Matters of Creative

In an era where AI and social media dominate communications, brand storytelling has become artificial and indistinguishable in the market. How can you harness the basics of public relations to craft brand stories that resonate with your audience?

In this Matters of Creative episode, Bobbie Bailey and Jenny Ridenour sit down with Brandon Lee, the Founder and President of Sequence Strategies, to discuss PR and communication strategies for storytelling. Brandon talks about the difference between marketing and PR, the future of the PR industry, and his work with nonprofits and political campaigns.

According to a study discovered by PR specialist Brandon Lee, AI will generate 90-94% of online content in the coming years. Rather than having AI control and populate brand narratives, Brandon emphasizes the importance of human oversight and in-person communication techniques. Brands can leverage PR fundamentals like physical newsletters to convey authentic stories. This requires interacting with your audience and documenting your experiences with them to identify a mission or purpose that can drive your story. These interactions should occur in person or over the phone to build trust and strengthen connections.

To elevate your PR strategies with authentic storytelling, don't miss this episode.

Brandon Lee is the Founder and President of Sequence Strategies, a communications and public relations consultancy. For nearly 15 years, he has partnered with leaders in nonprofits, business, and government, helping them develop and convey powerful stories. Brandon has worked with organizations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the CDC, and the Washington State Charter Schools Association.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-lee-/

https://sequencestrategies.com/

What does it take to stand out from other agencies in your industry? Being recognized requires more than creating flashy projects or having the most high-profile clients; it entails making an impact beyond your company's scope. How has one value-driven agency made its mark on the industry for 15 years?

In today's Matters of Creative episode, Jenny Ridenour sits down with Bobbie Bailey, the Founder and CEO of M Agency, to ask her 15 questions about M's 15 years in business. Bobbie shares her leadership lessons, how she directed the agency's rebrand, and how M adapts to marketing industry shifts.

Having recently celebrated its 15th anniversary, M Agency boasts an intentional culture of meaningful relationships and value-driven marketing. Bobbie Bailey, the creative mind behind M Agency's prosperity, maintains that developing a continuously evolving culture and aligning it with your work is the key to making a lasting impact. Having a strong culture involves selecting clients and team members who align with your core values and exemplifying these philosophies in each project. You can accomplish this through influential leadership that leverages individual strengths and nurtures customer relationships.

Listen now to learn more about M Agency's legacy.

Bobbie Bailey is the Founder and CEO of M Agency, a brand identity and advertising design agency specializing in interactive, digital, and print media. For the past 15 years, M Agency has helped hundreds of businesses, including Alaska Airlines and Celebrity Cake Studio, catalyze success through meaningful and results-driven marketing. Bobbie has grown M Agency into an award-winning agency by cultivating a creative and intentional environment. To invest back into the community, she co-founded South Sound 100, a community collective that sets the forum for fundraising for local nonprofits.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbiebailey/

https://whatisyourm.com/

With sustainable practices becoming regulated in various industries, companies are developing innovative ways to align their values with sustainability. Yet these initiatives are often costly, as businesses notice their competitors outperform them with traditional, lower-cost practices. How can you integrate sustainability into your business despite the obstacles?

In this episode of Matters of Creative, Bobbie Bailey and two M Agency copywriters talk with Troy Alstead, the Founder of Ocean5 and Table 47, about how he fosters sustainability and community leadership. Troy shares leadership lessons from working for Starbucks, the creative process behind Ocean5's sustainable designs, and how his board advisory roles align with his mission.

With a life-long commitment to environmental sustainability and community engagement, former Starbucks executive Troy Alstead recommends building, operating, and sourcing a sustainable business model that can accommodate higher costs. This requires dedication and courage to price products competitively and stay true to your mission. Troy has embedded sustainability into every aspect of his company, from developing geothermal systems for heating and cooling to sourcing and reusing local materials like wood. He also organizes initiatives like beach cleanups to involve his community in the company's mission.

Listen today for information on integrating sustainability into your company values.

Troy Alstead is the Founder of Ocean5, a LEED Silver certified entertainment and event venue. He is also the Founder of Table 47, a farm-to-table restaurant, and The Cup Coffee Lounge. Troy serves on the board of directors for several companies, including Levi Strauss & Co. and Harley Davidson. In 2016, he retired from Starbucks after 24 years with the company, having most recently served as the Chief Operating Officer responsible for leading the business' global operations.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/troyalstead/

https://o5social.com/

http://t47.com/

From working in silos and not communicating effectively to lacking time and resources, individuals in teams are often disconnected from each other. This can lead people to feel unfulfilled in their work, diminishing team performance. How can you unlock your team's hidden potential?

In this episode of Matters of Creative, Bobbie Bailey and Jenny Ridenour host Leah Knight, the Owner and President of LK Consulting, to talk about strengths-based leadership and training. Leah shares the research behind the Gallup Strengths method, how to navigate team dynamics, and the four leadership domains.

Passionate about identifying team and individual strengths, coach Leah Knight endorses the Gallup Strengths method, which maintains that individuals have 34 talent paths they can leverage to achieve fulfillment and maximize performance. She recommends taking a StrengthsFinder assessment to identify your unique strengths before collaborating with leaders to understand and execute them. This promotes stronger team collaboration and enhanced communication.

