Author: Geile/Leon

Introducing Sociable Marketing: A New Era of Empathy-Driven Social Media

Geile/Leon Marketing Communications

Introducing Sociable Marketing: A New Era of Empathy-Driven Social Media

G/L Approach

At Geile/Leon, we believe social media can be more than just a platform for broadcasting messages—it can be a powerful tool for building genuine, lasting connections. 

That’s why we’re thrilled to announce the launch of Sociable Marketing, a revolutionary new approach to social media management that prioritizes empathy, authenticity, and community.

Why Sociable Marketing?

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, traditional social media strategies often fall short. Audiences no longer respond to surface-level engagement or flashy slogans. They crave real connections with brands that understand their needs, values and emotions. 

Enter Sociable Marketing: an empathy-driven approach designed to transform passive followers into passionate brand advocates by making businesses more personable, shareable, memorable, and ultimately unignorable.

How Sociable Marketing Stands Out

Sociable Marketing is more than just a service—it’s a movement. The heart of Sociable Marketing lies in closing the Empathy Gap—the disconnect between brands and their audiences. 

While many agencies focus on metrics like reach and impressions, our approach emphasizes authentic interaction and meaningful relationships. Rather than just a USP, we leverage the Emotional Sales Position (ESP) to help brands resonate on a deeper level.

The 4-Ables

Sociable Marketing is achieved by following simple, proven social success metrics which we have identified as the 4-ABLES. The most successful brands on social, whether intentionally or not, practice the craft of generating dynamic messaging that’s genuinely likable, shareable, memorable, and at the end of the day…unignorable by their respective audiences.

  • Likeable:
    Do you personalize responses within 24 hours and nurture discussions regularly? Are you authentically addressing feedback and tailoring promotions to solve your audience’s specific problems?
  • Shareable:
    Is your content being shared often and sparking meaningful discussions? Are your followers engaging with thoughtful comments and conversations?
  • Memorable:
    Are you showing up where and when it matters? Does your voice and visuals stand out, and does audience feedback shape your content?
  • Unignorable:
    Does your content give your audience a compelling reason to stop scrolling?

Looking Ahead

With Sociable Marketing, we aim to establish Geile/Leon as a thought leader in empathy-driven digital marketing. By fostering authentic connections, we’re not just helping brands grow but building a community of loyal followers and passionate advocates. 

Ready to see it in action? We’re offering a limited number of free social media audits to help you build real connections and boost engagement. Don’t miss out—grab your spot now at this link.

back to blog home

Struggling with PR metrics? Here’s what industry pros say you should measure.

Geile/Leon Marketing Communications

Struggling with PR metrics? Here’s what industry pros say you should measure.

Advertising

by Shannon Sullivan

Many organizations find it challenging to determine what metrics they should track to measure their public relations efforts, leaving them unsure if their strategies are driving any real value. Do you feel like your brand is struggling to accurately measure the positive impact PR has on your organization? If so, you’re not alone. 

We recently attended Muck Rack’s State of PR Measurement 2024 webinar to learn more about what PR professionals had to say about measuring their efforts this past year. The webinar was guided by Muck Rack’s latest research report, which surveyed over 400 professionals in the industry to uncover how they track and report metrics, the challenges they encounter, and how they determine which metrics are most valuable for their organizations. We also dove into Muck Rack’s State of PR 2024 report, which surveyed more than 1,000 PR professionals. This document sheds a broader light on the industry’s emerging trends, challenges, and opportunities.

Drawing from these two reports, we will outline the most compelling takeaways we found, as well as how clients can utilize these metrics to measure their success. 

The Importance of Measuring Your PR Efforts 

Tracking and measuring public relations tactics is essential in understanding their effectiveness and impact. Without clear data demonstrating how your work benefits your organization, you risk your efforts being undervalued and overlooked, which can make it more difficult for you to secure a budget for it in the future.

Muck Rack’s report showed that 82% of PR pros track their PR efforts, and 86% said that measuring their efforts was very important or extremely important. Additionally, 40% said that media measurement and reporting was a major part of their job. Tracking and reporting metrics can also be crucial in proving the value of public relations to those who may not fully understand the impact it can have, with 89% of survey respondents saying they used metrics to demonstrate PR’s impact to stakeholders. 

