The Team

Our international team consists of two locations, one in Wilsonville, Oregon, USA, and the other in Belmopan, Belize. The team utilizes the Adobe Creative Suite to create, manipulate, and alter digital work for our clients everyday.

Turnaround Time & Due Dates

During normal operation, the team expects a card to be completed at 3 p.m. Pacific time on the third full business day after the card was created.

Of course, special circumstances may require a quicker turnaround time. These events can occur if there is an escalation on an account, or per a client’s requests. If such circumstances should occur, the Digital Marketing Representative in charge of the account is responsible for notifying the Senior Digital Marketing Graphic Designer, the Digital Marketing Graphic Design Lead, or the Creative Services Manager regarding the urgency, and a more appropriate timeline is reestablished for the particular project.

Co-Op Advertising

Co-op advertising plays a major role in a Digital Marketing Graphic Designer’s daily work life. Co-op advertising It is a partnership advertising agreement between a client (a dealership) and a manufacturer. Since large brands already have co-op advertising plans, Dealer Spike is required to submit an application and advertising assets that meet certain requirements set by the manufacturer.

In terms of the Digital Marketing Graphic Design team’s responsibilities, the team makes sure requirements are such as the inclusion of the manufacturer logo, photos of the product being advertised, and a disclaimer. Together with the Quality Assurance Specialists, we work to ensure that our assets are up to the standards set by different companies.

Manufacturers often scrutinize each image to ensure that all requirements are met. Once approved, the manufacturer will agree to share the advertising cost with the dealership. Both parties often benefit from such an agreement, which is why it’s important to ensure that our ads surpass expectations.

General Information Resources

• Examples of Work
• OEM Design Requirements Co-Op
• Brand Guidelines
• OEM Resources

Templates

The first column on the board, Templates, holds template cards that a digital marketing representative duplicates and fills out when they would like to request an image asset. Examples of image assets are advertisements and newsletters. Information pertinent to the assets are such as the sizes required, and if they will be co-op advertising.

Department Columns

The TDA, SEM, MA, and SEO columns hold their respective department’s cards after it has been filled out. The cards in these columns have a default turnaround time of 3 days during normal operations. A Digital Marketing Graphic Designer selects a card from these columns depending on their priority and due date.

VIP Column

The VIP column is reserved for clients on the VIP Accounts list. Clients on this list are either top-tier spenders, have extreme guidelines, or simply require more attention on their work. The Senior Graphic Designer is responsible for work done in this column.

In Progress Column

Once a Digital Marketing Graphic Designer has chosen a Trello card to work on, s/he adds himself/herself to the card, and moves it to the In Progress column. This is where the card sits until the assets are complete. It serves to signify that the card has been acknowledged and work is currently being done.

Rep Fix for Designer Column

When a Digital Marketing Graphic Designer finds an error on a Trello card, or requires more information from a Digital Marketing Representative, the card in question is sent to the Rep Fix for Designers column with a comment tagging the Digital Marketing Representative and describing the issue that needs to be addressed. It is here where the initial due date is removed as the card awaits a response from a Digital Marketing Representative. Cards remaining in this column at the end of the month are considered abandoned, and are archived on the last working day of the month every month.

All QA Column

After a Digital Marketing Graphic Designer completes a card request, s/he sends the card to the All QA Column. The process applies to all cards except for those belonging to the Marketing Automation department. It is here where the Digital Marketing Quality Assurance Specialist determines if the card is able to move on for client approval. If the image assets pass the inspection, the Digital Marketing Quality Assurance Specialist moves the card to the For Review column. If the image assets require changes, the Digital Marketing Quality Assurance Specialist moves the card to the Design Changes column and tags the Digital Marketing Graphic Designer.

Design Changes Column

Cards that require revision are sent to the Design Changes column. Cards are either moved to this column by the Digital Marketing Quality Assurance Specialist after a review or the Digital Marketing Representative when a client should require further revisions. The Digital Marketing Graphic Designer who was initially responsible for the image assets generated also revises the assets according to specifications, then sends it back to either the All QA column, or the For Review column, depending on the circumstance.

For Review Column

Reserved for all completed work, the For Review column contains all finished work awaiting the next steps from a Digital Marketing Representative. Marketing Automation cards are moved here by the Digital Marketing Graphic Designer, and the rest of the cards are initially moved into this column by the Digital Marketing Quality Assurance Specialist. The cards in this column are awaiting the client’s approval, and the next steps from a Digital Marketing Representative. COMPLETED COLUMN Once cards are approved, ad campaigns are set up, and newsletters are sent out, the associated Trello card is moved to the Completed column by a Digital Marketing Representative. It means they require no further action from the Digital Marketing Graphic Designer. Cards in this column are archived daily.

Resources:

• Digital Marketing Graphic Design Trello Board
• VIP Accounts List
• Trello Cards Flowchart

SEM

Display Ads [Examples]

Display advertising is a method of gaining attention on a website, social media platform, and other digital mediums. They are often image-based advertisements that encourage the viewer to click-through to a landing page.

