You’ve spent months working with a video design & production company to write the perfect script, find the right voice-over actor, polish your storyboard, and so much more. Now, you have a video that captures your brand essence and you want users to see it. So what’s the best way to get impressions on your video? As a premier video design & production company, we know there are countless options for getting your video in front of users. 

With over 2 billion users and more than a billion hours of videos watched daily, YouTube is one of the best ways to ensure your target audience finds the video content you’ve produced. To truly understand just how powerful YouTube can be as a platform, it’s important to understand the basics. Keep reading to learn more about YouTube advertising and it’s different kinds of ad formats.

What Type of YouTube Ads are There?

YouTube Ads are controlled through the Google Ads platform, allowing advertisers to maximize their reach. Through YouTube Ads, you can decide whether you want your video to appear before, during, or after the video a user is watching. The six primary ways you can advertise through YouTube are:

1. Skippable in-stream ads
2. Non-skippable in-stream ads
3. Video discovery ads
4. Bumper ads
5. Masthead ads
6. Outstream Ads

Let’s take a look at each one.

Skippable In-Stream Ads

If your goal is to drive website traffic and/or conversions, this is a great option for you.

Skippable video ads play before, during, or after a video and users have the option to skip the ad after five seconds. As such, advertisers are only charged when a viewer watches 30 seconds of the video (or the full duration of the video if it’s shorter than 30 seconds) or interacts with the video. With this in mind, it’s important to keep your ad short, sweet and to the point. Don’t bury your main points 25 seconds in the video, but rather front load with interesting content that hooks a user and encourages that conversion action. Alongside skippable video ads, advertisers have the option to display a companion banner in the top right and a video overlay CTA button in the left. Needless to say, skippable video ads can be great for a lot of reasons.

Non-Skippable In-Stream Ads

Given the nature of non-skippable in-stream ads, this is a great format if you’re aiming for a lift in brand awareness. With 76% of users skipping ads out of habit, it can be worthwhile to run ads that don’t have an option to be skipped. However, with non-skippable ads, you need to be confident that your video is strong enough to hold your audience’s attention for the full 15 seconds. Given that viewers have to watch the full video, these ads typically have higher CPMs than other formats on YouTube.

Video Discovery Ads

Video Discovery ads are best for product and brand consideration. Just like Google paid search ads, YouTube Discovery Ads display alongside organic YouTube search results. As a more native approach, if your video appears relevant to users, people are more likely to watch it. Alongside a thumbnail of the video, these ads allow for three lines of text to help provide users with more context and information. The text opportunity is great, because it ensures that a user consumes some brand messaging even if the video isn’t played. Furthermore, in the best case scenario, the description text further encourages the video play action, and eventually results in a lead or conversion. 

Bumper Video Ads

Are you looking to capture viewers with a short, memorable message? Then bumper ads are for you! At only 6 seconds, bumper ads are a quick, snappy way to leave viewers wanting more. Billed on a CPM basis, these ads are best for building brand awareness, given that they are also non-skippable.

Masthead Ads

Masthead ads are a fantastic way to drive awareness for a new product, service, or event for a short period of time (i.e. a trade show). While most YouTube ads are purchased through the Google Ads auction, masthead ads are bought on a reservation basis. By buying on a reservation basis, masthead ads give you more control over your budget (buy impressions at a fixed rate), greater visibility (guarantee the placement of your ad), and better brand awareness (reach a wide audience).

Outstream Ads

Outstream ads are another great tactic for boosting brand awareness and bringing users to your site. With over 40% of YouTube viewers watching content on their mobile devices, a mobile-first ad campaign is a smart approach. Outstream ads, for example, are mobile-only and play on partner sites and apps outside of YouTube. While this might seem counterintuitive at first, this actually allows advertisers to expand their reach to publishers such as CNN and Forbes. In addition, users are more likely to view outstream video ads by over 25% when compared to instream ads. 

Knowing that there are so many options for YouTube ads, it can sometimes be overwhelming to know what format to select. It’s important to start with your goal, and work backward from there. Better yet, consult a digital marketing agency for advice on the best ad format and strategy for your business. If you’re interested in working with a video design & production company to create your next video or need help figuring out how to promote your videos, contact us here!