Tune in now to learn more about how you can leverage your team's strengths.

Leah Knight is the Owner and President of LK Consulting, a professional consulting firm utilizing Gallup Strength strategies to achieve peak performance in individuals, teams, and organizations. As a 20-year business owner, she has led, managed, and implemented strengths-based practices to create positive organizational cultures. Leah has worked with Fortune 500 companies, agencies, law firms, small businesses, teams, managers, and individuals.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/leah-keogh-248b72a9/

https://lkstrengths.com/

The social media and marketing landscape is evolving rapidly, yet many brands still use generic marketing tactics like identifying their target customer using psychographic information. Staying ahead of the curve requires creativity, cultural competence, and an eye for trend-setting strategies. How can you build your brand and connect with your audience in innovative ways?

In the latest episode of Matters of Creative, join Bobbie Bailey as she welcomes Cassandra Le, the Founder and Brand Strategist at The Quirky Pineapple Studio, who discusses marketing through a lens of multicultural innovation. Cassandra talks about her favorite social media and AI platforms, the importance of nurturing creativity throughout the marketing process, and how she became a content creator.

As a Vietnamese-American immigrant and culturally competent marketer, Cassandra Le is passionate about transforming traditional marketing messages into cultural movements. This involves identifying and amplifying a brand's mission, vision, voice, and personality across multiple platforms for maximum reach and impact. Each marketing campaign should align with your culture and values, allowing you to communicate cross-culturally with diverse audiences. Cassandra recommends leveraging platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok to build a global community.

Tune in now to uncover culturally competent marketing strategies.

Cassandra Le is the Founder and Brand Strategist at The Quirky Pineapple Studio, a creative marketing and media agency. As a brand and marketing consultant, she has worked with mission-driven brands and thought leaders to help them share their stories, connect with their communities, and drive brand awareness through culturally competent marketing. In 2019, Rising Tide Society and Honeybook named Cassandra as a top marketer driving community and innovation.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cassandra-le/

https://thequirkypineapple.com/

User experience design is no longer exclusive to visual interactions. Apps and productivity tools have evolved to include voice and text features, accelerating innovation in a fast-paced digital environment. With the landscape saturated with shiny objects and trendy features, how can you balance innovation with user-friendly fundamentals?

Join Matt Hirsch in the latest episode of Matters of Creative as he hosts Anton Sten, the Head of Design at Summer Health, to talk about creating user-friendly and enjoyable user experiences amid innovation. Anton mentions the importance of a robust strategy in user experience design, AI's role in improving UX designs, and the upcoming challenges designers will face in the evolving landscape.

According to Anton Sten, user experience strategies should involve the entire organization, with various departments collaborating to satisfy the end users, whether it's consumers using an app or companies using tools internally. Anton believes app and product designs should be simple, intuitive, and even fun, advising designers to observe key features in their favorite daily tools to determine what makes them user-friendly. With innovation a priority in UX design, designers can add additional features to enhance productivity and functionality while remaining consistent with the original design.

Tune in now for lessons on creating an unbeatable UX strategy.

Anton Sten is the Head of Design at Summer Health, a telehealth platform that connects parents to pediatricians. As a writer and designer, he has over 25 years of experience designing websites, apps, and products for startups and large companies. Anton owned and managed a design consultancy for over 15 years.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/antonsten/

https://www.antonsten.com/

If your marketing campaigns aren't sustainable long-term, you may be launching one-off promotions or limited-time-offer campaigns that don't perform well over time. While these projects are effective during special events, like Black Friday or Cyber Monday campaigns, they don't generate a steady flow of leads. How can you create and execute sustainable marketing systems for your business?

In this week's episode of Matters of Creative, Matt Hirsch sits down with Jeff Sauer, the Founder of Data Driven U, to discuss how marketing systems can prepare businesses for the future. Jeff talks about the future of AI and its ramifications for marketing systems, his approach to organizing digital workflows, and how to balance marketing team tasks.

While custom marketing projects may seem effective, they're more likely to fail since they're one-time campaigns. Conversely, marketing systems offer predictable and measurable campaign results through repeatable, proven methods. Yet data-driven marketer Jeff Sauer says not to rely on standard operating procedures to develop and execute these systems. These processes are rarely updated, and marketing systems must evolve with current trends. Instead, he recommends creating templates and documents with universal marketing tactics. To ensure sustainability for each campaign, you should implement cross-channel strategies and consistent messaging.

Jeff Sauer is the Founder of Data Driven U, which provides online training programs for data-driven marketing. He is also the Co-founder of ProfitSchool, which helps small teams improve their offers, products, and systems through a proprietary framework. Jeff's online training programs have helped over 50,000 students master PPC marketing, data analytics, and agency development. Having worked in digital marketing and web analytics since 2005, he became one of the first people to Beta test Google Analytics. As an Inc. 5000 Hall of Fame agency owner, Jeff grew his agency from six to seven figures before selling it.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffsauer/

https://datadrivenu.com/

AI is taking every industry by storm as businesses develop revolutionary ways to innovate and streamline the customer experience. Online-focused industries can leverage AI innovations to increase customer engagement. What strategies are these industries using to ensure virtual customer satisfaction?

