Wow, this coffee blog has taken on wings and people are hitting the local establishments in droves! That's exactly what we hoped for. Just this week alone, Quills Coffee in St. Matthew, Fantes, and The Paddock in Shelbyville were rocking and slurping. Because of some of the feedback we received from YOU, we updated this post with new info and a few additional locations.
Coffee in the Ville...What’s open? What’s not?
My business life consisted of meeting in Louisville coffee shops for a long time. Then, the COVID-19 virus said “Nope, not going to happen for a while.” But I will not let the pandemic put our great local coffee shops under! So, with my mask in hand, sanitizer in my holster, and gas in the truck, I set out to visit my “old friends” and find information that will hopefully help you too.
Go on a journey with me now to these local places as I share updates on what you’ll find at each one for coffee, food, and seating for business meetings or hanging with a friend.
Note that the star (★) indicates my top choices for drinking coffee and going there to meet or work.
Pregame Coffee - This is the newest addition to the list. You must check it out. You can even book parties here. Yes, parties. Remember those?! They've got big TVs and baristas who seem to love what they do.
The Bean Roastery - The Bean has incredible seating and, in the summer, huge garage doors that open. They roast their own beans. Unfortunately, they are only take out right now and are not offering indoor seating. You can still drink up though!
★ Fante’s - 2501 Grinstead Drive
This is a staple of mine ever since I first heard of them. I love the atmosphere and the people. They have baked goods that are delicious. They’re not my favorite coffee roast in town but it’s still good. They are open for seating which is a win!
Please and Thank You - 2341 Frankfort Avenue
This place is just, plain cool, especially when you can sit inside. They aren’t currently allowing that. They’re doing pick-up only. But they love loud music. They don’t believe in caffeine-free. There are always lots of plants around. Good swag items. It’s a vibe.
Heine Bros - 2309 Frankfort Avenue
Formerly known as Vint, this small location had limited seating even before a pandemic. So it only makes sense they’d choose to only have their drive-thru open while social distancing is still encouraged.
Christmas Morning Cafe - 2359 Frankfort Avenue
The coziness of Christmas all year long – what a concept! They have outside heated tents which is great for meeting with someone, especially when social distancing is a concern. I believe the “Christmas” aesthetic is more evident inside though, and that’s the whole point. They have limited seating inside because it’s a small building.
They also offer a full breakfast and lunch menu, curbside service, takeout, and I am sure there is an Elf on the Shelf somewhere. I think of this place as “Griswald’s Coffee.” I wasn’t in the mood to go in when I was on this venture; however, I was fascinated by what I saw from afar. If you’re looking for that holiday kind of joy, I suggest checking this place out.
★ Quills Firehouse - 802 East Main Street
As always, this coffee brand provides customers with an awesome interior and a great atmosphere. That’s why this place has become a go-to for young professionals working around downtown. They are open for seating which is the biggest win in my book right now. They have modified their hours due to COVID which is 7AM-5PM most days.
Please and Thank You - 800 East Market
Like their location on Frankfort Avenue, they are doing pick-up only here. This was their original location before they expanded.
78 Coffee - 907 East Liberty Street
This is a business for wholesale and online orders. They no longer offer retail or a brick and mortar building you can frequent.
★ Quills - 930 Baxter Avenue
Thankfully this location follows suit with its other ones. Open seating and what a treat because their interiors are so well done. That’s why it’s my top choice if I’m in this part of town. It’s also their original location.
Highlands Coffee - is a comfy hangout spot, dog friendly, diet-friendly, with pastries, smoothies, and even some food. They love playing Death Cab music. The coffee is great! Right now, it’s not open for seating and only offers take out.
Day’s Expresso & Coffee - 1420 Bardstown Road
Day’s has tasty coffee but very limited seating. It’s a small shop but it’s been around for decades so it’s a staple.
Panera Bread - 1534 Bardstown Road
CLOSED FOREVER!
