Author: Juan Vasquez

  • Google’s Search Algorithm (Mobile-Friendly) in 2015

    Google’s Search Algorithm (Mobile-Friendly) in 2015

    Are you prepared for the Google Mobile-Friendly Algorithm?

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    Each year, Google changes its search algorithm. While most of these changes are minor, Google occasionally rolls out a “major” algorithmic update that affects search results in significant ways. On April 21st Google is changing their algorithm and making it more mobile friendly. Google will launch a new mobile crawler that can do a better job of crawling single-page web apps, Android apps, and even Deep Links in iOS apps. The new algorithm will evaluate mobile search results but not desktop results. This doesn’t mean that it will not crawl non-mobile websites, but it can affect your ranking in Google. With that said, you should probably take some time soon to make sure that your site works—at least in a passable way on mobile devices.

    Why the change?

    Page Rank and Domain Authority is a problem. Sites are being judged by their seniority in Google and not their content. Just because a website has a high page rank doesn’t mean it should automatically be given a higher rank by a search engine. Google wants to reward great content. They want to make searchers happy. And they certainly don’t want the end users using another search engine.

    Based on googles quote: “Starting April 21, we will be expanding our use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal. This change will affect mobile searches in all languages worldwide and will have a significant impact in our search results. Consequently, users will find it easier to get relevant, high quality search results that are optimized for their devices.”

    Seniority of websites, the new and future websites shouldn’t be punished because they weren’t around during the golden age of SEO and search engines. If a website has been around for longer it used to have the advantage over the new sites being created regardless whether the new sites have better content.

    Google has been telling webmasters to prepare for mobile for years, now. Thanks to the announcement of the Mobile Search update, many webmasters now have a compelling reason to take action. If you find yourself scrambling to be mobile-friendly and can’t decide between a dedicated mobile or responsive design, it makes sense to weigh the pros and cons of each before making a decision.

    Contact Us today for a FREE Site Analysis!

    What do I need to do?

    Your site’s content will continue to become more and more important with the new changes. Google will reward smart content, in other words, not the piece of content that is looking to sound smart, but rather the piece of content that has the goal of communion with the reader/searcher. Just keep in mind these few steps:

    1. MOBILE: Google is taking into account that mobile is taking over. Everyone is on their phones or tablets. Your content better be mobile friendly. It better be responsive and look good in every screen size.
      • Test your current website, remember to use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool to review the homepage and a number of other pages on the website, including blog posts, category pages, and shopping cart.
      • Update to responsive design or independent mobile site (auto recognizing). It is very likely not worth it to try retrofitting an existing design. For very old websites built on HTML, FrontPage or Dreamweaver, it is time to migrate to a content management system (CMS) such as WordPress. For websites already on a CMS, switching to a responsive theme shouldn’t be too painful or expensive. Google has a Mobile Guide to help with this process.
    2. Faster is better: Google rewards websites that load quickly. Make sure your hosting and your load time is up to Google’s standards.
    3. Google Analytics: Without it you’re flying blind. The Google Analytics tool is your best friend when it comes to keeping an eye on the health of your site. This will be your best friend.analyticator
    4. Average Session Duration (ASD): This is the time that your viewers spend on your site. This is also going to be one of the greatest factors that Google will judge your site in regards of content quality.
    5. The Bounce Rate: These are the people that enter and quickly leave your site. It shows that people saw your site and didn’t find what they are looking for, as in the content they were searching.
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    6. Up to Date: This refers to how old or new is your content, so keep your content as fresh as possible.
    7. Quality: Searchers don’t want answers to their searches, they want GREAT answers to their searches. The quality of your content will also be taken into account.
    8. Honesty: People want honest content, they want the answers to their searches. The search engine will be getting better at getting the honest content.
    9. Multimedia: People are more digital now than ever. Content that includes different forms of media will be taken into account. Text with video/audio will begin to win over plain text.

    If my site is not mobile-friendly, will this impact my desktop rankings as well?

