Blog

Meet Mallory Hoenig and Charlie Ulmer

Vici is excited to welcome Mallory Hoenig and Charlie Ulmer to the team!  They are both based out of the Philadelphia location.   Mallory's background is in business marketing, digital communication, and new media, while Charlie's background was actually in Neuroscience until he made the switch to digital advertising in 2013! Two very smart cookies (and not the kind...

Using Digital Advertising To Recruit Your Next Great Hire

Update: Facebook shuttered Jobs on Facebook (February 2023) and Instant Articles (April 2023) Finding the right employee is never an easy task, especially if you’re looking for someone that is qualified.  With so many different job boards out there, from Monster and CareerBuilder to all of the ones that have popped up like ZipRecruiter and even the local job boards...

Meet Cierra Roberts

  Vici is excited to welcome Cierra Roberts, Digital Campaign Coordinator, to the team!  Cierra is based out of the Philadelphia location.   Her impressive background includes a wide variety of experience in the digital world including digital marketing, advertising, and PR.  She loves to combine her passion of digitalization and unique media background to bring marketing visions and goals...

The best digital campaigns are expertly mixed, just like your favorite cocktail

When creating a digital marketing strategy, it is easy to become enamored with products that are at the bottom of the sales funnel.  It would be easy to think, “I’m going to focus only on Pay Per Click/Search Engine paid ads, Retargeting and SEO because they will help me drive the most conversions.” This way of thinking is not...

Vici Welcomes Three New(ish) Team Members

Please join me in welcoming three new(ish) team members to the Vici family: Trainer and Account Director Greg Swiszcz, and Digital Campaign Coordinators Amin Vora and Dan "Renn" Renninger.  Why new(ish)?  Both Dan and Amin started with Vici prior to this promotion as Digital Campaign Assistants before stepping into their buying roles.  Greg is a former Vici client, having...

Native advertising is one of the hottest areas of online advertising

Digital ad spending is steadily rising, and no area is intensifying faster than native advertising.   Native ads come in many forms, but all share the common goal of not “looking” like an ad.  Native ads match the look, feel and visual context of the website where they are seen. They can run across all devices or be specified mobile only,...

“I Hate Retargeting”

No, I personally don’t hate Retargeting but I hear this a lot from business owners.  Even from people who don’t know the term “Retargeting,” will say “Uggh, I hate that” when I explain that Retargeting is ads that follow a person after they leave a website and show the person ads for that business on other websites.  These business...

How often do IP addresses change? (Example)

Household IP targeting is the perfect product to use when you need to target one-on-one to specific households and reach a very niche audience. This product works through a patented technology of matching IP addresses to a database of names and physical street addresses and displaying your display or video ads only to those households (or businesses). It works...

Want people to show up to your event? Try an “Event Response” Ad

I worked a bunch of odd gigs in college to get extra money (for beer).  One of my favorite was being hired as a "brand ambassador" which meant I was promoting the sponsor's event by passing out flyers or putting postcards underneath windshield wipers.   But gone are the days of brands relying on gum chewing teenagers to help get...

Traditional and Digital Together Improves Purchase Intent

It is a well-known fact that digital platforms have transformed how people do business these days.  The influence of digital on the shopping journey is impacting how people shop and make decisions about products and services in which they are interested.  It is also setting new digital expectations of retailers in terms of how they help their customers gather...

Warmer Weather = Digital Opportunity

Now is the time to market to consumers thinking about home repairs! The IAB’s Digital Influence on Home Improvement Plans analysis showed that 22% of consumers who were working on home improvement projects were influenced by ads on mobile, social media and desktop. That is a huge opportunity for advertisers looking to showcase how they might meet all the home improvement...

Online Products for Offline Buyers

There are many media buyers out there that are devouring as much information as they can about digital advertising, given that the marketing landscape has changed so drastically.  A media mix used to include placing a television, radio, direct mail, newspaper, phone book, or a billboard buy.   Now with the introduction of a countless number of digital products that...

Desktop Ads Are Still Holding Strong In A Mobile World

Mobile usage is absolutely exploding, but that does not mean that we should ignore the steady performance of desktop.  A smart marketing strategy will leverage the strengths of each device and maximize their unique contributions to the campaign. As mobile continues to grow and evolve, so do the opportunities to advertise using mobile strategies.  However, that does not mean it...

