Brain Lava

Listen to Patty Rioux discuss how to hire, motivate and retain rock star marketers and her experience with presenting at EFBC's Night of Knowledge event.

We decided to shake things up a bit and share “BOLD Marketing We Admire” in a fresh way – a podcast! This fun episode features all members of team ODEA sharing the details on their BOLD pick.

You've got questions. We've got answers. The Entrepreneur and Family Business Council hosted a free conference call, "Helping You Deal With COVID-19: Ask the Strategic Partners Conference Call". Each of the EFBC's Strategic Partners provided guidance for these difficult times in areas spanning law, finance, marketing (that's us!), IT, accounting, insurance, HR and banking. Weren't able to attend the virtual meetup? We've got you covered. Find the answers to your business related COVID-19 questions here.

There’s no better way of explaining why it’s important to keep content simple on marketing assets like a good food analogy. Check out this week’s episode where Patty is joined by ODEA graphic designer, Stephanie to talk about two things we love: keeping content digestible and Portillo’s chocolate cake.

In this week’s episode, we’re excited to have Andrea Durfey, marketing and communications strategist, join ODEA President, Patty Rioux! Andrea’s been in marketing for nearly thirty years with a brain full of insights she’s ready to share. On this episode, Patty and Andrea discuss marketing in 2020 and three areas businesses should focus their marketing efforts.

Welcome to season two of Brain Lava! We’re so excited to be back and kicking off this week’s episode with one of our favorite “Patty-isms”, Marketing is a marathon, not a sprint. But sometimes you have to hit pause on a project and take some time to retool before you get back in the race. And that’s okay! Take a listen to this week’s episode to hear how ODEA is using this very advice to take Brain Lava to the next level.

You may be feeling the heat of uncertainty about website and mobile app accessibility after a recent court case regarding ADA and digital assets was in front of the US Supreme Court. But don’t sweat it. We're working closely with our friends at fjorge Digital, one of our dev teams, to stay up-to-date and keep you informed. This week on Brain Lava, Joe Barsness of fjorge Digital joins us to explain the slightly confusing WCAG, share best practices and give us some tools for helping determine the accessibility of your website.

If your organization changes its name and/or logo there are A LOT of places and items to update with the new brand. Some are more obvious like your website and email address. But what about all the little things? Voicemail box recordings. Internal documents. Office Signage. The list goes on! In Episode 40 of Brain Lava, Liz Fidanovski, Executive Director of the Entrepreneur and Family Business Council, joins ODEA President Patty Rioux to share her experience of living through a recent rebrand.

Conferences. Love ‘em or hate ‘em? We’ve experienced the ups and downs of educational conferences we’ve learned one thing: it’s the presenters that make or break the experience. Swanky venues and swag bags bursting with goodies can only take you so far. In Episode 39 of Brain Lava, ODEA President Patty shares her three requests of conference speakers.

We were recently asked how to best approach someone you don’t know on LinkedIn. Our answer is simple: act like a human! Just because you’re online, it doesn’t mean normal behaviors get tossed out the window. Be yourself and find a natural way to connect and build a relationship with a potential customer or business partner. Listen to Episode 38 of Brain Lava to learn more!

Think you’ve got marketing all figured out? So did ODEA intern, Anna… until she started working for us. Joined by president Patty, our marketing intern discusses three things that surprised her about the marketing world in episode 37 of Brain Lava!

Brands have signature logos, signature taglines and, increasingly, signature sounds. Tune in to Brain Lava to hear ODEA Prez, Patty Rioux, share her thoughts on why brands need to invest in sounds even more as voice search and voice assistants keep changing in the marketing world.

Podcasts are growing in popularity – fast! Edison Research found that in 2018, 26% of Americans listened to podcasts monthly. So why haven’t you started yours? If you’re on the fence about podcasting, we’re sharing three reasons you should consider getting in on the action!

