February 2018

Have you ever seen a flash out of the corner of your eye only to look and realize it was just light bouncing off a window or water body? That head-spinning effect is essentially the goal of all logos, to jump out and catch the attention of passersby. When a logo is fresh and new, it has the highest chance of attracting consumer attention. Over time however, logo trends can become outdated, losing the flare that they used to have. This is why it is important to update your logo from time to time based on the newest eye-catching trends.

Regardless of whether you are updating your logo or creating an entirely new one from scratch, here are 3 new logo trends that will be making a splash for this year:

Simplicity

Keeping it simple is an effective logo trend that is both aesthetically pleasing and functional. While this is not necessarily a new trend, simplicity can be considered the backbone of successful logo design and should serve as a jumping off point. Simplicity in a logo’s design can be divided into two categories: text and design.

Simple text: If your logo is too wordy, you may be losing the interest of passing glances that just don’t have the time to stop and take everything in. Reducing unnecessary text is an important and successful trend that many businesses will be utilizing this year.

One effective method of simplifying text that is storming this year is letter stacking. By shifting a lengthy logo from the horizontal plane to the vertical plane, a consolidated effect is created and the logo becomes easier to digest. If your business simply can’t reduce a single letter from your logo, perhaps stacking is the proper direction to head in.

Simple design: If there is too much action going on in your logo (i.e., multiple shapes or overly detailed pictures), this can be distracting and, in fact, less memorable. Over the past few years many successful businesses have simplified their logo designs to create the memorable ones that we all know today.

Retro-Style Design

Logos that have a retro feel to them are becoming more and more popular for 2018. Trends such as coats of arms are making a popular comeback. Retro-style logos invoke feelings of nostalgia and are associated with heritage, longevity, and tradition. This is important because these three notions establish trust with consumers. When your logo feels like you are a brand that has been around for a significant period of time, customers are more willing to trust your product or service.

Another alluring factor of retro-style logos is that they appeal to a wide variety of target audiences. This is a valuable feature for businesses that offer products/services to a diverse target market.

Color Transitioning

This is a very popular trend. There are two major ways in which color transitioning is being used for this year: gradation and overlapping.

Gradation: When a logo features this color transitioning effect, a feeling of depth is created. Depth is an important effect because it helps the design stand out to consumers. When done properly, color gradation in a logo will create the jump out effect that grabs the attention of passersby.

Overlapping: This is another form of color transition that allows for the use of at least two colors in a logo while still maintaining simplicity. The Venn diagram-esque method of overlapping two shapes with different colors creates a pleasing color shifting effect that is both eye-catching and memorable.

As many businesses know, staying current is important when it comes to being relevant to consumers. If you feel that an updated or new logo design could assist in elevating your brand’s appeal, contact Jessica Chabot, Vice President, Client Services of Millennium Agency at www.mill.agency.

About Millennium Agency

Millennium Agency is a nationally recognized, top woman led B2B branding, positioning, and digital marketing firm who knows how to create value that emotionally influences your customer’s buying decision, giving you the competitive advantage. As your trusted partner in B2B software technology and manufacturing, we provide the branding and positioning framework that make an impact – so you can focus on what you do best – run your business successfully. With offices in Boston and New Hampshire, and a worldwide presence, the professionals at Millennium Agency would like to learn more about your business.  Visit www.mill.agency or book time here.  

Programmatic advertising has been a buzzword in the marketing industry for the past few years, but what exactly is this new trend? With so many terms associated with the trend, it can be difficult to understand exactly what it is.

Programmatic advertising can be generally defined as using an automated system to manage your media purchasing efforts to efficiently reach the right target audiences, at the right time, and in the right place. It encompasses many different facets, Real Time Bidding (RTB) is one well-known form of this new trend.

There are many advantages of using programmatic advertising techniques. In this article we will discuss a basic overview of the trend as well as the benefits it offers.

What It Can Do

Once you have determined your target market and created display advertisements to reach this group, then you can then begin using programmatic technology to set your strategy in motion. The first step is to input parameters surrounding a target audience’s age, gender, social standing, and geographic location. Next, you must determine factors such as which advertisements to use and how much you are willing to budget for, then the software will begin to go to work based on this data.

RTB is a form of programmatic advertising that many marketers are familiar with. RTB uses consumer data gathered on users to automatically buy ad space and present them with relevant information. One example of RTB is the automatic placement of native advertising that has relevant information to the user based on their demographics and interests. This process is fully automated with very minimal, if any, human input needed.

Why Use Programmatic Techniques?

There are many benefits associated with using programmatic advertising techniques to reach you target market. A few of these include:

Increased Efficiency:

With machine learning and AI, programmatic techniques can target audiences by picking up on trends and taking advantage of big data in ways that humans can’t. This form of automation does away with the older method of casting a wide net of advertisements and then homing in on what works and what doesn’t. Instead, programmatic technology starts small and focuses on what ads are working right out of the gate.

Cost-Effective Advertising:

Agreed upon prices allow for more flexibility because advertisers can sign up for minimum impressions or a minimum budget. Cost-efficiency in digital marketing is all about knowing what leads are good leads and how to convert users into these leads and then sales. Marketers that have a good idea of what leads are converting into sales can adjust programmatic methods, and then let the algorithms reach out to these leads. In this way, using AI to place advertisements based on a set budget allows for optimal placement and therefore maximum ROI.

Less Human Input:

Programmatic technology is beneficial in this area because it eliminates human error and provides optimal allocation of time. When programmatic advertising techniques are utilized, human input is no longer needed for things such as sending insertion orders or dealing with ad tags. This allows for more time to focus on strategy and other aspects of marketing.

