It's not bad to be #4

Convier Collective is honored to be ranked the #4 Marketing Agency by Agency Spotter. The future is bright! Read more about it here.

#Chicago #Chitown #Advertising #BrandMarketing #DigitalDesign #Instagood #AgencySpotter #GetReal #ConvierCollective #Goodcompany #BrandDesign

We're giving back.

It's our first Holiday Season, and since we get to decide how to celebrate, we wanted to give back to our community. So here we are, launching our holiday giving campaign! 

The truth is, the holidays would not be the same without you—with your help, we can make a difference.

We invite you to choose one of the six completed snowmen videos from this YouTube Channel and share it on social media. For every video shared, we will donate to Feeding America, who provides food and groceries to people in need.

Use the hashtags #HolidayCheer2016 #ConvierCollective #LetsEndHunger @FeedingAmerica

Thank you for your continued support! We really appreciate you and wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

Cheers!
Beckie & Mike

Got a project we can help you with?
Let’s get started today!  

Email connect@conviercollective.com

Brand & Marketing Webinar

On November 15, 2016, Convier Collective presented a webinar on the synergistic relationship of branding and marketing. The event was hosted by the CADM as a part of their webinar series.

Brand and Marketing— The Dynamic Duo:

You can do marketing without a brand strategy, but no one would know who you are. Just creating a brand without any marketing efforts — you’ll reach no one. We’ll discuss from our experiences how to best use the strengths of both branding and marketing to capture the attention of an audience, leave a lasting impression, and move them to take action.

If you missed it, you can get access to watch the replay by signing up here. Once your email address is confirmed, we'll send you the link and password, plus you'll get the summary page to reference later too!

Brand Building

Many companies and individuals come to us with the problem of needing a logo. Ok, great we do logos! But what really needs to come first is a brand strategy: a plan or road map that relates to all aspects of your business, how it resonates with your customer base, and differentiates you from the competition. Creating the brand strategy will lead to creating a logo with a purpose and meaning, marketing collateral that connects with your audience, and a website that is engaging, easy to navigate and communicates who you are, what you do and why you do it. This is truly only the tip of the iceberg but this is where companies need to start.  It is a marathon but each mile has its reward — appreciate the process.

Logo Design
A great logo will be the face of your business. This logo will have the power and ability to evoke an emotion, and in many instances communicate with the public in a much deeper way than many other forms of communication. For instance look at the power of some of the logo marks that we encounter on a daily basis: Starbucks, McDonald’s, Nike, etc. When you encounter these logos an emotion or feeling is associated with these iconic brand marks. Those emotions are developed from a personal journey with the brand. A good logo is one that can grow and evolve with your business, as well as be unique, connect or even begin to tell your company's story.

Stationary
The importance of a cohesive and well designed business card, letterhead and envelope can’t be underestimated. A new prospect connection might be generated on LinkedIn, but once you land the meeting your business card will be a leave behind that has to make a positive impression. Consistent branding may begin with the logo, but beyond that, all of your printed collateral, marketing materials and online presence should be consistent across the board. Our attention to the smallest of details is visible by how carefully we select paper and finishes that perfectly align with the essence of your brand.

Website Design and Development
Today you need a website that is professionally designed and developed. One that is adaptive — it has to look just as good on a mobile device as it does on a desktop. From concept and strategy, to design and implementation, choose a team of experts that know how to get you there. Your social media channels and printed marketing materials need to point to your website. Through professional copy writing and user interface design that is engaging, fun and educational to the end user, your website needs to say who you are, what you do, and how you can be contacted.

At Convier Collective we have the blueprint to help you build your brand. We are here to help you launch the brand that you deserve for your business. Let’s go.

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Michael DeMent
Partner & Creative Director

Michael, is an award winning designer whose work has been featured in publications such as Logo Lounge. With over 15 years of experience he knows the art and science behind building a brand. Helping brands succeed across many industry segments including financial services, pharmaceutical and retail.

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Checkout our upcoming webinar hosted by the CADM 
Brand and Marketing: The Dynamic Duo

You can do marketing without a brand strategy, but no one would know who you are. Just creating a brand without any marketing efforts – you’ll reach no one.

On November 15, Mike DeMent and Beckie O’Connor from Convier Collective will present a webinar on the synergistic relationship of branding and marketing. They will discuss how to best use the strengths of both branding and marketing to capture the attention of an audience, leave a lasting impression, and move them to take action.

Be social — with your beer.

