Why Perfect is the Enemy of Progress in User Experience Design
Perfectionism gets a lot of praise. It sounds like a good thing — high standards, attention to detail, a commitment to excellence. But here’s the catch: chasing perfection can actually hold you back. Companies that obsess over making a product “just right” often end up stuck in limbo, delaying launches, missing market opportunities, and missing out on valuable user feedback.
The better approach? Focus on progress, not perfection. By embracing an iterative mindset where you commit to improving products over time, businesses can release better products, make smarter decisions, and keep their customers happy. Here’s why:
The Pitfalls of Perfectionism
Missed Opportunities & Never-Ending Delays
The digital world moves fast. If you wait too long to launch the “perfect” product, you risk falling behind. Every tweak, every extra feature, every minor refinement can push back your release date. And by the time you finally launch, the market may have moved on, competitors may have swooped in, or user expectations may have shifted.
No Real-World Feedback
You can test your product internally all day, but real users will always interact with it in ways you didn’t expect. If you hold off on launching until everything is “perfect,” you miss out on crucial feedback that could help you improve the experience with the input of the people who will actually use it. Getting a product in front of users sooner means you can make data-driven improvements rather than guessing what they need.
Building Features No One Cares About
Perfectionism often leads to overbuilding — adding features that seem essential to internal stakeholders but don’t actually matter at all to users. Instead of spending time and resources on bells and whistles, it’s smarter to launch with the essentials and let real user behavior guide future updates.
Team Burnout & Decision Paralysis
Constantly refining a product without a clear end point is exhausting. Teams get frustrated, burned out, and stuck in analysis paralysis — too afraid to make a decision in case it’s the wrong one. This slows down progress and stifles innovation.
The Better Way: Embrace Iteration
Instead of aiming for perfection, companies should focus on continuous improvement — a mindset that treats user experience as an evolving process rather than a one-and-done deal.
1. Launch, Learn, Improve
The best way to build a great product? Get it out there. An MVP (Minimum Viable Product) lets you launch with the core essentials, gather real-world feedback, and iterate based on actual user needs. You don’t have to guess. You get to respond to what your audience actually wants.
2. Test with Real Users — Early & Often
Perfection is subjective, and what looks “perfect” internally might not be what users actually need. Running usability tests, A/B testing, and gathering real-world analytics ensures you’re making improvements that actually matter.
3. Get the Basics Right First
Not everything needs to be flawless before launch. What really matters is that users can complete the core tasks smoothly. Additional refinements can come later — based on actual user demand.
4. Embrace Experimentation
Perfectionism often comes from a fear of failure. But in UX, failure isn’t the enemy — it’s a learning opportunity. Teams that embrace testing, iteration, and small risks will ultimately create better experiences.
5. Function Over Flawless Design
Sure, aesthetics matter, but an amazing-looking product that doesn’t function well is useless. Some companies delay launches to make their designs pixel-perfect, but usability should always come first. A great product is one that works beautifully, not just one that looks beautiful.
Done is Better Than Perfect
The truth? Perfection is an illusion, but progress is real — and it’s what leads to truly great user experiences. Businesses that iterate, listen to users, and improve over time will always win over those stuck in endless refinement mode.
So, instead of aiming for perfection, aim for progress. Launch, learn, and keep moving forward — because that’s how the best products (and companies) are built.
Results You Can Take To The Bank
GOALS: Increase the number of opened and funded accounts for ZYNLO Bank, the digital branch of PeoplesBank.
CHALLENGE: Tracking clarity and effectiveness. Media performance measured on a different platform than conversions, creating critical gaps in marketing intel.
Lead acquisition and paid media strategy can transform a company’s bottom line in extraordinary ways — as Nymbus and ZYNLO quickly discovered after partnering with Starmark.
Show Me The Money!
Nymbus is a builder of digital banks: they empower financial institutions of any size to quickly launch a full-service digital bank or migrate to the Nymbus award-winning core, engaging and supporting the full digital customer journey.
Starmark’s partnership with Nymbus began by supporting ZYNLO Bank, one of their clients. ZYNLO, a division of Peoplesbank, is the digital version of the bank’s brick & mortar institution.
ZYNLO was already measuring ad impressions and clicks, but wasn’t able to track from the initial click through to account opening and deposit. Their metrics at the time weren’t revealing what the digital bank’s leadership needed to know. How many of those impressions and clicks led to cash in the bank?
Another big question: WHEN were those conversions happening? Since new ZYNLO bank application submissions were recorded on a separate platform from its ad metrics, the siloed reporting structure left a big data gap. Even when a successful conversion occurred, management wasn’t sure which specific ad effort drove it. This hindered their ability to optimize campaign strategy and spend.
A New Point Of View
Starmark closed these data transparency gaps through several approaches. We implemented Google Analytics 4 conversion tracking, identifying a new application submission whenever a customer entered their address, as well as UTM parameter tracking allowing us to map back funded accounts and balances to the media channel.
Starmark then created a customized dashboard allowing the client to access performance data 24/7 for paid media campaigns, as well as organic search, organic social and email campaigns.
