Remember the last time you tried to figure out a bus schedule and just… couldn’t? Or maybe you needed help from a government agency and left more confused than when you started?
These frustrating moments aren’t just annoyances – they’re opportunities hiding in plain sight.
At the heart of effective marketing lies a simple truth: understanding people’s actual struggles creates solutions that matter. It’s not about crafting the perfect tagline or chasing the latest design trend. It’s about building bridges between real problems and meaningful solutions.
We turned to Carolyn Hopkins Vasquez, our VP of Client Services, to talk about why the genuine connections we create that truly set us apart.
Empathy isn’t just nice – it’s necessary
This principle guides everything we do. True empathy means seeing both sides clearly: the audience who’s frustrated trying to navigate a system and the client who’s dealing with tight budgets, public scrutiny, or complex reporting requirements.
Marketing that works isn’t just about making something pretty. It’s about truly understanding why a mom with three kids is struggling to use public transit, or why a business owner is confused about which permits they need.
Start with the end in mind
The most effective marketing approach often feels counterintuitive at first: start with the end goal and work backward.
Before diving into colors, fonts, or messaging, ask: What does success look like six months from now? A year from now? What specific outcome would make this project worthwhile?
This backward approach keeps work grounded in reality. We’ve all seen those award-winning marketing campaigns that look amazing but don’t actually solve the problem they were meant to address.
When you begin with the finish line in sight, every decision serves a purpose beyond just looking good or sounding clever.
When marketing actually changes lives
The true test of empathy-driven marketing comes when the work meets the real world. One 3fold project that demonstrates this approach involved Nevada County Transit.
The challenge wasn’t just redesigning a logo or creating clever ads. It was about helping people – many elderly or with disabilities – actually understand how to get where they needed to go.
By completely reimagining the transit system’s wayfinding approach, the team made routes clearer and simplified what had been a confusing experience.
“This is going to change people’s lives,” the client said, visibly moved when seeing the final product. That moment crystallized what meaningful marketing actually looks like – not just creative execution, but genuine human impact.
“These moments are the real proof of our approach,” Carolyn says. “It’s not just about the marketing we create; it’s about how we meet clients’ needs with empathy at every step. That’s where the difference lies.”
Beyond the buzzwords
In an industry that loves its jargon, the most powerful approach is surprisingly simple: truly see the people behind every project – both the clients and the communities they’re trying to reach.
Anyone can make an ad. Building a bridge between problems and solutions takes a deeper understanding of what matters to real people in their everyday lives.
When marketing comes from this place of authentic understanding, it doesn’t just communicate – it connects. It doesn’t just promote – it provides value. And it doesn’t just look good – it actually works.
