It’s a question that we as consumers get asked several times a day: “Would you like to sign up for our rewards program?” In fact, it’s become a key part of the customer checkout experience. Rewards and loyalty programs have long been a way for companies to connect with their customers in a unique and engaging way while generating compelling reasons to buy more or more often. These types of programs have evolved over the years to address proposed customer needs and wants, but companies are now looking for ways to predict what their customers will want and/or expect next in this ever-evolving, immediate-satisfaction business world. In today’s edition of Plain Talk, we’ll noodle the current state and future of customer loyalty programs and how your business can adapt.

We learn about our world from the stories we read, hear, and watch, and historically, storytelling has been a foundational element in cultures across the globe. In marketing, it’s been scientifically shown to be extremely effective in helping people remember and engage with our brands; in some cases, it’s as much as 22 times more likely to remember. In today’s edition of Plain Talk, we’ll give the humble story its due and talk through the value of B2B storytelling in marketing, specifically to your customers.

While we are still having trouble unseeing the awkward “hero” chip bags in the Lay’s and Doritos ads, Frito-Lay brands nailed their diversity efforts. Sam’s Club, InBev’s AB brands, Unilever’s Hellman’s, GM, Vroom, and others did as well. Additionally, it was no shock to see the metaverse make a debut of sorts in big-dollar ads by Meta, Crypto.com (with Matt Damon), and Bud Light NEXT. However, it was what we heard that really got our attention in this year’s Super Bowl ads. In this special Super Bowl LVI edition of Plain Talk, we’ll foot-tap our way through our thoughts on the growth of music nostalgia in advertising. We’ll explore how it supercharged big game commercials and what this could mean for you.

Let’s be honest. The last two years have been brutal. The COVID-19 pandemic continues, a lot of us haven’t seen a majority of our co-workers in person since 2020, and many businesses continue to cut back, not by choice but as a result of the hard hit they’ve taken to their bottom line. What, if anything, can save the day or even morale during a time like this? The power of public relations. In today’s Plain Talk article, we look at how you can once again get your organization back on track by using brand awareness for recruitment and retention.

By the end of 2021 we had witnessed a decade of digital engagement innovation, crammed into just two years. A revolution of necessity. And for the most part, people seem to love it. So what changes to customer engagement will continue to play an important role in 2022? In this edition of Plain Talk, we will list our top five picks for effective consumer engagement tools you should consider this year.

At the end of 2021, Mark Zuckerberg unveiled a rebranding of Facebook into Meta, its new parent company focused on a concept called the metaverse. The CEO’s speech was over an hour long and filled with concepts that may change not only how we experience social media but also how we interact with everyone in the future, at work and play. At first glance, the metaverse sounds a lot like that virtual reality game you tried, but is there more to it than these 3D games played in middle-class living rooms across the world? In today’s edition of Plain Talk, we’ll look at brands and the metaverse—and the possible impact on your marketing plan.

If your website is currently WCAG 2.1 AA or AAA compliant, you can stop reading now. This is true if you’re concerned about the new WCAG 3.0 compliance threshold or potential negative SEO effects from not immediately adopting these new standards. Your website will still be compliant for likely three or more years. However, if you’re curious or interested in web accessibility, but it makes your head swim, then read on. In this installment of Plain Talk, we’ve spent some time to try and make WCAG 3.0 more understandable.

Discussions around digital marketing have left financial services marketers with a lot to keep up with as of late. While the robust landscape of tools that digital marketers have at their disposal is at an all-time high, the restrictions and policies affecting third-party data around online privacy have been evolving at an equally rapid rate. All this complexity and change may cause some financial institutions to ask if a highly targeted digital strategy is still necessary. The real question here might be whether niche digital targeting is simply a way to stretch your marketing budget or if it’s an impactful driver of customer growth. Our answer? It’s both! In this issue of Compound Interest, we’ll take a deeper look at what banks and credit unions might be missing out on if they don’t prioritize a targeted digital marketing strategy for financial services.

As we head into 2022, it’s time to refresh your social media strategy and make sure you are up to date on the latest social media development and management trends. In this edition of Plain Talk, we’re diving into five popular and influential social media trends in 2022 to consider including in your New Year’s plans.

There’s no question that maximizing your email marketing as part of a robust performance marketing program is one of the smartest and most cost-effective things you can do to help boost your marketing horsepower. In fact, we’ve got a great article stuffed with tips for high-ROI email campaigns if you’d like to check it out. In today’s Plain Talk, we’ll assume you already know how critical email marketing can be. Instead, we’ll delve right into nine email marketing mistakes that are killing your lead gen efforts. Learn what you should say and what you shouldn’t say in your emails if you are looking for meaningful long-term success.