Welcome to a very special edition of Brain Lava! On this episode, we’re jazzing things up a bit. Not only can you listen to us on this podcast episode, but we’ve also created a handy-dandy “Top SEO Tips” presentation! To view the presentation while you listen, click here.

Less is more. We apply this thinking to everything from putting on cologne to driving in Chicago traffic. On this week’s episode, we’re sharing why you should keep that lesson in mind when it comes to everything from your content to your ideas to running your biz.

Thinking about your next website and the engine that’s going to drive it? Stuck between an open source or a proprietary content management system (CMS)? You’re in luck! On this week’s episode of Brain Lava, we’re talking about the differences between the two.

Social media for business can seem overwhelming, especially if you’re brand new to the social platform world. In this week’s episode of Brain Lava, we’re sharing three lessons we’ve learned at ODEA wile navigating the world of social media for B2B businesses -- including our own!

Learning styles are important – especially when you want to help educate your audience. Who better to talk through the big three learning styles than ODEA Project Manager, Sue Lattea? With 20 years of experience as an educator and a textbook writer, Sue knows a thing or two about learning styles and how to use and leverage them effectively.

Swag matters! Or does it? Listen to this week’s episode to find out from Patty, Megan and Stephanie if swag is something you should be thinking about!

On this episode, we’re speaking out for those that don’t have a voice. Those that are stretched and skewed to their limits without complaint. We’re speaking up for images and logos and sharing how to properly resize them!

To us, statistics are like donuts, there’s really no such thing as too many. But fear not, this week we’re only serving up nine stats that will totally blow your mind. From cold calls, to websites, to sales to the ever-growing YouTube – these nine stats run the gamut.

Trade show necessities: Business cards, comfortable shoes, swag, supplies box, refreshments…the list goes on and on. But don’t sweat it because we’re sharing three tips from someone who knows the ins-and-outs of the trade show world. From designing booths, to breaking them down and setting them up, to working them, our Prez Patty has done it all!

Welcome to the future: where you can order your favorite peanut butter through a tiny device on your counter while cooking your breakfast. On this week's episode of Brain Lava, we're discussing voice search and how it's going to change the future of marketing.

Think the art of referrals is dying? We think not. ODEA President, Patty Rioux, talks referrals and why we think they’re still a major key to success in B2B on this week’s episode of Brain Lava.

What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and what does it have to do with your website? Those are two of the questions we’re answering in this week’s episode of Brain Lava, where we break down the basics of SEO and why you should be thinking about it for your website.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could view a product online from all angles- from the top, the sides, even the bottom? Well, your wish is technologies command. More and more companies are using 360 images that allow consumers to view a product from literally any angle they choose. But is it worth the investment? We’ve got a few stats we think you’re going to want to hear.

It’s Brain Lava’s 21st… 21st episode that is! But just because we’re all grown up doesn’t mean we’re getting all serious on you. In this week’s episode we’re talking about peeing in the pool (told ya we’re not growing up) and how it relates to branding!

This week, ODEA was separated by hundreds of miles AND a Polar Vortex but not even that could stop us. While at home, working away in our PJ’s with a team spread across four states, we were struck with inspiration. Collaboration is tough. Collaboration in the age of virtual teams (and Polar Vortexes) is even more tough! On this week’s episode of Brain Lava, we’re sharing how we stay productive no matter where in the world our team might be!

We’ve heard about the power of open book management but what about open book marketing (we totally just made that up)? We’re laying our books open for the world to see and sharing what and how we spent our marketing budget dollars in 2018.

ODEA birthday twins, Megan and Stephanie, sit down to talk about tips to make your photo shoot experience a success. Whether you’re investing in a photographer or taking the DIY route, these tips will help you feel prepared for whatever comes your way.

Is your brain hungry? Let’s feed it! ODEA’s launching a NEW weekly email newsletter that connects you to the exciting things that are rocking the marketing and tech world. Learn more about it in this week’s episode of Brain Lava! If your brain is hungry to learn, click the link and fill out the form to receive “Feed Your Brain” in your inbox: http://info.teamodea.com/feed-your-brain

We’ve been in the world of podcasting for four months now. With 15 published episodes on our resume, we thought it was time to reflect on what we’ve learned so far. ODEA Technical Coordinator, JJ Lattea, sat down with Patty, ODEA President, to share a few lessons that we’ve learned by experimenting through this podcast.

