Lucy Nguyen

5 Examples of Personalization in Marketing

As technology gets better, tracking a user has become more accessible. Companies can now gather an insane amount of data to tailor the user experience. Here are five of my favourite examples of personalization.

Spotify Wrapped

Each year Spotify creates a customized slideshow for users to see unique stats about their usage on Spotify. From their most listen to artists to their top genres. It has become event users look forward to. Users can also share their unique taste in music and celebrate their time on Spotify. It gives another reason for users to stick with their platform.

TikTok Algorithm

TikTok is the newest social media platform on the block. What sets them apart is their ‘algorithm,’ which has been said to be scarily accurate. They have a section called the “For you” page where TikTok will show you videos they believe you will like or find interested in. The more you interact with TikTok, the better it gets. Their personalization has shot them to one of the biggest social media platforms. It has become addicting when you see content that is catered to you.

Reply all even did a podcast episode on this topic: https://gimletmedia.com/shows/reply-all/z3h78d6

They discussed how Tik Tok showed the guest a video with a specific body anomaly she had. How does Tik Tok even know this?

Coke Name on Bottles

One of the most successful campaigns Coca-Cola has ever run was “Share a Coke.” They printed numerous names on Cokes, and people scrambled to find theirs or others they knew. They cleaned out shelves, and Coke even had a custom machine to print a lesser well-known name. The campaign increased sales across all age groups, and the social media chatter was terrific.

Netflix’s Thumbnails

It’s no secret that Netflix tracks its customers’ usage to recommend shows they may like. Netflix takes it a step further by customizing the thumbnails of shows to appeal to users based on the types of shows they like. Vox did a great piece on this!

Nike’s Custom Shoes

Nike stays on the cutting edge of technology by offering customized shoes designed by its users. Not many shoe companies can boast this capability. Allowing customers to choose how their shoes look gives them the sense that Nike cares about their individuality and wants to celebrate it. More companies are jumping on this trend of personalization and customization.

https://www.nike.com/ca/nike-by-you

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How to Use the Star Shape Tool in Adobe Illustrator

1. Click on the star tool on the side menu. You can click on the small triangle to open up more options.

2. Then click and drag on the artboard. The default shape is a star.

3. To add more points, while you are clicking and to drag the default star, press the up arrow ↑. If you click the down arrow ↓, fewer points will appear.

4. To change the distance of the inner points to the endpoints. When you are clicking and dragging, press CTRL simultaneously, move your mouse towards for a small distance or away for a pointer star.

You can use the star tool to create many different shapes cleanly.

Note: If you have other Adobe programs such as Photoshop and Indesign, you can copy and paste these shapes into there.

Hope that helps! Happy creating.

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Ideas for Marketing & Graphic Portfolio if you have nothing

If you find yourself in the unenviable position of having no work for a Portfolio, there is a solution. Do fake projects. Here are some ideas you do yourself to start building your portfolio.

Social Media campaign for a brand you love

Pick a brand that is in the industry you want to work in. It can be makeup, fashion, construction, etc. Whatever you want you can build a social media campaign.

Examples are:

  • New or Relaunch of a Product
  • Contest
  • Spotlight on the company
  • Awards

Influencer collaboration strategy

The influencer economy is growing and you can show you have your finger on the pulse. Choose a well-known influencer in your industry and create a fake campaign collaboration. For marketing, you can outline a strategy to generate leads through the use of discount codes and show a fictitious strategy.

Develop a business pitch for stakeholders/clients

This can be a presentation deck you would create to show how you would pitch a fake company to an investor, partner, supplier, etc.

Make a hypothetical business plan

Use a fake company. There are many business case studies you can use to base one off of. Here is one https://guides.library.ubc.ca/businesscases/free

Rebrand an existing business

This can be a fake company you made up or an existing one. You can go on Behance, and many people have done.
Examples are:

  • Redesigning packaging
  • Redesigning their website
  • Redesigning their logo and branding

Target market consultation pitch

  • For marketing show how you would break down a target audience and your outreach plan for them.
  • For a graphic designer, design for example a post for three different target audience.
  • This shows you understand personas.

