Tag: social media

A Copywriter brainstorming ideas for a piece of advertising

What Does a Copywriter Do and Why Do You Need One?

Go to anyone in the advertising world and they’ll tell you content is king. Look at all of the great advertisements in history, each has a unique way of connecting to the public and they transcend the idea of a “simple ad”. Instead, they become a part of a culture, even if it’s for a few days or years. A large part of its unicity is the role of the copywriter and the creative, persuasive wordplay they bring to all mediums of advertising. While it’s not entirely different from what you probably saw from Peggy Olson and Don Draper in Mad Men, the writer’s role has evolved quite a lot in the past 50 years.

At ON Advertising, we appreciate good creative. We strive to develop incredible ads that create a response with our clients’ target audience. Our creative staff is comprised of a team of video production professionals, graphic designers, and a copywriter; who specialize in making your brand stand out with memorable advertising. Read our blog post below to learn more about what the copywriter does in an ad agency and why it is important for one’s branding.

What is a Copywriter?

Before we get into what a copywriter does, let’s talk about what a copywriter exactly is. They’re the wordsmiths of the advertising world that turn simple messaging into exciting branding exclamations. They encourage people to act in some way with their toolbox of adjectives, verbs, and buzzwords that resonate with consumers. Additionally, they’re an important part of the creative brainstorming process by sharing ideas for video scripts, content direction, and the overall feel of a piece of advertising.

What Does a Copywriter Do?

Research… Lots and Lots of Research

For many writers, each project begins with a brief and a strenuous research process. Once the copywriter understands what the client or manager is looking for, they go deep into research.

Frankie Calandra, ON Advertising’s in-house copywriter, explains his research process, “Typically when I get a project I start with extensive research on the client and what their competitors are doing.” He continues, “then I brainstorm ways to make the client stand out from their competitors by using verbiage that might connect with their target audience.”

it’s also not uncommon for writers to use keyword research to guide them when developing website content, i.e. websites and blog posts.

Of Course, a Copywriter is Going to Write

As you’d expect, writing is the main responsibility of the copywriter. They work in a variety of areas by brainstorming and creating engaging prose that enlists a response. Some of the most common types of copy they write include:

Webpages
Blog posts
Landing pages
Printed, radio, and video ads
Email marketing
Brand taglines
Product descriptions
And many more

Additionally, many copywriters must follow specific guidelines every time they produce copy. For example, when it comes to digital writing they must incorporate keywords into the website content and blog posts for search engine optimization (SEO) purposes.

The Copywriter Collaborates with All Members of the Agency

Of course, the copywriter works very closely with other members of the creative team. It’s not uncommon for them to share ideas with the graphic designer working on the project, or go to the creative director for some guidance on a piece. Also, writers collaborate with the video production team to develop the direction of a video spot.

While the writer may be a full-fledged member of the creative team, they work closely with all members of an ad agency. For example, they work with the accounts team quite often to better understand what the client is looking for in a project. Also, they collaborate with the social media team to ensure the brand tone of voice aligns with what is established for the client.

Create Inspired Taglines and Engaging Content

Copywriters spend an extraordinary amount of time researching and writing headlines and content for blog posts, sales pages, website copy, and brochures. It’s fairly typical for writers to run tagline ideas to other writers, marketers, and clients to gauge how well they may be received. Depending on the feedback, they’ll refine the taglines to make them truly stand out.

They also create content that engages the audience. One way our copywriter measures copy performance is by looking at our clients’ Google Analytics report. He explains, “there are three things that I look at after publishing a blog post or launching a website: specific page views, average time on the page, and where it ranks on the website’s popular pages.”

This information gives Frankie and other writers an idea of how engaging the copy is for the user. As well as how enticing the headline is in attracting users to the website. So, you better believe Frankie will be spying on this blog post’s Google Analytics report to see how it performs!

Good Copy That Reflects Your Brand Image

A good advertisement is not just about colorful designs and attractive product placements. Incorporating copy into the mix, or at least considering it, is an absolute must.

Good copy is what connects people to a brand by playing to their interests and personality. It creates a strong brand tone of voice that consumers resonate with and one they come back to ensure their favorite brands are still one of their own. It projects an image of what a company is all about and sells it to the consumer with captivating writing.

One brand ON Advertising is particularly proud to establish its brand tone of voice is JRI Hospitality’s The Original Grande.

Frankie explains his approach to developing the tone for The Original Grande, “After a lot of research and brainstorming, I geared the brand tone of voice towards a more laid-back, fun attitude to promote a more casual environment. While the restaurant chain isn’t open yet, I can’t wait to see how people react to the work we’re doing for The Original Grande.”

Make Your Brand Stand Out With ON Advertising’s Creative Services

For more than 25 years, ON Advertising has been one of Phoenix, Arizona’s premier marketing firms. Our agency is composed of a variety of professionals ranging from marketing strategists and account executives to creative video producers and graphic designers. We’re the source for marketing solutions that bring you an increase in ROI. Contact us today and learn how our team can help elevate your business today.