It’s no secret that any business striving for success has to find a way to differentiate themselves from their competition. The same goes for companies operating in the government contracting arena, where players big, small, old, and new, are all looking for ways to get their messages into the market uniquely.

I know what you’re thinking… so much easier said than done, right? Well, what if I told you that a solid and effective brand story is one of the most critical ingredients of a government contractor’s success? And, what if I told you that as a government contracting marketing expert that specializes in brand storytelling, Bluetext can help you significantly improve your market standing and brand goals?

Now that I’ve got your attention, keep reading to learn more about why brand storytelling is so critical in government contracting, and just what Bluetext can do for you.

So, why exactly should I care about brand storytelling?

The reality of the situation is that without a strong brand story, many government services providers look exactly alike. Strong brand storytelling can make a government contractor stand out and come to stand for something valuable to all of the stakeholders.  In a trust-based industry like government contracting, a resonant message can both attract and motivate buyers to conduct business with your company.

In a world so focused on numbers, proposals, minimizing risk and technical requirements, it can be easy to forget that your buyers are still human! Yes, they want to understand your company, services, and products and see those fancy charts and data, but they also want to relate. Most proposals are going to have very similar data, and after so many they all seem the same. What won’t be the same is the emotion tied to your company‘s proposal — if you tell your story right. Customers need to recognize your brand and trust that you are the right organization to fulfill their contracts in the long term.

That’s where brand storytelling comes in to help.

Studies show that humans actually rely heavily on our subconscious feelings to make decisions and that we respond positively to the impact of stories. That’s why storytelling is such a powerful tool to help evoke positive emotions around your brand and facilitate connections with your audience. When your audience connects with your story, they will pay attention longer, want to learn more, and be more trusting of your brand. 

Storytelling that is consistent with your brand allows your audience to see the how and why behind your products or services. It allows them to be enticed by your company without being explicitly aware that they were in a sales pitch. Across any industry, tolerance is low for gimmicky sales ploys. However, there is attention bandwidth to be gained for a corporate responsibility and clear values. Companies who get this right are companies who win government contracts.

Okay, I’m in. But how do I get my brand storytelling right?

Enter: Bluetext.

As a top brand development agency, we’ve worked across industries to learn the most effective ways to tell unique brand stories. We have worked with countless government contracting firms to help them tell their stories in a way that captivates audiences, leads to real, tangible business results, and establishes them as a trusted partner who can solve real-world problems.

Check out a few of our favorite examples of storytelling in government contracting below:

Convinced? Contact Us if you’re ready to work with a government contracting marketing firm to help tell your story.

The past decade has seen a spike in mergers and acquisitions, as conglomeration and consolidation seem to be the trend of the future. Healthcare, technology and media-related brands have experienced the most consolidation. Mergers and acquisitions offer attractive opportunities to consolidate talent, infrastructure and relationships, but an equal number of challenges. Luckily, Bluetext has experience with many clients seeking digital marketing and branding guidance either after a successful M&A event, or with an eye to the future of the company and it’s M&A potential. A consistent lesson learned from our clients across a wide variety of industries is the importance of branding, especially in the early M&A planning.

WHY a company should rebrand after an acquisition

One of the key challenges includes branding, which when done correctly creates a harmonious industry presence built for long term success. But when branding is neglected, it runs the risk of introducing new problems that might damage a firm’s reputation or open up rifts between internal teams. While key stakeholders tend to focus on talent, business operations or business development, branding can fall to the back burner. Though as an experienced brand marketing agency, Bluetext knows the risk of deprioritizing corporate messaging & branding. Without unified brand creative and messages, a newly consolidated company lacks the foundation and united front to be successful in the marketplace and internally. 

Often newly merged companies decide to either adopt one existing brand, or decide to create a new brand for a fresh look when they go to market. This decision is crucial to make early on, as it sets the tone for the entire process. While there are pros and cons to both avenues, Bluetext has observed companies that opt to create a new brand identity and corporate messaging often experience higher excitement, zeal and attention with the new company announcement. A blank slate for the brand story, key messages and creative visuals gives all stakeholders the chance to weigh in and feel heard in the process. The end result is a new brand that all internal stakeholders feel connected to and proud to represent both digitally via social media and physically via corporate swag. 

