A CEO of a multi-multi-million-dollar company leaned back in his chair, and confessed:

“Ok, no offense, and I don’t want to tell you about your industry, but marketers are just a whole lot of trouble. If I hire someone in-house, they pull out their bag of tricks for two years, and then leave. If I hire an agency, I get a bunch of reports that don’t make sense at a high level. I don’t want more tricks.”

This wasn’t a rookie CEO complaining about his first marketing hire. This was a leader of a global company, and he was DONE.

If you’re running a company that measures success in millions or billions, you’ve probably felt it too:

• The revolving door of in-house marketers. They arrive with a short list of approaches that worked for them at their last gig, run their “playbook,” then head out. Then the company is left holding a half-built system with little vision and no continuity. Plus, starting over every couple of years can feel like a waste of resources.
  
• The fog of agency reports. All you have to show for your marketing spend is endless charts, graphs, and jargon with no clarity on whether the needle is actually moving. You see lots of marketing “results” that never make sense in the boardroom.
  
• The disconnect at the top. Marketers speak in campaigns. CEOs think in value. That gap turns marketing into “trouble” instead of an opportunity for growth.
  

It’s exhausting. You’re left asking: Why is this the only department I can’t get reliable scorecards and repeatable playbooks from? Why is this the one that always seems to be in the middle of change management?

The Real Problem: Structure (Not People)

Marketing fails because it isn’t built like a system.

• A single in-house marketer is a single point of failure. Their playbook leaves when they do.
  
• A traditional agency is a black box. They take your money and hand you data, but not clarity.
  
• Both models treat marketing as a collection of campaigns, not as a division of the company.
  

Meanwhile, CEOs live and die by systems. Finance has playbooks. Operations has scorecards. Sales has dashboards. But Marketing? Too often, it’s a mystery.

No wonder CEOs are rolling their eyes.

The Shift: Marketing as a System

You need to make your marketing less like a shortlist of platforms and more like a division of the company.

That means:

• Playbooks built for the enterprise. Clear, documented strategies that outlive any one employee.
  
• Scorecards CEOs can actually read. Reports tied directly to financial outcomes, not vanity metrics.
  
• Continuity of leadership. A team structure that doesn’t walk out the door after two years.
  
• Alignment with enterprise value. Marketing not as a cost center, but as a driver of growth and credibility.
  

At the end of the day, this is the dynamic CEOs are really looking for.

Our Model: The General Contractor for Marketing

At Fidelis, we run marketing like an agency runs its own business:

• We build playbooks that guide strategy across brand, media, and campaigns.
  
• We maintain scorecards that tie marketing activity to bottom-line outcomes.
  
• We remove the single-point-of-failure problem by putting a full team behind your business.
  
• We operate at the high level—where CEOs need clarity and confidence—not just at the campaign level.
  

This isn’t about the next viral play or strategic ad placement. It’s about running your marketing with the same discipline as finance or operations.

What CEOs Should Demand

If you’re a CEO, stop tolerating “trouble” disguised as marketing.

Demand:

1. A documented playbook that survives employee turnover.
   
2. Scorecards tied to enterprise value, not vanity metrics.
   
3. A partner who operates with the same accountability as your own leadership team.
   
4. A marketing system that builds trust in the market and drives enterprise growth.
   

Marketing doesn’t have to be the problem child in the boardroom. Done right, it can be one of the most strategic assets you own.

The billion-dollar CEO who voiced his frustration was right—most marketers are trouble. But the answer isn’t to give up. It’s to demand a partner who understands your level, builds systems that endure, and runs marketing as if enterprise value depends on it.

Because it does.

The post Why Marketers are a CEO’s Headache appeared first on Fidelis Creative Agency.

