While many advertising agencies have been playing catch-up to strengthen their digital media capabilities, Carney (carney.co) has been doing things differently for more than a dozen years.
From a spacious modern office in Regent Square, the full-service digital agency helps clients in the technology, manufacturing, retail and not-for-profit sectors increase demand for their products, services or missions by using web technology to engage with customers, prospects and supporters.
Besides focusing exclusively on digital media, Carney further differentiates itself from other agencies by being strategically focused, helping current and potential clients develop strong understandings of how to optimize their digital marketing.
“We take a 30,000-foot view of our clients’ businesses to help them look at their entire sales and marketing landscape,” said Rob Carney, the firm’s Founder and Principal. “This approach has led us to develop and maintain long-term relationships with clients in the region, around the country and overseas.” About 70 percent of Carney’s clients are based in the Pittsburgh area or have a significant presence here.
Carney’s local clients include Philips Healthcare, a medical device manufacturer; Astrobotic, a CMU spinoff that develops robotic technology and equipment for space missions; and Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh.
To further expand its reach, Carney is planning its first-ever marketing conference, the Yearly Carnage, at the Ace Hotel in East Liberty on April 13 to give attendees insights to strategic marketing challenges in today’s online media environment.
Carney has helped Philips analyze and optimize website usage and performance, including tracking public awareness and perception of sleep and respiratory care to guide continuous product improvements. The firm has made Astrobotic’s services easily understandable by pairing custom illustrations and animations with interactive planning tools. Carney has also helped the Carnegie Museum of Art update its website so it can be used easily on mobile devices. Additionally, the agency helped its client make the museum accessible to visitors with auditory, speech, cognitive and neurological disabilities by migrating color choices and design elements from the website.
Setting itself apart from most agencies that only maintain an active blog, Carney also produces a daily marketing e-newsletter, The Daily Carnage, which offers insights to, and strategies for, digital marketing. Although some agencies would balk at the idea of devoting resources to producing content that could give other agencies ideas for serving their own clients, Carney has benefited from making the extra effort.
“Developing relationships is key to getting new business opportunities,” said Carney. “On a number of occasions, our e-newsletter and blog posts have led people to engage in conversations with us, and those exchanges have led them to become clients or referral sources.”
To further expand its reach, Carney is planning its first-ever marketing conference, the Yearly Carnage, at the Ace Hotel in East Liberty on April 13 to give attendees insights to strategic marketing challenges in today’s online media environment. Besides having speakers from the Carney team, digital marketing experts from organizations such as eBay, UPMC, Bumble and Fitt.co shared their knowledge and experiences.
According to Carney, “We’re always thinking of innovative ways to help clients and prospects grow their businesses. It keeps us fresh and shows our clients we do the same kinds of things ourselves that we recommend to them.”
Plus, listen to Carney on TechVibe Radio.