Levatas

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Behind The Scenes of "Unplug and Reconnect"

Earlier this year, the Levatas team had an opportunity to take part in an exciting commercial production called Unplug and Connect for Discover The Palm Beaches, Palm Beach County's travel planning resource.

The commercial shoot, headed up by director Joe Otting, took place across two weeks this August at various county locations, from beaches to golf courses and lots of stops in between.

The broadcast production, scheduled to air in Boston, New York, and Washington D.C. markets in early 2015, is just the first piece of creative from the Unplug and Reconnect campaign - meaning there is a whole lot more to come! In the meantime, check out some of the behind-the-scenes photos from the project. 

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Digital Media Specialist

Communications Group

Levatas is a next-generation agency made up of a world-class strategic consultancy, a full-service communications agency, and an enterprise-grade platforms development firm. Our client engagements range from regional brands to multinational conglomerates.

We are currently seeking a Paid Search Specialist to create and manage day-to-day PPC and display campaign activities for our growing list of clients. This role will be part of a team responsible for developing paid digital media strategies, planning and purchasing, account coordination, and ongoing analytics/reporting. In addition to being one of our resident experts in digital media, this individual will also be responsible for continuously staying up to date, and informing our clients on, the rapidly changing digital media landscape.

Responsibilities

Implement and manage digital media campaigns and all tactical execution included

Develop initial keyword list, leveraging identified brand territory and review with Director of Search

Provide setup, management and ongoing optimization for PPC, online display, mobile and other digital media

Produce monthly and quarterly analytics reports for Director of Search

Reconcile digital vendor invoices

Perform traffic estimates and reviews with Director of Search.

Manage active PPC campaigns with a focus on increasing ROI and overall sales/lead volume for clients.

Provide data-driven research for digital media planning

Work with copywriter to constantly optimize ad copy

Conduct keyword research, analysis and optimization

Research new opportunities to improve ROI (including keywords,ad copy, placements etc.)

Establish and maintain strong working relationships with the media supplier base

Communicate with media representatives to ensure that digital campaigns meet goals and perform as intended

Manage deadlines for materials and traffic creative for digital campaigns as needed

Desired Skills and Experience

Bachelor’s degree, preferably with a concentration in advertising, marketing, business administration, and communications

3+ years experience managing PPC campaigns on AdWords, Bing and other relevant platforms.

Experience in the e-commerce as well as offline driven sales field

Experience in managing PPC accounts with budgets in excess of $10,000 per month

Agency experience preferred

In depth knowledge of Google Adwords, Google Analytics, Doubleclick, Bing Ads, SEMrush, Moz and other ad platforms and relevant tools

Excellent verbal, written and presentation skills required

Strong organizational and quantitative/analytical skills

Proven ability to work as part of a team, including a passion for working cross-functionally with Merchandising, Development, Creative, and User Experience

Exceptional organizational skills, multi-tasking capabilities and detail oriented

Experience with Google Analytics and Adobe SiteCatalyst preferred

PC proficiency and solid working knowledge of Microsoft Office (PowerPoint, Excel, Word)

Basic experience in SEO a plus

This role is based in Palm Beach County, Florida and you will report to the Director of Search. Must be local or willing to relocate.

Compensation is commensurate with experience. Levatas is an equal opportunity employer (EOE), and we strongly support diversity in our workforce.

Interested in applying for this position? Click here.

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Thanksgiving Food Drive Recap

The tallies are in and the goods have been delivered! A huge thanks goes out to the entire Levatas crew for participating in our annual Thanksgiving Food Drive. 

As always, the Generositeam initiative was a fantastic success! This year teams brought in more than 1,200 non-perishable items, which were picked up earlier this week and will be delivered to needy families throughout the county just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday. 

Of course, we'd me remiss if we didn't give a little glory where glory is due. 

(Drum roll, please...) 

Congrats to the IncrEDibles, led by team leader Brian Dunnam! Together, their team rallied to bring in 410 items! 

The runner-up teams didn't do too shabby either: The Foo'd Fighters came in second place with 394 items, and in third, Show Us Your Cans! with 326.

Thanks again to everyone who participated! Have a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

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Lunch And Learns Have Returned!