Client Spotlight: Dorn Policy Group

Dorn Policy Group was founded in 2000 on the belief that integrity, tenacity, and client results should be the cornerstone of quality government relations. Since their inception, they have grown to become one of Arizona’s premier lobbying firms working within all levels of government to ensure their clients’ best interests are represented. We’re honored to work with Dorn in a variety of their marketing efforts and look forward to pushing their company even further.

As one of the top advertising agencies in Phoenix, ON Advertising is an incredible resource for quality marketing services. Our team of professionals strives for results that invigorate your business and secure an increase in ROI. Read our article below and learn how we’ve been able to assist Dorn Policy Group in its marketing activity.

Redesigning Dorn Policy Group’s Website

One of the things we knew we had to tackle with Dorn’s marketing strategy is to update their online presence. This started with completely overhauling the design of their website to be more appealing for the user. This involved incorporating new brand colors, updating the company logo, and decluttering their website navigation. Additionally, we made sure to incorporate images of the Dorn team as our research had shown that this is an excellent way to build trust amongst prospective clients.

Since redesigning Dorn Policy Group’s website, the company has seen tremendous success. According to their website analytics, they’ve seen an increase in their users (+398%), new users (+431%), and sessions (+280%). As a result, the company is receiving more interest from prospective clients.

Social Media Matters

From LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, Dorn’s social strategy is all about informing their audience on how they can serve organizations with proficient government relations and influence public policy. By creating “shoutouts” to Dorn’s current clients, they strengthen their partnerships and create profound trust amongst their audience.

Alice Huynh, one of ON Advertising’s talented Social Media Assistants explains, “Dorn focuses on being bipartisan and that can be tricky when it comes to important issues in today’s world, especially on Twitter. It’s not easy to show on social media, but we understand that it’s an important social strategy for Dorn to convey that message to their audience and that they are willing to work with both sides of the aisle to meet their clients’ demands.”

On Twitter alone, Dorn consistently gains over 8k impressions month-over-month. With the right hashtag strategy and extensive research, ON Advertising positions Dorn Policy Group to be a bipartisan news source on what’s happening in the Arizona Legislature. Not to mention how it affects their clients and the communities they serve.

Developing Content That Resonates With Dorn Policy Group’s Audience

Content marketing is a very important tool for Dorn as it allows users to connect with the company. We offer strategic content marketing services designed to reach and resonate with their audience. This is achieved through monthly blog posts, videos, and infographics.

Also, we use SEO keyword research to help us determine what their audience is searching for to better position them in search engine results. Moreover, it helps drive the content on Dorn’s website.

Frankie Calandra, ON Advertising’s copywriter explains, “keyword research isn’t just used for Google Ads. It’s an important resource for writers to determine which words the client has the best chance at ranking higher for. When you see me working on website copy or a blog post, the keyword research is typically close by so I can formulate the copy around these important words”.

That mentality has given Dorn Policy Group incredible results. Looking at their website analytics, their organic search has played a vital role in attracting users to their page. Their organic search has blown up by 685% when compared to last year. This is entirely due to our push for obtainable keywords in the website copy and blog posts.

Email Marketing is Key in Dorn Policy Group’s Strategy

Another important element of Dorn’s marketing strategy is email marketing. Every month we create messaging that goes out to almost 17,000 contacts with the overall goal to generate traffic towards the Dorn website and interest in their services. Through this, we’re able to inform recipients of Dorn Policy Group’s range of services and why having a government relations professional is important to their business.

Through our email marketing efforts, our client has been able to generate more leads for their services. Additionally, our blog posts benefit from an increase in visitors by linking the emails to their respective pages. Tools such as campaign URL builders help us evaluate how effective our email marketing is in pushing users to the Dorn Policy Group website.

ON Advertising Are Experts in a Wide Range of Industries

We’re proud of the work we accomplished for Dorn Policy Group, Inc., and we’re excited to continue our partnership with them. As one of the top advertising agencies in Phoenix, ON Advertising is an award-winning full-service advertising and marketing agency committed to the success of our clients — and featuring a diverse team of highly skilled professionals who are passionate about what we do. We provide our clients with award-winning services customized for each organization to ensure their brand succeeds. Contact us today to learn how ON Advertising can help you.

A white puzzle with social media terms on each piece with ON advertising filling a missing section

What Social Media Platforms are Right for My Business?

Choosing to advertise your business on social media offers a vast amount of opportunities that surpass the more traditional advertising avenues such as print and television. Just as social media offers users a way to connect with friends and family, it also offers users a way to connect with businesses. With almost 4 billion people active on social media platforms worldwide, if you’re not visibly active, then you’re missing out on a large customer base. Each social media platform is powerful in its own right but each platform offers unique benefits to businesses and users. So, which platform is right for you? As one of Phoenix’s fastest-growing advertising agencies of social media clients, the experts here can help.

