SB&Blog
We’ve been doing a bit of education work here at SB&A lately, and it’s got me thinking about my own educational path. I was always good at school. Smart? Not so much, but good …
After more than 13 years, this week will be my last at SB&A. It’s hard to believe it’s coming to an end. Over these years, I’ve worked with some of the best people I …
In the dynamic and ever-evolving landscape of the advertising industry, a novel approach is being adopted by smaller creative agencies that is truly driving their success – collaboration. By uniting with other creatives, such …
There’s an old adage in marketing: “Show Me, Don’t Tell Me.” In today’s world of fragmented media options and shorter-than-ever attention spans, capturing and maintaining audience attention is more challenging than it’s ever been. …
What is it, and why is it important? Viewability is simply a digital advertising metric that reports on impressions that are seen by humans. An impression is considered viewable when it has appeared on …
In video games, there’s the concept of a side quest: a smaller, mini task in the midst of the game’s larger storyline. While sometimes the side quest is simply just a game, oftentimes it …
Most years at SB&A we have written about the trends we expect to see emerging in the year ahead. This year, instead, I’d like to write about what I saw emerge in 2023. While …
What are the challenges and opportunities for advertisers? In the ever-evolving landscape of digital advertising, a seismic shift is on the horizon as Google considers bidding farewell to third-party cookies. These small pieces of …
“I work in advertising.” “Wow, do you design or write the ads?” “No, not really.” “Oh, then do you place ads where people can see them?” “Well, no not that either.” Explaining what account …
What’s the big difference??? A lot of people confuse SEO and SEM, they both sound like the same thing but they are two very different approaches to becoming visible on search engine results pages. …
There’s a lot of talk about A.I. at the moment and it can all feel a little overwhelming–maybe even boring. I don’t want to add to the ever-growing pile of A.I.-anxiety…but I have to …
SBA is about to embark on a new journey in the coming weeks, one where we go mostly remote. This impending change has made me think about the ongoing debate of companies going remote …
I am a first generation Asian American in the United States. Born and bred in New York City. My parents are immigrants from China. Like the typical Asian parent, they wanted me to get …
As an art director, I keep an eye on work being made by my peers. I’m always excited to see a good rebrand, or a fun new campaign. But lately, using the word “new” …
Tourism often brings in millions of dollars in revenue for some countries, but many of them don’t have advertising dollars to support that. As an advertiser, it feels like an overwhelming task to secure …
“Never put off till tomorrow what you can do day after tomorrow just as well,” Mark Twain I have known for a while that my time was coming up to contribute to the SBA …
Over the years, we’ve responded to many RFPs and dreamed up creative work to fit so many different styles, budgets, and desires. A project with a new client always poses a challenge in that …
I started my first year of college in 2006. I’d taken a bit of a stab in the dark and chosen Visual Communications, or graphic design, as my degree course. I chose graphic design …
As the newest addition here at SBA, I was asked to blog about something interesting to me with regards to advertising and marketing communications. I’d be happy to! What I am here to discuss …
You’re probably aware (or maybe not if it’s implemented properly) that AI and machine learning are studying your every move while you are online and even while you are offline. As users of technology, …
It’s time to get real. Brands and companies are being called on to dig a little deeper. Can they align their consumer-facing messages with their actions behind the scenes? Can they clearly define their …
Over the years, we’ve responded to many RFPs and dreamed up creative work to fit so many different styles, budgets, and desires. An RFP always poses a challenge in that you’re developing creative for …
When I joined SBA in June 2018, I was formally introduced to the Request for Proposal (RFP) process. I had certainly heard of RFPs prior to that, but had not been on a team …
It’s award season in the Advertising and Design world and I was recently at a gala dedicated to recognizing the best creative work for the Financial Services industry. I’m happy to report that in …
Travelers of today no longer rely on travel agents or magazines to decide where to go on their next getaway. Travelers are tapping into digital and social media to give them unique perspective and inspiration …
One of the most exciting challenges designers face in an increasingly data-rich world is how to translate data so that it can be easily understood by a wide audience. The ways we collect data …
We’re always online somehow. You’re probably reading this on your phone right now. If you’re online, then so are your customers, and it’s important for your business to have an online presence as well. …
If you’ve been on social media at all, at one point or another we’ve all been persuaded into making a purchase or watch a movie that our favorite Influencer talked about (whether you want …
SBA has been working with tourist boards, international airlines, hotels & resorts, and tour operators for over 25 years. In that time, the industry has gone through many changes and evolutions, but nothing has …
Developing marketing strategies for clients across various industries, from travel destinations to complex financial products, I’ve learned that it is often the affluent customer that brands are eager to reach rather than more traditional …
“Fortes fortuna adiuvat” is a Latin phase which means “Fortune favors the bold” and is generally understood to mean that those who are willing to take risks will be rewarded with great results. While …
Sustainability is trending across all industries right now–from food to fashion to technology. It’s a buzz word and marketing differentiator for many brands. You can’t read an article, listen to the radio or scroll …
Cooperative (co-op) marketing campaigns - what are they? Co-op campaigns are the joining of forces between at least two businesses, sharing the costs and the space of the marketing campaign. This is a great …
The Market crash of 2008 seems like a distant memory to many in financial services companies, but it put a huge dent in the public’s trust of the industry. A mistrust that in a …
I have recently discovered that I’m now part of the 1% - not the one with the yachts, private planes, and international villas, but the group of creatives & designers over 60 currently still …