The young man drooped over, elbows on knees, as he eyed the cigarette nearing its terminus at the orange-brown filter perched in his left hand. He exhaled, and without making contact, he continued. ‘The biggest problem with spaghetti lancets, and I’m sure I’m not telling you anything, Dan, is that they’re brittle. You pack a hundred of them into the cellophane wrappers or little paper board boxes – there’s gonna be product damage. I see thousands of broken lancets move through this shop every day. Chips and dings. Complete fractures.’ He coughs, ‘Had a shipment in from Cleveland last week – looked like a pine forest floor; bits and pieces were everywhere. Goddamn-mess-like-you’ve-never-seen. An explosion.’ He looked up and smiled. ‘But…no complaints, those kinds of disasters keep me in business.’

The young man in front of me, Pedro, couldn’t have been 30 years old, it was hard to tell, though. He clocks 10-hour days in his sole proprietor (just outside) downtown Houston warehouse, a small sign is the only indication of what exactly goes on inside: Javier Spaghetti Repair. It’s a very dark interior. He’s the only employee. He says he has an owner’s mentality because – he owns it. He owns the only spaghetti repair shop remaining in the US. The business came down to him honestly. It’s a legacy shop. He owns a multi-generational food repair business started by his grandfather Javier in 1952. His father, George, took over the reins in 1977, but it landed in Pedro’s lap after his father, George, passed from pneumonia in January 2021. I asked Pedro about his predecessors.

“2021 was tough. I’d been apprenticing until 2017 – when my pop asked me to take over the operation. He provided the much-needed oversight and worked on the pookie.’

‘Wait, the ‘pookie‘?’ I had to ask.

Pedro smiled, ‘The food grade adhesive – for the lancets. It’s a family secret. We mix it first thing every morning. It came over with my grandpa when he landed fresh from Oaxaca. 

I nod like I understand. I ask questions as though any of this is normal. I smile like I’m playing along – as though this is a world where there is any market demand of any size whatsoever for ‘repaired’ flour and water composition spaghetti noodles anyone can buy for $1.35 per 16 oz package at the grocery store. 

“And why do you keep calling them ‘lancets’ when you’re clearly talking about ‘noodles’ – about spaghetti noodles?’ I was easing into the enormous pile of questions I’d compiled on my flight to Houston to interview this strange, mystifying operation.

‘Industry term,’ he answered, ‘noodles can be anything, Dan – the base for pad thai, dumplings, ramen, tortellini, we’ve seen people call gnocchi ‘noodles’ if you can believe it. Morons.’ Pedro glances at his cell phone but keeps talking, ‘The industry had to get more specific, more granular than the catch-all phrase that means everything and thus…means nothing.’

It’s getting hot, so Pedro nods to the door. We move through a dungeon-like corridor and my eyes struggle to adapt. As I follow him in, I trip a bit on a random bucket lid on my way to the assembly desk under the spotlight. He apologizes, but I’m fine and still on the hunt for answers. I lob another question to try and get movement, ‘Right, you mean the food repair industry?’

‘Yeah, NAFRA (North American Food Repair Alliance). There are only two companies that show up to the annual anymore: a donut repair shop outta San Bernadino and a fruit repair operation somewhere in Florida. Anyway, as I was saying – this stuff was all handed down to me, man. These guys who went before me gave me everything they had – they taught me about flip fractures, protein striations, and end-cap star formations. I didn’t have a clue about any of this when I started and they were working with the good stuff back then, the old world spaghetti, the old stock, the four-ingredient models – not this low-grade crap the manufacturing plants are slinging on shelves these days. Take a look at this tripe.’

Pedro tosses me a box. I catch it…barely. ‘Read it. What’s in that box?’

I tilt the box down to the desk light. ‘Semolina (Wheat), Durum Wheat Flour. Vitamins/Minerals: Vitamin B3 (Niacin), Iron (Ferrous Sulfate), Vitamin B1 (Thiamine Mononitrate), Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), and Folic Acid.’

‘That’s alien shit, right there.’ He laughs, ‘You don’t mind if I get back to it, right? I can keep talking, but I’m backed up already.’

‘Sure. So what’s in non-alien-shit spaghetti – or the ‘old stock’ you mentioned?’

