How to Brand with Selfies
When I was in Gilbert, Arizona, I noticed a crowd of people gathering around a colorful building and posing in many different people configurations. 
You’ve probably seen pop-up, roll-and-show selfie logo walls. They typically appear behind football coaches for press conferences with a paid sponsor logo as well. Yet most organizations don’t realize that selfies marketing provides free marketing moments (after you’ve paid for the background).
Giant logos, large names and colorful backgrounds create instant selfie backgrounds and social media opportunities. Art walls can be a great way to brand your organization, if you take advantage of the possibility. In Nashville, they specialize in beautiful wing mural walls, but they typically don’t include the word “Nashville,” so it’s a lost branding and marketing opportunity.
In my blog photo, Zinburger’s name is too high to be included in selfies. The artwork is appealing to selfie photographers, but the name could have been worked into every color area (and not hurt the artwork). It’s a great wall, but it could have been a selling marketing moment with every photograph and share.
If you want a “free” marketing opportunity that builds organically over time, find a wall and make a selfie background — with your name and logo, of course.
Mark Mathis
Mark wrote his first direct-mail fundraising letter in 1981 for the University of Iowa Center for Advancement. The effort raised a few million dollars in undiscovered wills and legacy gifts. From that day forward Mark discovered a love of the big idea that moves the needle.
After 12 years at KWWL, Mark became a business owner as a co-founder of ME&V — rebranded as AMPERAGE in 2015. After 25 years of leading creative teams in video production, graphic design, PR, writing and web development, Mark transitioned out of ownership in 2021. Today he serves in an employee role as special projects consultant.
He is creatively ambidextrous — son of an artist and engineer — and famous for distilling complex ideas down to a few words and a few visuals. Mark is a writer. When he found that many nonprofits struggled with complex branding puzzles, he wrote the book, “NonProfit-NonMarketing .” He also wrote a novel called “Reenactment.”
Mark is an active blogger OneMinuteMarketer® with nearly 1,000 readers each week on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter. One of his most popular YouTube videos is on “How to Look Good on Zoom.”
One of Mark’s fondest business memories was being named to INC 500 two times and attending the INC 500 conference with other winners. Mark is considered by some a Civil War expert (and that explains his novel). Mark also served as an adjunct professor in the business and in the communications departments at Wartburg College.
Mark is a graduate of the University of Iowa and is currently vice president of the University of Iowa Journalism and Mass Communications Advisory Board.
Mark is married to state Sen. Liz Mathis, and the two love to travel, even when it means being trapped by a volcano in the Czech Republic for three weeks.