It’s seen most commonly on social media, where a YouTube video or news story, for example, suddenly explodes into popularity, cluttering up the timelines of millions of people across the globe. Sometimes it’s a good thing, like the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, and sometimes it’s absurdly annoying, see the art of “Rick-Rolling”, but one thing it all has in common is the manner in which it spreads.

The name “viral marketing” is actually pretty appropriate. Just like a regular virus, it all starts at a single point – in this case, the original upload/shares. From there, it’s a case of doing everything possible to give the campaign a chance of catching the attention of even a single person so that they can share it with their friends, so that they can share it with theirs, so that they can share it with theirs, and so on until it reaches its peak before disappearing from memory again.

With each generation, or wave of shares, the campaign will gain exponential growth, and that makes viral marketing an incredibly effective and cost efficient tool in any marketer’s book.

EASIER SAID THAN DONE

However, it’s not quite that easy. Firstly, you’ve got to have an idea that has the potential for virality. Nobody is going to be interested in sharing something that amounts to little more than a promotional campaign for your company; instead you need to do something different, something that’s worthy not only of people’s attention, but also deserving of their seal of approval in the shape of a social media share, like or comment.

It’s an incredibly difficult thing to get right, but when it works a campaign can literally go from zero to light speed in a matter of days, if not hours, and that’s what makes them so desirable, not just for marketers, but also for their clients.

Although you’re likely most familiar with viral campaigns taking the form of video, they don’t necessarily need to be in that medium. Heck,  they don’t even have to be online if you want to be super old school about it (although that’s an approach that’s going to be pretty difficult to accomplish global domination with)! Everything is fair game in viral marketing, and Monitoring Trends everything from videos, to emails, to fabricated stories, to images, to special offers has been used as part of viral campaigns.

VIRAL MARKETING MAY NOT BE FOR EVERYONE

Arguably one of the most creative modern day marketing solutions, viral marketing isn’t going to be for everyone. It carries potential risk due to its unpredictability, but the low cost (and the ever growing list of successful campaigns) continues to make it appealing for many companies.

Boundless Productions offers a range of solutions to help build and manage a successful viral campaign, and boasts a record of success with viral video, and we’re standing by waiting for your call. To speak to one of our viral experts, call us at 1877.617.2811 or send an email to [email protected].

The post Viral Marketing Demystified appeared first on Boundless Productions.

1. Keep It Simple

In business, as in life, often the most straightforward solution is the best one. When it comes to choosing a domain name for your online presence, the optimal approach is to choose yourcompanyname.com. It’s simple, effective and the most common sense solution to the problem – however it’s not always an option that’s available. In many cases, you’ll find that yourcompanyname.com has already been registered by someone, particularly if you’ve chosen a less-than-unique name for your brand.

If you find that to be the case, you’ll want to avoid using a name that could create confusion, restrict your company from further growth, or pigeonhole your brand. Adding a descriptive suffix is often a reasonable solution, but keep the potential ramifications in mind when doing so. Looking for broad descriptors is always a good idea. Use “media” instead of “graphics”, “productions” instead of “video”, or “creative” instead of “web design”, so ensure compatibility with further growth. Even if you don’t intend on moving outside your current scope, it’s always good to have the option to do so should things change down the line.

One thing you don’t want to do is start adding in words that make your brand seem smaller, less productive or unnecessarily “niche”. This extends to adding a location to the title, like “Canada” or “Toronto”. On first glance, that might make perfect sense, but what if you want to appeal to potential customers outside that area? Always think two steps ahead and you won’t go too far wrong.

2. Is Regional Domain for You?

In many cases, new business owners rush straight for the top level domain extension that reflects their location, such as .ca in Canada, or .co.uk in the United Kingdom, since they believe it’ll reassure their clients that they’re dealing with a local company. While the sentiment is hard to argue with, there are very few potential customers out there who will ever opt for a company based on whether or not their TLD is regional, but on the flip side, there are plenty who will choose not to a company you because it is.