Properly tracking and measuring metrics and KPIs can seem challenging, if not daunting, at first. In fact, 38% of survey respondents said they struggled with unclear goals or success metrics. So, how do you determine the right metrics to properly measure your communications strategies and ensure you’re tracking your efforts properly? In this blog, we will break down what PR professionals in 2024 used, industry recommendations on what to track, and how Geile/Leon measures the success of our strategies. 

Measuring Success Through Metrics

In Muck Rack’s State of PR Measurement 2024 report, the metrics that PR pros said most accurately measured their efforts and were most trustworthy were: 

  1. Number of stories placed (63%)
  2. Reach/impressions (42%)
  3. Key message pull-through (35%)

Cision, the public relations and earned media software company, also recommends tracking share of voice (SOV) and engagement across social media in their Complete Guide to PR Measurement. 

At Geile/Leon we’ve been integrating these metrics into reports and continue to analyze the newest metrics available to give clients the most relevant, useful stats.  

Although Advertising Value Equivalency (AVE) has been a controversial metric to track in recent years, we still find it beneficial. We have found that many of our clients want to see this statistic because it reassures them and their executive leadership that there is truly value in the investment they are making in public relations. This information can also be useful when creating budgets or assessing how your organization’s advertising spend compares to competitors. 

Muck Rack’s report also dove into what PR pros said least accurately measured their efforts. The most common response was pitch performance, with 32% agreeing that this metric did not accurately reflect the impact or success of their strategies or tactics. Pitch performance can be defined as the number of pitches sent, the open rate, click-through rate (CTR), and more. While it’s great for a pitch you sent to have a high open rate and CTR, this does not mean the pitch will lead to an actual story. At Geile/Leon, we use this information to help us analyze the subject line’s performance and when we should pivot to a more attention-grabbing one, but we do not use this information to directly determine the success of a pitch. 

Sentiment was another commonly cited metric, with 24% of respondents saying that it does not accurately measure their efforts. Sentiment ratings of media stories (positive, neutral or negative) can be an unreliable metric when generated by media measurement companies. At G/L, we often have to change an article’s sentiment rating from auto-generated coverage reports for this reason.

PR pros also questioned the accuracy of revenue impact: 24% said this is not a trustworthy metric. Revenue impact can mean the leads and sales gained from public relations efforts. This metric can be very difficult to quantify, which is why the PR industry generally does not tie revenue to PR efforts. Public relations should not be seen as a lead generation strategy, but rather as awareness and brand-building. 

Don’t Overlook the Power of Qualitative Data 

While quantitative data provides clear, numerical evidence of the success of PR efforts, qualitative data can also provide your organization with many invaluable insights. Cision’s Complete Guide to PR Measurement report explains that combining qualitative and quantitative data can give your organization a better understanding of campaign effectiveness, brand reputation, and market share. The qualitative data sources they outline are:

  • In-depth stakeholder interviews
  • Focus groups
  • Forum analysis
  • Customer testimonials
  • Surveys 

How In-House Teams and PR Agencies Collaborate to Drive Success

Effectively and accurately tracking metrics is a challenge for many PR professionals. While most in-house teams understand the importance of measuring their efforts, they often lack the manpower and resources to properly track these efforts. Muck Rack’s State of PR 2024 reported that having enough resources is a top concern for 58% of PR professionals that work in-house, which is 16% higher than those that work at agencies.

This is why handing off any extra work to an agency can be a great way to gain additional support, improve efficiency, and ensure your efforts are effective. PerMuck Rack, 43% of PR professionals said their public relations is managed by a combination of an in-house team and an agency. Many of these partnerships work on a retainer, with only 8% of brands assigning projects to agencies on an ad hoc basis.

A majority of brands say they utilize agency help for pitching (83%), research/building media lists (73%), project-based work (51%), and content writing (39%). At Geile/Leon, we pride ourselves on being an extension of your team, jumping in to help our clients with a range of public relations services when needed. 

