CLEARWATER, FL, March 16, 2021

Originally published by Digital Media Net

Credit card usage is at an all-time high in the US since the pandemic hit late last March. I’ll be honest, this seemed odd to me when I read it. You would think more people would be cancelling their credit cards. Especially since the unemployment rate continues to climb and our economy appears to be on a significant downturn. The truth remains that consumers actually are using credit cards more often and for more every day purchase likes groceries and personal care items. That’s the biggest difference from 2019. During the pandemic, more than half of adults with credit card debt added to their balances, according to a study done by CreditCards.com. Most Americans aren’t using credits to go on a big vacation (that they can’t really afford) or buy that expense handbag, instead they are using it for the bare necessities. Not only are consumers using credits cards differently, but they have also become more conscious of reducing their overall debt amount.
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CLEARWATER, FL, February 24, 2021

Do you think your brand can hack it on Amazon or do you want to leverage Amazon as a secondary source for sales? Why not when Amazon accounts for 45% of all U.S. ecommerce sales. But it’s not as easy as putting up a listing of your product. With so many brands failing at their amazon launch, you can turn to Bluewater for the expertise to push a successful launch and optimize your listing to achieve long-term marketplace viability.
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CLEARWATER, FL, February 8, 2021 

Over-the-Top (OTT) media has skyrocketed over the past year as consumers look for more entertainment content or cut the cord to save money. With all the opportunity of reaching new audiences and reinforcing messages on linear TV, Bluewater has proven results on the effectiveness of this channel as compared to a linear TV only approach.
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CLEARWATER, FL, February 4, 2021
 

Several studies across the industry show that 79% of online shoppers use mobile devices, and mobile purchases account for as much as 50% of all internet sales. Yet, 70% of online shoppers abandon their carts after online browsing according to Baymard Institute. And that percentage continues to rise. The biggest leak in the website marketing funnel is the abandoned cart. In fact, Kissmetrics research shows that 40% of users will abandon if a URL takes more than 3 seconds to load. These customer behaviors drive the critical need for marketers to employ responsive, nimble and intuitive websites, as well as deliver smart targeted remarketing strategies to recapture customer interest and drive conversion. Here are three of the most critical tips from our digital and website development experts to build a successful commerce website for your brand.
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CLEARWATER, FL, January 29, 2021

Transporting Consumers into the Brand Experience with Nostalgic Storytelling
Originally published by International Hair Authority

“2020 has been quite a decade,” goes the common refrain. The sentiment is one we can all connect to on some level; the seemingly endless year has been nothing if not out of the ordinary. Practically overnight, the way we conduct business, celebrate events, and visit friends has drastically changed. There’s an appetite for the ordinary, for the familiar. We miss it, sometimes fearing it may never return. We crave normality every time we adjust our hot facemasks or air-hug a friend. Advertising, too, is caught in a strange no-man’s land right now when it comes to how to depict our new normal (or indeed whether we should at all!). As a creative director at an Adweek Top100 agency, navigating the details of how and whether or not to embrace the full reality of 2020 in a tasteful and responsible way has become a familiar struggle, one in which it’s easy to lose sight of the primary goal: how can we make people connect emotionally with what we’re selling? In times as fraught as these, perhaps we should be thinking about ways in which we can reach into consumers’ hearts and their warm memories of a more normal time, and bring our products and services along in a way that feels respectful and positive.
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CLEARWATER, FL, January 28, 2021

At Bluewater we are all about relationships. We take pride not only in our work, but knowing that our clients succeed. Although we’ve had to make adjustments over the past year, we’re thriving with an incredible team and great clients. Hear about the Bluewater story from Gina Pomponi, President and COO, on The Loudspeaker.

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CLEARWATER, FL, January 15, 2021

Over-the-Top (OTT) media, aka streaming media such as Hulu or You Tube, has simply exploded. Coming into 2020, OTT had 44M US household subscribers. No small potatoes. Then the pandemic hit and screen time drastically increased. According to Comscore research, OTT viewership held steady for several years then viewership jumped by 30% from March 2020 to April 2020 and numbers have continued to hold strong since. So why are consumers quickly turning to OTT?