In this episode of Matters of Creative, Matt Hirsch and Bobbie Bailey sit down with Natalie Bowman, the Managing Director of Product and Digital Experiences at Alaska Airlines, to discuss AI innovation in the airline industry. Natalie provides insights into AI's potential to transform marketing and design, leveraging digital media to enhance the customer experience, and her role in driving digital innovation at Alaska Airlines.

The airline industry relies on digital sales and interactions to survive, so businesses must reach customers using methods unique to the online space. According to digital innovator Natalie Bowman, companies like Alaska Airlines are developing generative AI-powered search tools to recommend travel options for customers based on trip details and preferences. This allows customers to customize their trips and evaluate choices that align with their needs. Some airline companies also leverage electronic bag tags that utilize QR codes to scan customers' luggage with each trip, eliminating the need for multiple physical tags. These innovations create efficiencies for the business and the consumer, increasing satisfaction rates and sales.

Listen today for more on how AI is revolutionizing the airline industry.

Natalie Bowman is the Managing Director of Product and Digital Experiences at Alaska Airlines, where she also served as the Managing Director of Marketing and Advertising. As a recognized brand, digital, and social marketing leader, she has experience leading major brand launches in fashion, tech, media, luxury retail, automotive, and travel. Natalie recently acquired the Oh Happy Day Party Shop, launching the DTC brand into Kohl's, Nordstrom, and hundreds of global boutiques. She has been named an Ad Age Digital Trailblazer, a Rising Brand Star by BrandWeek, a MAKERS Women Awardee, and one of Brand Innovators' top 100 Women to Watch.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nataliebowman/

https://www.alaskaair.com/

In recent decades, the advent of DTC and other instant online services have shifted consumer expectations, forcing brands to pivot to reimagine the user experience. Design thinking has emerged as a cornerstone for innovation and out-of-the-box value-creation methods. How can brands leverage this creative technique to enhance the customer experience?

In today's episode of Matters of Creative, Matt Hirsch welcomes Kate Ramsey and Angela Sharer of Nordstrom to discuss UX design and research strategies. Together, they explain how UX design can adapt to incorporate new technology, the role of research in the Double Diamond framework, and how they collaborate on UX design projects together.

Design thinking requires a creative professional to evaluate, sketch, and communicate their ideas for catering to the end user. As master researchers and designers in this space, Kate Ramsey and Angela Sharer employ the Double Diamond framework to identify the customer problem and develop value-added solutions. This in-depth planning cycle involves leveraging divergent thinking to generate ideas, convergent thinking to narrow down the ideas, and lateral thinking to influence your perception of the consumer's problem. Angela also implements observational research and data insights to refine the framework and identify a final solution.

Listen today for more ways you can use design thinking in your UX strategies.

Kate Ramsey is the Senior Principal of UX Design and Experience Strategy at Nordstrom, where she aligns teams to create cohesive and meaningful customer experiences across multiple channels. She has been with the company since 2011, holding roles including UX Design Manager and Principal UX Designer. Having studied fine art and graphic design, Kate transitioned into new media by teaching herself how to design digital interfaces for a CD company.

Angela Sharer is the Principal UX Researcher at Nordstrom, where she focuses on customer-facing experiences on the website and mobile app. As a user experience researcher, she has over 10 years of experience impacting consumer and B2B products and services. After obtaining a master's degree in human-centered design and engineering, Angela manufactured Android smartphones, wearables, and virtual reality headsets at HTC.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-ramsey-she-her-016766/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelasharer/

https://www.nordstrom.com/

From the boom in AI-generated content to Google's rapidly changing search algorithms, the SEO and SEM space is overburdened with fleeting trends that threaten to throw brands off track. How can you cut through the noise to establish a brand presence that truly resonates with your audience?

In the latest episode of Matters of Creative, join Matt Hirsch as he interviews Blake Denman, the Founder and President of RicketyRoo, about SEO and content trends impacting brands. Blake offers actionable insights for leveraging Google Business Profiles, improving website user experiences, and forging a powerful local brand identity.

When Blake Denman started his agency in 2009, SEO was still in its infancy. Since then, he has pivoted to align with relevant industry trends and customer demands. When improving your SEO for modern branding strategies, focus on establishing a basic presence by enhancing your Google Business Profile with a cover photo and basic company information. You can reference competitor profiles for inspiration on what you should include. Other fundamental strategies include optimizing your website for mobile devices, showcasing genuine customer reviews on your site, and engaging with your local community through events and sponsorships to establish organic backlinks.

For more SEO strategies that break through the noise, give this episode a listen today.

Blake Denman is the Founder and President of RicketyRoo, an internet marketing agency for small- to medium-sized businesses. With over 17 years of SEO experience, he specializes in inbound marketing, PPC advertising, and website design and development. Blake and his team speak at popular digital marketing conferences, including MozCon and LocalU, and contribute to recognized SEO publishing sites like Semrush and Search Engine Journal.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/blakedenman/

https://ricketyroo.com/