Campaign Breakdown, Cost, Clicks & Conversions
On the media strategy side, Starmark launched campaigns on SEM, Meta, TikTok, YouTube and Programmatic Display. Then added SnapChat and most recently Programmatic CTV. Initial geo markets spanned Texas, California, Florida, then expanded into five additional states.
Results? You Bet Your Bottom Dollar!
Through fine-tuned media strategy and channel tactics, as well as enhanced down the funnel tracking implementation, Starmark reduced ZYNLO customer acquisition costs while boosting new funded accounts and customers.
Starmark has certainly exceeded expectations because we work together as true partners. Applications and new accounts really ramped up. The depth of analytics that we now have has allowed us to set thresholds for success, forecast expectations, and justify incremental spend and geographic expansion.
— Brittny Williams, First VP, Digital Growth, PeoplesBank
Campaign Performance
The Interest Keeps Compounding
Starmark’s track record and rewarding partnerships within the digital banking sector continue to expand, as more banks leverage our expertise in acquisition, media and creative strategies.
It’s been so gratifying to track the substantial gains ZYNLO has enjoyed these past few months — and it’s getting even more exciting, as we build similar wins for all our banking clients.
— Nathalie Dupont, VP, Digital Strategy
If you lead a credit union, bank or financial institution, discover stronger, more profitable media and data strategies you can bank on! Reach out to our Starmark experts now.
Adding the WOW that wins over audiences
As marketers compete in an ever-busier, more distracted world, earning a prospect’s attention demands innovative methods beyond traditional print, video and online content. As both Nova Southeastern University and Memorial Health Systems discovered, today’s newest tech can empower inspiring “wow” moments, rising above the noise to capture and keep audience interest.
Tech That Captivates Tweens
Earning the interest of jaded middle schoolers can be challenging! The key to winning them over? Make it cool, compelling and share-worthy!
Nova Southeastern University (NSU) participates each year in the Junior Achievement of South Florida’s Finance Park program. Finance Park helps middle schoolers understand how their educational choices impact future financial success, including learning about real careers and salaries. More than 20,000 students attend this year-long event on school-sponsored field trips.
While booths typically display posters, collateral and a tablet or laptop with online content, NSU and the Starmark Innovation Lab team stepped up the WOW factor for NSU’s 2024-2025 presence.
Our strategy leveraged leading-edge Volumetric Capture technology to showcase hologram-style characters modeling six rewarding careers. The characters and their props brought each role to life in virtual reality. The result grabbed attention and enticed students to watch, listen and learn.
Tweens can be tough to impress! Volumetric Capture added the WOW factor that stands out to digital natives. Each hologram-like character appears inside a three dimensional display that is activated by the student.
Behind the scenes: Creating our 6 career characters included videos generated at 30 frames per second (fps). Each frame is rendered at 48 different angles, called a “quilt”, providing enough captured poses to ensure realistic movement. A 1-minute video packs in 86,400+ rendered frames to create the final lifelike effect!
Each hologram style character includes a fun prop to bring the six career roles to life. The financial advisor holds a piggy bank. A healthy beating heart showcases our nurse practitioner role. Our Sports Medicine Therapist hefts a basketball. Our educator holds a book.
Inspiring Healthier Travels
Starmark leveraged the same innovative Volumetric Capture tech that captivated Finance Park tweens to reach a totally different sector, audience and business goal.
Memorial Healthcare System (MHS) is a leader in high-quality care and one of the largest public healthcare systems in the U.S. Executives wanted to expand the brand’s presence as a community partner in wellness/health, as well as the trusted medical leader during times of illness or injury.
This strategy initially targeted travelers at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL). As the 17th ranked nationwide in passenger traffic, FLL serves over 35 million travelers annually. There’s no higher-visibility venue to connect as quickly and effectively with millions of residents and visitors!
When the opportunity arose for a sizable airport media buy at high traffic terminals, it was the ideal environment for MHS to launch their health/wellness-geared brand campaign.
Our theme spotlights the versatility: anyone with a cell phone can enjoy a relaxing moment of wellness from anywhere at anytime. Users can take their trainer with them on the go!
Using Volumetric Capture tech, we shot footage of our trainers guiding viewers through each of the wellness activities at FIU’s onsite studio.
Each trainer is projected into the users environment in mixed reality letting users follow along and mirror their trainer wherever they are, even at actual size!
As part of the global wellness campaign featuring terminal signage, video monitors and other onsite visuals, the Innovation Lab sought a way to keep MHS top of mind after travelers left FLL.
The team proposed a series of one-minute wellness “moments”, guided by certified trainers, that the target audience could access anywhere, anytime via smart device. Each trainer was filmed via Volumetric Capture, with virtual and augmented reality tech. At the user’s command, our trainers “teleported” right into each person’s space, guiding their wellness moments from the user’s own kitchen counter, backyard, hotel room, even their airport terminal seat!
Tweens, Travelers — And Many More
Volumetric Capture tech is ideal for promoting experiences that are repeatable, like MHS personal wellness moments. Or bringing a mundane teaching or training topic to life, like our NSU hologram-style personas.
