Many times we are approached to help an organization achieve their marketing goals, but to them, the challenge feels insurmountable. Strategies and tactics have gotten messy or confused for them. Inevitably the conversation starts with these types of comments:

“We’re spending $$ on PPC, but our results have bottomed out.”

“Our competitors have recently upped their game, and now we seem like a weaker competitor.”

“Our offerings have changed or improved, but we don’t know how to communicate them in a way that resonates.”

A big part of the value we bring to our partnerships is structure. We know from our years of experience what dependencies are necessary to get great work done. Showing you how we get there is very important. Leadership teams are rarely comfortable with “trust the process”. Therefore we enjoy building sophisticated roadmaps to help you understand priorities, timetables, and dependencies. This helps everyone understand when you can expect your branding and marketing to function on a much higher level.

 roadmap to shape up branding and marketing is fairly simple and straightforward. It looks like this much of the time, unless we're inheriting existing marketing programs:

➡️ Brand Strategy ➡️ Brand Identity ➡️ Content & Collateral ➡️ Website ➡️ Marketing & Agency Services

This is rarely enough information for communicating to your leadership team, so during our work together, we’ll put together more sophisticated roadmaps. Here are some examples.

Example 1: Two Year Alignment of Multiple Service Offerings

This client had finished a large strategic alignment of their various B2B service offerings, as well as adding a service line that is completely new, requiring a different strategy. This was a two-year roadmap, outlining quarterly priorities.

Example 2: Rebrand Internal and External Rollout

In this example, the client had completed a comprehensive rebrand, and needed to understand what it was going to take to communicate to their internal and external stakeholders, eventually rolling in to ongoing marketing and business development.

This nonprofit client had two very important fundraising events in the fall and winter and had just completed a new brand identity. It was critical to ensure the new identity was deployed with quality before starting an intense marketing campaign. Our audience needed to understand what they were seeing was their favorite events, just modernized.

Build it in a spreadsheet or other tool to allow for detail, but then build a simpler one for clarity and simplicity. Less is more.

Priorities and dependencies are critical to communicate.

The plan will always change. Don’t get hung up on dates or timelines that are unreasonable. Communicate in phases or time periods instead of strict dates (unless there is an event that is immobile)

Someone may not be excited about how long a particular phase might take. Don’t change the roadmap for them, especially if a date is unreasonable. Under promise and overdeliver and you will win a ton of trust.






Researching and planning is key to effective marketing strategy. We use data, insights, our gained knowledge and research born from curiosity to plan inventive, value-drive marketing plans for our clients.

Marketing Strategy

Our strategy team can provide you with an unbiased look at your brand and marketing to give you the perspective you need to make the next move the right move. We provide audits at all levels - high-level, comprehensive marketing audits down to platform-specific social media auditing to SEO audits of your websites. In addition, you receive our hard-earned insights, recommendations and a roadmap or plan to move your forward.

Auditing & Roadmapping

Roadmapping Your Strategic Initiatives



Often when you feel like it’s time to refresh your identity, your website, or any other marketing material it’s because your positioning needs to be elevated in a way that resonates with your audience. This happens for a number of reasons:

Your competition has developed positioning that has made yours either outdated or sub-par

Your company has never developed a Brand Strategy or Positioning

If you’ve been involved in an unfocused logo/identity or website project, it’s likely because the team doesn’t have access to the appropriate Brand Strategy toolbox.

This is a critical aspect of our work, and requisite to building a differentiated and successful brand presence for organizations like yours.

Our work in positioning is a primary focus of our Brand Strategy process. Brand Identity will follow Brand Strategy. In this series though, we want to focus on the foundational elements that are less understood than an identity system.

A well positioned company is a self-aware company.

 You know intimately the aspects of your Brand Strategy, and have the necessary tools to execute impactful marketing with those tools.

. You understand what makes you unique in the market. This is easily seen in the auto industry. A Lexus and a Subaru are both nice cars, but they are important in their own way to their different audiences, and both companies have crafted their brand to focus on those personas.

“When you try to be all things to all people,
you become nothing to no one.”