If you’re looking to learn about or optimize your website’s SEO, then you’re in the right place. In this article, we will go over some basic steps you can take to get more organic …
Infographics or “Data Visualization” seem so contemporary, so of the moment and recently arrived, that it’s surprising they’ve been around as long as printed newspapers. Longer if you count Egyptian hieroglyphics and the cave …
A rebrand is always tempting. A shiny new logo...some bright colors...a fun write up in AdAge praising your fresh look...It’s definitely an alluring idea. But it’s not always necessary. As the saying goes, “if …
Design trends often represent more than just trends or aesthetics: they’re a representation of a culture, of what people want and value. They may change frequently, but that’s because audiences change frequently, and they …
Over the course of 2020 we completed an exciting branding project for Mount Vernon-based brewery, Alternative Medicine Brewing Company. We refined their logo, created a whole branding system with marks & icons, developed custom …
We’ve all just learned a real-time lesson that social media has the potential to impact the market in ways the financial services industry previously thought improbable. When I initially set out to write about social media …
In January 2020, with no idea what lay ahead of us, forecast trendsetter, Rikke Skytte of Denmark, made some eerily prescient remarks at a presentation on sustainable design. “It’s our humanity and everything related …
I think it is an understatement to say that 2020 was a challenging year for everyone. The digital landscape had to evolve to accommodate the way users consumed media and how much of it. …
Marketing is always evolving, especially in the digital space. With increasing conversations around privacy, misinformation, and the future of workplaces; expect many dramatic changes in digital media this year. Here are some upcoming trends …
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking these days about where our business and the advertising and marketing sector as a whole is headed in the next few years. The events of this year …
The global pandemic has changed the way we operate, including how we run businesses, educate children, socialize with friends – it’s changed the way we live our lives. One thing that has become really …
No cookie for you! Early this year, Google released a statement to phase out the support of third-party cookies in Chrome within two years. It means all major browsers like Google Chrome, Firefox and Safari …
This week brought the first day of fall, and with it, the end of summer and the feeling of turning over a new leaf and getting a fresh start. This summer has been tough …
Virtually every industry is having the same conversation - what will change in a post-pandemic world? As it relates to Advertising Agencies, much has been discussed on the changes that need to be made …
Nowadays, one of the first things we do when we’re curious about something is to Google search the subject matter. We then tend to click on the first few links because we trust Google …
I’ve written before about the importance of accessibility in design and becoming “responsible” designers. Why do we need to be responsible? Because, as designers, we facilitate interactions between humans and the world – be …
Do you remember when flying all over the world was a thing? We do. All this lockdown stuff has us reminiscing for that time, not so long ago, when getting from A to B …
An RFP (Request for Proposal) is an important document that allows buyers and planners to identify the right media partners to promote your brands messaging. This process is very much like a dating profile. …
Beginning in the late 1940s, after the trauma of World War II, American designers introduced us to Optimistic Design. They began to intentionally intertwine work and play, resulting in designs characterized by innovation and …
Highly successful people meditate. How often do you hear that? I feel like I hear it all the time! Admittedly, my first two thoughts always are - who has time for that? And - …
My name is Niamh, and I’m SBA’s resident junior art director. I supplement the design team wherever needed: stepping in to storyboard our video projects, offering a new perspective in campaign concepting meetings, and …
Someone told me years ago that 'meeting with your advertising agency should be the best part of your day.' This really stuck with me, guiding my path as an account executive at SBA. As …
Ok, so your client finally approved your media plan, and you’ve trafficked all your ads. You feel a huge weight lifted off your shoulders because everything went according to plan. Sorry to break it …
Right after the market crash of 2008, billions of dollars held by investors had still not returned to the market and was parked in CDs or money market accounts, earning little or no interest. …
Last year, in 2019, I attended Dribbble’s Hang Time - a full day of talks by creatives in a variety of fields, intending to share ideas and inspire. As a creative, I was most …
American Express has recently undergone a brand refresh, and needed to incorporate that style into their how-to tutorials for their YouTube channel. These videos are intended to be a replacement for long waits on …
Effective marketers know the importance of developing, maintaining, and evolving a brand’s voice. In fact, a Harvard Business Review study concluded that emotional engagement matters more than customer satisfaction and drives brand loyalty. In the same way …
It’s no surprise that the current situation with Covid 19 and the nose dive in the economy will lead to challenges for the advertising industry. The market crash of 2008 lead to a 13% …
As I’m sure you already know, the world is in the midst of a pandemic. The uncertainty is overwhelming and with news changing daily, nobody knows what tomorrow will bring. Not only is most …
”Power” and “small” do not usually go hand-in-hand. Common thought is the larger the better - more strength, more reach, more options, more talent, etc. When it comes to businesses, sure that can be …
Marketing financial services products like ETF funds, mutual funds, and annuities pose their own unique set of challenges - they don’t always solve a known problem for investors and often compete on very technical …
There is nothing that drives volatility in the market more than uncertainty. The unknowns that surround the Coronavirus, the potential of an oil war between OPEC and Russia and an overall feeling that the …
All the stress of 2020 was enough to give anyone a major case of heart burn. And that got us thinking about a great B2B campaign we did back in 2006. A small start-up …
Hello! My name is Jade and I am an Account Executive at SBA. I manage and oversee our client’s projects and campaigns. To give you an idea of how I work, here is a …