Nari Kim

It seems that Instagram is dead as a creative networking tool. In a recent Creative Boom article, a poll held on X spelled it out: "When asked, 'Is Instagram dying for creatives in terms of reach and engagement?' a staggering 75.8% of you replied yes, with only 11.9% believing 'It's still good' and 12.4% saying 'It's the same.'" So, what does work? Going back to the good old person-to-person contact. Go to events, talk to real humans, have a portfolio ready to show when needed. Know your worth and your expertise area. In a time when nobody can trust what we see online as having been created by an actual human, creative marketing needs to fall back on the basics. Do you still use Instagram for your marketing, and is it working? Or have you started to transition to new tactics? https://lnkd.in/e6X7r-mF

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Big news 🗞️ (News to LinkedIn anyway...) I've partnered with my fiancée Kendall Shain to launch a new agency: 𝐄𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐨. After nearly 9 years in the agency world, and 7 since opening my creative office in my hometown of Tijuana, MX, it was time to take a leap towards a goal that's important to both of us: scalability. As an agency primarily servicing clients in San Diego/SO CAL, we realized that to reach scale, we needed to expand our horizons. Enter: productized design. Far from a new concept, but we've put our unique spin on it: we took a look at what we excel at as a creative team and packaged it into easy-to-sell service tiers. We saw an opportunity in the 3D design space and had the team in place to really rock it. So far, Etereo's taken on 21 clients and counting. Our bread and butter? Creating high-converting eye candy for META — using 3D to create art for our clients that generates sales for their brands and elevates their content to the level of the big players. We started Etereo to scale our agency. What does scale look like for your business, and how are you planning to achieve it?

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Since many of us Don't know what "Creative" is... Here is me putting a stamp on it. A creative Doesn't mean design only, A good creative is made when the content and design work harmoniously to fulfill the purpose. If your content is weak, and there is no wit in your content. The creative design side will always be monotonous & if the design is made without understanding the concept it will be useless to The target audience. Designing means providing visual solutions to your clients; without a good content writer, Creatives can't be made. Those who claim they don't need Content for their designs and can use GPT for that purpose are in denial that their design is original and not inspired. Ps. While Posting Designs do not forget about the minds behind them and value The people working on content.

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The other side of the mute button. Brand teams and clients - trust me, stay off mute and just say the thing. As a former agency kid now on the inside, I’ve been on both "sides of the mute button.” And let me just say it's fascinating on the other side hearing what's discussed and why - and I wish I knew what was being talked before because it could have made our ideas stronger, better, and more effective sooner had we known the context of why the feedback was the way it was. (now granted this was more prevalent pre-covid before all the zooms and video calls but the mute still happens) We've all been there, you’re passionately presenting your (self proclaimed) genius ideas to a client, and suddenly, they say, “hey, give us a minute.” and boom - you find yourself muted, suspended in digital limbo, staring at everyone else in the conference room with you in silence. While the brand team discuss your work amongst themselves. It’s agonizing yet oddly suspenseful.    But here’s the thing, agencies thrive on direct and honest communication. Just say the thing, even if the thing is you don't like it. We feed off the energy in the room—the raised eyebrows (even in disapproval), the “aha” moments, the lean forward, the laugh and smile, basically ANY sort of reaction we'll take. But when we’re muted, it feels like our wings are clipped. Momentum fades, ideas lose their spark, and contextual feedback slips away. Not to mention I can't count the number of times I've now heard "well the idea they presented is X" and it turns out that wasn't the idea at all. They just heard it differently than it was intended. So agencies don't be afraid to ask "what did you hear us present?" if the commentary is coming back confusing.   Now that I’m on the other side, I'm trying to eliminate teams hitting that mute button. Just say what you are thinking, talk through it with the agencies. If you hate an idea thats ok, just say why. If you love it, say why. Give context and explanations as to why you are reacting the way you are. It's likely a solvable hurdle but the agency teams can't solve it if they don't know the real reason why.

