thunder::cast

On this episode of thunder::cast, we take a look back at our eighth annual edition of our Trends book to prepare for the release of this year's Trends Summer Reader. Co-hosts Craig Israel and Eric Crilow are joined in the studio by four thunder::tech guests to discuss past, present and future marketing trends and how they are impacting marketers. Listen in to learn what's shaking up social media advertising, discover why traditional ad buying is shifting and find out how quickly artificial intelligence is becoming more commonplace in our everyday lives.

On this episode, co-hosts Craig Israel and Eric Crilow sit down with thunder::tech President Jason Therrien and Senior Director of Development Bruce Williams discuss thunder::tech's approach to new business. They share the importance of understanding your audience, how to identify new sales opportunities and why having a solid content marketing strategy is crucial to attracting and retaining clients.

The power of video is undisputed in the marketing world and has become a go-to tool for nearly every marketer. In this episode, two guests from thunder::tech's multimedia team, Matt Stevens and Christian Daugstrup, drop by the studio to share the FAA's new regulations governing flying commercial drones at night, and to discuss how brands are using 360 video to create immersive audio and visual experiences.

In this episode, we sit down with thunder::tech Graphic Designers, Jasmine Massa and Trevor Marzella, to discuss the creative ideation process. We debate brainstorming strategies, discuss how to find creative inspiration, and talk about receiving and implementing client feedback.

For decades, nonprofits have used public service announcements (PSAs) to raise awareness, change attitudes and perceptions, and persuade the public to take a specific action. But PSAs aren't just reserved for nonprofits. Any brand can capture the attention of its audience by creating a compelling message in the form of a PSA. On this episode of thunder::cast, co-hosts, Craig Israel and Eric Crilow, dissect the Top 10 PSAs of all time according to The Washington Post and discuss what it takes to grab attention with impactful, non-traditional executions.

There's more to a good website than a sleek design. Great websites are built with SEO in mind, and if your brand new site is not optimized for search then it is set up to fail. thunder::tech Optimization Specialist Maggie Babuder and Senior Director of Development Bruce Williams stopped by the thunder::cast studio to discuss why website development and SEO are not independent paths, and how they are interconnected processes needed for a successful website launch.

Today's consumers have more choices than ever before and brands must do more than just offer a quality product. Moments of interaction with a service happen at various communication touchpoints and customers demand a great experience at every turn. But don't let the experience just happen. Design it.

"Woo, Wow, and Win" co-authors, Thomas Stewart and Patricia O'Connell, joined thunder::cast co-hosts, Craig Israel and Eric Crilow, to discuss the concept of designing a seamless journey to deliver a consistent customer experience. Listen in and take notes on the five key principles of service design and how savvy marketers can apply them to earn customers' loyalty.

All brands want to drive leads, but not all leads are created equal. In this episode, co-hosts Craig Israel and Eric Crilow get the inside scoop on lead scoring methodology from thunder::tech's Marketing Automation Specialist Kyle Coughlin. Lead scoring helps sales and marketing teams rank prospects to pinpoint their sales-readiness and focus on leads that are most likely to be converted into buyers. By monitoring engagement with various content and disqualifying prospects that don't meet certain criteria, marketers can identify and nurture only the most qualified leads.

From movie trailers to sleek luxury cars to the heartwarming and humorous to political statements, there was no shortage of entertaining commercials during Super Bowl LI. Each February, brands flex their creative muscles and dish out millions of dollars in hopes of capturing consumers' attention. But is the marketing impact worth the hefty price tag?

Co-hosts Craig Israel and Eric Crilow were joined in the studio by thunder::tech President Jason Therrien and Optimization Specialist Maggie Babuder to discuss which advertisements impressed us with their originality and which ones fell flat. On this episode, we chat about meeting customer expectations, the motivations of certain brands and the marketing implications of one short TV spot. Grab a snack and settle in for this in-depth assessment of the Super Bowl LI ads.

When it comes to choosing a Content Management System (CMS), businesses have to pick between many options that are available to help them achieve their business goals. At the end of the day, however, not all CMS platforms are created equal. Bryan Soltis, Technical Evangelist at Kentico Software, joined co-hosts Bruce Williams and Craig Israel in the thunder::cast studio to provide an overview of Kentico, a Content Management System that we partner with. During their conversation, Bryan shares why Kentico is a great option for businesses of all sizes. Marketed as an all-in-one solution, Kentico is an easy-to-use, customizable and user-friendly tool to help your company build an innovative website. Listen up and get familiar with this industry-leading platform.