Getting Into the Game

Squid Game – Netflix’s new show skyrocketed in popularity immediately after its release, and remains the most-watched series to date. Add in the characters’ simple and easy-to-replicate outfits, and we’re sure that Squid Game-themed costumes will make an appearance on the Halloween costume circuit this year. 

Among Us – Another immensely popular game that had a hold on younger generations is the online game Among Us. Kids and teens everywhere were glued to their screens, trying to identify the “imposter” among them. This leads us to predict that Among Us characters are another simple costume idea we will be seeing quite a bit of while out trick or treating. 

The Classics

Harry Potter – What’s Halloween without a few wizards! Harry Potter remains a beloved book (and movie) series that has proven to be a very popular costume choice for both kids and adults. An incredibly devoted fan base that only continues to grow ensures that this trend is here to stay in 2021. 

Zombie Everything – Though already a popular Halloween costume choice, the semi-recent explosion of Zombie-themed tv and cinema cements zombie costumes as a must-have on our list of predictions. Zombie bride, zombie doctor, zombie teacher: with a little makeup the possibilities are endless! 

Superheroes – Whether you’re a Marvel or DC fan, Superhero costumes have been and probably always will be a staple when it comes to Halloween. This year, our team predicts seeing quite a few costumes from the latest superhero movies like Wanda Vision, Black Widow, and Wonder Woman to name a few. 

Celebrity Influence

Kim K at the Met Gala – Every year, pop culture has a huge influence on Halloween costume choice. This year, we’re predicting that Kim Kardashian’s Met Gala outfit, an all-black morph suit featuring a flowing train, will be a hit at Halloween parties everywhere.  

Jojo Siwa – The dancer, singer, and actress, who recently appeared on Dancing With the Stars and experienced a huge growth in popularity on TikTok, has been thrust into the spotlight more than ever before. Jojo’s wildly unique style, complete with huge hair bows, bright colors, and sequins galore offers an easily recognizable look that we foresee being a popular Halloween costume choice this season.  

Britney Spears – #FreeBritney was all over social media in recent months as a result of her ongoing battle against her conservatorship. Though her former looks (Baby One More Time, Toxic, and the iconic Jean dress) have been popular costume choices in the past, the drama surrounding her personal life puts her at the forefront of people’s minds, leading us to predict an explosion of Britney-inspired costumes in 2021.

Bernie Sanders – If you were online at the beginning of this year, then you’re familiar with the Bernie Sanders meme. His knit mittens and crossed legs at the Biden Inauguration delighted internet audiences and quickly became a popular meme format that is still making appearances today. An easily replicated and especially comfortable outfit, we believe the Bernie meme will definitely make an appearance at a few Halloween parties this year. 

These are just a few categories that our team predicts will be taking center stage when it comes to Halloween costumes in 2021. Did you see your costume on this list? If not, what are you dressing up as this year? 

We’re excited to see how we did with our predictions and to witness the awe-inspiring creativity that accompanies this spooky holiday. 

Happy Halloween from the Paperkite Team!

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Demographic targeting focuses on the individual and includes criteria such as age, gender, location, income, parental status, life events, education, and work. These factors are important to recognize because they make up the basic outline of who may be interested in your products. 

Psychographic targeting is more opinion-based and includes identifying audiences with similar daily habits, food preferences, style choices, and other interests determined by attitudes and beliefs. 

Behavioral targeting is segmenting your audience based on their previous online behaviors. This segment will include those who’ve visited your page or similar pages in the past, or even purchased products similar to yours. 

You may be wondering what is the point of audience targeting if everyone can benefit from your product or service. Focusing your efforts is crucial to a successful marketing strategy for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it ensures that your advertisements are being shown specifically to those who are interested and are more likely to take the next steps toward purchasing. This specificity saves you money spent on advertising, and increases the likelihood of conversions, therefore increasing your ROI. Audience targeting also allows for more customized messaging. Knowing your intended consumer base allows you to tailor your marketing to fit that audience’s pain points. A lesser-known benefit is the ability to build a better relationship with your consumers, one in which you understand their needs and can create a level of trust that your product will meet those needs. This understanding and humanization of your brand are what help create loyal customers, which helps build lifetime customer value.

