Zach Clayton

Editor’s note: Raleigh-based Three Ships, a provider of digital marketing agency as well as software and services focused on search technology, is splitting into three ventures. Zach Clayton, the founder of Three Ships, explains what’s happening via an email about Thursday’s news. RALEIGH, N.C. – I have some exciting news to share with you about the growth of Three Ships! For the past two years, Three Ships has operated as two divisions: a digital agency and a software and services company for organic search. Both of these divisions grew at an exceptional pace during 2015, giving them a talent base...

Editor’s note: Zach Clayton is chief executive officer of Three Ships Media, a provider of digital marketing solutions. RALEIGH, N.C. – Over three days recently, I met with three very different CEOs of three very different companies. One, an industry leader in vertical media; another, a multi-billion retailer; the last, a major national insurer. At a minimum, each of these companies spends millions on information technology and millions on marketing. Flying back from California, I am reflecting on the discussions and I’m struck by how similar these conversations were. Each of these company chiefs used eerily similar vocabulary. “We have...

Leave it to the academics to “prove” a common sense point of view. Pew Research Center’s March 2013 study titled “Twitter Reaction to Events Often at Odds with Overall Public Opinion,” examines the tone of public response to eight major news events in national polls and in posts on Twitter. The study finds that the Twitter dialogue differed from the public sentiment. Findings from the study include: • President Obama’s 2012 State of the Union was largely well-received by the general public in national polls, with 42% of respondents having a positive reaction and 27% having a negative reaction...

Editor’s note: Zach Clayton is chief executive officer of Raleigh-based Three Ships Media. RALEIGH, N.C. - Effectively managing investments in digital marketing activities is rarely a true core competency for businesses. In some instances, owning all digital marketing competencies is crucial to the company’s business model. (For instance, online retailers that compete solely on price or marketers where unbranded SEM drives a majority of their revenue.) In contrast, many other organizations are actively considering outsourcing some or all elements digital marketing – perhaps in the same fashion with which they outsource certain information technology functions. Realizing this, executives often ask...

Editor’s note: Zach Clayton is chief executive officer of Raleigh-based Three Ships Media. RALEIGH, N.C. – As markets spiral downward – quickly followed by consumer confidence – each CEO must ask hard questions about how to grow his business in this tumultuous economic environment. Harvard Professor Bill George told CNBC after the S&P Downgrade of U.S. debt that CEOs should seek opportunity in the current crisis. Bill, a Three Ships Media client who was formerly Chairman and CEO of Medtronic, asserted that revenue growth will be harder to find in the U.S. in the years to come. As a...