HOW new branding affects the business

Creative brand agencies tend to think of two top considerations for branded materials: internal communications and external marketing. Both are of significant importance to any company, but especially of a newly merged or acquired one.  

Well-branded internal communications can serve as a unifier for a new company and its employees, especially if two companies with distinct cultures are merging. Having the same style business cards, Powerpoint templates, or even branded swag creates a sense of kinship amongst colleagues. Especially in larger corporates, consistent brand assets can send a subtle but effective message of cohesion when connecting with new colleagues or other office locations. 

The second, slightly more obvious reason for branding is external marketing. Your go-to-market strategy should be reinforced with strong branding and messaging. Whether your primary goal is to appeal to customers, stand out from competitors, or attract talent, you need well-developed marketing materials in your toolkit. Especially when pitching to prospective clients or customers, it would look disjointed and confusing to see conflicting branding across a company’s website, resources, or collateral. 

From press announcements to rebranded websites and collateral, Bluetext is a full-service digital marketing agency that can guide your company through than rebrand or M&A process. Contact us to learn more about our services.

Whether you work for a big or a small company, I’m sure you’ve had the question of how to differentiate yourself from the competition. In the ever-growing B2B market, you want your brand to stand above the rest. Easier said than done, right? What if I told you that your market standing could be improved significantly through brand storytelling. Keep reading to learn more and how Bluetext can help you reach your branding goals.

Why Is Brand Storytelling Important For Me?

First of all, storytelling that is consistent with your brand allows your audience to peek behind the curtain to see more than just what you do and sell. Coupled with good company values, storytelling serves to humanize your brand, facilitating connections with your audience and explaining how and why you do and sell the things you do. As your audience gets exposed to your story, they’re more likely to identify with shared values. 

While we often like to think fancy data callouts and graphics will convince your audience to convert, at the end of the day studies show we rely heavily on our subconscious feelings. Storytelling gives marketers the ability to share their products and services without diving into a hard sell. This allows your audience to be enticed by your company without being explicitly aware that they were pitched a product/service.

SonicWall

When SonicWall set out to update their messaging and branding to match their top-tier services across a variety of industries, they came to Bluetext. As a cybersecurity marketing agency, we were excited to work with SonicWall to bring their Boundless Cybersecurity to market with a bang. Previous campaigns had attempted to tell the Boundless story, but with muddled messaging and creative that didn’t result in conversions. Bluetext’s branding and creative team were tasked with bringing the Boundless Cybersecurity story to life. The new campaign focused on conveying a feeling of breaking free from cyber threats and thus feeling liberated. To visually communicate this, we designed imagery and messaging that supported this feeling of being free. Campaign ads depict a series of end-users in their industry floating in the air. This not only allows the audience to feel connected to their industry but also the benefits of being freed from the industry-specific challenges. The campaign was a smashing success, bringing a record number of visitors to their campaign landing page. 

Why stop there? The Boundless brand story carried onto their annual partner event, which was turned virtual in the wake of COVID-19.  Bluetext and SonicWall worked together to promote SonicWall’s Boundless 2020 Virtual event. This event resulted in a 135% increase in attendance over their previous events, going down in history as SonicWall’s largest virtual event ever.

Trusona

Another great example of brand storytelling is Trusona. When Trusona wanted to reimagine their brand presentation and messaging they turned to Bluetext. Priding themselves on creating a secure experience for users without the hassle of passwords, we wanted to deliver a brand that conveyed their hassle-free nature. As with any story, consistency is key.,Bluetext designed a library of brand elements inspired by their logo to be used across all communications. Every time you see a brand element, you’re reminded of the Trusona brand and their brand promise to simplify authentication.

As a digital marketing agency, we’ve worked across industries to learn the most effective ways to convey a story and foster connection. These stories help your audience understand that you are more than just a faceless corporation, but rather a trusted partner. 

Are you interested in working with a branding marketing firm to help tell your story? Contact Us!