AI-powered chatbots aren’t just an upgrade to customer engagement — they represent a fundamental shift in how businesses attract, qualify, and convert leads. In an era where responsiveness, personalization, and availability define the customer experience, traditional lead generation methods can sometimes fall short. AI chatbots can help fill that gap by ensuring businesses never miss an opportunity to connect, engage, and convert potential customers — no matter the time or place.
What makes AI-enabled lead generation so powerful? It eliminates friction. Prospects no longer wait for responses or struggle to find relevant information. Instead, they receive instant, personalized interactions that guide them toward conversion. This isn’t just about automation — it’s about creating a seamless, high-value experience that meets modern customer expectations.
The Competitive Advantage of AI in Lead Generation
Instant Engagement, Zero Missed Opportunities: First impressions matter. When a potential customer visits your website, an AI chatbot ensures they’re met with immediate attention, not a form or list of FAQs. In a world where speed can be the difference between winning or losing a sale, AI chatbots make sure businesses are always responsive and always available.
Personalized Interactions at Scale: Every customer wants to feel understood. AI chatbots use advanced language models to engage prospects in natural, meaningful conversations — asking the right questions, recommending tailored solutions, and addressing concerns in real time. This level of personalization, previously achievable only through human agents, is now scalable across thousands of interactions.
Eliminating Inefficiencies in Lead Qualification: Not all leads are ready to buy, and chasing unqualified prospects drains valuable resources. AI chatbots instantly assess intent, collect relevant details, and prioritize high-value opportunities — allowing sales teams to focus where it matters most. Businesses no longer waste time sifting through inquiries; they get straight to the leads that are most likely to convert.
A Sales Engine That Never Sleeps: Unlike human teams, AI chatbots don’t log off. They work 24/7, capturing and nurturing leads even outside of business hours. Whether it’s a late-night visitor or an international prospect, an AI-driven system ensures the pipeline remains active at all times — turning missed opportunities into potential revenue.
AI-Powered Lead Generation Is No Longer Optional
As consumer expectations shift toward instant, on-demand interactions, businesses that fail to adapt risk falling behind. AI chatbots aren’t just a convenience; they are a necessity for companies looking to stay competitive. They streamline lead generation, remove bottlenecks, and create a frictionless path from first touchpoint to conversion.
For businesses still relying on outdated forms and manual follow-ups, the message is clear: AI isn’t the future — it’s the present. Those who embrace it will not only generate more leads but also provide the seamless, engaging experiences that today’s customers expect.
Filling PIE With Excitement and Buzz-Worthy Moments
With the airport code PIE, our clients at St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport are having a lot of fun leaning into their connection to the beloved dessert. In 2023, Starmark helped them launch the Everyone Loves PIE campaign and encouraged travelers to “Travel Sweeter with PIE.”
Taking a Bite Out of National PIE Day
Since the campaign launch, PIE and the Starmark team have felt National Pie Day — January 23rd — was ripe for the picking. We saw an opportunity to continue to build recognition of the PIE brand, grow our loyalists, and nurture our social media presence. To do this, we needed to create activations and a companion marketing campaign that would draw visitors to the airport and get hurried travelers to stop and enjoy the experience.
To ensure we had a strong turnout for a Tuesday morning event in the middle of January, we promoted PIE Day with organic and paid social posts, in-airport collateral, billboards, and a landing page. We also encouraged our airport partners to post about PIE Day and made it easy for them with provided copy and visual assets. The materials all leveraged the Everyone Loves PIE campaign and promoted the excitement that awaited them, including a trip giveaway and a mystery guest. We also reached out to local media to ensure we received TV and online coverage.
A National PIE Day Event With All the Trimmings
We built our inaugural Pie Day activation from scratch including an array of crowd-pleasers. We knew the right way to lean into the pie theme had to include the dessert itself, so we sourced miniature boxed pies, apple and cherry, and customized them with branded stickers that read, “Sweeter Travel Starts with PIE.” Airport brand ambassadors greeted guests with the airport’s signature friendly, easygoing vibe as they grabbed a delicious treat.
The Pinellas County beaches are famous for their pristine, sugary sands, so we commissioned a custom sand sculpture that would capture the essence of the airport and the Everyone Loves PIE theme. Utilizing 15-20 tons of sand, the artist created a masterpiece that both travelers and the public can enjoy in the Baggage Claim area.
Paul Teutel Sr., founder of Orange County Choppers and star of the reality TV series “American Choppers” was there to unveil the amazing sand sculpture and kick off the day’s events.
As if the pies, the sculpture and the celebrity emcee wasn’t enough, for guests, the cherry on top of PIE’s big National Pie Day activation was the chance to win a free vacation.
Results Too Big for a PIE Chart
Supported by a 6-week marketing lead-up, PIE Day was a huge success. PIE Day social media promotions covered X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram and yielded results that exceeded expectations. X saw the most impressive increase in engagement. On January 23rd, @iflypie received a 1,259% increase in impressions, a 1,600% increase in clicks and a 1,800% increase in likes.