Don’t call it a comeback! Okay, call it whatever you want, but after a brief hiatus, Lunch and Learns are back at Levatas. Once a month, Levatas employees gather together to learn valuable lessons from co-workers (and of course, to get some free food). As nice as it is to not have to worry about lunch for a day, there are several other important benefits of Lunch and Learns:

Transparency: As a fully-integrated agency that helps companies solve business problems, we have quite the mixed bag of professional skill sets working under one roof (well, technically two). Cranking out cohesive campaigns and world-class technology is certainly a team effort, but understanding our teammates’ roles and contributions helps us improve our working dynamic.

Learning and Skill-building: Lunch and Learns also expose us to new information that may be vital to our individual roles within the agency. For example, a presentation from a development tech lead may provide insights that completely change the way creative is conceived and delivered on the marketing side. Without these show-and-tell sessions, work can get siloed in its respective departments.

Team Bonding: When you add up the hours, more often than not you are spending a whole lot of time each week with the people you work with. You might as well bond with them and get to know them a little; connect on something other than creative briefs, technical bugs and pressing deadlines. Lunch and Learns give us an opportunity to do just that.

  Engineer Manager Santiago Valdarrama kicked off the latest Lunch and Learn season with a discussion about how the internet is slowing down faster than ever, and no one seems to be doing anything about it. Surprising as it sounds, the numbers don’t lie.

To supplement new mobile technology and enhance visual display quality, the size of the average web page is larger than ever, thanks in part to an increased demand for high quality photos.

  With larger pages and more page redirects come slower loading times. That’s a huge problem, and here’s why: our collective attention span is only growing shorter.

On average, it takes one second for a person looking at blank space to notice there’s a problem loading the content. Nine seconds later and still no content? That’s it, they’re gone.

Ten seconds is the threshold for delivering a person the content they voluntarily chose to receive. And if losing potential customers isn’t bad enough, Google recently decided to start incorporating site speed in their ranking process for mobile pages. Companies who sit idly by will quickly feel the pain.

For more information about the decreasing speed of the internet and what we can do about it, check out Santiago’s full presentation.

Stay tuned to hear about the next Levatas Lunch and Learn, as Motion Graphic Designer Arnel Alinea walks us through an Introduction to Basic After Effects.

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5 Desk Essentials Every Creative Needs

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5 Ways To Improve Your Subject Lines

by DeAnna Caldwell, CRM Specialist

Between growing competition for inbox attention and increasingly stricter spam filters, getting your customers to see your email - let alone open your email - can be a real challenge. Luckily, a few small tweaks to your subject line can improve not only your open rate, but also your deliverability.

Personalize Your Subject Line

Personalizing your subject line tends to provide measurably better open rates. While listing a recipient’s name is a common practice, also consider including past purchases, previous actions on your site or even the user’s location. But a word to the wise: Be sure to not overuse or misuse your database information. Sending too much personal information may come off as “spammy.”

Keep it Short

In today’s digital world, about 65% of all emails sent are opened on mobile! When optimizing your email for mobile, keep in mind the limited number of characters recipients can see on their device. What may appear as an engaging subject line on desktop won’t have the same pull on mobile if your subject line copy is cut off. Standard email clients typically display 50 characters or less, but mobile typically shows just 30 to 44. For best results, be sure to view your subject line on mobile before sending.

Ask a Question or Include a Call To Action

Engaging with the recipient in the form of a question or call to action can help differentiate your email from the rest. You can also engage your recipient even more simply by adding “you” or “you’re” into the subject line.

Avoid Spam Words

Avoid words that are typically flagged in spam filters. Top offenders include “free,” “cheap,” TOO MANY CAPS, symbols, and anything overly salesy. Think of them like the wacky inflatable arm man.

A/B Test

Of course the best way to know which subject lines earn the best open rates is to test, test, test! A/B testing allows you to optimize for the best open rate possible. An A/B test is a simple experiment where you test one version of your email against another (in this case, two different subject lines) and then measure the results. Through A/B testing, you gain insight into what works best, and learn how to pique the interest of your target audience.

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The best marketing strategy ever: CARE.