If you’re struggling to show your executive leadership that your PR efforts are valuable and important, we’d love to discuss how partnering with Geile/Leon can help your team. Reach out to Terri Waters at 314-727-5850, ext. 116 or [email protected].

back to blog home

Why Home Service Providers Need to Build a Strong Brand Reputation

Geile/Leon Marketing Communications

Why Home Service Providers Need to Build a Strong Brand Reputation

Branding

For home service providers, a strong brand reputation is crucial to success. After all, the industry is built on trust. Before customers agree to allow your technicians into their homes, they need to feel comfortable that your company is reputable and that your employees are trustworthy. How you brand yourself contributes to your reputation and can help attract new customers, retain loyal clients, and differentiate your business from competitors.

A Brand is More Than Just a Logo

A brand is more than a logo or truck signage. It’s a set of perceptions in the minds of your potential customers. And this perception is very important. A recent Marketing Charts report points out that trust is an important consideration when making a purchase. For example, of customers that are in the typical age range for purchasing home services (35-54 years old), 76 percent of respondents say trust is the third-most important consideration for selecting a provider, slightly trailing “good value for the money” and “best quality.”

A Few Reasons Why You Might Need a Brand Refresh

Here are 11 indicators that your company’s brand might be becoming irrelevant and why you should consider a brand refresh:

  1. Declining Customer Engagement
    Have you noticed a drop in social media interaction, email open rates, or website traffic? This might indicate that your brand is no longer resonating with your audience.
  2. Stagnant Sales or Growth
    A plateau in sales or market share, despite efforts to boost them, may signal that your brand doesn’t meet the needs of today’s consumers.
  3. Outdated Visuals or Messaging
    Do your marketing materials feel dated? Customers may perceive your company as behind the times.
  4. New Competitors Are Overtaking You
    Are new competitors entering the market and quickly attracting attention? Your brand may not be as strong or distinctive.
  5. Your Audience Has Changed
    If your customer base has shifted—whether in age, demographics, or needs—your brand might need to evolve to remain dynamic.
  6. Lack of Internal Enthusiasm
    Have employees lost their passion? This could indicate a disconnect and employees not believing as strongly in the brand.
  7. Inconsistent Brand Experience
    If your brand looks different across various platforms—whether online, in-store, or in marketing materials—it may be time for a refresh to deliver consistency in messaging and graphics.
  8. Negative or Neutral Brand Perception
    Does your brand still evoke strong customer loyalty? If not, it’s a sign that it’s losing relevance.
  9. Your Market Has Shifted
    Has the brand kept pace with market conditions, competitive threats, or popular trends? A brand refresh can help reposition your company to fit within the new landscape.
  10. Product or Service Expansion
    Have you added service offerings to address the changing needs of the market? If the brand doesn’t adapt and evolve, it will get left behind.
  11. Acquisition or Mergers
    Are you planning to purchase, merge with, or sell a company? A strong and relevant brand adds value to the deal.

Shape Your Brand in the Minds of Your Customers

Your brand exists in your customers’ minds and is shaped by their experiences. While you can’t control their opinions, you can guide them by consistently defining and demonstrating your brand’s Unique Selling Proposition (USP). Aligning your messaging and actions with your values creates trust and builds a recognizable identity. This turns your brand into a promise customers rely on, setting you apart from competitors. Here’s a pertinent article in Forbes about Brand ROI.

Refresh or Rebrand?

Staying relevant is crucial in today’s market. If your brand feels outdated, a full rebrand may not be needed. A brand refresh allows you to make subtle updates, preserving your identity while modernizing to match trends and customer needs. This approach keeps your audience connection intact while boosting relevance. More on Brand Refresh here.

Why a Brand Refresh Matters

A brand refresh keeps your business relevant, modern, and aligned with evolving customer needs. Rather than a full rebranding, a refresh lets you maintain the core essence of your identity while refining the elements that no longer work. This targeted approach can strengthen your market position and sustain long-term growth.

Is Your Brand Where It Needs to Be? Let’s Talk!

Worried your brand isn’t resonating as it should? We’re offering a no-charge consultation to explore your brand’s strengths and challenges. It’s a relaxed discussion—no sales pitch! We love talking about branding and will share our honest thoughts. From there, you can decide if we’re the right fit for your needs. And if we are, together we can outline a strategy to take your brand to the next level. Give Tim Leon, our brand strategist a call at 314-727-5850, x117 or send an email to: [email protected].

back to blog home

GL’s Summer Reading List

Geile/Leon Marketing Communications

GL’s Summer Reading List

Uncategorized

 

 

 

Summer is the perfect season to indulge in the pleasure of reading.

