Juliana and Camila Mejia of Cada Consult: How to Effectively Leverage The Power of Digital Marketing, PPC, & Email to Dramatically Increase Sales
An Interview With Orlando Zayas
Learn and understand SEO. SEO is the bridge between a consumer who is searching for products online and reaching your website. SEO acts as the main function in generating traffic to your website. Learn and understand content and advertising. Drawing insights from data and understanding consumer behavior is basically what marketing is. A consumer should be able to relate to the brand’s content. It should be both engaging and informative for the reader, and then go ahead and use that information to target the right audience for a product in your campaign.
Marketing a product or service today is easier than ever before in history. Using platforms like Facebook ads or Google ads, a company can market their product directly to people who perfectly fit the ideal client demographic, at a very low cost. Digital Marketing tools, Pay per Click ads, and email marketing can help a company dramatically increase sales. At the same time, many companies that just start exploring with digital marketing tools often see disappointing results.
In this interview series called “How to Effectively Leverage The Power of Digital Marketing, PPC, & Email to Dramatically Increase Sales”, we are talking to marketers, advertisers, brand consultants, & digital marketing gurus who can share practical ideas from their experience about how to effectively leverage the power of digital marketing, PPC, & email.
As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Juliana and Camila Mejia, Co-Founders of Cada Consult.
CADA, is a creative agency and online platform that works one-on-one with clients to ensure their vision is brought to life to its fullest potential through a customized strategy, storytelling, and design process. They are digital industry leaders supporting Restaurant and Hotel Hospitality, Sustainable Fashion, Green Properties, Clean Beauty, Ethical Jewelry, Wellness Centers, and Creative Visionaries.
Juliana, Co-Founder and Chief Brand Officer, creates out-of-this-world experiences, designs, and campaigns. Her love for all things wellness and sustainability are highlighted through her holistic lifestyle which evidently gave her the idea to launch CADA. A new kind of agency. Boutique-style. Allowing all the creative juice to flow while supporting what truly matters. Juliana’s 10+ year expertise in marketing, event production, retail, and branding for some of the biggest retail developers in the nation such as CBRE, Simon Property, and Miami Design District, has allowed her to create memorable experiences and result-driven campaigns for various mindful and luxury brands in unique locations.
Camila, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, facilitates and optimizes ideas and projects to ensure campaigns and executions run smoothly. Her expertise in industrial engineering, waste reduction, and environmental consultation has allowed her to guide startups and corporate companies in their mission to reuse, reduce, and recycle. These qualities have prepared her in fulfilling her passions by establishing CADA. Camila’s eco-friendly efforts and eagerness to help others have always been on the front line of her passion for the environment, humanity, and knowledge. Her past corporate experiences with GE and EcoLab have shaped her proficiency in solving problems and in helping make a sustainable difference in the world.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
J: Back in high school I was a member of DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) an association of marketing students that encourages the development of business and leadership skills through academic conferences and competitions. In college I studied Business Administration and Marketing in Miami, joining clubs such as the American Marketing Association and studying abroad in Madrid at ESIC Business and Marketing School. My 10+ year expertise in marketing, event production, retail, and branding for some of the biggest retail developers in the nation such as CBRE, Simon Property, and Miami Design District, has allowed me to create memorable experiences and result-driven marketing campaigns for various mindful and luxury brands in unique locations.
C: Math was my first true love; I’ve always enjoyed problem-solving for as long as I can remember. My second love was the drive to one day own my own business. These passions led me to study Industrial Engineering with a minor in Business Administration at the University of Florida, which opened doors to working at GE. I was a part of the Lean Six Sigma team, improving operations by systematically removing waste and reducing variation. I also became the recycling committee president, which defined my mission to focus environmentally on sustainability. My newfound purpose gravitated me to work for Nalco an Ecolab Company, helping corporate America become more efficient in their water use, where I learned much about optimization, efficiency, and logistics. My experiences have prepared me to fully fulfill my passions, offering sustainable business solutions that welcome the transition towards a more conscious lifestyle.
Can you share a story about the funniest marketing mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘takeaways’ you learned from that?
