands reaching their target markets and trendsetters, Ocluto has done a successful job of align itself with the graffiti medium. The challenge then becomes creating a product worthy of a lifestyle brand – one that consumers genuinely embrace and that doesn’t become a fleeting trend. Next, time I come across a bottle of Oculto I will give it a swig to see if it gives me the same feeling I get when among the walls of Wynwood.

Fortune.com recently published an article detailing how to build a killer brand like Apple. We ate it up, and now want to share our take on the whole thing with you.

It’s no secret that the Apple brand is a beautiful thing. It is strong. It stands out. It is chic. As Apple consumers (the Next-Mark team included), we constantly crave the shiniest, thinnest, fastest products with the most storage space. In short, we love to love Apple. But how do we create brands that consumers love?

If you already have a brand, you’re one step ahead of the game. But it better have some sex appeal. Solid brands — think Apple, Amazon and Starbucks — just sell. Period. Fortune.com refers to these as apostle brands. It takes as little as one photo of a slick new iPhone, major megapixel GoPro or creamy Cotton Candy Crème Frappuccino and we’re practically drooling.

But not all companies can accomplish the foam-at-the-mouth-gotta-have-it-now sensation. The article notes that of the 10,000 multi-million-dollar consumer companies in existence, only 100 can properly claim to have apostle brands. It is these beauties that charm and enchant us by giving us exactly what we want — even if we don’t always know what that is. Sadly, weak brands get cast aside, find a home on the shelf while their prices drop and are then sought after by bargain shoppers.

Synthesized from the book “Rocket: Eight Lessons to Secure Infinite Growth,” the rules, in our opinion, may not be right for every organization. However, they do serve as thought-provoking ideas for creating, and transforming, brands. For instance:

Rule No. 1: Don’t ask your customers what they want (because they don’t know until you show them). We would advise not to discount the desires of the people actually using your product or service, but to leverage your specific knowledge and technical expertise to create something beyond their expectations.

Rule No. 2: Woo your biggest fans (because they’re absolutely worth it). We always advise clients that loyalty goes both ways, and loyal customers need to feel they are recognized and that you won’t let them down.

Rule No. 3: Always welcome your customer’s scorn (because you’ll come back stronger). Yes, this is difficult, but all complaints must be considered – even those that prove invalid. You can never know too much about what your customers are thinking.

Rule No. 4: Looks do count (because people really do judge a book by its cover). Not every company can aspire to the “visual brilliance” that is Disney, but they should, at the very least, appear professional and in touch with their target markets.

Rule No. 5: Transform your employees into passionate disciples (because love is truly infectious). While this rule addressed direct customer service, we encourage our clients to consider every employee as a potential brand advocate. This entails keeping them apprised of where you’re going so they can help you get there.

Rule No. 6: Better ramp up your virtual relationships (because that’s what your customers are doing). It’s a “constant contact” world, and we advise our clients to keep all their circuits open.

Rule No. 7: Take giant leaps (because you’re not going to win with timid steps). We would add the caveat that “fearlessness” cannot be the mantra of every organization. Organic growth is not always a bad thing.

Rule No. 8: Find out what schismogenesis means (because it will save your relationships). It’s like we tell our clients: Brands are not static. They can have lives of their own and require constant monitoring to maintain their place in the market – and their apostles.

Our final piece of advice: Make your brand magical, inspiring, trustworthy, loyal and easy to love.

You can’t have a conversation unless you listen and respond accordingly. Otherwise, there’s no context and participants are pretty much talking to themselves. It’s the same with persuasive writing. To do it right, there’s as much ear-to-ground as fingers-to-keyboard involved.

This philosophy is at the heart of our new tagline, Content to Conversation, which actually is less a line than a circle of ongoing listening and conversing – all with the goal of persuading consumers to choose a client’s product or service.

The starting point is our initial engagement, in which we listen to clients to get their perspectives of who they are, their competitive environment and where they want to go. At this stage, we both collaborate and lead, integrating the client’s insights with our marketing knowledge and experience.

We also “listen” to the competition and market, adding to the client conversation and discovering its differentiators – those things that make them stand out.

We then create a plan that includes content designed to create positive change in the way the client and its products and services are perceived. When done correctly, that persuasive content begins a conversation among the client and its customers and potential customers, selling product, building loyalty and creating new champions.

The cycle is ongoing, as companies and consumers change over time.

There are some constants, however, including the basic rules of the persuasive content creation that forms the core of all messaging. These include:

• Never promise what you can’t deliver or defend. (How many “world famous fries” have you eaten in your lifetime?)
• Speak directly to the audience(s) targeted. (Know their needs; don’t guess.)
• Promote trust in the company through specific, fact-based assertions. (“We’re the best,” doesn’t cut it.)
• Provide the occasional “aha,” the “I never thought of that.” (We all love having new information to share with others.)
• Solve problems. (Everyone loves a problem-solver.)

In other words, leave fluff to the cat, and make strong, compelling arguments based on knowledge and supported by logic.

Be someone worth listening to as a company, and you’ll turn conversations into sales.

We often hear or read about how the marketing world is constantly evolving and changing and how companies must constantly adapt new strategies and evolve in order to remain successful in such transient times. However, what we do not hear enough about, is how public relations has changed, and how companies must modify and tweak their PR practices in order to remain successful. We as a marketing communications organization know that the PR world is in rapid change. The following are a few trends that are pressing organizations and public relations professionals to revaluate their strategies and step up their game.

1. Relationships with Reporters have become Transactional

Whilst working for Next-Mark, I’ve found it has been very important to develop and foster relationships with key journalists not only because it can benefit both parties but also because this can turn a negative story into a positive one. However with that being said, relying on those relationships to get the desired coverage for your company or clients is not enough. Relying solely on these relationships to get coverage does not show that your capacity to understand your companies or clients desired message and how you can fit that into the ever-changing editorial needs of your target publications. A lot of times, timing, relevancy and a degree of creativity can trump relationships.

2. Innovation and Creativity Are Now More Important Than Ever

Today, writing bylines and arranging meetings with reporters and clients won’t allow you to remain competitive in the PR world. This might have worked in the past but things have changed. Today, a good blog post or a creative social media post has the potential to generate as much brand awareness as a well-written story in a news publication. PR professionals now have to be comfortable experimenting with innovative stories, and using a variety of platforms and formats. Generating newsworthy content that journalists are interested in using has become increasingly difficult, so it is encouraging PR professionals to think more out of the box and push the limits.

3. Understand the Details

While I am still early on in my career, one thing that has been clear since I started working in the PR industry is that if you work for an agency, it is of the utmost importance to understand not only the industry in which your clients operate, but also understand the company itself and their desired brand message. You must become a subject matter expert. This has always been the case however, what has changed over time, is how much PR professionals are expected to understand and the reliance on them to make critical and timely decisions. A successful PR expert will develop a deep understanding of the industry and of an organizations products. If you do not do these things, guaranteed someone will be found that will!

Through all the brand communications it has been and always will be important to select the relevant channels and collaborate on the activation. In order to keep up with the times we must be brace and creative in all areas of communication, and while everything is changing, we need to remember to incorporate strategy in all that we do.

Trying to navigate the PR world – I know we can help – just ask!