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Brand Identity concept for a new CPG/DTC product. Can't share too much yet but it's coming along nicely! #cpgbranding #dtcbranding #brandidentity #branddesign #logodesign

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I got a new job. And it's way better than being ECD at The Attention Seeker. Don't get me wrong. I liked it. But I wasn't really offering Stanley Henry proper value. Right person. Wrong seat. He didn't need an ECD. He needed a strategist. Guess what? Yup. I'm now his Head Of Strategy. And guess what else? Without meaning to sound like a prick. I'm good at it. And I'm confident I'm adding a f**k load of value. Which makes me happy. And when I'm happy. I'm my best. Right person. Right seat. Key to success. For me. The team. And that all important bottom line.

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Tethered Closures on Bottles are the New Hot Trend in Beverage Packaging Design

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Reflecting on the journey since my original post, it's humbling to witness the strides taken, both personally and professionally in the last year. This video, once a creative expression of my skills and aspirations, now serves as a reminder of progress made and the journey ahead. Grateful for every opportunity and excited for what's to come! #ProfessionalProfile #CareerJourney #CareerGrowth #PersonalBranding

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FROM SEO TO SOS Recently, I visited a well-known airline’s website. After many frustrating twists and turns, I just gave up.  When I finally bounced, I felt a relief akin to that of a passenger who hastily exits an aircraft during an emergency on the escape slide. When I visit most websites it’s like wandering into a thicket in a lifeless wilderness. So many are unremarkable, poorly conceived, chock-full of overused and flat language, and some are outright incoherent. Sure, you may have outranked your competitors on Google with your SEO game, but did you outthink them when it actually matters - the moment your hard-won audience lands at your website’s doorstep? You’ve led a horse to water. Now how about that drink? Is your brand positioning strategic in helping you occupy an ownable white space in your category? Does the narrative that follows woo the coveted web traffic your SEO strategy generated? Or is it all a lunchbag letdown? The content arms race to curry favour with a web browser’s algorithm has led to an output glut of staggering proportions and limited impact. Driving web traffic is table stakes. What happens next is high stakes. Before you create an SEO stampede to your site, define and express your brand’s je ne sais quoi in a singular way. Make me care! KPIs like unique visitors, impressions, organic traffic, domain authority, and the like, are all academic unless they result in brand love and sales. Yes, sales - the only metric that truly matters. Thoughtfully describe the problem you’re solving and why you do that better than the competition. Don’t blather on about a dull and literal description of what you do, likely echoing what many of your competitors say. Leapfrog your competition by delighting your audience with clarity, originality and charm. And, above all, make your site intuitive and easy to explore. At the very least, try to relieve a smidge of life’s tedium. Or your audience will pull the chute. #websites #SEO #brandpositioning #marcom #copywriting #digitalmarketing 

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Tommy’s Briefs: What is one of the best or most worthwhile investments you've ever made? Tom McManimon—Founder of StimulusBrand Communications: “One of the best investments I’ve ever made is working on myself becoming a strong creative director. In that role, I get to influence teams of people and be their mentor, help them rise, and deliver their very best. In my career, I have surrounded myself with accomplished creative directors and learned from them. Another investment I’ve made is in public speaking. It’s one thing to present creative campaigns to CEOs or boards of directors which I have done for years, but another thing to be on a stage in front of a bigger audience—in  service to them. So, I enrolled in professional speaker training (again, from some of the very best) and learned a “thing or two.” I am in a career that requires that you know your target audience. The same holds true in speaking. Creating material that is relevant and meaningful is key. It became important to me to try to share messages and emotional stories that go beyond advertising to lift people and help business leaders have one of those lightbulb moments. To accomplish that, you have to learn to write well, rehearse it, and then deliver it as the authentic you. I was wise enough to surround myself with a team of people who were great at that and they help me every day to be compelling, engaging and on point.

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Did you know it's perfectly legal to discuss your salary? Companies often discourage this and may try to intimidate you if they find out. So here goes. 15 years experience. Sr Art Director, 163k year, left with 125k/RSUs vested and about 80k unvested. In a tough job market, it’s crucial to ensure you're negotiating what you're worth, not just what they say they can afford. Often, they can pay more. Don’t settle out of desperation. Your pay is significant—I didn’t even get a raise this year, so I understand how important it is. I was shocked to learn that some, women especially, I previously have worked with made nearly 40-50% less than I did. While there are reasons for different pay scales, the pay range for the same roles shouldn’t have a $60k-$100k disparity. Pay disparity remains a significant issue, particularly for women, with black and Latino women facing even greater wage gaps. On average, black women earn about 63 cents and Latino women about 55 cents for every dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men. This disparity is influenced by systemic biases, discrimination, and limited access to higher-paying jobs and opportunities for advancement. Addressing these inequalities is crucial, not only for achieving fairness and equity but also for fostering economic growth and stability. Ensuring transparency in pay and advocating for equal compensation are vital steps toward closing this gap. Go get your money. Don’t let a company gaslight you. If it takes nine interviews, you’re worth it.

