After surveying marketing professionals, ​Bates Creative concluded the top two obstacles for marketers in 2018 are generating new leads and traffic. What are the underlying reasons for these issues?

​Well, this can depend on the industry and company. Some may have trouble with identifying true brand identity, having a brand identity and no organizational support, projecting company values and ideas and many others issues. The whole picture is the lack of leads and traffic and marketers will need to research the 'why' and 'why not' while preparing for their next campaign.

Read more insight from Rich Young, VP of Business Development for Bates Creative. 

How much do celebrities and social media personalities earn? A lot.

A social media influencer can earn anywhere from a couple hundred to thousands to hundred thousands to interact or post about a brand. A person's following base and numbers highly affects the amount of dineros they receive. But, even more interesting? 

The boost in brand awareness and sales a company will receive from unsolicited advertising. Check out these examples.

True: millennials grew up with box television sets, box computers, instant messaging, etc. 

False: millennials are a digital only generation and prefer not to receive direct mail.

If all efforts are directed to the digital landscape, marketers are missing out on an opportunity. Read more on how millennials respond to paper and direct mail marketing. 

There are many platforms used in a marketing campaign; direct mail, social media, email, digital advertising, etc.

But what about video? Videos can be seen in various components, such as, video billboards, YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram, Snapchat, mall marketing and much more.   

LEARN MORE on how and why to integrate video into your next marketing campaign.

October is officially over and children's pumpkins are full of sugar and sweets and will be bouncing off the walls for the next week.

Halloween, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and the many other holidays are some of the most fun projects marketers will take on. Here is how some known brands took advantage of Halloween: 

• Burger King targets their competition
  
• Xfinity created a horror short film
  
• Hulu had themselves a Happy HULUween

Do you need to produce a marketing plan? Are you unfamiliar with marketing and don't know where to start?

Here are the six steps to creating your next marketing plan:

1. Create your company's situation analysis
2. Define target audience
3. Create a list of goals
4. Develop and decide what marketing communication tactics to use
5. Decide how campaign will be tracked
6. Set a budget

There's much to consider when sending email blasts to your customers. Are you using the correct color scheme? Is the content readable? Does the email provide a purpose?

Step one in creating an email: K.I.S.S. - Keep it simple stupid. The subject line of the email is the most simplistic component of the entire email. Other elements to consider are the preheader, header, headline, sub heads, image(s), copy and signature.

Click HERE to read more tips to integrate email into your marketing strategy.​

As a company, we have found value in Google+ and have witnessed how it connects to Google AdWords to  increase organic visibility. We were and are seeing a rise in brand awareness.

Google+ provides various benefits such as:

• local search results
• long term seo value
• influence over prospective buyers
• resources at your disposal
• community engagement

​
HERE are more details on why Google+ is good for your business and how to set up your account.

Do you have a cross country or international business trip coming up? Or are you traveling within a hour difference?

Regardless of the time change, your body has to adjust to the modifications. Many resort to sleeping, but it may be wise to hold off depending on your destination's time zone. And those meetings you were planning to attend directly from the airport? Traveling, in general, is tiring. Take a day to travel and allow yourself to better prepare to exhibit top notch professionalism.

Read some more 'beating jet lag' advice HERE

Earlier this month, Aerie (sister company of American Eagle) sent their loyal customers a special gift in the mail. As a 'thank you', a postcard and free piece of clothing were sent to loyalty members. Yes, a clothing item.

Whether it is a postcard or small package, consumers are still paying attention to direct mail. Direct mail has become more personable than ever! Our Company has the ability to track consumers based on interests or track all the new families in a single zip code! You can welcome your new neighbors to the area by starting with us. 

READ MORE on how direct marketing is still relevant in a digital world.

CHECK OUT these 21 objects you can send in the mail.