Video campaign plan

This can be a variety of things. For example

  • Tutorial
  • Commerical
  • Company spotlight
  • Social media videos

Plan a seasonable/national awareness day campaign

You can use http://unescocenterforpeacenys.org/international-days-celebration/ or https://www.daysoftheyear.com/ to pick a day and build a campaign around it.

Develop your own personal brand

This is your chance to show who you really are and articulate it.

Hope that helps and I wish you the best of luck!

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Tips for University Students in Graphic Design or Marketing

Setting yourself up for success in school is difficult. No one talks about it in high school or university. However, the internet is an excellent resource to help steer you in the correct direction. Here are my four top tips to help you do just that.

Get an Internship, Co-op, or Work Study

When choosing a university, many consider it obvious to look at who offers the best program for their desired major, such as the best teachers, equipment, facilities, etc. However, many fail to consider choosing a university if they have an internship, co-op, or work-study for their major. I think this is a significant consideration. Getting experience early is critical in building up your resume and your expertise.

Bonus, you will make some extra money and get a reference. A tip is to look at the internship/co-op/work-study requirements. I had to be a third-year student at my school, have a certain grade average, and take specific courses. It varies, of course, but you need to keep that in mind to qualify.

Some may argue you can get one outside of school. You can, of course! However, there are extra benefits. The schools have agreements with these companies that often have to fill those positions with students from a specific school. Your odds of getting that position increases significantly. They also sometimes offer help in interviewing and writing resumes and cover letters. Either way, you need to build up experience.

Start a Portfolio

This may be common sense, but it bears repeating. I would advocate having a physical and online portfolio if possible. There are many free websites you can take advantage of. Such as Google websites, Wix, and more. Here is where you can brand yourself, set yourself apart from others, look professional, and get experience building websites.

You may find yourself lacking projects. My answer, make fake ones. There are a lot of great ideas online for fake portfolio ideas. However, make sure it relates to your industry. Building a body of work will take time, but it is well worth it.

Start social media.

This is an easy and cost-effective method to get your name out there. Again, it’s building your brand as a secondary way to show your portfolio and participate in the community.

Another benefit is that you will become familiar with social media management. This is a skill many companies are looking for in regard to marketing.

Join a reputable registered group/certification

There are many organizations out there that offer certification. Bonus, they often offer a reduced price for students. Many companies specify a destination or certification for their candidates. Go on Linkedin, indeed or another job board and search for what kind they are looking for.

One I recommend for graphic designers, specifically in Canada, is RGD – https://www.rgd.ca/

It will be a boon for your professional if you can get it. It will increase your prestige and validate your experience and skills, and you again can connect with like-minded individuals.

Volunteer (Optional)

This one is optional because I understand not everyone can pursue it due to financial situations. This is a way to build experience, a portfolio, and a network. I would recommend trying to find a contract or project-based position. Short-term is better, allowing you to make a clean break.

These are my top tips. If there are any I’m missing, let me know below. I wish you all the luck in your future development.

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How To Add A Countdown Timer in Emails

To further excite your email subscribers, countdowns are an excellent visual tool. However, many email platforms do not have this function built-in. If you google “Email Countdown Timer,” there are many online tools to help you. My recommendation, however, is Sendtric! Here’s how simple it is to implement it.

How To Add a Countdown Timer using Sendtric

  1. Go to Sendtric
  2. You will see the following section. It is straightforward.
  • Background: The colour of the background will be a rectangle.
  • Labels: It will be the words below the numbers. Days, Hours, Mins, and Secs are the labels.
  • Digits: This will be the colour of the numbers.

Add your email. Then choose the correct time zone, date and time, and language. Agree to their terms and conditions. Click the GENERATE.

