Reflecting on This Remarkable Year
As we move into the holiday season, we’re taking a moment to celebrate the things that make our work meaningful: the clients who trust us, the tools that make our work smarter, and the impact our team creates together. Here’s what we’re especially thankful for this year.
Strong Client Relationships
Every successful brand strategy starts with a strong partnership, and we’re fortunate to have some of the best. This year, we’re especially proud to celebrate:
- 100% Client Retention: It’s rare in any industry, and we don’t take it for granted. The loyalty of our clients is a testament to the strong relationships we’ve built together.
- Collaborative Success Stories: The best brand strategies are born from collaboration. We’re grateful for the give-and-take that leads to innovative solutions.
Working In a Nimble, Diverse Team
One of our greatest strengths is our incredible team. We’re especially thankful for:
- Diverse Perspectives and Better Ideas: Our team’s varied backgrounds and viewpoints mean we’re constantly learning from each other and evolving.
- Personalized Attention to Clients: Belonging to a nimble team means we can adapt quickly and give every project the care it deserves, ensuring no detail is overlooked.
AI Tools That Strengthen Brand Strategy
In today’s fast-paced world, advanced tools like AI language models are making a difference. While we value the human touch above all, we’re thankful for how AI helps us deliver even better results, including:
- Smart Research, Fast Results: AI tools help us research topics quickly, especially early in the process. It frees up time for the strategic, creative work that only humans can do.
- Sharper Editing: Editing tools powered by AI help ensure that every piece of content is polished and professional. While these tools don’t catch everything and our personal attention is still required, they certainly speed up the process!
Opportunities to Create Impact Through Brand Strategy
At the heart of our work is the chance to make a difference, and we’re grateful for the meaningful projects we’ve been part of this year. This includes:
- Creating Environmental Graphics That Inspire: Designing spaces that are as functional as they are beautiful is always satisfying, and this year gave us several opportunities to flex our design capabilities.
- Spreading Health Awareness: We love collaborating with organizations like the Georgia Dental Association and Lenbrook on projects that educate communities about vital health topics.
- Helping Businesses Reimagine Themselves: Whether it’s refining a brand strategy or crafting a fresh identity, helping businesses achieve their goals is one of the reasons we got into the marketing game.
This holiday season, we’re celebrating a year of creativity, strong client relationships, and meaningful impact. Ready to make an impact together? Let’s connect and craft something remarkable for the year ahead.
Minimalism in Branding: How Visual Simplicity is Defining Design
Minimalism has risen to be one of the most ubiquitous design trends of the modern era. Driven by the need for clarity, emotional connection, and thoughtful design, companies are embracing minimalism in branding for how it connects with consumers who crave simple, authentic brands. And, while we can't deny that simplified visual identities with monochrome palettes, negative space, and elegant packaging look cool, they also help to foster trust and drive engagement.
Why Minimalism is Trending
As consumers face digital overload, they gravitate toward brands that offer a sense of calm and purpose. Minimalist design communicates authenticity and transparency, making brands appear more intentional and trustworthy. Additionally, this approach aligns with sustainable values—brands that avoid excess visual clutter subtly convey their commitment to reducing waste. It’s no coincidence that trust, authenticity, and a commitment to social issues like sustainability are important to the rising Gen-Z consumers.
Let's take a look at some of the most successful examples of this trend:
Apple: A Minimalist Icon
To find proof of the effectiveness of minimalism in branding, look no further than your iPhone. Apple championed minimalism before it was cool, using clean design and negative space to connect with audiences and stand out in the crowded tech marketplace. Their packaging also reflects this philosophy, with crisp white boxes emphasizing quality over embellishment. Likewise, Apple's use of negative space supports clear messaging, a strategy that has cemented this brand as nothing short of iconic.
