As the calendar turns to 2026, marketing leaders stand at a critical juncture, facing a landscape that rapid technological advancements and evolving consumer expectations have fundamentally reshaped. The traditional role of the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) has undergone a profound transformation, moving beyond brand stewardship to become a central orchestrator of sophisticated AI marketing strategies, ... <a title="Marketing Strategy Essentials for 2026: What Every CMO Needs to Know About AI, Personalization & ROI" class="read-more" href="https://newstaging.evokad.com/marketing-essentials-cmo-should-know-2026/" aria-label="Read more about Marketing Strategy Essentials for 2026: What Every CMO Needs to Know About AI, Personalization & ROI">Read more</a>

The 2025 Marketing Reality — Flat Budgets, Rising Expectations In 2025, Chief Marketing Officers face a paradox that defines the modern marketing landscape: expectations are higher than ever, but budgets remain largely unchanged. According to Gartner’s 2025 CMO Spend Survey, marketing budgets have stabilized at 7.7% of overall company revenue, the same as in 2024. ... <a title="Marketing Budget Optimization: How CMOs Are Maximizing ROI with Limited Resources in 2025" class="read-more" href="https://newstaging.evokad.com/marketing-budget-optimization-limited-resources/" aria-label="Read more about Marketing Budget Optimization: How CMOs Are Maximizing ROI with Limited Resources in 2025">Read more</a>

In this insightful blog post, our CEO Larry Meador shares how his early experiences working in the fast-paced restaurant industry have shaped his approach to client management and leadership at evok advertising. Drawing parallels between the principles of exceptional service honed in his hospitality days and the world of advertising, Larry reveals the key lessons ... <a title="From Table Service to Client Success: Lessons in Account Management" class="read-more" href="https://newstaging.evokad.com/fundamentals-account-management/" aria-label="Read more about From Table Service to Client Success: Lessons in Account Management">Read more</a>

There’s a CPG marketing trend that is experiencing 5.6x faster growth for categories that are implementing it versus those that aren’t–and it’s safe to say that Millennials and Gen Z have a big voice in the movement. Sustainability has taken the industry by storm, showing that 81% of global respondents feel strongly that companies should ... <a title="CPG Retail Brands Zero-In on Sustainability to Amplify Consumer Demand" class="read-more" href="https://newstaging.evokad.com/cpg-retail-brands-sustainability/" aria-label="Read more about CPG Retail Brands Zero-In on Sustainability to Amplify Consumer Demand">Read more</a>

At evok, we often partner with industry leaders to bring a fresh perspective and new insights on what is unfolding in their markets. Today, we welcome back Stacie Archer to our blog for a look at the ghost kitchens market and the opportunity it presents for restaurants.  At $26.8 billion, online ordering is the fastest-growing ... <a title="Ghost Kitchens: What Virtual and Big Restaurant Brands Need to Know" class="read-more" href="https://newstaging.evokad.com/ghost-kitchens-big-restaurant-tips/" aria-label="Read more about Ghost Kitchens: What Virtual and Big Restaurant Brands Need to Know">Read more</a>

The past months have been transformative for nearly every industry and business. Our workforces transitioned to remote work under stay-home orders, followed by a cautious reopening process that is still unfolding today. Banks and credit unions saw reduced branch hours then the complete shutdown of branch lobbies, flanked by a rising use and demand for ... <a title="Leadership: Reimagining the Responsibility of Credit Unions After COVID-19" class="read-more" href="https://newstaging.evokad.com/leadership-reimagining-responsibility-credit-unions-after-covid/" aria-label="Read more about Leadership: Reimagining the Responsibility of Credit Unions After COVID-19">Read more</a>

COVID-19 is forcing brands and marketers to reevaluate marketing strategies, react to consumers in real-time, and adapt quickly to changing consumer demand. Even before the coronavirus outbreak, we saw a huge increase in brands producing webinars to promote services, educate consumers, and generate brand awareness. In fact, in a study conducted by GoToWebinar in 2019, ... <a title="Should Your Brand Host a COVID-19 Webinar PLUS 5 Tips to Create a High-Quality Webinar" class="read-more" href="https://newstaging.evokad.com/should-you-host-covid-19-webinar/" aria-label="Read more about Should Your Brand Host a COVID-19 Webinar PLUS 5 Tips to Create a High-Quality Webinar">Read more</a>

At evok, we often partner with industry leaders to bring a fresh perspective and new insights on what is unfolding in their markets. Today, we welcome back Stacie Archer to our blog for a follow up to her piece on how COVID-19 has inspired restaurants to re-think the way they do business. Stacie is a ... <a title="Can Restaurants Survive a Slow Re-Opening of the Economy?" class="read-more" href="https://newstaging.evokad.com/can-restaurants-survive-slow-reopening-economy/" aria-label="Read more about Can Restaurants Survive a Slow Re-Opening of the Economy?">Read more</a>

Enhancing Your UX Through Feelings From websites to apps, user experience (UX) design is a crucial element to any successful online platform. Emotions play a critical role in decision making across all areas of our lives, and UX performance is often tied directly to its ability to elicit the desired emotional response from users. Shaping ... <a title="Focus on Feelings: Take Your UX to the Next Level" class="read-more" href="https://newstaging.evokad.com/ux-design-emotions/" aria-label="Read more about Focus on Feelings: Take Your UX to the Next Level">Read more</a>

What Our CEO Has to Say About Starting an Ad Agency Curious about our agency’s history or what it takes to build an ad agency from the ground up? We asked our CEO, Larry Meador, to share his experiences bringing evok advertising to life. Here’s what he had to say. I always knew I wanted ... <a title="Lessons Learned Building an Advertising Agency – Hear from Our CEO" class="read-more" href="https://newstaging.evokad.com/lessons-from-starting-ad-agency/" aria-label="Read more about Lessons Learned Building an Advertising Agency – Hear from Our CEO">Read more</a>