If you have weighed up the pros and cons of a .ca/.co.uk/etc. TLD and decided it’s the route you want to take, then it’s a good idea to also purchase the .com variant of the domain and forward it to your regionalized domain (or vice versa). This will prevent someone else from picking up the .com version and confusing your customers.

3. A Shorter Domain Name is Better

A shorter domain name is far more desirable than a long one. Wherever possible, try to stick to just a single word, or if that’s not available, then aim for no more than two. While this matters little for URLs shared digitally, whether through social media or via email, it’s a big deal when attempting to verbally communicate your online location to a third party. The less scope for confusion the better.

4. Avoid Difficult Spelling

The last thing you want is to miss out on a potential lead because they can’t spell your website name, or can’t figure out whether to use “four”, “for” or “4” when typing it into their browser. Using numbers can be very risky, so try to look for alternatives wherever possible to give yourself the best possible chance of converting interest to a sale.

5. Don’t Make Rash Decisions

There are plenty of tools out there that’ll allow you to brainstorm domain ideas, such as https://ca.godaddy.com/domains/bulk-domain-search.aspx, so make sure to use them in your preliminary idea sessions. Once you’ve identified a handful of potential domain names, allow yourself to sit on them for a day or two. Ask friends and family for their input, and use their feedback to help you to identify the ones that’ll be the most impactful and effective.

Coming up with an effective domain name isn’t easy these days, but Boundless Productions can help you cut through the noise to find the one that could make the difference between success and invisibility. To speak with a member of our branding team, email us at [email protected] or call us on 1877.617.2811 today.

The post Choosing the Perfect Domain appeared first on Boundless Productions.

Just in case you need any further convincing, we’ve put together our top five reasons to with a responsive website for your next build:

1. You Want Your Site to Be Accessible to As Many Users as Possible

A website that’s based on Adobe’s formerly industry-leading Flash animation platform isn’t going to work on mobile devices – costing you as much as 60% of your potential traffic right off the bat. That’s a huge number of users to be discounting, and it’s something you need to be aware of.

It’s not just Flash, though, there are dozens of other design techniques and technologies that simply don’t make the transition to mobile, either at all or in a manner that reflects the professional image you’re trying to convey.

Your website is a key sales and marketing tool, and it needs to be accessible to everyone, whether they’re in an office or out and about.

2. Your Site Must Be an Enjoyable Experience for Everyone

Even if your site is accessible on mobile devices, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it offers an enjoyable experience for the end user. Sites that aren’t mobile friendly typically suffer from major formatting issues, such as text that’s too small to read, links that are difficult to accurately open, and images that gobble up mobile bandwidth with reckless abandon.

A well laid out responsive friendly website, on the other hand, should be a joy to use. Your customers should be able to find all the information they need with ease, using an interface that has been tested on a wide array of screen resolutions. The more enjoyable their time on your website, the higher your chances of converting them into new business leads, that that’s really where responsive website design shines.

3. Search Engines Prefer a Responsive Website

Effective search engine optimization (SEO) doesn’t come cheaply these days, particularly in highly competitive markets, but unless your website is mobile friendly, you could effectively be tossing your money away for little to no return.

Since last year, major search engines like Google have placed a much higher importance on websites that they deem mobile friendly. This doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re good websites, or even laid out well, but rather that they meet a specific set of criteria based on how they display on differently sized devices.

In the case where your company is going up against a competitor of similar size, with a similar budget and similar target demographic, but with a responsive website compared to your non-responsive one, you’ll finish second every time when it comes to SEO – something that could prove to be disastrous for your company’s future.

4. Social Media Campaigns Drive Mobile Users to Your Website

There’s no escaping the importance of effective social media marketing these days, but it’s essential to remember that the vast majority of people engaging with your brand on social media are likely to be using a mobile device. Nailing your social media marketing messages, but sending them to a website that either doesn’t work, or looks sloppy, on their screen is going to shine a very bad light on your company.

