Insights

Yes& CEO Bob Sprague can’t recommend any beach reads—because he’s not at the beach. For those interested in the new marketing era, he’s reading or looking forward to:

We're bringing the possibilities of "&" to the ASAE Annual Meeting August 20 - 23, 2022

Yes&’s growth in May and June continued with four new partnerships that focus on reinventing brand identities, improving customer experiences, and generating earned media exposures.

It doesn’t matter what kind of client you are… or what kind of project you have… you can “dream big” and benefit from award-winning creative work. 

Collaboration between an agency and its’ clients is so important. It’s no secret that at Yes&, we’d prefer to be face-to-face with our clients, brainstorming and dreaming big. It has taken a lot of thinking outside of our typical creative process to solve the challenges brought on from the pandemic, however we’re pleased to share that this year, Yes& has had the pleasure of being reunited and working on-site with some of our clients.

Jordana Well, Yes& Vice President and Director of Experience Design has honed in on her creative writing through a unique journey that allows her to continuously discover and activate her creativity to dream big. Jordana began her career after graduating from Harvard with a degree in Educational Media. She specializes in user-centric transformative experiences and masters in storytelling, design and technology to build meaningful connections for global brands. Here’s a bit of advice she has to share about inspiring yourself and continuously polishing your creative process.

ICYMI: This is part three of our “Campaign Conversations” series, where we give you an inside look at the member acquisition campaign our agency launched for AMADC, the DC chapter of the American Marketing Association. Today we’ll be covering the campaign launch, and what you can do when unexpected speed bumps show up.

Creating Connections between PIO’s and Press Breaking down barriers between public information officers (PIO) and the working press can sometimes seem daunting. It doesn’t need to be. The Society of Environmental Journalists conference in Houston, TX brought together the best environmental reporters and leading policy leaders. The conference also attracted leading non-profit organizations like Environmental Defense Fund, Friends of the Earth and The Nature Conservancy (TNC). Several Biden Administration officials served as panelists and educators at SEJ. Attending PIOs were truly able to meet, mingle and provide context for their important jobs in this enviro-driven Administration. Working together, attending field-based education events, kayaking trips on local rivers and field trips to Houston Zoo to look at endangered species, journalists and officials unified. Barriers to conversation quickly dropped. Two notable panels of the event involved the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The first panel was proctored by Washington Post Environmental Justice Reporter Darryl Fears, who has served as the lead environmental correspondent for some 20 years. The second panel on Environmental Justice addressed the stark “cancer alley” health concerns of Louisiana and Texas; industrial pollution which impacts diverse or multicultural communities in disproportionate number; and how EPA is standing up Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) communications within its own ranks.

Yes& was named the winner of a Gold Stevie® Award in the Marketing Campaign of the Year Government/Institutional/Recruitment category in The 20th Annual American Business Awards® for work done on the FEMA National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP) “Keep Home” campaign. The American Business Awards are the U.S.A.’s premier business awards program. All organizations operating in the U.S.A. are eligible to submit nominations – public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small. Nicknamed the Stevies for the Greek word meaning “crowned,” the awards will be presented to winners at a gala ceremony at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York on Monday, June 13. Tickets are now on sale. More than 3,700 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted this year for consideration in a wide range of categories, including Startup of the Year, Executive of the Year, Best New Product or Service of the Year, Marketing Campaign of the Year, Thought Leader of the Year, and App of the Year, among others. Yes& Agency was nominated in the Government/Institutional/Recruitment category for Marketing Campaign of the Year. The Yes& winning campaign supports FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program, which faced the dilemma of marketing a product most people have already decided they do not need. Hurricanes are bigger, broader and more predictable every year. With the risk of flooding in many communities, many consumers still bet against mother nature instead of protecting themselves financially against flood damage. To launch FEMA’s new campaign, Yes& deployed an integrated, multi-channel campaign targeting consumers, insurance agents, and community stakeholders in Florida, Texas, Louisiana, New York City, and Atlanta through video, audio, digital advertising, radio, social media, search ads, and a unique digital destination.

Yes& is proud to announce several new partnerships with academic institutions and organizations across the United States. Awarded these contracts through several competitive evaluations, Yes&'s experience in academic institution branding, applicant journey mapping, and .edu website development will support them in attracting a new generation of students and improve the branded visitor online and in-person experience.

Launching a higher education website is hard work—in part, because of the vast number of people it needs to support. When designing a refreshed digital presence for a higher education institution, there are various audiences to consider, from the staff spanning departments to students and alumni, and the prospective students and families who may be exploring options. Each audience has a unique interest in the website focused on their individual intentions and needs. The work P’unk Avenue (now part of Yes&) accomplished with Daytona State College’s website is a prime example of how taking a student-centric approach to your website can address the needs of a shifting audience in the higher education space. Anthony Robinson, Senior Vice President of Digital Strategy for Yes&, has years of experience serving clients, particularly in Higher Ed and was a pivotal player on the Daytona website redesign project. “When working with an institute that has a strong continuing education program, it’s crucial that the messaging focuses not solely on prospective high-school graduate students and considers all prospect students. Whether that is people looking for certification courses or parents returning to continue their education, it requires hard work to truly understand your audience and be conscious of the people who are actually partaking in your university’s courses,” Anthony explained. Daytona State College has provided some of the most accessible and affordable academic programs in the South and the state of Florida for the past 60 years, with a long history as a college credit, adult education, and vocational school. They have an authentic story to tell about their approach to “finding your path.”