marketing communications des moines iowa

Here, you’re going to find a large collection of industry news, updates and information on marketing communications. You’ll be able to find everything from Web video insights and marketing tips and tricks to some of our past rants, raves and reviews on the marketing industry.

This information is accumulated from our past CreateWOWmarketing blog as well as current posts from the Spoke Communications team. Categories and post dates can be found to he right.

If you have questions or need to contact us, please feel free to reach out to us using the contact page within this website.  OR feel free to comment on the blogs here! No one seems to do that these days, so it would be a great surprise and pleasure to welcome you to the wheelhouse!

If You Can’t Toot Your Own Horn, Why Have One?

By on   /   Blog, SPOKE News  

We love our customers. It’s evident in the time we put into every project, the quality of work we produce and the passion we have for all things that go “WOW.”  But it’s a rarity to hear anyone from CreateWOW spouting personal accolades, or “Tooting their horn” so-to-speak. It’s just not our style… Well, today, we received a blessing and a tremendous testimonial from a client of CreateWOW and we’re going to pass along her comments and let the horn-tooting resound. Because… If You Can’t Toot Your Own Horn, Why Have One? Now, this particular client, Lindsay LeMay from Numark

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Photography As A Communications Tool

By on   /   Blog, Education and Training  

Have you become victim of the digital world of photography? On Friday the 5th of May, CreateWOWmarketing presented the following photography in communications deck to the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives.  In our presentation, we discussed the use of photography as a STRATEGIC communication tool as well as showed the audience some tips and tricks for making their photos better – from better photo composition to photography styles and mediums that would enhance their communications needs. Then we broke out into groups and shot some test photos using some of the styles and techniques mentioned in the presentation. Overall, it

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What Is This “Brand” You Speak Of…?

By on   /   Blog, Brand Marketing, Education and Training, Interactive Media, Social Media Marketing, SPOKE News  

It seems you can’t swing a dead cat these days without hitting a “Brand” expert. No cats were harmed in the writing of this blog. Seriously – type “branding” into your search engine and see what pops up!  More than 10 pages of branding blogs and websites. While there ARE companies who know branding and how it works, there are also companies who just use a lot of big words and involved formulas to make them sound like they know what they’re talking about.  So, how do you weed out the experts from the snake-oil salesmen? Let TRUE Branding be

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How To Fight The Cost Of “Free” Media

By on   /   Blog, Brand Marketing, SPOKE News  

There’ IS a price to “FREE” media production; while it may not show on the books, it will show on your brand. Buying radio or television media production is every creative’s worst nightmare. The schedules are hard to plan – especially in the “Political” and “Sporting” blitz months. Any positive calendar can be preempted at the drop of a very well financed hat.  Budgeting is often a guessing game and costly without the right media partner or a person at the station “going to bat” for you. And God forbid if the spots are produced at the station…   (think

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Measuring Social Media Marketing & E-Commerce

By on   /   Education and Training, Social Media Marketing  

HEY, social media marketers, are you doing your job? How do you measure the effectiveness of your services to your clients? Hours billed vs. profit gained? Sure, but measuring ROI is often a tricky game. Do you take the client’s sales reports and compare them to the activity you’ve (hopefully) documented for every campaign, or do you have a tracking mechanism that works within their e-commerce workflow? Measurement is Important All of the above questions are those that should be asked when embarking on a serious social media marketing campaign. Unfortunately, many clients have yet to understand how to ask

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Social Reputation Management – SHOULD You?

By on   /   Blog, Education and Training, Social Media Marketing  

When it comes to SOCIAL media, I’m often asked by customers and peers alike “What can I do to really manage my brand’s reputation through social media?” (Yes, somewhat a redundant question, but I’ll get to that in another post…) Well, a lot of that answer depends on the circumstances in which your “reputation” finds itself.  In the case below, I had a conversation about a peer’s client wanting “Edit” reviews on FourSquare… Hmmmmm As always, I try to keep my advice “Above The Line” and beneficial to all parties, but the implications of what the client wanted to do

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Which Wall Displays YOUR Holiday Cheer?

By on   /   Blog, SPOKE News  

SO, the Holiday season is in full swing. The joy and laughter around the office tends to get a little bigger. The warmth of the coffee tends to feel a little cozier and the casual feeling of family creeps into the sometime stodgy business environment. I think I start to notice it when the first Holiday card arrives in the mail. Generally oversized envelopes with holiday stamps and hand written addresses start filtering their way through the mail slot right after Thanksgiving (some earlier for you holiday addicts). Once a year, the only time mail is taped, pinned, stuck to

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Social Media: Efficiency Tool or Necessary Evil?

By on   /   Blog, Interactive Media, Social Media Marketing, SPOKE News  

Social Media. It’s everywhere – our computers, our phones, our video game consoles.  We hear the phrase in television shows and commercials.  You see the logos in shop windows encouraging you to “Like us on Facebook!” or “Follow us on Twitter!”  Most of us DO, too.  Just trying to keep a finger on the pulse of the world around us, afraid of missing out on something. How do YOU use your social media outlets?  Is it for business and marketing?  Do you strictly use Facebook and Twitter to connect with potential clients/customers?  Is it a platform for your political/religious views

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5 Tips On Writing Blog Posts To Increase Traffic

By on   /   Blog, Education and Training, Interactive Media, Social Media Marketing  

I’m often asked by clients and peers, “How do I (we) increase my site traffic? How do I (we) get more people to read the blog?” Well, it’s a matter of targeted marketing, brand consistency and good writing.  All of which even the BEST writers, marketers and bloggers struggle with on EVERY post.  But once a successful post formula is found, it’s like crack. You want, no, NEED to do it over and over again until your eyeballs rollback in your head and you fall to the ground in crippling ecstasy… Okay, maybe not that far, but it’s close. 🙂

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The 8 D’s Of Successful Marketing

By on   /   Blog, Brand Marketing, Education and Training  

If I include my college internship, this September {was} my 21st year working in, on and around marketing. I’ve seen some successful campaigns. I’ve seen some pitiful campaigns. Fortunately, I’ve learned something from them all, but the most important thing I’ve learned is how to tell them apart. (Trust me, some can’t…) So what IS the difference between a successful and a pitiful marketing campaign? STRATEGY. All Marketing Strategy Is Not The Same If you walk through any marketing department or advertising agency, without a doubt, you’ll see computers, printers, scanners, cameras and all of the nifty tools that go

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