Sometimes positioning is public, and sometimes it drives your creative headlines. Positioning can be thought of as your “brand promise”. It’s a straightforward sentence that encompasses who you are, what you do, and why.

I’m going to draw a line in the sand: That the snarky advertisement that gets attention and wins awards for ad agencies ain’t good positioning. That’s an ad campaign. Sometimes snark and cleverness are useful and sometimes not, but even Big Ass Fans (the snarkiest name in the business) has a straightforward positioning: “Comfort Solutions For Your Home or Business”.

Any major advertising expense needs to have a brand strategy that has been well executed as its foundation.

Brand Strategy is the work necessary to define your place in the market. This work typically focuses on:

, optimally turned into Personas, defining their motivations

, especially if you have multiple brands or confusing offerings

, uncovering your unique value proposition(s) and authentic brand attributes

t, revealing the inner essence of your brand, and a guiding light for ongoing branding and marketing efforts

We’ve refined and codified our Brand Strategy process to be a leading focus of our client projects. Our 

 are a linear process, and always the first phase in any branding work that we produce. I’m not exaggerating when I say this work is critical to your ongoing success in achieving your marketing goals.

Successful brands are value-true, carried forward by stakeholders and align perfectly with the products and services for the audience they serve.


In this Brand Strategy series we will continue to break down the components of our process to help you understand how to build a brand presence that is the perfect fit for your organization.


 at VIA Studio is two components: Brand Strategy and Brand Identity. 

 is a process that helps you find the unique values of your organization and your value to your audience, and defines how you can best communicate that value. 

 is the outward expression of your company, and is crafted from your logo, colors, typography, as well as the rules that govern how they are implemented. A great identity reinforces confidence in and awareness of your brand.

Branding

Positioning Your Company for Differentiation

Welcome to the new world of remote work! YOU’RE ON MUTE! How many times a day does that happen now?

Well, I can’t help with the UX of Zoom or Google Meet, but I can help you make your Zoom calls far more interesting than that fake beach scene background Zoom lets you use (if you pay them).

I’ve recently fallen in love with OBS Studio. It’s an open-source live streaming software package, but if you peek behind the curtains, it can be so much more. So, in the interest of making the world more interesting, let’s have a Zoom call soon and see what you can do with your webcams!

You can create multiple “scenes” and easily switch between them, so for all the ideas you might come up with, you can easily use all of them in one conference call.

Step 3: Let’s get creative! Here are a few options for making something interesting.

OBS allows you to integrate graphics, videos, multiple camera sources, text, and more into its viewport, and more importantly, using that viewport as a webcam source. So break out your brand standards guide, and follow along!

Remember your design fundamentals. Less is more, but make it interesting!

Here are some examples that you can use, and a 

Example 1: The “Business Card” (simple)

Create a frame in Photoshop at your webcam’s default size (mine is 1920x1080).

Cut out an area for your webcam’s viewport, and list your name, position, and any other identifying information you like to the side of that viewport. OBS utilizes transparent PNG files, so you can create a lot of visual interest with layers.

Export that frame you created as a transparent PNG.

Open OBS Studio. If it’s your first time, don’t be overwhelmed. There are many amazing things you can do in OBS, but we’ll focus on the basics.

For the purposes of this tutorial, you can think of “Scenes” as folders, similar to how Adobe apps function, and “Sources” as what goes in those folders. You can transition through Scenes simply by clicking on the one you want to display at the time.

Create a new Scene by clicking the “+” icon in the lower-left corner. Name it “O1: Business Card” or something similar. OBS alphabetizes Scenes and Sources in annoying ways, which is why I like to number them.

Next, with that scene highlighted, click the “+” icon in “Sources”, and click “Image”. You’ll get a modal window to either “Create new”, or “Add Existing”. Well duh, we’re creating a new one, so name it “Business Card Frame” and hit “OK”. In the next screen, you’ll browse to the PNG file you created, and load it up. Now you should have your “Business Card frame” in OBS.

Add another Source to the Scene by clicking the “+” icon again, and this time select “Video Capture Device”, in the “Create New” section, name it “Webcam” or something similar, hit “OK”, then you should see a window where you select your webcam. If you only have one webcam attached to your computer you should see it immediately. The defaults usually work just fine.