It’s no secret that after a year of virtual, well, everything, people have entered into a phase of “digital fatigue”. Dr. Alexander Aizman, a New York-based physician and surgeon has coined this term to describe “the physical discomfort that is experienced after prolonged exposure to a digital screen”. Ever been shocked when your iPhone sends your weekly screen time report? It’s no wonder people are growing weary of the time spent on digital devices…

When COVID-19 forced the world online a little over a year ago, device use increased as many calls, events, and other in-person interactions became video conferences. Everything from professional networking, to personal tasks like ordering groceries, quickly pivoted to digital platforms. With people rejecting increasing screen time and looking to alternatives that allow them to avert their eyes, designers must establish a way to create enticing experiences in the midst of digital fatigue.

Cut Down on Blue Light

One way to switch things up is to create an alternative, dark mode experience for users. Dark mode isn’t just a trendy aesthetic, it is actually backed by UX research and health studies to benefit users. The majority of websites we interact with on a daily basis leverage white or light color-dominant backgrounds and excessive exposure to this can cause eye strain, dry eyes, and even disrupt our sleep cycles.

Allowing users to choose their experience, or programming a design that is time responsive, and will automatically update to dark mode for evening and nighttime hours based on the user’s location, can provide a break from all of the white space.

To learn more about ways you could incorporate dark mode into your designs, read our previous blog post.

Break Up the Monotony

Spending the majority of the day on screens and devices of various sizes can become exhausting for a number of reasons. Particularly if you are reading large amounts of online text content. When designers approach a new interface or even just a new landing page, it’s important to always keep the audience, and the environment, in mind.

Think of a trip to the museum…it can be a great outing until the initial excitement wears off when each exhibit feels the same. Walking around and reading long content labels, in every roped-off section can only retain attention levels for so long. Yet when there is an interactive exhibit, the interest returns, and the learning and engagement experience offers a higher reward. The same concept applies to online businesses, websites that receive more engagement and interest offer a higher ROI. 

Utilizing interactive content, whether it be diagrams, comparison tables, or even simple graphics, can break up long walls of text. Inviting users to interact with content and bringing in visual elements that convey information in easy to grasp and easy-to-understand ways will improve the users’ overall experience.

Introduce Motion and Movement

One notable way to make sure your users connect with content and accompanying design is to create experiences that introduce motion. Static content requires the user to continue scrolling or navigate to other pages and can quickly become repetitive and uninteresting. Incorporating movement into your design as users interact with the page can create a unique experience that will build interest and encourage interaction.

All of the techniques mentioned above bring exciting alternatives to custom designs, and avoiding digital fatigue will ensure users have positive online experiences.

If your website could benefit from a boost in online engagement and website interaction, you’ve come to the right place. Contact Bluetext to learn about our services in UX design, motion graphics and interactive website development.

 

In a year when in-person events and meetings aren’t possible and Zoom-fatigue has set in, you need a way to virtually interact with your audiences in an engaging way. Here at Bluetext, we’ve spent a lot of time perfecting our digital experience platform to help you connect with your audience. Keep reading to learn more about our briefing centers.

Targeted Audience Experience 

As with any experience, you’ll want to tailor it to your specific audience. Whether your goal is to disseminate thought leadership or acquire leads, your messaging and resources should support your goal. While it’s difficult to create a custom experience for each user, our Digital Briefing Center platform supports creating custom virtual experiences for different audiences. This empowers you with the option to create a one-size-fits-all experience or multiple tailored experiences. 

While we understand many tailored experiences sounds great, that can easily turn into a lot of content creation and maintenance. That’s why we work with every client to provide experience-based recommendations for your Briefing Center. Ultimately, we recommend leveraging your existing content alongside some tailored content for your audiences. Bluetext has plenty of experience creating content, see some of our work here. As a full-service marketing agency, we will help you create a content marketing strategy to ensure your content is valuable, engaging, and worthwhile for your audience. 

User-Approved Design 

As with any virtual event, it’s about the experience for your audience. From inception to launch, we’ve worked with our in-house UX experts and our clients to come up with the best design with the end users in mind. That means regardless of the content you end up using, our design will help it shine and push users to convert. 

As a user visiting a Briefing Center for the first time, you can expect a welcoming and straightforward design. Here at Bluetext, we prioritize user experience design and go the extra mile to emulate a live in-person experience. For example, what would a user expect at any traditional event? Perhaps to enter a conference center lobby and be directed with agendas and introductions. So why not replicate that across a digital platform? A streamlined user journey is something we provide in any virtual experience, website design, or platform. With the ability to gate the experience for new users, you can capture key contact information for your CRM. As a return user, bypass the gate to access the experience with ease. 