Our Tuesday morning event had enough buzz to attract TV coverage from five area stations. PIE Day enjoyed a total TV market viewership of 467,430, which is worth $27,536.99 in publicity value. And 4,563 users submitted their contact information for the chance to win the free trip.
The Starmark team provided the big ideas, media and execution we needed to make our inaugural PIE Day the big event we were hoping for. They were attentive to every detail, ensuring a seamless activation that exceeded all the benchmarks, and we can’t wait to start planning the next PIE Day.
— Jeff Clauss, Director of Air Service Development & Marketing at St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport (PIE)
Starmark clients top the MarCom Awards in 2024
This year’s international MarCom awards were a hefty haul for several Starmark clients across travel, entertainment, tech and education. Here’s a rundown of the top winners.
MarCom Platinum Awards
The Amelia Island Inspiration Guide, a beautiful printed guide for trip planning, won two MarCom Platinum awards in the Brochure Writing and Viewbook categories.
South Florida PBS won a Platinum MarCom in the Augmented/Mixed Reality category for its VR Educational Experiences featuring a main PBS Park and three educational experiences for music, art and science.
Project HomeAgain, a Broward County initiative to rehome the homeless won a Gold MarCom in the Government category for its Homeless Awareness Video. Memorial Healthcare System took home a Gold MarCom for an ongoing FLL Airport Takeover effort. HUSTL and Nymbus Labs took home a Gold MarCom for the HUSTL Social Branding Campaign. And Valencia College took home Gold for its Be/Become Recruitment Video Series.
As we look at the incredible year ahead, it’s nice to appreciate what we accomplished in 2024. We’re proud to celebrate some wonderful client relationships that deliver amazing results and award-winning work.
— Jacqui Hartnett, President, Starmark
Honorable Mentions
Several more efforts received Honorable Mention acknowledgements, including the Amelia Island tourism website and three Valencia College campaign components — the Be/Become advertising campaign, billboard and custom Pounce font.
VR wizardry: igniting a love for learning
How can we motivate more young digital natives to embrace traditional educational subjects like art, music and health? South Florida PBS and Starmark accomplished it in three unforgettable ways, all leveraging the magic of virtual reality.
South Florida PBS, Florida’s largest public media company, serves approximately 6.3 million viewers of all ages and cultural backgrounds. Their educational content is trusted by teachers, parents, grandparents and caregivers to promote healthy child development.
The broadcasting company partnered with Starmark to create a series of virtual reality (VR) experiences that can engage children and teens in ways traditional learning can’t. The result was exciting, immersive— and made possible only by the wizardry of VR!
The Lesson Plan
Three immersive educational experiences were created for South Florida PBS traveling events and a new permanent place in the organization’s future arts and cultural center, opening in 2025. The target audience: pre teens, teens and their families, allowing for a shared VR experience with up to six people participating at once.
Starmark began by outlining educational experiences that align with current South Florida PBS programming and the organization’s educational mission. We also used a combination of AI-generated mood boards and comps to align on art style and affect with the client before any development began.
Experiences were journey mapped to help guide education outcomes, overall design, development and testing.
AI-generated mood boards and comps ensured alignment pre-development.
Each of the VR educational experiences were also aligned to Florida State education standards to broaden the appeal of this attraction. It allows local school systems to visit the center for field trips in a way that can be applied toward a grade and credit in the classroom.
The Curriculum
South Florida PBS Central Park
Visitors begin by entering this Welcome Pavilion floating in the sky. It’s South Florida PBS-branded with a strong regional vibe and gives users a vista of all the experiences on the horizon. Within this free-roam environment, visitors get familiar with the basic VR navigation before choosing one of the three experiences available. The hub-and-spoke design also allows for future expansion.
Virtual reality education has the power to immerse students in extraordinary ways. The more we can engage young digital natives, the greater their ability to process and retain what they learn.
— Brett Circe, Starmark Chief Digital Officer
Art Experience
Students learn about different styles from master works created by a local Cuban artist. The artist’s own daughter hosts the walking tour, sharing details about his art through the decades. This finishes with an interactive 3D experience: visitors get to draw in the style of the artist.
Health Experience
Sleep is critical to physical and mental health. To learn why, guests are thrust into a human brain and instructed to create gentle brain waves across a pool of cerebrospinal fluid to flush debris out of the brain. They must clear out as much as possible before their human awakens the next morning.
Music Experience
Music rocks when you learn by doing! Guests are greeted by a South Florida PBS music personality at the Miami Beach Bandshell to learn the basics of music education. They then are encouraged to play “Doxie” by Miles Davis and follow along as it’s performed by Young Musicians Unite in front of an audience of VR avatars.
The Report Card: A+ Results!
Since the South Florida PBS VR Educational Experience debut it continues to engage students and their families, delivering fresh, leading-edge learning adventures about traditional educational topics.
The Role of Virtual Reality in College and University Recruiting
Virtual Reality (VR) technology is revolutionizing the way colleges and universities recruit students. By offering immersive, interactive experiences, institutions can engage prospective students in unique and compelling ways. Here are some ideas for how to incorporate VR into the modern recruitment process.