Audience targeting, however, is not a one-time endeavor. The key to proper targeting is redefining your audiences over time. People change, attitudes change, and updating your audience from campaign to campaign goes a long way in reaching the right consumers. This is incredibly common for destination marketing and tourism brands, an industry in which our team is well-versed. For our clients, we take great care to ensure that each campaign is directed toward a unique and relevant audience. This could include targeting families with young kids, avid hikers, history buffs, couples looking for a romantic getaway, baseball lovers, and more. Each campaign we run is focused on reaching those niche audiences who have been identified as the most likely to be interested in what’s being offered, and speaking to what would resonate with them. 

If you already know your consumer base, audience targeting is a relatively simple next step. If you’re just starting out in digital marketing, you may need to dive into the data to understand who is most likely to purchase your products or services and create audiences based on that information. Or perhaps you are looking to reach a new audience and don’t know where to focus your marketing efforts. Wherever you are in your online marketing journey, our Digital Marketing team is here to help. Schedule an appointment to learn more about how we can ensure that you’re making the most of your budget and are connecting with the online consumers that are right for your business. 

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Marketing agencies, Social Media Managers, and everyday Facebook users were without the vital communication network that allows us to connect with our friends, loved ones, and consumers. Many small businesses that rely heavily on Facebook for day-to-day operations were essentially closed. The fear of a potentially disastrous revenue loss loomed overhead. 

Though Facebook and all subsidiaries did eventually return to operational, we’re left reflecting on how much power apps have, and how little control we have. As Facebook users everywhere attempt to catch up on lost time, we want to use this as an opportunity to shed some light on ways that social media users, and business owners especially, can take back control of their online platforms. 

Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Basket

For small businesses, it’s difficult to avoid relying solely on Facebook to conduct business. The social media giant really is a one-stop-shop for almost everything you need. Advertising campaigns, e-commerce markets, customer outreach, and data tracking can all be performed in-app. Facebook’s wide variety of business tools can make it seem like a paradise for business owners. However, this outage is a scary reminder that all of these elements can disappear in a matter of minutes. 

 To combat this lack of control we’re all undoubtedly feeling, we recommend that business owners start by making a point to differentiate their strategic marketing efforts. We know you’re probably thinking “but I can do everything I need right on Facebook!” And you’re right, you probably can; but it’s worth investing in Google ads, Amazon Ads, or other social media advertising channels, depending on what’s right for your business. Have you considered Pinterest for Business, leveling up your LinkedIn presence, developing a TikTok strategy, and boosting your Youtube? Not only does this lessen the fear of losing your entire online presence to another outage, but it also gives you more control over your advertising, and allows you to potentially reach a broader audience as a result of utilizing different channels.  

Put More Effort Into Your Website

For the many small business owners who partially (or entirely) rely on Facebook for selling their products and services, this outage was especially damaging. For 6 hours, almost an entire business day, online business owners were losing out on revenue. The outage also highlighted the fact that their business was largely dependent on an outside organization whose operations are completely out of their hands. In this case, the outage was temporary, but there may come a day when the internet monolith that is Facebook is no longer a viable business tool. 

We feel the best way to prepare for the unknown is to focus on your business’s website, the largest online presence over which you have complete control. If someday, customers can no longer find you on Facebook, your website will be the next place they look. Focus on building up your website so that no matter what happens in the world of social media, you will still have a strong internet presence, and you will still be able to conduct business online. We surely hope Facebook is here to stay, but it never hurts to prepare. 

No matter what the future holds, Paperkite is here to guide you. Our Digital Marketing team would love to help you explore and utilize the many different advertising platforms at our disposal. Meanwhile, our Social Media Team knows just how to ensure your online presence is broad enough to withstand the constant changes that underpin the social media landscape. Let’s Talk about how we can work together to ensure your business is protected.