J & C: The biggest mistake we made was creating a group text with our very first client and our team to be more readily available. A lot of funny memes and jokes were shared, which were a lot of fun and relatable. However, although the right intentions were placed, it quickly became too much back and forth that delayed the deliverables. Through that experience, we learned emails and calls are the best way to communicate and keep track of all progress being developed effectively. We quickly learned how to create and maintain boundaries with a client in order to keep it professional.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
J&C: We never stop shaping or growing into our most authentic selves. With time, several spiritual teachers and books we’ve come across have helped define us, but the most influential guides have always been our parents. After leaving their comfortable lifestyle in Colombia back in 1999 with three young children, they decided to live and raise us in the United States. In search of freedom, opportunities, and safety, they have demonstrated to us that through hard work and dedication, you can accomplish anything you set your mind to. we’re grateful for their support and daily lessons.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
J&C: More than just a word or business, CADA is a story on its own. Growing up with strong values, Juliana carefully chose the name because it combines her siblings’ first two letters of their name — Camila and David. In addition to that, the Spanish word cada translates to every in English and, by definition, is used to refer to all the individual members of a set, without exception.
Our Latinx family-oriented culture is evident in not only our brand identity but also our values. As a business, we strive to maintain that with unconditional support, acceptance, and love for one another. Bringing companies and consumers together under those foundations to form an expanding community geared towards helping every individual member without exception is what we strive to do.
The majority of Generation Z (54 percent) state that they are willing to spend an incremental 10 percent or more on sustainable products, with 50 percent of Millennials saying the same. This compares to 34 percent of Generation X and 23 percent of Baby Boomers. It appears that with every generation, the quest for sustainability strengthens.
What sets up apart is that as a team of young and passionate sisters, we recognize this situation, and we work to see sustainable and wellness-driven solutions in the world. We stay committed to growth and evolution as we welcome change with open arms. CADA is a creative agency and online platform that works one-on-one with clients to ensure their vision is brought to life to its fullest potential through a deep dive into customized strategy, holistic marketing consultation, and design process.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
J & C: Life has taught us to be positive, patient, and optimistic.
These are attributes we hold closest to who we are. Staying positive has attracted more positivity into our lives; we mindfully experience uncomfortable situations as temporary while taking in the lessons they teach us.
Patience has been the ultimate tool in taking on our fast-moving world as entrepreneurs. It’s no secret that starting a business has its rollercoaster moments, especially through a global pandemic; patience has been the best way to take things day by day. We highly recommend meditation or some sort of workout or daily movement to strengthen the patience game.
Optimism has helped us see problems as solutions waiting to be solved. Instead of focusing on the problem, we acknowledge it while focusing on the growth they’re meant to bring. By doing so, having a solution-based mindset allows us to see rising problems as an opportunity for more abundance.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
J&C: We’re excited to create an online consulting platform to facilitate the world’s transition towards an existence that’s conscious of sustainable responsibility and holistic wellness. The past year has been about taking a step back and analyzing what is truly important. Leading businesses of the future will be those whose core business directly addresses global challenges. A Cone Communications study of Millennials reported that 83% would be more loyal to the companies that allow them to contribute to social and environmental issues.
Ok super. Now let’s jump to the main questions of our interview. As we mentioned in the beginning, sometimes companies that just start exploring with digital marketing tools like PPC campaigns often see disappointing results. In your opinion, what are a few of the biggest mistakes companies make when they first start out with digital marketing? If you can, please share an example for each.
J&C: The typical informational graphic will create disappointing results. With the increasing demand for content, marketers now have to produce more creative projects online including videos that tap into business buyers’ emotions. Humanity must not be lost. You want your audience to associate your marketing material with the personality and audience of your organization. With this said, knowing your customer is the foundation of every solid digital marketing strategy, so another mistake companies make is the failure to define their market and get to know the people they are selling to.
If you could break down a very successful digital marketing campaign into a “blueprint”, what would that blueprint look like? Please share some stories or examples of your ideas.
J&C: It is really important to have a well-defined brand identity before running a marketing campaign. This will allow you to choose a goal and an audience for your campaign. The goal could be something along the lines of raising brand awareness, get existing customers to purchase again, or collect more e-mail leads. The more specific the goals, the easier it will be to track and measure as time goes by.
In the next part, you should define the target consumers and pick your campaign channel. Usually, campaigns are run on multiple platforms simultaneously to maximize audience reach.
