Schiefer Chopshop

We’re not always OOO on Summer Fridays. SCS still uses those long afternoons to build the meaningful connections that make our team so special.

Welcome Kate Bell! Kate joins SCS as a 16 year media and marketing veteran. Her background spans both management and individual contributor roles across Agency Business Development, Ad Tech and Publisher Ad Sales. Prior to joining SCS she has spent her career at PMG, Digilant, WebMD and Forbes. She is already ramping up business development for the agency with new client opportunities and future prospects.

Outside of the office Kate is a mom of two, loves to play tennis in her spare time, and is generally obsessed with her family’s nine year old golden retriever named Tucker.

https://wearescs.com/

SCS's Newest SVP, Business Development

They say work and politics don’t mix – but Compass Rose is proving that when you look beyond the obvious, you can find the big ideas and hidden solutions that unite everyone. We helped create The Uncommon Common Good, as the foundation for a new site that conveys how the Public Affairs firm uses its expertise to create solutions that benefit their clients and all Canadians – every time.
https://wearescs.com/

Compass Rose

Welcome Sam Shah to the SCS Analytics team! Sam brings nine years of data analytics experience, using intricate tracking methods to create actionable insights. When he’s not in the office coming up with innovative solutions, Sam is a voracious reader and hiker who discovers new paths. Suffice it to say we’re thrilled he’s joining us on the trail, and we can’t wait to see where we go together. https://wearescs.com/

SCS's Newest Data Specialist

Last year SCS and Contobox joined forces. Contobox is a leader in personalization technology. Their platform is already helping new and existing SCS clients deliver experiences that engage consumers and drive performance.

So what’s our secret? We actually have a few. Check out this post to learn how we’re bringing deeper insights, smarter automation, and more to build personalized experiences for every channel from standard display to connected TV. https://wearescs.com/

SCS and Contobox

Welcome aboard Andrew! SCS’s new Media Director has worked in-house at huge players like Publicis/Starcom and for a number of mid-sized agencies from Colorado to Chicago. Working for SCS is only one of the most exciting things he’s done in 2024: “I got married earlier this year at the air and space museum in Denver followed by a 10-day honeymoon in Ireland where we drove around the island exploring castles and touring whiskey distilleries. My wife and I both have our private pilot's certificates and travel the country in our 2-seater experimental airplane. We dote on our dog, Gus, who is a very unusual mix with a goofy, loving personality. I enjoy outdoor activities that involve my 2001 Cherokee XJ that I built up when I moved to Colorado, especially camping and offroading.” We are thrilled to have Andrew’s experience and adventurous spirit on the team. https://wearescs.com/

SCS's Newest Media Director

Reaching today's aftermarket automotive shoppers, swipe ➡️.

SCS surveyed 600 aftermarket automotive shoppers to better understand the lasting effects of COVID-19 and the new omnichannel shopper. What we discovered is that the COVID-19 fallout did not result in a shoulder season. The omnichannel shopper is as complex as ever and here to stay.

https://brnw.ch/21wJ47W

Reaching today's aftermarket automotive shoppers

Behind every great agency are the team of women who built it. Insightful strategy, inspiring creativity, ambitious account work, diligent project management, eagle-eyed financial oversight, and brilliant media planning; our clients wouldn’t love our work without the incredible ladies who do it. So this month, we’re celebrating their indispensable achievements.

We leave it all on the field for our clients and come into award season with our game faces on. But last week’s ADDYs were filled with welcome surprises. Thank you AAF Orange County for a truly ✨ magical ✨ evening. Check out the full list of wins below👇

Best of Show — Rollins “Harder Working Waltham”, Online/Interactive: Social Media Campaign

Judges Choice — Visit Laguna Beach “Radical Origins”, Online/Interactive Microsite

Gold — Rollins “Harder Working Waltham”, Online/Interactive: Social Media Campaign

Gold — Visit Laguna Beach “Radical Origins”, Online/Interactive: Branded Content & Entertainment

Gold — Visit Laguna Beach “Radical Origins”, Online/Interactive: Microsites

Silver — Visit Laguna Beach “Radical Origins”, Film, Video & Sound: Branded Content & Entertainment Online, Single Ad Over :60

Bronze — Visit Laguna Beach “Radical Origins”, Film, Video, & Sound: Podcast, Campaign

The first SCS Masterminds event held at the Porsche Experience Center LA on March 7th was an incredible day of thought provoking ideas and collaboration with the best in Automotive Aftermarket. Thank you to all of our presenters and collaborators that made the day so engaging and valuable:
1 - James Schiefer, Founder & CEO, SCS
2 - Patrick Long, Porsche Factory Driver, 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, Luftgekuhlt founder
3 - Jazmin Thadani and Eduardo Benavidez, TikTok automotive enthusiast leads
4 - Gigi Ho, VP of Technology, Data & Strategic Initiatives, SEMA
5 - Jeremy Agers, Sr Director Strategy, SCS
6 - Aftermarket trends panel featuring members of Donut Media, Mothers Polish, SEMA, Borla, Hemmings, and Falken Tire
Watch out for more SCS Masterminds events to come… Atlanta and Chicago on deck!