Heine Bros - 1250 Bardstown Road, 2200 Bardstown Road, and 3060 Bardstown Road.
Heine Brothers has 3 locations in this neck of the woods. All of them are drive-thru only right now.
Safai Coffee - 1707 Bardstown Road
Safai is currently focused on curbside service. When it’s open, I like to visit inside. It’s very small but it’s a great example of the Highlands aesthetic.
Sunergos - 1647 Norris Place
It doesn’t feel the same when you can’t hang out inside this place, and they only have a few outdoor chairs even when it’s warm enough. But their roasts are featured in many other restaurants and places, so they’re excellent coffee is easy to come by. It almost has a cult following! Don’t forget their original and extremely popular location not too far from there at 2122 S. Preston Street.
Why would you go here if you find yourself near so many other, local options mentioned above?
★ Quills Coffee - 117 St Matthews Ave #3117
I found that ALL Quills locations are open for great coffee and seating. They’ve done a great job blocking off certain seats so that no one is too close to each other. Plus, they still have their usual, homemade treats to accommodate the drinks. Enjoy!
Heine Bros - 4305 Shelbyville Road
This is one of my favorite coffee shops for its interior. COVID has them only serving via drive-thru right now. If the weather is nice, you can go through the drive-thru and then sit outside using the outdoor furniture they have.
Starbucks - 4400 Shelbyville Road
Working around a bunch of young coffee experts, I have come to realize that Starbucks falls way down the list for good coffee; however, it’s a great meeting spot in most cities. Unfortunately, all Starbucks are drive-thru or walk-in/walk-out right now in Louisville. If you need to bring coffee to a meeting, this might be your most efficient option. But it’s not the place to host a meeting with someone nor will it offer the quality options you can get from many local places.
★ Panera Bread - 13000 Shelbyville Rd
The best place for meeting and coffee right now. Food is excellent, coffee is not artisanal, but it gets the job done with consistent quality plus free refills (whoop-whoop). The seating is usually easy to come by.
Heine Bros - 805 Blankenbaker Parkway
This location is Drive-Thru only as of January. It’s my away from home office/meeting space; however, COVID has them only serving drive-thru right now. It’s where you will find me when things are back to “normal” (That’s kind of a funny statement now.) It’s only a few miles from our office (The Marketing Squad’s HQ) which is located at 13040 Eastgate Park Way Suite 108.
Cafe 920 (within Southeast Christian Church) - 920 Blankenbaker Parkway
A hidden secret in Louisville for connecting with someone over a warm drink! There’s nothing like mixing coffee and Jesus! This space is closed for now, but in the past, on an average weekday it was an easy place to find a seat. It’s much larger and more open than most of our local coffee shops. There’s never a line, except on Sundays.
Starbucks - Corner of Blakenbaker and Shelbyville Road
From my research, I’ve heard this location is CLOSED for good!
Starbucks - 12620 Shelbyville Road
Just a minute or two down the road from the places I just referenced, you’ll find a Starbucks branch that’s only been around a couple years. Right now, it’s drive-thru only. In the past, the drive-thru line has been so long, it cuts into Middletown traffic. It seems to be more of a grab-and-go location anyways, which means when they’re open for seating again, it’s not a bad place to check out if you need to meet with someone.
JW Cafe and Coffee - This is a small bakery with baked goods and coffee. So because of it's size, it may not always provide ample room for meeting someone, but our team has worked here before when our wi-fi went out. It was very close to our old office. It's also a good place to stop in and grab something to go for breakfast or lunch. Their food is tasty with many East Asian-inspired recipes including bibimbap.
Panera Bread on Hurstbourne This one falls in line with the other Panera’s as a top spot to meet people and do business. I ran into several people I had not seen in years while working. Not gonna lie, I bring my own vanilla creamer to put in the coffee….(shh, don’t tell my wife!)
★ Panera Bread - 10451 Champion Farms Drive
Again, this restaurant is always one of my first choices to meet someone for lunch or just coffee, especially right now. The details on food, drink, and perks that I mentioned above apply here.
