Month: May 2019

The 6 reasons why B2B companies should embrace Instagram | eNews from OWC

Posted on May 31, 2019 by - eNewsletter

Instagram gained popularity as a photo-sharing app where friends shared pictures of their dogs, babies, outfits and of course, their meals. Then in 2012, Facebook bought Instagram and what was once just a “photo app” quickly turned into a sprawling platform and media giant. The Kardashians and consumer brands got it immediately, but now companies selling to businesses and professional services firms have turned to Instagram to grow brand awareness, drive revenue, attract talent and remain relevant.

Here are six reasons businesses must embrace Instagram:

  1. It’s huge and it’s growing. The app has grown from 90 million monthly active users in 2013 to 1 billion monthly active users as of 2018. It leads other popular social media sites like Twitter, LinkedIn and Snapchat. In fact, 25 million businesses take advantage of Instagram’s Business feature that lets companies create a profile.
  2. Seeing IS believing. No other social media platform is more well-suited than Instagram to demonstrate a visual component. Facebook plays to the emotion of connecting with family and friends, Twitter gives you the latest news and humor, but Instagram is like a blank canvas. It’s a chance to step out of the box and show stakeholders and potential customers an inside look into a company’s culture and philosophy. B2B companies across the board are excelling with compelling Instagram accounts. Check out General Electric, TaskUs and CURE Pharmaceutical. Femi Corazon, CURE’s director of creative strategy, says, “we strive to maintain a nimble approach with social media since we’re learning about our followers every day and want to adjust our strategy accordingly.”
  3. Instagram users are the most engaged. You can post to your heart’s content, but you’re nothing without engagement. Sixty percent of people say they discover new products on Instagram and 2+ million advertisers worldwide have used the app to drive revenue to their businesses. As a result, B2B firms experience the largest engagement ratios on Instagram stacked against any of the other major platforms. Websites aren’t dead, but they are one-way communication.
  4. Take your pick of content. Don’t rely on just posting pictures. The app offers numerous chances for visibility and publishing. Videos, for example, receive 38 percent more engagement than image posts. In 2016, the app launched Instagram Stories, its version of Snapchat’s disappearing stories. These posts disappear after 24 hours. Companies can use stories to spotlight in-house events or highlight its participation at an industry conference. One-third of the most viewed Instagram Stories are from businesses.
  5. Influencers bring big ROI. The data is in. What others say about you is more important than what you say about yourself. This is where influencer marketing comes in. A joint study conducted by Nielsen and TapInfluence shows that the ROI generated by influencer marketing is 11 times higher than deploying other social media strategies. Here are some examples of B2B influencer campaigns done right.
  6. You can always rejigger. Gaining audience insights has never been easier than with Instagram. Through the business profile’s “Insights” tab, users get real-time metrics on how their stories and promoted posts perform throughout the day. Users can also obtain a deep dive into followers and how they interact with posts and stories. Tools like these make it easier to discern what’s working and what’s not and make real-time adjustments.

CURE Pharmaceutical’s Jessica Rousset on PharmaVOICE’s “Woman of the Week” podcast

Posted on May 30, 2019 by - Client News

CURE Pharmaceutical’s Jessica Rousset was just featured on PharmaVOICE’s “Woman of the Week” podcast.

“Jessica Rousset, a technologist, is not just a role model for other women in the industry, she is driving healthcare innovation to bring new medicines to patients,” reads the feature.

Listed to the full podcast here.

OWC among 2019 Bulldog PR Awards winners

Posted on May 29, 2019 by - OWC News

Olmstead Williams Communications has been recognized with the Bronze prize in the “Best Technology/Software Campaign” category.

The 2019 PR Awards program, recognizing outstanding PR and communications campaigns from 2018, received a record-breaking number of entries this year, so the illustrious panel of journalist judges had their work cut out for them to select winners from entrants across over 40 categories.

OWC’s entry “Digital Humans: A Siren’s Song” was centered around its work with Cubic Motion. The company’s goal was to attract new partners, investors, entertainment industry executives and customers with its the real-time facial performance of a digital human personality, codenamed “Siren,” which was created to demonstrate at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco.

See the full list of winners here.

 

CURE Pharmaceutical secures patent on oral thin film containing bioactive cannabinoid molecules

Posted on May 23, 2019 by - Client News

CURE Pharmaceutical (CURR), an innovative drug delivery and development company, today announced the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 10,307,397, which covers the high load of bioactive cannabinoid molecules integrated into oral thin film dosage forms. The cannabinoids include cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

“Advances in drug delivery are critical to improving cannabis-based products,” said Rob Davidson, CEO of CURE Pharmaceutical. “This patent secures a critical advantage – the ability to deliver high loads of cannabinoid active molecules with an oral thin film for optimal efficacy and dosing frequency.”

Read the full announcement: CURE Pharmaceutical Secures Patent on Oral Thin Film Containing Bioactive Cannabinoid Molecules

 

CURE Pharmaceutical expands leadership team

Posted on May 20, 2019 by - Client News

CURE Pharmaceutical (OTCQB:CURR) has announced four key hires to grow their leadership team.