Gary Vaynerchuk

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Levatas Linkworthy: Week 44 of 52

What’s the best way to keep embarrassing content about your client off the internet? It’s pretty simple, really - just own the internet. At least that was the conclusion a law firm representing former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg came to. Bloomberg’s reps recently bought up hundreds of potentially embarrassing website names for the new .nyc domain in an effort to prevent self-proclaimed cyber comedians from bashing Bloomberg with sites like “BloombergBlows.nyc,” and “MikeBloombergisaDweeb.nyc.” Sure it would cost Bloomberg somewhere around $10,000 to 16,000 per year to maintain ownership of all 400 domain names his team secured, but can you really put a pricetag on being proactive?

  Speaking of the internet, if you plan to advertise there you should remember that proper placement makes a world of difference - not just in terms of your target audience, but literally in terms of where you put the ad on the screen. Language school Euridiomas delivered that one-two punch beautifully with its recent string of YouTube ads. The company took advantage of the fact that many Peruvians rely on subtitles while watching their favorite movie trailers, so Euridiomas used the southern part of the screen to slip in some messaging of their own.

Sticking with boxing references (because they’re great and no one watches boxing anymore so someone should use them), Brita is keeping Big Soda against the ropes with its latest sugar cube city ad. The second battle staged in the water filtration company’s war on soda (the first featured angry clouds pelting pedestrian with cans of cola) depicts an entire cityscape constructed from sugar cubes, symbolizing the amount of sugar a one-can-a-day drinker would consume during their lifetime (221,314 cubes according to Brita).

To end on a positive note, check out Jet Blue’s newest corporate social responsibility initiative: the #FlyItForward campaign. Inspired by the moving stories its flight crews have heard over the years, Jet Blue selected one person who submitted their story of where they wanted to go and why with a metaphorical golden ticket to make those dreams a reality. Once she reached her destination, the individual selected another nominee from that city to take the ticket, fly to their destination of choice and select another nominee, and on and on. You can check out the stories from the #FlyItForward campaign so far or share your story for a chance to be selected at jetblueflyitforward.com.  

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GenerosiTeam Holiday Food Drive

Today, Levatas kicks off the start of the holiday season with a meaningful GenerosiTeam initiative. The office has been divided into seven teams, each competing to bring in the most items for a food drive supporting the Palm Beach County Food Bank. The winning team receives a grand prize of a free lunch for the whole group at a Duffy's Sports Grill. 

The Palm Beach County Food Bank is a non-profit organization that rescues, collects and distributes food to over 100 agency that take on the daily responsibility of feeding the hungry. Levatas' reason for starting the annual drive earlier this year is to help families just in time for Thanksgiving. At least 170,000 adults in Palm Beach County qualify as poor by federal guidelines and more than 180,000 residents rely on food stamps for survival. Levatas is doing its part to help with the 35 million pounds of food needed annually to feed the hungry in this county.

For more information, visit www.pbcfoodbank.com. 

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Young Entrepreneurs Visit Levatas

Earlier this week, we had an exciting opportunity to host an event for the local chapter of the Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA). The 29-week YEA program takes student entrepreneurs in grades 6 through 12 from classroom to boardroom as the CEO of their own business venture.

As the students explore the world of business through the program, they’re given opportunities to meet with professionals and business owners to see entrepreneurial action up close. Chosen by the students as a local “cool business,” Levatas hosted the YEA crew this past Wednesday at our Palm Beach Gardens offices for an evening of insights and education.

The event kicked off with introductions from Levatas CEO and Founding Partner Chris Nielsen, and COO and Managing Partner Ryan Gay. Chris and Ryan shared their personal backgrounds along with the Levatas story, highlighting triumphs, challenges and key lessons learned along the way.

With sharpened pencils (and a few tablets), the young entrepreneurs stayed attentive, involved, and genuinely engaged. And when the floor was opened for Q&A, their vested interests truly shined.

They lobbed provocative questions like “How do you balance your employees’ happiness with your financial responsibilities,” which made them seem more like a panel of investors than student entrepreneurs. The impressive inquiries continued and within a half-hour, there was no stone left unturned. (Do you think you approach your workspace under the same mindset as Google? How long did it take you to get your first big client? How many years were you in business before you were profitable? What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?)