New marketing strategies are constantly changing the game when it comes to reaching the right audience at the right time. If you feel that your business could benefit from new and exciting ways to strengthen your brand and target potential customers, contact Linda Fanaras, President/Strategist of Millennium Agency www.mill.agency.

About Millennium Agency

These days, it is essential for every business to have at least one social media page, no matter how big or how small their operation is. While most businesses have social media, many businesses do not realize the importance of updating their social pages by consistently creating posts.

If you already have social media outreach efforts in place or are just starting up social media accounts for your business, here are a few tips that will enhance your efforts to grow your following:

Develop a Schedule

Organization is key when it comes to social media outreach. Posting too frequently may be overwhelming for your followers but not posting enough can also lose their attention. Depending on your industry, you will want to find a “sweet spot” for posting frequency based on how often you feel your followers will maintain interest.

A schedule will also be beneficial for brand consistency, a barrage of posts one month and then social media silence the next month is not a good method for reaching followers. When consumers see a steady flow of consistent posts to your social media pages, they will associate your brand with consistency.

Know Your Target Market

Knowing who you are speaking too will keep your posts focused. When you offer a specialized product or service, trying to reach every possible demographic can create either an image that is too generalized or contradictory, so it is best to focus on your specific audience. Knowing the values of your customer base is critical here, so it is necessary to conduct market research on the people who frequently buy from your business as well as your competitors.

Keep it Simple

Posting to every possible social media platform is difficult when it comes to streamlining posts. Some platforms have character counts while others don’t, and some platforms can only be used on a mobile device, such as Instagram. It is best to start with social media platforms that speak to your target audience. For example, if you are trying to reach women ages 35-55, Facebook may be a good choice.

To be clear, there is nothing wrong with having an account on every possible social media platform, in fact it is helpful for reaching more people. The difficult part is maintaining consistency and keeping up with all of these accounts to provide your followers with a quality brand experience. A good way to handle consistently posting to multiple platforms is by outsourcing your social media outreach so that you can focus on the key elements of running your business.

Create Content

Blogs and articles that are published to your website and promoted through social media are a very necessary part of driving traffic to your website. Creating content based on customer values is useful for showing that you are in touch with your followers. Another benefit of creating content on your website is that you will be viewed as a thought leader in your industry, promoting your knowledgeability and reliability.

Diversify Your Posts

It is important not to post about just one thing. If your social media posts are all very similar, your followers will lose interest. It is useful to post about an array of subjects as well as feature a variety of different posts. A few examples of different types of post include:

Posts linking to articles about your industry
Posts that promote the different services or products you provide
Posts that link to your content

By featuring an assortment of different posts, you will maintain the interest of your followers

Listen to Your Followers

Implementing a new social media strategy involves taking time to smooth out the kinks. Understanding what your customers are saying about your business and industry is a part of this process. Be sure to listen to the comments of your followers. Remember, one of the primary reasons for having social media outreach is to show that you are in touch with your customer-base.

Social media for businesses is becoming more and more of a necessity to maintain a competitive edge in any industry. Consumers, now more than ever, are turning to social media to locate businesses suited to their needs. If a new social media strategy is something that you feel could benefit your business, contact Jessica Chabot, Vice President, Client Services of Millennium Agency at www.mill.agency.

About Millennium Agency

Every industry is in a constant state of change, as new and more efficient methods of providing products and services are developed, old methods are phased out. The field of marketing is no exception, in fact it is one of the fastest industries to adopt new campaign methods.

Here are four marketing campaigns that are losing their ability to effectively target consumers.

Non-Personalized Content and Emails

Personalization is becoming a marketing must. Market research has shown that many consumers will overlook or skim past emails that are not specific to them, even if they feature a product or service that would be useful to them. Hello User is just simply not as enticing as Hello Jane Doe.

Targeted emails and ads that feature information relevant to a consumer’s values are slowly usurping the throne that non-personalized content used to hold. With so many ways to gather information on your target audience, personalized content is both an easy and efficient method for getting through to customers.

Purely Textual Advertisements and Emails

People crave excitement in their media. Plain text just doesn’t have the same effect in marketing campaigns that it used to, unless done very strategically.

Advertisements that are finding the most success are ones that feature visual elements such as pictures or videos. Using quality imagery helps your target market visualize your business model far more vividly than if they only had a few words or sentences to go off of.

Excessive Content in Advertisements

With so many forms of media vying for their attention, consumers don’t have time to take in and digest extensive content like they used to. Emails that feature multiple paragraphs or advertisements that feature excessive content and visuals are often too much for a passing glance to take in.

Content that is concise and to the point is the most effective when it comes to consumer action. The goal of an internet advertisement is purely to encourage a user to click on the link to learn more. These short and provoking messages can then link to content that features more substance. Once they have already clicked to learn more, it is much more likely that a user will be willing to read what you have to say in depth.

Websites and Social Media Without Updated Content

A good website and a solid social media outreach are the cornerstone to a successful internet presence for a business but, just like watering plants, it is important to constantly maintain these mediums. If your platforms have not been updated with new and interesting content, it is likely that you are missing out on traffic that could lead to sales.

Websites that experience the most success when it comes to consumer visits and sales are ones that frequently update both their business’ webpages and social media. Updated, interesting content about your business and industry keeps your brand relevant in the eyes of a user, meaning they will be much more likely to come to you when they need the product or service you offer.

When it comes to marketing, the classic saying “out with the old, in with the new,” really is true. Keeping your campaign efforts current is paramount to your marketing success. If you feel that a new marketing strategy could be advantageous for your business, contact Linda Fanaras, President/Strategist of Millennium Agency www.mill.agency.