★ Ntaba Coffee House - 2407 Brownsboro Road
I wasn’t familiar with this place prior to last year. They specialize in African coffee. It is open for seating and I highly recommend it! They have additional locations in Mellwood Art Center and Mom’s Music.
Heine Bros - 4901 Brownsboro Road
It’s another drive-thru only option but, as I’ve said, I’m fond of their brand. If you’re passing by, it’s at the first corner just off Exit 22 from the Watterson. It’s an easy in and out.
★ Please and Thank You - 9561 US-42
This location is offering open Seating. They also have heated, outdoor seating. Go get some coffee from here ASAP!
Mozza Pi - 12102 LaGrange Road
This is a hidden gem. Incredible food – authentic, artisanal pizza – and good coffee. The atmosphere is the best, but there are no outlets for plugging in, so you can’t work from there very long. Right now, it’s take-out only. This place is also near The Marketing Squad office. So you’ll find me here a lot when we can dine-in again.
Same details as the Starbuck locations in other neighborhoods
The Fix - 10616 Meeting Street
They serve 78 Coffee and they are open for seating. It’s very small and quiet here.
Brick and Mortar. I love this little gem in the heart of Simpsonville on Shelbyville Road. The venue is cool, seating is a little limited, but the Tumeric Chai Latte with pepper is a MUST. It may sound wild, but that's what makes it so awesome. You can even buy tea towels here and they ARE open for seating. Woo!
★ The Paddock - 700 Main Street
Their interior is best described as Kentucky distillery-inspired. They are open for seating with ample room. This kind of place is great to have in a small town like Shelbyville so let’s show them our support!
6th and Main - 547 Main Street
They have limited seating but you can meet in here. They focus only on coffee rather than dining. Their old building has been used for many different businesses for over 150 years! So it’s worth a visit.
Pearl Street Game and Coffee - I love this venue because it's a quaint, house-like setting. They have lots of games available for you to play and great coffee, of course. I highly recommend. Sometimes you can even run into a specialty cabinet and shutter extraordinaire. They are open to seating so meet up with a friend or colleague here soon.
Coffee Crossings - They have 4 locations in Southern, IN, so they're kind of a local staple. They've got a great atmosphere, great community values, and they're open to seating.
I’m hoping to meet with people one-on-one more often these next few months, as safely as possible, to talk about business growth AND to support these local places. If you’d like to meet to talk about your own business goals, let me know here! I’d be honored to have a cup of coffee with you.
My only other question is, now that you’ve read my updates, which coffee are you craving the most right now?
I did a recent Thesaurus lookup on the word “stale” and these synonyms magically appeared:
musty - smelly - sour - stagnant - watery - dried - dry - faded - parched - rank - reeking - spoiled - stinking - fetid - flat - fusty - hard - insipid - malodorous - noisome - stenchy - tasteless - weak - zestless
Think of everything your brand represents. Now, think about your website, logo, social activity - do any of those words POP out?
Day in and day out too, I hear from company owners, CEOs, and company Presidents about the amazing products and services they provide. The excitement in their voices, the power of their stories, and the value they provide is nothing short of invigorating. Then it happens…
Like a powerhouse uppercut from Mike Tyson, or a brutal roundhouse kick from Mirko Cro-Cop, reality clocks them.
Today's world is riddled with rapid change and is constantly evolving. We know it, we see it, we live it, our customers expect it. If we don’t evolve and change too, we are left behind and our competition begins devouring our market share piece-by-piece, post-by-post, and click-by-click. My gut tells me that if you have read this far then your brand has become – tired, stagnant, too routine, and less interesting.
Last week I was running, rather struggling, on the elliptical machine at Anytime Fitness. I saw a poster that read “It doesn't matter how slow you are going because you're lapping everyone who is sitting on a couch right now.” Sometimes, we need someone to tell us it’s time to get off the couch, refresh, get moving, and recalibrate.