Virtual Campus Tours
One of the most popular applications of VR in college recruiting is the virtual campus tour. Research shows that students who conduct a campus tour are 85% more likely to apply to that college than students who did not do so. Universities leveraging VR tools have also seen up to a 30% increase in physical campus visits, which directly correlates with higher enrollment rates.
Virtual tours allow prospective students to explore campuses from anywhere in the world, providing a realistic sense of what it’s like to walk through the campus, visit dorms, and enter classrooms. This is especially beneficial to students who live out of state or abroad and saves them the time and cost of travel to visit the campus. Guided tours can also be conducted by students or faculty from any location without having to actually be on campus which creates a greater level of flexibility in scheduling such tours.
Universities often have unique features that are difficult to convey through traditional media. VR can highlight these aspects effectively, whether it’s a state-of-the-art research facility, beautiful natural surroundings, or a key landmark building. Read more about creating a VR campus “digital twin” in our updated 2024 virtual reality in education roundup article.
National University in California is launching a virtual campus that will allow students to explore a digital version of the university, including academic buildings and recreational spaces, all through VR. This initiative aims to provide a more interactive and engaging experience for students, enhancing both recruitment and learning by bringing the feel of a traditional campus to the digital world.
Institutions can also offer personalized VR experiences tailored to individual interests. For example, a prospective engineering student could be given a tour specifically focused on the engineering department, labs, and related facilities. Each university can customize these experiences to best reflect their top performing degree programs.
Virtual Open Houses and Fairs
VR can also be used to host virtual open houses and college fairs. This allows prospective students and their families to more directly interact with faculty, current students, and admissions officers in a virtual space through more detailed discussion, Q&A, or even a photo op with the school mascot in VR. Such events can be made more special than a standard tour by including scripted presentations and 3D recordings of the college president and key professors to welcome them. Once again, saving the time and money necessary to have such an experience in person. This is especially beneficial for universities that aren’t near a major airport or require a significant drive to reach. Now even the most remote universities can more effectively compete for students by producing a VR open house.
Showcasing Advanced Learning Capabilities
VR can easily simulate a real classroom experience, but where it really shines is transporting users to places they can’t go in real life, like a working ventricle of the human heart or a walkable recreation of an ancient city.
Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is using Virtual Reality to enhance the educational experience for its medical students, particularly at its Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine. The VR technology is integrated into various aspects of the curriculum, including anatomy, surgery, and patient interaction simulations. This allows students to engage in realistic, immersive environments where they can practice procedures, explore complex anatomical structures, and even participate in virtual patient encounters, all in a controlled and safe setting.
VR can also allow prospective students to travel back in time to stand in the audience as MLK delivers his “I have a dream” speech, or venture to ancient Greece and sit in on a philosophy class taught by Plato himself.
Imaging interacting with an AI avatar — created with the look and voice of the real person — and asking them any question. Imagine having a conversation with Rosa Parks, or Nikola Tesla, or Neil Armstrong during a college recruitment event. What a great experience!
Exploring Student Life
Through VR, institutions can showcase various aspects of student life, including clubs, organizations, and extracurricular activities. Prospective students can experience a day in the life of a current student, attend a virtual club meeting, or watch an on-campus sporting event. This is especially important for online and remote students who sometimes do not feel connected to the college and need to feel more part of the campus. We find that the students come up with new ways to leverage a digital campus organically, the way they want, even if they are not planned, such as “meditation mondays” or “2am study sessions”. Creating a location that can grow and adapt organically is the best kind of system for future growth.
Beyond Recruitment
Colleges and universities are also using VR to engage alumni and donors by showcasing how their contributions can transform the campus and student experiences through virtual reality models. This not only provides the ability to visualize the impact of their donations, but can lead to increased contributions. Such experiences can also help alumni feel more connected to their alma mater overall. Learn more about the ways in which universities are using VR.
Start Your VR Higher Education Journey
Virtual Reality is transforming higher-ed recruitment and increasing overall learning and retention by making it more engaging, accessible, and personalized. If you’re not sure where to start, check out our article on the State of VR in Higher Ed. Now is the perfect time to jump on this accelerating trend. Education is one industry that stands to transform most dramatically thanks to VR technology.
Sky-High Impact For A Hometown Hospital System
When Memorial Healthcare System blanketed the nation’s 17th busiest airport with an impactful brand campaign, millions took notice — and awareness took flight in extraordinary new ways.
Wheels Up: Elevating Brand Awareness and Impact
Busy FLL ranks 17th nationwide for overall passenger traffic, serving an estimated 35 million travelers in 2023. There is no higher-visibility venue anywhere in South Florida for a brand to connect so quickly and effectively with millions of residents and visitors.
Memorial Healthcare System and Starmark partnered on a groundbreaking strategy: immerse all of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) in powerful brand imagery and messaging to connect with captive audiences while ensuring impactful top-of-mind healthcare brand presence.
The Flight Plan
The campaign’s strategy included these key objectives:
Garner exclusive healthcare brand presence at FLL with tremendous reach.
Engage existing and potential South Florida healthcare prospects: residents and visitors.