As you ramp up your social media activities, it’s imperative to make sure that any leads you generate are visiting a site that’ll inspire them with confidence, and raise the potential for a conversion.

5. A Responsive Website is a Future-Proofed Website

Although there’s no way of knowing for sure how the internet is going to evolve in the future, one thing that’s for certain is that you’ll have a much better chance to remain relevant if your website is responsive, and ready to tackle whatever devices the future may hold.

Already, we’re seeing an increase in the popularity of things like Smart TVs that offer internet access directly in the living room. While a non-responsive site may still look okay on that display, it’s certainly not going to be optimized, or offer a positive representation of your company name – and with 4K Ultra HD TV’s starting to gain a foothold in the market, things are only going to get worse.

If a new, or revamped, online presence is something that’s on your company’s agenda in the near future, it’s essential that you look at a responsive website as being one of the key delierables, otherwise you risk another costly site build a mere year or two down the line when you really start to feel the hit as your more technologically aware competitors bypass you in the digital space.

If you’d like to chat with one of Boundless Productions’ web experts about how we can future-proof your online presence with a responsive website, give us a call today at 1877.617.2811 or email us at [email protected].

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1. Know Your Audience

Before you do anything else, make sure you know exactly who your business is selling to. The last thing you want to do is choose a name that’ll inadvertently alienate some, or all, of your target demographic. Although it should go without saying, avoid anything controversial or divisive, and aim for a name that’s going to allow you to maximize your earning potential among customers.

2. Research the Competition

While copying your competitors is something you want to avoid, it’s always a good idea to compile a document that dissects their naming conventions. Examine the names of the most successful companies in your space and see if you can find a common trend. Do they feature technical sounding names? Do they feel “friendly” or “inviting”? By figuring out what has been proven to work within your market, you can avoid making branding errors that could come back to haunt you in the future.

3. Be Creative & Think Outside the Box

Giving your company a name that’s too similar to your competitors, or companies in other spaces, can prove disadvantageous. A memorable name is a great marketing tool, and if you can think outside the box, adding some creative flair into your process, your company will stand out from the competition.

4. But Not TOO Far Outside the Box…

The flip side of thinking outside the box is that it’s possible to take things too far. If you’re a media company, make sure to tag on a focus word like “media” or “productions” to let everyone know what you do. Using this technique can turn even the most abstract of names into a memorable, and sensible, moniker.

5. Make Sure Your Company Name is Easy to Spell

If you’re opting for a company name that’s a little out there, make sure it spells like it sounds. It might seem like a great idea to use a “ph” instead of an “f”, but unless it’s absolutely necessary, that might cause confusion for potential customers trying to find you online. The same goes for complicated words, or use of numbers instead of letters. Always put yourself into the shoes of your audience, and ask whether or not your name is as clear as possible, and that the spoken version of it lines up with the written version.

6. Don’t Limit Yourself with Your Company Name

If your business is starting off life as a graphic design studio, for example, but you have aspirations to transition into a fully-featured agency, make sure your name doesn’t create unnecessary hurdles down the line. Avoid making declarations in your name that may not accurately represent your company down the line, and always employ a little foresight before committing to a final name.

7. Make Sure the Company Name and Domain is Available

Once you’ve come up with some candidates you’re happy with, the next step is to find out which ones are available, both in terms of registered company names and online domains. When choosing a domain name, you want it to be as clear and concise as possible; and nothing works better than your company name. Try to avoid descriptive suffixes for your domain wherever possible because, as noted in point 6 above, the scope and actions of your company can be fluid over time. Boxing yourself in with a rash decision is never a good idea.

8. Have Alternatives

Never set your heart on just one potential name – always be open to several possibilities going into the final decision making process. There are many reasons why your favoured name simply isn’t workable when you get down to the nitty gritty of choosing, such as unavailable domains, similarly named competitors or even unwanted associations with other brands (particularly ones active in markets that could prove damaging to your reputation).

