By Gabrielle Diepenbrock, Account Manager and Social Media Manager In 2016, 40% of marketers reported social media has become more challenging — with changes in search algorithms, emerging trends, and a decline in organic traffic. Organic traffic has especially become difficult for marketers. A Facebook page with over a million likes averages a 2.27% engagement…
Read moreClassic Creative: Cherokee Nation
By Jeff Goss, President and Creative Director The Treaty of New Echota was signed December 29, 1835, in New Echota, Georgia, by officials of the United States government and representatives of a minority Cherokee political group, The Treaty Party, headed by Major Ridge, his son John Ridge, and nephews Elias Boudinot and Stand Watie. The…
Read moreCraft Beer Tourism & Culture
By Ryan Laffler, Account Manger and Digital Director Let’s talk about beer! And no, I’m not referring to the run-of-the-mill lagers that many macrobreweries pass off as “beer” (let alone drinkable). I’m referring to the world of craft beer; the wonderful world of strange ingredients, amusing label designs, and punny names. While beer tourism has…
Read moreIndustry Insights
Week of May 8, 2017 [row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] YouTube pauses search ads to implement brand safety measures. [button text="See Full Article" link="http://marketingland.com/youtube-pause-search-ads-brand-safety-implementation-213976" style="default" size="normal" target="_blank" display="inline" icon="no"] [/span7] [/row] [row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] Snapchat debuts a self-serve tool to buy ads on the mobile app, called Snapchat Ad Manager. [button text="See Full Article" link="http://marketingland.com/snapchat-rolls-self-serve-platform-vertical-video-ads-213501"…
Read moreCultural Travel By Pixel
Week of March 13, 2017 [row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] Snapchat is Gaining Popularity Among Adults. [button text="See Full Article" link="http://adage.com/article/digital/adored-teens-snapchat-popular-parents/308110/?utm_source=digital_email&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=adage&ttl=1488910927&utm_visit=1984901" style="default" size="normal" target="_blank" display="inline" icon="no"] [/span7] [/row] [row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] Google Improves its Location Tracking and Geo-Targeting Abilities. [button text="See Full Article" link="http://marketingland.com/googles-location-tracking-better-now-ever-208347" style="default" size="normal" target="_blank" display="inline" icon="no"] [/span7] [/row] [row] [span1] [/span1] [span7]…
Read moreWhat Is A Website Audit, and Why Do I Need One?
By Ryan Laffler, Account Manager [caption id="attachment_9093" align="aligncenter" width="630"] The Historic Biltmore Village Website, developed and designed by The Goss Agency[/caption] The internet is a busy place. To say that it’s a “saturated marketplace” is a bit of an understatement. As of September 2014, the internet clocked in at 1 billion websites (website here refers…
Read more4 Tips to Consider When Implementing an Influencer Marketing Campaign for your Destination
By Gabrielle Diepenbrock, Account Manager According to Nielsen, 92% of consumers say they trust earned media — or recommendations from individuals (friends, family, acquaintances, etc.) — over all other forms of advertising. Adweek also reports findings from a survey asking marketers their thoughts on influencer marketing. Based on that survey, 94% of those who have…
Read moreCultural Look at Cabell County, West Virginia
By Gabrielle Diepenbrock, Account Coordinator & Social Media Manager Last month, a few members of the team journeyed to Huntington, West Virginia, to take a look at several of the cultural assets Huntington and Cabell County have to offer. The trip was a great reminder to the team about why the agency does what it…
Read moreCultural Travel By Pixel
Week of February 13, 2017 [row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] Competitors Leave Twitter in the Dust [button text="See Full Article" link="https://www.statista.com/chart/5358/twitters-user-growth-in-perspective/" style="default" size="normal" target="_blank" display="inline" icon="no"] [/span7] [/row] [row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] Facebook Opens Itself to Ad Measurement Audit, Giving Brands More Control Over Video Ad Buys [button text="See Full Article" link="http://marketingland.com/facebook-opens-measurement-audit-gives-brands-control-video-ad-buys-206387" style="default" size="normal" target="_blank" display="inline"…
Read moreThe Do’s and Don’ts of Destination Branding in 2017
By Chloe Ayres, Senior Graphic Designer Your brand conveys your destination’s personality. Just as our personality is a mixture of inherent traits and characteristics that develop over time, your brand is a mix of existing factors and developed characteristics. Branding is how you shape and communicate the personality of your destination to your customers. While…
Read moreCultural Creative – “Unto These Hills”
By Jeff Goss, President/Creative Director The original script of the outdoor drama Unto These Hills was written by Kermit Hunter, a University of North Carolina professor, in 1950. The play told the story of the Cherokee people, who can be traced back to the Paleolithic period, have lived in the mountains of Western North Carolina…
