Technology has made a remarkable difference in the way we conduct business today: we’re able to converse with colleagues and clients all over the w

The humble pixel. A simple, four-sided object (usually a square or rectangle) that is at the heart of our digital world today, and yet it is so often misunderstood.

The term pixel has been around since at least the early 1960’s, and is a combination of the words picture and element. Today, with the widespread usage of digital devices — from digital cameras and scanners to computers, tablets, and smartphones — the term pixel has become part of our everyday vocabulary.

Earlier this year, Inspirion Wealth Advisors asked us to create a new brand that would better represent their company, a progressive, high-end financial advisory firm, and position them as a competitor in their field. Of course, we leapt at the challenge.

The rapid adoption of mobile has changed the way strategies are being developed. Marketing via mobile devices is about unlocking the potential of an expanding, captive, and engaged audience. Leverage the power of smaller screens to reach your audience and deliver interactive experiences wherever they are.

Recently, two of our team members, James Hansen and Kent Brubaker, took the certification exam to become Marketo Certified Experts. What is Marketo, you ask? In layman's terms, it's a fantastic marketing tool that helps us create and manage client email marketing campaigns. Marketo is much more robust than your average email marketing software; it gives us the control to be highly accurate in our deployment of email, and it gives us tons of information on its effectiveness. In short, it helps make sure our campaigns are reaching their goals. Marketo certification is awarded after proving you have extensive knowledge of all the ins and outs of this powerful tool. The certification also gives our clients a high level of confidence that we know what we're doing.

When you spot buttons to download, donate, or share; a QR code to scan or a link to visit; or simply an invitation to learn more, these are all calls to action (CTAs) in varying forms. A strong CTA—an instructive message that invites a user to do something—will motivate, persuade, and convince your audience.

Maybe the topic is something you avoid, but passwords are that seemingly necessary evil we have to deal with on a daily basis. Security experts make recommendations that passwords need to be more secure, but the guidelines are complex and make your password end up looking like cartoon profanity: “#X@8*Hsb%R.” How do you remember that? It’s tough to strike a balance between complexity/security and memorability.

Keeping things fresh and new is always important in advertising. Getting a customer’s attention and keeping it long enough to consider the content of an ad is always a challenge. Rich Media ads are one of the newer formats of digital advertising, and take advantage of animation and video to truly catch the customer’s eye.

If you’ve seen the lines outside Apple stores just before the release of a new iPhone, you’re already familiar with one of the fastest growing tech trends—the use of mobile devices. It seems like mobile is the way to go, from email and social networking to shopping and online banking. According to the Pew Research Center, the percentage of American adults that own a smartphone increased from 35% in 2011 to 58% in 2014, while the percentage of tablet owners increased from 8% to 42%.¹

We love this clever video from IKEA that shows off their yearly print catalog, the bookbook™, and highlights the simplicity and usability of print materials.