Black Lives Matter
After the May 25 killing of George Floyd, CMD came together and started having some hard conversations about what we believe in, and what we’re doing about it. We made a big statement and a big commitment.
CMD Agency
Marketing During Crisis: Pivot to Content
Welcome to the new normal. The novel coronavirus has turned our world upside down. We are all in crisis mode. At our homes, in our communities, and at work, it seems like everything is changing daily.
The Big Brother Bias: Balancing Consequences and Benefits in AI
Data access and privacy issues are throwing a shadow over the technology sector, as the data explosion threatens to become an ethics implosion.
Improving User Experience with UX Audit
Most companies know there are tasks they could do to improve their site’s user experience, but it is easy to get stuck on how to best prioritize updates. A handy tool that we often use with clients is a “usability audit” — a formal evaluation to examine your site for user friendliness, content efficacy and ability to drive traffic to conversion goals.
New Research: What Clients Expect from Agencies
At CMD, we learn a lot when we listen to the various target audiences of our clients, so we decided to use that philosophy to better understand our clients’ mindsets. We partnered with Riley Research to hear from Portland-area marketers about their challenges, and how they are utilizing agencies, to ensure we can be the best agency partner — one that can help marketers rest a bit easier.
The Action Cam View of Your User Experince
I was recently called upon to attend a client’s executive meeting. Since I spend most of my time deep in project work, the rarity of this invitation was stressful enough to conjure an image of a 1950s movie, with a company president yelling down to the manager who in turn yells down to the line worker: “Smithers! Report to the top floor at once!”
Red-Hot Project? Take a Breath and Review the Basics
From time to time, hot, quick-turn projects come in. A client needs us to create something for them right away — preferably sooner. Many times, I’ve seen CMD deliver exceptional work under time frames and conditions I didn’t think possible. This was often feasible only because of the heroic efforts of key individuals to get it to the finish line.
Designing Your Marketing Stack
Gartner’s 2018 CMO Survey reports that the average CMO is spending 29 percent of their budget on marketing technology. That’s as much as 3 percent of overall company revenue. Whether or not your overall marketing budget is on par with industry leaders, marketing technology is a line item with a constant upward trend, and you need to understand the best ways to spend that money for your organization.