Following the Q&A, YEA took a tour of the two Levatas offices, and then put what they learned to good use during brainstorm and workshop sessions, applying their newfound knowledge to their own ventures and ideas. The night wrapped with pizza and conversation before the budding entrepreneurs went on their way.

Ranging in age from just 11 to 17 years old, the YEA crew is definitely ahead of the curve. We were honored to host such a talented group of young people that will undoubtedly find success in their lifetime. Don’t be surprised if you see some of them on Shark Tank in the near future!

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Scrum Master

Platforms Group

Interested in a career where you are valued for your positive attitude, work ethic, emotional intelligence, professionalism, creativity, willingness to serve others, and ability to work well inside an agile team full of energy and ideas? Our ethos is to have happy clients and to be happy ourselves- and we are looking for professionals who can do things the Levatas (Levity and Gravitas) way.

A Scrum Master does whatever it takes to make the Scrum team successful, such as removing organizational impediments, facilitating meetings, acting as a gatekeeper so no one unnecessarily interrupts the team's work.  The Scrum Master helps Levatas learn and apply Scrum to achieve business value.  The Scrum Master is not the manager of the team or a project manager; instead, the Scrum Master serves the team, protects them from outside interference, and educates and guides the project team in the skillful use of Scrum. The Scrum Master makes Scrum work at Levatas!

The core responsibilities of the Scrum Master are as follows:

Working with Levatas teams to facilitate the Scrum process and events as needed.

Removing impediments to the Development Team’s progress.

Facilitating discussion, decision making, and conflict resolution

Assisting with internal and external communication, improving transparency, and radiating information through useful reports and dashboards.

Essential Skills and Experience

Servant leadership for the Scrum team with leadership skills that build a trusting and safe environment where problems can be raised without fear of blame or retribution, with an emphasis on problem solving.

Coaching skills that can help educate the team and all of Levatas on how to make Scrum successful for the company and our clients.

At least 3 years working in an agile project management or software development environment, with 2 years of successful Scrum execution.

Experience with Agile Project Management tools like Jira, VersionOne, Rally, or similar software that helps to effectively track backlog items, work boards, and information dashboards.

3 years experience with conflict resolution and team facilitation.

First level Scrum Master certification (CSM, PSM I)

Solid presentation and communication skills with experience working with all levels of an organization.

A passion for making customers happy and exceeding their expectations!

Preferred Skills/Experience:

Second level Scrum Master certification (CSP, PSM II)

5 years experience as a Scrum Master in a software development team that was diligently applying Scrum principles, practices, and theory.

Knowledge of other Agile approaches: XP, Kanban, Crystal, FDD, etc

Knowledge and/or experience with widely successful Agile techniques: User Stories, ATDD, TDD, Continuous Integration, Continuous Testing, Pairing, Automated Testing, Agile Games

Interested in applying? Click here. 

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Levatas Linkworthy: Week 41/52

Illustrating brand heritage is a popular advertising angle in the liquor industry, but the new campaign for Ballantine’s Whisky put a slightly different spin on things. While other brands have toed the line between fact and fiction in their historical narrations (Jameson, anyone?), Ballantine’s dove right into the deep end of the “fake brand history” pool. Their short online film for their global “Stay True” campaign takes the viewer down a path of ridiculous ventures the company has embarked on since its inception before admitting everything it just told you was made up. Why? Because the true story of how they maintain the same process their founder did “just wouldn’t make such a flashy film.” Now Ballantine’s is asking viewers to get in on the fictitious history lesson by tweeting their own #CouldBeTrue ideas of ridiculous things the whisky company may or may not have done along the way.

Hopefully there will be significantly less fiction involved in McDonald’s new online campaign that launched this week. The global fast food giant is opening up the floor to curious customers dead set on finally getting answers to questions about McDonald’s food, like “What goes into a Shamrock Shake?” or “What the heck is a chicken nugget actually made of?” It’s a creatively candid way of addressing the negative rumblings about the quality of McDonald’s offerings, or at least it appears to be for now. You can find out more about McDonald’s new approach in this PR Daily article.  

Regardless of what’s in the food, McDonald’s logo is still one of the most recognizable symbols in the world. AdWeek put out an infographic with some other notable logos, but these signature signs stand out for a different reason: all 40 of the featured logos subtly incorporate a hidden message or image in the design.