Aise Skincare: The Modern Minimalist Edit
Aise Skincare exemplifies a modern trend within the minimalist spectrum: monochromatic color design, with premium packaging centered around one base color supported by different shades of that same color. Like Apple, Aise's packaging features simple typography and generous use of negative space, communicating luxury and style. This restrained approach reflects a sense of wellness and authenticity, both of which are important concepts for any skincare brand to convey.
Zoom: Simply Successful
By now, most of us are familiar with Zoom. While the platform gained widespread popularity out of necessity during the pandemic, its logo serves as a perfect example of minimalist design principles. The logo relies on a monochromatic palette with negative space cleverly forming the shape of a camera, reinforcing the brand’s core function. Its typography is clean and easy to read, contributing to instant recognizability. Through this minimalist approach, Zoom communicates reliability and ease of use—conveying that their product integrates seamlessly into your professional life without unnecessary complexity.
Should Your Brand Adopt Minimalism in 2025?
Minimalism is more than just a visual trend—it reflects deeper shifts in consumer expectations toward thoughtful design and intentional living. By embracing this approach, brands express how their values align with the modern consumer. Whether through monochromatic palettes, elegant packaging, or negative space, companies like Apple and Aise Skincare demonstrate how simplicity can amplify a brand's impact.
As we move deeper into the 21st century, brands that embrace minimalism will continue to build stronger emotional connections and rise above the noise of a crowded market. Ready to cut through the clutter and give your brand a sleek, modern update? Let’s chat—whether you’re rebranding or refining, we’ll help you design a look that resonates and lasts.
The Winning Strategy Behind Brand Extensions
Brand extensions are innovative brand strategies that offer exciting opportunities to launch new products or services by leveraging established brand equity. When done right, a brand extension can offer a new perspective with which your business can operate while diversifying product lines and reaching all new customers.
When Brand Extensions Rule
When a brand extension is successful enough, it can become the dominant face of the brand, leading to previously inaccessible avenues of growth. Take Michelin, for example. While primarily known as a tire manufacturer, Michelin may be better known for its dining guides and the prestigious Michelin Stars they award high-quality restaurants. Similarly, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, who started as a professional wrestler, is arguably more famous today as a Hollywood actor.
Synergy Brand Extensions: Meeting Customers Where They Are
Brand extensions based on brand synergies meet their current customers where they already are. Heinz’s foray into paint colors is a perfect example. Known for its iconic ketchup, Heinz introduced a paint color that matched the beloved condiment. This wasn’t a random choice—their market research showed that 39% of those buying condiments during peak BBQ season were also into DIY and home improvements. By tapping into existing customer interests, Heinz created a seamless extension of their brand.
Essence Brand Extensions: Leveraging Strengths
Some brand extensions work by extending the essence of their brand to new, but similar, products. Dyson, a brand synonymous with high-quality vacuum cleaners, ventured into the world of hair care with their premium hair dryers. These products are pricey but because both vacuums and hair dryers are machines that move air, customers assume an equally high level of precision, luxury, and quality. Similarly, Ferrari extended its brand to luxury watches, implying that the meticulous craftsmanship of their cars is mirrored in their timepieces.
Complementary Goods Brand Extensions: Vertical Integration
Extending a brand into complementary goods can be an easy way to diversify your product lines. Colgate, for instance, is a company that saw early success selling toothpaste, so it made perfect sense when they started selling toothbrushes as well. That said, brand extensions that stray too far from the core brand identity can backfire. In the 1960s, Colgate tested a line of frozen foods, which quickly failed—unsurprising, given the idea of eating Colgate-branded frozen crab didn’t sit well with consumers accustomed to associating the brand with the flavor of toothpaste.
A New Frontier for your Brand
When executed thoughtfully, these innovative brand strategies can open profitable avenues for growth and innovation. By understanding the synergy with existing customer behaviors, maintaining the essence of your brand, or exploring complementary products, you might just discover the next big thing for your business.
If you want to unleash the full potential of your brand, reach out to Relish Marketing. We're here to ensure your brand continues to resonate and grow.
