I have such wonderful memories of that banner ad -No one ever

Last week Toys R Us closed their remaining stores, bringing a sad end to a 70-year old brand. In the final days of the store closings, for a brief time the top link on Reddit was a strangely poignant image of Geoffrey the Giraffe standing next to empty store shelves, waving goodbye. In the comments […]

Yes, You Can Reduce Catalog Costs and Grow Sales at the Same Time

Two J.Schmid clients recently made dramatic — and successful—changes to their catalog programs. Take a look at these case studies! Case Study #1 Challenge: A B2B marketer offering innovative merchandising solutions had a mature catalog program. Management’s goal was to transition marketing dollars to ecommerce and grow catalog sales. Solution: J.Schmid recommended a two-pronged approach. […]

Why Account Execs Are Advertising’s MVPs

Schedule maven. Traffic cop. Budget keeper. Back in the day, these were interchangeable terms for account executives. And indeed, these responsibilities are still a part of an account exec’s role. But today, these unsung heroes are so much more to your business. They are expert marketing generalists, with access to the agency specialists (creative team, […]

THE P.O.W.E.R. OF COPY

Is anyone reading this? No, seriously, is anyone reading this? That’s what you should be asking yourself when you’re allocating space for copy in your catalog or other marketing materials. Because we know this: People don’t read. They scan. They skim. They flip. They browse. As a writer, it can be quite an ego blow […]

Make Way For Generation S

Marketers are accustomed to thinking of their customers in terms of “generations.” Based on when you were born, you may be a Baby Boomer or a member of Generation X, Y or Z. These categorizations help us understand the consumer behaviors that ultimately drive everything from the products marketers sell to the way they “talk” […]

In Strategy

Making A Difference

J.Schmid’s internal branding group (Bonfire5), recently rebranded an apparel company based in St. Croix. Lori Hirons, the founder and owner of Island Contessa, wrote a blog about her adventures weathering the recent hurricanes, the impact on her business, and Bonfire5’s contribution to her success. We thought it was worth sharing. Here it is… Refresh, Renew, […]

Change is Dangerous. And You Must Do It.

Serious car accidents spiked by 17% the Monday after the switch to Daylight Saving Time, proving that even a one-hour change can be painful and risky. How dangerous is change within our marketing world? Well, it’s actually life-threatening to our marketing programs. But we can’t stop change itself, so we must learn to adapt. The biggest […]