    On a panel at SMX Munich (2 weeks after SMX West) Zineb from Google answered ‘no’ but you should probably take some time soon to make sure that your site works—at least in a passable way—on mobile devices, just in case there are eventual desktop repercussions (and because this is a user experience best practice that can lead to other improvements that are still desktop ranking factors, such as decreasing your bounce rate).

    What is Google’s goal with all of these mobile-friendly changes?

    Being able to easily surface apps in a search result will help them drive more and better app development for Google Play and monetize their other content like TV shows, books, magazines, movies, and music—all of which have been threatened recently by competitors like Hulu, Amazon, and of course iOS App Store and iTunes.  Google has been encouraging publishers to include transcripts with videos and song lyrics with songs. In the long run, those will help Google scrape and show those things in answer boxes, as shown at the right, but eventually they will probably also surface their own version of the content from Google Play, with links just below the answer box, so that you can watch the video or download the song directly to your phone on Google Play. When you think about Google’s intentions on this front, and try to envision the future, it is important to note that Google is actually already offering Google Play for iOS, which currently just provides the Google Music cloud-storage and a music subscription model. We expect this to expand as well, so that Google can expand their level of competitiveness here too.

    It truly depends on what your site is focused on and what you need it to do. Make your website user-friendly, helpful, and relevant and you will have the opportunity to rank in Google organic search, regardless of the website type. Statistics gathered by a variety of companies show that mobile sites have much better conversion rates. This goes back to the fact these sites are designed only for mobile platforms. They tend to load faster and are easier to navigate. In short, they offer a better mobile user experience than responsive designs.

    We’ve been saying for years now to build for mobile and respond for desktops. Many responsive sites that are  maintained by the business owner and the sites are large because of images, javascript and tons of CSS will pose a problem with the new algorithm, this is why proper mobile design is key this year.

  • Happy St. Patricks Day

    Happy St. Patricks Day

    “Luck is believing you’re lucky.”

    – Tennessee Williams

    Happy St. Patricks Day

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  • Your Business: To Be or Not to Be Online?

    Your Business: To Be or Not to Be Online?

    Why Should Your Business Need To Be Online?

    global-smallGiving your small business an online presence means more than simply putting up a website with your address, email and phone number. It means setting up a virtual version of your business, the face and branding of your company and a social presence such as a Facebook page. In this digital era, more people search online for the products and services they need as opposed to searching through a phone book or browsing store to store. Ignoring this reality in marketing is like saying, “I don’t need any new business I’m making the money I want.”

    The Digital Age, A New Economy

    It’s no secret that the Internet has created a new economy. Since 1991 when the NSF first allowed commercial use of the Internet the world changed how it did business. Since then we changed our perception and the way we do business. Think of Jeff Bezos founder of Amazon. He set up his business in his garage. Now his net worth is worth $34.7 billion. There is no doubt that this was all due to his small business having an online presence. However, in order to be successful online, you don’t have to be a giant like Amazon or eBay. Many small and mid-size businesses succeeded in building online businesses quite lucratively. Small and mid-size companies will be the main growth force of e-commerce in the digital age.

    The Internet Is The Perfect Place For Business

    Where do you think more people enter the Target across the street or Target.com? In order to make a sale you need visitors to come to your store. Online there are no lines, no wait, no open and closing hours, no, well you name it. You’re a click away from customers. With proper marketing and a web design company to back you up your Internet storefront can have more buyers than you ever can get in a physical shop.

    Low Start Up Cost

    How much does a store cost these days? Building a website doesn’t require that kind of investment. There are many tools available for small business owners that won’t leave you hurting in the bank. Tools like WordPress can help your business get a boost online. With a good web design company, you can have a site build in a relative short amount of time. Not bad for opening your business to the world.

    Business 24/7

    Could you be at work 24 hours a day 7 days a week? Well you can if your store was online. The biggest advantage of online shops is that they are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Your online store never closes, never takes coffee breaks, doesn’t have vacation time, doesn’t take lunch breaks and doesn’t complain about pay. Your store is open while you sleep and you can sleep sound that you have a web team behind it, protecting it.

