News

Mike Miriello 7/27/20 Mike Miriello 7/27/20

Half of Your Ad Budget is Wasted Every Year

“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don’t know which half.” - John Wanamaker

That wise old adage tells us two very important things:

Analytics often fall to the back-burner in favor of novel marketing efforts
Businesses are often much more interested in expanding their marketing efforts without taking a slow, calculated approach at what works and what doesn’t

So how do we track what’s working? Let’s look at a case-study.

Mike Miriello 7/6/20 Mike Miriello 7/6/20

Why Storyboarding Matters

When you have between 20-30 seconds to get your message across to your audience, every single second counts. Not only that, you need to make sure the first 5 seconds really, really count if you are running ads on YouTube/Facebook (more on that in a future article). Storyboarding is driven by strategy.

Our Strategy Team

Our Team

Mike Miriello

President & CMO

Mike is the co-founder, President & CMO of TDC. He began his career as a corporate and interior/architectural photographer, went on to serve as the University Photographer at James Madison University for nearly a decade, then served as TDC’s Creative Director and eventual President.

When he’s not working, he can be found enjoying time with his wife and two children and riding his mountain bike.

Christine Brady

Marketing Strategist

Christine specializes in visual storytelling and content strategy for brands in various industries. She is passionate about utilizing media as a tool to communicate and cultivate relationships with others. A complete type-A personality, she especially enjoys creative problem-solving and establishing well thought out processes to bring about results. In her free time she enjoys caring for her plants, reading books, and horseback riding in the valley with the Glenmore Hunt Club.

Amanda Gookin

Marketing Strategist

Amanda is an artist and a storyteller with a love for strategic planning. After two decades living in New York City as a professional cellist, she's now found her new home in Harrisonburg with her husband. Amanda blends creativity with analytical precision and is passionate about elevating others' purpose. With over a decade of experience as a nonprofit leader, she understands the ins and outs of organizational leadership and problem solving.

When not behind the cello, Amanda can be found riding horses, taking ridiculous photos of her pets in costumes, and hiking any trail she can find.

Miguel Diaz

Marketing Strategist

Miguel Diaz is a seasoned soccer player and marketing strategist. With a background in Paid Advertising, he has experience launching and managing campaigns to increase brand impressions and engagement. Miguel holds an International MBA from the University of Valencia and a degree in Business Administration from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, where he competed as a Division 2 soccer player. Bilingual in English and Spanish, he brings a diverse skill set in analytics, content creation, and campaign management to elevate brands in the digital space.

Bastian Anderrson

Assistant Marketing Strategist

Bastian is a true optimist when it comes to marketing. He believes that the ability to understand and persuade can be used with good intentions to create a win win scenario for both the buyer and the seller. Originally from northern Virginia with a B.B.A in Marketing from JMU, his goal is to strategize three steps ahead of competitors without kicking them to the curb.

Outside of his profession, he is also passionate about sports, food, weightlifting, video games, and music. He is looking forward to a bright future with TDC in learning the ropes of applying his knowledge and skills in the field.

Kerri Hewett

Kerri is a 2024 graduate from James Madison University with a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology. She is endlessly interested in how culture informs even the most mundane of decisions, and believes human connection is key in creating successful and empathetic strategies. With a background in creative writing, Kerri enjoys crafting vibrant stories for clients that are as effective as they are engaging. When she’s not in the office you can find Kerri attending concerts, playing her guitar, immersing herself in the local theatre scene.

Our Content Team

Our Team

Elise Trissel

Content Manager

Elise grew up right here in the Shenandoah Valley with a love for art and photography. After graduating from Bridgewater College in 2011, She loves being able to use her passion for storytelling through photography and videography to help clients reach their goals and to help team members continue to grow in their careers and skill sets.

Outside of working with the fantastic team at TDC, you can find Elise working on all manner of projects with her partner out in the countryside. Currently this includes gardening, renovating a 1974 Airstream Argosy, fostering kittens, and creating more pollinator and bird friendly habitat on their land.

Kendall Moxley

Content Manager

Kendall is a passionate storyteller who specializes in videography and editing. She loves working with people and finding the most effective way to capture their stories. After graduating from JMU in 2022 with a degree in Media Arts and Design, Digital Video and Cinema concentration, she’s beginning her professional career here with TDC.

Outside of work, she loves spending time with her sweet corgi, playing ukulele or guitar, and learning more about Jesus. She is proud to be part of this wonderful team of creatives!

Brandon Christian

Content Strategist & Specialist

Brandon was born and raised in the Shenandoah Valley and loves enjoying everything it has to offer. A graduate of Bridgewater College from their art program also competed for their track and field team and continues to pursue his love of the sport by coaching. He likes to take his photography skills to the trails and shoot nature when he’s not working. When not behind the camera he throughly enjoys being outside backpacking, kayaking and brewing beer. He is proud to part of this amazing creative team!

