Marketing Hot Takes: Grammar, Spammers & More
March 20, 2024
Welcome to another enlightening and entertaining edition of 8THIRTYFOUR musings or ravings, take your pick. We love marketing, but we have some serious pet peeves.
Welcome to another enlightening and entertaining edition of 8THIRTYFOUR musings or ravings, take your pick. We love marketing, but we have some serious pet peeves.
We love our dogs, you know that and we love design– you also know that. We couldn’t resist matching up the #dogsof834 with graphic design
It’s fall y’all, which has nothing to do with this blog but we’re just so excited. We broke out the fall decor and pumpkin-vanilla scented
We really do get to pitch the coolest stuff. From Michigan’s most iconic caps, women blasting through glass ceilings, fighting family homelessness in our community
Mood boards serve as a bridge between concepts and the creation of a brand. They are your design process roadmap, if you will. They identify
We do a bad job of celebrating our own successes and when we win for clients, it’s a win for us. We’ve had a busy
When most people think about “brand refresh,” they think about a new logo, colors, fonts, composition, etc. It is so much more, it is about
It’s been a while since we’ve set aside our sweatpants and jumped on a plane to head to an industry trade show. We’re kind of
If you haven’t listened to our latest podcast on The Great Resignation, we suggest you take approximately 8 minutes to do so before diving
We’re throwing lots of client love toward our friends at Cubi Market, we loved the work we did with them, and we really wanted to
When you think of influencers, most of us think of the Kardashians, the upper echelon of the influencer world. Realistically, very few of us will
Political unrest, vaccination debates, women’s rights, return-to-office…seems like a lot of topics are off-limits, and we’re all walking around on eggshells. Even the weather has
If you live in and around West Michigan, you may have noticed some bright blue locker/shipping containers pop up in Eastown or downtown Holland. Our
Hey younger me, how’s it going? Knowing us, you’re probably stressing right now about where you’re headed or if your next leap is going to
When did we start using the phrase Sunday Scaries? What it is referring to is the anxiety many of us have about the week ahead.
TOC Logistics International is one of those clients who has a super special place in our hearts. Maybe that’s because we’ve been working with them
Changemakers, purple cows, outsiders or entrepreneurs; it doesn’t matter how you label them, they’re changing the world and succeeding despite it. One of our favorite
One of our more popular blogs (it really wasn’t) we’ve ever written was on website plugins and our recommended go-tos to improve your site’s functionality
WE ARE SO EXCITED FOR FALL!!! Every fall, we share our favorite activities, this isn’t a blog you ever ask for, but we simply do
Hi, 👋🏼 As you’ve probably noticed from our socials, we are in a new location on the NE side of Grand Rapids, known as Creston,
We recently had Josh Byler on the Happy Hour Hustle podcast. For those of you that don’t know, Josh is married to Kim. If you
One of the top questions we are asked (right after, “Where’s Jimmy?”) is, “What exactly is integrated communications?” Which is fine because we LOVE talking
We love a lot of things at 8THIRTYFOUR, but if we were pushed to give a Top 5 List, it would probably look like: Dogs
Dear Santa, I’ve been very good this year. For Christmas, I’d like a pony, a Teddy Ruxpin and Legos. —- Ok, so your Christmas list
Welcome to another edition of Your Biz, Your Town! On last week’s show, we featured three amazing local businesses who are doing awesome things in
Remember when you were just starting off in your career, sitting at a small desk with bad lighting, and an old office chair that was
Where has the time gone? The summer has flown by, and it’s already time for August’s Your Biz Your Town segment. For those of you
Just do it. Got milk? I’m Lovin It. As you read those taglines, I bet certain brand names popped into your head. I didn’t say
Everybody gets writer’s block. And if you say you don’t, you’re lying. But when writing is your job, you can’t afford for the blog ideas
Edit: Wow, you guys really like this blog! That’s why we updated it. Check out this blog, and then read our new edition to learn
As I scroll through my social media feed, I notice that 40-percent of posts are typical social media posts (Engagement announcements, baby milestones, dogs pictures,
No one likes missing deadlines, and your clients certainly don’t want to lose valuable time when you do miss one. Below are some insights into
We told you we had more surprises up our sleeve… Less than a week after hiring a Managing Director, we’ve also added a Content Associate to our wolfpack
Project management is hard. It’s like having a relationship with each one of your clients (but not like that) and having to remember every minute