Building Authentic Relationships: The Key to Marketing to Gen Z
As Gen Z ages up, their impact on the economy and society continues to increase. As of 2023, their spending power in the US alone was estimated to be over $360 billion, more than double what it was in 2019. As this trend seems likely to continue, understanding Gen Z consumer behavior is more important than ever.
However, despite thriving financially, marketing to Gen Z can be difficult. They are considered thrifty consumers who save on average a third of their income. But of course, there are ways to reach this younger generation. But as CMOs everywhere are discovering, new tools and strategies are needed to embrace the ever-eclectic Generation Z.
Influencer marketing matters
Gen Z is the most digitally savvy generation, spending an average of 4 hours daily on social media apps. So, it makes sense that its members trust recommendations from people they know, or people who seem like peers. That’s why utilizing influencers is important when marketing to Gen Z. Influencer marketing is the practice of having individuals on social media advocate for a brand or product in posts aimed at their peers.
Influencer and peer marketing is key to understanding Gen Z marketing trends. Nearly two-thirds of Gen Z follow influencers on social media, and half of them report trusting the recommendations of the influencers they follow. In fact, influencers and content creators are 3.5 times more influential on Gen Z than traditional social media marketing methods.
Visual and interactive content reign supreme
With all the time that Gen Zers spend on social media, they are accustomed to consuming visual and interactive content like polls, challenges, and User Generated Content (UGC) campaigns such as Apple’s “Shot on iPhone.” Gen Z also uses more channels of communication than any other generation, so reaching them means using as many of them as possible.
The rise of interactive marketing and its success with Gen Z tells us the younger generations expect more from their marketing than a sales pitch pasted over an image. No doubt, this makes more work for marketers. But the upside is that the deeper interaction that Gen Z expects can actually strengthen loyalty and attachment to your brand.
Trust and authenticity are key
More than anything else, Gen Z favors authentic messages delivered by sources they trust. This is partially why influencer marketing is so successful with Gen Z, and why traditional marketing methods are having less of an impact.
It’s probably also why global ad spending is set to double over 2024. Gen Z has likely consumed the most marketing messages per day of any generation yet to date. These people are inundated with ads on social media, websites, TV, and of course, in the real world. This level of intense content consumption has led many members of their generation to develop what Gen Z authority advocate Cheyenne Hunt refers to as an “internal filter to disregard promotional materials that feel gimmicky, polished, or inauthentic.”
This generational skepticism renders many of the popular forms of marketing ineffective against one of the most important segments of the population. To truly reach Gen Z, you must communicate with them honestly and authentically, and likely through a medium or spokesperson they are familiar with or can relate to.
Social issues remain important
A recent study found that roughly half of Gen Z workers would be likely to quit a job if they perceived a lack of equity in the workplace. Gen Zers see diversity as essential for a healthy growing business and are looking for employers and brands that reflect their social politics.
This actually points to a way in which these Gen Z marketing approaches can offer benefits across multiple demographics. Across generations and political lines, it was found that 87% of consumers in the US are more likely to purchase a product if the company behind it advocated for an issue they care about.
The truth about Gen Z
The fact is, Gen Z is looking for more authentic, more interactive, and more socially diverse brands than any generation before them has. And while marketing to Gen Z is more involved than marketing to other generations, brands that do it right will be rewarded by loyal followers with ample amounts of disposable income who genuinely enjoy interacting with the products and are likely to spread the word with their numerous peers.
Lessons Learned from Super Bowl LVIII
The Most Watched Broadcast in History
With Super Bowl LVIII breaking records as the most-watched program in US history, drawing an average of 123.7 million viewers, it's evident that this event holds a unique position in American culture. As one of the few events that Americans across all demographics experience, the big game presents an unparalleled opportunity for companies to reach a vast and diverse audience. While the Super Bowl is known for having the best commercials of the year, the increasing popularity of the event has led many companies to play it safe. However, each commercial was ranked by a USA Today poll that received tens of thousands of responses, and a few ads rose to the top as being truly stand out, while others were designed to be among the worst of the evening.