Pedro is picking up speed – his hands fly around with tweezers and adhesive (the pookie) – the lancets seem to ‘cure’ under a specific blue hue light.  ‘Flour. Eggs. Olive oil. Salt.’ He pauses for a few seconds. ‘That’s four.’ He continues, ‘Do you really care?’

“Yes, of course, I wouldn’t ask otherwise,’ I shot back. He took a call and I began to realize that the more he talked, the more questions were multiplying, not shrinking. Pedro ended his phone call and opened a new box of noodles. “Where were we?” he asked.

“Pedro, I think I understand this much: you run a dinosaur business that seems impossible in this century – in almost any century for that matter – fixing a low-cost, low-grade consumer food product. Your customers are …who- the public? You serve mass-market consumers from a different point of sale? I mean, who is paying for this, why are they paying for this, what are you charging for this, geez… the postage and transit alone….?!’ The questions were flowing now. I couldn’t have been more confused and that was obvious. Pedro never looked up, he continued to dab ‘pookie’ on pieces of the lancets and filled in the barely noticeable chips and divots. He was quiet and unbothered, so I continued, ‘There just can’t be real demand for this – for your ‘art’ or the ‘old ways’ or… help me out, here? This isn’t possible. The whole category of ‘food repair’ is, forgive me, preposterous!’ Pedro worked quietly.

Finally, he began to speak quietly.

‘Why did you come here, Dan?’ he asked.

“I told you on the phone. I read an article in the Boston Tribune that mentioned Javier in a piece spotlighting the 10 craziest businesses in America.’ I left it at that.

“Yeah, but nobody from Boston drove down here to talk to me. You’re the first. Why?” Pedro opened another box.

“I just – I wanted to see for myself and I wanted to know if your whole thing – if this is a joke or something. I know it isn’t. I see that now. But I still have no idea how you’re in business.” I doubted very much whether I was going to get a straight answer- he wasn’t giving me anything.

“Javier matters to Alisha, Dan.” He pointed to a framed letter with a little girl’s photo paper clipped to the side. It was a note from a little girl describing how her family in San Antonio had fallen on hard times and in a scribbled hand, she wrote to express her appreciation.  “Javier mattered to my ancestors. And whether you’re prepared to hear or not, friend, we need food repair more now than ever. I know our numbers are dwindling, I know that. But, I suppose that you have no idea about what we discard. The United States discards more food than any other country in the world: nearly 120 billion pounds every year, Dan. That’s like, what- 40 percent of the entire US food supply – that’s 325 pounds of waste per person? Maybe you didn’t know that food is the single largest component taking up space inside US landfills – that’s just 22 percent of municipal solid waste (MSW) – does that seem like a lot? It certainly does to me.  All told, the amount of food wasted in America has an approximate value of nearly $218 billion – the equivalent of 130 billion meals.” He dropped his implements on the desk and flipped his magnifier specs up to look me dead in the eye.

“So, you tell me, Dan – do you think Javier Spaghetti Repair has a little part to play in this ever-maddening world? Does Javier get to take up space in this globalized, mechanized, industrial wood-chipper of a civilization – America in the 21st century? I think we do.” Pedro cleared his throat and brought his voice even lower. “I know we do.”

“That’s just it. There is no ‘we.’ There’s just you, Pedro. I know you think this is important work. I can match you there – sure. But I don’t know how the market can justify the existence of Javier. This place can’t possibly generate enough revenue to stay in business -or come close to turning a profit. It just…it can’t…what am I not seeing, Pedro? What was last year’s revenue?”

“I have no idea.” Pedro sat expressionless.

“You have no idea?” I whispered.

“No. I don’t actually charge for the work.”

“Keep going,” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

“I have a great uncle. He handles everything. The building is paid for – it’s in a trust. My Tio takes care of all the rest – I just fix spaghetti.”

“Keep going, Pedro” I raised my voice a bit and was more forceful. We were finally getting somewhere.