9. Get External Feedback

It’s always a good idea to get a second (and third, and fourth) opinion on your company name before you commit to it. The experiences and knowledge of others can prove invaluable when it comes to avoiding potentially embarrassing or damaging errors in judgment. The more people you speak with, the more effective the feedback will be. Try not to limit yourself to people involved with your company, target audience or industry, and instead spread things around. You never know what you might have missed, and the more perspectives you have, the better. One good tip here is to involve a friend or acquaintance who has a tendency to see innuendo in everything (we’ve all got a buddy like that!) – and if they can’t find a way to twist your proposed names into something uncouth, then you’re on the right track!

10. Don’t Rush It

No matter how long the process takes, it’s better to get it right first time than be faced with the prospect of a complete brand overhaul after launch. Not only can this prove to be incredibly costly, it also runs the risk of confusing existing and potential customers.

If you’re drawing a blank, or simply want an impartial third party to offer their expert opinion, Boundless Productions’ team of branding gurus is always here to help. To schedule a meeting with us, please call 1877.617.2811 or email [email protected] now.

The post What’s in a (Company) Name? appeared first on Boundless Productions.

Users were now freed from the grasp of their desktop monitors and were instead able to browse the web, engage with companies, socialize with their friends and interact with the internet from their phones. It was a revolution, but even now there remains many companies that have not quite gotten to grips with the abundant change that has been ushered in by the smartphone.

Today, as mobile internet usage surges past more traditional methods of connecting to the web, it’s essential that companies offer their clientele a user experience that is suited to their display of choice, whether that means a smaller smartphone, a phablet, a larger tablet or more traditional options.

A comScore report published in the March 2015 claimed that mobile users already accounted for 60% of internet traffic in the United States alone – that’s a huge slice of the action by anyone’s count – and things have only swung further in that direction since then.

So what does this mean for you, your company and your marketing practices moving forward? Make no mistake, it means that if you don’t already have a mobile friendly website, you’re already a dinosaur in the online world – and that’s going to hurt your business, irrespective of how important you think it is.

In order to prevent continued loss of customers, leads and online traffic, you need to engage a web development company to create a mobile friendly website – STAT! Until relatively recently, this typically meant the development of a mobile-specific version of your website, served to users browsing on mobile devices. At the time, it was a reasonable solution to an evolving issue, but these days it’s not the ideal route to take.

EASY ACCESSIBILITY FOR ALL WITH MOBILE FRIENDLY WEBSITES

Instead, responsive web design is a method that ensures your site is a pleasant experience for everyone, no matter what device they’re using to view it. At its core, responsive web design is a technique utilized to adjust the appearance of your website in real-time, based on the resolution (and orientation) of the user’s display. It means that only a single site needs to be developed, potentially saving a lot of time and money down the line, but it also allows for some pretty sweeping changes in the information that’s served to mobile when compared to desktop, allowing shrewd companies to identify the messaging most relevant to their users based on the platform they’re using.

An example of this might be where your desktop site has an abundance of text-based information. That’s not going to translate very well to a mobile screen, so you want to make things as easy as possible for your customers. Instead, you might decide that, since they’re accessing your site on the go, you want to focus only on your key selling points and making it as easy as possible for the user to get in touch with you. That’s all very possible with responsive web design.

If you’d like to discuss responsive web design with one of Boundless Productions’ experts, please feel free to call us at 1877.617.2811, or drop a mail to [email protected].

The post Mobile Friendly Matters appeared first on Boundless Productions.

If you’ve done any research on the subject, then there’s a good chance you’ll have happened upon all manner of charts, tips and claims, pointing you in the direction of one colour or another, based on your corporate values and target demographic – but it’s wise not to place too much importance on these for one key reason: they rarely factor in the relatively unquantifiable personal experience of the customer.

Colour associations tend to be made on a very personal level, based on the past experiences of the individual in question, their environment growing up, their culture and their previous engagements with companies using similar colours. There’s no “one size fits all” approach to selecting the colours for your brand, but there are some general concepts that can help guide you in the right direction.