Now make sure that layer is behind your “Business Card Frame” layer. It will probably need to be centered in the window you created. At this point, you should be good to go with this scene!

For our next experiment, we want to get a little fancier and have a copy of my name and information scroll across the field. At this point, you’re starting to build on the fundamentals, so hopefully, you already have interesting ideas. I removed the copy from my Photoshop frame and exported it as “02 Scroll Frame.png”

Create a new scene, name it “02: Scrolling Text”

Inside that Scene, add a new Image source, name it “Frame No Copy” or something similar, and import your new frame into that Source.

Create the Webcam source as you did in Example 1. Pro-tip: You can copy/paste both Scenes and Sources to save time.

Now, select a new “Source” and click the “Text (GDI+)” option. Name it “Name & Stuff” or whatever you like. In the next window, you’ll get all the options for inputting text. If you need variable widths or different fonts, you’ll need to create new text sources/layers. Try to get the font size right, because it will make the copy blurry if you have to enlarge it in the display window.

Right-click on that Source layer, click “Filters”, hit the next “+” sign and select “Scroll”. Name it whatever you like, and now you get to the options. A nice, slow horizontal scroll is a good, minimalist way to start. After hitting “OK”, you can use the red frame in the main display to adjust the position to your liking.

This is where you can have some real fun with video loops.

In the interest of laziness, I’m just going to duplicate the last Scene. Right-click on the “02: Scrolling Text” Scene and hit “Duplicate”. Rename it “03: Video” and let’s get to work.

Add a new “Source” to the scene by clicking the “+” icon and click “VLC Video Source”.

Import your video file. I used a royalty-free looping video found 

. This option will use a “playlist” with multiple video files, which opens so many more options, but just import one for now. Click the “+” icon at “Playlist” and import your video. Some of the options listed could be important, but that’ll be extra credit for later.

Now you can see the looping video as a layer in that scene. I’m going to put it behind the text layer and change the text color to white.

Example 4: Multiple cameras (or a better webcam in general)

One of the super cool things I discovered in the COVID era is the ability to use the “good camera” as a webcam source. There’s a nifty little device called the 

 that turns your DSLR camera into a webcam source, so you get some seriously improved optics for chatting.

Since I already have the hardware all I have to do is duplicate the “03: Video” scene, name it “04: DSLR”

Delete the webcam Source in that new scene

Click the “+” icon in sources and add a new “Video Capture Device”

” plugin. That allows the output of OBS to become a webcam source in whatever video chat tool you use. After it’s installed, in the top menu click “Tools »  VirtualCam » Start”. This tells your computer that the output of OBS is a webcam source.

Go to your video settings in Zoom, Google Meet, etc, and there will be an “OBS-camera” option to choose from.

I’m still learning, and now this has set me off in a live streaming & recording direction, so if you have any questions, find any cool tips & tricks, or just want to show off your new webcam setup, please send them my way!

Video

High-quality, impactful photography makes all the difference to most projects. We provide both in-house and trusted third-party photography resources to fit the needs of any project or budget.

Photography

OBS Studio Tips & Tricks: Super Cool Webcam Options

As 2020 slowly crawls to its conclusion, now is a great time to consider end of year tax-deductible charitable donations. If you find yourself in a position to donate before the end of the year, we would love to recommend one of the many nonprofit organizations that we are proud to call our clients and partners. All of whom are doing valuable work to improve our community through a number of programs and services.

Artaxis is an evolving independent network of contemporary artists and their work.

The mission of Artaxis is to provide a peer-reviewed source of contemporary artwork in ceramics and sculpture. Utilized as a resource by instructors, students, gallerists, curators, the general public, and contemporary artists, Artaxis strives to promote and enrich the field, while functioning as a direct and unobtrusive conduit between viewer and artist.

Greater Louisville’s nonprofit hub. The Center for Nonprofit Excellence helps nonprofit leaders and organizations become the best version of themselves. They provide quality professional development, consultation, and resources to help drive nonprofit organizations’ missions forward. Their sole focus is on elevating the nonprofit community.

