A couple of weeks ago, we were contacted through our website by a producer at American Public Media’s “Marketplace.”\u00a0 Here’s the exact note:<\/p>\n
Hello,<\/p>\n
I am a producer for a public radio show called “Marketplace.” We cover business and the economy. I am interested in speaking with someone from your agency about how the pandemic has changed marketing strategy. I’m interested in hearing about how you may have adapted campaigns for the pandemic (especially for restaurants) and how that may have continued to evolve.<\/p>\n
Please let me know if we can set up a call.<\/p>\n
Thanks!
\n-Maria<\/p><\/blockquote>\nAfter re-reading the note a couple of times, I looked up this “Maria” person on LinkedIn to see if she really was with Marketplace.\u00a0 Lo and behold she was legit.\u00a0 Being a fan of NPR, I listened to Marketplace for years and was excited by the possibility being on the show with Kai Ryssdal.\u00a0 Needless to say, I spoke to Maria.\u00a0 She liked our conversation and let me know that she was going to take my “story” to the editorial team to see if there was a good fit for their “micro-businesses and the pandemic<\/a>” series.\u00a0 Admittedly, I had not heard any of the micro-business segments, so I went to take a listen.\u00a0 They cover stories on all kinds of businesses, like crafting, handyman services, picture framing, self-care, located in Las Vegas, Detroit, Seattle, among others.\u00a0 The stories are great, but what really impresses me is that the marketplace team has chosen to shed light on what it is like for small businesses in what is likely to be the toughest year of our entrepreneurial careers.\u00a0 I am truly grateful for the coverage.\u00a0 And, while I know that others were going through similar situations, there were days and nights that I felt very, very alone. Listening to these stories gives me a sense of camaraderie with these other business owners even though I’ve never met them.<\/p>\n
In preparing for whatever Kai was going to ask me, I wrote down a few notes.\u00a0 I thought I’d share them.\u00a0 And, if you take a listen to the segment, maybe these notes will give you even more context.<\/p>\n
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- The pandemic hit us hard at first.\u00a0 Roughly half of our billings were from restaurant and retail clients.\u00a0 \u00a0Those nearly vanished overnight.\u00a0 Our Q2 billings were 45% below prior year.\u00a0 Not fun.<\/li>\n
- One silver lining is when we all went home on March 12, 2020, we had already been working one day a week from home.\u00a0 So, all of the technology was in place for us to work virtually.\u00a0 It was an extremely smooth transition.<\/li>\n
- The very worst day of my professional career was at the end of March, 2020, when we let go 4 people to cut expenses while continuing to serve our active clients. It was horrible. I literally cried a river.<\/li>\n
- We applied for an EIDL (Economic Injury Disaster Loan) and PPP.\u00a0 \u00a0It was quite the process.\u00a0 We had originally applied for PPP with our long-term bank, Citibank.\u00a0 They failed to come through for us, so we quickly worked with a local bank, New Haven Community Bank, and they were amazing and got us the loan.<\/li>\n
- While our retail and restaurant clients went in to survival mode, our consumer technology clients, like McAfee and Logitech, and our clients in the building space like Accurate Lock & Hardware and Carrier, surged.<\/li>\n
- We leaned into our expertise in brand strategy and campaign creative and successfully launched 5 brands in roughly 6 months, including Uncle Julio’s Restaurant Group’s<\/a> virtual brand, Savage Burrito<\/a>.\u00a0 This work both saved us and solidified us.<\/li>\n
- It hasn’t just been us realizing the potential of focusing on brand building.\u00a0 We’ve seen many brands lean into their core values during the pandemic.\u00a0 Like <\/span>Apple\u2019s \u201cCreativity Goes On\u201d –<\/b>– celebrating people\u2019s passions for music, video, dance, painting, podcasting, while staying isolated at home.\u00a0 <\/span>Dove <\/b>extended their belief in recognizing real beauty with their support of front line workers in their <\/span>\u201cCourage is beautiful\u201d <\/b>campaign.\u00a0 They show real healthcare workers looking exhausted, with indentations on their faces from the masks they wear all shift.\u00a0 And the <\/span>New York Times<\/b> at the core is all about uncovering the truth, they did a campaign, \u201cThe Truth is Essential,\u201d that is all text spelling out truths like \u201cIt\u2019s not just a bad flu.\u201d and \u201cIt\u2019s not a bioweapon.\u201d\u00a0 So powerful, so relevant and so enduring.\u00a0 We think this investment in brand purpose bodes well for us, as we work with companies to strengthen their brands through both strategic and creative work. <\/span><\/li>\n
- Last week we moved out of our physical office space that we hadn’t been in since March 12, 2020, saving us roughly $60,000 per year.\u00a0 We are investing that savings in our team and in our own rebranding.\u00a0 Our new brand will better reflect our shift from integrated marketing to a hybrid agency where brand strategy and brand campaigns are core to our offering.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
I was interviewed for about 10 minutes.\u00a0 The masterful team at Marketplace, edited it down to about 4 minutes. Take a listen.<\/p>\n