It’s hard to believe it's already Fall. Today we’re looking back on our second Annual GGC Marketing Summer Camp held at our office in August. It was so nice to welcome clients and friends alike, to catch up and learn a thing or two (and eat lots of tacos and ice cream).

Marketing today can be daunting. We see clients struggle with trying to figure out what works in digital marketing and how to boost their ROI.

Everyone’s trying to draw that straight line from marketing to sales, and we’re working hard with them to connect those dots! In fact, we’ve learned over time that reducing the cost of marketing involves not just making the sales funnel bigger, but also making it work more efficiently.

Companies often struggle with the messaging that drives marketing. Getting the message right is hard, and all the precise execution in the world on the tactics won’t really take hold if the programs are built on a message that misses the mark. Why do companies seem to struggle so much with messaging? Often, it’s like not being able to see the forest for the trees. Companies don’t have the distance or context to see how their message is playing. Or they feel they’ve got a differentiated message, something that’s truly unique, but in truth it’s just another case of “me-messaging,” something too similar to everyone else.  

As summer begins to wind down, we aren't quite ready to say goodbye and are excitedly preparing for our Marketing Summer Camp event. Working in marketing, we sometimes are the company department accused of having too much fun, and that's what we go for here at GGC. It's also what we get having our "Office Pups" around every day. ICYMI, in our last newsletter we introduced you Gertrude and Elliott, who belong to Marketing Manager Sandi Hensel.  

What do AI and summer camp have in common? A good question, which will be answered when you join us at the Goldstein Group Communications’ Summer Marketing Camp on August 21!

To kick off the 2020 Marketing Planning Season, we'll have Scott McAfferty, co-founder and managing partner of WTWH Media, on hand to speak about how artificial intelligence is being used within marketing to reach current and prospective customers by creating programs that align with users’ content affinities to drive ROI though. AI in  marketing is a hot topic these days. You may find it either fascinating, or frightening, depending on how you look at marketing technology overall.

Goldstein Group Communications announces the promotion of Erin Klees to Director of Brand Impact, a newly created leadership position.

In this role, Klees will drive the agency’s brand offerings and lead creative development on clients’ behalf. This extends to all branded touchpoints – both digital and traditional forms – for ways the agency’s clients face their customers and prospects.

“More than ever before, our clients look to us to bring cross-channel unity to their brand and message in ways that deliver meaningful impact to their customers,” said Joel Goldstein, president. “Creating this position helps us continue to make great strides in the quality of our creative product.

“Erin’s past success building local, national and international brands, and developing integrated marketing campaigns, will be instrumental as we move forward. I am looking forward to the impact Erin’s leadership and vision will have on the agency.” 

Klees started at Goldstein in January 2018, bringing an extensive background in user experience and interface design, online content strategy, and brand building. With a 12-year portfolio that showcases impactful and intentional visual solutions, she has led design and strategy efforts behind some of Goldstein’s most successful client website launches and brand visioning work for companies such as BJM Pumps, Vox Mobile and Ericson. Klees has also worked with a range of consumer brands including, Pepsi, Pierre’s Ice Cream, and the Pure Fishing Inc. family of global brands. 

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Graphic Design from The Art Institute of Pittsburgh.

If you subscribe to our GGC Newsletter, or our social media, or have even visited our offices recently, you have probably met some of our four-legged associates. We recently had the pleasure of having Plain Dealer reporter Ginger Christ visit our offices to interview us on how these canine companions have positively affected our workplace culture.

Making choices shouldn’t be difficult, but we all know sometimes it’s easy to be overwhelmed by all the options. If you’re in the market for a marketing firm you’ve probably read a dozen articles about how to select an agency. Sometimes, it’s not what the contenders say in their presentations (which often can sound the same), but what they DON’T say. In our newest White Paper, we tell you six things you aren’t likely to hear in a pitch but could have important implications in choosing the marketing partner that will provide the very best fit.  

As a young marketing professional, Mark has great experience in digital marketing. His knowledge in SEO marketing and his entrepreneurial experience gives value to all of his clients. Dedicated to growing in the marketing industry, Mark is constantly learning and striving to push the boundaries to help all his clients succeed.

A friend was beginning a search for a new marketing firm, and he asked me for criteria in picking the right agency. 

How to choose, he asked?  What should I look for? 

Hiring an agency is EXACTLY like hiring an employee. Because of the intimate, mission-critical nature of marketing, your agency isn’t really just a vendor like a landscaper or janitorial service for your building. Rather, they’re a critical expert tied to the very heartbeat of your business – driving your sales funnel.