“My grandfather’s family had purchased some stock in the 1950’s and they set him up. Some of that money bought more stock in the 1970’s and it did relatively well – and then he bought Apple shares in 1994. Like – he says he bought so many shares of Apple in 1994. Those were some great moves. That’s what keeps this thing going – keeps us doing what we love. I’ve got a girl, Anna Marie in Dallas, we’ll get married soon enough and I’ll have a kid and he’ll keep the thing running. It’s in the blood, Dan.”

“It’s in the blood…(I shook my head) and what’s in the pookie, Pedro?”

“Now that’s a family secret. We have a few, you know.”

“Does your Tio even charge for the work?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think so.” He looked back down at the desk. His hands jumped toward the tweezers and he clicked his specs back down to meet the bridge of his nose. “Does that answer all your questions? Is that enough for your article?”

“My article? Yes. I think it is. I’ve had just about enough of all of it. I just discovered the only multi-generational trust funded philanthropic spaghetti repair operation that’s ever existed or will ever exist on this planet. It’s entirely too bizarre to be remotely true.” 

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As you catch yourself fumbling on your words in response, you realize it’s a pretty fair question. 

So, here’s how we’d lay it out for her. 

In a world where businesses compete fiercely for attention, standing out is key. Take a trip to the grocery store, for example, and you’ll encounter hundreds of different brands in a single stroll through the aisles. Why does Grandma always reach for her beloved Raisin Bran over all the other cereal options? Well, there’s a high chance that it was branded with her exact tastes and preferences in mind. Every product on those shelves has been strategically crafted, planned, and executed to have its desired effect on the right people. Behind the scenes, creative agencies have been working hours on end, planning with ornate detail, to create the brands you know and love.  

One of the core functions of a creative agency should be to help businesses establish their brand identity. Think of a brand as the feeling people get about a business that they can’t quite explain. Creating that feeling, and making sure it’s warm and fuzzy, takes work. Developing a strong brand involves establishing who the company is and who they’re trying to target, which lays a strong foundation for all future marketing tactics. As we always say, “If marketing is the strategy and tactics of asking a girl out, then branding is why she says yes.” At the core of it all lies the ability to understand the target audience and implement strategies that resonate deeply with them. Once a creative agency has collaborated with their client to create a solid brand, it continues to help its client shepherd that brand with great marketing that speaks to the hearts and minds of consumers. Sometimes, a creative agency may have to dig deep into the nitty gritty with its clients, even if it means causing a bit of friction at first. Once the client’s brand looks right and sounds great, then they’re on track to drive revenue.

Explaining the scope of work that creative agencies handle is a bit more difficult. On any given day you might see one team crafting an adrenaline-pumping commercial for a BMX bike company, while in the next room, another team is designing branded Advil bottles for client conferences. You might hear “Media Team” and think “Video and Photo” but they’re also planning content and scheduling social media posts. Creative agencies can handle everything from naming businesses to utilizing real-time bidding (RTB) data reports to leverage programmatic ad exchanges. It’s not just about shooting videos and making logos; it’s about building and maintaining brands that speak to needs. 

So, next time you’re at the grocery store, take a closer look at the products on the shelves. Notice how the brands make you feel and think back to the creatives who have spent their days wondering what font will spark something in a millennial woman’s health-conscious heart, or what design will speak to a 32-year-old businessman with 2 kids. Whether it’s in the storyboard room or the design department, every aspect of the process is tangible, real, and important for cultivating that feeling brands create in their ideal customers. Creative agencies are full-service, creative powerhouses, equipped with a diverse team of experts ready to help you accomplish your business aspirations. 

That’s a creative agency, Grandma.

The post What The Cuss Is A Creative Agency?  appeared first on Fidelis Creative Agency.