3. A preview and code will be generated to the right of the inputs. COPY THE CODE.

4. Go to your preferred Email platform. I’m using Hubspot. In the email, add the HTML module.

5. Add the code that you copied from Sendtric.

6. You may notice that the width is not what you wanted. To change the width, add the following to your code.
<img src="http://gen.sendtric.com/countdown/n4uzw9rba3" width="700" style="display: block;" />

You can see width=”700″ is after the URL. It is in pixels.

I hope that helps, and happy creating!

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The Top 5 PR Diasters of 2021

There have been a lot of PR blunders in 2021. Here are the top 5, in my opinion, and no particular order.

The Mass Firings at Better.com

On December 1st, three weeks before Christmas. Vishal Garg, the CEO of Better.com, got on a pre-recorded video call with 900 employees and terminated them immediately. Although the mass layoff was bound to get attention, what stirred people was what he said in the recording, which you can see below.

The PR blunder was how he made about it himself—stating that this was the “second time he had to do this and hopes to be stronger this time around.” He stated how he wished the company was thriving, but the reality was different. Better.com had gotten an infusion of USD 750 million, and the company itself was valued at around $7 billion. Not the mention the millions the CEO Vishal is worth himself.

This comes as a surprise to no one who has worked with the CEO. He has been noted as a particularly mean and nasty person. In a Feb 2020 email, he called his employees “a bunch of dumb dolphins.”

The video has since gone viral, and he has issued an apology on how he handled it, but it felt insincere. In the wake of it, five senior employees quit. The future for Better.com doesn’t look better.

The Chanel Advent Calendar

The fashion giant Chanel took a dip into the world of luxury advent calendars for Christmas this year. This year’s advent calendar celebrated the 100 years since the launch of their famous perfume, Chanel N°5. What Chanel didn’t count on was Tik Toker Influencer Elise Harmon. She was excited to open the Calendar, but her mounting disappointment was evident as the boxes were opened, which you can see here.

The Calendar comes in at USD 825, before taxes and shipping. The Calendar was filled with a few samples, but the most disappointing items were the stickers, the dust bag, and a few cheaply made trinkets. The commenters were angry and flabergasted at Elise’s videos, and we’re along for the ride. They lambasted Chanel’s TikTok and other social media. They figured out the Calendar itself was valued to be around $200.

The company itself closed their Tik Tok account and reportedly blocked Elise Harmon. They did issue a response “We are committed to sharing our creations with our followers on all social networks we are active on. Our pages are open to everyone, and our followers are free to express their feelings and opinions, whether they are enthusiastic or critical.”

The $4,400 Tip

Working in the service industry is often a thankless job. Many are often treated as less than human and are often paid less than they deserve. In North America, tips are often the only way many workers make up for being paid a low hourly wage. Some are even paid as little as $2.85.

Twp waitresses in Arkansas were tipped $4,400 this year for her service. It should have been a heartwarming moment, quickly becoming a gut-reaching nightmare. Her boss demanded he shares the tip, with the majority going to management. The waitress pointed out that they had never shared tips before, and it was not restaurant policy. She was fired after three years when she wouldn’t give her rightful tip.

The silver lining was supporters started a GoFunMe and have raised well over $15,000. The restaurant has been bombarded with 1-star reviews and has received extra scrutiny into its labour practice.

Amazon’s Warehouse Exposed

The monolith that is Amazon has been criticized rightfully for their mistreatment of their workers. From unreasonable expectations, workers peeing in bottles, and mass firings of the bottom performers. It’s a capitalist nightmare, but the nightmare got worse this year.

A hurricane hit an Amazon warehouse in Illinois. Sadly, six workers died. The immediate question was how could Amazon let this happen? There were weather warnings in Illinois that day, and they chose to ignore it. Instead, they sent workers in regardless of the danger, choosing productivity over workers’ safety.

Amazon responded to the tragedy by donating to the Edwardsville Community Foundation and providing relief supplies. However, it is not enough. An inquiry has been demanded into the incident.