Sizes in pixels: 336 x 280 | 300 x 250 | 160 x 600 | 728 x 90

Dynamic Remarketing Display Ads [Examples]

Dynamic remarketing display ads are similar to display ads, but the contents on the ads are generated dynamically, and tailored to each specific viewer. The remarketing part of these ads means that the contents shown on the ads have previously been viewed by the specific person. For instance, if a viewer was shopping for a Model X RV, the dynamic remarketing ad on a website will display a Model X RV, calling attention to the product once more.

Sizes in pixels: 300 x 250 | 160 x 600 | 728 x 90

Facebook Post Ads [Examples]

Facebook post ads appear in a Facebook user’s feed among posts from other users. They offer a clean and simple imagery and engaging copy.

Size in pixels: 1200 x 628

Facebook Carousel Ads [Examples]

Carousel ads on Facebook allows our client to showcase up to 10 images in a single ad, each with its own link. These ads are perfect for clients who prefer to highlight different products, rather than showcasing one unit. It can often be used to tell a story as well.

Size in pixels: 1080 x 1080 or 1 : 1 ratio.

Gmail Ads [Examples]

Gmail ads appear in a user’s inbox. They look like an email at first, but appear under the “promotions” tab. If a user clicks the ad, they are presented with the expanded ad, which often contains an image or even a gallery.

Size in pixels: 1200 x 628

TDA

Display Ads [Examples]

TDA ads appear on the Google Display Network, and are highly targeted to a specific geographic location. These ads are perfect for clients who wish to surround competing dealerships, campgrounds, or marinas. Even more impressively, such ads can be displayed on certain days when certain events and expos are taking place. The two additional smaller sizes ensure that ads are displayed perfectly on mobile devices.

Size in pixels: 300 x 250 | 160 x 600 | 728 x 90 | 320 x 50 | 300 x 50

SEO

Reputation Management Headers [Examples]

Reputation management headers are used in emails sent out to dealerships’ clients requesting feedback on their experience. Such headers contain simple phrases asking for feedback, or thanking the customer. They are used on the Grade.us platform, which is maintained by a SEO Representative.

Size in pixels: 700 x 180

YouTube Assets [Examples]

In order to maintain brand identity, assets on social media should be representative and relevant of the dealership’s brand. Having YouTube assets that match establishes trust among our clients and their customers. These assets can be viewed on the client’s YouTube account.

YouTube Channel Art size in pixels: 2560 x 1440

YouTube Icon size in pixels: 800 x 800

Homepage Banners [Examples]

Homepage banners are often found in a slideshow on a client’s website. They act as advertisements or announcements, highlighting what’s important to the client in that moment of time. They work to encourage traffic to specific parts of the website, such as the promotions page or the service page.

Size in pixels: Varies depending on the client’s website.

MA

Promotional / Events E-Newsletters [Examples]

Assets generated for the Marketing Automation team are ever-changing. In its simplest form, it can be described as a newsletter; however, there are many parts to the newsletter. A newsletter can contain many different sections, and thus many images. The only standard is the width of the newsletter, sitting at a maximum of 800 pixels wide. The length is up to the client, the Marketing Automation Representative, and the Digital Marketing Graphic Designer.

Size in pixels: Maximum width: 800 pixels

Nurture Track E-Newsletters [Examples]

Always waiting and listening for a trigger, these newsletters have the same look, feel, and format of its predecessor. Therefore, a Digital Marketing Graphic Designer must refer to past similar work for inspiration. Initially, the design isn’t set in stone. Once a design has been established, however, the Digital Marketing Graphic Designer will stick to the same layout through the lifecycle of a nurture track.

Size in pixels: Maximum width: 800 pixels

Resources:

• DigMS Design Specs & Requirements
• Templates

New Hire Training resources

Documents

• DigMS Design Training Materials
  • This folder severely needs to be updated, but it has the basics that I can work off of. I’m thinking each of the links below will cover more in-depth, hands-on instructions.
  • General / FAQs
    • (Just ideas for myself, stop reading, Brandon!)
    • “When to kick a card back”
    • “How to name your files”
    • “Where to put your files”
    • “Tracking your work”
    • “Daily spot checks”
  • TDA
    • Display Ads
  • SEM
    • Display Ads
    • Dynamic Remarketing Ads
  • SEO
    • Reputation Management Headers
    • YouTube Assets
  • MA
    • Promotional / Events Newsletters
    • Nurture Tracks
    • (Hey, I actually have a meeting about this soon. I should take notes.)

Examples

• Good Trello card requests vs. Bad Trello card requests
  • (Screenshots, but with important parts highlighted and notes.)
  • SEM/TDA
  • SEO
  • MA Automation
  • MA Newsletter
• Ads that work
  • (Find ads with CTR above 0.5% and lay them out side by side.)
• Newsletters that work
  • (Find newsletters with CTR above 0.5% and lay them out side by side.)

Guides

• SharpSpring > Emails

Assessments

• American Graphics Institute - Adobe Photoshop Skills Assessment Test
• American Graphics Institute - Adobe Illustrator Skills Assessment Test