In February, I took on Denver, Colorado and attended the Experience Design 2020 conference. It was an information-packed three days that left me with various new techniques to bring back to the agency and share with our UX and Design Thinking teams.

I had the opportunity to hear from 20 different speakers over the course of three days. The first day was a pre-conference day that had a four-part customer journey workshop and the two main conference days consisted of keynote speakers and breakout sessions.

As I walked away from the Experience Design 2020 conference, there were a few…

 
Social media. Brands know they should be using it, but many are completely mystified as to how. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Social media is a complex and sophisticated marketing channel that changes and evolves very rapidly. Keeping up with the trends can be tough. Here are few questions to ask yourself before you sail the unpredictable waters of social media marketing.
 
As part of the Design Thinking team at Zion & Zion, we are always seeking new methods and training to enhance our skills. Indeed our Design Thinking team here at the agency has already been through design thinking programs at Harvard, Stanford and Emeritus, however, when we learned that the Nielsen Norman Group (NN/g), was offering a short course on design thinking, we decided to attend to see what perspective NN/g would have on the subject.
 
As members of the Zion & Zion account management team, we decided to attend the Marketing Management Bootcamp from American Marketing Association (AMA) in Las Vegas. The bootcamp lasted two days, included marketers from across the country, and was led by Greg Marshall, PhD of Rollins College.
 

When embarking on a new project with a group, it’s important for everyone to be on the same page and know what the goals and objectives are. If everyone isn’t in agreement, you can end up in different places and not accomplish your goal. In the world of advertising and marketing, that can mean delivering something off strategy, off brand, and even off topic, which is why agencies always like to start a creative project with a creative brief.

This tool in the agency arsenal is an important one and is key to the success of larger creative projects. Whether…

 

The year 2020 has brought arguably a decade of cultural change within a matter of just weeks, and a sudden halt to business as usual. The economic implications are global and require massive shifts in business plans by organizations both big and small. We are seeing brand advertisers rework their messaging and continue to advertise, while many direct response advertisers take a pause.

The sudden shift in daily routines has changed both how people shop and how they consume media, and in some cases, the two are fully intertwined as devices become both entertainment and utility more than ever…

 

The United States is a very diverse country with a lot of people coming from around the world, either as tourists or as permanent residents. All have different cultures, behave in varying ways, and speak several different languages. It’s important that businesses are prepared to receive and interact with all kinds of clients, offering them the best experience possible.

Local businesses usually have all different kinds of employees, including those that speak different languages. This is helpful when a client is not proficient in English. If the business has an employee that speaks the same language as their potential client,…

 
I recently wrote an article entitled What Makes a Great Web Developer. I concluded my writing by sharing, “(Web developers) are all unique, and as long as someone can do the work, then it’s just finding that web developer that is a perfect fit for a particular role, company, or team.” In this article, I’m going to share what makes a great web development team, and why. Things we’ll go over will include the team culture, location, size, and the makeup of individual members.