Whether you’re lounging on the beach, enjoying a quiet afternoon in the park, or simply relaxing at home, a good book can transport you to new worlds and broaden your horizons. As avid readers ourselves, we’re excited to share our team’s curated list of summer reading recommendations. From gripping thrillers to inspiring memoirs and thought-provoking non-fiction, there’s something for everyone on our list. So grab a book, soak up the sunshine, and embark on a literary journey with us!

 

 

 

Melissa’s Recommendation: Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

“What I didn’t know when I was reading this was that Apple TV was making a series based on this book. I haven’t watched it yet, and that’s really because I don’t believe it could live up to how great and mindbending this book was. Such a psychological thrill, I couldn’t stop reading it, then couldn’t stop thinking about it once finished.”

 

 

 

Terri’s Recommendation: Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury

“The same guy who wrote Farenheit 451 but not dystopian at all.  Rather, it’s an ode to summertime, childhood and small-town Americana. Reading it literally slowed my heart rate and rekindled memories of my own lazy summer days and adventures around the neighborhood.”

 

 

 

Theresa’s Recommendation: Adam Ant Stand And Deliver: The Autobiography

“My first concert ever in 1984 and still a huge fan!  In 8th grade I referred to myself as Theresa Ant.” 

 

 

Randy’s Recommendation: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

“I chose “The Kite Runner” because my son recommended it. It’s a good thing he did! I really loved it. It taught me a ton about Afghan culture and history—things I had no clue about before reading it. Also, the characters were awesome. Amir and Hassan’s friendship is so complex, with all its twists and turns, and the story leads you down several unexpected paths. I was into it from start to finish. Great book!” 

 

 

Zach’s Recommendation: Design for Storytelling by Ellen Lupton

“This book delves into the psychology of visual perception through a narrative lens. It offers numerous tools and concepts presented visually to help us as designers, in enhancing the narrative impact of our craft. The book provides guidancein ways of evoking emotions, fostering empathy, expressing values, and prompting action. It also provides insights on constructing narrative structures, integrating form and language, assessing a project’s storytelling effectiveness, and crafting compelling narratives. I believe anyone seeking to deepen their designs should read this book.”
 

 

Schwab’s Recommendation: The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green

“Lovely and often funny observations of the human-centric world. All reviewed on a five-star scale. Expect to be met by short essays covering topics ranging anywhere from a love letter to Diet Doctor Pepper and sycamore trees, to the beauty of a sunset and how Rick Ankiel once got the yips…but the yips didn’t get him. The book’s optimistic spirit and emotional perspective on the funny, confusing and beautiful world we create, share and sometimes destroy for ourselves is the perfect summer read.”

 

 

 

back to blog home

The 2023 Marketing Trends Year in Review… How Did Our Predictions Hold Up?

Geile/Leon Marketing Communications

The 2023 Marketing Trends Year in Review… How Did Our Predictions Hold Up?

Communications Agency

As 2023 comes to a close, it’s time to look forward to 2024. But before that, let’s go back to the future…when we were staring into our crystal marketing ball to see what 2023 had in store for us. Did we hit the mark? Did we miss it? And what does the marketing landscape for 2024 hold in store for our industry? 

 

In the previous article, we weren’t able to foresee two of 2023’s biggest shakeups. For one, Twitter became X and began to circle the drain. We may be seeing its death rattle, and you may have seen that we are leaving it behind. As they scare off brands and advertisers, Elon Musk and his supposed dedication to the free market continues to insult them on their way out to ensure they won’t return and then blames them for X’s downfall. 

 

Beyond that, the algorithm deprioritizes posts with links to external websites, which is kind of the whole point of social media for marketers, and upcoming subscription updates, a paywall, restrictions on free accounts and blocking unregistered users mean that many won’t see these posts in the first place. So if it’s not a useful tool in achieving our KPIs, which has been our experience, what’s the point? 

