Hydro Studios

Team Hydro is taking part in the Chicago's Annual Polar Plunge fundraiser tomorrow! Chandos Erwin will join thousands of other Chicagoans in supporting the Special Olympics by jumping into Lake Michigan. If you feel inspired and want to help us reach our fundraising goal, you can make a donation here:

2024 Chicago Polar Plunge presented by Jackson The 24th Annual Chicago Polar Plunge is coming up on Sunday, March 3, 2024! Join me at North Avenue Beach for this iconic winter event to help support Special Olympics Chicago/Special Children's Charities. Register today at https://secure.qgiv.com/event/chicagopolarplunge/!

As generative continues to become a bigger part of daily life, it's hard not to ask the question: who's responsible if harmful content is produced and exposed to users? https://bit.ly/3pf4t7z DesignTAXI

US Lawmakers Want AI Companies To Be Legally Responsible For Toxic Content - DesignTAXI.com The bill could remove the protection of Section 230 on tech companies.

What does the future of 'Third-Party Data in a Privacy-Centric World" look like? 🤔

Read more on Adweek:

Third-Party Data Is as Important as Ever Critical intelligence for any marketer doing programmatic buying, personalizing outreach, or needing to enrich its view of the customer.

In case you missed it:

Social giants LinkedIn and Meta just released a few new features to strengthen the brand-to-brand relationship — check them out on the Hydro blog: https://bit.ly/3N9BDib

Social Platform Updates Improving B2B Experiences New social media features on LinkedIn, Meta and Instagram that are optimizing B2B experiences and strengthening brand-to-brand relationships.

Google-like search capabilities are coming to social platforms like Instagram and TikTok — what does that mean for marketers?

Read more from Adweek: https://bit.ly/43BvdOi

As Search and Social Converge Marketers Spy an Opportunity TikTok and Instagram are offering search advertising, and advertisers see a chance to expand the surfaces of performance advertising.

It's more important than ever for business-centric brands to provide a little extra value to potential B2B buyers, especially when targeting on platforms (initially) built for user-to-user connection.

See what new features on LinkedIn, Meta and IG are strengthening the brand-to-brand relationship: https://bit.ly/3MKBQa6

Social Platform Updates Improving B2B Experiences New social media features on LinkedIn, Meta and Instagram that are optimizing B2B experiences and strengthening brand-to-brand relationships.

Did you know you can take advantage of the new chat flow tool Chat GPT for a variety of marketing initiatives through HubSpot?

Check it out: https://bit.ly/3Mffsp7

Finally, a dark comedy TV series for marketers!

Check out Tubi's "The Call to Action" for free here: https://bit.ly/44DFpHm

The Call to Action S01:E01 - Under the Impression A mild-mannered marketing professional is put in the hot seat and interrogated by his higher ups when the wrong creative is trafficked.

Three reasons B2B companies are jumping on the brand marketing bandwagon — read more from Adweek: https://bit.ly/3M6xlHK

Why B-to-B Companies Are Investing More in Brand Marketing Experts explain three factors propelling the trend.

"Inspired by light, the designs revolve around the symbol of a light beam—dubbed a “prism edge”—that’s positioned diagonally. The recurring motif pops up on each channel ident and a plus-shaped marque logo for the on-demand Nordic+."

Check out BBC Nordic's new logo and see how the 'beauty of light' inspired the new brand identity: https://bit.ly/42gqocK

BBC Nordic Officially Opens With Brand Identity Inspired By The Beauty Of Light - DesignTAXI.com A singular light beam, known as the Prism Edge, recurs throughout the graphics.

Feeling ~revitalized~ after seeing The New York Times' new brand campaign, 'More of Life Brought to Life', connecting readers with the wider world through journalism.

Read more about it on DesignTAXI: https://bit.ly/3AYeOXT

The New York Times Brings ‘More Of Life’ To Readers In All-New Brand Campaign - DesignTAXI.com Simple, mundane topics can give way to a wider, more connected world view.

Who doesn't like a good listicle?? I like tip 17 - keep it simple!

https://bit.ly/3L5QmrV

17 Email Marketing Best Practices That Actually Drive Results Discover 17 email marketing best practices you should follow to grow your subscriber list and generate leads.

International One Design (IOD) - fun on the water! IOD Worlds next week in Fishers Island.

Bounce Rate & Engagement Rate

If you're a Google Analytics User - hopefully you've implemented GA4 (the new version of Analytics as Universal Analytics (UA) is going away in July 2023.

With the transition to GA4 there are changes - one of which is Bounce Rate vs. Engagement Rate :

Bounce Rate (UA) = Percentage of single page sessions in which there was no interaction with the page. A bounced session has a duration less than 10 seconds.

Engagement Rate (GA4) is the opposite of bounce rate - An engaged session is a session that lasted longer than 10 seconds, had a conversion event, or had at least 2 pageviews or screenviews.

https://bit.ly/3xgMm24.

Email Click Rate - The Gold standard (assuming you have something to click on in your emails (you should) - average 2.3% across all industries. However, note that it'll vary by audience (customer, partner, ...)

https://bit.ly/3eDngnv

Email Marketing Benchmarks and Statistics for 2022 Check out the email marketing benchmarks report for 2022 and see where your metrics rank next to your competitors.

Hydro Studios is involved with many non profits from watersports to ice sports to green production +++. We regularly assist non-profits to leverage TechSoup - provisioning highly discounted software from folks like Microsoft, Adobe, HubSpot, Zoom and more.

TechSoup – Technology for nonprofits, charities, and libraries https://bit.ly/3p4VQsz

Weekend approaching - islands and boats!

Great resource for landing pages ...

The Ultimate Guide to Landing Pages https://bit.ly/3BX0AIq

The Ultimate Guide to Landing Pages Learn how to design, write, and test landing pages that will convert visitors into leads.

Weekend approaching - Boats - Islands!

Hydro Studios has worked with many start-ups over the years. HubSpot has great tools and great deals for startups. Up to 90% off in year one.

Grow Your Startup with HubSpot and INBOUND 2022 https://bit.ly/3JFajVM

Grow Your Startup with HubSpot and INBOUND 2022 If you’re part of a startup, you can combine HubSpot’s powerful tools and INBOUND 2022 to spark growth. Here’s how.

Weekend Approaching! BOATS!!

Coming up in Boston - the best marketing conference!

What in the World is HubSpot’s INBOUND, and Why Should I Care? https://bit.ly/3QuPGh1

What in the World is HubSpot’s INBOUND, and Why Should I Care? If you’re in sales, marketing, or customer services, you’ve likely heard of HubSpot’s INBOUND. Here’s what the event is and why you should care.

Hydro Studios Partner, Buster, with his daughter, Haze, July 4th in Kanab, Utah.

Wire Pass trail to Buckskin Gulch highly recommended - fantastic slot canyon hike!

Did you know that Curaleaf is the world’s largest vertically integrated cannabis brand? Help Hydro celebrate 420 with a look back at our Curaleaf rebrand project.

https://bit.ly/3HaT3FH

Connecting with audiences is what actors do best. A simple, yet powerful truth that our client Green Production Guide took to the next level with the third installment of the Sustainable Entertainment Education Series (SEEDS), "Leading with Empathy — Actors Talk Climate Change".

Watch the full event recording to hear from activist actors like Danny Glover, , and on getting involved in the fight against climate change with tools and guidelines: https://bit.ly/3z35M99