Kellogg’s Boycott

Giant corporations which exemplify the worst of Capitalism seem to be the theme for this year. This year Kellog failed to give their union a fair deal. The tipping point was the deal would create a two-tier system that would pay new workers less (Truthout, 2021).

Kellog announced that it would hire scab workers to replace 1,400 workers who’ve been striking since October 2021. Once this news hits the internet, people from all walks o life chime in. From politicians to celebrities, everyone shames Kellog for their behaviour.

The subreddit Antiwork took an active approach and sent hundreds of applications to Kellog’s website, causing it to crash. Multiple petitions have sprouted up, and many have signed a petition to boycott their products. There is a clear, united message, treat your workers better.

  • Sources:
  • https://truthout.org/articles/calls-for-boycott-grow-after-kellogg-says-its-permanently-replacing-strikers/
  • https://people.com/human-interest/arkansas-server-says-receiving-tip-from-big-party-led-to-firing/
  • https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/12/15/amazon-warehouse-collapse-tornado/

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How to Get a Feather Effect on Multiple Sides in Adobe Indesign

The feather effect is a subtle addition to any image. Unfortunately, it’s not easy to feather on more than one side in Indesign compared to Photoshop. Here are two options to get it on multiple sides.

OPTION 1

This one is for a very soft feather effect.

Step 1

Click on the image to get the bounding box to appear.

Step 2

Right-click on the image and click Effect Gradient Feather.

Step 3

Make sure the Gradient Feather and Preview are checked. To create the feather effect on two edges, make the gradient stop like the one below. The first one is 0%, the middle 100% and the third 100%. You have to click on the gradient stops bar to add the third. The type should be linear and angle 0 degrees. You can choose radial, but it would make a circle feather effect rather than a hard edge.

You can do just one side or two sides, and it’s up to you!

You can see the EEffectbelow.

Step 4

Now we got it on two sides. To do the top and bottom double click the image. The bounding box should now be a different colour. Repeat Step 2. Which was right-click go to EEffectGradient Effect.

Below are the numbers. Again make the GrGradienttops the same as before, but the angle is 90 degrees.

You can see the result below! A soft feather effect on four sides.

OPTION 2

This one will give a tighter, hard feather effect.

Step 1

Double click on the image to get the image’s bounding box. Right-click and select Effects > Directional Feather

Step 2

Make sure Directional Feather and Preview are both checked. In the feather widths section, you control how many feathering you want on the four sides.

The Noise option will make the grGradientrainy.

The choke option will determine how soft the feather is.

The shape of the edges doesn’t matter too much.

Here is how it looks! It gives a harder feather effect. It can also be used with Gradient Feather to create some cool effects.

Hope that helps! Happy Creating.

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Email A/B Variables

What is A/B Testing?

A/B testing is when you take two versions with only one change to two similar audiences to see a difference in performance.

Variables to Test

Don’t have ideas for what to test in your Emails? Here are some variables you can test to increase your open rate. I strongly suggest testing one at a time not to muddle the results.

  1. Time of Day: If your customers or audience is in geographic area. You can test whether specific times of day AM or PM will affect open rate.
  2. Day of week: Sometimes your audience will be more likely to open an email on a monday versus a friday.
  3. Subject lines: Try for variations on subject lines such as
    • Numbers
    • Tone
    • Specific Words
    • Emojis
    • Length
  4. Preview Text: You can change the preview text in many applications. Check if that makes a difference vs subject lines
  5. From name: Who you send it from may matter. Most are likely to delete emails from marketing @company.com rather than a real name.
  6. Personlization: Using their name has been shown to increase open rates. Sometimes it may not work for your audience, as it may be seen as pandering, it depends!

I hope you got some ideas, and of course, never stop creating and trying to improve!

Read my primer here if you want to learn more about A/B Testing.

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Why Do Grammar Errors Show Up When I Paste From Indesign?

When you download a template, please type in a text and then paste it into Word. You might run into this problem, where it shows up as a grammar error. The reason is simple. It is being “formatted” in a different language in Indesign. Here’s how to fix it.

