Direct Marketing

Since the beginning of the digital age, the marketing industry has evolved at an astonishing pace.

Significant advances in the world of digital technology have meant that consumers have higher expectations of brands and are more demanding than ever before. Brands therefore have to think outside the box to find ways to engage people on a deeper level in order to encourage long-term loyalty.

By Holly Snowdon

You may be aware of the latest developments in the world of Social media. As of yesterday (Tuesday the 2^nd of August), Facebook-owned Instagram launched a new ‘Stories’ feature, which bears a remarkable likeness to the popular photo and video-sharing app, Snapchat. In fact, to say that they are similar would be an understatement, the features on the two apps are bordering on identical.

PPC – or you may know it as ‘Pay Per Click marketing’, has been around for many years, but many businesses are still yet to use it. At MAXX we frequently find that clients are keen to know more about PPC: what it is and how it works. So, should you be using it & will it benefit your business? Hopefully this will help you decide if you are missing a trick regarding PPC.

Earlier this morning the UK was introduced to the Apple Pay service, much anticipated following the launch of Apple Pay in the US in October 2014. This service allows iPhone 6, 6 Plus and Apple Watch users to pay at select retailers for their purchases wirelessly, using their devices. Payments can be made up to £20 for a single transaction (much like contactless payment credit/debit cards currently).

You may have seen across our social media sites yesterday that we shared an article explaining why you may seen missing A’s, O’s and B’s across the Internet. It’s National Blood Week – or if you’re tweeting: #NationalBloodWeek, and to support and raise awareness about the national blood shortage, big brands across the country are giving up the relevant letters (#missingtype).

Over the past few years, a new trend called Livestreaming has been having an impact in some industries. Now more and more Livestreaming options are coming into the market. But what is Livestreaming? Put simply, Livestream allows you to use your smart devices to live stream your entire life onto the Internet, through various simple applications.   To give an example, the most successful industry to utilise Livestreaming so far is gaming.

 Last weekend MAXX travelled to NEC near Birmingham to attend Optrafair, the UK’s leading optical exhibition. Our Social Media Manager Ellie and Managing Director Dermot were there to support our clients Topcon and watch one of our latest projects coming to life!  

Topcon is a manufacturer of optical equipment for ophthalmology and has a strong presence at Optrafair every year. For this year’s event MAXX designed, printed and delivered a suite of marketing materials including 2 x 48 sheet billboards and an advertising campaign to promote the company and it’s stand.  

When we think of the big brands of today, certain organisations come to mind. Apple, Vodafone, Kelloggs… just to name a few off the top of my head. All of these brands have something in common: strong design - a strong brand identity that has been designed and sculpted time and time again to create something we instantly recognise. The CEO and owner of international brand, Speedo is quoted saying: ‘Design is everything. Because without it we have no business. Anybody can design a decent product – they can’t all design outstanding products.

With over 10 years of online growth, the question: ‘Is social media just a fad?’ Is still a topic of conversation within the world of business. With Linkedin and MySpace being founded in 2003, followed swiftly by other giants such as Facebook and eventually Twitter, many businesses still question whether social media is a fleeting craze – or really useful at all. Is there a right or wrong answer? Well… yes there is. The answer is no, it’s not a phase. Social media is constantly growing in numbers and has made a huge statement within our society and on a global scale.