We analyzed the highest and lowest rated commercials of the event, and have several key insights to share.
Evaluating the Ads: The Best and the Worst
Top Picks:
Each of the highest-ranking commercials had the confidence to put their brands second. The State Farm commercial wasn’t selling you on any insurance plan or new deal, it was entirely about Arnold and his accent. Similarly, “The DunKings” was about Ben Affleck auditioning for Jennifer Lopez’s music video, and Kia’s told the story of a young ice-skater.
The two highest-ranked commercials also masterfully utilized celebrity endorsements to engage viewers. By integrating humor and leveraging the public personas of figures like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Ben Affleck, these ads left a lasting impression. Notably, the Kia ad stood out by delivering a heartfelt narrative that resonated with audiences, demonstrating the effectiveness of emotional storytelling. Notably, other commercials that pulled on the audience's heartstrings, such as the NFL “Born to Play” ad and Google’s “Javier in Frame” spot were all in the top 20% highest-rated commercials.
Bottom Picks:
- "American Values," Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Campaign
- "Less Social Media. More Snapchat," Snapchat
- "Make Your Moves Count," TurboTax
In contrast, the lowest-ranked commercials faltered in several areas. Lack of recognizable celebrity presence, overly strong calls to action, and a focus on the product rather than storytelling contributed to their lackluster performance. Additionally, some ads, like Snapchat's, missed the mark by adopting a negative tone and failing to authentically connect with their target audience.
Key Takeaways for Marketers
Subtlety Sells: Viewers prefer ads that treat brands as accessories rather than focal points. By integrating brands organically into compelling narratives, advertisers can capture attention without coming across as overly promotional.
Authenticity Matters: Authenticity remains key in delivering branded messages. By staying true to their brand identities (and the celebrities endorsing them), advertisers can establish genuine connections with consumers.
The Power of Storytelling: Successful commercials tell stories that resonate with audiences on a personal level. By prioritizing storytelling over product promotion, brands can create memorable experiences that leave a lasting impact.
Integrated Marketing Triumphs
The real winners of the evening, by our estimation, were the celebrities who successfully executed integrated marketing campaigns. The most high-profile and successful of these came from Beyonce, who not only slayed in the hilarious commercial for Verizon Wireless but also cheekily directed fans to her website with the line “Drop the new music.” And sure enough, she had released a new single that same day which quickly amassed over 4.5 million views. Jennifer Lopez employed a similar tactic. In the Dunkin’ commercial, she was seen working on a new album - an album that was released just five days after the Super Bowl. These artists were able to capitalize on their features in high-profile commercials to draw attention to their own products. They were, essentially, paid to advertise themselves, and that sounds like a winning situation to me.
Get the Most out of your Digital Ad Dollars with These Pro Tips
Digital marketing continues to be one of the essential tools for gathering sales leads and building brand awareness. At Relish Marketing, we create digital campaigns for our clients that consistently perform above industry standards – thanks to partnerships we have with a variety of excellent digital media professionals.
Nancy Gunter of Mirj Media has placed digital ads for many of our most successful digital campaigns, and provides strategic guidance. I sat down with her to discuss the leading digital ad strategies of the day and how companies can get the most out of their digital ad budgets.
Question: What digital platforms have you found to be the most effective, and why?
Nancy: I have found that integrated digital ad strategies prove to be the most effective approach. It allows us to engage with your target audience across various touchpoints while maintaining a consistent brand message. The choice of the most effective platform depends on your specific audience and campaign goals.
For instance, email campaigns are invaluable for staying top-of-mind with your existing audience, while social media marketing is great at generating interest and can be used effectively to generate leads and drive traffic to your website, particularly in the awareness and consideration phases of a digital campaign. Paid search advertising is particularly beneficial in the consideration and conversion phases, capturing potential customers who actively searching for a specific product or service. Finally, organic social media posts on digital platforms are essential for building long-term brand authority by engaging with your followers and reaching wider audiences.