It’s official! Our wolf pack has expanded! We’re excited to officially announce the hiring of Sarah Abel as Managing Director As managing director, Sarah will serve as
Optimizing your digital presence for search engines is no small feat. You need a completely responsive website that engages your audience, and you need a
It’s officially summer, a.k.a. the best time of year! It doesn’t get much better than beaches, ice cream, drinks on the patio (beer for me,
This spring our Digital Associate Mari Behovitz competed in the National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) alongside her fellow Laker classmates. Take a look at her experience…
Public relations is much more than relating to the public. According to the Public Relations Society of America, “Public relations is a strategic communication process
About the organization – Grand Rapids Pride Center: The 29th annual Grand Rapids Pride Festival hosted by the Grand Rapids Pride Center (GRPC) is taking
A study conducted by Yahoo’s Aabaco Small Business shows that 83% of eCommerce customers never buy the stuff in their cart. (Hint: eCommerce customers = people who are
There’s one place on earth about 90% of shoppers can agree is “their happy place.” The wonderland of Target is indeed a tempting place to
Print is by no means, dead. Print, unlike any other form of branding material offers a tactile, engaging display of your brand, that if presented
With only 24 hours in a day, it’s hard to check off all of your to-do’s. Agency life is known for working around the clock
It’s the fourth Friday of the month … You know what that means … Your Biz Your Town. This month’s Your Biz Your Town segment
Is it time for a new site? Your website is the hub of all marketing activities. It could be how you generate sales, where you
Strategy Strategy is a flexible document, create it, but don’t let it sit on a shelf somewhere. Review this weekly if you can, it helps
The grind can be tough when the sun is shining and you can’t shut down for an afternoon extravaganza. We’ve come up with a few
This blog was supposed to be about our Boss Lady’s celebratory day of birth (April 27, to be exact), but because she hates recognition, we
This is an old post! Check out our updated one here. Graphic design and public relations are often thought of as two separate disciplines, independent
Disclaimer: This blog is not about employee advocacy. While that’s still very important, we are focusing on personal online brands, and why you and your employer should equally
You may be wondering how to get to the top of the search results page and drive more traffic to your website. Perhaps you have
Kayden Grinwis is the newest member of #Team834, and he will be leading our web division. His background covers all things digital – PPC advertising, SEO, website
You can easily have a love-hate relationship with event planning. Immense time, effort and headaches goes into planning an event that spans only a mere
Failure Sucks Failure can really suck. It’s embarrassing. It derails your confidence. It can be held over your head for months to come. But when
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! #Team834 may not be completely Irish, but we have had an enormous amount of luck over the past year. We lucked out with the
As a new project manager at 834 Design, it’s been a wild ride learning the ins and outs of agency life with this stone-cold group
Recently, our Boss Lady had a family emergency. That same week two other employees had similar situations. For a smaller agency, having three employees away from
Social media is an important tool in your marketing toolbox and we often discuss how to make use of it on our blog. What we
Your favorite color is yellow? That’s great, but I don’t care. As the creative you’ve hired to develop a compelling and effective brand identity, it’s
There’s a show (on network television believe or not) that we just started watching a few months ago. You might have been put off by
As an integrated marketing firm, we handle anything and everything, from marketing and PR, to design, website development, SEO and event management. Our clients engage
We are big believers in the ‘never stop learning’ philosophy. If you shut your mind off to new ideas, concepts and refuse to push the
As a creative director for a small, but thriving, integrated communications agency, my days are, by definition, anything but typical. Generally I’m pretty all over
As we gear up for another week of media announcements, press conferences, media training and pitching, I wanted to share some tips on media
Clients often come to us with rebranding requests of all shapes and sizes. It’s rare, however, to find anyone outside the industry with an in-depth understanding
It may not bea glamorous topic, but knowledge of file types and uses is inherently necessary in the design industry. So how does this effect you?