Depending on your platform, you can begin to do some market research. Look up your competition and see what kind of campaigns they are running, since you’re trying to deliver more value than them. You will also need to set a timeline with the start and end dates running on the channels you choose. The last step of this stage would be to conduct a budget assessment.
The next steps would be as follows:
Define the core messaging
Prepare an offer
Create landing pages and main content
Optimize paid traffic details
Set key performance indicators
Track campaign performance
Analyze your data and key learnings
Prepare a final report
Let’s talk about Pay Per Click Marketing (PPC) for a bit. In your opinion which PPC platform produces the best results to increase sales?
J&C: Google Ads is by far the most suitable for any type of campaign no matter how niche it may be. The only downside to Google Ads is competitiveness and pricing. Besides Google, Bidvertiser and Facebook Ads are our go-tos. Facebook Ads promoted and sponsored posts are merged into users news feeds which makes them a lot harder to block, unlike Google Ads where a simple adblocking plugin will remove the paid adverts at the top of the searches.
Can you please share 3 things that you need to know to run a highly successful PPC campaign?
J&C: Know how to use many unique targeting options, know your budget and the different PPC platforms out there, and how to use analytics to uncover insights and optimize for higher conversion.
Let’s now talk about email marketing for a bit. In your opinion, what are the 3 things that you need to know to run a highly successful email marketing campaign that increases sales?
J&C: How to add meaningful value and personalize your email, how to segment your list and nail your timing, and lastly — how to keep it consistent, quality beats frequency.
What are the other digital marketing tools that you are passionate about? If you can, can you share with our readers what they are and how to best leverage them?
J&C: Marketing is a very diverse field. Some companies believe in just using brand marketing, others swear by channel marketing. In fact, there are over 100 different types of marketing.
Due to the high saturation rate and increased competition in the marketplace, Holistic Marketing has gained popularity. It recognizes that ‘everything matters’ and uses an integrated perspective, necessary to attain the best solution.
86% of brand marketers say that building a holistic marketing approach is a top priority, but only 29% of companies say they actually have the necessary infrastructure to make this goal a reality.
This is because the process of holistic marketing takes into account the considerations of stakeholders, customers, employees, suppliers, and the community as a whole when creating and implementing strategies.
Here is the main question of our series. Can you please tell us the 5 things you need to create a highly successful career as a digital marketer? Can you please share a story or example for each?
J&C: The every day of a digital marketer is new and never-ending as technology advances. I would start out by saying you have to be open to change and willing to constantly learn. It requires curiosity and creativity to stand out and add value.
The second thing is having leadership skills and a well-rounded team by your side. While I stay focused on the bigger picture — the vision and the creative campaigns, Camila handles numbers, operations, and the fine print that makes all the difference. We can’t do all the work alone, and the rest of the team that believes in you and the mission will serve as the backbone of success.
The third thing you will need is relationship building and communication skills. Behind every company there are people with emotions and humanity must not be lost within all the technical and data-driven approaches. Emotional intelligence is very effective. It means managing feelings so that they are expressed appropriately and effectively, enabling people to work together smoothly toward their common goals.
The fourth thing is learn and understand SEO. SEO is the bridge between a consumer who is searching for products online and reaching your website. SEO acts as the main function in generating traffic to your website.
The fifth thing is learn and understand content and advertising. Drawing insights from data and understanding consumer behavior is basically what marketing is. A consumer should be able to relate to the brand’s content. It should be both engaging and informative for the reader, and then go ahead and use that information to target the right audience for a product in your campaign.
What books, podcasts, videos or other resources do you use to sharpen your marketing skills?
J&C: We’re currently loving Simon Sinek’s podcast, A Bit of Optimism, and his books like Start with Why and The Infinite Game.
Thank you for all of that. We are nearly done. Here is our final ‘meaty’ question. You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
J&C: We currently have a global footprint that exceeds what the planet can sustain in the future. Food security, clean air, sustaining land and oceans, are some of the issues we are facing and will continue to face because of population growth. The problem needs to be discussed and tackled. We would help by starting a movement that supports its solutions made by engineers, international leaders, and economists. We’re also true believers in the power of slowing down to effectively help find answers within. So we’d start a movement for global meditation followed by a dance party because who doesn’t love to dance!?
How can our readers further follow your work?
Sign up to our newsletter and read our blogs at www.cadaconsult.com You can also follow us on IG: @cada_consult & FB: @cada_culture
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this!