It’s time to take a serious look at your digital footprint, aka:
Your website
You social presence
You logo
Your tagline
Your people
Your values
Yes, it will cost your business some money, but if you don’t make the investment into the right team to help you, it will cost you customers.
Change is constant and your brand needs to be dynamic… EVERYWHERE!
LucidPress highlights that “A brand is a funny thing. It's not something you can hold in your hand, yet a brand is the bread and butter of an organization. Without a stable, consistent brand, your company growth will be severely stunted.”
Where does a brand live? Is your brand what YOU think it is?
The answer is no because a brand exists in the minds of your customers. Yep, your customers’ perceptions are your reality. *Kaboom*… *Smack*… How does that make you feel?
So go test it. Have someone who doesn't know your brand research what you do. Can they tell you what makes your brand different? Does your digital landscape make them feel a certain way? Can they identify your value? What is their overall perception? Does it match up to what YOU think your brand relays?
If your brand has become stale or uncompelling – it’s time to fix it. When igniting your brand, you want to create experiences that highlight the way people feel and what they experience when interacting and using your products or services - the value. Give the “binocular view” and showcase the full capabilities of your brand. Give them a “hot air balloon” perspective to see where you’ve been and where you’re going. Arouse your audience to imagine how your brand can improve their life.
It’s so easy for companies to be stuck in a rut, “doing the same ole’ thang” with their digital marketing. Don’t be afraid to try things that are new, innovative, and that have not been done before. Sometimes, doing something that no one else does is just what a brand needs to disrupt the industry and reinvent itself.
If you feel inspired but overwhelmed by the idea of breathing life back into your brand, we can help. Our team of passionate storytellers is ready to dive head-first into your brand and your business goals to help you revitalize your marketing.
We’re ready when you are – let's get started.
There is nothing better than attending an event and walking away with a load of golden nuggets that can make your business better. Chick-fil-a takes the prize of “Best Nuggets Ever,” but for best business nuggets I vote for Charlotte Regional Business Alliance and their “Reach Customers Online with Google” event.
In January I attended the “Reach Customers Online with Google” event hosted by CRBA. Google presented to about 70 different organizations on how to make the most of your relationship with Google.
The event got me thinking about the following questions - and if you’re a business owner, you should be thinking about them too:
How do customers find you?
When customers find you, do you completely confuse them with your over-complicated messaging, cobweb-infested website, or lack of clear call-to-actions?
Google taught us three things during the event that help us address these questions:
So here are three of the nuggets for you to fry on 🙂
Google My Business is a free local business listing that can help your business appear across Google Search and Maps.
Besides setting up your Google My Business listing with helpful information such as your location, contact information, and website link, you should also get the most out of your listing by asking people to leave reviews.
Whether you’re a service-based business or product-based business, you should ask customers to leave a review. To get started, set a goal of getting 5-10 reviews. You can expedite the process by drafting the review and letting customers edit.
The perfect Google review needs to be in the following order and 1-2 sentences each.
When a potential customer finds you on Google, where’s the first place they go? If you answered “My website!” then here’s a golden star for you! Prospective customers look at your website to see if you can help them address their pain points.
So your website is kind of a big deal! Here are three things to keep in mind when it comes to your website:
What is search engine optimization (SEO)? Imagine hundreds of tiny robot spiders controlled by Google crawling through your site. They’re on the hunt for information that tells them what your website is all about!
Then Google uses that information to serve-up your site to people searching.
If you’re not ranking on page 1 or 2 for key terms related to what you do, then your site needs some SEO love!
Start by choosing some strategic terms someone might search when they’re experiencing a problem your product or service can fix. Then use those terms to optimize key pages on your site.
And don’t forget about the back-end either! Pages titles, meta descriptions, and alt-tags are just as important as the words on the page!
The Grunt Test, a term coined by Donald Miller CEO of Storybrand, refers to the ease at which a potential customer can look at your website and quickly understand what it is you’re selling.