 

However, that’s not even the biggest news of 2023. You guessed it, it’s AI. Especially generative AI like ChatGPT and the legions of others that are popping up at a breakneck speed. It’s starting to become when, not if, brands will adopt AI in some shape or form. While it may never replace the human brain’s capacity for creativity, making connections that have never existed and thinking outside the box (at least in our lifetimes), there are many avenues for using it as a tool instead of a crutch. And we’re definitely exploring that. 

 

As far as our predictions go? We thought we would see more brand building. Not just rebranding, but also focusing marketing tactics that focus on building the entire brand instead of just a single product. This would include communicating values like trust, reliability and customer focus. And during a year that saw many twists and turns in the marketplace, this turned out to be a great strategy. A big-picture, long-term focus is one that is made to withstand the tests of time instead of getting lost focusing on the smallest details. 

 

Our next prediction was that authentic videos would continue to gain steam and help brands maximize conversions. And we’ve seen TikTok and TikTok-style reels only gain momentum and popularity. At this point, if brands aren’t finding some way to utilize honest, authentic video communication, now’s the time to start. Or if we had a real time machine and not the metaphorical one that we are using for this article, then hop in that and get started yesterday. Social media algorithms can’t get enough of this content. 

 

And conversational marketing? Check. If you’re not building a rapport by talking to customers like real people, then it’s time to start treating them with the dignity they deserve. Not everything is about closing the sale. You wouldn’t walk into a party and just start talking about how great you are. Or maybe you would. But the point is that you shouldn’t. 

 

Finally, we talked about how Google has some competition when it comes to search. Now more than ever, consumers are going to their favorite platform to find information rather than just typing it into Google and clicking on the first result. You can find information, locations for businesses and plenty of product reviews. When it comes to search, it’s time to rethink it. 

 

What do you think 2024 has in store for marketers? Are you interested in implementing a forward-thinking approach into your marketing plans for the upcoming year? There’s no better time to start than right now. Give us a call, shoot us an email or slide into our DMs on social media. Let’s talk! 

back to blog home

There’s No Such Thing as a One-size-fits-all Budget

Geile/Leon Marketing Communications

There’s No Such Thing as a One-size-fits-all Budget

Uncategorized

In life and in marketing, taking a shortcut rarely gets you where you really want to go. It’s that time of the year that many marketers are taking a hard look at their annual budget. Wouldn’t it be easy if there were some sort of definitive formula that could tell you exactly how to spend your money the best? 

Sure. But there isn’t. 

Building a budget is just as much of an art as it is a science. It’s a lot like marketing itself. Relying too heavily on data or too heavily on intuition can take you off the right path. But finding the right balance of the two will lead you to success. 

The science of budgeting is pretty obvious. ROI, sales forecasts and what’s in the product pipeline are pretty standard in this arena. You may use a rule of thumb regarding a certain percentage of overall revenue based on historical data or industry benchmarks. 

For instance, industry budgets for new brand or product launches for B2B companies range from 3-8% of forecasted revenue. However, it’s the art that so often goes overlooked. Especially for B2B brands. 

There is an art to being aware of and responding to all variables that impact budgeting. How supportive is senior leadership of marketing? How much brand equity do you have in the marketplace? How strong is your brand recognition? What’s in the sales funnel currently?

And here’s one where the art of budgeting is invaluable: new product introductions. When launching a new product, there are certain marketing elements that are absolutely necessary. You may not see immediate sales upon investing in these “marketing essentials,” but you will need to have them in place by the time you go to market, even though your new product or brand has not produced a single dollar of revenue at that point. 

And even though you haven’t seen any sales at that point, you sure won’t want to be without the branding, website, sales collateral, public relations and digital support that you would depend on to ensure a successful launch. 

That’s where an experienced brand-driven marketing communications agency comes into play. We’ve worked with many B2B companies in support of new brand and product launches. It’s that perspective that helps us understand the art, so we serve as a partner to the scientifically oriented people who are seeking to determine their marketing budget. That’s really what defines a great partnership at its very essence. 