Before you dive headlong into colour charts or try to identify the colours that speak best to your corporate voice, the first thing you need to do is figure out who your primary demographic is. Spare no detail in breaking things down – focus on gender, age group, ethnicity, culture, language and tradition, examine brands that have successfully tapped into your desired group and explore the reasons why their corporate branding elements have worked. Similarly, take a look at those that have failed and learn from their mistakes.

With all that in mind, let’s touch upon some of the broader concepts we mentioned earlier. Generally speaking, the bulk of studies and infographics you’ll find on this subject refer to westerners, and factor in their observed preferences over time. If that’s not who you’re attempting to appeal to, you’ll need to make a few adjustments – but you’ll figure it out easily enough!

According to research group Marketo, the most used colour when it comes to corporate branding and logos is blue, with around 33% of studied logos featuring it as the main colour. This ties in with the fact that 57% of males and 35% of females (a comprehensive majority in both cases) list blue as their favourite colour.

Clearly, then, the suggestion is that in order to ensure you appeal to as many people as possible, you should opt for a blue logo, right? Not necessarily. Literally hundreds of studies down through the years have all arrived at similar conclusions regarding the subliminal “messaging” associated with blue in our culture; that it’s a secure, trustworthy colour that suggests dependability and loyalty. However, many of those same studies have found blue to be a colour that’s associated with budget products by some shoppers.

What Do Colours Mean?

The question now moves from “why not use blue if it’s everyone’s favourite colour?” to “do I want to associate my brand with a ‘budget’ colour?”; these are the issues you’ll begin to find with increasing regularity the more you read into the subject. Ultimately, any concerns about using blue will have mattered little to companies like Facebook, IBM, Skype, WordPress, Samsung and Ford!

That’s not to say that there’s not some useful information to be gleaned from the countless colour studies down through the years. At very least, they put you in a position to make an informed decision based on the kind of companies that are already established as using the colour(s) in question.

Red has been chosen for some of the most iconic brands in the world, from Coca Cola to Target to YouTube to CNN and ESPN. It’s a colour that creates a sense of excitement among westerners, instilling them with the urge to act, and inspiring impulse purchases. It’s worth keeping in mind, however, that red on its own can be a little overwhelming for some, and accepted best practices in branding tend to suggest that keeping it as an accent is the best way to get use from it.

Unsurprisingly, pink is viewed as the colour of romance, or female-friendly products. Interestingly, up until relatively recently, pink was viewed as a predominantly male colour. These days, however, it tends to be quite the opposite – something that has been used to great effect by Breast Cancer Awareness, Barbie and even Victoria’s Secret. If your business is rugged outdoor equipment, it might be a good idea to shy away from the use of pink in your branding (although, unexpected use of colour can help make your identity stand out from the competition, so perhaps don’t rule it out entirely).

Green, most often associated with the environment, is also known for being a colour favoured by cost-aware shoppers, although it can also be used when it comes to finances, signifying wealth. Purple is another colour that is often used to signify wealth, although usually more along the lines of opulence or luxury. It can be used as a fine substitute for blue, should you choose, and brings with it a sense of regality or mystery.

Yellow, preferred by the likes of McDonalds, DHL, Ferrari and Ikea, is typically associated with fun and creativity, and is often used by brands seeking a more youthful audience. Orange, similar to yellow, is seen as playful and light, but retaining a moderate sense of urgency and impulse, something that brands like Mastercard and Dunkin’ Donuts have used very well. Think of it as a happy middle ground between yellow and red.

Finally, of the main colours used in corporate branding, we have black. Usually associated with power and superiority, it’s no surprise that companies like Nike, Apple, Porsche and Lamborghini have favoured blacks and greys for their corporate identities. Used sparingly, black can create a real sense of grounding for your brand, and often emphasizes other colours to an impressive degree.

