TRUE Branding and Building a Stronger Association

By on March 13, 2019   /   Blog, Brand Marketing, Branding, Case Studies, Education and Training, Marketing, SPOKE News, Strategy   /   Leave a comment
public speaking branding andrew b clark

We had the pleasure of spending an afternoon with the members of the Iowa Society of Association Executives (ISAE) this week, discussing branding and building a stronger association community through our TRUE Branding process. The afternoon breakout session covered the concepts of brand and branding as it applies to marketing communications as well as how the TRUE Branding process can facilitate stronger, more targeted brand marketing and communications for associations, their boards, and the members they serve. The group was highly motivated to take in the action items provided in the presentation. With little encouragement (some strategically timed bribes –

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Businesses Stand Out Through Strategic Communications

By on February 22, 2019   /   Blog, Brand Marketing, Branding, Marketing, Strategy  
strategig marketing communications

Well, thank you, Captain Obvious. Who would think otherwise? But did you catch the “Strategic” part? While the headline seems overly apparent, we’ve witnessed time and time again businesses from solo entrepreneurs to mega-conglomerate Fortune 500s miss the mark when truly strategic communications would have helped. Whether they miss an opportunity to speak up on a business-relevant event or their news feed is so full the brand focus and target of the message is lost, businesses need to make sure communications strategies are in place at all times. Much of this falls under Brand Communications and Public Relations Strategies. What

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Your Product Photography Deserves More Than The Instagram Treatment

By on October 16, 2018   /   Blog, Brand Marketing, Branding, Education and Training, Social Media, Spoke Portfolio, Strategy  
photographer in des moines

We get it. An iPhone and Instagram is a heck of a lot quicker and cheaper than hiring a professional photographer and studio to handle your product shots. With today’s digital devices, resolutions are reaching and, in some cases, surpassing traditional print demands. On more advanced devices, internal photo settings can simulate depth of field effects or even stacked focus. Heck, pop a shot, open Instagram, and add a funky frame or over saturate it a bit and “Voila!” ART! Why pay for “professional” photography when the intern or office manager can zip out 20 to 30 new product shots

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Content Marketing Drives More Than Your Blog

By on July 31, 2018   /   Blog, Brand Marketing, Branding, Education and Training, Marketing, Strategy  
content marketing drives more than your blog

Content Marketing? Blogging? Digital PR? Journaling? E-News? We’ve heard a number of terms for it, but whatever you call it, it’s important. Content Marketing (what we call it here at SPOKE) is a strategy that should be present in every aspect of your marketing plan. It builds brand narrative and reinforces market knowledge and authority all while being infinitely packageable and a valuable source of sales support. Bring Clients Closer By Building Your Brand Narrative: Brands need to communicate. It should be core to their nature. By telling stories (Content Marketing) Brands increase the ability to connect to their target audience

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A Day of Brand Marketing and Digital SEO Discovery

By on February 1, 2017   /   Blog, Brand Marketing, Branding, Education and Training, Marketing, SEO, SPOKE News  
andrew b. clark spoke communications des moines iowa

Boy, did I miss the days of frequent public speaking. At one time, I had as many as 2 speaking engagements booked for each month of the year (2005, 2006, 2007). While I was starting up SPOKE Communications (previously CreateWOWMarketing), it was a great way to hone my marketing and branding processes through “Live Engagement and Research” and build a resource for client development for the business. Of course, it’s a true testament of the love I have for what we do at SPOKE when I get to stand in front of a group to share marketing communication tips, tricks

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The King is Dead! Or: Storytelling Is The Lifeline That Rescues Brands.

By on November 11, 2016   /   Blog, Brand Marketing, Branding, Education and Training, Interactive Media, Marketing, SEO, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Strategy  
content marketing story telling

“Content is King.” I heard them repeat that phrase over and over. “Content is King.” “Content is King,” meaning, content is what really matters, what rules the marketing world. “Content is King” breathing life into a static world of 1s and 0s, where otherwise, your target audience would be disenchanted and misinformed about your brand, your product or service, your life. I’m here to say, “Baloney.” We can all ooh and ahh and marvel at the “Content is King” concept, but in reality, content is not King and, for good marketing, it never has been. When was the last time

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Protecting Yourself and Your Brand on Social Media

By on July 22, 2016   /   Blog, Brand Marketing, Branding, Education and Training, Marketing, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, SPOKE News  
social media best practices des moines iowa

Do you know how to protect your brand on social media? In a recent Lunch-n-Learn for The Clarke County Development Corporation (CCDC), SPOKE Communications was honored to guide a very engaging group through some of the ups and downs of protecting information and the development of business best practices for social media marketing (2nd session in the interactive marketing series for CCDC).  The group consisted of independent entrepreneurs looking to find their bearings in the world of social media marketing to financial institutions looking to protect their brands, their employees, and their families from the risks associated with social media.

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Playing Like The Big Dogs – Make Marketing a Priority

By on April 7, 2016   /   Blog, Brand Marketing, Branding, Education and Training, Marketing, Strategy  
marketing in des moines iowa

What’s the difference between your brand and that of, let’s say, Coke? Size? Sure, but you don’t think Coke has always been a billion dollar a year company do you? What else? Budget? Staff? Investors? All acquired through growth. So maybe the question should be, “Why aren’t you as big as Coke?” What would be your answer? Without a lot of drama and fanfare, the answer is simply marketing. Coke made (and still makes) Marketing a Priority. (Here’s their 2013 annual report just to verify.) And you can look at the annual reports of Pepsi, Doritos, General Motors, IBM, Apple,

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Beware The Social Media Spell

By on May 21, 2015   /   Blog, Brand Marketing, Branding, Education and Training, Interactive Media, Marketing, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Strategy, Technology  
social media expert

Unfortunately, this is Social Media Marketing for many: Look deeply into my eyes… you are feeling veeeery sleepy… sleeeeepy… deeeeper… deeeeeeeeper… relax and let the social media mystique take you to a happier place. Deeeeper… Dee… Yeah, sometimes I feel like social media has cast some kind of spell over businesses, specifically throughout the marketing departments of some companies. It’s easy to be seduced. It’s easy to be swayed by viral videos, tweets, and blogs with thousands of readers. It’s easy to think that social media can be the magic pill to fix marketing mishaps. But in our passionate pursuit

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