To test whether your website passes the Grunt Test, have someone look at the homepage of your website and see if he/she can answer these three questions with just a quick glance:
Your website’s load time is one instance where slow and steady doesn’t win the race.
The rule of thumb is that your website needs to load in under 5 seconds. Anything longer and you can say “Goodbye!” to your website visitors because they won’t stick around to see what happens once your site eventually loads.
During “Reach Customers Online with Google” there were load speeds of 9 seconds, 15 seconds, 18 seconds, and even some that never loaded!
If your site runs like molasses, then keep reading to learn how you can improve your website speed.
As you digest the nuggets above, here are a few french fries - oops sorry dieticians - a few carrots (i.e. useful tools) to munch on:
If all of this seems overwhelming, don’t worry. Not only did we attend the “Reach Customers Online with Google” event in Charlotte, but The Squad is also a certified Google Partner! You heard that right - Google Partner.
Our team can help you make the most out of your relationship with Google. What are you waiting for? Start a conversation today!
Ahh Christmas time… gingerbread houses, Christmas carolers, and presents under the tree - Oh Yeah! It’s a wonderful time of year. Unless of course, you’ve woken up from your Thanksgiving comatose to realize you only have 31 days to squeeze every last drop of value out of your marketing budget!
If someone told you at the beginning of the year that you’d be scrambling to spend money, you would have laughed in their face, but I see it happen every year. December rolls around and businesses face the challenge of making the most of their budget.
Businesses need to spend surplus budget for a few different reasons, here are two of the most common:
After the holiday season comes the most dreaded time of the year - tax season. Amidst complicated jargon, complex liabilities, and painstaking paperwork, though, is a little glimmer of hope for your business taxes: deductions.
Why put off expenses for next year when you could get a tax deductible for them this year?
The Marketing Squad has worked with businesses who know this approach is better for their business in the long run. So as the end of the year rolls around, they come running with money in hand, ready to bump up those expenditures.
I once had a company call me on December 15th and say, "I have 100K that I need to spend by the end of the year or I will lose it – can you help?" How do you respond to that? I'll tell you how, with a great big, huge, strap yourself in the seat to control your excitement, "YESSSSSSSSSSS!"
For me, Christmas came early with that phone call. I was like Tom Cruise talking to Cuba Gooding Jr on the famous Jerry Maguire movie and started screaming "Show me the Money!!"
But for the caller, he was in panic mode, and he was about to lose a huge amount of budget and set precedent for future budget allotments. He knew he was in a "use it or lose it" scenario.
Are you in a similar situation? For 52 weeks you have had a budget to do the very things you need to do to make your department or organization grow and improve. Then, all of a sudden, like a bullhorn blaring in your right ear, you realize you have 30 days to spend your allocated budget or forfeit it… I hate forfeiting!
Good news? We can help. Here a some ideas...
We are very visual creatures. A large percentage of the human brain dedicates itself to visual processing; so, let’s create a library of videos and photos that can be used to populate your social media, website, and sales/marketing materials. Let's allocate a bank of hours designated to shooting video and photos. Stop relying on stock photos and videos and start personalizing your brand with your people. We can bank them for blog post headers, Facebook and Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc. Dazzle your audience with pizzazz and spunk, and let them experience YOU. For most organizations they either have no time, no budget, or no designer to create personalized, custom imagery. Now is the time to start banking these dollars and start depositing these images.
OK, you know you have done it… strategize how to make your company great… allocate some marketing dollars… design some collateral… automate as much as you can… and then chill in your Eno, prop your feet up, and relax.
Nope, sorry, doesn’t work like that. The world is changing so fast that your strategy you picked 6, 12, or 18 months ago is most likely obsolete and ineffective now. Let's do a pulse check.
A digital marketing audit is simply a thorough investigation of all your digital marketing efforts. The performance of all your practices, strategies, ads, and posts is evaluated–giving you an understanding of where your digital gaps and loopholes exist.
