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Do You Know What June 30th Is?

Jun 30 2015Feb 08 2021

SOCIAL MEDIA IS HERE TO STAY

★★★Today, marks the 6th annual social media day or #SMDay. Whether you tweet, post, snap or insta, you have to agree that social media has a profound impact on our lives, influencing the way we shop, work, exercise, travel, and vote.

SIX KEY SOCIAL MEDIA TAKEAWAYS FOR COMMUNICATIONS EXPERTS

★★★Even if you eschew social media, it’s teaching us something about our audiences:

1. Quality Over Quantity, Always. Our Digital Veep, John Randall, says: “It’s about engagement, not vanity metrics.” Read more of his thoughts in a recent National Journal article.

2. Mobile Dominates. The average American spends 2.8 hours a day on mobile screens. Plan, design, and build for mobile first, or else you’re already losing.

3. Images Tell a Story. There’s a reason why Snapchat is the fastest growing social media app. If you were to view all of the photos shared on Snapchat in the last hour, how long would it take?

4. Newsjack. Remember the dress? Find ways to insert your messages into what’s #trending. Talk to your audiences about what they’re talking about.

5. Politicians Are Mini-Brands. They’re on social media. They care about what people are saying and how they’re perceived. See what the GOP contenders are up to.

6. KIS (Keep it Short) is the new KISS. What do your audiences have in common with a goldfish?

WE’RE HIRING…

★★★Is this you? Or someone you know?

Senior Account Manager – You are a Jack or Jill of all trades. You develop high-level client strategies while simultaneously executing the day-to-day deliverables on your accounts. You live and breathe digital media, but you’re not afraid to tackle traditional media either. You’re a creative, but the type of creative who can usher a “big idea” from inception to completion. Learn more here.

Digital Media Strategist – You are a digital strategist and an artist in community management. You laugh in the face of “industry standard” organic engagement levels and view outperforming those standards as a winnable challenge. You’re a creative. You’re a highly motivated, resourceful individual that’s eager to stand on the front lines of today’s high-profile policy debates, notable non-profit initiatives, and high-stakes corporate communications campaigns. Learn more here.

District of CRAFT: Ever Wonder How They Build Those Huge Cranes?

Jun 02 2015Feb 08 2021

EVER WONDER HOW THEY BUILD THOSE HUGE CRANES?

★★★ We did. CRAFT CLIENT MILLER & LONG CHALLENGED OUR TEAM TO VISUALLY CAPTURE THE ASSEMBLY OF A CONSTRUCTION TOWER CRANE. As you can see, only a video can do the process justice, showing the giant crane coming to life next door, just one block from the White House. Whether it’s capturing how a crane is built or demonstrating the impact of legislation, we develop creative content for any audience. Video is one of the most effective ways to grab attention, emotion, and interest.

Did You Know…

CRAFT built a team of cinematographers and editors, producing on average 350 pieces of media content annually. Our team has won over 71 awards, including Pollies, Tellys, and Reeds and is led by Joe Greeley, former manager of production for Presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

District of CRAFT: Were you spotted?

May 15 2015Feb 08 2021

CRAFT’S JOHN RANDALL NAMED A TOP DIGITAL DOG

★★★ CRAFT’s VP of Digital, JOHN RANDALL, was just named among DC’s Top Digital Talent by FamousDC. John led digital at the NRCC, the NRSC, and worked for AOL before becoming CRAFT’s Digital Grand-Poobah. John’s leadership is one reason behind CRAFT’s reputation as a digital powerhouse.

CRAFT ADDS MORE CLIENTS

★★★ Recently, CRAFT was awarded agency of record (AOR) for the TIE COALITION. CRAFT will provide the group full-fledged public affairs and public relations support, including social media management, audience targeting, message placement, and website development.

CRAFT is proud to launch the Here For America campaign on behalf of GLOBAL AUTOMAKERS. CRAFT’s leading creative will tell the story of international automakers, their ever-growing impact on the U.S. economy, and the benefits they provide to local communities.

Visit HereForAmerica.com to learn more. #HereForAmerica

SPOTTED AT CRAFT

★★★ CRAFT’s Cinco de Mayo open house last week had many friends of CRAFT in attendance. Spotted at the event included BO OLLISON, CAROL DANKO, and LENWOOD BROOKS with SIFMA; LAURA BONAVITA, SARAH KELLER, ANDREW KOVALCIN, and BRITTANY MCCALL with the U.S. Chamber; MATT LATHROP with YUM!; BRIAN FITZGERALD with the TIE Coalition; RACHEL WOLBERS with TwinLogic Strategies; ANDY ROTHE, JENNIFER FOX, JEREMY KIRKPATRICK, and JON SIMONS with the National Restaurant Association; ANNEMARIE PENDER with Global Automakers; BRET KINSELLA, PAT HIGBIE, and PAUL BURDEN with XAPPmedia; LIZ SHRUM with Northrop Grumman; JEAN CARD; LISA CAMOOSO MILLER; DAN RONAYNE; GARRICK DAVIS; and REBEKAH MILFORD with PIJAC.