Donate to the Center for Nonprofit Excellence

Fund for the Arts is a regional nonprofit committed to building a vibrant community through the power of the arts. With the help of nearly 20,000 donors, the Fund for the Arts supports a range of arts organizations and drives accessibility across neighborhoods, schools, community centers and public spaces.

Fund for the Arts believes the arts fuels our regional economy, inspire student success, bring people together and simply make Louisville an amazing, unique city.

Seeking to embrace the true spirit of community, the Jewish Community of Louisville is dedicated to the enrichment of Jewish life and fosters the spiritual, emotional and physical development of its individual members through all of life’s stages and circumstances.

Donate to the Jewish Community of Louisville

Kentucky Partnership for Families and Children

Since 1998, The Kentucky Partnership for Families and Children, Inc. has provided a united voice dedicated to improving services for children in Kentucky with emotional, social, and behavioral challenges. As the name implies, bringing the parents and professionals to the table to truly work in partnership is an important part of KPFC.

Donate to Kentucky Partnership for Families and Children

In addition to performances in their facilities, Kentucky Performing Arts' education and outreach programs bring the arts to children and adults in dozens of community centers, healthcare facilities and schools in all of Kentucky’s educational regions. Through its programming and education departments, KPA is able to bring the arts to virtually all of Kentucky’s 120 counties. And its access services ensure that everyone can experience the wonders of the performing arts without barriers or restrictions.

Kentucky Refugee Ministries, a nonprofit organization, is dedicated to providing resettlement services to refugees through faith- and agency-based co-sponsorship in order to promote self-sufficiency and successful integration into our community. Kentucky Refugee Ministries is committed to offering access to community resources and opportunities and to promoting awareness of diversity for the benefit of the whole community.

LexArts is greater Lexington’s premier cultural development, advocacy and fundraising organization. As both the area arts council and united arts fund, LexArts provides a wide range of programs and services designed to integrate the arts into our daily lives

The Louisville Leopard Percussionists are a performing ensemble composed of student musicians in grades 2-8, who reside in 33 different Louisville zip codes and attend 49 different schools in and around Louisville, Kentucky.

Their mission is to provide a comprehensive musical experience for children that enriches lives and builds community.

Donate to Louisville Leopard Percussionists

Louisville Parks Foundation works to inspire donors to invest in Louisville’s 100+ public parks and recreation facilities. Louisville Parks Foundation is the organization behind local holiday events like Jack O'Lantern Spectacular and Winter Woods Spectacular, their two largest fundraisers.

Theatre Forward’s mission is to advance American theatre and its communities. Theatre Forward achieves their mission by providing funding and other resources to the country’s leading nonprofit theatres. Theatre Forward increases access and opportunity for all to experience theatre that builds community and sets the stage for individual achievement.

Culture

Gift Guide

Charitable Giving Guide 2020

! Looking for the perfect gift ideas this year? Here are our team's recommendations for thoughtful, local, or just plain fun gifts for those on your list.

Tired of fighting over your favorite couch blanket or throw? Problem solved with this 10’ x 10’ blanket described as being perfect for Netflix marathons, cozy campfires, and ultimate blanket forts.

The Big Blanket

Guaranteed to become a favorite on family game night. Based on the popular Cards Against Humanity card game, but appropriate for kids of all ages. Loaded with tons of potty humor that your kids find HILARIOUS!

Kids Against Maturity

After reading the First Lady’s book “Becoming Michelle Obama,” I simply can not wait to read President Obama’s memoir. It is at the very top of my Christmas list. Even better if you purchase it at your local bookstore.

A Promised Land by Barack Obama

My 13 year old is going to lose his mind when he sees the socks I ordered him from Stance. It is the way.

The Child Socks

Like your favorite DIY friendship bracelet from middle school, but way more elegant and refined. All of their jewelry is beautiful, ethical, and locally handcrafted.  

Lackadazee Permanent Jewelry

For foodie friends or the coworker who’s always ordering Postmates. Sarah makes these East African treats with local ingredients grown by refugee farmers, and offers vegetarian and vegan-friendly options. She’ll also deliver to your doorstep for free! 

Homemade Samosas

Unique, fair trade gifts handmade by artisans around the world. I especially love the earring selection and the felt alpaca ornaments!