Social Media is one of the primary ways people interact with others. People share every moment—to show they are living in the moment. For brands to be relevant, it takes planning and research while at the same time there’s a constant pressure to be current. Brands that have success are flexible and quick to respond making them relevant in the conversation without appearing forced.

Unlike other marketing tools, social media needs to be continuously on point, concise and eye catching. Knowing your audience and which platform will provide the best engagement for each message is what separates top social brands from the rest. What’s the overall goal in using social media? I believe that brands need to focus on brand awareness.

While managing social media for Banging Gavel Brews (BGB), I have gotten a glimpse into how it can be used for a small local craft brewery. Learning while doing in this case, seeing what types of posts are celebrated and which ones are just looked past. The goal isn’t to be the next big brewery (well not yet). The goal is to simply get the BGB name out in front of people and let them know beers are available locally. The brand’s focus is on being unique, inspired and bold in flavor and style. If we reach and connect with local craft beer lovers who enjoy trying something different — cool, we’re successful. We use social media to promote local events, as well as, share live event and brew day footage, pictures and updates. We connect with the community, share articles and tag other breweries and individuals on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. This works for us, but like everyone else, we have to evolve to stay up with any social media changes.

One of the ways we stay current is by embracing the apps and tools that our fans are already using. The app and social media platform Untappd focuses specifically on sharing and exploring the world of beer with friends. It’s used by beer enthusiasts and has become one of my favorite online tools for this industry. Breweries use it to provide background and descriptions for the beers, while fans use it to explore beers and check out what their connections are drinking. It’s a place where people can rate what they’ve tried, find where beers are on tap, and even toast or comment on their friend’s beer explorations. This mobile app has the most action during beer fests, so we keep up with it by toasting and commenting the fest goers during these events. People get excited if they are one of the firsts to give a review for a new beer or when we toast their check-in and comment on their experience. We can track what people like and don’t like, get instant feedback that helps improve our product and continue to engage and connect with our fans.

Social media should be fun not a chore. Let’s appreciate how we can instantly stay in touch, learn about customer’s interests and find new ways to provide something unique. Don’t stop living in the moment. Go experience new flavors for yourself — and be social with your beer. 

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Beckie O'Connor
Partner & Digital Creative Director

Beckie specializes in working with medium sized entrepreneurial-minded companies to develop, design and execute a cohesive brand platform across multiple advertising and marketing mediums. Her clients span the financial services, real estate, and CPG industries.  

If you are looking for help with your company’s brand, and how to market it to your audience. Contact the team. If you’re looking for a good beer, Beckie can recommend a stellar stout. 

A Celebration of Craft: The Makers Movement

We are in the midst of a renaissance—the reemergence of quality, hand-crafted, artisan goods and products. It’s the “Makers Movement”, a celebration of creativity and innovation. The movement is alive and well in both urban and rural communities around the United States. At the heart of it are people like you and me that value music, art & design, food, coffee, beer, jams & jellies, wearables and household items with personality. Many of these items have a local flavor, that is particular to the geography and culture of the region.

This summer I have been fortunate to travel and experience a few of these markets around the United States. While I was visiting family in Birmingham, Alabama, I spent one Saturday morning soaking in the tastes and sounds of the Market at Pepper Place. This market was the perfect blend of farm fresh fruit & vegetables, artisanal blends of sweet tea, southern pepper jelly, and live music that was true to the heritage of Birmingham. The market was bustling with people seeking out unique items, produced by the people selling them or crafted by the genius who produces a kitchen table from the rafters of a 150-year-old farm building.

As an artist and entrepreneur I am always inspired by folks who are creating products in small batches, re-purposing items in a unique way, or producing heirloom varieties of fruit and vegetables that just might not fit at the corner grocery store. These items were the treasures that I brought home and shared with family and friends. They also serve as a reminder of the importance of craft and creativity in our culture. In our current society, where big box stores dominate the landscape, people are looking for an escape and quality that at times is absent from mass produced items. This can be found at places like the Market at Pepper Place or as close as your own local farmers market.

I have been fortunate to work and collaborate with small business owners, artisans and farmers in helping them communicate their craft through brand development, experiential design and social media marketing. At Convier Collective we know the importance that local businesses play within the community. We pride ourselves on helping share your story through strategic design and compelling writing.

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Michael DeMent
Partner & Creative Director

Michael, is an award winning designer whose work has been featured in publications such as Logo Lounge. With over 15 years of experience he knows the art and science behind building a brand. Helping brands succeed across many industry segments including financial services, pharmaceutical and retail.