Your website, sales and marketing materials, event material, wall décor, etc. are windows into your business. Don’t think people don’t notice. If you preach world-class as one of your key areas of differentiation, yet your website and marketing materials don’t reflect the same defined quality you’re going to be dead on arrival. Use the surplus to modernize your brand.
Quit thinking that your brand is just “ok.” It’s your brand! It's your personality. Stop being old and turn your social media into a Christmas tree of goodness, packed with presents, amazing ornaments, creative tinsels, saturated with fun, and wonderful to dream into. Use your excess dollars to update your social channels and invite people to engage.
If you have a budget surplus and need to spend it, then let us help you creatively use it. If you want to maximize your tax benefits, we have experience working with businesses who need to rack-up expenditures before December 31. We can help you spend the money in 2018 and use it in 2019.
For over 11 years we have helped our clients build thoughtful and engaging websites, providing top quality videography, photography, and creative design, and by serving up captivating blogs and social media posts to engage our clients' prospects. There is a reason we have 97% retention rate - our clients trust us.
Let our team of Faithful Stewards and Trusted Allies help you make the most of your 2018 marketing budget. Give us a shout!
Hallelujah, football is back. I am ready for creative touchdown dances, explosive hits, razzle dazzle trick plays, screen passes, jaw dropping interceptions, pick-six’s, and Cam Newton giving a young kid the football after a touchdown. I am ready for the underdog to unleash history-rocking "David beats Goliath" upsets and Sports Centers Top 10 theme song blaring on my 7.1-channel Onkyo SKS-HT540 speaker system— DaDaDa DaDaDa.
What defines you? Is it being a father, mother, husband, wife, son, daughter, football player, soccer player, musician, scientist? Is it being #1 in your industry, top guy in your company, or the person who drives the pimped out Audi, wears the latest trendy outfits, and uses the new iPhone ZT with interactive holographic facetime capabilities (totally made up that new iPhone)?
We're all defined in the world by so many different things....and so is our company. What makes your company different? What makes your company the BEST? What stories best define the very brand you represent? And why would someone value doing business with you?
You know the answers to all these questions, and chances are, you know someone in your company who can tell these stories with a passion that is not only captivating, but is exciting, passionate, inviting, and makes you want to hear more.
I once had a CEO who was amazing at this. His passion was off the charts, his love for his company was contagious, storytelling was hypnotizing, his style authentic, and words genuine.
I always said that if I could bottle up his stories and passion and spray it on clients and prospects, sort of a magic spray or aerosol easy button, that I could redefine success in that world.
As a business owner, you face many challenging and daunting decisions every day and the last thing you should have to worry about is knowing if your story is being told – the right way! You have two options: create an in-house team to do this or outsource to another company.
In today’s world of digital (inbound) marketing, you have to be able to tell these stories and draw the right people to your brand. You need experts in videography, photography, blogging, and creative writing. You need people who are tech savvy and social media junkies who know how to blast your message and draw people to your brand. This is the fast moving world of digital marketing.
It all starts with your website. Imagine this:
A prospective client is referred to you by a friend, neighbor, coach, family member, coworker, or client.
You know the drill. Before they reach out to you, this person does what everyone else does — they visit your website to learn more about who you are and what you do. Then it happens - death silence. You never hear from them again. They don’t email, call, text, facetime, Skype, send a messenger pigeon, or put a message in a bottle....they just disappear...poof!
What happened? Simple, your website STUNK and scared them away. We have all experienced these kinds of websites - YUCK!
So why do so many companies fail to have stellar websites? Easy, they think websites are a nice-to-have, glorified brochure, good enough, and don’t want to spend money on it. Well, I have two words for you – WAKE UP!!!!
Getting new clients is hard enough, so don’t make it even harder by having a less-than-stellar website that repels people from knowing your greatness.
Do you know why your website needs to be responsive (easy to interact with on a mobile device)? Well, 88% of people who search for a business on mobile will visit it within 24 hours. And if a site isn’t mobile-friendly, 8 in 10 customers won’t engage with it. So, don’t be that guy...