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Red

Color experts have classified the color red as one associated with power, love, or fear. Red often evokes very strong feelings and is used when brands are trying to make a statement. Take ESPN for example ‐ I bet you can hear the hard-hitting beats of their introduction in your head, perfectly complimenting the bright red logo. Everything about EPSN is meant to grab viewers’ attention. This is the goal when using the color red in branding.

Orange

Orange is often associated with physical comfort, warmth, and is thought to be yellow’s more playful cousin. This bright color is associated with high energy, which is why it’s used by many brands whose target audience is younger, as in the case of Nickelodeon. Etsy, a company dedicated to creating a marketplace for art and creativity is another company that fittingly utilizes the color orange to tap into the playful nature of the brand.

Yellow

Many can agree that yellow signifies happiness, cheerfulness, and optimism. Brands looking to create a friendly connection with their consumer base often implement yellow in their branding and logo design. Snapchat is one such organization that utilizes the color yellow. Their app, devoted to bringing people together and maintaining communication reflects the values of friendship and cheerfulness that people tend to associate with this color. 

Green

The color green is considered to be reminiscent of balance, calm, and growth. Green is believed to relax the mind, serving as a fresh start for brands that are looking to create a more serene feeling amongst their consumers. The Holiday Inn hotel chain chose green for a reason; they want to portray their hotels as a place for relaxation and rejuvenation, and a green logo is one way to subliminally push that message. 

Blue

Blue is the one of most widely used colors in marketing. Blue is associated with being soothing, dependable, reliable, and like green, calm. Types of brands that take advantage of blue’s connotation are often healthcare or medical brands that are looking to capitalize on the trustworthiness associated with this color. brands like Chase and American Express also incorporate these ideologies through their use of blue. When looking at companies with blue logos, reliability is a usually key element of their Credit card values. 

But is implementing color psychology really the best way to create a memorable, well-perceived brand? In short, no. It certainly helps in terms of establishing a subconscious association with certain values, however; it must be said that just because your logo is blue does not mean people will automatically trust your brand. Humans all have unique life experiences that lead them to perceive colors in very different ways. While color psychology can be used as a general guideline, at the end of the day, everybody sees color differently, either because of emotional connections or physical traits like colorblindness, so color psychology shouldn’t be used as the end-all-be-all of color choice. Psychology aside, marketers can agree that it’s more important that your brand color “fits” your product or service. These color associations can be used as a starting point when determining how you want consumers to perceive your business, but don’t be afraid to diverge from these guidelines. Every company is unique and you want your color choice to reflect that. 

Here at Paperkite, we have experience in branding and know just how to choose colors that fit your brand and make your business stand out. If you’re reevaluating your brand’s color choice or just getting started book an appointment with us today. We’d love to talk more about what colors work best for you. 

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1. Are you experiencing the following issues?

• Stagnant or decreasing sales/revenue
• Drops in engagement
• Noticeably behind-the-times aesthetics
• Negative reactions and reviews to your current brand
• Confusion internally and externally regarding your brand
• Industry shifting in a different direction

All of these issues are valid reasons to consider overhauling your brand identity. These pain points are indicators that something isn’t working with your current brand, and it may be time to make some changes. However, it may take a little more digging to determine the true reason you need to rebrand. 

2. Has your audience changed? (Are you still relevant to your current consumers?)

Maybe you’ve moved locations, or have grown to include multiple locations. Maybe you’ve expanded what you offer into new markets or segments, like e-commerce or other industries. If so, your current messaging and imagery may be outdated and no longer applicable to your current target market. 

There’s also the matter of keeping up with the changing times. If you’re using outdated lingo on your website and in your marketing materials, it may signal to your audience that you’re unable to keep up with current trends, meaning it’s time to refocus your marketing efforts, and in some cases rebrand. Your brand is how you communicate to your audience; make sure the messages you’re sending are tailored to the right receivers. 