Facebook and Instagram

As Facebook continues to grow in popularity for B2C businesses, Instagram is a close second. With one billion users currently on the platform, utilizing this highly visual platform offers another way to grow your business. By posting high-quality photos of products or services, you are offering users a look into the experience they can receive. Whether you are a restaurant and are posting menu items or a hair salon sharing your client’s transformations, Instagram is a valuable resource to connect and engage with your current and future audience. Being active on Instagram also opens another door of opportunity: user-generated content. Customers who have used your product or service and see you are active on the platform are compelled to post on their personal account and tag your account, exposing your business to a larger user base. Social media was created to connect and that still rings true today.

Restaurants and Hospitality

As a restaurant or hospitality-based business, your goal is to directly connect with the consumer to sell your product or service, and utilizing social media has proven to be the easiest and fastest way to do so. It offers a way to visually show users, and your future customers, what they can expect and experience from your product or service. Just as each social media platform is unique, each business is unique. While one platform may work for one business, it may not work for yours. The exception to the rule is Facebook. All businesses, no matter their size or industry, can easily leverage this platform and drive a large number of users to their page.

Real Estate

When it comes to B2B marketing in real estate, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter are great platforms to start with. According to LinkedIn, it is the top-rated social media platform for lead generation, making it one of the best platforms for real estate B2B marketing. Many, if not all, real estate projects rely on some form of collaboration, so opportunities to cross-promote with other businesses such as construction, finance, and vendors are great ways to announce project developments and attract potential tenants. Though LinkedIn is a great platform to start, other platforms shouldn’t be overlooked. According to a survey conducted by Buffer in 2019, 93.7% of businesses use Facebook, with Twitter coming in second at 84.4%.

Recruiting

Instagram is the social media platform known for sharing photos and short video content, making it a great place to recruit potential candidates. By sharing high-quality photos, it gives recruiters a chance to “humanize” the organization by sharing behind the scene posts. According to Sprout Social’s latest demographic update for 2021, Instagram achieved a milestone of 1 billion monthly active users at the end of 2020, with their largest age group being millennials. Although recruitment is open to all over the age of 18, the age group between 25-34 is a sweet spot to attract followers that may be interested in your organization. With a little bit of research, utilizing a hashtag strategy will drive more traffic to your page.

Government

Sprout Social’s Twitter stats for 2021 showed that much-discussed current events, such as the increased conversation around COVID-19 on a global scale and the lead-up to U.S. elections, drove interest to the platform of Twitter. By Q3 of 2020, Twitter saw a 29% increase of monetizable daily active usage. As trending topics continue to revolve around politics in 2021, the need to utilize social media platforms that discuss events and gather breaking news makes Twitter a prime place to share content and drive discussions for government organizations. Facebook and LinkedIn are great additional platforms to be on as well, as they allow organizations to connect with their audience on trending topics.

Technology

When it comes to technology, it’s no surprise that there’s still a large demographic gap between males and females throughout the industry, despite the steadily increasing number of women working in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers over the past few years. When it comes to which social media platforms tech companies should be on, this demographic statistic is important to take note of. According to Hootsuite’s latest Twitter Stats for 2021, Twitter has far more male users at 70% than female users at 30%. Although Twitter is great for quick updates, tech companies looking for B2B marketing should include Facebook and LinkedIn in addition to Twitter in their social media strategies.

Education

Instagram is the perfect place for businesses to make important announcements, as a post can receive four times more interactions on Instagram than compared to Facebook. A major takeaway from COVID-19 was that organizations within the education sector need to be able to quickly make important announcements about school closures, upcoming events, and more. With over 1 billion active monthly users on Instagram, the platform is great for making important statements and showing behind-the-scenes content. However, organizations within the education sector should also include Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn in their social media marketing efforts to create open conversations with parents, students, staff, and potential employees.

CBD

According to Business News Daily, the U.S. CBD market is expected to reach $20 billion in sales by 2024. This impressive growth has led to a surge in new businesses that are trying to enter into one of the fastest-growing industries. Forbes has officially dubbed Instagram as the king of B2C social media due to its emphasis on high-quality visuals and the younger demographic that flocks to the platform. While targeting the younger market on Instagram is more appealing, it is also important to target older age groups on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. People over the age of 50 are responsible for more than half of consumer spending, according to Harvard Business Review.

Nonprofit

As a nonprofit organization, your main goals for social media are spreading awareness of your mission and amplifying your brand voice. Being active on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram is a great way to boost your organization’s visibility. Not only do these platforms help raise awareness for your mission, but they also have helpful tools to facilitate donations. Through Facebook, your followers can directly donate to your cause or create birthday fundraisers. There are also multiple tools on Instagram that eligible nonprofits and their followers can use to raise money directly on the platform, such as a profile donate button, donation stickers in Stories, and Live Donations.

ON Advertising Makes Social Media Look Easy

Face it, social media is not going anywhere. It’s only going to become more popular and your competitors are likely already on board. By partnering with ON Advertising, you’re not just investing in top-quality services. You’re investing in the future of your business by promoting customer engagement and enriching your brand exposure. Contact us today to learn how our creative social media team can help enhance your online presence!

