Amber Frankhuizen
Q What do you do?
“Our agency, AFMKTG (pronounced A-F-Marketing,) specializes in branding, brand communications, social media management and basically any marketing needs for companies who play in the luxury space.”
We are GOOD AF at talking to high and ultra high net worth customers, and communicating the nuances of luxury brands. We are able to showcase the ‘X factor’ and the intangible qualities of what makes a brand or product expensive and desirable.
Q What steps did you take to get to where you are now?
Prior to founding this agency, I spent many years playing in the luxury real estate market, as a Vice President of Sales and Marketing. I oversaw creative teams, PR teams, sales teams and digital marketers. Through that experience, when I was the client, I struggled at times, seeking real support and partnership from the agencies that we worked with. That has inspired our approach at AFMKTG, as we want to be TRUE PARTNERS to our clients. I love to see brands stand out in saturated markets and wanted to create an agency that would help businesses do so. Our mission at AFMKTG is to help businesses get more business by telling better stories. We focus on creating content that converts.
Q How do you stand out in your field?
Notice how there’s so many brands or communities that look identical? How there’s a myriad of brands on social media that have the same aesthetic? Don’t forget the many overused company mission statements that all sound the same. Our goal is to dive deeper into the DNA of the companies we work with, understand the operations of those companies, and build out either a holistic branding or marketing experience that is true to the identity of the founders. We stand out because we don’t work with just anyone. We work with those who we are proud to stand behind and proud to support - client or not.
Q What are you working on right now?
We just launched a major rebrand for one of the largest known real estate developers in San Diego, where we’re based. Right now we’re working on awards submissions for many of our real estate projects- and hopefully we will be popping champagne soon!
Q What’s your style?
Our style is elevated, straightforward and intentional. All of our brands have ‘Easter Eggs’ with hidden messages in them that relate to the mission, the founder, or to the legacy of the brand. We are ALLERGIC to boring. We design with all users in mind - including customers, existing employees, future employees, investors and the public. And overall what can you expect from us? An edgy and adventurous brand website or social media presence on nearly every platform. We utilize YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Yelp to our advantage.
Q Out of all your slashies, which one do you wish you could do more often?
There’s nothing like the feeling of walking into a multi-million dollar home on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean, or at the top of a mountain overlooking the Las Vegas strip. There’s this expansive energy around beautiful design and architecture that we just can’t get enough of. We work in many industries such as yachting, personal aesthetics, beauty, luxury consumer goods, personal development and more, but our focus has been real estate development.
Q What is frustrating you right now?
The most frustrating thing about our job is the changing dynamic of social media. We would LOVE if Instagram/Facebook/Meta could stop copying all the other platforms (*cough*cough* Snapchat, TikTok, etc.) and just focus on building a great app that serves their customer base! They keep changing the game on aspect ratios, algorithms, news feeds, etc., against the prevailing wisdom which says - if it ain't broke, don't fix it!
Q If you could hire someone for $20/hour, what would you have them do to make your day easier?
For some reason, I can never wrap the concept of time zones around my head! Guilty, I know. If I could have someone help me with booking appointments at times that actually make sense - that would be amazing.
Q What do you wish you could have told yourself, when, and why?
That everything’s going to work out. At the beginning of our careers we have so much uncertainty about what the future holds, but I wish I could’ve realized that there are no wrong decisions, there’s just multiple paths. Knowing that things will work out no matter what was definitely tough to learn, but with practice I’ve gotten so much better at holding faith. We can’t predict the future, but what we can do is put in our best effort to make sure the future is what we want it to be.
Q If you could talk to an expert to gain more insight on something, what would it be about?
We are obsessed with psychology at AFMKTG. We don’t just build brands or campaigns that look good, we make things that are based on human behavior and practical psychology. I love learning the WHYs behind why humans act the way they do! For example, you know when you break up with someone and feel like you need to call them? It’s not that you’re weak, it's that your brain is literally wired to fire dopamine when you connect with them. When that connection is broken, your brain craves that dopamine response and will outweigh your logic in order to meet its chemical demand. That kind of stuff is fascinating, and knowing that we can tie that into marketing is super cool. We'd LOVE to have a human behavior expert on staff, but for now, we're going to keep reading Tony Robbins and self-development books like maniacs!
Q What kind of opportunities/projects are you looking for?
We love partnering with teams who have a great product and energy! Doesn’t matter if you’re a startup or an established business; we’re down to work with you on your marketing campaigns, social media marketing, brand or rebrand efforts, and website development if our vibes connect.
Q Describe your ideal job/client/collaboration.
We love working with clients who love to be collaborative! Regular check in meetings, providing feedback, and being collaborative make for a great partnership for us. Bonus points if you chat with us on Slack and love to send memes, because that’s our love language.
Q: What is your rate?
Our comprehensive Branding Packages start at $8,250, Monthly Social Media Management Services start at $2,100, Web Design & Development Packages start at $8,725. Of course, everything depends on what YOUR business needs and what your desired outcomes are! There are no 'one sized fits all' plans for marketing- everything is custom scoped to fit your needs.
Q How should someone approach you about working together?
We’re old-school! Give us a call, send us a letter or a carrier pigeon. We’re all about human to human communication, so there’s no red tape around talking to us or working with us. We like to make things easy so whatever works best for you is what works best for us.
Q Who is a creative you admire?
We love working with Week of the Website for Squarespace projects! We found them here on I Love Creatives, and we’ve worked with them to build so many sites. While they do the heavy lifting of design and development, we help direct the design, create copy, mission statements, photo guidelines, photo and video content, and everything that goes into building out the vision for your site.
Q Oh! and… how do you stay creative?
Luxury Hotels for Happy Hour a Happy Designer Make
This member profile was originally published in July 2022.