    Corporate Image

    Today everyone has a digital presence. We are all on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Even your Corporation has a digital image. Whether you sell a product or a service you have a presence on the Internet. Those that don’t have a presence on the Internet are under the illusion that they have a business when in reality they aren’t even in the sights of the competition. For example, if you have a company that sells electronics but isn’t online, how can it compete with the Best Buy and the TigerDirect down the corner? Most people don’t take you seriously when they ask you for your business’ website and you don’t have one. A nice corporate site definitely increases the image of a company, especially if it has great product or service related content to go with it as well as good SEO.

    www-fiPhysical Presence Anywhere

    Imagine being on your vacation on the beaches of Hawaii and knowing your business is running just fine. The Internet allows you to do business from any part of the world. Your physical location, except for few cases is not that important since you conduct your business online. Your portal to the world is on the palm of your hands.

    Provide Better Customer Support

    Business owners can’t control how good of a day an employee or a customer is having. When the customer visits the store and has a bad experience it’s mostly out of the owner’s hand. Thanks to the Internet, business can provide customer support and care more effectively. This means better customer satisfaction and increase of profitability. When connecting your site with your social media such as Facebook you can keep connected with your customer base. You’ll have more accurate feedback from the people you’re trying to attract to your business.

    Information Easily Available To Customers

    How can you give a present to a customer? In old times companies used to require days to deliver products or services or up to date information to their customers. This is not the case anymore. Now you can add or make any changes to your company and product related content virtually in a matter of hours. Publish on your site and share with the whole world the latest news to your customers.

    Reduce Costs

    Your online presence helps you streamline the business process. This allows you to cut costs in almost every aspect of your business. Companies reduce their maintenance, repair, and even the cooperation costs by using e-business solutions such as online shopping carts. No more slip and fall frivolous lawsuits.

    Global Presence

    If you open your pharmacy and they put a Walgreens and a CVS on each side can you compete with them? Thanks to the Internet, you instantly become a global player. You don’t have to invest large amounts of money opening up your business in every corner. Your business has a radius of action; the online world gives you a global radius.

    Have your business online before you are out of business.

    The longer you wait to have an online presence the harder it’s going to be for you to reach your customers. In the long run do you think more people are going to buy at the corner store or on an online company? If not you then think of the next generation who’ll be the consumer base of the future. Are they buying everything online now? How about 5 years from now? Take your business to the next level. Find yourself a web design and marketing company and give your business the advantage it needs.

  • FIA Formula-E Championship in Miami Florida

    FIA Formula-E Championship in Miami Florida

    Figment is happy to be a part of the FIA Formula-e Championship in Miami Florida. Working with Andretti Sports Marketing, Virgin Racing, Venturri Racing, Formula-e and other sponsors of the race. Figment is full service in every sense of the meaning. For this event we have designed, engineered, permitted and produced the large Starting line structure and the Large Finish line Structure. These huge structures are framed in metal and built over the roads during the night, then dressed with graphics printed on large format. The majority of the signage that is displayed around the track, in the E-village, Emotion event, and other events around Miami were produced, installed and handled by Figment Design. From Design to installation we’ve got you covered.

    Started working on the FIA Formula-e track in Miami.

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    Track Testing:

    Working on the track for Andretti Sports Marketing and FIA Formula-e for the Miami race. Probably not supposed to be driving on the track..but hey, it’s me what do you expect.
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    Garage Set-up

    Adhesive printed and ready to assemble onto the pit garages. Rainy day, but the work must go on.
    The final look once they are up and installed.
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    E-Village

    Building structures for the E-village. Yes, the boss does know how to swing a sledge hammer.
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    Finish Line

    Large metal structure behind AAA arena. Build and installation… it’s all in a days work.
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  • How WordPress Is Changing The Fashion Industry

    How WordPress Is Changing The Fashion Industry

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    WordPress & The Fashion Industry

    People often make the mistake of classifying WordPress as just a blogging platform. Although that used to be true in the past, WordPress has evolved throughout the years into a versatile content management system (CMS). While you can still use WordPress to create a simple blog, now it also allows you to create fully functional websites and mobile applications.