Did You Know…

Unlike most mid-sized agencies, CRAFT built an ADVERTISING TRADING DESK to buy digital ads directly. We also recruited a team of advertising professionals to produce, manage, and optimize our cutting-edge online marketing, advocacy, prospecting, and fundraising campaigns. MATTHEW ATKINSON leads our digital engagement.

District of CRAFT: Inaugural Issue

May 01 2015Feb 08 2021

★★★ CRAFT recently won 4 Telly awards for our creative client work. Telly’s honor the very best film and video production, groundbreaking digital video content, and outstanding local, regional, and cable TV commercials and programs. This recognition brings CRAFT’s agency award total to 71 in 5 years, solidifying our creative as among the best in the country.

★★★ Natalie Talis has joined CRAFT’s Art & Design Team as a Graphic Designer. She joins CRAFT from New York City and is a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology. She prides herself on utilizing her skills and experience to create innovative and meaningful design solutions.

★★★ We are excited to announce Alex Finland is spinning off a new independent booking agency. As a CRAFT strategic partner, Finland will continue to manage CRAFT’s booking clients and television placements.

Did You Know…

CRAFT is one of a select group of agencies in Washington, D.C. to have built an in-house creative vertical of versatile artists and designers. Ken Jaffe, a designer from the renowned agency Razorfish, leads our creative team.

CRAFT Creates Award Winning Website

Mar 26 2015Feb 08 2021

CRAFT’s work for the Chris Gibson campaign won back to back Pollie and Reed awards this year.

CRAFT won the Silver Pollie in the Internet Division for Best Use of Negative/Contrast at the Pollies Awards for NY-19 Makes the Call, a contrast site for Chris Gibson’s re-election campaign. This is an addition to winning Best Microsite at this year’s Reed Awards.

The NY-19 Makes the Call site provided an immersive parallax user experience and unique design elements to showcase the stark differences between Rep. Chris Gibson and his opponent.

Ultimately, voters were given the opportunity to make their own decision on who was a better candidate and who better represented New York’s 19th District.

Check out this award winning site for yourself: NYMakesTheCall.com

Which creative person would you like to have dinner with?

Mar 06 2015Feb 08 2021

During our company meeting, CRAFT partner Brian Donahue posed this question to the team, “If you could have dinner with any famous creative person, dead or alive, who would it be?”

Check out the CRAFTers dream dinner dates:

Elise- Roger Ebert
Catie- Taylor Swift
Danielle- Quentin Tarantino
John- Bill Watterson
Morgan- Mindy Kaling
Nadav- Andy Warhol
Joe G.- George Harrison
Ken- Alexander Calder
Alice- Nicki Minaj
Zach- Wes Anderson
Bryan- Notorious B.I.G.
Mason- Bono
Travis- Salvador Dali
Sri- AR Rahman
Mitch- Denzel Washington
Corey- Bill Murray
Alex- Matthew Weiner
Evan R.- Francisco de Goya
Joe R.- Jack Nicholson
Stephanie- George Strait
Justin- Yoko Ono
Lana- Willie Nelson
Jim- George Lucas
Sinead- Hunter Thompson
Matt- Trey Ratcliffe
Matthew- Dave Grohl
Brian- David Oglivy
Louisa- Bob Woodward

CRAFT Wins 3 Reed Awards including Best Ad of 2014!

Jan 26 2015Feb 08 2021

On Friday, Campaigns & Elections recognized CRAFT Media/Digital with three Reed Awards during the annual Reed Awards dinner in Las Vegas, NV.

CRAFT was honored with two awards, Best TV Ad for a Republican Congressional Candidate and Best Villain for “Puppies.” We filmed and produced this ad on behalf of Martha McSally, who ran and subsequently won the closest race of the cycle in Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District. The goal of this ad was to lampoon the typical “evil voiceover guy,” inoculating Martha from intense negative ads in the final days of the race. Aimed as a comical break from the typical end-of-cycle clutter, this strategy was used to soften her voter image and to gain electoral traction as the race came to a close. In what became the most competitive race in the country, this ad helped catapult McSally to her triumphant victory.

In addition, CRAFT was recognized for designing and developing the Best Microsite on behalf of Rep. Chris Gibson (NY-19) and his high-profile re-election fight against billionaire Sean Eldridge. The microsite, NY-19 Makes The Call, juxtaposed Chris Gibson against Sean Eldridge, giving voters the opportunity to intimately learn about each candidate. The site was instrumental in connecting voters with Rep. Gibson, consequently securing his seat as the representative of NY-19.