First and foremost, the people want the truth. This might be why influencers are winning the ad game right now. In an article by Jake McKenzie, he reveals “A recent report shows 24% of Gen Z women and 16% of men are guided by influencers when it comes to purchasing decisions.” People want advice from people they can trust, and who is more trustworthy than Beatrice in sweatpants with 3 kids skipping around the house (to the right target audience, that is)? It’s easier for us to trust those we relate to or those who are authentic. “How do I portray myself as authentic or trustworthy?” you ask. Well, you might just need to be yourself. This is where the no gimmicks or illusions come in. In a world full of broken promises, people crave honesty now more than ever. The first step you can take is to tell your story. As McKenzie stated, “Storytelling is an opportunity to be transparent, personable, and give your brand a human face.” Revealing that little bit of spunk in your brand can showcase the personality that your audience is looking for.

Now you’ve got a heart behind your brand, what’s your next step? We know that consumers appreciate brands they resonate with, but how do you reach that point of connection? When rummaging through all the insights, we discovered nostalgia can do a lot for a marketing strategy. Whether it’s reviving classic designs, tapping into retro themes, or sprinkling in some funky tunes from the good ole days, there’s a palpable craving for a connection to the past. Take it a step further by creating a bridge between the past and the present, and you have a strategy that strikes a chord with a wide range of consumers. There’s no better way to grasp your target audience than to trigger their emotions. McKenzie emphasized,  “Value-based storytelling that aligns with their individual lifestyles, passions, and beliefs shows you truly understand them.”

That morning’s discussion on generational cohorts transformed into a pivotal exploration of consumer behavior and preferences. Embracing the insights gained, it is imperative to adapt your marketing approach to align with the values and preferences of your target audience. Understanding different cohorts isn’t just a conversation; it’s the key to staying relevant and thriving in the ever-evolving landscape of consumer dynamics. The common piece that ties all of this together is that everyone wants someone they can trust. Don’t be the brand that holds back.

As Polonius wisely said in Hamlet, “This above all: to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”

https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/effective-generational-marketing-is-about-telling-the-right-story/

The post No Smoke and Mirrors: Authentically Connecting appeared first on Fidelis Creative Agency.

Austin founded Dynamic Drains of Texas (later Dynamic Drains) in 2014. Before pursuing his dream of establishing his own plumbing business, Austin had gained 20 years of industry knowledge and experience, which he transferred into his own company. Although he had a business name conceptualized, he lacked a vibrant visual identity. He came to us communicating that he felt disconnected from his brand, thus hindering his ability to effectively market his services. Our job was to help Austin deeply connect with his perfect market by pushing Dynamic Drains to Look Right, Sound Great, and Drive Revenue.

The Need

Increasing competition in the market had Austin Taylor exploring his visual presentation and all his communication materials. Dynamic Drains of Texas had an established reputation and a well-trained staff, but Austin wanted a fresh look, a tighter message, and a better pathway forward. Everything about his company was on the examination table. He knew that 80% of service calls originated from women property owners and he needed to be an approachable option for this demographic.

Dynamic Drains needed more than just a digital marketing facelift; it needed a complete identity overhaul. We hoped to surpass Austin’s expectations so he could advance his business beyond Brenham and into the heart of central Texas. Making a plumbing company stand out with a visual identity that matches the quality and professionalism of its team. As Dynamic Drains expands its fleet, home offices, and staff, it is poised to do so with a strong foundation.

The Approach/Results

In order to help Austin Look Right and Sound Great, we went through a full brand workshop and visual identity package. The workshop results laid the groundwork for a complete visual overhaul, including the design of a new logo, website, and various marketing materials. The comprehensive approach aimed to create a brand that not only reflected the professionalism of Dynamic Drains but established a strong visual identity that Austin could display proudly. 

Once Dynamic Drains Looked Right and Sounded Great, the next goal was to Drive Revenue. In July of 2019 our collaboration turned into a full-service integrated marketing partnership. 

We began the year with a new strategy. We wanted to be ‘at the top’ when people were searching for local plumbers online. Our goal was to show up prominently within Google’s featured LSA, sponsored paid search, as well as organic search. This would reinforce the brand to users searching and add authority to the Dynamic Drains name. After this plan was in place, we had to solve a visibility issue. We asked ourselves, ”how do we highlight a plumber amongst a multitude of plumbers?” We knew Austin and his team were more competent than their competition, so our mission was to communicate that to the market with a touch of comedy.

