If you’ve stumbled upon our website, or seen our name pop up on your social media channels, it’s easy to infer that you’re a bit curious.
Curious about what Leverage is, what exactly it is that we do, and maybe even why we do it.
So, if you are curious you’ve come to the right place. Whether you’re a business owner wondering if you should commit more resources to digital marketing, or a designer interested in learning more, then read ahead. This is officially our first blog post, and we're glad to have you here!
We sat down with Founder and CEO of Leverage Digital Design, Brittany Madden, to bring to you some insight on how her brain ticks, what she’s done over her long marketing and design career, and what you can expect if you were to work with her and her amazing team.
Tell us little bit about yourself:
Hi, I’m Brittany. Before starting Leverage Digital Design I was a Director of Digital Design at a marketing agency where I learned a lot about how to make things worth reading!
Building websites I knew – getting people to view them was always where the extra effort came in. I come from a brand strategy and design background but really fell in love with the inner workings of how all of my passions could come together to create successful businesses.
Having worked as an Art Director at a multi-million dollar brand management company, I knew how “corporate” worked, and how almost antiquated the thinking behind getting sales was being implemented. Tactics such as cold calling, personal referrals, word of mouth, all of those traditional methods just don’t work anymore in this new digital landscape. I’ve spent the last 15 years figuring out how to gain leads and turn them into sales. The greatest part is that I actually truly love the challenge.
What has contributed to your love for digital marketing/design/branding over the years?
The creativity behind puzzle piecing design, marketing and web together to create the perfect fit of effectiveness.
I’ve always loved a challenge, and each of these disciplines in their own way makes you work for success. And, let’s face it, being creative for a living is awesome!
What experience do you bring to Leverage?
In my previous role as Director of Digital Design at a marketing agency, I was responsible for bringing in new business and leading and mentoring the design team which consisted of designers, web developers, photographers and videographers. My department was responsible for website development, inbound marketing integration, backend integration for custom APIs, graphic design and photography.
Fun, right?!
Before that I was a Customer Experience Lead for a big-data technology company. I created campaigns utilizing marketing, design and consumer psychology, pushing online sales and promoting higher revenue for businesses. I was also responsible for coming up with customer retention strategies and directing the Customer Success team to create client facing collateral pieces to engage with clients.
Part of my role was journey mapping the client’s progress with our company, spotting patterns to avoid churn, breaking down client personas to help understand our target market to better keep up with industry and market trends.
I’ve also served as an Art Supervisor (Art Director) leading a large Art Department team at a multi-million dollar retail brand management company. That's where I really figured out that the path I was on was the right one for me.
There I got to work with big brands where thinking small wouldn’t cut it. Brands such as Kenneth Cole, Disney, Under Armour, St. Tropez and Stila never relied on one aspect of marketing. It was then that I really started to understand that it took many different branches of marketing, web and design to make a campaign successful.
My work can be found across the US and Canada in retailers such as Walmart, Target, The Bay, Shoppers Drug Mart, Sears and more. My online presence can be found in many other international regions such as Brazil, Turkey, UK and India. And yet, there is still so much more to learn. Every day our field changes, and that’s what makes it so invigoratingly frustrating for clients.
If you’re interested in the credentials, I hold a Master’s degree in Design with a specialty of Brand Strategy and Marketing with honors from the University of Leeds in the UK and a BFA in Design from Chapman University.
Why did you start Leverage?
Building companies is my true passion. Helping others do the same truly gets me excited. I kept seeing a trend with the companies I worked with. A lot of work being done, but not a lot of results.
In the digital age, there is no reason why you can’t test what is and isn’t working and optimize from there. I started this company to drive other companies to their true potential.
What exactly does Leverage do?
Leverage is really made up of three different components: digital marketing, design, and web development services, Digital Leveragers – a training platform for business – and The Archive, a template based download center for business owners (which is coming to our website soon!).
Digital Marketing Services
The digital marketing services we offer are much like you would find at most other marketing and design agencies. These are broken into three disciplines: Marketing, Design and Web Development, except the difference is that we blur the edges of where each of these things end and start.
We truly believe in a mixture of all of these disciplines to be successful in lead generation and digital traffic drivers. Our team is specialized in their respective fields, and are trained professionals who have a minimum of 5 years experiences. When you work with Leverage, you know you're getting the best of the best.
Digital Leveragers
Digital Leveragers was the brainchild of working with so many companies that wanted the success of a million dollar marketing budget with one person and a shoestring budget to accomplish it.
A handful of people cannot possibly know every facet of what it takes to strategize, compose and deliver an ongoing full service marketing department. A Digital Leverager helps bring your brand to fruition through the areas of marketing and design that will meet your goals, and benefit your company the most.
What sets Leverage apart from other digital marketing agencies?
It’s all in the name.
Leverage is named for its symbolism. When you use a lever to move something, you're using a little object to move something big. It isn’t about the amount of strength you use. It’s about the strategic placement of the smaller object that enables the bigger object to budge.
We apply the same thinking to our services.
When you use marketing, it is similar to a lever. The placement of your marketing is what gives your company a leg up on your competition and if done right, places you in front of the people that want to buy. It’s working hard the smart way that drives success. We Leverage your brand to the next level of digital success.
We also understand that not every month for a business is the same. Some months you want to launch a product, so web will be your main focus. The next month you will want to promote the new product, that’s when marketing comes in. Why would we charge you for services you aren’t using that month? The answer is that we wouldn't. I like to think we know your business so well the marketing follows suit. As it should!
What is your core values when it comes to business?
Client relations is important to us. Weekly updates are essential to the open communication we have with our clients. This is a team effort between Leverage and your company, we all make decisions together.
Transparency is also a big one. We are all about showing you what’s working and what’s not. A lot of marketing is trial and error, and we believe in changing direction when something isn’t working.
What is your biggest piece of business advice?
Dig into data and find out what your current customers like about your business. Is it a product? A service? The way you respond within 24 hours?
Focus your attention on optimizing what’s working and make it even better. Then, highlight your best feature to prospective customers.
What is your biggest piece of design advice?
Design is about how your graphics, web banners, brochure, etc. makes someone feel. What are the three words that best describe how they should feel when viewing your piece.
Then ask people: Does it measure up? If not, refocus your efforts.
How would you describe your design style?
My design style is very clean, modern and understated. I believe if you have good content, it’s worth reading.
Design should always draw the eye to the brand messaging because getting through to the prospective buyer is what’s ultimately important.
What has been your most successful marketing or design idea?
A client map is always a fan favorite. On a Google map, you would add in all the companies you’ve worked for, or with. Add images and copy to explain what you did and how it was successful. Now you have a living, breathing portfolio on your website.
It works because it is something that you can use as a lead magnet to draw in prospective companies. It also can be used as back linking for your website, which will help your website traffic and SEO. Why not make one piece work on multiple levels? You work hard, your marketing pieces should as well.
That’s all from Brittany for today! Make sure to continue following our blog for industry-specific posts and more interviews with our rock star team.
