Writings from Force 5 Basecamp

05/12/21

By Deb DeFreeuw, President, Force 5 Recently I happened to shop at two different Martin’s Supermarkets in our area and each provided very different experiences. The different experience at each brought to light the importance of brand enculturation. Brand enculturation is making sure that the people on the team understand, believe and live the brand promise. Understanding the promise to

03/10/21

By Deb DeFreeuw, President – Force 5 This is a very deep and challenging topic – I have the typical stories of being the only female at a boardroom table full of men, being paid less for the same job as a man in the same role, etc. Many women have experienced this – some more than others. But to

02/17/21

By Jim Ragosta, Digital Media Specialist 2020 was an interesting year for the social media industry. The COVID-19 pandemic led many businesses and people to turn to social media to stay connected, whether that’s through direct or indirect communications. 2020 also brought light to the questions many have had for years surrounding Big Tech in regards to censorship and privacy. And,

12/30/20

2020, well, what hasn’t been said – a year we didn’t see coming, a year we can’t wait to put in the rearview mirror. Needless to say the pandemic will have a lasting impact on many aspects of our lives and in the year ahead, marketers will need to be especially conscious to approach their messaging with empathy. That empathy begins

12/16/20

By Jim Ragosta, Digital Media Specialist As consumers continue to shift to a more digital driven approach for their product and service needs, SEO continues to be more important than ever. SEO isn’t as easy as some think, it is in constant flux given Google’s random indexing, new algorithms, and competition against others who are also making optimizations. On the

11/12/20

By Jim Ragosta, Digital Media Specialist 2020 has been a whirlwind for retailers globally. COVID-19 has had a dramatic effect on purchase intent and how/where consumers want to buy goods or services. This whirlwind will definitely impact the upcoming holiday shopping season. From government regulations imposed on brick and mortar retailers to individuals following CDC guidelines to keep themselves and

10/26/20

I know. I know. We’re all tired of hearing about the corona virus nowadays and how it’s affected all of us mentally, physically, emotionally. I’d like to take a different perspective, focusing in on E-commerce and how it’s seems to be flourishing. At the end of first quarter 2020, and leading in to the second quarter of 2020, “brick and

09/29/20

09/28/20

Listen up…Do we have a day for you. Friday October 2nd, Force 5 is hosting two events. If you’re hungry, come on over for one of our “Food Truck Fridays.” We’ll have several local food trucks, including Mexican, Italian, Venezuelan and good ol’ American! Not hungry or don’t have time but wanna support your community? Donate blood. South Bend Medical

09/22/20

By Bob Earley I often drive around our cities and neighborhoods as I go from client meetings, shopping, eating, and just getting away from some of the daily chaos.  Like many of you, work can be very trying and intense. Hopefully, you have a way to have a release from the stresses of work. At our place, we get to

08/31/20

“We must love them both, those whose opinions we share and those whose opinions we reject. For both have labored in the search for the truth and both have helped in the finding of it.” Thomas Aquinas I noticed over the last several years, people have become increasingly “amped up”. I’m not sure if it’s because of the political climate,

08/24/20

For nearly 20 years, an Indiana Trailer Manufacturer (because of an NDA, the company name has been changed to Indiana Trailer Manufacturer, abbreviated as ITM) has been producing premium aluminum trailers as the alternative to steel trailers in the Trailer/RV marketplace. Factors like exceptional design and construction with guidance from industry-leading engineers have catapulted ITM to high levels of growth and