Announces Jostin Darlington as Director of Social Interactive to lead newest practice group;
Full-service social media agency now supporting major national brands with social media strategy, engagement, creative interactive and analytics programs
SEATTLE, WA – Banyan Branch, a full-service social media agency that provides end-to-end marketing services for the world’s leading brands, today announced the launch of its new Social Interactive practice to complement its existing Strategy, Engagement and Research & Analytics practices. Banyan Branch’s Social Interactive practice helps major brands fuel conversation and boost engagement through social experiences that increase brand visibility and drive consumer loyalty to support business objectives. The Social Interactive practice works with Banyan Branch’s Fortune 500 client base to build cutting-edge digital and mobile experiences that harness the power of the social web.
“Creative content is the key to generating and increasing brand-driven dialogue in social networks and communities,” said Blake Cahill, president of Banyan Branch. “Brands need to spark social sharing via viral videos, integrated contests, quizzes and other interactive engagements – experiences we specialize in creating for all web, social and mobile platforms. While many digital agencies build for online, they’re not necessarily developing campaign assets specifically for the social environment. By adding a dedicated Social Interactive practice to our broader suite of offerings, we’re able to identify, recommend, develop and execute winning social media strategies for our clients’ brands.”
To lead the new Social Interactive practice group, Banyan Branch also announced the appointment of Jostin Darlington as Director of Social Interactive. Darlington is responsible for overseeing the design and development of innovative, shareable social experiences for Banyan Branch clients. Before joining Banyan Branch, Darlington co-founded a boutique agency specializing in designing user experiences for major clients in music, gaming, telecommunications and professional sports.
Banyan Branch growth exemplifies brands’ embrace of full service social media agencies.
Banyan Branch is launching its Social Interactive practice amidst a period of unprecedented growth and has grown from 10 to 65 employees within the past 12 months. The social media agency works with leading brands such as FOX, Hartz, Gilt Groupe, Windstar Cruises and Parallels, and brings a unique set of expertise, tools and insights to the social media industry by driving strategic plans, creative campaigns, cutting-edge research and customer engagement.
For example, the agency was the creative mind behind Hartz’s “I’m a Puppy and It’s Embarrassing” campaign that aimed to raise awareness and sales for Hartz’s Home Protection™ Training Pads. Banyan Branch created a parody of pharmaceutical ad commercials for Hartz’s YouTube channel as well as strategically placing the videos on sites like ICanHazCheezburger.com. The agency also partnered the videos with a giveaway of puppy pads on Facebook. As a result, the campaign increased Hartz’s fans and followers across all social profiles, including almost 17,000 fans on Facebook, and the videos garnered more than 46,000 views in the first four days of the campaign. Additionally, more than 10,000 training pads were requested and Hartz had to do a second round of giveaways due to popular demand. View digital assets and a campaign overview here: http://www.banyanbranch.com/#!/work/hartz-im-a-puppy-video
“With unique creative designed specifically for the social environment, we’re able to take advantage of new social media tools and techniques and engage with consumers within the social channels they prefer,” said Adam Coacher, Sr. Marketing Director at FOX. “Banyan Branch is truly at the forefront of social, working hand-in-hand with us to set strategy, develop creative that enhances a consumers’ experience of our brand and then execute engagement campaigns that have proven to increase brand loyalty for us. The agency takes a unique approach to social media by building communities and developing long-term relationships with our target consumers, helping us to deliver on our business objectives.”
Banyan Branch’s Social Interactive practice complements the social media agency’s other practice areas, providing its clients with one agency partner for all elements of their social media campaigns:
Strategy: Banyan Branch crafts comprehensive social strategy that achieves a brand’s overall objectives and takes full advantage of today’s tools and technology. The agency also tackles competitive analysis, provides brands with a social snapshot of their online persona and manages message testing.
Engagement: With a fully in-sourced approach that gives brands full visibility without management overhead, Banyan Branch executes on all aspects of a social program, including reaching out to influencers, managing social channels, creating and distribution social content and enlisting supporters as advocates.
Research & Analytics: Banyan integrates a wide variety of data sources to help brands understand the social web, including: Radian6, Alterian SM2, HootSuite, Context Optional, Simply Measured, Sysomos, Visible and its own proprietary technologies. Tying social media data and measurements back to key performance indicators, the agency’s Research & Analytics practice group unlocks the truth trapped in customer chatter and turns it into a powerful tool to support a client’s core business objectives.
For more information on Banyan Branch’s thoughts and perspectives on the world of social media, please visit the agency’s blog at http://www.banyanbranch.com/social-blog/.
About Banyan Branch
Banyan Branch, based in Seattle, WA, is a full-service social media agency that provides end-to-end services including analytics, creative, strategy and engagements. With a holistic approach that integrates Strategy, Social Media Creative, Engagement and Research & Analytics, Banyan Branch delivers social media programs unmatched by smaller agencies, by providing more personalized service and quicker response than large-scale digital firms. Dozens of the world’s leading brands, including FOX, Viacom, Paramount, Hartz, Univision, Gilt Groupe, Microsoft and Windstar Cruises have partnered with Banyan Branch to implement a wide variety of social media campaigns. Any company ready to connect with its customers where they live and breathe, can contact Banyan Branch via www.BanyanBranch.com