A Peddler's Son Delivery truck parked outside of the facility

Client Spotlight: Peddler’s Son

Peddler’s Son, a well-known produce supplier in Arizona, has a history that began in the summer of 1988. With an early start in the produce industry from his hometown in Wisconsin, founder Ted Palmisano brought his vision of wholesale produce delivery to life by spending $3,000 on a delivery truck. From the back of his flatbed one-ton pickup, he built customized racks and assembled an open-air produce market. Ted’s commitment to customer service, quality, and honest pricing enabled his dream to grow.

As the business continued to boom, Ted enlisted the assistance of his brother Joe, whose background in finance helped Peddler’s Son progress to the next level. With Ted now able to focus on purchasing and warehouse operations and Joe overseeing sales and finance, the company was able to more fiercely contend with the competition while maintaining its customer-centric mindset. Today, the company boasts an annual revenue of over $50 million, with 130 employees and more than 35 vehicles serving Arizona and the Southwest.

When Peddler’s Son approached ON Advertising to assist them in overhauling their brand to make it more modern and competitive, we knew, because their background and way of doing business are as wholesome as the products they sell, we could create something unique and wonderful for the company.

Redeveloping the Peddler’s Son Brand

The first item on the list was Peddler’s Son’s brand identity, including logo, color scheme, and brand voice. The goal was to create a look that embodied the Peddler’s Son culture while showing the company’s growth and sophistication.

ON Advertising’s Creative Director and Partner Eric Garcia described the design process behind the new look.

“We created a custom font that was a bit more modern while paying homage to Peddler’s Son’s past,” he said. “Utilizing red to reflect the original brand and green leaves to symbolize the company’s transition. We stayed away from creating trendy designs, so the branding can be appreciated for a longer period.“

Creating a New Website to Highlight the Peddler’s Son Brand

While Peddler’s Son’s previous website generated traffic for the company, the site failed to convey the company’s competitive advantages. The ON Advertising team examined several of their competitor’s websites to see how their competition was presenting their brands. We knew that Peddler’s needed to create an engaging UX (user experience) that had compelling messaging and an easy-to-follow design.

Peddler’s Son has a strong presence in several industries, including healthcare, education, restaurants, and catering. So we geared the company’s brand tone of voice towards these industries by incorporating effective SEO practices, industry-related imagery, and highlighting why they’re the right partner for goods and produce delivery.

Since its launch, Peddler’s Son has seen a 99% growth in the number of users who visit the website, including increases in traffic from organic, direct, social media, and referral sources. We’re pleased with the increased exposure Peddler’s Son has achieved thanks to its updated website.

Creating Peddler’s Son Brand Tone with Visuals

Peddler’s Son is an ideal subject for storytelling through video — the company’s owners have a compelling presence on camera, and its culture and commitment to freshness come through vividly on the screen to help tell the Peddler’s Son story, ON Advertising’s Director of Video Production Nate Sorensen created a mood board to develop the look and feel of the videos. He put together a collage of images and keywords that the company wanted to convey, including subjects such as sunshine, farm-fresh produce, and wholesomeness.

The videos were an ideal way of conveying the company’s new brand and telling the company’s story clearly and compellingly.

From spotlighting the company’s new technology to the warm smiles of the employees, putting visuals to the Peddler’s Son brand was a rewarding and enjoyable project.

Connecting With Customers Through Social Media

Another key element of Peddler’s Son’s rebranding was incorporating a new strategy for social media outreach. Our goal is to resonate with clients, old and new, to ensure Peddler’s Son is top-of-mind for their produce delivery needs. Our social media team focuses heavily on the company’s excellent customer service and quality of products while establishing a personable tone to communicate with their followers.

In addition to highlighting the company’s customer service, the Peddler’s Son social media feeds share company news, community involvement, local partnerships, and team member spotlights. The overall goal is to further reflect the company’s culture, expertise, and commitment to quality customer service.

Since enlisting ON Advertising’s social media services, Peddler’s Son has seen a spike in followers and enjoyed significant engagement and traffic towards its website. According to Google Analytics, the company has enjoyed a 208% increase in traffic to the website from its social media year over year.

Enhance Your Brand with ON Advertising

We’re proud of the work we accomplished for Peddler’s Son, and we’re excited to continue our partnership with them. As one of the top advertising agencies in Phoenix, ON Advertising, is an award-winning full-service advertising and marketing agency committed to the success of our clients — and featuring a diverse team of highly skilled professionals who are passionate about what we do. We provide our clients with award-winning services customized for each organization to ensure their brand succeeds. Contact us today to learn how ON Advertising can help you.

A business man showing growth thanks to ON Advertising marketing services

How Can ON’s Marketing Services Improve Your Business?

It doesn’t matter what industry you are in, staying on top of market trends and services is vital to your success. As one of the top marketing agencies in Phoenix, AZ, ON Advertising is able to leverage our knowledge and experience to help grow your business. We’re a full-service agency that specializes in advertising, video production, public relations media outreach, strategy, and all things digital. With our marketing services, businesses can obtain the results they need for growth.