To Boost Or Not To Boost?

By now you’ve probably heard or realized that spending a lot of time posting organically to your Facebook page and trying to generate “likes” is no longer going to help spread your organic reach onto customers’ Facebook pages. Facebook defines organic reach as "how many people you can reach for free on Facebook by posting to your Business Page." It...

Pay-Per-Click Advertising vs Impression Based Digital Ads

At first glance Pay-Per-Click ads (or Google AdWords) seem more efficient because they average a much higher click through rate than impression based advertising. So if you are solely looking at the cost per click, it would seem that PPC is cheaper and more effective. For most local to medium sized businesses this is not the case. Truly targeted...

How to Improve Local Marketing? Use Facebook Local Awareness Ads

In an effort to help local businesses connect with people in their area, Facebook launched Local Awareness mobile ads. Local Awareness ads are a great way to find new customers by showing ads to people who are around your business location. These ads are great for bringing customers through your door because of their call to action features. You...

Reaching Moms with Digital Marketing

Of the 80 million millennials in the U.S., one-quarter are now parents. Statistics also show that 83% of new moms are millennials.  According to a recent report from Nielsen, some 39% of women aged 18-49 in the US have a child under the age of 12, including 46% of women aged 35-49. Why does this matter to marketers? Because millennial women tend to...

2017 SEO Trends for Small Businesses

As reliable as New Year’s Resolutions, so are the articles about 2017 trends.  This year is no exception with entries from all walks of life, from catering to Social Media and all points in between.  For small businesses and SEO, 2016 was a year of great change, and 2017 promises to offer even more change.  Below are my thoughts...

Is IP Targeting Digital Ads Right For My Business?

Maybe…Maybe not.  How do you know?  First let’s start with what IP Targeting is.  Many digital providers say they do IP Targeting but are referring to targeting small groups of IP addresses.  (An IP address, or Internet Protocol Address, is the string of numbers your internet service provider assigns to your internet connection).  That form of IP Targeting is really...

Why Are Frequency Caps and Conversions So Important?

Retargeting, also sometimes referred to as remarketing, is a form of digital advertising that can help you keep your brand in front of bounced traffic after they leave your website. A visitor goes to your website, you drop a cookie on the person, and then follow that person around the web and show your ad to that  person until...

Why digital advertising in 2017?

Digital advertising allows you to craft an extremely targeted and measurable campaign. If you are not already implementing digital into your overall marketing plan, it’s time to explore the possibilities! Don’t make the mistake of thinking that digital is only for large corporations. Digital is affordable and allows small and medium sized businesses a solid chance to compete for targeted...

A Look Inside Vici: How We Stay Organized

We pride ourselves in over the top customer service, lightning fast communications, and superior campaign management.  This is quite the feat when every campaign launched has a minimum of 25 steps to go live, coupled with the challenge of team members spread throughout the country.  So how do we do it?  We use tools to enhance our productivity!  Here’s...

Top 5 Reasons You Should Be Using Facebook For Advertising

For small businesses, posting on Facebook just isn’t enough anymore. On average, only 2% of your fans will see one of your posts on their Facebook page (socialbakers.com).  Many businesses have heard about the importance of using Facebook to grow their business – but they are not sure where to start.  Do your clients still need convincing? Here are...

Using Mobile Conquesting™ for Holiday Marketing

Year after year, Christmas is one of the biggest seasons for consumer engagement campaigns. Holiday promotions and interactive content are an excellent way to get a piece of the warm holiday feeling during this time of year! Also important during the season is being able to reach people on their smartphone while they are out and about.  The solution?...

2017 Planning: Marketing Budgets Have Gone Up (Again!)

Not every small business has the luxury of having a full-time Marketing Director on payroll, leaving those without a lot of marketing experience scratching their heads when planning for 2017.  With the pressure to have every dollar spent promoting the business coming back as a positive return on investment it can be tricky to balance how much to spend...