Read moreA Top Destination for 2017: Why Americans Are Flocking To Cuba
By Gabrielle Diepenbrock, Account Coordinator/Social Media Manager Last March, Barack Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Cuba since Calvin Coolidge’s visit to Havana in 1928, when he attended the Pan American Conference. Obama’s visit was primarily to restore relations between the U.S. and Cuba — a relationship severed during the Cold War…
Read moreThe Need to Focus Advertising Dollars in Mobile and Social is Paramount as the New Year Rolls In
By Gabrielle Diepenbrock, Account Coordinator The ever-changing digital world has brought much upheaval to the e-commerce landscape for the last several decades — and this new year is no different. But while change is inevitable in the ecommerce industry, it’s also growing at a great speed, with experts predicting that worldwide sales will surpass $2…
Read moreCultural Travel by Pixel
Week of January 16, 2017 [row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] The World Trade Organization has identified 6 "pivotal areas" as the basis of Cultural Tourism success: handicrafts and visual arts; gastronomy and culinary; social practices, rituals, and festive events; music and performing arts; oral traditions and expressions; and knowledge and practices concerning nature. [button text="See Full…
Read moreCultural Creative: The Islands of Palau
By Jeff Goss, President/Creative Director Palau, settled 3,000 years ago by migrants from the Philippines, was discovered by Europeans in the 16th century and made part of the Spanish East Indies in 1574. Sold to Imperial Germany in 1899, Palau was conquered by Japan during World War I and was made part of the U.S.…
Read moreRetailers testing Google Maps mobile Promoted Places ads include MAC Cosmetics, Starbucks, Walgreens
The promoted pins in Google Maps are being tested on Android devices. Ginny Marvin on December 15, 2016 at 3:00 pm Google is continuing to test its new promoted pin ads — now formally dubbed Promoted Places — in Google Maps with a small group of retailers. The pilot is running in the Google Maps…
Read moreFacebook’s latest measurement error undercounted Instant Articles traffic
For those keeping count, this is the fourth time Facebook has disclosed measurement errors in as many months. Tim Peterson on December 16, 2016 at 11:00 am It’s happened again. For the fourth time since September and the second time this month, Facebook has disclosed a measurement error. Facebook had been undercounting iPhone traffic for…
Read moreSalesforce moves beyond first-party data with Krux integration
The CRM/marketing giant unveils several new features for its Marketing Cloud that incorporate its recently purchased data management platform. Barry Levine on December 16, 2016 at 10:46 am In October, Salesforce announced it was buying data management platform (DMP) Krux. This week, the CRM/marketing giant unveiled the addition of three new features to its Marketing…
Read moreReserve with Google: Deeper booking integration through search and Maps
Online booking is becoming mainstream, with the principal points of entry being Google, Facebook and Yelp. Greg Sterling on December 15, 2016 at 11:32 am Local search is becoming much more transactional. Google previously worked with a range of third-party providers to bring online reservations to the Knowledge Graph. Now the company has gone much…
Read moreCultural Travel by Pixel
Week of December 19, 2016
Read more5 Marketing Predictions for 2017
By Gabrielle Diepenbrock, Account Coordinator Ready or not, 2017 will be here before we know it! Here is a compiled list of predicted trends that will help you adjust, prep and optimize your advertising and marketing plan for the new year: [row] [span1] [/span1] [span7] An increased focus on analytics — including the use of…
Read moreCultural Creative – Cherokee “Oops” TV Spot
By Jeff Goss, President/CEO [row] [span8] [/span8] [/row] Well, there’s selling baskets in the gift shops, and then there is telling the story of a basket and having people buy it. We chose the latter as we focused on the lifestyle of the Cherokee civilization to build the brand by increasing interest and intrigue —…
Read moreMarketing a Small Town
Maximizing Budgets and Promoting Inherent Resources By Chloe Ayres, Senior Graphic Designer One of the principles of successful marketing (especially when marketing a destination) is to capitalize on honesty. Small towns and/or smaller destinations often imitate larger destinations in order to attract visitors, but that completely misses the point. Visitors go to smaller destinations for…
Read moreCultural Travel By Pixel
Week of December 5, 2016
Read moreNew features may be coming to AdWords Responsive Ads
Some accounts are now requiring a square image. Ginny Marvin on December 1, 2016 at 2:27 pm It seems Google may be getting ready to test some new features for responsive ads in AdWords. Spotted by Jonah Pessin at HeBS Digital, Google is requiring two image sizes in some accounts. In addition to the landscape…
Read moreSEO without SERPs is here with Google Assistant, Home and Amazon Echo. Here’s how to survive.