Our team workshopped a commercial to help Dynamic Drains stand out. We sent our media team to spend the day recording at Austin’s shop. The end result, was this:

This commercial circulated amongst Austin’s target audience, landing in the lap of anyone who might be in the need of a plumber. Being tool agnostic, we ran a CTV campaign to get the campaign to the right audience. It has been reported that the commercial was seen in the previews before a film at the Brenham Westwood Cinema. What a win. 

Nine out of ten times, Dynamic Drains secures the top position in the LSA ranking. We have confirmation of this through daily checks by our digital tech. This singular tactic has independently yielded an impressive 454% return on ad spend. We found that half of all users arrive to the Dynamic Drains website via organic avenues (SEO), and another quarter is attributed to search results (the Google search terms). This is the kind of thing that excites us. More importantly, the client is thrilled to DRIVE REVENUE that keeps driving their business forward. Dynamic Drains is a great company, with a great team, and we are honored to be a part of helping them deeply connect with their target market. Frequently we will see their branded truck pass by our shop and it warms our hearts to know another plumbing issue is about to be solved. 

The post Marketing Case Study: Dynamic Drains appeared first on Fidelis Creative Agency.

1. There are SO many tools

According to a recent study, there were over 9,900 marketing technology tools available in 2022. That number is staggering, particularly because there were only 150 available in 2011. Business is booming, baby! That being said, it can be absolute chaos trying to navigate the world of marketing today. That’s why we’ve found the most effective approach- structuring your marketing strategy around your goals rather than specific tools. We call it being “tool agnostic” and it has shaped our strategy immensely.

2. It takes serious time and effort

There’s a learning curve. It’s often hard to see the results of your efforts immediately. Good marketing requires a concerted effort to remain faithful, keeping up that long obedience in the same direction to see your strategy through to the results. Most platforms have a 7-14 day ‘learning period’ before your efforts can gain real traction. Because of this, it’s hard to keep up the momentum once you’ve gotten your team on board with the strategy. Getting up to 70 mph on the entrance ramp of the highway is a lot harder than coasting at 70 mph on the highway, right?

3. There are so many consumers

The market is packed with people looking for products and services. Because so much of successful marketing hinges on a deep understanding of your target market, nailing down your exact target is crucial. The answer cannot be everyone, but it can be extremely difficult to decide who it should be. 

And that’s not all.

Depending on your industry, there might be laws severely restricting your marketing efforts and it can be scary to know how to navigate them. Are you a service or a product? Should you speak from a positive or negative perspective? Do you understand how to speak to pain points? Do you know how to nail down your differentiator?

It’s a crazy world out there! Luckily, we can guide you through the process and develop a strategy tailored to you.

The post Marketing is Hard appeared first on Fidelis Creative Agency.

When building a marketing strategy, you should start by identifying your audience. It is the foundation that everything else builds upon. To help that sink in, here’s a helpful visual. 

We like to frame branding and marketing in terms of asking a girl out-

“If marketing is the strategy and tactics of asking the girl out, then branding is why she says yes.”

How? Picture this- you’ve been eyeing that girl from your local coffee shop for weeks now and you’ve finally worked up the courage to ask her on a date. How will you do it? Throw rocks at her window and recite a sonnet when she pulls back the curtains? Keep it simple with a nervous phone call or quick conversation while you’re walking to your cars? Get her name tattooed on your calf or shaved onto the side of your head? The options are endless. And on top of that, the approach you choose could make or break her response. Yikes! Sure, you could risk it all and take a random guess at what might work, or you could use what you know about her to make an informed decision about what to say to get the yes you’ve been hoping for. 

Marketing is the same way! 

If you don’t have a clue who your customer is, how do you know what to say to get them to say yes to your product or service? How will you know where to find them? Understanding your audience will save you from wasting time and resources sharing your message in the wrong places with the wrong people.