Facebook Still King Of All Media

What’s the #1 social network among people 18-29 years old? Instagram? Twitter? Nope, Facebook. The common misconception is that millennials – especially young millennials and Gen Z, no longer use Facebook. Actually, 88% of online users aged 18-29 use Facebook, making that demographic Facebook’s largest. And while Facebook’s percentage of older adults is growing, interestingly it is not coming...

What Does The Local Ad Revenue Forecast For 2017 Mean For You?

According to a recent article published by by Ad Age, the latest local ad revenue forecast from BIA/Kelsey confirms that revenue from local-focused online ads will exceed that of traditional ads aimed at local audiences by 2018. “BIA/Kelsey forecasts that in local markets, digital advertising, including mobile, will grow from $44.2 billion in 2016 to $50.2 billion in 2017 -- a...

When It Comes To Your Business Reputation – Online Matters!

Election day has me thinking about the important role online presence and opinions have played this year. Just like our candidates, local brands and companies are living their lives online and consumers are sometimes left weary and wondering what is true and what is just “a bad review.” There are absolutely times we all have very little control over our...

What Does The New F.C.C. Ruling Mean For Digital Advertisers?

On October 27th the F.C.C. (Federal Communications Commission) passed new privacy rules about how Internet Service Providers (ISPs) can use and sell customer data to advertisers. They ruled that consumers can say “no” to their ISPs and not allow them to share personal info such as what apps they download, browsing histories, mobile location data and other information gathered while...

Household IP Targeting: Direct Mail For The Internet

The mail arrives daily in the usual way, but the mail that makes it into my house depends solely on who brings the mail from the mailbox.  While everyone usually brings in the bills, the rest is dependent on who physically carries the mail from the box to the counter.  Currently I’m tossing anything from car dealerships (my husband...

How Does Facebook Know What Ads to Show You? (Example)

The way Facebook determines what ads to show you is based a lot around the information you provide by your online activity. By using things such as your age, location, page likes, app use, and even data from the mobile websites you browse, Facebook profiles you into categories that advertisers can then use to target ads to you on...

Why Don’t I See My Digital Ads – And Other FAQs

Advertisers are used to seeing their ads on TV or in the newspaper. They are used to hearing their spots on the radio or driving by their billboard. So naturally, the question of “why don't I see my digital ad” comes up quite a bit.  To answer this and more common client questions, here are a few of our Frequently...

Are Phone Calls Important To Your Business?

If phone calls are imperative to your business, click to call digital ads are an excellent way to drive results. Mobile advertising should now be an essential part of your marketing efforts.  Mobile marketing will drive over 100 billion calls to US businesses this year. Marketers should be taking advantage of ways to drive even more of these calls from...

92% Of Calls To Businesses Driven By Digital Marketing

92% of calls to businesses in 2015 were driven by digital marketing channels.  That is a statement that kind of takes your breath away and is the headline in a study recently released that tracked 58 million calls.  I think most businesses have realized by now that digital advertising is an important component in marketing their businesses, but do...

How Digital Advertising Can Transform a Political Campaign

The past few years have brought about major changes in the way local political campaigns have embraced digital.  Each election cycle, political campaigns rely more and more on reaching their voters in new ways. If done properly, digital advertising can be very effective in persuasiveness, raising campaign funds, getting people to the polls, and gaining votes. According to a...

Do I need a call-to-action in my digital ads?

The short answer is “yes.”  A picture and a logo typically aren’t going to get you good results.  Look at this stat: Effective digital advertising is not really about “clicks” or “likes.” In fact, most people don’t click on ads (the national average Click Thru Rate is .07% meaning less than 1 in 1000 people click on an ad). Having...

Meet Amanda Yanez

Hi there! My name is Amanda Yanez and I am the new Digital Campaign Coordinator for Vici.   As a Digital Campaign Coordinator, I plan and direct campaigns for clients throughout the country. Here are some things you probably didn’t know about me: I was born and raised in Middletown, Delaware. My professional background is in Mass Communication, Marketing, and Social...

Digital Now Commands 60% of Total Marketing Budget

How much of my advertising budget should I allocate towards digital? This is hot topic and a question I get asked frequently. Businesses know they need to spend money on digital advertising to reach their target consumer, the question is, how much? According to a recent Nielsen study, the answer is 60%. “Advertising effectively is difficult in an increasingly fragmented environment. It...