Columnist Bryson Meunier discusses how the rise of digital assistants will impact how search engine optimization is performed. Bryson Meunier on November 28, 2016 at 12:24 pm On the first full day that we had a Google Home in our house, we interacted with it 473 times over the course of the day. Four hundred…
Read moreSnapchat shuts down Story Explorer feature in Live Stories
Snapchat has removed its Story Explorer feature that allowed people to view specific moments of a Live Story from different perspectives. Tim Peterson on November 30, 2016 at 11:00 am A year after introducing Story Explorer as a way for people to view the events documented in Live Stories from many different angles, Snapchat is…
Read morePinterest launches Showcase to give brands a way to shape their stories
Pinterest has launched a showcase feature to give brands the ability to present their best selves. Tamar Weinberg on December 1, 2016 at 3:35 pm Pinterest has given brands an edge with a new update on its user interface. Announced today, the platform has launched a new feature it calls Showcase, allowing visitors who interact…
Read moreThe 10 Branding Principles We Live By
[embed]https://www.flickr.com/photos/129767087@N03/16703717985[/embed] By Bob Davies, Brad Strategist 1. A Brand is a creative expression of a value proposition. We start with the fundamentals. A value proposition is the foundation for the Brand. It is the key to business or organizational viability. We create value propositions by generating a large number of possibilities and then evaluating them…
Read moreCultural Creative: Disney’s Vero Beach and Hilton Head Island
By Jeff Goss, President [row] [span4][/span4] [span4][/span4] [/row] Vero Beach was chosen due to the stretch of available land on the Southeast coast and its proximity to The Magic Kingdom. With a construction trailer and grading still taking place on the property, we began the marketing for the first Disney Resorts outside of the Walt…
Read moreWhat Destinations Should Know About Local SEO
By Gabrielle Diepenbrock, Account Coordinator/Social Media Coordinator Of course destinations want to draw visitors from across the state, country, and even the other side of the world. But what about the local visitor? Destinations should optimize their local search ranking and provide content to encourage leisure and travel within their local geographic region as well.…
Read moreCultural Tourism: A Huge Opportunity and A Growing Trend
Cultural tourism. It sounds like a niche. In reality it is something different. Cultural tourism is a huge opportunity and a growing trend. According to the Travel Industry Association of America, roughly eighty percent of the 150,000,000+ adults who travel more than fifty miles from their homes can be considered “cultural tourists.” Thirty percent of…
Read moreThe Goss Agency Presents On Digital Marketing At AB Tech
Ryan Laffler and Gabrielle Diepenbrock, Digital Director and Social Media Manager respectively, at The Goss Agency presented at AB Tech’s Hospitality Marketing Class early this month. Ryan and Gabrielle discussed digital marketing strategy and channel structure/opportunity. Ryan began with a roundup of weekly digital news. The Goss Agency reviews and profiles digital media by channel…
Read moreHow The Cultural Traveler Uses Social Media
By Gabrielle Diepenbrock, Account Coordinator/Social Media Manager The internet has given a wealth of information to today’s consumer. And people do take the time to research. They want to make the best decision with the time and money they have. Cultural travelers are no exception. Cultural travelers are looking for destinations that will provide them…
Read moreCultural Creative: The Island of St. Lucia
By Jeff Goss, President/Creative Director Travel and tourism work is fascinating for the same reasons that one visits a destination personally or with family. Only we get to share our emotional experience to other potential visitors to get them to follow our example. What a fulfilling responsibility! After seeing the waterfall that changes color with…
Read moreCultural Creative: Festival of Native Peoples
By Jeff Goss, President The Apache, the Bad River Chippewa, the Sioux, the Chickasaw, the Choctaw, the Creek, the Crow, the Cherokee, the Ottawa, Hopi, Miccosukee, Pawnee, Seneca, the Osage, Tulalip, Samish, Squaxin, the Zuni, Totonac, Git Hoan, Hälau Palaihiwa O Kaipuwai. We know name-dropping is in bad form, but we had to share a…
Read more5 SEO Mistakes You’re Making
In the early days of SEO, the mindset for most specialists was, "How do we trick Google into giving us better search results?" Well, if Google has ever been accused of something, it wasn't stupidity, which is why they've since begun penalizing SEO specialists who try to game the system. Nowadays, good SEO isn't achieved…
Read moreClassic Creative – Haywood County
Haywood County, after our branding workshop filtering and prioritizing all the features and visitor experiences, determined that the authentic Appalachian culture and clean natural environment were the assets that rose to the top. Thus, “Haywood County, Authentic Appalachian, pure and simple” was born. A new logo was created by illustrating the landscape in a turn-of-the-century…
Read more4 Reasons Why Your Destination Should Use Instagram Stories
By Gabrielle Diepenbrock, Account Coordinator/Social Media Manager Was Instagram being a copycat of Snapchat when it rolled out its new feature, Instagram Stories? Of course. Should brands still use and be aware of this new feature? Most definitely. Just like Snapchat Stories, Instagram Stories are available to be seen by all followers of a user…
Read moreARE YOU FOR REAL?