As we touched upon while discussing pink, it’s very important that you don’t take stereotypical associations too seriously when it comes to creating a colour palette for your brand. Don’t be afraid to experiment and try something that’s going to make you stand out from the crowd – sometimes an unexpected approach can make your brand memorable instantaneously. Using colours that are too similar to your main competitors, or brands that dominate your space, can often render you little more than a pretender in the eyes of your target market. By all means, draw upon the ideas that have worked for others, but make sure to stamp your own identity on things, too.

Above All Else: Know Your Audience

By that same note, however, it’s essential to know your target audience. Attempting to be too creative can have its own pitfalls. Associating your brand with a colour that contradicts your core values can lead to confusion on behalf of potential customers, and make you appear unfocused or untrustworthy.

You know your products and services, and you should know your customers, so by working with that data, as well as a general understanding of how certain colours are perceived, it should be possible for you to create a logo, and associated branding elements, that focuses on what makes your company unique, memorable and attractive to potential customers.

Once you’ve got your base concept down, Boundless Productions is always available to help chisel your ideas into a stunningly realized corporate identity that’ll give you an instant boost and propel your brand above your competition.

To discuss Boundless Productions’ corporate branding solutions, call us at 1877.617.2811 or email us at [email protected] today.

The post Understanding Your Brand’s Colours appeared first on Boundless Productions.

With that said, the store wasn’t nearly as bright as what we wanted it to be. So we had different spotlights set up, like the Arri lights and the Kino lights. We also used a Ronin, which is an advanced handheld gimbal system, which had a Blackmagic 4k camera attached to it. Through out the shoot, we were lucky enough to be working with with a golden retriever named Kingston. Kingston was super well behaved and didn’t cause us a single problem… Which is pretty hard to come by when you’re working with animals!

Check out our Pet Valu commercial above

With such a simple shoot like that, you expect it to go pretty smoothly, maybe just a few takes here and there and then we’ll wrap! Sadly, it was much more work than that. We had to get it in different angles or sometimes the audio will cut out. But with such a great team we never had much issues working through the day. It was roughly an 8-hour shoot and then long hours of editing just for a thirty second commercial. But hey, the end results came out amazing!

If you’d like to work with the Boundless Productions team to create a stunning commercial for your brand, email us at[email protected] or call us on 1877.617.2811 today to speak with one of our commercial shoot experts.

The post Pet Valu Commercial Shoot appeared first on Boundless Productions.

Content marketing replaces the old way of traditionally advertising to your customers. It’s a way for you to engage customers and keep their attention on your brand so you can communicate directly to interested, focused prospects. Consumers often hide behind mistrust and skepticism when faced with traditional advertising. Therefore, becoming a valuable and relevant resource for them to learn from and subscribe to gives you the chance to be seen as a trustworthy asset and an expert to revisit.

This method is effective because you will be seen as a resource for your customers, not a walking billboard. Your customers will lose interest in you if they know every time they come to your channel you are overtly trying to sell to them. Your customers will keep interested in content that they can gain something from, or see value in.

Remember the last time you were at a trade show, and you walked past that booth with a sales person and their scanner standing there eager eyed and b-lining every attendee walking by, with a stack of fliers looking to tell you why their company is the best? Think of how you avoided making eye contact, even if you were interested in their product.

Make Content Marketing Work for You

Make content marketing work for you by knowing your target demographics’ behaviour. This is the first step to understanding what they want to learn. Consider where your audience ‘live’ online, what they read and are interested in, and what drives their buying decisions. What do It publish? If you are a retail store, publish reviews, product photos and videos, weekly deals and steals and trend setting articles to keep your customers engaged.

If you are an independent broker (financial, CA, lawyer etc), post weekly Vlogs and supplement with blogs focusing on industry movement, free advice and motivating facts. If you are a B2B business keep your target customer updated on money saving tips and tricks, and show them ways to be more productive in their role. Each strategy and content mix is focused on the customer experience Ultimately take that final step back and think about what you would rather read about – Advertising or information.

Let’s talk about your brand and your story: drop us a line –[email protected]

Jason Wilton is the Creative Director of Boundless Productions Canada – See us online at BoundlessProductions.ca, or just check out the back cover of this Voice issue.

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