Top Questions Answered about Facebook’s New ‘Off Facebook’ Network

Facebook is once again going head to head with Google to win the biggest piece of the $59.6 billion pie that is the digital advertising market.  Collectively, Google and Facebook own 64% of that total online revenue, with Google leading the way with $30 billion with Facebook taking $8 billion.  One huge advantage Google has over Facebook is Google’s...

Top 5 Ways Your Business Can Capitalize on the Pokémon Go Craze

Everyone is playing Pokémon Go! Pokémon Go is the wildly addictive smartphone game by Niantic, Inc, which allows players to use GPS to track down and collect digital monsters in an augmented reality (AR). Pokémon originated in 1995 as a popular Game Boy video game published by Nintendo, that encouraged players to collect, trade and battle “Pocket Monsters” or...

Meet Marissa Esposito

Hello there! My name is Marissa Esposito and I am the new Digital Campaign Coordinator for Vici where I plan and manage campaigns for our clients across the country. Professionally I have a background in public relations, marketing and social media management. Read on for the fun stuff: I am a Jersey Girl, born and raised in central New Jersey. ...

Facebook Video Ads – How To Do It Right

Video ad consumption is absolutely on the rise!  A recent study aimed at learning more about consumers’ sentiments regarding video advertising found some interesting tidbits. 26% of people surveyed responded that they are watching at least one video per day.  55% of the frequent video viewers prefer watching them on their smartphone. As for the most popular social platform to watch...

Only 1 in 3 Local Searches Start in a Search Engine!

“Everything online begins with a search.” Have you ever heard this oft-quoted thought? It’s true, but it has a very different meaning than it did five years ago. It used to be that this quote meant that people started their search for information, services, and products by going to a search engine (largely, Google). But now, it doesn’t. “A...

Hot in Auto: Targeting Hispanic American Car Shoppers with Digital

Times Inc. owned technology giant Viant, recently published a research study examining Hispanic American automotive buyers and found that this population is the most receptive to digital advertising.  This is great news for automotive marketers, considering Hispanic American consumers account for $27.9 billion in registered new vehicle transactions, representing 11% of the total automotive market.  According to the study...

Location-Targeted Mobile Ad Spend Is Exploding

So what are location-targeted mobile ads? At Vici, we do location based mobile targeting with our Mobile Conquesting product.  Mobile Conquesting is targeting people on their mobile devices using a combination of geo-fencing (where someone is at that moment) combined with demographic and behavioral targeting to reach specific consumers. In the spring update to its U.S. Local Advertising Forecast 2016, BIA/Kelsey...

Improve Your Online Presence with SEO & Reputation Management

Last week, our very own Laura Ostrowski wrote an excellent article about why, as a business, your online presence is important. I would definitely recommend reading it here: Why Your Online Presence is Important. Her main points centered on the fact that the majority of consumers will do some “research” about your business before choosing to engage with it....

Demystifying the Digital C.N.A.

When it comes to selling new tools with digital advertising, I often see traditional radio, television, and newspaper sellers feel a little overwhelmed during the initial Client Needs Analysis (C.N.A.) meeting.  There’s several reasons for this analysis paralysis, a big one being a seller feeling the need to talk about all these new shiny objects in their arsenal, which...

Why Your Online Presence is Important

While most businesses recognize the importance of having an online presence in this technological age, new studies are showing how important it actually is, especially for small businesses. A recent survey asked internet users in the US how having an online presence can impact a small business. Over a third (36.7%) of them said they learn about small businesses...

Using Video on Facebook and Instagram

Facebook is consistently looking for better ways for advertisers to reach more of their users. Recently, this has led to substantial targeting changes and improvements to both Facebook and their image based counterpart, Instagram. One of the biggest changes, aside from the redesign of the iconic Instagram logo, has been the increase in features available with video advertising on...

How To Tap Into Local Political Campaign’s Digital Dollars!

According to Borrell Associates “Online political spending in 2016 across local, state, and national campaigns projected to hit $1 billion.”  That is a 500% increase since 2012.  Of that $1 Billion, 500 Million is expected to be spent on local elections.  In fact, the average town council race candidate will spend $47,000.  Politicians are absolutely allocating ad budgets for digital,...