2722 Frankfort Ave, Louisville, KY 40206

Just Creations

Early 2020 brought us the Great Toilet Paper Shortage and it looks like that's happening again with COVID ramping back up. It's never been a better time to switch over to using a bidet instead of duking it out in Walmart for toilet paper.

This bidet is pretty simple, non-electrical, and only takes a few minutes to set up.

Lux Bidet Neo 120

This pass gets you into any National Park across the United States for one year.  It is a great gift idea for a traveler or the outdoorsy person in your life.

National Parks & Federal Recreational Lands Annual Pass

America The Beautiful

There is no way you can be a fan of The Office and not read this book. It covers the creation of the show and goes season by season with input from the entire cast, producers, and fans of the show.

The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s: An Oral History

The Office: 

Made locally in Jeffersonville by Schimpff's Candy since 1891, red hots are the local candy and are a must-have for anyone from the Southern Indiana area.

Red Hots

Shop JennRon is a unique, handmade clothing shop where you can find quality vintage for all bodies! They sell custom kaftans and other gender/size inclusive clothing made with a wide range of classic and rare vintage fabrics.

Shop JennRon

'Tis the season for snuggling up in cozy clothes in isolation at home... and I can't think of anything better to wear this season than this well-designed celebration of social distancing by Cody DeFranco.

By: Cody DeFranco

Social Distancing Black Long Sleeve

The perfect gift for the coffee-addicted graphic designer on your list!


By: Hoodzpah Design

Typeface Mug

Get Tuked this holiday! A gift card to Bourbon City Cruisers is the perfect gift your loved one can cash in once we all crawl out of quarantine. Bar hop on a cocktail tour, take a brews cruise, distillery hop, or just take in the views with 5 of your closest friends on these zippy little tuktuks. 

Bourbon City Cruisers

NULU's newest shop - Woman Owned Wallet (WOW) features all women-owned brands that are SASSY, BOLD and FEARLESSLY FEMINIST! Shop online or in-store for unique products. Candles, shirts, cards, prints... they have so much to choose from!

803 E Market St, Louisville, KY 40206

The Woman Owned Wallet

The ULTIMATE CBD line.... seriously. I know there are lot of options out there, but the creators of Radio have worked really hard to make a unique product that works. They offer a wide range of products including drops, capsules, and balms for different benefits such as focus, energy, sleep, and relief. I use their "Foresight" capsules religiously and highly recommend. 

Radio CBD

Cal Newport has written many books on how to focus your time in a distracted world. I'm excited to see his methodology here.

A Daily Method for Deep Work in a Distracted World

The Time-Block Planner:

Bobby Hinkel has a show up now at Revelry. His mandala-esque wood pieces are always beautiful. The group show "Yule Be Home For Christmas" opens November 28.

Local art from Revelry Boutique

It's no secret that restaurants are struggling this year. Support your favorite restaurants by introducing your friends or family to them with a gift certificate!

These eco-friendly phone cases come in all sorts of colors and styles. I like 'em because they're durable and 100% compostable. 

Pela Phone Case

Candid Art is one of my new favorite Etsy shops. Based out of California, Candice makes beautiful modern abstract jewelry and accessories including earrings, face masks, and greeting cards. 


Candid Art and Accessories

Not sure what to get your in-laws this year? Give the gift of cheese from Harvey's Cheese, located in Logan Street Market! Guaranteed to be the most delicious gift ever. They also offer cheese boards, locally made snacks and sundries, and gift cards.


Harvey's Cheese Gift Box

My love for Nintendo is no secret. In September, Nintendo re-released a three game bundle pack of the Mario games from the Nintendo 64, GameCube, and the Wii. These games span three generations of Nintendo consoles and are instant classics in the world of 3D platforming games. Super Mario 3D All-Stars is perfect for a trip of nostalgia or introduce newcomers to the Mario franchise.

Super Mario™ 3D All-Stars

A fully manual turntable that adds the convenience of Bluetooth wireless connectivity to the existing analog and USB outputs. Perfect for a first time turntable purchaser or for someone looking to upgrade their current turntable. With analog, Bluetooth, and USB outputs it can hook up to any home sound system, whether you have a sound bar or a full 5.1 surround sound system.

