10 Years of Wild Ideas in the Wild West

What time and change has taught us about staying sharp, scrappy, and strategic.

When Carmella launched, the iPhone 5 had just landed in people’s palms. Social media was still considered a distraction by most businesses, and strategy was often a logo and a brochure. We initially offered two services: social media and strategy. That was it. But we knew something big was coming, even if no one else saw it yet.

Clients wanted quick sales. We were selling a slow burn. Explaining what social media could do for a business felt like trying to teach a new language. E-commerce existed, but barely. We had to wire together systems that weren’t designed to communicate with each other. Image banks? Nonexistent. Scheduling tools? Unreliable at best.

So, we did what every good entrepreneur does: we made it up as we went. It was the Wild West of content, so we ponied up and cowboyed through it, testing formats, building frameworks, and catalyzing best practices before the rulebook had even been published.

Some of the platforms we thought would last have vanished (RIP, Amplify). Others, like Instagram, have become cultural forces that we couldn’t have predicted. We learned how digital storytelling works when you can’t see your audience, and how to make it matter anyway.

Through it all, our founder raised two small kids who quite literally grew up alongside the business. From late-night emails with a baby monitor nearby to weekend bike races, this journey has always been more than marketing. It’s been about community, connection, and showing up for the things you love.

Now, ten years in, Carmella has worked with towns, tourism boards, luxury lodges, and visionary developers across North America. We’ve helped launch new ideas, reposition old ones, and build resilient strategies in industries where attention is short and expectations are high.

We’ve stayed sharp by staying curious. We’ve seen trends come and go, but clarity, creativity, and consistency remain the ultimate winners every time.

And no matter what changes next, we’ll still be here. Testing. Building. Making sure our clients are ready to roll with the punches.

What’s Changed in a Decade of Digital

Staying sharp in a landscape that never stays still.

If the last few years have taught us anything, it’s this: marketing isn’t about doing more, it’s about doing what matters.

Between AI-generated everything, shifting algorithms, and the pressure to be everywhere at once, it’s easy to mistake activity for effectiveness. However, at Carmella, we’ve found that the brands achieving the best results are clearer rather than louder in their strategic approach.

They know their offer. They know their customer. And they know when to publish, pause, or pivot.

The clients we work with aren’t looking for shiny trends. They want systems that can withstand the seasons. They want stories that still work a year from now. Whether it’s a 10-second reel or a 10-page deck, they want strategy that earns attention.

What’s changed? A few things:

• Marketing timelines are shorter, but so are attention spans.
• Organic reach requires consistency, not luck.
• Personalization isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s expected.
• Performance is no longer platform-first. It’s brand-first.

When you get that right, marketing starts to feel less chaotic, less like shouting into the void, more like a conversation people want to have.

If you’re feeling pulled in every direction, you’re not alone. But the next right move is rarely “more.” It’s usually “simpler.” Let’s figure out what that looks like for your brand.