We’re in the heart of budgeting season now for many of our clients, so as you map out your marketing calendar, get in touch with us. We’d love to lend our perspective (at no charge!) to help you create a budget that is realistic and can achieve your brand’s sales and marketing goals.  Email Tim Leon at [email protected] and let’s chat.

back to blog home

How We Refreshed a 175-year-old Brand for Future Generations of Women

Geile/Leon Marketing Communications

How We Refreshed a 175-year-old Brand for Future Generations of Women

Brainstorms

When we approach a brand refresh, both our team and our clients feel a great sense of excitement. It’s an opportunity to envision what the brand is and what it could become. And it’s a way to chart a course to get there. A new chapter.

With Ursuline Academy, they arrived with 175 years of brand equity. Of changing lives. Of guiding young women towards the future they want. So this was going to be a new chapter in a very long, very emotionally engaging book.

It All Begins in 15th Century Italy

Let’s start at the beginning. The very beginning, back to Italy in the 15th century. Angela Merici, now St. Angela Merici, was born in Desenzano, a small town on the shore of Lake Garda in Lombary.

Although she was orphaned at a young age, St. Angela was inspired by her faith to make a difference in the world. This charismatic woman provided education and inspiration to young women, empowering them and their future. Eventually, she would go on to found the Order of the Ursulines.

Next Stop: 19th Century St. Louis

Now, fast-forward to St. Louis (Kirkwood specifically) in 1848. Ursuline Academy was founded in the spirit of St. Angela. A place where women could learn, reach their potential and become who they want to be.

Now, 175 years later, the mission remains the same, but the brand needed a refresh. The core mission remains the same, but there are so many more opportunities for young women. St. Angela surely would be proud of what they’ve become. And we needed to evolve the brand to reflect this societal evolution.

First Step: Sparking Something Great

The more we thought about Ursuline Academy, the more we latched onto how two seemingly incongruent USPs actually worked together really well. First of all, the Culture of Belonging at Ursuline ensures that no matter who you are, you feel like you belong from the moment you arrive.

On the other hand, each girl is encouraged to celebrate her unique individuality, and the personalized guidance provided by faculty, counselors, staff, and student mentors at Ursuline helps her find her own, unique path that reflects that. You belong, but you don’t have to change to do it. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

This led to a tagline and campaign theme, “All paths lead to you,” as well as the accompanying CTA, “It’s your path. Take it.” It’s the perfect encapsulation of the individualized approach, hands on guidance and the culture that celebrates what makes you uniquely you. Ursuline is where you are welcome to come as you are and become who you want to be.

So What Does That Look Like?

Now the challenge was to determine what “All paths lead to you” looks like. And at the same time, we also set out to evolve a 175-year-old logo to retain its history but feel more symmetrical and modern. And we even used a font that was named after a town near St. Angela’s neck of the woods in Lombardy.

Just like Ursuline Academy, we put each individual girl front and center as the star, letting them express their unique personality while still wearing Ursuline’s uniform. We also maintained the same red and white while introducing a purple hue, something fun that didn’t detract from the brand, but rather added to it.

How It All Comes Together

Now Ursuline Academy’s brand feels as contemporary, welcoming and utterly exciting as the school itself is. And we were so excited about what we came up with along with our amazing clients that we couldn’t wait to extend it to executions in video, social, and viewbooks, which we created as a series with four different covers with four different girls, giving prospective students an opportunity to select the personality (or path) that most appealed to them.

Like we said earlier, brand refreshes are exciting. This one, especially so, because we were entrusted with such a historically significant brand. Not to mention working with an institution that helps future generations feel empowered to become exactly what they’ve always dreamed. We couldn’t say enough great things about our clients for working with us to create work that excited all of us so much.

back to blog home

My summer spent at Geile/Leon

Geile/Leon Marketing Communications

My summer spent at Geile/Leon

G/L Culture

by Kyle Crews

 

I am extremely grateful for my time at Geile Leon this summer. When I entered the door for the first time, I felt like I was instantly a part of the team. In fact, this feeling of inclusion and family led me to the idea I created my project around. I will get into that in a moment. 

First, let’s dive into the culture at G/L. As I said, it felt like I belonged when I first entered the doors. That is attributable to the wonderful team here. Everyone gets along extremely well and seems to genuinely enjoy seeing each other every day. This has created a phenomenal working environment that you look forward to being a part of. The team has a lot of fun while doing impeccable work. In my time here I have never seen a client unhappy, in fact they are always thrilled with the product they receive. I think that is why G/L is so successful, relationships are of the utmost importance. Whether you are a client or a member of the team, G/L has your best interest at heart. 