Step 1: Open up the Text panel by clicking the “T button” on the menu.

Step 2: In the panel, you will see what language it is in.

Step 3: Change it to English or any other language.

And that’s it! You can now copy freely between Word and Indesign without issue.

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How To Create A Custom Brush in Adobe Illustrator

  1. Create your brush. What works best is to make it “line like” and make sure the ends are STRAIGHT Here’s an example one one I did.

2. Highlight/Select the entire design.

3. Go to the Brush panel. This can be accessed by Windows >Brushes
Then go to the bottom and click the + icon.

4. A panel will pop up and choose the “Pattern Brush” option.

5. You will now see a preview of the brush. You can rename it, and the boxes I highlighted further customized the look of the brush. Once you are satisfied with the look, click “OK” at the bottom.

6. Now, it will be in your brushes panel, and you can use the pen tool to create fantastic designs.

7. You can control the thickness of the brush by going to the stroke option.

I hope that helps! Happy creating.

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What is Content Marketing?

Overview

Let’s break it down. Content is the assets customers will interact with. It can be blogs, videos, infographics, whitepapers, e-books, flyers, and more. The possibilities are endless. Content marketing is the planning, creating, and delivering that content to achieve your goals.

How to plan your Content Marketing Strategy

1. Established goals

This is the obvious first step for any strategy. The common goals of content marketing are generating leads, attracting visitors/potential customers, and engagement. These are starting goals, potential future goals if your content does well and becomes your business or side business such as YouTubers, influencers, selling your e-books etc. It can generate potential revenue.

2. Choose the audience.

Define your audience. You can choose a broad, but the better defined they are, the better your strategy. It will guide the type of content you create. For example, for a younger audience, it will inform the usage of slang terms, brighter colours, what topics they are interested in.

3. Who are you?

What are your company’s values, mission, personality? It should be at the core of the content you make and fit into your brand. It will also help you create content to better explain and show off your company!

4. Conduct Competitor analysis

You can look at the various content your top competitors are creating to see where you may be lacking, where you can create unique content, and take inspiration from.

5.Delivery

Distribution channels for your content are important. Here is a quick list:

  • Social Media: There are general demographics on various social media. Also, different platforms favor certain formats better. For example, Youtube favours longer videos. While Instagram and Tiktok favors shorter video. Instagram is generally a visual platform. While Twitter, text works better.
  • Magazines, Newspapers, Newsletter and Blogs: Although physical print is dying, online has been booming. You can create your own or be a sponsor in another magazine. They often have niche audiences you can tap into.
  • Websites: Your website will be most visited channel, here you can control everything from the look, feel, of it including the content.
  • Apps: They have been booming and many companies have launched their own. It is a highly complex channel, so please work with an experience company and see if it fits in your strategy and needs.

Reminder there are places & content you own, earned (backlinks), and paid for. Explore them!

SEO will also be a part of your content strategy. Such as what topics to focus on, keywords to use, and drive traffic to it.

6. Promotion

You will need to promote your content. Various ways to promote are:

  • Email, like a regular newsletter
  • In-person
  • Social media Posts
  • Ads

7. KPIs

Before you should establish a baseline, and constantly check on the progress of your content. Typical KPIs are website visits, engagement, and etc.


Content is constant and needs to be generated to keep it fresh and new for your audience. If you don’t know what to create read my post on content various ideas for business.

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Why is My Wacom’s Pen Pressure Not Working?

When getting a Wacom Tablet second-hand the pen pressure may not be working. It could possibly be due to faulty hardware, but before you throw it out try this.

1. Install the proper Driver.

There are specific product drivers that enable the pen pressure. Check out https://www.wacom.com/en-ca/support/product-support/drivers to find your tablet and install the driver.

This was the problem in my case and now I can do the digital painting!

2. Replace the Nib

Just like a pencil, although not as frequently, the nib does go through wear and tear. You can replace them. Go to https://estore.wacom.com/en-US/accessories/accessories-nibsc.html

Happy creating.

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