A helpful exercise in understanding your audience is building out client profiles. The process of thinking through the pain points and desires of your customer is pivotal in shaping your approach to your messaging, and the finalized profiles then become your true north for navigating your efforts in the marketplace. As you think deeply about your audience, you’ll gain valuable insights into what key differentiators you should emphasize to start getting conversions. Once you know what they want to hear, you can adjust your messaging accordingly. For example, when you designate Amy from the coffee shop as your primary client profile, you’ll note that she loves folk music. From there, the best approach to asking her out becomes clear – quote one of her favorite songs and then offer to take her to a concert on your first date. She won’t know how she got so lucky! 

(The branding side of the equation plays a large role in customer decisions as well, but we’ll get into that another time.)

Developing client profiles and helping you understand your audience is a central part of our Marketing Workshop. Over the course of our time as an agency, we’ve figured out some key questions to ask and handy exercises to walk through to gain key details for customer profiles. From there, we hash out what approaches to your messaging and tactics would be most effective to reach your market. It’s a beautiful process! 

Want some more of your marketing questions answered? Interested in a Marketing Workshop?

The post Asking The Girl Out: The Foundation Of A Marketing Strategy appeared first on Fidelis Creative Agency.

Do you have business goals you’re looking to reach? Do you have challenges you’re trying to overcome? Then you need a marketing strategy. Plain and simple.

 “The right people will just find us on their own” approach can only last you so long, and it isn’t scalable. Even if you’re a smaller business, don’t let impostor syndrome get in the way of putting together a plan for growth. At the end of the day, no business is too small (or too big!) for a marketing strategy. Why?

Well, first you need to understand what a marketing strategy is, then you can understand why it is important to your business. To put it simply, A marketing strategy is a plan of action that determines how your business will attain a specific goal.

If you look closely, the word “CUSTOM” is written in invisible ink before “Marketing Strategy” in the title of this blog. That’s because there’s not a one-size-fits-all approach to marketing. Your goals/audience aren’t identical to anyone else’s, so your tactics shouldn’t be either. Your strategy should work in tandem with your branding (link) and your business goals to speak to your perfect market.

Creating a marketing strategy requires gathering intel and applying it in a way that will meet your needs. What do you know about your customer? What do they need to hear from you to be convinced your product or service will meet their needs? How do you guide them to purchase? Synthesizing all of the moving parts into a cohesive plan is where we come in – cue the Marketing Workshop! Consider it the ultimate strategy session. 

Developing a marketing strategy is also a great way to gather all of your ideas into one place. It will make your world simpler, not more convoluted. 

Questions about marketing? Not sure where to start?

The post <strong>Why You Need A Marketing Strategy</strong> appeared first on Fidelis Creative Agency.

Strategy

A marketing strategy is a plan of action that determines how your business will attain a specific goal. Creating a marketing strategy is more than compiling a list of to-dos and performing them to stay relevant in your industry. If you think about a marketing strategy as a taxonomic rank, strategy is your domain (or your top-tier goal) devised with multiple practices implemented to get leads and grow your business. What falls within a marketing strategy are the campaign, audience, and tactics. Let’s dig deeper into the specifics so you have a better understanding of why this is useful.

Campaign

Campaigns are the starting point of your marketing strategy. Ultimately, your goal as a business owner is to have a plan that promotes your business to the clients that you will connect with. Your marketing should solve a challenge your business strives to overcome. In an ideal strategy, your campaigns would be separated by their primary focus or goal. Most campaigns are separated into four main categories:

Audience

Once you define each campaign by your specific business needs, you have to decide who you need to talk to. Your marketing can’t be successful if you don’t consider who your business’s target market is–audience research is the key to forming your best campaign. For example, if one of your campaign’s goals is visibility, you might have a few different age groups with different digital habits. Define their pain points, where their watering holes are, and where they are seeking solutions, and you’ll be set to create tactics within your campaign that are sure to succeed. Let your target audience know your business or product will solve their needs through your marketing.