The knowledge and experience I have gained at the agency is priceless. One of the first things I learned was how to properly do media research. This is an important skill, especially at the start of many jobs. Research leads to ideas, concepts, and information that is imperative to these creative projects. I grew comfortable using new programs that I will use in the future. Some of these are Qwilr, Workamajig, Dropbox, and Keynote. 

I also got to experience Public Relations for the first time. I think this is not only important but one of G/L’s strengths. As I stated earlier, relationships are so important to the agency. This is evident by the way the clients interacted with us on Zoom calls and other meetings. Terri Waters, Director of PR, had a great relationship with all of the clients I worked with at G/L. Due to great communication and the ability to write great press releases, our clients were always happy. I learned that there is more to PR than I initially thought. I worked with several clients that we have on retainer doing media research, helping proof or formulate press releases, finding and recommending publications for their articles, etc.

I also learned about social media and how you can effectively use this for business. One client I learned about was Weinhardt Party Rentals. Melissa Ross, our Digital Content Producer, taught me several things about social media marketing through this client. One of the big things was KPIs. Key Performance Indicators dictate the marketing success. Melissa would create posts for Weinhardt’s Instagram. These came in the form of Instagram reels, a carousel of pictures, stories, and more. Based upon engagement, we could monitor how the Instagram account’s following was receiving the posts, also known as the KPI’s. Learning how to use popular trends and different techniques to draw engagement was really intriguing. I now have confidence that I could run an account similar to this. 

One of the tasks I was given was to audit their Instagram and look at what posts did better than others. I then based upon engagement and the content of the post could deduct why it did better or worse than others. This allows us to adjust and change strategies if needed. As social media gets even more popular, these skills will be crucial to the future of marketing. 

Unfortunately, I cannot write about every single experience here at G/L or you would never stop reading this. With that being said, lastly, I would like to talk about my “final project.” I was tasked at the beginning of the internship to come up with an idea for a comprehensive project. I was to lead this project by creating the idea and the schedule. Naturally, I was a bit nervous at first. I have never led a project like this and it was not very comparable to a school project. I was most concerned about getting an idea with real substance to it. I looked at the website for inspiration and found the employee content somewhat entertaining. I did not really know everyone yet and liked the candid videos on the site as it felt I was getting a behind-the-scenes look.

As about a week or two went by, I had no concrete idea and was a little worried. After experiencing this work environment that is second to none, I thought of something. The website could use some new content as the videos are a tad dated. On top of that, G/L does not necessarily market themselves. Like many marketing agencies, they are so caught up with clients that they tend to not advertise themselves. 

So, considering all this I came up with an idea to create an employee testimonial social campaign. I also wished to tie this in with “Make It Mean Something” as that is a key slogan describing the culture here at the agency. I thought this would be great for the website and G/L brand, but also for prospecting employees or clients. With a frame of an idea, I was taught how to create a brief and properly share that with the team. I got great feedback right away. This would provide social content for the website and other forms of social media that is sometimes hard to come by. On top of that, it would cost little to nothing for us to do the project, yet it would benefit the agency greatly. 

Through this process, I learned how to create and follow a project schedule. I hosted meetings and check-ins with the team throughout the summer to get feedback and input. Before these check-ins, I was taught about deliverables and how to work with a creative team. It is rewarding to see your project come to life through the great minds of the team members. For example, Shawn Maher, our Associative Creative Director, came up with a great bucket of questions pertaining to “make it mean something,” the work environment, and G/L in general. Aidan Douglas, Junior Art Director, came up with a great template for the static media element as well. The static media has the person’s name, title, two images, and quote. The quote is pulled directly from one of their video responses. This is condensed into a carousel format and easily shared across socials. We decided this would complement the video content well. Take a look for yourself, the content should be viewable on our socials and website soon. 