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Triple Scoop on Friday at 1pm. Sign up! https://lnkd.in/gz9pe3bz AI and the Future of Creative. As a creative, this is heavily coming our way from process, skill assistance, all the way to (most likely) ...approval. Don't shy away, join us and let's talk about how we are already using this in our workflows, tricks and tips, and how to approach as an industry. #ai #artificialintelligence #design #designindustry

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WHY SHINE? One of the hardest things to do when you’re launching something is to find an appropriate name — Husna Murad and I spent an entire two weeks once on a naming project for a client just because it was tricky to nail down the right vibe. When I was naming Shine in SEO, I didn’t have the luxury of having another person to brainstorm names with me 🧠 But I knew I wanted something that will stand out. Something that also conveys the fact that SEO will help you stand out. So Shine in SEO it was. And the most important thing you’ll learn during the course is: 👉🏼 search engine optimization 101 is EASY. You’ll also learn: 1️⃣ not all that shines is gold; beautiful website designs and catchy content that isn’t search-friendly is not worth it 2️⃣ the Google seal of approval is worth gold in some industries; ranking isn’t easy if you’re in a saturated industry 3️⃣ Google loves shining stars; a solid SEO strategy is key to performing well on search 4️⃣ it’s hard to be a shining star; you need expert guidance and feedback to put together a proper SEO strategy 5️⃣ the search algorithm rewards those who work hard well, but it rewards those who work smart even more; don’t stuff keywords, rather work them into your content naturally Interested? Read below 👇🏼 - - - - - Hi 👋🏼 I’m Bouchra 🧕🏼 I specialize in marketing and translation, and I’m embarking on a new mission to empower business owners with basic SEO skills that can boost their website rankings on Google, at a fraction of the budget needed to hire an SEO agency 🏢 DM me “SEO” to learn more. - - - - - #seo #businessowner #marketingagency #riyadalinkedin #litranslators 📸 taken at a recent networking event in Abu Dhabi 🇦🇪

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Mechs. So many mechs and so many styles. I started exploring --sref again looking for additional good graphic novel/comic book styles. In my testing, I would bounce from mechs to some of my weird west prompts to see how it handles humans and creatures. Some work great for both, some not so much. #aiart #aiartwork #aicc #aicccreators #midjourney #midjourneyart #midjourneyai #illustration #nijijourney #NIJI #characterdesign #characterart #generativeart #generativeai

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🎬💰 Tired of seeing your advertising dollars vanish without the explosive results you were promised? Let’s talk about maximizing impact while minimizing costs. 📉✨ You’ve been investing in ad agencies that do a stellar job at planning, but then hand off the actual production work. This means paying multiple parties, which often inflates costs and dilutes your brand message. 🔄 Why not streamline? Enter Popart Films, a creative agency that takes you from strategy through to delivery, all under one roof. 🏠🌟 By consolidating the process, we eliminate unnecessary overhead, reduce miscommunication, and ensure that every dollar spent is aimed directly at enhancing our brand. 🎯 With Popart Films, you’re not just saving money; you’re investing in a partnership that delivers more punch, more clarity, and more bang for your buck. Let’s make your next campaign not just seen, but remembered with the sales to prove it! 🚀🎥 #AdAgency #CreativeAgency #CostEffective #PopartFilms #SmartSpending #MarketingStrategy #videomarketing #commercialads

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In today's competitive digital landscape, establishing a strong visual brand identity is crucial for businesses looking to stand out and make an impact. This is where partnering with a digital creative agency can make all the difference. At Much Mas, we understand the significance of visual branding and how it can elevate your business to new heights.

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