Digital Agency Blog: Spoken by Speak Creative - Showcase

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Insight from Digital Strategists

Category: Showcase

Recapping Speak Week 2023 in Photos

If you’ve been following us on social media, you may have noticed our work week looked a bit different last week.  We got away from our desks and laptops, put those OOO notifications on, and got together in Memphis for a week of connecting and collaborating in person.  As a fully remote-optional company, our team spans far and wide. We’ve got our core offices in Memphis and Nashville, but we also have team members in Arizona and Oklahoma and Florida, Italy and Bra... Read More
Claire Grace Wednesday, January 18, 2023

A Fond Farewell to 2022

Remember everything that happened in 2022? We don't either. But we've come up with a list of (some of) what 2022 had to offer. Below, you can find just a few of the things that made us think or laugh this year. It's likely you've already forgotten about a few of them... Wordle Ok, so technically Wordle was around before 2022, but it became a cultural phenomenon this year when the game added the ability to share your score via emoji squares. The Speak #wordle S... Read More
Matt Roberts Tuesday, December 20, 2022

The Need for Industry Expertise: Why One Site Doesn’t Fit All

When choosing a digital partner, it’s important to look for someone with both a creative mindset and a deep knowledge of the industry in which you're positioned. As a web design and digital marketing agency, we've worked with organizations from dozens of industries in our 20+ year history, from nonprofits and visitor attractions to doctor's offices, real estate, restaurants and arts organizations. A partner that has a knowledge of your industry will... Read More
Madelyn Bomar Wednesday, November 30, 2022

Speak Creative Takes Home 8 Web Excellence Awards

The Web Excellence Awards, a leading international interactive web awards competition, has announced the 2022 award winners to highlight this year's "best of the best" in web design and development. The team of designers, developers, and strategists at Speak Creative were recognized for excellence in web design for 8 websites built for our clients. We are proud to announce the award winning sites:  Fort Worth Zoo Guaranty Bank Lung Cancer Research Foundatio... Read More
Kristin Cales Tuesday, September 27, 2022

9 Things I've Learned in 9 Weeks as an Intern at Speak Creative

Speak welcomed four interns this summer, with two of us in Nashville and two representing the 901. Kevin was brought onto the Web Development team, Micah joined the Platforms team, London spent her summer as a Brand Strategy intern with the Audience Growth team, and I joined the powerhouse that is the Speak Agency Marketing team.  We spent our summers doing very different things, but I’m sure we’d all agree that we learned a lot. As I round out my time at Speak, I’m hi... Read More
Destiny Welch Thursday, July 21, 2022

Recapping Speak Halftime 2022

It doesn’t seem possible that we’re already halfway through 2022, but here we are. In many ways it feels like it was just weeks ago that our team met up for Speak Week in January to set our yearly goals. And yet, we’re forging into Quarter 3, with many of our goals and intentions for the year completed or well underway.   Every year, our team spends a day in the summer participating in what we like to call Halftime – a day dedicated to checking in on the goa... Read More
Claire Grace Friday, July 8, 2022

Speak Creative is Named a 2022 Best in Business Award Finalist

Speak Creative has been named one of the Nashville Business Journal’s Best in Business for the second year in a row.   The Nashville Best in Business Awards are given annually by the Nashville Business Journal to recognize businesses in the local community who have shown innovation, tenacity, and a creative approach to overcoming challenges.  Speak was first nominated for the award by the public, then was scored by a panel of judges based on company culture, business ... Read More
Claire Grace Wednesday, May 25, 2022

A Few Thoughts on AZA's 2022 Mid-year Meeting in Long Beach, CA

"A picture is worth a thousand words. An experience is worth at least a thousand pictures." - Dr. Sylvia Alice Earle With those words on Friday morning's opening keynote, Dr. Earle perfectly encapsulated the main thrust of her optimistic view of what is possible in the world of conservation: for those who want to create enduring change, we must invite others into experiences. Dr. Earle invited the assembled aquarium and zoo leadership to see their organizations as the front l... Read More
Matt Roberts Wednesday, May 4, 2022