We are a full-service marketing agency designed to help businesses in all areas of their marketing strategy. We consist of marketing professionals who have a wealth of knowledge and experience in designing a strategic plan for any business. ON’s team of specialists collaborate to develop a marketing plan that best suits each client. This may involve incorporating elements of social media, media outreach, a new website design, and other services to create a strong plan of action. View our full list of services that you can benefit from.

How Can Your Business Benefit From Our Services?

Help Build and Nurture Brand Recognition and Voice

If your business is looking to build or refresh its brand, hiring a marketing agency is a great way to strengthen brand awareness. This is achieved by developing a strategy that targets specific audiences at the right time and place with effective messaging. ON Advertising uses a combination of services, such as social media and content development, to highlight our client’s expertise to their target audience.

Drive Leads and Sales Through Google Ads

Google Ads is one of the most important elements of digital advertising because it allows businesses to market themselves across Google platforms. It can help companies drive leads and sales at a cost-effective rate using a pay-per-click (PPC) method of payment, where businesses will incur a fee each time someone clicks on one of the digital ads.

It’s always a good idea to hire professionals with a proven track record to manage Google Ad campaigns because certain campaigns can be extremely volatile and require a lot of attention and planning to ensure they remain cost-efficient.

Create Conversions Through Valuable Content

In our industry, content is king. It’s an essential element of any campaign as it helps promote a business and encourage engagement with their target audience. This may be achieved in a number of ways, such as:

Compelling website copy
Developing 360 marketing campaigns to reach the target audience
Creating on-going blog posts and digital ads
Using SEO techniques to ensure your website is seen through Google searches

At ON Advertising, we have a creative team of writers and designers who know how to connect businesses with consumers. Developing great content starts with a strong strategy. Our team dedicates itself to brainstorming strategies to bring our client’s message to life in order to encourage consumer engagement.

Stand Out With ON Advertising’s Marketing Services

Since 1993, ON Advertising has provided clients with in-depth knowledge and creative ideas to meet their goals. We’re heavily focused on developing strategic marketing plans to help grow brand recognition and revenue for our clients. It doesn’t matter what industry you are in, we’re ready and able to help you succeed. Contact us today to let us know what your goals are and how they can be achieved.

A close up shot of an Iphone with social media app icons on display

Do Restaurants Need Social Media?

In today’s digital-heavy world, checking social media is an influential part of our daily online activities. According to HootSuite, 3.8 billion people use at least one platform, which has caused businesses to incorporate these platforms into their digital marketing efforts. For restaurants, it’s become almost mandatory to have a social media presence. But, do they need it? How can these platforms benefit restaurants and other businesses? As one of the premier digital marketing agencies in Arizona, we have the details below.

Social Media Provides Brand Awareness

Every brand has a target audience they’d like to reach in their marketing efforts. With social media, every business can attract the specific consumer they want, and restaurant owners can cast a larger net to catch them. Users who search or follow these hashtags may see your post and find their way to your profile and, eventually, your restaurant.

It Can Generate Traffic to a Website

Of course, you want people to visit your restaurant’s website. It will have detailed information about your business, menu, location, and imagery that builds up an appetite. By incorporating social media into your online efforts, you will have the ability to bring more visitors to your site. According to Total Food Service, things like posting a discount code or a new menu item can increase users to your website. Furthermore, we’ve seen how crucial applying well-thought out call-to-actions (CTAs) is to driving more users to a website.

Social Media is an Affordable Marketing Strategy

While businesses can utilize commercials and radio spots to promote their restaurant, social media is a more affordable online platform to promote their businesses. Also, business owners can buy ad space to promote their brand to their target audience. While this form of digital marketing is cost-effective, it can be time-consuming for some business owners. But with each platform having a large user base, advertising on these sites can be extremely beneficial in promoting your restaurant.

Helps Restaurants Stay Connected With Guests

Consumers appreciate when businesses are responsive and active in communicating with their customers. By incorporating social media into your digital marketing efforts, it will allow you to do just that. Did someone have a good or bad experience? Do they have a question regarding one of your menu items? These platforms provide an opportunity for customers to communicate with businesses about their experiences. Furthermore, you can use them to update your followers on specials, changes to the menu, holiday hours, etc. Communication is the name of the game, and these platforms provide an easier way to do so.

Social Media Can Improve Trust and Loyalty in Restaurants

We’ve established how these online platforms can improve the communication between your business and consumer, but it can also enhance a customer’s trust and loyalty. There’s no doubt guests want to know they can trust the service and quality of food served. By adopting social media into your business operations, restaurants can establish transparency by allowing users to comment, review, and post pictures about their experience.

ON Advertising Are Social Media Experts

Social media has the power to bring people and businesses together. As a restaurant owner, it’s especially important to incorporate these platforms into their digital marketing strategy to build and maintain a relationship with customers. At ON Advertising, we specialize in developing strategies that ensure your brand is seen by the right people. We leverage creative, unique, and informative content to help push your business in the right direction. Contact us today to learn how we can assist you in your digital marketing efforts.

