Sparks Marketing Communications

09/02/2024

A little appreciation post for our team in celebration of Labour Day!

This group works tirelessly for our clients - we've achieved so much growth over the past year and we couldn't have done it without them. We're excited to see what the future holds with this rockstar team!

08/30/2024

Are you prioritizing customer retention? Businesses have a 60-70% chance of selling to an existing customer, while for a new prospect that number is just 5-20%. What's more, repeat customers spend on average 67% more than new customers!

08/26/2024

Sparks helps brands to meet their customers where they're at; this includes having the right agency partnerships in place to ensure client success. We work with platforms like Google, Meta, TikTok, Shopify, Klaviyo, Amazon and more to drive results.

08/23/2024

"If you stand for nothing, you'll fall for anything." Our values guide the way we show up every day for our clients and our team. At Sparks, we live by these principles:

⚖️ Stay Balanced - we work hard for our clients, but we also make sure to recharge so we can bring our best selves to every project.
🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Team Up - no egos here! We're all about throwing ideas around, asking questions, and giving feedback. Everyone's voice is essential and valuable.
📢 Go Big or Go Home - great things happen when we're not afraid to shake things up and challenge the status quo. We take risks and learn from our experiences.
⭐️ Keep it Real - dig in, get curious, and show some empathy. At Sparks, people always come before profits.

08/19/2024

We're calling it - the key to marketing success for retail brands is omni-channel. Here are some stats to prove our case:

🔥 As much as 74% of customers do online research before actually visiting a physical store
🔥 Companies with omnichannel customer engagement strategies retain 89% of their customers - vs. 33% for companies with weak omnichannel strategies
🔥 Omnichannel strategies help generate around 80% of the in-store visits by customers
🔥 Customers use an average of six touchpoints, with 50% regularly using more than four

08/16/2024

Do you use AI in your day-to-day role?

64% of marketers (our team included) use AI for a variety of tasks to help free up our brain power for more strategic thinking, including data crunching, content ideation, predictive analytics, and more. How do you think ChatGPT did?

08/13/2024

We've got a lot of new faces across our socials, so we thought we'd reintroduce ourselves!

While some days it may feel like we're the new kids on the block, Sparks has been around longer than some of our employees have been alive. 💀 For over 30 years, we've been entrenched in the experiential, event and demo space, working with brands of all sizes - from small mom and pop shops to global enterprises.

Then 2020 hit and... you can imagine what happened to the in-person event space. Like many businesses, we needed to pivot and find a way to support our clients in this new climate. That's where the Consumer Experience Agency was born. 🔥

Sparks is for brands that need to be experienced - the brands that strive for that effortless connection between IRL and URL. For brands that understand you need to meet your consumers where they're at. Whether through digital, social, brand, experiential, or traditional marketing strategies, we help you ignite meaningful moments.

08/09/2024

Meet Sam Austen, Sr. Graphic Designer. 👋 Sam brings her creative expertise to each project to build brands that resonate and drive results! Her favourite types of brands to follow are eco-friendly ones who do their part to build a more sustainable future, something she tries to be more cognizant of in her everyday life. Her favourite part of the job? "Working with a very supportive team and learning new things daily to help me grow in my career!"

08/05/2024

Is Email Marketing a focus for your business? If you're not prioritizing this channel as a core revenue source, you should start. Here are some stats to prove our case:

🔥 Email marketing has an average ROI of $36 for every $1 spent
🔥 Automated emails can generate 320% more revenue than emails that are not automated
🔥 60% of consumers reported that they have made a purchase as a result of a promotional email
🔥 Personalization powered by AI can increase email marketing ROI by up to 70%
🔥 Millennials and Gen Xers rely on their email more than any other generation at 98%

08/02/2024

Last week was our AGM and, in true Sparks fashion, we made sure it was an experience our team will remember! Swipe to see our journey from the boardroom, to the ball game - and back home in style.

07/29/2024

Does Brand really impact your ability to grow? As the foundation for every customer touchpoint, having a cohesive Brand strategy is one of the most important marketing tactics affecting your business. Here are some stats to prove our case:

🔥 55% of CPG brand first-time purchases are influenced by shelf presence and brand visuals, above anything else (i.e. price, placement, nutritional benefits, etc.)
🔥 77% of DTC consumers are likely to make purchases based on a brand name
🔥 Presenting a brand consistently across all platforms can increase revenue by up to 23%
🔥 50 milliseconds is all it takes for consumers to judge the visual appeal of your brand
🔥 42% of online shoppers base their opinion of a website on the overall design alone

07/23/2024

Are In-Store Demos a part of your marketing strategy? They should be. While time-consuming, they can provide a significant lift to your business goals. Here are some stats to prove our case:

🔥 69% of consumers believe a product demo best assists them when making a purchase decision
🔥 85% of consumers are more likely to purchase after a product demo
🔥 In-store demos have the power to boost same-day sales by 475%
🔥 Half of Gen Z consumers prefer in-store shopping; demos can close the sale for this group
🔥 In-store demos can drive a 5-10x ROI over time