    The best part about WordPress is that it’s easy to use and flexible enough for just about anything. That’s the main reason why WordPress has grown so much in popularity. WordPress and CMS platforms have changed the world of Fashion. It has taken the place of the old Flash sites and static HTML to bring together interactivity and easy of use for the Fashion Industry. Some time ago WordPress was associated with just blogs. Today it has boomed into a strong tool for just about any type of website.

    Flash sites were the norm and the #1 choice when it came to fashion designer’s choice. This was due largely in part to the animated graphics which Flash has been largely identified with. One of the main problems that it had was ease of use/editing and SEO. Flash made it difficult for users to show up in search engines like Google, Yahoo or Bing.

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    Advantages of WordPress vs Flash Websites

    1. Save Money– You can make most changes to your site or even have your own staff add new pages for you. You can make the edits yourself whenever you want to save time and money especially if these changes are urgent and do not have time to wait on emails.
    2. Greater Accessibility– Make changes or add content from any computer in the world with Internet access and a browser without the need for additional software.
    3. Speed of Communication– At least for simple changes, you don’t need to wait for your webmaster or designer to make those basic changes, the content on your Web site can be altered immediately by you.
    4. Consistency – By following a basic structure or design, no matter how many pages you add the site can keep a consistent look and feel.
    5. Better Time Management– Add content and then schedule those pages/posts. You could write an entire season worth of posts on the site and automatically have them scheduled for a specific day or time.
    6. Ease of Membership Site Rollout– With the addition of a few plugins, a WordPress blog can evolve into a full-service membership site with as many levels as you would like.
    7. Social Network Friendly– Integrate your sites posts with social media like Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube.
    8. Engage with Current Media– Easily add audio and video to posts and pages.
    9. Creative Welcoming– Integrate new designs faster in comparison to other CMS (Content Management System).
    10. SEO Friendliness– The construction of WordPress is streamlined without excessive HTML code that Google finds very attractive for indexing. With the right setup, you’re able to customize every page or post you make to give you the highest advantage of getting your pages in search results positions.

    fashion-web
    Another reason that WordPress is great for the Fashion industry is that it is written using standard compliance high-quality code and produces semantic mark up. What does that mean? It makes your site very attractive to search engines such as Google. By design, WordPress is SEO friendly, and you can make it even more SEO friendly by using additional WordPress SEO plugins.

    The Fashion industry is a fast-paced and media heavy industry. It needs to be on the cutting edge and have the latest and the greatest as fast as possible. WordPress is not just limited to writing text only. It comes with built-in support to handle images, audio, and video content. It can also easily be used for document or file management. WordPress supports embed YouTube videos, Instagram photos, Tweets, and Soundcloud audio by just pasting the URL in your post. This helps manage the amount of media that the Fashion industry is accustomed to.

     

  • Advertising

    Advertising

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    What is Advertising, really?

    Advertising is a form of communication for marketing and used to encourage or persuade your audience (viewers, readers or listeners; sometimes a specific group) to continue or take some new action. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering.  Advertising messages are usually paid for by sponsors and viewed via various traditional media; including mass media such as newspaper, magazines, television commercial, radio advertisement, outdoor advertising or direct mail; or new advertising media such as blogs, websites, banner ads, PPC or text messages.

    Commercial advertisers often seek to generate increased consumption of their products or services through “branding” and brand building, which involves associating a product name or image with certain qualities in the minds of consumers. Non-commercial advertisers who spend money to advertise items other than a consumer product or service include political parties, interest groups, religious organizations and governmental agencies.

    Figment Design, an Advertising Agency located in the heart of Coconut Grove (Miami) – We love what we do and it shows in our work and our dedication.

    At Figment Design we realize that clients are our partners and that we are an extension of their internal sales and Marketing & Advertising team. As a creative advertising agency, we don’t just produce the work and walk away, we care about the results for our clients, and we work hard to ensure the results generate business both local and online.