Our team of thinkers, creatives and researchers blend their talents to develop a brand that works for you. Whether you are seeking additional advertising advice for your Gen Z audience or any other marketing project, we can make it happen!

Events We Attended in 2020: The Arizona Governor’s Conference on Tourism

The Arizona Governor’s Conference on Tourism is typically an in-person, three-day long event each year. And it shares education, and information about travel professionals and destination marketers. It’s one of the most sought after, important events of the year, as tourism is our state’s number one export industry, and one of our clients in the agency is Visit Glendale. But, just like a plethora of other events, the Arizona Governor’s Conference on Tourism went virtual this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And shifting from in-person to remote attendance turned the extended conference into just two days of webinars lasting just a few hours each day.

Join us as we examine our client’s first virtual event ever and learn how the adjustment to virtual attendance affected the way the conference was presented, what it means for Visit Glendale’s future, and what strategy changes came from the annual event for all of us!

What Works

To best understand our new, recommended strategy for Visit Glendale, a tourism client within the agency, we keep an eye on the Arizona Office of Tourism’s program. And we align Glendale CVB’s tourism campaign to complement the State’s activities.

Considering we target the same cities they are advertising in, including markets like Chicago, Seattle, Minneapolis, San Francisco, New York, and Dallas, we are able to amplify the message for Glendale; without having to spend as much advertising dollars. We follow a similar cadence to the Arizona Office of Tourism’s Rural Marketing program. This program allows small DMOs (Destination Marketing Organizations) and CVBs (Chamber & Visitors Bureaus) outside of Maricopa County to partner up with each other. And to advertise, along with the state, to amplify the overall message to travel to Arizona.

In terms of tourism, things are certainly a little different right now for Macro-Economic Dynamics. As COVID-19 has become an everyday worry, processes have pivoted to include social distancing policies, travel restrictions, and more. These changes are already having a huge impact on the economy. According to the conference, past recession recoveries have followed three common shapes: V (Rapid), U (Steady and Incremental) and L (Long Haul). V (Rapid) is a fast, dramatic dip in the economy followed by a narrow trough and quick, steady recovery over a period of six months. U (Steady and Incremental) is an extended trough period and a gradual upswing. And L (Long Haul) is a very long period of minimal increment improvement, which would be the worst case scenario for our state. So, what does Arizona’s plan look like, exactly?

Arizona’s Tourism Recovery

The AOT Destination Recovery Plan for the next 12-18 months is based upon the “U” Steady and Incremental plan. With the possibility of adjustment to other plans if the virus requires. And it should come as no surprise that for the state of Arizona, accelerating leisure travel activity statewide is priority #1.

As far as outdoor recreation is concerned, Arizona’s outdoor amenities allow individuals to explore. And all while maintaining social distancing protocols, which is extremely important during the pandemic. Because of this, these opportunities will become the destinations for a number of staycations as Arizonans rediscover their own backyard. Many parks have already been seeing high visitation, even with travel restrictions in place. To help, itineraries promoting the lesser visited, populated areas will aid in dispersing and spreading out visitors.

But, along with a shift in strategy comes the need for accommodations. This means supporting Destination Marketing Organization efforts. No matter whether it’s promoting staycations or campaigns related to residents rediscovering the Arizona they know and love. Plus, it will be important to develop a plan to tie travel experiences to other overnight options; and even bundle local places to stay with nearby experiences. These programs could drum up additional interest and promote community exploration. As well as keep a visitor who traveled to the destination longer than anticipated.

Interestingly enough, meetings, incentives, conferences, events, and other business travel make up a large portion of travel to urban areas in Arizona, like Visit Glendale. And what is usually a reliable source of travel and hotel stays, has changed due to COVID-19. In turn slowing down the typical indirect spending to local establishments. The Arizona Office of Tourism has historically focused on leisure travel. However, it depends if a budget becomes available. Then, they’ll focus on helping to accelerate the return of business travel that is so central to stabilizing visitor volume.

By applying these tactics on a smaller scale, we can help Glendale CVB get through these times; and help them come out on top on the other side of the pandemic.

What’s in Store

According to the Traveler Sentiment Report from Destination Analysts covering data from March to July of 2020, 18% of those surveyed are extremely worried about contracting COVID-19 by traveling. In Arizona, when asked what best describes their current state of mind regarding getting back out and traveling, 15% of those surveyed say they are ready to travel but feel some hesitation.

But, now that we’ve learned about the Strategic Recovery Plan for the state of Arizona, what’s in store for FY21? Consumer sentiment and health will drive decisions. In fact, the main initiative of the Arizona Office of Tourism will be the Rediscover Arizona campaign! And when consumers are ready to start traveling again the campaign will be expanded to drive markets; and then to the target cities and national audiences.

A Look at Arizona Governor’s Conferences Past

This year was the first time the Arizona Governor’s Conference on tourism was held virtually. And it certainly looked and operated quite a bit differently than it did years prior!