“The difference between brave and stupid is a fine line.”

Thank you to Porsche’s Patrick Long, and the incredible auto aftermarket leaders who made our Masterminds: Automotive Summit so special.

Together, we explored emerging trends, prepared for some tight market turns in a rigorous Scenario Planning Workshop, and got inspired about the future of our industry over panels and a fully-catered happy hour. Stay tuned: we’ve got miles to go and more events coming in 2024.

Have you signed up for our Masterminds: Automotive Summit on March 7th? Join top automotive aftermarket brands at the Porsche Experience Center in LA. As we go through the latest auto-enthusiast trends, tune into a performance talk with Patrick Long, create new marketing strategy for 2024, and network at a fully-catered happy hour. https://brnw.ch/21wHyjZ

Who says Valentine's Day has to be cute? For Easy to Match, Easier to Love, we introduced swiping functionality and an "after dark” neon aesthetic to a promotional landing page to make it easy for shoppers to match with their special something and bring it home fast.

Have you ever visited the Porsche Experience Center? Join Borla Exhaust, SEMA, Mothers Polish, Falken Tire, and other top automotive brands on March 7th for our exclusive Masterminds Automotive Marketing Summit. We’ll break down top digital aftermarket trends going into 2024 and scenario plan for the coming year during this fully-catered workshop. Find your tickets at the link below and buckle up. It’s going to be a hell of a ride.

Masterminds: Automotive Summit 2024 Join masterminds in your industry to predict the unpredictable.

We built the Let Luck Shine campaign around the idea that traditions live on by changing shape and finding new ways to bind us together. Whether you already celebrate Lunar New Year or are just discovering it, keep an eye out for Irvine Company’s festive dragon designs. https://brnw.ch/21wGUz1

This holiday season, we are celebrating the magic that happens when great things come together to form something even greater than the sum of our parts. From all of us at SCS, Contobox , and the entire Ionik team, thank you for an incredible year! We wish you a season of abundance, a joyful new year, and a sensational 2024.

AI “is expanding our understanding of creativity at all levels,” writes Vu Dang of SCS.

From breaking through blocks to delivering high-quality work in earlier stages, Vu dives into how AI can enhance our creative abilities, not just save time.

Read Vu's complete AI point-of-view here: https://corp.smartbrief.com/original/2023/11/the-new-nature-of-creativity-ai-bring-it

It’s not every day we make the local news. It’s a privilege and an honor to be trusted by Visit Laguna Beach to help tell the stories that make Laguna Beach such an iconic destination.

From Radical Origins is a seven-episode series that showcases the town’s unique character from the point of view of its athletes, artists, and local visionaries.

Read more here: https://www.lagunabeachindy.com/visit-laguna-beach-presents-from-radical-origins-a-seven-episode-docuseries-and-podcast-about-the-iconic-california-city/

The first episode is out now. Watch it at: https://www.visitlagunabeach.com/radicalorigins/

We are so proud of Kelsey Boyd (Contobox, Experience Manager) for the work she is doing to raise funds for the Canadian Cancer Society! Kelsey is putting on a 24-hour curling tournament, with all proceeds being donated to funding research, support services, government advocacy, and much more.

Let's take out cancer together!

🥌 For info, to sign up, or donate, please email [email protected] 🥌

SCS's Senior Director of Innovation, Sean MacPhedran, sat down with CMSWire to discuss why brands are falling in love with emotionally intelligent AI. Read the full article here: https://brnw.ch/21wDbhB

Nirvana Super collaborated with SCS for a rebranding initiative aimed at making a name for themselves in the highly competitive functional water market. SCS helped them create a new identity and packaging that emphasizes their secret ingredient known for enhancing muscle growth. The newly rebranded products, now called Nirvana SUPER™, come in various vibrant flavors with new striking designs. The launch took place at the Natural Products Expo West, where the Nirvana SUPER™ booth showcased interactive experiences and the same bold color scheme used in the packaging redesign, which was also created by SCS. https://brnw.ch/21wC5A2

Meet the new and improved SCS. As our clients and partners already know, our agency was built from a strategic combination that brought creativity, media, technology, and content together to power brand performance. By combining with Contobox , we’re integrating our media strategy and creative services with a powerful machine learning personalization platform that is set to redefine e-commerce.

"We are incredibly excited about bringing SCS's data-driven strategy, creative and integrated media services alongside Contobox's powerful machine learning personalization platform," says James Schiefer, Founder & CEO of SCS. "As a retail activation company that helps brands sell-through and drive e-commerce performance, the Contobox technology platform combined with the SCS blend of media strategy and creativity is going to offer retailers and Direct-to-Consumer brands a full-service solution that improves ROAS, increases engagement and loyalty, and lowers the cost of marketing."