Logos are one way of helping a brand stand out to the consumer. Taglines are another, and it’s been 56 years since KitKat introduced one of the most famous of them all: “Have a break. Have a KitKat.” Nearly six decades later the slogan is still going strong, and the company’s partner agencies are finding more creative ways than ever to bring it to life. After all, nothing says “Have a break. Have a KitKat.” quite like a half-finished billboard left behind by a worker who presumably did just that.  

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Understanding UX: Visual Weight

Optimizing the user experience is an important part of any design output, so we grabbed a few minutes of our Senior UX Architect Shane McWhorter's time to educate us on some of the intricacies and help us all out when it comes to better understanding UX. Shane's lesson this time around centers on "Visual Weight."

Visual Weight

Visual hierarchies guide people to understanding; guidance of understanding is one of the most important principles in all of user experience.

Visual weight reinforces visual hierarchy by contrasting the size, color, contrast, angle and position of elements in the design. By adding visual weight to elements that are of primary importance and reducing the visual weight on elements of less importance, you help guide and strengthen the overall design of the page or screen.

Visual weight, just like visual hierarchy, is an important tool in conveying and establishing the order of importance of the user experience that guides understanding. Mistakenly applied, it can cause confusion and frustration—but when done correctly—can provide a visual framework for the successful and comfortable use your product.

UX term: salient, salience, saliency.

“Saliency” is the UX word for “visual weight.”

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Levatas Linkworthy: Week 38/52

For New York Yankees fans, it was the news heard round the world: Derek Jeter is retiring. For Gatorade, it was an opportunity to collaborate with one of the greatest players in baseball history. To steal a pun from the AdWeek article itself, Gatorade hit it out of the park with an epic 90-second salute to the New York Yankees legend.

This week, GoDaddy launched a new advertising campaign that will focus on empowering small business owners with its products and services. It takes a more comedic approach vs. the previous sexy spots that featured Danica Patrick.

We can't recap this week without mentioning the rollout of the iPhone's new operating system, iOS8. By now, you've read all about the software and its updates (right?) There have been many hilarious tweets knocking the amount of free space you need to download it, so here's a simplified version from Read Write.

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Social Media Coordinator

Communications Group

Levatas is seeking a talented social media coordinator to manage social campaigns and profiles for our growing list of clients. Working closely with our public relations and communications teams, the social coordinator will work on all aspects of social media marketing, with specific concentration in profile management, content creation and customer engagement. Our ideal candidate is a creative individual who is passionate about digital campaigns and proficient in social media platforms and tools.

Responsibilities

Work with directors to build Levatas’ strategic approach to social media

Work closely with public relations and communications teams to define client goals and develop social strategies based on customer insights, data analysis and business objectives

Attend client meetings and agency planning sessions, offering strategic, insights-based recommendations for building customer relationships and managing user engagement across all social channels

Execute social campaigns in their entirety, including conception, coordination, production and implementation, reporting, and managing applicable third-party vendor relations

Manage brand presence across all social media platforms for multiple clients

Skills and Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree

2+ years experience, including any combination of social media, digital marketing and traditional campaign planning

Excellent written and verbal presentation skills

Solid analytical skills

Excellent organizational skills

Extensive experience with third-party social management platforms (HootSuite, Mention, TweetDeck, etc.)

This role is based in Palm Beach County, Florida.

Compensation is commensurate with experience. Levatas is an equal opportunity employer (EOE), and we strongly support diversity in our workforce.

Interested in applying for this position? Click here. 

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CRM and Email Marketing Specialist

Communications Group

Levatas is seeking a CRM specialist to manage email campaigns, customer loyalty programs and other customer engagement and retention initiatives for our growing list of clients. Working closely with our client services and communications teams, this person will inform and potentially manage our clients’ CRM processes from conception to execution, working continuously to improve customer relationship goals. Our ideal candidate is a data-driven, analytical individual who is passionate about digital campaigns and proficient in email marketing platforms and tools.