With COVID-19 leaving the future of well…everything uncertain, we’re eager to see what the conference will look like in the year(s) to come. But not only does the pandemic have the potential to change the format of the conference, but it could equally change the content that the event is centered around. Depending on how long it takes to return to a “new normal”, that includes travel, the industry could see massive changes in the near future. And that means everything from panel discussions to internal strategies are contingent upon what kind of recovery Arizona sees. So, we’re staying tuned – and so should you!

Partner with ON Advertising

At ON Advertising, we deliver business results. We offer an extensive list of services that can help your company with whatever you need by tailoring a business growth strategy specifically to you. Despite these unprecedented times, we are more determined than ever to help your business succeed.

The Influence of Gen Z on Marketing

Boomers? Gen X? Millennials? Move aside and make way for the newest generation making waves in the marketing industry: Gen Z! Born after 1996, many members of Generation Z aren’t even old enough to vote yet. The oldest of the group turning 23 just this year. But despite their seemingly young age, they’ve been given an advantage. And that’s the ability to be a completely internet dependent generation; with a whole lot of influence that comes with it.

Just last week, a couple of our expert team members virtually attended the WP Engine webinar: “Generation Influence. Gen Z and the power of identity in marketing” featuring Jason Dorsey, a leading Millennial and Gen Z researcher and president with the Center for Generational Kinetics, as well as Mary Ellen Dugan, CMO at WP Engine. And we learned a ton about how Gen Z is making an impact on buying habits; and influencing the marketing aimed at every other generation. Join us as we discuss what sets this generation apart and what differences they’re making in marketing at every turn.

Who is Gen Z?

According to WP Engine’s brand new, groundbreaking study (data collected pre-COVID-19) with The Center for Generational Kinetics, the identity of Gen Z is unlike other generations. One difference being that they are the most internet dependent generation. So much so that anything less than 1 hour without screen time can feel pretty uncomfortable for 24% of participants. And while these users, who need constant access, are active on the internet, many have become their own content creators. With some even making a living doing so in industries like gaming, vlogging, and more. Even teaching themselves, through trial and error, about platforms like WordPress. Interestingly enough, Gen Z is leading all Americans in planning to (21%) or possibly starting (24%) their own business in the future.

What else sets Gen Z apart on the internet? Their overall openness and transparency. Because they are born-digital, they have a digital mindset – and a digital vision to match. According to the study, they see the digital experience as being the emotional human experience; that they are one and the same. In fact, 54% of Gen Z members share images publicly online, 50% share videos publicly online, and 46% even share selfies publicly online. And they hope that honesty is reciprocated; with 23% trusting someone they met online rather than in person and 56% being friends with someone they only know online and have never actually met in person. But above all, Dugan says that Gen Z wants entertainment before information. That personalization is important, but a predictive experience (41%) is really what they’re searching for in comparison to an anonymous one (59%).

The Gen Z Difference

So, how does that translate into making a difference? The answer is influence. Generation influence more specifically. To do this, they’ve achieved a cohesion as a generation; and they are similar around the world due to internet and cheap technology access. According to the WP Engine’s study, freedom (22%) and tech-savviness (19%) are the most important things to them. Which seeps into everything they do. Intriguingly, 72% believe they are part of a social movement, as a form of activism, only if they are responding to a position on social media.

Less surprisingly, 72% of Gen Z participants use brands that contribute to a social cause, compared to 69% of Millenials, 62% of Gen X, and Boomers coming in last at 51%. Truly, a great product is what builds Gen Z’s trust in a company or brand the most. Across all generations, loyalty ranked highest in importance, which means they use a product regularly. As long as it aligns with their values and helps others view their lifestyle as cool, of course. They are, however, more likely to buy a product if they can customize it (75%) in comparison to 56% of Boomers. Plus, because they do the research, they don’t need to know someone to have recommendations. But on top of it all, Gen Z has a sense of corporate social responsibility; and they’ll forgive you if you aren’t perfect, which is pretty critical for a brands longevity nowadays.

To fully build trust in a company or a brand, Gen Z is looking for quality products, stellar customer service, and most importantly: honesty. Achieved through real online reviews, from real customers. In fact, 82% of participants in the study said they would trust a company more if the images they use are unedited and of actual customers. Compared to Boomers at 73% with the same feeling, and even Millenials at 79%, this younger generation is holding companies accountable and demanding more transparency, which is beneficial to all of us in the long run.

Gen Z Influence

To put it frankly, Gen Z has the power to make huge changes in marketing and buying habits for all generations to follow. For example, 59% of Gen Z participants believe that all shopping will begin to take place online within the next 10 years. However, it may take a moment for other generations to catch up to similar sentiments. Take for instance the stance on AI. 64% of Gen Z thinks artificial intelligence will positively impact the world; and only 46% of Boomers feel the same way.

According to the study, 79% of Gen Z participants feel as though the internet has made people even more connected, compared to 70% of Boomers. So, how do we bridge this disconnect? By realizing the similarities between generations, what they want, and letting Gen Z lead the charge. Case in point being that all generations, with the exception of ready-to-eat food, prefer websites over apps for online purchases. And this could drastically change how we do our online shopping in the future.