Boost pride among Memorial team members.
Inspire future employees.
Connect with the community.
Preparing For Takeoff
The campaign’s out-of-home installations touted messages of “We Lead” as the base, expanding it further to spotlight how Memorial supports South Florida families at every age and stage, from prenatal through end of life, including many highly specialized areas of expertise.
Right from the start, the campaign positioned Memorial Healthcare System as the total healthcare system solution for South Florida, educating audiences about its full continuum of care at all six hospitals, including the nationally-respected Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital and the innovative Memorial Cancer Institute.
Inviting Audiences On Our Journey
An integral mission was to spotlight real patients and real-world health journeys — assuring that the campaign would resonate emotionally. Scan tags encouraged audiences to discover more about each patient’s story.
The strategy is resonating so successfully, it’s inspiring patients, community and even Memorial staff to rally around the effort on social media.
With an integrated airport strategy and execution, millions will now know that Memorial Healthcare System is the leader for wellness, critical and specialty care in South Florida.
— Jacqui Hartnett, President, Starmark
There were strategic placements throughout all four terminals: tension banners hung at gates; digital screens broadcasting at concourses and in baggage claim areas; LED screens over escalators; and column wraps and soffit takeovers on the concourse walkways.
In for the Landing!
The 52-week paid media program at FLL debuted Memorial Day Weekend 2024 and continues to deliver extraordinary reach to every Memorial target audience, surpassing every other available venue.
As the campaign continues its successful run, Memorial and Starmark are now exploring phase two opportunities to expand the conversation, including a compelling preventive and wellness experience.
8 tips for procurement when sourcing marketing and creative services
We’re an Agile Agency, so we work really differently from the chaos of most advertising firms. And that means we have first hand experience with procurement problems that wrecked their client relationships and marketing projects. And we’re going to share the top ones with you today. These are real situations we’ve experienced with real clients who we’ve inherited from other agencies.
1. Paying your agency based on media commissions.
This is an industry standard that needs to go away. Most agencies are paid a percentage of what they spend on media. Let’s think about that for a second.
You’re essentially incentivizing another company to spend more of your money — by paying them more when they spend more on media. It’s crazy.
We hear this all the time because none of our compensation is based on media commissions. We charge flat fees for managing media because it’s…more fair. Then we get stronger plans and more value add
2. Treating RFPs and BRDs like real plans for success.
Recognize this face? It’s how we look when we read that request for proposal or business requirements document we receive. They are usually very high level, or, so detailed about one specific thing you can hear the authors current frustrations between the lines. But they never create mutual understanding between the company and the firm replying.
Having one person responsible to put together a plan puts everyone in a difficult position. It creates lots of back and fourth, hidden scope, misunderstandings and slow progress. It’s why we always start every project with an agile roadmap created by the team that’s actually going to do the work. And the only goal of that roadmap is “mutual understanding.”
3. Plans that don’t account for change.
I’m sure no one here has ever seen one of marketing’s projects go really, really far over time and really, really far over budget. Change is inevitable. The big problem companies make is creating waterfall plans where this thing has to happen before this thing, which happens before this thing. So when one part of the plan changes, everything changes.
Start with an Agile Roadmap. It’s a way to plan for change by breaking down all projects into smaller deliverables that can be moved, reprioritized and changed without wrecking the entire plan and schedule. We just plan for change in the plan, and when it happens, it’s not a disaster.
4. Thinking the hourly rate is everything.
At the 4As and ANA summit a few weeks ago, someone asked the research head for the Association of National Advertisers how companies should think about price when choosing to work with an agency. He said, “if you’re making a decision as quality-dependent based upon price, you couldn’t be going about it more wrong.”
And that’s true. Marketing that doesn’t work is the most expensive marketing of all because it doesn’t pay for itself in performance. On top of that, agencies can do all sorts of things to get to the hourly rate you want without actually making your project less expensive. Our advice is to stop thinking about hourly rates and agency fees. Make a decision based upon quality of work and chemistry. That will always pay more dividends than an arbitrary hourly rate.
5. Falling in love with the pitch team.
This is a dirty little industry secret. A slick pitch team may win the account, but that team can’t work on every account at the agency. So A lot of agencies have you work with a single point of contact, just one or two account managers will show up on your status calls. Is the team that you fell in love with at the pitch the team that is actually doing the work? Probably not.
But at Starmark, you see the whole team regularly as the team member that writes the scope is also the one that delivers the work. You develop rapport and trust with the whole team of people who are with you from the beginning of a project to the end. You get to know them, and they get to know what you are looking for directly leading to getting it right the first time.
6. Decisions by committee.
We’ve got scope creep, ten review meetings, multiple layers of approval and a timeline that takes weeks and weeks.
Here’s one of the most sure-fire ways to get terrible work back: hire an outside team of marketing experts and then tell them exactly what to do. It’s even worse when you throw in multiple stakeholders whose ideas don’t align, and executive management who has the final say but doesn’t participate in the process until the very end. It’s a recipe for endless changes that wastes lots of time and money.