    Whether it’s to develop your brand through new and exciting creative design, web design, internet advertising, conventional advertising or to develop effective media campaigns that reach the right target, Figment Design has a team that will focus on you and meet your needs. We pride ourselves in being hands on. This is a professional advertising agency that will actually listen to your advertising, marketing and website needs, work diligently in collaboration with you, your thoughts, ideas and concerns, with the ultimate goal of generating powerful results both online and using conventional methods.  We work with all local business in florida both large and small customers as well as national and international clients for their advertising, creative and marketing needs.

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    We Truly are a FULL Service Advertising Agency that specializes in Design, Branding & Marketing

    We offer our expertise in all aspects of advertising

    Though our advertising, marketing and design services are expansive and cover a lot of ground within this industry, the professionals at Figment Design (Coconut Grove), Miami Advertising Agency have been working in their respective fields for many years successfully and can easily navigate our clients/partners through the various aspects of the advertising / marketing / design process.

    We offer our advertising, marketing and design expertise in all aspects of advertising including: graphic design, web design, website development, wordpress development, wordpress design, online advertising, web marketing, full service printing, direct mail, brochures, fulfillment and distribution. Additionally, we proudly offer photography, aerial photography & video, media planning and buying, promotional items, vehicle wraps and trade-show displays. With an industry that is always changing and making technological advances, additional services are being added every day in order to better service our clients and their advertising, marketing and design needs.

    [cudazi_tab_group][cudazi_tab title=’Services’][wc_row][wc_column size=”one-half” position=”first”] [/wc_column][wc_column size=”one-half” position=”last”]

    SERVICES

    We Truly are a FULL Service Agency Though services are expansive and cover a lot of ground within this industry, the professionals at Figment have been working in their respective fields for many years successfully and can easily navigate our clients/partners through the various aspects of the advertising process. We offer our expertise in all aspects of advertising including: graphic design, web design, full service printing, direct mail, brochures, fulfillment and distribution. Additionally, we proudly offer photography, media planning and buying, promotional items, vehicle wraps and tradeshow displays. And with an industry that is always changing and making technological advances, additional services are being added every day in order to better service our clients and their needs. [/wc_column][/wc_row] [/cudazi_tab] [cudazi_tab title=’Media’] [wc_row][wc_column size=”one-half” position=”first”] [/wc_column][wc_column size=”one-half” position=”last”]

    MEDIA • MARKETING

    Your brand and message may be great…but who is seeing it? No matter how good your message is, if it doesn’t get in front of the right audience, then it is just a waste. Our CEO likes to say, “don’t advertise a pork chop sale to the pigs, advertise it to the pig farmers!” We not only focus on your message, but that its getting to the audience that will respond and be interested. The days of throwing mud at the side of the building and seeing what sticks is gone, now it is all about the ROI. Let us show you what our media department can do for you: research, planning, placement and management. Click here for more about Media Marketing [/wc_column][/wc_row] [/cudazi_tab] [cudazi_tab title=’Brand’] [wc_row][wc_column size=”one-half” position=”first”] [/wc_column][wc_column size=”one-half” position=”last”]

    BRAND

    Who Are you?…Really!! If your branding is not consistent, then how are your customers going to recognize you in a sea of competition. You have to know who you are, before you decide what you look like. If you need help with branding, we have a team of professionals ready to create a new brand or re-brand what you have. Let us show you a look that says who you are; we can help you find yourself, or re-define yourself. Click here for more about Branding [/wc_column][/wc_row] [/cudazi_tab] [cudazi_tab title=’Print’] [wc_row][wc_column size=”one-half” position=”first”] [/wc_column][wc_column size=”one-half” position=”last”]

    PRINT

    Yes, we still print on that white stuff… Even though the industry has changed; printing has also evolved and now there are new papers, new inks and different types of specialized printing styles. With so many different types of printing, it’s always reassuring that your agency knows the methods inside and out. We not only understand it, we specialize in it. From Sheet Fed, to Web, to large format, to shirts and promotional items…it all falls under printing. So let us work with you on your next project and show you the difference. Click here for more about Print [/wc_column][/wc_row] [/cudazi_tab] [cudazi_tab title=’Web’] [wc_row][wc_column size=”one-half” position=”first”] [/wc_column][wc_column size=”one-half” position=”last”]