3. Does your name fit your identity? 

It may be time for a change if your brand name no longer reflects your brand vision. Maybe you’ve outgrown your brand, and the old language and style simply don’t do enough to reflect your company’s current values, goals, and ambitions. Your brand identity will change over time as your business grows, and it’s worth taking the time to ensure that your current brand accurately showcases who you are as an organization, and what it is that you do best. 

4. Have you changed your business model?

If the answer to this question is yes, you definitely may need to consider a rebrand, if not, a refresh of your promotional materials. As your company grows, it’s possible that your brand becomes overly complicated and disorganized. In this case, a rebrand might be necessary to simplify and streamline your identity, so that your audience receives an easy-to-digest version of the many capabilities of your organization. Additionally, if you completely overhaul your business model – for example, you now only sell your products online and no longer have a brick-and-mortar location – a rebrand may be necessary to ensure that your audience is aware of the changes and can support your business accordingly. 

5. Do you no longer compete in your industry?

Standing out from your competition is one of the biggest goals of a successful brand. It may be time to rebrand if your current brand is not distinct enough to set you apart from the competition. If you’re struggling to raise your prices to match your competitors, that may be a sign that your brand isn’t unique enough to compete in your industry.  If your current brand is not communicating your value, or if you find that your customers often confuse you with another business, those are sure signs that you need to rework your brand.

6. Are there new marketplace opportunities?

This question highlights the fact that while your business may be doing well, there’s always room for improvement. Say your current branding is on point for your B2C sales, but you’ve discovered an opportunity to break into the B2B market. If you’re seeking to expand your business, a rebrand might be needed to reflect that change in your organization. 

Here at Paperkite, we have experience in brand overhauls, and if you find that you’re answering “yes” to more than a few of these questions, it could be in your best interest to make an appointment.  The decision to rebrand should not be taken lightly, as there is a lot of time, research, and work involved in the process. Luckily, our team is ready to tackle these challenges and help you update your branding in a way that highlights your unique identity and allows you to reach your business aspirations. 

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The How 

The enjoyment of food and beverages comes in two forms: taste and visuals. We’ve all had that moment where we’re scrolling through our feeds and see a colorful, eye-catching photo of gourmet doughnuts, or a juicy steak with perfect grill marks, and instantly our mouths are watering. TikTok operates using this same method: showing consumers the delicious food they could be eating. TikTok takes this visual attraction a step further by providing unlimited ways for brands to showcase their food and beverages. Aside from the classic videos of cheese pulls, bartenders pouring up mixed drinks, and the always popular recipe videos, TikTok’s community-centered platform allows brands to tap into the ever-growing influencer market. Popular forms of this type of advertising include simple brand shoutouts, “come along with me” tours of one user’s experience at your restaurant, customer reviews, and more. 

Additionally, food and beverage brands can take advantage of already existing trends. Kentucky Fried Chicken was one brand to take a stab at a recent TikTok trend that involved calling out your friends or family for their behaviors. While this trend had nothing to do with the company, and the TikTok didn’t even mention their brand name, they were able to showcase their products to thousands of viewers by participating in this popular trend. Sticking with KFC as a case study example, they also were successful in terms of capitalizing on user-created content. After releasing their Nashville Hot Chicken Tenders, TikTok users went crazy for the signature crunch that could be heard when biting into one of their chicken strips. Countless TikTokers recreated the original video, showcasing their first time biting into the now-viral chicken tenders.  When this trend was at its peak, many KFC locations were often sold out of this famous menu item because the demand was so high as more and more users wanted to be a part of the trend. 

Why It Works

These are just a few examples of the countless ways that food and beverage brands can utilize TikTok in their marketing efforts. Reposting user-generated content is one of the easiest ways for brands to promote their products without having to create their own advertisements. Additionally, TikTok can be used to showcase a snippet of the experiences users can have at your brewery, winery or restaurant. And of course, visuals are everything so a quick video of your food and beverages being made or even a clip of the final product can go a very long way. At Paperkite, we have experience creating TikToks for our clients, and we would love to help your business grow using this new and exciting platform. Let’s Talk about how we can help you showcase your food and beverages in a way that will drive business and build your brand!

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