60 Questions With Speak's 2022 Team Choice Award Winner, BJ Maxwell

Our team recently met in Memphis for our annual Speak Week, where we set our goals for the year, discussed ways we can improve, and perhaps most importantly, announced our Team Choice Winner for 2022. Each year, Speak team members vote on a winner—someone who embodies our core values and who we love getting to work with every day. This year we crowned BJ Maxwell, our Director of Finance and self-proclaimed Mayor of Speak. BJ goes above and beyond exemplifying our values, and ... Read More
Claire Grace Friday, January 21, 2022

Recapping Speak Week 2022: 5 Lessons We Can Learn From Ted Lasso (with no spoilers, we promise!)

The team at Speak Creative spans wide–from Memphis to Nashville, with remote team members all across the country, and even some outside the country. This past week, we had the opportunity to all meet up at the Memphis office (with a few of us on Zoom) to work hard, play hard, and take home some life lessons along the way.  This year’s annual Speak Week was themed Believe and took inspiration from all things Ted Lasso. The Speak Week planning team surprised everyone with socc... Read More
Claire Grace Wednesday, January 19, 2022

21 Memorable Moments from 2021

2021 was a refreshing year. After a 2020 that stretched us all, we got to work creating some incredible digital experiences for our clients and had a lot of laughs in between. We’ve gathered a list of 21 memorable moments that have occurred both inside and outside the walls of Speak that are worth celebrating.  1. We loved where we worked.       It’s no secret that we Speaksters love where we work and it’s nice that our communities... Read More
Madelyn Bomar Monday, December 20, 2021

Designing The New Tennessee State License Plate

“Good design is like a refrigerator—when it works, no one notices, but when it doesn’t, it sure stinks.” –Irene Au Good design often goes unnoticed and because of that, you’ve likely never thought about the Tennessee state license plate before. However, if you are a resident of Tennessee there is arguably not another design you see as often as you do the Tennessee license plate, and beginning in 2022 Tennessee will have a new official license plate. ... Read More
Digital Marketing Team Sunday, December 12, 2021

Speak Creative Wins 14 Graphic Design USA Awards

Graphic Design USA, based out of New York City, recently hosted both the American Web Design Awards and the Graphic Design Awards to showcase the best designs of the year. The awards are open to every­one in the community: design firms, ad agencies, in house departments, institutions, associations, freelancers, students and more. It honors outstanding work of all kinds — the best designs of the year — in print, packaging, internet, interactive, video and more. We wanted to ta... Read More
Madelyn Bomar Thursday, November 11, 2021

The Great Speak Pumpkin Showdown

Ghouls, Gals, and every Speakster in between were invited to compete in our first-ever Speak Pumpkin Showdown yesterday. Any employee, in-office or remote, had the opportunity to participate in the old-fashioned pumpkin carving competition for this year's Halloween party. With a one-hour planning session and a 4-day deadline, our staff could be seen hard at work carving away at their soon-to-be-masterpieces. The fun part? There were no rules on mediums or material... Read More
Madelyn Bomar Friday, October 29, 2021

New Faces and Old Favorites

We’re halfway through 2021 and almost a year and a half out from the beginning of the pandemic. We spoke to our team about what the first half of the year looked like for them, as well as what’s on the horizon for the remainder of the year. You might’ve noticed that we’ve grown our team quite a bit this year, so as you read you’ll see some new faces and recognize some old favorites.  What are your favorite things you’ve completed so far in 2021? &ldq... Read More
Madelyn Bomar Wednesday, July 28, 2021

Compiling Quality Research

So you need to do some research. No matter what you’re researching, it’s important to be strategic about the process in which you research, rather than stressing early on about the product or output. The phrase “you find what you’re looking for” can all too often apply to research when you head into a project expecting to find a certain conclusion. Then, you find yourself only looking for information to support that opinion and disregard the data that challenges ... Read More
Madelyn Bomar Wednesday, July 7, 2021

