Our guest today is Charity Huff, CEO of January Spring, a digital marketing and advertising agency that works exclusively with niche publishers. Charity has designed and delivered multimedia sales programs working alongside 5,000-plus sales professionals from the media and tech industries over her 25-year career. She and her team have built a proven model of third-party vendor offerings to include offsite digital using a combination of geofencing, device targeting, household targeting, paid social and search marketing. Charity sits on the board of several privately held companies, including Questor, previously known as Swift Communications. Charity, thanks for joining us on Simpli.fi TV.

In this episode, Kyle Duford emphasizes the importance of the creative portion of digital campaigns and how it conveys the message of a brand. He shares that creative is the message itself and the visual expression of it, whether it’s in words, campaigns, or sales messages. Kyle also provides best practices for creatives and highlights the importance of investing in experienced professionals rather than relying on cheap or inexperienced services. Kyle discourages using platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, or AI to create campaigns, but does share some clever ways that his agency has leveraged artificial intelligence to be more productive.

In this interview with Josh Richardson, a marketing veteran with over 25 years of expertise, Josh emphasizes the importance of building campaigns specific to each client’s needs rather than creating generic campaigns. He gives an example of a recent campaign he designed for the Camping Carolinas Association (CARVC), in which he utilized lookback technology, addressable geo-fencing and keyword search retargeting. Josh also discusses the benefits of combining programmatic and search engine marketing to increase direct traffic and brand searches. The interview provides insights on the importance of tailored marketing campaigns and the value of a holistic approach to digital marketing.

In this conversation, David McBee of Simpli.fi TV interviews Shannon Kinney, the founder of Dream Local Digital, about the changes and trends in digital marketing, particularly in social media. Kinney shares that they have evolved from providing social media services to coaching clients on how to be part of the process and improve their engagement rates. They have also seen a growth in demand for a full-service solution, including lead generation and SEO. Kinney’s advice for agency leaders is to meet their clients where they are and provide coaching to help them achieve their goals while also accounting for the cost of quality customer service. Dream Local Digital has helped over 65,000 small and medium-sized businesses and media companies through their services.

David McBee and Adam Mark speak on the topic of combining search engine marketing (SEM) and programmatic media in digital marketing. The conversation highlights the importance of map rankings for local and regional businesses and how SEM and programmatic media can be used together to improve a client’s campaign. Adam discusses how paid search is a valuable tactic but is not a strategy, and therefore programmatic is typically added to provide more visibility and reach for the client. They also discuss how programmatic and SEM have different roles to play in different industries and how programmatic can help increase direct search for clients.

In this episode of Simpli.fi TV, David McBee interviews Erin Strong, the Senior Vice President of Strategic Marketing at BrandMuscle, who has worked with brands such as BMW, Toyota, T-Mobile, Verizon, and many others. They discuss the top tactics utilized in 2022 by local marketers, including social media posting and engagement, email marketing, and paid social advertising. They also talk about the perception of what’s effective and the investment of time and money in in-person marketing tactics versus digital marketing tactics. The discussion provides valuable insights for businesses looking to make the most out of their marketing budget.

Stephon Jacob, a strategist at the Martin Agency, discusses various aspects of advertising and marketing. Jacob is a graduate of VCU Brandcenter, the top master’s program for advertising and branding in the US. He works on campaigns for clients such as Buffalo Wild Wings, Virginia Tourism, and Santander Bank. According to Jacob, social media is the biggest opportunity in 2023, and he believes it is still slept on. He also discusses the importance of creating interesting ads and using AI to help with content creation. In addition, he stresses the need for businesses to focus on their audience when creating ads and campaigns rather than their internal teams. Overall, Jacob’s insights provide a fresh perspective on effective advertising strategies that businesses can use to improve their results.

In this interview with Anthony Clarke, founder of ACC Unlimited, a marketing and creative agency, David and Anthony discuss the hospitality and restaurant industry, with Clarke giving insights on why restaurants fail and how marketing can be used to help them succeed. Clarke cites lack of marketing and a poor location as the top reasons for restaurant failure. He emphasizes the importance of understanding what makes each restaurant unique and customizing marketing strategies to suit the individual needs of each business. Clarke recommends using social media to promote restaurants and taking advantage of the fact that food and cooking are popular topics on the internet. He also suggests that content production is crucial and that producing videos and photographs of food is a way to engage audiences and increase reach.

Ann Kraus interviews Marcie Cerillo, a brand awareness marketing professional from Treehouse Marketing. Cerillo works as the BrandBlaster manager for the media buying team, using out-of-home, traditional broadcast, social and programmatic marketing techniques for their clients who work in the area of home contracting. She has over 20 years of experience assisting small to medium clients with their marketing needs. Cerillo discusses her favorite marketing techniques, which include programmatic advertising and the obstacles of marketing for small and medium businesses, such as limited budgets. She also describes Treehouse Marketing’s unique office space, which features cubicles set up in miniature treehouses, and the challenges of managing a growing team.

David McBee interviews Justin Croxton, the CEO of Propellant Media, a digital advertising technology company. Justin shares his passion for marketing and provides tips on how to make it fun. He also gives advice on how to win larger clients by becoming a strategic partner and having conversations beyond programmatic advertising. Additionally, Justin talks about his experience with pitch competitions and how Propellant Media won a competition organized by The Minority Supplier Development Council, which led to the cultivation of relationships with larger brands like Coca-Cola.