Connecting With Tailored Content

Every Digital Briefing Center uses tailored content specifically to meet your audience’s needs. From custom 3D environments to professionally recorded stakeholder briefings, your Briefing Center will convey key messaging in a personalized way. When you can’t meet your prospects in person, at least create the illusion of an in-person experience. Additionally, implementing live video and text chat capabilities can have your team on standby ready to talk with them.

Don’t let custom content intimidate you. Our team has mastered the remote video recording process. Using a comprehensive recording guide and video chats, we walk you through how to professionally capture any speakers you want to host in your experience. 

A Partner You Can Trust 

So you’ve decided on creating your own digital experience. What comes next? Bluetext has the industry knowledge to guide you step-by-step from discovery to video capture to launch. Want to learn more? Watch our video and contact us today to learn more.

The past couple of years has ushered in a number of changes for the marketing strategies of major defense and global technology brands serving the federal government. As a trusted marketing and PR agency to B2G clients, Bluetext has seen a massive shift towards digital marketing initiatives in a short amount of time. Once upon a time, government defense and technology marketing was concentrated in stacks of Federal IT and Defense magazines. These were reams of tangible, tactile publications that B2G paid big bucks to advertise in. However, the recent shift toward digital advertising has been embraced across industries– government agencies included.  

The precipitous decline in print publications, combined with the impact of COVID-19 and budget cuts on the federal agency buyer’s ability to travel to attend industry conferences, trade shows and seminars has flipped traditional marketing models on their head. The resulting void of strong physical content and branding has led to an increased thirst for more readily accessible “premium” content—white papers, e-books, survey reports and other in-depth materials that can be indispensable for government decision-makers. Digital content marketing has been embraced as a cost-effective and more accessible means of reaching target government buyers.

Previously, B2G companies could load up on traditional marketing to push government contracting vehicles—their IDIQs, GWACs and GSA Schedules – especially at the end of the federal buying season. There was once a time and a place for that – but no more. Marketing is now forever changed thanks to Al Gore – or whoever invented the internet. Digital marketing initiatives have created opportunities to distribute content marketing at any time and any place. 

This opens a door of opportunities for many small government contracting agencies, as the playing field has been leveled by online content. As a result, companies have evolved their digital marketing strategies to consider government buyers as real buyers just like you and I, involved to varying degrees in researching, influencing and taking themselves 75 percent through a buying process to ultimately select a solution that your company – and your 10 largest competitors – all provide.

This is why it is critical to target your marketing with premium content to specific and very real buyer personas. You need to put yourselves in their shoes to differentiate your brand and fill that void with contextually relevant content before your competitors do. No matter who that buyer is, they are all facing the same quandaries:

1. I have a problem, but I don’t know what the solution is.
2. I know what some solutions are, but I don’t know which one is best for me.
3. I know which solution I want, but I don’t know who to buy it from.

The best way to answer all of these questions is with content. While the solution seems simple, many companies do not yet have mature content marketing strategies and lack the in-house resources needed to generate enough thoughtful, relevant content to drive engagement that results in traction for their brands in this market. The other challenge is harnessing the thought leadership of their subject matter experts. The people inside their company who have the expertise on issues most relevant to your target audience often do not have the time or have not been engaged to contribute content on a regular basis. As a result, marketers are struggling not only to develop the editorial calendar but more importantly the content itself.

Digital marketing agencies acknowledge that the secret to successful content marketing is two-fold. Firstly, it requires thoughtful and relevant content to your target personas, but also memorable brand application. Put yourself in the shoes of a government buyer evaluating you and your 10 closest competitors for a new contract. Your company may have the most powerful piece of thought leadership out there, but if it’s not branded or visually appealing it will likely get lost in the number of companies and content being considered. The last thing you want is to invest time and energy in an in-depth whitepaper, but have the reader not even remember which company it came from. Well-branded collateral allows you to layout content strategically, emphasize the key points and create brand association with the powerful words on the page. 