Audio-Technica AT-LP120XBT-USB

America's independent music venues have largely fallen by the wayside in terms of pandemic relief efforts. While we all wait for Congress to act and help out citizens and businesses, many venues are at risk of closing forever if they don't get help today. The NIVA Emergency Relief Fund was created to raise money for our most vulnerable venues, and keep them afloat while we navigate the pandemic. A donation today could help save a venue you might visit tomorrow!

Donations to NIVA Emergency Relief Fund

Racing Louisville FC is Louisville's first foray into top-tier professional sports since the Kentucky Colonels ceased operations in 1976. Racing Louisville will play in the NWSL, the top tier of American women's soccer. 2021 will be their inaugural season, so why not show your support for Louisville's newest professional team with some merch from their team store?!

Racing Louisville FC Merch

This awesome gift is filled with a surprise each day, with 24 slots filled with your favorite West Sixth beers, taproom exclusive cans, and fun merchandise. These are $99 and will be available for pickup starting on Friday, November 27. Reserve yours now! 

West Sixth Advent Beer Box

Happiness Delivered right to your door every month!

The Forage Plant of the Month Box includes one of Forage's hand-selected 4" plant and unique ceramic planter delivered right to your door every month. This listing is for one plant and pot that renews monthly.

Plant of the Month Subscription Box

Forage - Germantown

A spin on the classic CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). Instead of selling their homegrown produce they turn their harvest into fully prepared, ready-to-eat meals. All meat is hormone and antibiotic free and local (if possible) from producers such as Foxhollow Farm, Barr Farms, Groce Family Farm, Marksbury Farm and Dream Catcher Farm.

Duck, Duck Beet Gift Card

This "field guide" to the design jungles in which we all live will have you seeing your city in a whole new way. What's that marking on the street? Why are stop lights the way they are? What are those stars on old building walls? Perfect for those beginning their journey into design.

P.S. Don't order it from Amazon -  order it from the fine folks at the local bookstore in your city, like Carmichael's here in Louisville. They'll likely deliver.

A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design

The 99% Invisible City:

The concept of StoryWorth is simple - each week they'll email you a question about your life, which you reply to, and then at the end of a year, they'll compile your answers into a book. For lazy diarists like myself who deeply love personal histories, this has been an amazing Christmas 2019 gift from my wife, Kelly. I'm nearly done with my year of questions. It's been an amazing journey, and I can't wait to share the finished book with my family.

StoryWorth

If you are looking for a local charity doing amazing work - and making real progress on the frontlines of the opioid epidemic - you don't have to look much further than The Healing Place. They are a nationally-recognized rehab and recovery program that is 100% free to their clients. More money, more beds, more lives saved. 

Giving: The Healing Place

The definitive guide to the Apollo guidance computer's architecture, instruction set, and programming.

Architecture and Operation

The Apollo Guidance Computer: 

Last year, we recommended the Civilization board game. Now you can take your Civilizations to the next level with this expansion which adds six new civilizations, additional units and new was to expand your empire.

Civilization: Wisdom & Warfare

Retro gaming and Commodore 64 BASIC programming environment in a tiny, modern package.

C64 Mini

This holiday season, give the gift of music to kids all across Louisville by donating to these impactful organizations:

The academy for music production and education (or AMPED for short) is a free program that uses mixes performance, writing, and production to help young people learn how to work as a team and express themselves creatively through music.

AMPED

GRL empowers girls, trans (regardless of identity), and gender non-conforming youth from all backgrounds by exploring music creation in a supportive, inclusive environment. They view music as a force for change and community building and as an opportunity to develop self-confidence, self-expression, and involvement in social justice.

Jason Clark

Journal Entries

Roadmapping Your Strategic Initiatives

Positioning Your Company for Differentiation

OBS Studio Tips & Tricks: Super Cool Webcam Options

Charitable Giving Guide 2020

Holiday Gift Guide 2020

2019 VIA Studio Highlight Reel

2019 Holiday Gift Guide For Web & Design Geeks

Typography in Design

Personal Projects

When You Need to Name Your Company

2019 Holiday Gift