Lafayette, March 11th, 2020

With offices in the city of Lafayette and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, BBR Creative is a digital marketing agency that develops award-winning work with proven results. The agency works in partnership with companies to provide creative online solutions to help increase brand awareness and grow business, taking advantage of the laissez-faire spirit of South Louisiana.

Daniel Kedinger has been at the agency for seven years, moving from an interactive strategist to his current position as VP of consumer engagement.

In an interview with TIA, he described the main features of the agency and the way they engage with data and creativity.

We didn’t have the chance to visit Lafayette, so can you tell us what makes it a great place to work?

The area in general, South Louisiana, has a unique culture that is very hospitable and laissez-faire. We are influenced by different cultures from French to Spanish, it’s a sort of melting pot. It’s a very easy-going place and the clients we work with appreciate that. We live to have fun but we are serious about our work as well. We want to enjoy the work we do, not just do work.

Please describe what you do in your current position in a few sentences

I’m really the go-to guy for digital strategies that help our clients engage with consumers, their target audiences. I work a lot with account executives to do big-picture strategy and planning for our clients’ as well as evaluating technology and digital strategies to help them find the right mix of tactics to reach a consumer.

Thinking about BBR Creative, what feature would you like to highlight?

BBR started as a design agency over 20 years ago. The focus on high-quality creative has been paramount since the beginning. Now we are merging data with creativity. We look at data and it helps inform the creative. But we also care deeply about the brand that we put forward in the marketplace. As we are focused on data, we try to ensure that everything we do can be measured. At the end of the day, we pair creative with measurable results to help our clients reach their goals

To which market trends are you focusing on?

Our big focus area is on the food and beverage industry. A big trend we have been seeing is online grocery shopping. Brands are trying to adapt to sell online and are engaging people in different ways to build brand loyalty. It is changing how consumers buy groceries and that has a big impact on the work we do. It used to be online vs retail but we are learning that there is a good flow back and forth. We can help a brand build an audience online and also drive their sales in-store.

What has been your most effective marketing strategy? How did you measure it?

Our goal is to build and engage loyal followers for brands to increase their lifetime value. We focus a great deal on email marketing as it’s a relationship medium and extremely effective in activating those loyal followers.

Do you use external tools to analyze data or do you have one of your own at the company? Is it different among clients?

We use Google Analytics and for being a free tool it is one of the best to get a look at the data. We also use some dashboarding tools such as Klipfolio to feed information from other sources.

In your daily basis, do you use data to improve the design, the development of the project or both?

Both. We try to bring designers in early in a campaign and tell them what we are seeing. People are clicking more in that ad so let’s keep that in mind for the next round, for example.

Based on your experience, what ingredients are key to activate successfully strategies?

It’s a mix of three things. Having good data, pairing it with high quality creative and adding strategic leadership.

Where do you go if you want to get inspired?

I tell our team it’s important to look at other industries than our own to gain inspiration. Art and pop culture help my creativity. Even listen to music or watching TV and seeing a new documentary help generate good ideas. Make sure to look elsewhere than other agencies.

Can you name a fun-fact people would be surprised to learn about you?

I don’t have a degree in adverting or design, I have one on philosophy. It taught me how to think critically and look at things from different perspectives. Most people are surprised about that.

Which are your favorite digital brands?

In food and beverages, I’m a fan of Wendys. Their social media interactions have changed faced a lot. Now it’s cool to be Wendys.

Is there a question you wish people would ask you more often?

No one likes to be criticized, but I wish more people would ask, “How can I be better?” We should ask other people that often. It would be a much more interesting place if more people asked that question.

Ambition or talent: which matters more to success?

Talent is the most important. Ambition, a great deal of the time, gets in the way of people’s true goals. Clients say they want to beat someone else and that shouldn’t be the goal. Talent is also something that has to be nurtured and grown. You can’t be just talented, you have to keep growing talent.

Thanks Daniel!

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