Michael Redard will serve as CURE’s Chief Financial Officer. Josh Held becomes an independent new board member, Bhaumik Patel is CURE’s director of new technologies and Teresa Virgallito will be a scientific advisor.

Prior to CURE, Redard held CFO, vice president and general manager positions with several venture capital and private equity-backed companies, including Inogen, Medical Analysis Systems, CDTi Advanced Materials and Abrisa Technologies. Held is founder and CEO of Chemistry Holdings and Made by Science.

Prior to joining CURE, Mr. Patel served as a senior scientist group lead at Chemistry Holdings. Before CURE, Virgallito was the EVP of Chemistry Holdings.

Read the full announcement here.

The Tangent Agency’s Daniel Barber on “Game of Thrones” and fans’ reaction

Posted on May 20, 2019 by - Client News

The final episode of the HBO’s “Game of Thrones” aired last night. This has been the highest-rated season in the show’s history, with last week’s episode watched by 18.4 million people, its most massive audience ever.

Unfortunately, many longtime fans have been unhappy with this season, and they haven’t been shy about saying so. The outrage isn’t limited to the fan community either – such mainstream publications as Forbes and The Washington Post have run pieces that are highly critical of the way the show is winding down.

Daniel Barber, chief strategy officer at The Tangent Agency, formerly of Legendary Entertainment, worked with such franchises as “Pacific Rim” and “Godzilla,” and he said that controversy is simply an expression of how engrossed the fans are.

“The opposite of cheering isn’t booing – it’s silence,” he said. “Whether fans love ‘Game of Thrones,’ or love to hate it, they’re hyper-engaged. The same fans who voice their outrage are likely the very same who’ll be first in line for the new series, books, DVD collections, and whatever else comes next.”

Read the full article: Game of Thrones fans are angry about the final season – and the franchise could suffer for it (CNBC)

REX is reshaping homebuying in Texas

Posted on May 10, 2019 by - Client News

A number of real estate companies that have abandoned the standard model of charging homesellers a 6 percent sales commission are further shaking up the business by entering the lending and title industries.  REX, which sells homes for a 2 percent fee, offers brokerage, mortgage and insurance services in Texas and will begin providing warranty, title and escrow in June.

REX is part of a wave of brokerages offering low fees and convenience. But lower fees, while attractive to consumers, are a difficult sell to real estate agents, independent contractors who are used to compensation based on a commission of 6 percent of the sales price.

That’s why agents at nontraditional brokerages tend to be employees, not commission-based independent contractors.

Andrew Barkett, chief technology officer at REX, said: “Our people are salaried employees. They don’t get a commission. So they can sell all of the services, because they don’t get a commission on any of them.”

Read the full article: Bringing services under one roof, real estate firms reshape homebuying process (Houston Chronicle)

40% of Australians prefer metal credit cards over plastic

Posted on May 10, 2019 by - Client News

New research has found 40% of Australians would prefer a metal credit card over a plastic one.

Over 1,000 Australians were questioned as a part of a global survey by global consulting firm Edgar, Dunn & Company that included 9,000 other people in countries such as the USA, the UK, Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan.

CompoSecure CEO Jon Wilk said demand for metal credit cards in Australia is set to match that of the United States.

“The premiumisation of everyday products is having a profound effect on the payments industry, driving the transformation of ordinary plastic payment cards to bespoke personal accessories,” Mr. Wilk said.

Read the full article: 40% of Australians prefer metal credit cards over plastic (Savings.com.au)

 

The 6 steps that will help you identify your company’s DNA | eNews from OWC

Posted on May 8, 2019 by - eNewsletter

OWC often encounters messaging that indicates confusion about what a business really does, what makes it unique and where the foundation of its reputation lies. Do you know what sets you apart? What pain point do you solve for your customer? Now ask yourself, does your messaging say that?

There’s much hype around companies that are “disrupting” their industry, but there are very few real disruptors, “game-changers,” “groundbreakers” or “pioneers.” Instead of making these claims, focus on what truly makes you unique and exciting to your customers or clients.

One danger sign of a company that doesn’t articulate its brand well is the invocation of some other brand to describe your own hard-won identity. Nobody, for example, is “the Uber” of their field. Only Uber is the Uber of anything. Just ask yourself the following:

  • What are your firsts, onlys, best and biggest?
  • What problem do you solve and for whom?
  • Are you widely imitated by competitors?
  • What facts support your claims?
  • What are the core values that drive decisions?
  • Most importantly, what do your customers say about you?

OWC understands the difficulties companies face. We had to ask ourselves all of those questions for our new website. We sought the advice of a Ph.D. in neuroscience who laid out convincing data: In today’s over-hyped, fast-paced, 24/7 world, no one believes what you say about yourself. They only trust what others say about you. Think of the power Glassdoor, Yelp, e-commerce reviews and social media have on your reputation. Check out our case studies and client testimonials. We took their comments to heart. They told us that OWC is a growth accelerator.

When developing how to talk about your company, test it on others. Ask them if your message is clear, concise and compelling.