In our blog, IMCA leadership, as well as other communications and marketing thought leaders, will share their ideas for how we can become more innovative and strategic.

We’re kicking off with a discussion of how branding can help us make an emotional connection with agents and clients. IMCA turned to brand strategist Derrick Daye for his thoughts on why today’s brands need to make an emotional connection with agents and clients. Read full article

By Emily Hathcoat

Any relationship takes work. Your marketing department’s relationship with its advertising agency or design firm is no exception. In a good relationship, your agency responds to campaign requests with several creative options, helps solve business challenges and produces projects on time and on budget. A great relationship is one where the agency — with your help — develops a working understanding of your business and understands its corporate culture. They become an integral part of your marketing team. Not only do they help you solve business challenges, they anticipate them. Read full article

Marketing is inherently a competitive space. Our sole purpose is to drive revenue; some may disagree, but fundamentally, every activity a marketing department performs should be to support their firm’s business objectives (read: make money) through marketing strategies. Period. Meeting this objective takes many forms. We use terms like brand equity, customer journey, omni-channel, earned media and so on, evoking the occasional eye-roll from our non-marketing peers who simply don’t speak our language.
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