    WEB

    Everyone is using it…even you! No matter what you do, it seems that somehow or someway you have to use the internet. The first thing you do to “check something out” is to look them up on the web. Make sure that your web presence is searchable, but then make sure your future clients are just as comfortable on your site as they would in your lobby. Make your site inviting. Figment has your solution; from initial design, development, programming, mobile devices and much more. Click here for more about Web [/wc_column][/wc_row] [/cudazi_tab] [cudazi_tab title=’Photography’] [wc_row][wc_column size=”one-half” position=”first”] [/wc_column][wc_column size=”one-half” position=”last”]

    PHOTOGRAPHY

    A picture is worth a 1,000……yes, we all know that one! But it’s still true. If you are looking to promote a product, food, hotel, business, anything, you have to have something to show the customer that is appealing. In today’s world where everyone has a camera, you find a lot of “Photographers”, but when the final shots come in, this is when you find out the truth. So many details go into a real photo shoot: Lighting, time of day, location, models, travel…we plan according to the clients final production and we make sure our client has peace of mind all along the way. Click here for more about Photography [/wc_column][/wc_row] [/cudazi_tab] [cudazi_tab title=’Aerial Photography’] [wc_row][wc_column size=”one-half” position=”first”] [/wc_column][wc_column size=”one-half” position=”last”]

    AERIAL & PHOTOGRAPHY

    HD Aerial Photography & Video All of our helicopters have functioning gimball mounts that are stabilized using the latest technology to eliminate as much vibration as possible. This is especially important when using smaller version cameras that don’t have the stabilizing lenses. All of our ships will fly with GoPro Hero II cameras. These are known for their quality, color enhancements, and just an all around great video camera for the size. These cameras are small enough that our helicopters can maneuver quickly and have good flexibility in the air. Click here for Aerial Photography [/wc_column][/wc_row] [/cudazi_tab] [cudazi_tab title=’Video’] [wc_row][wc_column size=”one-half” position=”first”] [/wc_column][wc_column size=”one-half” position=”last”]

    Video & Production

    This is not your family or wedding video we’re talking about. Today there are so many different ways to create commercials, documentaries, webisodes and more. And each of these has a different budget that varies according to quality and production. At Figment we have experience in shooting large scale productions to small viral video sequences. We can create storyboards for your project, plan the shoot, organize locations, directors and videographers, and edit in-house; from pre to post, we’re ready to roll. [/wc_column][/wc_row] [/cudazi_tab] [/cudazi_tab_group]

    [rev_slider_vc alias=”work”]
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    Some examples of our work.  Below you will find several pieces of our work including large format printingdesign, marketing, advertising, print, web, development, animation, logo design, wraps both for vehicle and windows as well as outdoor signs, billboards, videos and trade show displays.   Simply click the icons below to view our advertising, marketing and design examples.

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    We realize that clients are our partners and that we are an extension of their sales and marketing team. As a creative agency and marketing agency, we don’t just produce the work and walk away, we care about the results for our clients, and we work hard to ensure the results generate business.

    [cs-extra-map heading_size=”h1″ address=”2977 McFarlane Road, Coconut Grove, FL 33133″ coordinate=”25.7276882,-80.2411857″ infoclick=”1″ infowidth=”200″ type=”TERRAIN” zoom=”13″ width=”auto” height=”350px” scrollwheel=”” pancontrol=”” zoomcontrol=”” scalecontrol=”” maptypecontrol=”” streetviewcontrol=”1″ overviewmapcontrol=”1″ api=”AIzaSyDQULkLFBBs6U06_zKUtuB4BzD0TWEH3Wg” markercoordinate=”25.7276882,-80.2411857″ markertitle=”Figment Design
    2977 McFarlane Road, Coconut Grove, FL 33133″ markerdesc=”Branding – Creative – Web – Social – Marketing – Photography – Video” style=”blue-water”][/cs-extra-map]

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  • Have a Dreamy Weekend

    Have a Dreamy Weekend

    Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.
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