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It started out as a dream of a child born and raised in Houston, Texas. Kendall was born to two hardworking parents, Gary and Clarissa Popelsky, and she was also the second oldest of four. Kendall showed a passion for writing and creativity ever since she learned to read at an early age. She spent her primary and secondary years in the Cy-Fair school system and eventually received her high school diploma from Cypress Falls High School in 2009 with her concentration in Journalism. She spent her final semester of her senior year putting together her portfolio for JEA’s competition (more…)

It’s As Easy As 1-2-3!   Marketing automation isn’t exactly new, but many businesses have not gotten on board yet. Marketing and automation were hardly ever spoken in the same sentence until now, but with the rise of online engagement it only makes sense to combine the two. We are here to tell you not be intimidated, but instead to embrace this new way of marketing!   As many salesmen and women know, one of the secrets to successful selling is building a relationship. Now-a-days customers have an infinite amount of knowledge at their fingertips thanks to the Internet, and (more…)

Content is key. That is the die-hard truth – we even have a Pinterest board dedicated to it (check it out here)! When say content we are referring to every and anything that your business puts onto its social medias, blogs, advertisements, etc. Did you know that each social media platform has different words that have a higher engagement level? Well, that is one of the many elements of changing yourself from drab to fab on your business’s social media!   Lesson 1 – Target your audience   Make sure to know who your target audience is. If your business’s (more…)

There is no denying that our world is changing in the ways that we communicate with the never-ending evolution of social media, but many people, especially people that are in college or just graduating from it, think of social media as just that – social. Here at The REFUGE Group we are in “intern season” so there is no better time than now to chat about how to use social media, what to put on them and how you can use it to your advantage while transition from college to career!   There is a certain “digital etiquette” that you (more…)

Apple made a press release yesterday announcing that they have updated the 13 and 15-inch notebooks, which is great news to say the least. These improvements include more battery life and better performance. Apple has also increased the memory of the 13-inch notebook to 8 GB from 4 GB and from 8GB to 16GB on the 15-inch notebook – that is double the memory!   With the new announcement from Apple on the recent updates, we have decided to take a deeper look at Apple’s marketing and how they manage to juggle everything. Let’s go through some of the factors (more…)

What does it take for a film to earn the title of “summer blockbuster?” Well, some factors are a given, like having a big celebrity cast and a good script, but wait, there’s more! How a film is marketed can have a huge impact on how profitable it is in the box office. Now we’re going to look at 3 of this summer’s biggest blockbusters marketing campaigns:   Maleficent Angelina Jolie is one of the biggest celebrities in the world, and according to imbd.com, her last on-screen performance was in 2010 with The Tourist, so of course there is going (more…)

No matter where you turn in Houston, you’re sure to see Texans memorabilia. By simply typing the word “Texans” into the Facebook search box you will find that countless pages dedicated to the Houston football team pop up.  The team has truly built a name for themselves, not just in Texas, but across the country as well.  While they’re by no means the top team in the NFL, their logo alone is enough to garner enthusiastic squeals from fans.  Even those who aren’t fans can easily recognize the Texans logo.   So what is it about this team that makes (more…)

Holiday Marketing   Holidays are major players when it comes to marketing. Typically, there are big sales that are associated with each holiday that provides marketers with the opportunity to up their game in order to avoid getting caught in the shuffle. [caption id="attachment_2486" align="alignleft" width="300"] Firework display over downtown Houston[/caption]   We have compiled a list of the best tips and tricks to make your campaign stand apart from the rest.   Use What Makes You Different   When it comes to marketing, unless you are a major corporation, competing with the Coca Colas of the world is going (more…)

Instagram is wonderful for showcasing photos of your products, employees, or your business’ experiences. However, tracking your follower engagement can be tricky. We’ve compiled a list of our favorite free analytic apps for Instagram. By using one of these apps, you’ll gain insight into who your followers are, who follows your account the closest, and much more.   1. Iconosquare: Formerly known as Statigram, this website offers an Instagram viewer, statistics, comment tracker services, sharing with Facebook, ability to host Instagram contest for followers, and the capability to search on Instagram online. The online viewer allows user to see their (more…)

There are millions of people sharing photos or videos, otherwise known as “snaps”, with their friends on a day-to-day basis with the use of the newest social tool on the market called Snapchat. It has been catching the attention of people and companies across the nation, including the infamous Facebook who wanted to buy it for a mere $3 billion. With so many users on Snapchat every day, it has been hard for businesses to continue turning their head from this social tool, but instead businesses are now running to their marketing teams for ideas on how they can utilize (more…)