The move is part of SCS’s goal to drive higher performance and improved outcomes for advertisers and clients in the digital marketing landscape. With this combination, we're confident that our digital ecosystem will drive value for shareholders to and grow brand business business like never before. https://brnw.ch/21wBKAd

The SCS Social Team team pulled together an early primer on Meta's new Threads release, which was picked up by MediaPost today. The hope here was to give our roster of clients some sense of direction and understanding while drinking from the fast-moving firehose of surging Threads information. We are proud to say that many clients are now early adopters and have already started posting to the platform. Read more about what agencies and brands need to know about Threads

What Agencies, Brands Need To Know About Threads For one thing, act quickly to secure your account, even if the intent is to park them until the dust settles.

When Realtree wanted to evolve their digital presence and create a new website that would be impossible to miss, they chose the PopReach group agency, SCS, to get them there. Realtree has launched a groundbreaking website that combines brand and commerce, revolutionizing the direct-to-consumer experience. The pattern maker aimed to capture the brand's essence in the user experience, creating a unified journey from storytelling to shopping. To meet their goals, SCS developed a custom headless Amplience CMS integrated with a BigCommerce front end, creating a flexible marketing tool that maximizes brand immersion across all platforms. Explore the full case study to witness how Realtree's new online home engages and inspires customers with its wide range of camo products for traditional and emerging audiences alike: https://wearescs.com/portfolio/realtree-website/

We are proud to announce that SCS has been awarded a gold Telly Awards in the Best Online Commercial category and multiple Silver awards for our "Obsession" campaign for Baldwin Hardware. Our team worked closely with partners from Poland, Spain, and Colombia to showcase Baldwin's dedication to craftsmanship and timeless design. You can view the award-winning spot to witness our collaboration. https://www.tellyawards.com/winners/2023/online-commercials/general-branding/baldwin-obsession-60/289265/

James Schiefer, SCS's own Chief Instigator, was featured on Forbes as an Agency Council contributor. In his post titled "How To Overcome AI Shame While Maintaining Your Brand's Authenticity," James discusses how companies can address concerns about AI tarnishing their brand's authenticity or being seen as cheating, but there is hope for AI. James believes that embracing AI's potential can ultimately enhance our capabilities as humans.

Council Post: How To Overcome AI Shame While Maintaining Your Brand's Authenticity We have all felt it: The shame surrounding AI in the professional world is very real.

This week the world's largest media platform announced an incredible array of new solutions for marketers at Google Marketing Live. The presentation lasted about 2.5 hours – far longer than last year, and for good reason. If you missed it, don't worry. SCS' Sr. Director of Innovation, Sean MacPhedran, sat in and took notes so you wouldn't have to. Read Sean's full recap, including key takeaways as quoted from Google in this week's Friday Five. https://wearescs.com/media/what-marketers-need-to-know-from-google-marketing-live/

What Marketers Need to Know from Google Marketing Live Also published on Medium.

Since our founding in 1985 as Schiefer Media, two things have been consistent in 38 years: our business strategy, and our principles.

Our business strategy is a steady focus in the background on Diversification, Innovation, and Scale. To be strong consultants and executors for our clients, we require a backbone to our business that is forward-thinking while always-improving. From integration across TV sponsorship and print advertising in the 1980s, to advanced AI analytics and mixed media modeling today, SCS’s business strategy has allowed us to add real value to our clients’ business.

Our principles have made us different. They’ve been the guiding thread through our history, and the reason for many of our long-standing clients, employees, and partners. From a focus on character, transparency, and doing the right thing, to an emphasis on breakthrough work and team accountability, SCS’s principles have brought a consistent thread across how we do business. They have allowed us to evolve steadily and consistently while ensuring we are driving client success day-to-day.

The next phase in our evolution begins today.

Canadian multi-platform technology company, PopReach Corporation (TSXV:POPR OTCQX:POPRF) has acquired SCS to join their digital media ecosystem. With plans to acquire agencies in U.S., Canada, and Europe to bring the SCS agency brand to more markets with global reach. This will allow us to continue our strategy to diversify and scale, and further our reach in delivering the highest performing marketing results for our clients with innovation and trust.

“It has been a dream of mine to find a partner who would allow SCS to expand our footprint to new technology capabilities and new markets around the world. It’s been rewarding growing SCS over 20+ years and with the four acquisitions we have integrated so far. I absolutely love this business, love our clients, and our team, and now with the PopReach culture and group of digital media ecosystem companies aligned with SCS, we are perfectly positioned to support the unique needs of marketers for today and the future.” – James Schiefer, Founder & CEO

Social platforms are constantly testing and adapting to increase engagement, but building an entirely new social platform?! Now that's a whole different story. While the main players continue introducing new social platform features to maintain relevance, Bytedance is attempting to rewrite the script (as if TikTok has already aged out 🤷). In this week's Friday Five, we cover all things: ByteDance, TikTok, and Lemon8 with a bonus Twitter bombshell you social media nerds will love.
https://wearescs.com/media/the-friday-five-social-media-edition/

The Friday Five: Social Media Edition There is no question that the social space is a roller coaster ride. Just take a look at the average lifespans of a post within a platform. A tweet’s relevancy averages 15-18 minutes whereas a post on TikTok is considered...