CRAFT is honored to have received these awards for our work this cycle. We are proud to have worked with Martha McSally, Chris Gibson, and their respective campaigns.

CRAFT Wins Big with Corporate Retail Marketing Websites

Jan 23 2015Feb 08 2021

With the recent announcement of our expanding mission, CRAFT enters the corporate branding space with two very different — but equally important — wins.

CRAFT is honored to have won W3 Awards for our work on two design-and-build corporate websites.

Taking home Gold for websites in the Marketing category, W3 recognized CRAFT for the design and development of XAPPmedia.com. The site features the latest web development technology, including responsive parallax design architecture, sketch-to-render imagery, custom audio and video players, and trackable sharing functions. The website launch was a part of a soup-to-nuts brand launch campaign, which included a new logo, two web videos (complete from pre-to-post production), marketing assets, and infographics.

W3 also recognized CRAFT with a Silver award in the eCommerce category for our work for Grappler Anchor. Tasked with bringing a wholesale-specific product to the retail market, CRAFT designed and built a fully custom website that compliments the fun nature of the brand and easily allows users to purchase an anchor. The site features 360-degree product rotations, interactive HTML5 elements, and a robust eCommerce system with individual user-logins.

So, do you agree with the judges? Check out both websites for yourself.

Check Out Brian Donahue on PBS NewsHour!

Jan 22 2015Feb 08 2021

CRAFT Partner Brian Donahue joined host Judy Woodruff of PBS NewsHour on Thursday night to discuss The White House’s State of the Union social media strategy.

Brian offered, “It’s no longer the State of the Union, it’s #SOTU,” referencing the popular trending Twitter hashtag. On the significance of using social media, Brian stated, “Any time that a political leader, including the president, is engaging audiences and is helping them to carry his message forward into new networks and places, that’s effective. That is the way new media works these days.”

The way people are learning about the latest presidential initiatives has dramatically changed. Traditional media used to be the premier opportunity for the president to engage with the pubic around The State of the Union. Social media has now amplified that ability to spread the president’s message.

Want to take your social strategy to the next level – Contact CRAFT!

Watch the full segment below:

Mastering the A,B’s

Jan 09 2015Feb 08 2021

To successfully execute a digital advertising campaign, you must first master the ABCs of digital advertising. Generating valuable insights and delivering the best results for ad campaigns starts with testing your messages, images, and target audiences.

A common practice in marketing is A/B testing, which strategically tests two variables against each other. Applying this practice to advertising is not new. In Confessions of an Advertising Man, David Ogilvy discusses the value in testing: “When in doubt as to which of two illustrations to use, test their relative pulling power by split-running them in a newspaper.”

An advantage digital advertising offers is the real-time results that can be learned from each landing page or ad during the campaign. At any given moment, ad buyers can see what ads are performing best and then allocate additional budget to them. Today, you no longer have to wait for readers to use the coupons in newspaper ads to understand which messages, images, or platforms are most effective. Ad buyers can see what ads are working and, if necessary, have design teams make additional changes to ads to further improve performance.

Making iterative improvements to ads is the surest way to maximize the results of your campaign. For example, CRAFT recently ran a campaign for a local business looking to generate leads. We began with two landing pages, and the only difference between the pages were the Call to Action (CTA). After a week, the results confirmed CTA (A) was more successful at converting people than CTA (B). Once we understood which CTA worked best, we then tested two images. Again, after a week (the time necessary, in this instance, to generate statistically significant information), we used the data to determine the best performing image and then paired it with the best performing CTA.

With data-driven creative and additional A/B testing for the landing page, CRAFT was able to drive down the cost-per-acquisition (CPA) from almost $100 to under $20. This dramatic decrease in the CPA was a result of CRAFT managing our client’s ad buy to ensure we could generate the correct data to make an informed decision. The reduction can also be attributed to testing various elements on the landing page such as the image, CTA, and even button colors and placement. With the results, CRAFT utilized the data to make informed decisions which eliminated instinct-based outcomes.

A/B testing is not a new technique, but it has yet to become fully utilized in digital advertising campaigns. Testing various elements of your ads and/or landing page provides valuable information that should direct all of your advertising decisions. A/B testing requires significant time, budget, and a team with direct access to advertising data. It also requires the knowledge to understand the data in order to make actionable decisions. In every campaign, CRAFT relies on data to make informed decisions, which can help us drive down the CPA by 80% in some instances.

When running a digital advertising campaign, focus on the ABCs — that way, even your “failures” can ultimately lead to greater success.