According to the webinar, if we make a Gen Z digital experience other generations will continue to catch up – which is key.

Work with ON Advertising

As the world shifts towards Gen Z influence, we are keeping up with what’s new at ON Advertising. Because we believe that in order to keep up with the ever-changing marketplace, it’s essential to stay in the know. When you partner with us we develop a strategy, based on research, that targets your ideal audience and accomplishes your business growth goals. And from advertising to digital marketing, full-service is what we do best.
Contact us to speak with our team of experts and start working with us today!

Client Spotlight: Pioneer Packaging

At ON Advertising, we have a portfolio chock full of incredible clients; and this month, we’d like to talk all about Pioneer Packaging! Founded over 35 years ago, Pioneer Packaging is a leader in packaging design and manufacturing of customized packaging solutions. They’ve been engineering these solutions for various clients within the industrial, retail, and moving and storage industries since the beginning. They make sure that each client partnership results in cutting-edge packaging that truly reflects the quality and message of their business. They approach each project with the mindset of “Imagine It…Done”; and it’s what authentically sets them apart.
We’re honored to have been working with the Pioneer Packaging team since 2013 and cannot wait to see what the future holds for our partnership. Here’s a look at what we’ve done during our time together so far!

What We’ve Been Up To

Having worked with Pioneer Packaging for over 6 years, we’ve gotten to know their brand well. Over the course of our partnership, a custom strategy, unique to their brand, has allowed us to execute some awesome jobs with their team.
Our extensive scope of services for their team includes:

Website Creation and Maintenance:
- Within the website creation service, we’ve continued to maintain and update their website for performance and functionality. This includes doing things such as updating plugins, keeping media up-to-date, optimizing pages, and more.
SEO Blog Posts
- We create blog posts that emphasize packaging trends and industry news. They also strategically leverage SEO keyword terms that people use to identify a company like Pioneer Packaging online.
Paid Media Management
- We advertise Pioneer’s Packaging services to users within Arizona and California and leverage keywords in Google’s platform to target the ads to individuals interested in general, food, and medical packaging services.
Email Marketing (4,000 Individuals Per Month)
- We write and distribute an email blast to prospective clients and current Pioneer Packaging clients.
Social Media Growth and Management
- We create content specific to social media platforms to garner traffic and engagement.

In our industry, we know that it’s easy for businesses to get lost, and even lose contact with their customers for a number of reasons. In this instance, our partnership came to fruition because Pioneer was having difficulty engaging with their clientele and building new business. While connecting the right people at the right time may be difficult, it can certainly be done!
Once we understood the Pioneer Packaging audience, we immediately got started on helping simplify their marketing process. And we also focused on building valuable relationships between them and their customers through inbound marketing techniques. We’ve built them a new website, executed effective email marketing campaigns, engaged digital advertising on Google Ads and LinkedIn, provided high-quality video production, and generated creative collateral.

What Happened

Due to our efforts, Pioneer Packaging has experienced some pretty incredible growth over the years, in a number of aspects of their business. From 2018 to 2019 alone, we’ve seen an increase in website speed and increased the number of targeted keywords for Search Engine Optimization. The Pioneer Packaging website has been one of the main drivers for new business leads for their company. Plus, thanks to Google Ads, the amount of sessions has increased by 15%, users by 17%, new users by 18%, and paid search by 65% from 2018 to 2019.
Not to mention, social media strategies have also been crucial to Pioneer Packaging’s increased success. For instance, we work weekly to create social media platform-specific posts that we know Pioneer Packaging’s audience will be interested in. We can attribute the steady growth of their social media numbers to consistent posting when the audience is online. And highlighting specific services and packaging, utilizing trending hashtags, and sharing relevant industry information has also made an impact. Interestingly, much of Pioneer Packaging’s traction can be attributed to the topic of sustainability. Specifically sustainable packaging – of which they have hundreds of products available. Because green packaging initiatives are extremely important to Pioneer Packaging, it has become a strong area of expertise for them and interest for their audience.
But in tandem with post topics, we’ve also streamlined the ways in which we convey Pioneer Packaging’s messaging. How? By implementing an informational, conversational caption style and a cohesive photo editing technique so that each social media platform represents the brand accurately. All of this combined has created an overarching brand they can be proud of.

What We’re Planning for Pioneer Packaging

Each year we partner with Pioneer Packaging means new opportunities for growth! So what’s ahead? Going forward, we are setting our sights on some exciting new ventures. From a new website and new videos to improved paid advertising and new business leads, a ton is in the pipeline. We will continue to work towards increasing engagement with their clientele and new business building.

ON Advertising

We are an ad agency committed to the success of our clients. Our talented, enthusiastic team brings a diverse set of skills, insight, and creativity to whatever we work on. We cultivate long-term client relationships while executing projects and providing the bottom-line results our clients look for. Contact us today to unlock the potential of your brand.