Considering the User Experience: Illinois Holocaust Museum

Our partner, the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center, or IHMEC, sits right outside of the city of Chicago. Their mission is to “Remember the Past, Transform the Future” through the exhibition, preservation and interpretation of collections, education programs, and initiatives that foster the promotion of human rights and the elimination of genocide. They host group tours, public programs, teaching trunks for educators, and even operated their museum virtually during t... Read More
Madelyn Bomar Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Intentional and Innovative: Meet John Waddell, Senior Designer

You know the phrase first to arrive, last to leave? Well that sums up John Waddell, one of Speak’s Senior Designers. After nearly 20 years as a designer, John knows a thing or two about dedication.  Described by members of our team as compassionate, servant-minded, and diligent, John has only officially been at Speak for a year and a half. Prior to joining the team as part of Speak’s acquisition of Rocketfuel, John worked at Rocketfuel for 17 years. But as a child, John had ... Read More
Madelyn Bomar Thursday, May 27, 2021

Making The Case: Why Law Offices Need a Compelling Digital Presence

As a digital-first agency, we believe that a digital strategy can make a difference for any industry, but law offices in particular have a lot to gain from a compelling digital presence. In a competitive space, law offices rely on lead generation and brand recognition to build their customer base. Here’s a few recent examples of how we’ve partnered with law firms to drive results.  Black McLaren Jones Ryland & Griffee We set out to equip BMJRG with a website that refl... Read More
Madelyn Bomar Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Several People Are Typing: Getting To Know Business Development

Through a Slack discussion with Speak’s business development team, we explored common misconceptions about the world of sales and what sets Speak apart.   HERE'S TODAY'S STARTING LINE UP:  Jessica: Hi all, thanks for joining to chat about all things business development. Before we get started, I want to know why you think you’ve found yourself in a business development role. Did you always know it was your calling or did you stumble into it? Adam: I guess... Read More
Jessica Freeman Monday, April 12, 2021

Revamping Beloved Brands: Sims + Architects

The Back Story Organizations across the country come to Speak to refresh their brand. These organizations are in search of a new look, unified voice, and strong positioning. We believe that good branding can be the very thing that captures the right audience and moves them towards the action your organization desires. Lavin Architects out of Amarillo, Texas, came to Speak looking for a total brand refresh for their long-standing firm of 35 years. After a cross-team renaming exploration, Si... Read More
Madelyn Bomar Monday, March 29, 2021

5 Tips for Establishing Trust with Clients

If you look back on a relationship that you have had over a long course of time - whether that be professional, personal, or romantic - one of the underlying traits of that relationship is likely trust. Trust comes with time — it isn't effortless and is often an uphill battle. However, when mistakes are made but dealt with in a humble and ethical manner, trust is established. It also happens when there is a personal connection formed, which requires intention. Trust i... Read More
Abi Devins Tuesday, March 16, 2021

Several People Are Typing: Project Management

Through a Slack discussion with Speak's project management team, we explored how they keep projects moving, what they wish you knew before every project you start, and of course a few of Devon's dad jokes.  Here's today's starting lineup: Jessica: Hi y’all, thanks for joining to discuss all things project management. Before we get started, I’d love to know how each of you found yourself in project management.   Andrea:  Hi! Well, after I gra... Read More
Jessica Freeman Wednesday, March 3, 2021

Speak Takes Home Gold at the American Advertising Awards

The American Advertising Awards is the advertising industry's largest and most representative competition, attracting nearly 35,000 entries every year in local competitions. The American Advertising Federation, AAF, has a mission to “recognize and reward the creative spirit of excellence in the art of advertising.” For 73 years, the Memphis AAF chapter has been putting on the ADDY awards for excellence in advertising and marketing. Their call is for entries of local advertisin... Read More
Madelyn Bomar Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Mid-South Food Bank: Doing Good Where You’re Planted   

Design trends and technology change all the time. As technology evolves alongside your organization, even the best websites will eventually need a redesign. The typical lifespan of a website is 5 years or less and around that time your site should be ready for a revamp. It’s always a big compliment when our partners return to us for their redesign, and that is a compliment that Mid-South Food Bank has given us not once but twice.  We’ve been fortunate enough to work alongsi... Read More
Madelyn Bomar Wednesday, January 27, 2021