By Rachel Hornay, Copywriter Intern Technology is always developing but the recent craze of virtual reality invites brands to explore a whole new platform. Virtual reality (VR) is defined as a computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional image or environment that can be interacted with in a seemingly real way by a person using special electronic…
Read moreClassic Creative: Ah TAh Thi Ki Museum
By: Jeff Goss, CEO and President It was such an interesting visit. It was not only a trip to the Florida Seminole lands, but also a journey back in time to the roots, the history, and the culture. The Seminole lived in relative peace for centuries, save a few Indian wars among their neighbors. Then…
Read more4 Ways To Attract Millennials To Your Destination
By: Courtney Jacobs, Account Intern Millennials are armed to be the driving force behind the travel industry. They use travel to go on adventures, learn other languages and study. Why are they so eager to travel? This generation was jaded by the recession and now places less importance on saving for retirement and instead values…
Read moreQ+A: How Do I Optimize Pinterest For My Destination?
By Gabrielle Diepenbrock, Account Coordinator and Social Media Manager 1. Why is Pinterest important for travel destinations? You may ask: Isn’t Pinterest just a website where stay-at-home moms find cool recipes and quirky DIY crafts? While there may be some truth in that, there is so much more to Pinterest that your destination can benefit…
Read moreSome Web Design Trends in 2016
Photo Credit: UXPin By Eddie Maiale, Design Intern Web design trends are consistent in one aspect - They are always changing. You could say it is a living beast on its own. Tackling the beast this year is no different. Trends this year include: moving toward a more minimalist design versus the 3D look, adding…
Read moreWhat Do Millenial Travelers Want From Your Destination?
Millennials want to travel more than older generations. They’re spontaneous and live for adventure because it creates memories. Millennials love travel so much that 78% say they’d splurge on experiences over material things. They’re also a growing force that generates $180 billion in annual tourism revenue. So what should you know about this traveling generation?…
Read moreWhy You Need to be Focusing on Native Advertising
By Ryan Laffler, Account Manager & Digital Director Display ads, the advertisements that you see on the top and sidebars of almost every webpage nowadays, are in decline. One part of the problem is that they are rarely relevant to the user. While this has changed somewhat with Google Adsense’s targeting algorithm, it started to…
Read morePin It! – The 3 Most Important Tips to Optimize Your Pinterest
By Travis LeJune, Account Intern Do you have a Pinterest yet? If you are a shopper, you should definitely get one. If you are a seller, you MUST have one! Sure, it is still a fairly young social media platform, but it has been churning up some extremely surprising statistics we think you should know…
Read moreADmirable: Chipotle’s New Campaign
Fast food giant Chipotle recently came out with an animated short about two kids who grow up locked in competition with each other. The heartwarming video works because it captures Chipotle’s brand distinction in an entertaining way that resonates with others. Memorable brands don’t just offer great products or services, they connect with their audience…
Read moreTop 5 Mobile Advertising Trends in 2016
By Ryan Laffler, Digital Director, and Rachel Hornay, Art Direction/Copywriting Intern 1. FORGET YOUR WALLET Mobile wallets have become the new way to pay. Once companies proved that mobile wallet transactions were properly encrypted and secure, mobile wallets began to take off. Many top brands such as Apple, MasterCard and Android now offer mobile payment.…
Read moreQ&A – What is the core of Award Winning Creative?