And the solution is simple: hire people you trust and then trust them to give you good counsel. You wouldn’t hire a lawyer and then tell her how to run your case? Or a doctor. Your marketing team has just as much experience and specialized skill as those professions.
7. Not having honest conversations about budget.
Here’s a look at what happens when you don’t have up-front conversations about budget. We start out with sky-high expectations – something you want, and something we want to deliver – and then end up with something that barely works. Remember, in marketing, there’s never just one way to meet a goal. Maybe there’s a way to get there over a slightly longer time if there’s slightly less money. Maybe it just requires a more novel approach to get there.
Pro-tip: when we know the budget, we solve the problem to give you the biggest bang for your buck. When we don’t know the budget, it’s a hope and a prayer.
8. Not testing your work.
Here’s a good one, your agency says to you “Here are three options, which do you like best?” or maybe “Here are three options, this is the one we like best, what do you think?”, and, you like a different one, so they recommend you frankenstein the best parts together into an entire new options. Or the worst of all, you and your agency agree on the best ad, which finally goes up the chain to the top exec, and “they don’t like it”.
Our answer: Don’t take our word for it. Test with your target customer along the way. Present creative with the test results. It provides an objective basis for making marketing decisions — and helps us get to the right answer faster.
Creating an Inspiring Push for Future Pumas
Going into the 2024-25 academic year, Valencia College had new enrollment targets, a new president and a new Agency of Record in Starmark. And for prospective students, we needed to create a campaign to answer the needs of the post-pandemic era with an attitude to make Valencia College the go-to choice for students of all ages and life stages.
Together, we created a multichannel ad campaign to address the real, current emotional motivators for older students looking for training, traditional students who doubt their capabilities and parents who have an outsized voice in education decisions.
The Assignment: Show That Valencia College is the Answer
Located in Central Florida, Valencia College is dedicated to offering Associate-level and some Bachelor’s-level degrees, Accelerated Skills Training and high-quality language learning programs. It’s a model for the future of college education where a 100% acceptance rate gives every student a chance to be successful, regardless of financial support, time or family encouragement. In addition to the typical college student just out of high school, much of the Valencia College student population are working adults, busy parents or the first in their family to go to college.
Understanding Different Student Mindsets
Valencia College had years of enrollment statistics and first-hand accounts from students to help the Starmark team understand the demographic makeup of this unique population. We wanted to create a concept in which all these incredibly diverse students could see themselves succeeding. The concept needed to embrace the ethnic diversity of the student body and the surrounding community. It needed to address students at different life stages — as well as parents. It also needed to be versioned for the school’s three main offerings: degree-seeking (credit) programs, CEL (continuing education language) programs and AST (Accelerated Skills Training) programs.
Benefit Testing
But beyond the demographic differences between prospects — characteristics like age, race and primary language — the Starmark team wanted to understand the varying mindsets and barriers that would influence decision-making for different students.
Across the board, we found anxieties played a much larger part in student decisions to attend or not attend college than before the pandemic. Additionally, there were marked differences between first-generation college aspirants and those whose parents went to college. In particular the top concerns and level of concern were different — with first-gen students reporting a greater degree of anxiety around college preparedness.
This project is a great example of how important it is to know what your audience is thinking, rather than guess. As student attitudes constantly evolve, testing allows us to stay in line with what the people we serve are dealing with at this moment.
— Brett Circe, Starmark Chief Digital Officer
Real-Time Emotional Testing
We also performed real-time emotional feedback testing with a variety of previous Valencia College videos. These tests helped Starmark understand, second-by-second how engaged viewers were in previous video storylines. It also showed how and where emotional responses to the footage differed. In particular, we looked for differences between male and female viewers — and also for overall trends related to what best held viewers’ attention and created positive sentiment.
Being True to Yourself. Becoming Something Even Greater.
What emerged from weeks of research, brainstorming and testing is what we call the “Being–Becoming” campaign. Knowing we needed to address the core emotional barrier — anxiety about readiness — before we would have a chance to talk about everything else a student could gain at Valencia College, we created a concept framework that is inherently uplifting, while also allowing us to meet today’s students where they are emotionally. It centered the entire effort on the student as the hero and cast Valencia College’s faculty, staff and community in the role of supporting that student’s personal success.
Part of the nuance here is avoiding ungrounded, grandiose statements. What we found is that having a world of possibilities and options is actually pretty overwhelming to today’s students. That’s why we found a better way to get the feel-good in there with this campaign.
— Jacob Edenfield, Starmark Group Creative Director
The structure of the ads allows the campaign to talk about the prospect as well as the unique benefits to her of attending Valencia College. For example, “Be one of a few. Become one in a million.” has a payoff about small class sizes. “Be smart about tuition. Become a worry-free grad.” speaks to affordability. And “Be supported. Become inspired.” highlights tutoring and other support programs.
The versatility of Being-Becoming works for the school’s Accelerated Skills Training programs as well, which quickly prepare students for in-demand careers that don’t require formal degrees. The headline framework gives us a chance to speak to both the direct and indirect aspirations of the student — both what he wants out of his career and out of himself as a person.