It’s no secret that a lot of successful marketers are turning to agencies to overcome this very challenge. When they do, they realize very quickly that a digital marketing agency can capture more eyeballs – and drive much more significant and targeted brand engagement—by empowering them to become masters of their own content for far less than what they used to spend on traditional ads in all of those long-gone publications. They all once had their time and place – and so will your brand if you continue to allow your competitors to outmarket you and find a cozy place for their content in the minds of your buyer.

Contact us to discover the ways Bluetext can optimize your digital content marketing strategy.

The COVID pandemic has put a pause on many personal and business practices, with one stand-out exception. In the midst of COVID, digital transformation hasn’t slowed; instead, it’s actively accelerated as we try to keep up with today’s digital customers. “Digital transformation” has become a powerful buzz-word that has executives signing checks left and right. Many companies are investing heavily in digital, and while these investments continue to grow, the expected results often fail to materialize. But why? Technology and unsuccessful efforts to scale are often the first things we look to blame, but the real issue may be more deeply rooted. 

Digital Transformation Requires a Culture Shift 

In order to successfully execute a digital transformation, change must be driven from the top down. Beginning with management, the company as a whole must not only understand the goals and reasons for changing, but also the urgency for doing so to successfully prepare for a more digital future. 

Companies are getting 50% more business and leads online than ever before, and this number will only continue to grow. To capture this ever-expanding market, it’s important to understand that the tactics and processes that got you to this point need to be an ongoing initiative. Digital transformation is often not one and done, it will not be sustainable without the future introduction of more digital practices.

How Can You Avoid Digital Transformation Failure? 

You can start by making sure your team is on the same page regarding what tactics and strategies will make your business successful in the digital age. One method many companies are using to enter the digital space is through digital briefing centers and virtual events. Engaging the entire leadership team as well as your customers in the virtual space is a great way to lead a digital transformation in a world where fewer interactions are in person. Digital briefing centers also have the ability to be available at any time of day, allowing prospects to access your content at their convenience, not yours.

In today’s virtual world, differentiation through digital engagement is critical. Take a look at Bluetext’s work in the Digital Briefing Center space and find out how you can recreate the in-person experience. 

Watch Bluetext founder, Jason Siegel, discuss the ways you can avoid digital transformation failure with Travelocity Founder and keynote speaker Terry Jones in this week’s Virtual Marketing Minute.

Now more than ever it’s important to understand and master the skills of remote client relations and project management tasks. Even though the pandemic will not last forever, we have the opportunity to take a look at lessons learned, opportunities created, and skills we’ve grown to use daily. Not only will this help make one a better and more flexible employee, but allow the opportunity for a digital agency to tackle a whole new client base. Let’s dive into some of the most important skills of remote client work.

Over-Communication

Striving to over-communicate with clients is always a good thing. Scheduling weekly status calls, both for the internal project management team and with the client, is great to keep a consistent base of communication and ensure that everyone is aware of where the project stands to date. These weekly calls can be used to review completed and upcoming deadlines, updates on various levels of project status, and resolve any questions in real-time. Having frequent touchpoints with the client helps reach deadlines successfully. If frequent phone calls and video conferences are not possible, never underestimate the power of an email! Digital project managers understand how busy schedules can get, and sometimes that meeting really could have been an email.

Patience

Patience and understanding is an extremely necessary skill for managing remote client work.  Remember, no work-from-home situation is the same. Especially in the wake of COVID-19, many employees who were not prepared or planning to work from home are finding their kitchen table is doubling as their new conference room. Try to be understanding and empathetic with background noise, kids, or pets interfering during conference calls. Don’t get frustrated when someone experiences issues with virtual meetings or is having trouble with technical issues – instead, offer some assistance. Everyone’s circumstances and experience with remote work are different, so be as empathetic as you can.

Cross-Team Collaboration

As a digital marketing agency, Bluetext offers a wide variety of services – which translates into a wide variety of roles and skillsets. Many client projects include multiple tracks of deliverables, such as messaging, branding, website design, and development. It is more important than ever in a remote workplace to keep the lines of communication across these tracks clear and consistent. While agencies might not have the luxury of gathering all creatives, copywriters, project managers, and developers in one room to brainstorm or ask one-off questions, it’s important to keep everyone on the account on the same page. Bluetext recommends setting up recurring scrum meetings to run through the statuses of all parallel tracks, or regular touch bases within the different departments. Online collaboration software, such as Slack or Teams, is a great place to facilitate conversation between groups for questions, blockers, or ideation. 

