The main objective of a tradeshow: ultimately gain new clients. This is your opportunity to meet with hundreds of prospective clients and sell your brand. Coming well-prepared will put you ahead of the rest.

You know it. You’ve been there. Or maybe you’ve heard all about them. At a tradeshow, you are literally surrounded by competitors. Within a few minutes, you need to speak about your company and convince someone to work with you. Although your smashing good looks and gleaming smile usually win anyone over, in this … Continue Reading

Flashy navigation? Cool big pictures? Hold on!

Before the dog-and-pony shows of complicated flash intros get too alluring, take a few minutes to sit back and really think about it. The most important question to ask yourself in the development stage is “Is it functional?” Will users be able to navigate your site easily?

Put yourself in the visitor’s shoes. People viewing your site may range from the tech-savvy 19 year-old to the grandpa that got a Dell for Christmas and just … Continue Reading

Any good account manager understands that you need to be on the same page as your client. If you’re going in one direction and your client has something completely different in mind, well, in the words of Michelle Tanner, “You’re in big trouble, mister!”

To make sure you and your client see eye to eye, the solution is fairly simple: use checklists. However, the maintenance of those checklists is the real kicker.

Since things are ever-changing, establish your client’s goals and expectations on a monthly basis. When you … Continue Reading

Stream Companies is proud to announce that we’ve won 2 Silver awards in the 2011 W3 Awards!

The W3 Awards recognizes creative excellence on the web and the creative and marketing geniuses that made it all happen. Stream Companies is proud to be a part of a group of such outstanding winners. We’re a modest team and don’t like to toot our own horns, but we are very happy to say congratulations to the creative and production teams!!

…Now where are we going to put … Continue Reading

I will admit it.

I watch a lot of television.

No, really, A LOT.

And, as many of my family members and friends know, I am that (annoying) person who moans and groans after seeing certain spots. But instead of ranting and raving about bad ads, (copyranter and AdScam/The Horror! already do that incredibly well!) I want to do a series of “Spot-on Spots” – ads that are just standouts among the extremely professional term–“crap”.

First up – When Weird Works

We’ve all seen them, laughed at them, cringed while watching them, and … Continue Reading

Front and Back of 2nd Direct Mail Piece and E-mail

As an approved vendor for Motorola co-op advertising, Stream Companies works with radio dealers nationwide. Commenco Inc., an elite authorized Motorola service facility in the Kansas City metropolitan area, needed to promote its upcoming expo in a fresh and exciting way. Having worked with Stream Companies many times before, Commenco knew that Stream could jazz things up like no other advertising agency around. Stream used direct mail, print, an online landing page, e-mail and online video to … Continue Reading

Contrary to many people’s beliefs, there is more substance to the world of online videos than the following:

Online videos also have the ability to educate and inform consumers, and more importantly, they can motivate these consumers to work with your company.

People spend a considerable amount of time watching videos, probably more than they’d like to admit. According to Arbitron and Edison Research, the weekly audience for online video has tripled in the past five years. Research also showed that the typical respondent spends 3 hours … Continue Reading

Right now, we live in an age where things are constantly changing. We can’t go more than a year until our computers or cell phones are passé, and their technology is nearly obsolete. In the world of advertising design, things are just as much on the move.

So, let’s get down to the brass tacks – How do we stay on top of these constant changes, or better yet, ahead of them?

Two words: adapt and innovate.

“Old media” (TV, radio, print, direct mail, tradeshows, etc.), unlike our outdated iPhone 4s, are actually still relevant, very much so. The trick is to … Continue Reading

A ComScore study has shown that the average American spends 32 hours per month on the Internet. So, what does this mean for your advertising dollars? Many people would jump to the conclusion that because people spend more time online, their online ads will automatically bring them more business.

But you’re smarter than that.

In order to get any results, your business must invest in targeted, relevant ads which are on sites that your consumers visit frequently.

Say your business is a car dealership. You’d like to reach customers that live within … Continue Reading

Facebook marketers were thrown into a tizzy last week by the suggestion that using 3rd party apps can be detrimental to your post’s EdgeRank.  If that sounds indecipherable, you are not alone.  There’s a lot to know when it comes to making your brand voice heard on Facebook.

Let’s look into the brouhaha more deeply.

Last week, EdgeRank Checker released a study outlining the influence of 3rd party application programming interfaces (“APIs”, more commonly referred to as “3rd Party Apps”) on Facebook engagement.  These apps are commonly used to schedule … Continue Reading