By Jeff Goss, CEO/Creative Director Q: What is the core of Award Winning Creative? A: Award, which award? Many awards are meaningless because the standards are so low (everybody gets a trophy). Others are an ego-stroking fest among “creative elites” congratulating one another for work they created more for themselves than the client and client’s…
Read moreDigital Advertising Statistics You Need to Know (Infographic)
Ever since the turn of the century, Digital Advertising has been changing the ways brands communicate with their audience. The number of tools and techniques that have surfaced over this time can be a little overwhelming, but with the right strategy and agency behind you, digital advertising can produce tremendous returns for you and your…
Read moreYOUR EMOJI SAYS IT ALL
By Rachel Hornay, Art/Copy Intern They say that a picture is worth a thousands words, especially with today’s language evolving with the usage of emoji characters. Emojis are intended to illustrate, or in some cases replace altogether, the words we send each other digitally, whether in a text message, email, or tweet. Instagram calls emoji…
Read moreCultural Creative – Haywood County, NC
Haywood County, after our branding workshop filtering and prioritizing all the features and visitor experiences, determined that the authentic Appalachian culture and clean natural environment were the assets that rose to the top. Thus, “Haywood County, Authentic Appalachian, pure and simple” was born. A new logo was created by illustrating the landscape in a turn-of-the-century…
Read moreSustain Your Brand using Instagram and Food
By Courtney Jacobs, Account Intern Brands are constantly looking for ways to engage with consumers on social media. However, one challenge is noticing the trends occurring on various platforms and capitalizing on them successfully before the competition. One such trend that is growing in popularity centers around food. It’s hard to find someone who doesn’t…
Read moreCultural Creative: Historic Biltmore Village
By Jeff Goss, CEO/Creative Director Not many people know Historic Biltmore Village was originally known as a little town in Western North Carolina called “Best.” Best was acquired by George Vanderbilt to create a community with homes, shops, a school, and even its own church for the 1,100-plus craftspeople and their families who were hired…
Read moreVine on the Decline
By: Ryan Laffler, Account Manager Vine has had a rough year. The popular social media app that allows users to string together a series of videos up to six seconds long in all is quickly losing market share in the digital advertising industry. Competitors like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat are all moving to capitalize…
Read more7 Digital Marketing Takeaways from the Digital Summit 2016
By: Gabrielle Diepenbrock, Account Coordinator/Social Media Earlier this month, I was privileged to represent The Goss Agency while attending The 2016 Digital Summit Conference in Charlotte. I was able to gain knowledge from industry leaders during those two days. I almost felt a tad nostalgic of college lectures as I quickly scribbled down note after…
Read more6 Tips To Succeed In Real-Time Marketing
By Dari Mullins, Senior Account Manager As the capacity of digital devices continues to increase and the craving for new, current, engaging content from consumers rises – Brands have to act quickly to stay ahead of the emerging trends. Real-time adverting has been around for several years, but it’s popularity continues to grow on Social…
Read moreCreative History: Qualla Arts Basket Ad
[mp_row] [mp_span col="12"] Here is how we, “Turn Facts Into Visitation” in an actual campaign. In researching the history of the Cherokee and their culture in preparation of an ad campaign to be designed to transcend all media, we came across a simple fact that might be overlooked by many. After all, the fact was…
Read moreYouTube Introduces a New Ad Package
By Brady Rothschild, Intern YouTube is introducing a new ad package for companies looking to advertise through them. Last Tuesday (on April, 26, 2016) they announced the start of bumper ads. Bumper ads are 6-second ads that you can’t skip, rather than the traditional 30-second YouTube ad that you can skip after five…
Read moreCultural Tourism Destinations
Cultural tourism isn’t a brand new term, but the concept isn’t quite as simple to grasp as promoting, for example, a striking mountain range in your area or a Michelin rated restaurant
Read more2016 Marketing and Advertising Trends Roundup
2016 is right around the corner, so we’ve rounded up 10 pieces of the top advice about marketing and advertising trends to help your business reach new heights next year. Share this with everyone you work with, then schedule a brainstorming session so January 1, 2016 can’t sneak up on you. Forbes “Video ads will start…
Read moreSnapchat Explores Audience-Targeted Advertising
By Ryan Laffler, Account Manager Four years ago, Snapchat burst onto the social media scene with a novel idea: an app that lets users share photos and videos that are only viewable for a limited amount of time (as of today, the range is from 1 to 10 seconds). The idea started out as a…
Read moreAirbnb’s Incredible, Failed Ad Campaign
by Ryan Laffler, Account Manager San Francisco is currently experiencing one of the worst housing crises in the nation, with skyrocketing rent and home prices in part caused by short-term renting services like Airbnb and HomeAway. Here is how it works: a landlord offers short-term renting through Airbnb which in turn removes the property from…
Read more4 Examples of Interactive Ads
Advertising has changed rapidly thanks to the onslaught of the digital age. So, companies that do invest in traditional advertising methods such as print and billboards are pushed to think of a way to create interactive ads, getting more bang for their buck by bringing their offline advertising efforts online, too. How? By getting viewers to…
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