Organization

Although organization is a keystone of regular client and project management, switching to remote work requires an even stronger set of organizational skills. Make sure you have a separate work space (that does not include your bed or the couch) where you can have a space to focus and create a productive working environment. This should be free of distractions and allow you to maximize your full potential. In addition, comprehensive project schedules, project trackers, to-do lists and conference reports help keep yourself, your team and your client organized with clear-cut deadlines, updates and project progress.

Time Management

When doing remote work, it can be difficult to differentiate between work-life and personal life. Sometimes, even just reminding yourself to take appropriate lunch breaks can make all the difference. Block chunks of time off on your calendar for lunch breaks and to tackle specific projects. This helps keep yourself accountable and make sure you’re accomplishing everything on your to-do list. In addition, prioritization of high-priority and low-priority tasks will help you be extremely successful. Identify the items on your to-do list that need to be tackled right away and which can wait. This better helps you manage your time as well as delivering items on deadline, which all leads to a more successful project.

Adaptability

Adaptability is one of the most critical skills for remote client and project management work. You must be willing to test out new tools, new applications and whatever can help you perform your job successfully. In a new environment, new tools are inevitable. Your client might even have their own favorite tools they want you to try out. Always willing to be adaptable and try out new things!

At Bluetext, we’re extremely dedicated to our work and our clients, remote or not. We have a variety of clients based outside of Washington, D.C., such as Wallix, based in France; AppGate, based in Texas; Citrix, based in New York City. We have the talent, skills, and resources to take your business to the next level, no matter where you are.

Branding is one of the most important marketing strategies for a company. Your brand tells a story about who you are and what you do to prospects, clients, and, importantly, your internal employees. Branding typically involves a consistent and recognizable set of design elements, including colors, typography, logos, messaging, graphic elements, and more. It allows your company to make a consistent, meaningful, and lasting impression with consumers. Through your brand, you have the opportunity to stand out amongst the competition, showcase a product, but also drive new business by raising awareness for your company. But how do you keep branding consistent with various different products and/or services you want to highlight?

The Rise of Sub-Brands

Sub-branding is a lesser-known, yet equally as important, subdivision of a branding strategy. In an article from Brand Marketing Blog, “If you are a brand builder, then often there is more than one brand that you are building: the brand of your business and the brands of your products.” Sub-branding is focused on creating new subsections of the parent brand to best fit the specific products and/or services you offer to your customers. This is directly tied to the solution architecture of the company – the structure of how different offerings of a company are connected.  Typically, a sub-brand strategy shares the same fundamental factors of the overarching brand’s personality, tone, design, and image. This can include sharing common factors such as typography, imagery, and more. They utilize outside elements, including graphic elements, primary colors, messaging, etc., to stand out from the parent brand. What makes a sub-brand unique is its goal to appeal to a very specific, niche audience. 

Sourcefire Brands and Sub-Brands

To fully understand what a sub-brand is, let’s take a look at one of the most successful sub-brands in the Cybersecurity industry: Sourcefire. When Bluetext rebranded the company, we also worked with the Sourcefire team to sub-brand each of their most popular product offerings: FirePower, FireSight, FireAmp, and FireCloud. Each product has its own logo for users to differentiate between the four. While each product has its own unique logo, they still follow the overarching Sourcefire branding within the sub-brands: matching typography, custom graphic elements, abstract textures, and bold primary colors. 

The Impact

Sub-branding is extremely important as it creates exposure for both the parent and child brands. It helps customers easily differentiate, organize, and search in a complex environment. It creates the opportunity to engage both new and existing audiences while taking advantage of the trust previously built in your specific industry. Because a sub-brand appeals to a very specific and niche customer, you have the affirmation that your marketing messaging is as targeted as possible. Your customers have the ability to have a unique, custom experience that is completely separate from the parent brand and in turn, are more likely to engage with the parent brand’s other products if they connect with an individual sub-brand.

Want to elevate your brand even more? Bluetext can help.