It’s time to make ourselves uncomfortable! Find out why ODEA President, Patty Rioux, thinks we learn best when outside of our comfort zone.

COME ON DOWN! You are the first contestant on Brain Lava Trivia! In this episode, we’re putting your graphic design knowledge to the test.

Are you playing offense or defense? No, we’re not talking about football. We’re talking about your marketing! Our president, Patty, shares why you should be on the offense in your marketing efforts.

Ever felt like you were in a creative dry spell? Or maybe even uttered the words “I just wasn’t born creative”? At ODEA, we think that everyone can be creative. It’s just a matter of exercising that creative muscle. In this week’s episode of Brain Lava, our storyteller, Amelia, shares how she keeps that wheel of creativity spinning.

The world has definitely changed since 2011. One thing that remains relevant today? The social media POST method from the book “Groundswell”. Seven years later, we still believe POST is a powerful way to tackle social media strategy.

We survived our first post-mortem meeting! And we’re sharing a few thoughts on what worked for us, what didn’t work and what we plan to do to make them even better in episode 10 of Brain Lava.

Preparing to present at an event or conference? Feeling a bit anxious about it? We totally get it! Giving a presentation can be stressful. That’s why we’re giving four quick presentation tips in this week’s episode of Brain Lava.

Small business websites, Fortune 500’s, personal blogs… WordPress is made up of a variety of users. Large businesses like Facebook News, Sony and even Vogue trust the content management system to house their sites. Are you curious why this CMS is powering 30% of all websites? Brain Lava’s got your answer.

Asking for creative feedback can send you into a black hole of personal opinion. As marketers, we don’t care about personal preferences. Our role is to create something that resonates with your audience. Our President, Patty, gives tips on how to productively give creative feedback in episode 7 of Brain Lava.

This week’s episode of Brain Lava is a special one. Our very first guest, Kerra from the Chicago Family Business Council, shared her thoughts on HubSpot’s Inbound 2018. If you missed it this year or if you’re thinking about attending next year, listen to hear Kerra’s takeaways!

BOLD is simple. BOLD has a point of view. BOLD is sometimes explicit. But probably not in the way you’re thinking. We’re talking BOLD branding and what it means to ODEA in this week’s episode of Brain Lava.

What’s the first thought that crosses your mind when you see that post-mortem meeting invitation appear in your inbox after a project is completed? Anxiety? Dread? Understandable. The word “post-mortem” itself even sounds scary, but it doesn’t have to be! We share some ways to make your post-mortem more successful (and painless!) in this week's Brain Lava.

Do you ever experience "AH-HA" moments when running on the treadmill or taking a shower? At ODEA, we call these moments of brilliance "treadmill thoughts." We were curious as to why this happens to so many of us and it turns out there is science behind it. Our President, Patty, explores the default mode network and how it effects our brains.

User Experience (UX) Design is all about the usability of a product (such as a website!) for its intended audience. What are they experiencing as they interact with the product? Is it catering to their preferences, desires and habits? Stephanie and Megan explore some of their thoughts on UX design and how to make sure you're incorporating UX into your projects from the research stage all the way to a final prototype.

At ODEA we talk a lot about being BOLD. But what does it really mean to be BOLD? For us, BOLD means being simple, unexpected and having a point of view. Learn how you can get away from doing things as you’ve always done them by inviting challenges, hiring for curiosity and failing fast.

Hello! ODEA decided to create a podcast to help B2B marketing become BOLDER. We are here to talk about marketing and technology. We have many team members with a lot of knowledge and they want to share with everyone. If you have any suggestions for a topic or have any questions, please feel free to email us at hello@teamodea.com or visit our website, teamodea.com.