New Messages, New Faces, and a New Typeface
The campaign has materialized into a multichannel marketing program including digital ads, billboards, bus ads, radio, video, in-game ads, and social media ads for Meta, Reddit, Snap and Twitch. After a direct competitive roundup, a broader industry advertising overview and a specific in-market review of major advertisers to validate the selection of the Being-Becoming campaign, the Starmark team also shared recommendations for amping up the uniqueness and flexibility of the overall design approach.
Introducing our custom typeface POUNCE
This campaign and its audiences demanded a headline approach that felt personal, hand-wrought, approachable and utterly unique in every encounter. The goal was to create consistency without the work ever becoming monotonous. And the only way to achieve that effect was to commission a custom type system.
Working with famed type designer and illustrator Alex Rhodes, the Starmark and Valencia College teams developed two distinct type weights, a huge number of letter glyph variations, Spanish and Portuguese glyphs and a custom-set instance of the word Puma (the Valencia College mascot). Alex started by developing a hand-drawn proof of concept for the uppercase bold weight. We used this as a collective scratch-pad to dial in the amount of variance in letterforms, the amount of texture in letter borders and the overall structure of the new type in relation to the Gotham font it would be used with.
We love Valencia College for how entirely one-of-a-kind they are. And it was such a pleasure to help create a type approach as unique as their students. How cool is that?
— Dale Baron, Starmark Executive Creative Director
Those hand-inked original letterforms were vectorized and turned into a working beta version in record time to allow the Starmark team to develop proofs of concept for print pieces and video storyboards to inform the fast-approaching shoot. While storyboards, comps and shoot prep were underway, Alex developed and refined the lowercase bold letterforms and a book weight with all the same inclusions as the bold.
In parallel, both Starmark and Valencia College artists collaborated on custom marginalia illustrations and brush styles for illustration. The campaign has a library of several dozen illustrations, including stars, lightning bolts, a crown, arrows and gears to enhance the storytelling and add notes of fun in each piece.
A Shoot That Married Technical Mastery With Authenticity
Our goal was to capture something real about the Valencia College student body — and we needed an experienced production partner to do that. We worked with Waymack and Crew, partners with a specialization in capturing interesting perspectives and authenticity. And those two qualities were especially important for this effort. Not only that, the signature visual effect for the campaign — moving from motion footage to a wash of Valencia College gold — created a unique technical challenge.
Every single face you see in an ad for Valencia College is a member of the student body, faculty or staff. Starmark and Valencia College worked together to create a broad internal casting call based on more than two dozen different scripts and storyboards, collecting and screening hundreds of prospects to assign roles. Together with Waymack and Crew, we created a schedule to capture 26 different storylines — both video and photo — cross seven different locations and five shoot days. The director developed a rapport with and teased out the beautiful performances you see from a group of almost entirely first-time actors.
To achieve the gold background animation effect we used a portable green screen to separate foreground and background in key scenes. Everything you see in the finals was lit and shot on the same set, using that folding chroma key as the separation. The result is performances and moves that feel authentic — because they actually happened as shot.
The first photo and video shoot covered storylines supporting Valencia College’s credit degree and many AST program areas. A future shoot will cover additional AST programs and CEL programs.
A Launch With Longevity
The campaign, launched in May 2024, is already showing strong returns in student enrollment across both AST and traditional degree-seeking credit programs. And while reporting is still preliminary, we are seeing higher engagement with video content. Future tests are scheduled to gauge memorability, intent and other important factors for success that will inform our future efforts.
But one other important thing the campaign is already delivering on is making sure the concept will still feel fresh and compelling at the end of a three-year run. That’s why the initial shoot included 20+ storylines with another dozen slated to shoot in early 2025.
But based on the first set of master videos and photos, Starmark and Waymack and Crew have already created several hundred variations for display, social, broadcast video, radio, print, out-of-home placements and transit advertising — all of which feel like a cohesive effort with individual merit and flare.
Amelia Island Wins Big at 2024 Flagler Awards
The 2024 Flagler Awards during the Florida Governor’s Conference on Tourism delivered a winning haul for the combined Amelia Island CVB and Starmark team.
This year, the team earned four prestigious Henry Awards in four categories: Resource/Promotional Material-Trade, Direct Marketing, Mobile Marketing and Radio Advertising. In addition to the four first-place Henry Awards, the Amelia Island CVB also collected Bronze Awards for Social Media Marketing and its Website.
All this year’s work builds upon the Island Thing campaign, an already award-winning effort that highlights the myriad ways to enjoy what makes Amelia Island so unique.
Our outstanding marketing team and partners have once again shown themselves to be among the best and brightest in Florida, consistently and creatively delivering effective, wow-worthy campaigns and programs.
— Gil Langley, President and CEO, Amelia Island CVB
About the Flagler Awards
The Flagler Awards is an annual statewide competition recognizing outstanding Florida tourism marketing. The program was created by VISIT FLORIDA to honor the countless individuals and organizations that help position Florida as the No. 1 travel destination in the world. Each year the Flagler Awards pay tribute to the determined efforts of those who use their skill, resourcefulness, creativity and innovative spirit to market Florida to the world.