Question: Are there emerging platforms or trends worth exploring for digital advertising?
Nancy: There are several, but for now I’ll highlight AI. The usage of AI is predicted to rise significantly in 2024. This could impact consumer’s level of trust in digital marketing. Brands will need to focus more on authenticity and customer’s full experience.
Question: How does the target audience affect your choice of tools, strategies, and platforms?
Nancy: Knowing your target audience helps you choose the right platform and reduce waste on platforms where your audience doesn’t engage. Reaching your audience where they are with messages they care about, you're more likely to outperform competitors who spread their efforts too thin or overlook what the audience is really interested in.
Question: What types of digital ad creative or content have resonated the most with audiences?
Nancy: The choice between video, banner, and search ads depends on the specific campaign goals – for example, building brand awareness versus driving immediate conversions.
Video ads typically generate higher engagement than image ads. According to HubSpot, video ads have a 56% higher click-through rate . Google search ads reach audiences who are actively looking for a particular product or service and therefore deliver a higher conversion rate than display ads. However, display ads, which include banner ads on websites and social media, offer a broader reach but tend to have a lower conversion rate.
Question: How should one determine the budget allocation across different digital platforms?
Nancy: Begin by clearly defining your goals and objectives, such as who you want to reach within a specific timeframe. Before deciding on select channels, review previous campaign performance to understand which strategies delivered the best results. After running a campaign and collecting enough data, the digital ad strategies can be adjusted as needed to optimize results.
Question: How often do you analyze performance data, and what tools do you use for analytics?
Nancy: We analyze performance data at different intervals to ensure we're capturing the most relevant insights for each aspect of our marketing efforts. For example, we look at data daily for immediate short-term metrics/goals when needed including website traffic, engagement, and conversions related to a specific campaign. Every month, we would look at search engine rankings, website traffic (total users, new users, traffic source, sessions, and popular pages), review Google Ad and social media performance KPIs, and compare month-over-month differences such as impressions, reach, and cost per click, to name a few.
The tools used depend on the campaign. For instance, I would use Google Analytics for comprehensive web analytics, tracking traffic, behavior, and conversions. For social media campaigns, there are platform-specific tools like Facebook Insights and LinkedIn Campaign Manager to track engagement and campaign performance. There are also SEO tools like SEMrush to monitor search rankings, and email marketing platforms like Mailchimp which provide open rates and unsubscribe metrics.
As Nancy says, understanding your target audience is key to selecting the most effective platforms and crafting content that resonates. Video ads, search ads, and display ads each play unique roles in achieving specific campaign goals, and careful budget allocation is important. Are you getting the best possible results from your digital campaigns? If not, reaching out to an agency with a proven track record of generating results might be a profitable next step. We’d love to hear from you! Reach out to us anytime – we’re always happy to chat.
Nancy can be reached by calling 770.757.6982, or by emailing nancy@mirjmedia.com.
It's Not Work-Life Balance. It's Work-Life Harmony
Over the past year, Relish Marketing has been getting busy. Old clients are coming to us with new jobs. Companies we’ve never worked with before are reaching out to scope our availability. Business, as they say, is booming.
Our increased workload has inspired a series of conversations between myself and my coworkers on the importance of maintaining our personal lives. It was during one such conversation with Corey-Jan, our head strategist and frequent contributor to this blog, that I was challenged in my use of the phrase "work-life balance."
“Because it really isn’t balance we should be striving for,” said CJ, “but harmony.”
Her point was that "work-life balance" calls to mind a perfectly segmented day divided between personal time, time spent with loved ones, and working time. And, life doesn't work that way. A state of work-life balance cannot accommodate a surge of business requiring an above-average amount of professional attention any more than it can accommodate, say, a family emergency.
So, when I find myself in a situation as I do today, inundated with exciting business opportunities that require substantial effort to see through, I don't seek balance. I seek harmony.