Do you know the value of email marketing? And yes, email still exists. The ROI of email marketing is for every dollar you spend, the return is $38 and most adults (74%) prefer to receive marketing messages in their email inbox.
Do you know how local SEO leads to more sales? And that the effectiveness of Google Adwords is an average click-through rate of 7% for an ad in first position.
Did you know that the world reportedly watches 1 billion hours of YouTube social video per day? And according to CISCO, over 80% of all traffic will consist of video by 2021.
Can your team do all this? Can you hire enough talented people to redo your website, manage it, write content for Linkedin, blog on your behalf, shoot and edit video stories about your company, design new graphics, and make sure prospective clients and investors are drawn to you and your brand? Do you have a team who can do all this?
Are you happy with their work? Do you have a budget to sustain them? If not, we can help. Our job is to make your brand sizzle, score a touchdown on the marketing field, and Tell YOUR Story to Grow Your Business.
What are you waiting for? If you're ready to attract new customers, inspire brand evangelists, and grow your business through the power of digital marketing then we're ready to passionately tell your story. Let's talk!
It’s hard to imagine a world without digital advertising oozing from every corner of every screen on the planet. Digital advertising has become so prevalent that it has become as common as a housefly. But, if everything has a starting point, where did digital advertising begin and where is it now? Let's take a look beginning in 1994.
The banner ad that’s widely described as the first ever was a little rectangle purchased by AT&T on HotWired.com in 1994.
Sourced from Wired.com
This innocuous little piece of code simply asked the audience if they have ever clicked their mouse here, which led them to text telling them they would click their mouse there. And people did!
It had a reported and envious Click Through Rate (CTR) of 44%. Compare that with today’s average CTR of 0.05 % and you get a sense of how remarkable that achievement is.
Banner blindness is a real thing because we have become jaded and unaffected by decades of swirling lights and cute kittens.
There have been innovative and elaborate attempts to deliver the right ad, to the right person, at the right time. Enter Geo-targeting, Demo-targeting, Behavioral targeting, Re-targeting, IP targeting, Audience targeting, Topic targeting, and Contextual targeting. Ay Caramba!
In order to buy and sell ad space, Ad Networks were developed. Then, Ad Exchanges. Along with the platforms, various models for buying and selling Digital Ads emerged. CPM, CPA, CPC, CPV, vCPM.
Let’s not forget, my millennial friends, that mobile devices haven’t always been here. Display ad publishers and advertisers had to adapt to these new formats.
Video was and is an important player in the Digital Advertising space. Humans flat out LOVE video and interact with it very well.
According to Invesp, "Video ads have an average click-through rate (CTR) of 1.84%, the highest click-through rate of all digital ad formats. 75% of advertisers stated that online video ads were equally or more effective than traditional television ads."
Not quite the CTR of the first Display Ad but heading in the right direction.
Paid Search (PPC) was developed to meet people where they were. As they searched, users were provided with relevant results. Surprisingly though, Google didn’t pioneer paid search ads. Open Text did, in 1996. GoTo (later Overture, later Yahoo!) resurrected the idea in 1998, launching a search engine where all the results were sold to the highest bidder.
I had the privilege of working for Overture and then Yahoo! and I’ll never forget a colleague telling me to do a search on Google. "What’s a Google?" was my less than clever response. I think I may have said, "What’s a Facebook?" when I worked for MySpace. What I lack in prophetic ability I certainly make up for in great experiences.
Along with the development of Social Media came the natural development of Social Advertising. The concept of finding people where they gather and delivering relevant content via advertising vehicles is a valid concept.
According to WordPress via MarketingProfs, "The average conversion rate for Facebook ads across all industries is 9.21%."
The future is uncertain but I can predict this, Digital Advertising ain’t going away. Who says I’m not prophetic?
Copyright 2024 The Marketing Squad | Privacy Policy | Disclaimer | Terms of Service