Brittany Miller

Content Strategist & Specialist

Brittany is a proud Valley local. She grew up with a love of art that evolved into a passion for photography, shooting everything from motocross to ethereal landscapes to colorful cocktails, developing a bold and vibrant photographic style along the way. Having years of commercial photography experience under her belt, Brittany likes working closely with clients to capture their unique qualities.

She also loves traveling to new places, counting Wyoming and Asheville as her favorite locales. When she’s not in the office, you can generally find her kayaking, swimming, gardening, skateboarding, taking her dog for a walk, or cooking for her family.

Geoff Johnson

Content Specialist

Geoff is an editorial, documentary and lifestyle photographer with over 25 years of diverse photography experience. A long-standing passion, for documenting experiences and collecting moments that tell the larger story, continues to inform his photography today.

Derrick Chirinos

Content Specialist

Derrick Chirinos is a Harrisonburg based commercial photographer and videographer with experience in studio and documentary content. Since graduating from Eastern Mennonite University in 2019, Derrick has explored and expanded his skills into mixed media portraiture, automotive photography, and more recently, directing commercial video.

In his free time, Derrick enjoys playing in the local adult soccer league with friends from college, entering local 5K races, and writing his own comic books.

Christi Criqui

Content Specialist

Christi is a military brat who primarily grew up in Alexandria, Virginia. In 2022, she graduated from JMU with a Bachelor of Science in Media Arts & Design, and has since been furthering her career in photo and video production throughout the Shenandoah Valley. When she doesn't have a camera in her hand, Christi enjoys playing video games, going to pop/rock concerts, and traveling to new places she's never been before.

Kayla Liske

Content Specialist

Kayla is a recent graduate from James Madison University and a new local to the Harrisonburg area. Throughout her time in the Media Arts and Design program, she developed skills for videography and editing and is excited to dive into the world of photography as well. Her true passion for videography stems from the wonderful people and experiences the job has brought her to. She hopes to be able to experience as much as she can through this profession and is excited to be a member of the TDC team! In her free time, Kayla loves to do anything outdoors such as exploring new areas, hiking, or finding swimming spots.

Billy Morgan

Billy grew up in the Shenandoah Valley, where his connection to storytelling began. He has produced films for national platforms like Nat Geo/Lindblad Expeditions and PBS, specializing in documentary filmmaking, music videos, and promotional projects. When he’s not in the office, you’ll find him in the wild, filming stories that raise awareness about our environment and help protect its future.

Our Web, Design, and Operations Team

Our Team

Megan Miriello

Director of Operations

Megan is the co-founder and Director of Operations at TDC. She handles everything behind-the-scenes at TDC and is present from start to finish of every single project. She also guides and supports both the Strategy and Social Media teams internally.

Megan is a wife, mother of two sweet boys, a former 7th grade math teacher, and an entrepreneur at heart. When she’s not working, Megan enjoys playing with her kids, crafting, and trips to the beach.

Kristin Lewis

Web & Design Manager

Kristin specializes in creative problem solving through strategic design. She has experience in graphic design, web design, branding, and social media management, but also enjoys UX Design and has a newfound love for photography. When she’s not working, she’s likely weaving, hanging with her dog, or finding new fonts to obsess over. She’s excited to be working with the creative minds of TDC!

Noah Mills

Web & Design Specialist

Noah is an innovative designer with a wide variety of experience in digital marketing, website design, and usability testing. He is passionate about creating stunning designs that prioritize usability and the user experience. Outside of work, Noah enjoys producing music, drumming, playing soccer, and spending quality time with friends and family. Noah is so excited to be apart of the brilliant creative team at TDC Marketing!

Emma Stoecklein

Emma is a passionate and versatile graphic designer who was born and raised in New Jersey. She recently graduated from Ringling College of Art and Design with a BFA. There she gained a rich background in both digital and print design, as well as a deep love for physical fabrication. She loves to creatively solve problems and to bring ideas to life with her skills. When she’s not designing something, you can find her in the gym, adding a new fashion doll to her collection, or experimenting with fashion and makeup. She is so happy to be a part of such a creative team at TDC!

Noah Robeck

Web & Design Specialist

Noah is a talented designer local to the Shenandoah Valley. He earned his BFA in Graphic Design from JMU, where he gained experience in both digital and print media. His talents include typography, logo design, website design, and motion graphics.

When he's not in the office, you can find Noah enjoying the great outdoors. He spends his free time hiking the local mountain trails or relaxing on the sands of a nice warm beach. His hobbies include photography and spending time with his friends and family.

News

Half of Your Ad Budget is Wasted Every Year

Why Storyboarding Matters

Our Strategy Team

Our Content Team

Our Web, Design, and Operations Team

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