The difference may sound merely linguistic. But in practice, it is profound. Harmony is not rigid and inflexible. It does not require a perfectly segmented day. Harmony is fluid, taking into account that some days are busier than others, as are some months, and even years. Sometimes, when you're busy, the simple answer is to roll up your sleeves and jump in.
This is not to say that our personal lives don't matter. In fact, they are exceedingly important. In the world of advertising, we marketers are responsible for delivering engaging creative that turns heads and gets proverbial – and sometimes literal – butts in seats. Well, that kind of excellence doesn't come from just anywhere. It certainly doesn't come from a space lacking of personal fulfillment.
Passion feeds passion. Time spent with our friends and family not only sparks joy but creativity. The energy we cultivate in our personal lives enables the brilliance we achieve in our professional ones. Likewise, our professional lives should afford us opportunities to invest in our personal lives. And both personally and professionally, when the busy times subside, we know we will make up for any lost moments.
The concept of work-life harmony understands this – and welcomes it. When our personal lives demand our attention, we have the flexibility to be there be it for friends, family, or the refrigerator repair expert. When Relish gets busy, we go to work. Sometimes our days stretch long, and our candles burn low. But we know the best work comes from a place of harmony. We allow ourselves time for passions, for whims, for the people who matter in our lives. Even in our busiest seasons, it fuels us professionally as well as personally.
Creating Culture When Everyone Works from Home
The past year saw many disruptions to how we go about our day-to-day lives. I’ll wager that for anyone reading this, one of the biggest changes was how much less you saw your loved ones, your family, and your co-workers.
I joined Relish in July of 2021, and by that time we had long since switched to working fully remote. As you can imagine, the onboarding process was strange. I was the first new hire Relish brought on since the pandemic, and procedures hadn’t yet been put in place for how our company onboards in a remote context.
While the process no doubt would have been smoother if Relish was still in person, I was surprised how much of the company culture I could feel during my time onboarding. This in turn made me realize how grateful I am to be working at a company that has such a strong culture and can maintain its identity through the splintering of our workforce across metro Atlanta and beyond.
Every company has a culture, and if that culture is not intentionally maintained, it can sour and grow stale. Luckily, Relish does a fantastic job maintaining our culture, and I want to share some of how we do that with you.
We Talk Once a Day, Every Day
Every morning, the Relish team begins the day with a company-wide call. Formally, this is a time for us to catch up on projects and communicate any information across the studio, management, and account services teams. Informally, however, this gives us an opportunity to say hello and fill each other in on our life updates.
It’s not uncommon to hear jokes about what mischief a team member’s kid got into over the weekend or commiserate when someone’s home renovations turn disastrous. Not only does this keep us tightly knit as a team and closely aligned on our goals as a company, but it serves as a team building exercise that brings us together as a group of humans making their way in the world, and that’s what culture is all about.
We Make Time to Meet in Person
While we are working fully remote, we still make the time to gather as a team and enjoy each other’s company. These events, be they lunches or holiday parties, remind us that not only are we co-workers but friends and family as well.
When a team only gathers over work topics, the members will be teammates, nothing more. By adding in these events (which, despite being non-mandatory, we all attend), we get to see each other in a relaxed, social atmosphere, and remember “oh, yeah, this person is also really cool outside of work mode.”
We Understand Each Other’s Strengths
An integral component of any team is how each members’ skills play off of and feed into each other. At Relish, my co-workers have had the pleasure of working with each other for several years (myself, of course, not included). This has given them plenty of time to learn how everyone likes to operate and what they’re good at.
Everyone is allowed to play to their strengths at Relish. In fact, we encourage it. If you’re good at something, we want you to do that as much as possible. And because we have such a strong sense of everyone’s skill set and style, we’re able to work together that much easier.
Companies function best when employees are allowed to be themselves, are encouraged to succeed, and are surrounded by people who understand and support their process. Maintaining this level of company culture can be hard, but by maintaining communication, hosting group events, and understanding each other’s abilities, teams of every size can find themselves moving the rockiest of mountains.