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CLEARWATER, FL, October 16, 2020

How Prime Day Encourages Impulse Buying
Originally published by Lifewire

While millions of people eagerly await the delivery of items they bought during this week’s Amazon Prime Day, quite a few will come to regret their purchases, experts say.
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CLEARWATER, FL, January 15, 2021

Fortunes told, a Post-Election Media Prediction
Originally published by Digital Media Net by Gina Pomponi, Bluewater President & COO

There is one pressing question every client asks: what’s going to happen with rates and inventory?” It’s an honest ask, and in a normal year, I can confidently answer this question relying on my years of experience and historical seasonality. However, 2020 has been anything but normal. In the past 30 years, we have endured some horrible times including 9/11 and the Great Recession, but nothing that has impacted the media world quite as uniquely as COVID.
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CLEARWATER, FL, December 14, 2020

Great Creative Remains the Key to DTC Success
Published by PDMI in Results Magazine 12/14/2020

As we all look to turn the page on a historic — to put it mildly — 2020, I’m asked to make predictions on what the 2021 market will look like. Before we really look into the future, let’s take a minute to evaluate what we’ve learned from this year.
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CLEARWATER, FL, November 30, 2020

Shift Happens – Get ahead with Consumer Behavior Data
Published by Multichannel Merchant, 11/24/2020

2020 will go down in history for many reasons…most of them we’ll all try to forget. For brands and marketers, there are a few consumer changes that you’re going to want to remember. The most significant is the rapid and forced transformation of consumer experiences. According Safesforce, 63% of consumers say that the way they obtain goods and services has been altered as a result of the pandemic and 57% also say how they engage with companies has transformed during 2020. How should this shape your plans for 2021? Let’s dig into some of these changes.

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CLEARWATER, FLA. SEPTEMBER 3, 2020

Direct Response advertising is a highly effective, proven tactic to cost effectively reach consumers directly, drive immediate engagement and transactions. Direct Response drives immediate direct revenue/leads and effectively builds brand awareness. Direct Response advertising can be an immediate profit center offsetting M&A costs.
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CLEARWATER, FLA. AUGUST 17, 2020

sodastream® quietly entered the US market as a substitute to sugary sodas with an innovative at home kitchen appliance and engaged Bluewater’s converged services to make a splash in the market and help boost sales while driving consumer acceptance to disrupt the beverage category—monopolized by leading The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo beverage conglomerates.

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CLEARWATER, FLA. AUGUST 04, 2020

Life as we know it has changed forever. Selling product has also changed forever. Since early March, when COVID reared its ugly head and lockdowns, shelter-in-place and social-distancing became our new normal, buyers’ habits have evolved in a way that nobody could have predicted. Online buying is now the preferred method of transacting which, in turn, has fast-tracked the retail apocalypse. Consumers are avoiding ‘social’ products and services like the plague (no pun intended) – party, travel, hospitality, events, luxury goods. Marketers have their work cut out for them and they’ve had to pivot their strategy to keep up with the rapidly changing trends. Here at Bluewater we understand these dilemmas and have developed and implemented some proven strategies for our clients to continue growth during these crazy times.

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CLEARWATER, FLA. JULY 24, 2020

Let’s face it, the economy is very dynamic to say the least right now. Clinching down on your advertising budget is common knee jerk reaction, but not the best move to keeping your business driving forward and revenue UP! The smart marketer is looking for innovative strategies to get more with less. It’s time to get proactive.

CLEARWATER, FLA. JULY 10, 2020

1. GREW PROFITS for a beverage brand 78% doubling their stock value and resulting in their acquisition by a Fortune 100 company within 9 months of Launch.
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CLEARWATER, FLA. JUNE 24, 2020

In Times Like This, Smart Brands are Shifting Marketing Dollars to Performance Based Agencies.