WHO WE ARE A small-but-mighty virtual marketing firm with team members spread from Chicago to Ohio to Michigan to Arkansas. We execute branding, marketing strategies and niche projects for (mostly) B2B clients clustered in areas like manufacturing, industrial tech, professional services, family businesses, niche start-ups, etc. Our focus is on brand and storytelling via digital and the free/earned media side of the biz; web, content marketing, media relations, event marketing, nurture, social, marketing automation, etc. We serve as the outsourced marketing department for many of our clients – developing brands, strategies and plans then sticking around to handle all aspects READ MORE >>
NOTE: We first published this blog in 2018, when we were all nestled in our offices, hallways were buzzing with chatter, and meetings were live and in-person. And in thinking back on how much our work environments have changed over the past few years, we thought it would be helpful to revisit these tips. Now in 2021, Zoom calls, virtual presentations, and, well, really anything can seem like a challenge! But with a fully remote team, we’ve learned some of the must-dos and don’ts when sharing creative feedback virtually. Enjoy! The screenshare of your meeting is just about to start. READ MORE >>
Did you hear the news about our new series? Every Thursday, we’re uploading a quick tutorial to help you spiff up your tech game. Our videos are 3 minutes or less and designed to make your life (and work!) easier. From LinkedIn and YouTube hacks to Adobe Photoshop secrets, we have a tech tip for everyone. Find all of our tech tip videos on YouTube. And don’t forget to follow us on our social pages so you can see what new tech tip we’re sharing every Thursday! READ MORE >>
Color in branding is powerful. So powerful that most of us can look at a color palette and recognize the brand it represents. Think about Tiffany blue, John Deere green, or the instantly recognizable Coca-Cola red. Is anyone feeling thirsty? And although being aesthetically pleasing to the eye is a concern when choosing a brand color, it’s not the only deciding factor. Color impacts the way we perceive a brand and can have a powerful effect on our emotions as consumers. Have you ever seen an advertisement and instantly felt happy, powerful, calm or even sad? It’s not a coincidence. READ MORE >>
December 15, 2020 feels like a late date to be posting thoughts on how to create your marketing budget for 2021. But with the economists and numbers people projecting so many different models for economic recovery (like these), creating ODEA’s own marketing budget before now left me feeling like half fortune teller and half contortionist. So, if like me you’ve got planning and budgeting on the rinse-and-repeat cycle, here are three tips for your next round of updates. Highs and Lows ODEA’s 2021 marketing budget could legitimately be called bi-polar. When I’m feeling optimistic – let’s hear it for the READ MORE >>
It’s not uncommon for an ODEA-ite to spit out a random fun, weird, quirky, or technical fact at any given moment. Whether we’re chatting with friends, family, each other, or a random stranger in Walgreens (true story!), we often find ourselves throwing in a little-known fact or piece of “how in the world do you know that” knowledge. We owe all our thanks to clients, current and former, for allowing us to live our mission to “Be Curious. Be Inspired. Be BOLD.” It was on a Friday afternoon phone call that we decided it wasn’t fair for us to keep READ MORE >>
We got you sales pros! We know you’re killer at building rapport and gaining interest when you’re live and in person with a potential customer. But these days, you’re having to sharpen your online presentation skills to make those same connections while looking into a webcam instead of into the eyes of another human. That means we marketers need to step up our game, too. We need those decks and presentations you’re using to be BOLDer than ever – and optimized for the virtual sales world. And while we’re talking – let’s be real. We know you sales folks like READ MORE >>
A FREE fingers-on-the-keyboard session to tidy up your LinkedIn profile and get you connecting in all the right ways. As a biz owner or sales-type, having to socially distance (it’s vital so keep it up!) is hard, both personally and professionally. How do you keep marketing when it feels impossible to get in touch with prospects? You’ve heard social media is booming right now. In fact, LinkedIn announced on April 1 they have seen, “…a bump of 55% more conversational activity between existing connections in recent weeks.” But if you haven’t been using LinkedIn for marketing or lead generation – READ MORE >>
On December 4th, 2019, Pantone announced Classic Blue (aka Pantone 19-4052) as its Pantone Color of the Year for 2020. As a graphic designer, the Color of the Year is exciting! But for the non-creatives of the world, an announcement like “Color of the Year” may result in a shrug or eyeroll. If you’re wondering why you should care about a color, read on! Pantone’s Color of the Year actually impacts plenty of industries and directly influences design trends for the year. A Colorful History Lesson The Pantone Color System originated in 1963 to solve the problem of color matching READ MORE >>