07/15/2024

Are you team Experiential Marketing (XM)? While it can sometimes seem like a costly investment, the potential impact to your business can't be understated. Here are some stats to prove our case:

🔥 Brands that use XM receive 3x the word-of-mouth awareness than those who don't
🔥 91% of consumers believe that participating in XM will make them more likely to buy from that brand
🔥 70% of consumers become repeat buyers after engaging with an XM event
🔥 XM fosters higher engagement, with 98% of participants creating digital or social content during events
🔥 XM significantly enhances brand recall, with 73% of consumers remembering a brand after the event

07/12/2024

Meet Becca Burell, Accounting & Operations Coordinator. 👋 Becca helps keep everything running smoothly for our team and our clients! When not working, she enjoys baking and spending time with her family. She's also an expert on all things "The Office". Go on, quiz her!

Her favourite part of the job? "Working with a very supportive team and learning new things daily to help me grow in my career!"

07/08/2024

We've got lots to celebrate in July. 🎉

A BIG Happy Birthday to our Chief Operating Officer, Andrea. Thank you for all you do for the team!

We've also got some Sparksiversaries to celebrate - Michelle and Justice are celebrating one year with our team!

07/01/2024

Sparklers, fireworks, campfires... so on brand for us. Happy Canada Day from our families to yours!

06/16/2024

Happy Father's Day to the plant/ animal/ human dads! We see you and we appreciate you 🙌

06/13/2024

Some of our team headed to Houston this week ✈️ for the International Dairy Deli Bakery show. We love supporting clients and seeing our vision come to life!

06/12/2024

We are thrilled to announce that we have been selected as one of four finalists for the Small Business of The Year Award at the London Chamber of Commerce Business Achievement Awards!

A huge congrats goes out to the other three finalists. We will see you at the Gala in September 🔥

06/07/2024

Happy Pride Month! As always, we stand alongside our friends, family, colleagues and clients who belong to this beautiful community. We are committed to acknowledging and representing all walks of life in our work, from strategic planning, to creative development and campaign management. We also strive to create an inclusive working environment for all individuals.

Check out the link in our bio for a 2SLGBTQ health resource library.

05/31/2024

Is your website causing you to lose money? 💸

Consumer attention is short - and has continually decreased over time. When it comes to websites, the benchmark is 3 seconds; any longer than that, and you risk leaving money on the table.

If your site is clocking in a longer load time and you're not sure how to fix it, we can help. Let's chat - link in bio.

05/20/2024

This is how we've been spending our long weekend, telling stories around the campfire.🔥 Happy Victoria Day!

05/12/2024

Happy to all the different types of moms out there today. We see you and we appreciate you 🙌

05/06/2024

Meet Kristin Purves, Director of Project Management 👋 Kristin comes with over 10 years of experience leading operations and managing projects, four of which have been spent at Sparks. When not working, she loves being outdoors kayaking and exploring her local town for new restaurants and places to shop.

Her favorite part of the job? “Creating impactful and unique experiences on time and on budget!”

05/01/2024

Birthday celebrations this month - we're wishing BIG Happy Birthdays to our Chief Growth Officer, Tom McIntosh and our Head of Digital, Justice Goddard! We hope your days are filled with family fun, relaxation and lots of cake. 🎂

04/23/2024

Meet Natalie O’Neil, Senior Account Manager 👋 With over 15 years of experience, Natalie has been a part of the Sparks team for the past 7 years! When Natalie is not busy working with clients, she loves being outdoors and spending time with her kids, friends and family - no matter what the weather looks like. ☀️❄️

Her favorite part of the job? “That everyday looks different as we work with a variety of clients”.

04/17/2024

Who's heard of Walla Walla? 🤔

Our team is on site this week with one of our clients in Walla Walla, Washington! Fun fact - this "small" town is known for its beautiful main streets full of vintage shops, cafes, bookstores, restaurants and tasting rooms. What really puts it on the map is the exquisite wine it produces in the Walla Walla Valley! 🍷

Stay tuned to see what we are up to (besides tasting all the wine).

03/28/2024

Some fun facts as we gear up for Canadian Health Food Association NOW next week. Did you know?

- Over 50% of people will abandon a website that takes longer than 3 seconds to load
- It takes on average 7 seconds for someone to form an opinion about your brand
- YouTube reaches 98% of Canadians across all audiences
- If customers come across a remarketing ad, they're 70% more likely to make a purchase

03/22/2024

Our team is heading to the Canadian Health Food Association NOW conference in Vancouver! We'll be sharing some secrets on how to ensure you have the right marketing foundations in place to scale your business growth, and how to prioritize the right tactics and efforts for long term success. See you April 3rd, 1:15-2 PM PT in room 203!

08/29/2023

Hi 👋 We're Sparks, an agency obsessed with consumer experience. Click the 🔗 to see what we do.

Sparks is a marketing agency that blends digital, social and experiential marketing tactics to match the buying funnel of your audience.