Responsibilities

Work with directors to build and lead Levatas’ strategic approach to CRM

Work closely with client services and communications teams to define client goals and develop CRM strategies based on customer insights, data analysis and business objectives

Execute entire campaigns, including conception, coordination, production and implementation, testing, and vendor relations

Develop new loyalty programs, email marketing campaigns, surveys and a variety of other direct marketing initiatives for agency clients

Attend client meetings and agency planning sessions, offering strategic, insights-based recommendations for building customer relationships and managing user engagement

Create processes to manage the cost and effectiveness of CRM projects

Evaluate websites, email programs, social platforms and other programs impacting customer engagement

Execute direct marketing initiatives using fundamental best practices and best-in-class tools

Compile user engagement data, analyze, build and present performance reports

Skills and Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree

3+ years experience, including any combination of CRM, digital marketing and traditional campaign planning

Excellent written and verbal presentation skills

Proven strategic background

Solid analytical skills

Experience in the customer lifecycle management, including retention, customer segmentation and loyalty marketing

Excellent organizational skills

Extensive experience with third-party email platforms (MailChimp, Campaign Monitor, Constant Contact, etc.)

Ability to work across multiple industries and internal groups

This role is based in Palm Beach County, Florida. Must be local or willing to relocate.

Compensation is commensurate with experience. Levatas is an equal opportunity employer (EOE), and we strongly support diversity in our workforce.

Interested in applying for this position? Click here. 

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When Opportunism Becomes Offensive in Media Outreach

By: Christian Bochicchio, Public Relations Specialist

The Oldest Trick in the Book

Public relations encompasses much more than media relations this day and age, but earning traditional news bureau coverage continues to be an important part of the job for many of us. Since the beginning of time (or at least the beginning of PR), one of the most effective media relations tactics has been the art of tying a client to relevant current events. It’s much easier to contribute to a conversation people are already having than it is to invent the conversation yourself. Clients’ products, services and/or expertise become instantly attractive to a journalist when they have a direct correlation to a headline-dominating current event.

As you might expect, in an era where PR specialists outnumber journalists by nearly 5:1, inserting yourself or your client into a national conversation has never been more appealing to those of us on the PR side of the fence. “Cut through the clutter” is a jargony, but oh-so-true adage for a reason: it’s how effective media relations happens. It’s critical to stand out among hundreds of other emails in an inbox. But not all major events are an appropriate springboard for scoring earned media.

Some Things Are Better Left Unpitched

Robin Williams’ death is the latest reminder to the industry that there’s a significant difference between being opportunistic and offensive when it comes to media outreach. Attempting to piggyback on tragedies will get you labeled as the latter more often than not. I’m pretty sure that’s what The Washington Post’s Alyssa Rosenberg was trying to communicate when she dedicated an entire column to exposing some of the worst public relations pitches pegged to Williams’ death. I’m 100% sure that’s what Hamilton Nolan was going for in his post on Gawker, where he called global PR giant Edelman “soulless” for their blog post citing Williams’ suicide as “an opportunity to engage in a national conversation.”

Reputational Risks of Pinning Media Relations Efforts to Tragedies

By ignoring the human element of certain events and pushing out pitches with utter disregard for timing and tact, you run the risk of damaging your own professional reputation, the reputation of your employer, and the reputation of whatever company you’re responsible for promoting. I think we can all agree that none of those outcomes would constitute success.  

Here’s where it gets tricky for some: Edelman isn’t far off in their initial assessment. Williams’ unexpected death does shine a spotlight on mental health and expose the need to open up a more serious dialogue about the challenges that millions face on a daily basis. But by blatantly utilizing his sudden death to prop up their own business agenda - especially so soon after the tragedy itself - Edelman and the droves of others who thought along the same lines (or did not think at all) wound up doing more harm than good.

Putting it in Perspective

If you ran a car dealership and someone you knew totaled their car and lost their life in a terrible accident, you wouldn’t head to the funeral in hopes of signing the family up for a test drive, despite the fact that they need a new car. It’s an extreme example, but at its core, it highlights the same fundamental element of human decency that sometimes gets lost in our quests to secure media placements.

Think Twice

Don’t get me wrong, monitoring the news to identify current events and trends remains an important and viable public relations practice, especially when it comes to effective media outreach. But it’s equally important to understand when those events shouldn’t be looked at as opportunities at all. Sometimes it’s better to humbly stay quiet than to arrogantly proclaim the wrong message. The better we understand that, the better off our entire industry will be.