Tactic

Marketing tactics are the nitty gritty bits that play into the campaign. For example, if your campaign’s goal is visibility, you might choose tactics that involve boosting social media posts at least three times a week on platforms that your audience uses regularly.

Results

Once you begin to run your campaign, it’s crucial to measure its performance to see what you’re doing right, or what might need to be tweaked or abandoned altogether. Managing that perfect balance is essential to keeping your campaign successful, and letting your business reap the results. 

After you have nailed down this taxonomic chart, you’ve got yourself a marketing strategy. Remember, success in marketing is not accidental but rather the result of a well-crafted strategy. Take the time to define your marketing strategy and watch your business soar to new heights.

The post What Is a Marketing Strategy? appeared first on Fidelis Creative Agency.

Sol and Luna

Sol & Luna is a project that notably stands out from the past few years. Giving us full creative and strategic freedom, we’re grateful to the Sol & Luna team for letting us help build everything for their brand–starting at the very foundation with the process of developing a name for the entire project.

Since Sol & Luna is for friends, families, and couples alike, we wanted to build them a name that clearly presented the diversity and assortment that these charming vacation casitas offered. The name Sol & Luna was chosen because it perfectly balances the dichotomy of playing and of resting. Both describe a warm, relaxing, daytime vacation as well as a chill, unique night out. 

Wanting to further develop this brand, our team jumped at the chance to adorn the visual identity and website with botanical illustrations, ornate patterns, and simple one-liners that speak to the attitude of enjoyment. 

But even after developing the brand voice, the name, and the visual identity, nothing brought these elements together like the website. Capturing the essence of joy, warmth, and relaxation that the brand embodies, the website tied together all of the elements that we were able to present to Sol & Luna. Developing soft color transitions, subtle animations, and using Clara Rummel’s poem, a major inspiration throughout this project, we helped Sol & Luna build a unique and exciting brand.  

Lake Walk

When the executive team at Lake Walk announced that they were in need of a new web presence to communicate the quality, vision, and future plans for their thriving development we were thrilled to join the project. Having been a part of the expanding BCS community for several years, we were more than excited to have the opportunity to be part of this new project.  

The website needed to show the full range of offerings and deeply connect with the young talent being courted by Boston or San Francisco research centers. Why Texas?! Lake Walk offers unique networking opportunities, restaurants, and living environments to bright young minds, and the website had to reflect that. Since the nexus of work, social, and quality of life is more important than ever; that was the focus of Lake Walk’s new web presence. Potential tenants had to be able to ‘see themselves living at Lake Walk’ which is a tall order for a website in the 21st century. Since viewers can bounce around pages all day long, the pages we built had to ‘show’ as well as ‘tell’ young talent that their future is brighter under a Texas sky. We’re proud of how it turned out and thrilled that we might have a small part to play in bringing the best minds to our town. Bryan-College Station will be better for it.

West Webb Allbritton & Gentry

West Webb Allbritton & Gentry guides businesses and individuals through legal processes across Texas. With offices in 5 Texas cities, they are continually expanding their capacity to serve the people of Texas with a variety of legal offerings. Their customers see them as part of their businesses and families, trusted guides to navigate rocky seas.

West Webb Allbritton & Gentry first approached us looking for guidance into their future, despite having been established in Texas for over 40 years. Hoping to further strengthen their brand foundation as they continue to expand, they decided to undergo a Brand Discovery Workshop and to nail down a fresh vision and message that all 45+ members of their team could rally around.

Having established that fresh vision, the next step was to build. Equipped with a new visual identity and a website built from the ground up, West Webb Law now matched the high-level of integrity and excellence at which they operate. Choosing to exclusively use matte black, silver, and gold coupled with sharp serif fonts, their brand now shows itself off as capable and professional. With clean sections, bold headlines, and clear navigation, the website thematically follows their brand. With bright headshots providing warmth and speaking to the team’s compassion and dedication to serve Texas businesses and families.

With each of these brand elements in place, they are poised for a new season of growth as their reputation and expertise continue to grow across the State of Texas.

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