The past couple weeks have been particularly eventful for Team834. Not to say that every week doesn’t bring a new series of events that we
We dream of sunny summer days all year long, and it’s finally beginning to feel like the season is upon us. From vibrant blues on
The blog post you wait all month for is here-PR current and future pros reflecting on their careers and lives in a “letter to my
Media kits have been a traditional part of public relations for some time now, becoming the best way to deliver client information to the media
Some call it the proven method for the digital age, we call it ‘The measurable.’ All of us refer to it as Inbound Marketing. So
As consumers, we often associate industry-leading brands with an iconic symbol (logo) or unforgettable catch phrase. While both of these elements can have a heavy
It is finally your favorite time of the month again! The time where current and future PR pros reflect on their careers and lives in a “letter to my
Here in West Michigan we are surrounded by a thriving art and design culture. The West Side is host to multiple art museums, art-focused organizations
Over the past few years Millennials have gotten a bad rap when it comes to making their way into the workplace. They’re “entitled”, corrupted by
Social media has taken over the world. If you don’t believe us, try spending an entire day without checking Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You could
View the updated 2019 version of Marketing vs Advertising vs Public Relations. At 834 | Integrated Communications, clients rely on our ability to provide
It’s Thursday, so we are throwing it back a year and rebirthing one of our most famous blogs, Life on the Interwebs: Creating Digital Relationships.
‘Less is more’ is a little cliché, but for the sake of argument, we aren’t going to reinvent the wheel. It’s a concept that applies
The blog post you wait all month for is here-PR current and future pros reflecting on their careers and lives in “letter to my younger
At #Team834, we’re usually on our second pot of coffee by 9 a.m. Dark chocolate brownies take the edge off of the “didn’t have time
As marketers, advertisers and public relations practitioners, we are constantly building strategy around messaging. How to send the right message to a consumer, how to
Watch two of our amazing clients on ABC’s Shark Tank! Shefit, the ultimate sports bra, and R. Riveter, American made handbags, will pitch their products in
Typography is absolutely essential to every project a designer creates: layout, composition, brand identity, etc., because type can convey almost any message to your audience.
Today we are taking things in a different direction. Today we are talking about design thinking. Since I am currently the most dissatisfied airline passenger there
We live in a digital age. We are constantly consumed by so much digital messaging that we have to actively turn off those receptors to
Your Biz Your Town has been going now for 5+ years…with the sole purpose to bring awareness to local nonprofits, networking events and businesses giving
Communications is an important part of any business, regardless of your goals – awareness, community engagement, recruitment, business development etc. When you are ready to
Here at 834, we are firm believers in social media and content creation. In the world we live in, social media and online personalities are
Hi folks! Telly here. For those of you that don’t know, I recently celebrated the Big 3-6-5 here at 834 Design & Marketing. It’s been
Here at 834 Design & Marketing, we continuously joke about having a “small army” of associates. Where other firms or agencies may offer opportunities to
Believe it or not, the new website has been in the works for over a year…that isn’t to say we have been working on it
Making the choice to hire a public relations firm is not always the easiest decision for a company. Below are seven (or so) things you
I can’t tell you how many times I have started writing this “Letter to My Younger Self” only to stop, delete it all, get ticked
Client holiday cards and gifting can be a huge sigh of creative relief or a giant burden wrapped in a bow and shoved on your
Try getting the attention of your friend sitting across the room typing away on their mobile device. You’ll need all the luck in the world
Baby Telly, If I told you five years ago that you would uproot your life and move to a “real city” on a whim, would
I have to take a moment to shamelessly plug the 834 team. We have had a VERY busy couple of weeks and though it is