 I cannot thank Luke Smith, Assistant Director of Brand Strategy, enough. He helped teach me how to run a project and direct the ins and outs of the process. As well as Meg Strange, Senior Brand Manager. Meg and Luke gave me guidance and knowledge throughout my entire time here, not just on my big project. The rest of the team deserves a lot of credit as well. They made my project come to life and taught me so many things to bring into my future employment.  Lastly, I would just like to say how thankful I am that I received the opportunity to intern here. Tim Leon, Dave Geile, and Randy Micheletti were great to me from my first interview all the way through the internship. I cannot thank them enough for the opportunity and mentorship. I feel that I am now prepared to enter the workforce next year with confidence

back to blog home

AI’s Wild West Gets Some Law and Order

Geile/Leon Marketing Communications

AI’s Wild West Gets Some Law and Order

Trending Now

At points over the past year or so, it seems like generative AI has been expanding so fast that it feels like drinking from a firehose to keep track of it all.

From big-picture worries about deep fakes and issues regarding copyrighted materials and inaccurate information from ChatGPT, to smaller issues like wondering how aspiring copywriters can make beer money in college if nobody needs to pay them to write their papers for them anymore (this one hits close to home, obviously), it’s a lot to take in.

It also hits close to home for many marketers. That’s because AI is one of the most pressing issues on the mind of marketers in 2023. The majority are considering how AI can be used analytically in data analysis and strategy implementation, but there are also a sizeable amount considering it as a tool for copywriting and content creation.

However, instead of letting things spiral out of control, recently leaders of some of the foremost companies in AI met with President Biden to discuss parameters for the use of AI. According to this Reuters article, they have developed a type of digital watermark that would allow AI-generated graphics and copy to be identified as such, making it more difficult to let the computers do the thinking. And to risk plagiarism and copyright infringement. They are also taking extra precautions to ensure that AI is free of bias and not to be used to discriminate against vulnerable groups.

This follows a recent effort in the EU to draft their own set of rules for generative AI, including safeguards against copyright infringement and illegal content.

Additionally, Congress is now mulling a bill that would require political advertisements to disclose whether they used AI to create imagery or content.

In a time in which we are divided, these bipartisan efforts underly both the importance of this issue and the astounding pace at which this technology is developing. Even with new rules and legislation in place, the effects of AI and machine learning are of a great magnitude in both business and our everyday lives.

Unlike so many times in the past, proactive action from our lawmakers and business leaders on the use of this powerful technology reassures that there will be some sort of roadmap to help focus on what was previously sprawling and unchecked growth.

Like many of us, G/L is fascinated by the development of this technology and the ramifications on our industry. We’ll continue following each development closely, and you can bet that we’ll be eager to talk about it. So make sure to follow along on social media so you don’t miss anything!

back to blog home

Video Content Trend: An Interactive Cinematographic Encyclopedia

Geile/Leon Marketing Communications

Video Content Trend: An Interactive Cinematographic Encyclopedia

Creative

Each week at G/L, we get together to discuss trends in the marketing industry. They can include campaigns that we like, love, hate or think missed the mark (newsworthy or otherwise) as well as up-and-coming tools or strategies that we could possibly adopt to help us do better work. It often gets our creative juices flowing and excited to finish the week strong.

In one of these meetings, a website tool called Eyecandy got our creative juices flowing like the Mississippi River.

Eyecandy is a website that demonstrates different video technique shots with examples from both modern and classic television and movies that use exemplary cinematography. As soon as I pulled up the website in my browser, I pulled an Alice in Wonderland and fell into a rabbit hole of stunning and captivating visuals.

And of course I couldn’t help thinking about how we can use it here at Geile/Leon.

When they say a picture is worth a thousand words, a tool like this could be worth even more when explaining an idea we’re working on at G/L Content Studios, especially during pre-production work. Eyecandy will help us create dynamic storyboards that highlight the techniques we would employ and aid us in effectively communicating what the video will look like shot-by-shot to our clients.

And you can only imagine how it would kick start brainstorming sessions for videos no matter what the medium.

Yeah, you could say we have a sweet tooth for Eyecandy. There’s nothing that gets us more excited then imaging what we can create for our clients. So if you’d like to get in on the excitement, get in touch and let’s talk about how we can inject a little bit of eye candy into your video content.

back to blog home
About Us
Video
Contact