Marketing and advertising from its conception has always sought to show the value and reality that the end user could live in. If only they just had…
And for each generation group this is different and the way that it has appeared, but each generational grouping has had that same desire… The desire for authenticity.
The desire for what is real.
We saw major shifts and outcry for businesses to have transparency when we could see them out in the open in social media. There was even more backlash when big brands deleted content, comments, and hid behind fired interns. Marketers even worked hard to make sure videos and pictures did not look “too professional” and break the commitment to organic and real content.
From there it was all about the story of the brand. We wanted to know what the mission and background of the brand was to make sure it was “authentic.” This is still a major trend today, but they can still be a synthetic experience that inappropriately pulls at the values of the target audience. This is more commonly known as “Virtue Signaling.”
At Pullman marketing, we have taken a radically different approach, yet one that should feel familiar. Traditional but modern.
You see, when we begin to work with a client, we typically become a customer of the client as well.
When we began working with Artisan Electric, a local electrician, we promptly had him do work in our homes and in our office. We took pictures and videos of him in our homes, our office, and different job sites for his YouTube advertising. His advertising is 100% authentic, because it’s 100% real work, real stories and a honest hardworking company.
When we began working for Napa
We immediately began engaging with the national and local franchisee culture. We did secret shoppers, creative marketing campaigns, marketing and event promotion livestreams, and developed a strategy to begin pulling together the people in three different target markets with vastly different profiles.
Today we still work with NAPA and exclusively buy our own auto parts from NAPA. Every video advertising on Google, Youtube and Facebook features real problems, real employees, and real customer service. No actors and no embellishment. We have created authentic advertising that resonates with locals and introduces new students and families to NAPA.
For a sample of our work:
YouTube Advertisement
Grand Re-Opening Livestream
When we began working for Four Star Supply
They had an incredible desire for redeveloping their marketing and advertising from traditional mediums to digital channels. We have shopped there for years (three generations) and felt extremely honors and privileged to work with a local agronomy and community business like Four Start Supply.
We started with a full website re-design to begin making it easier for college students, new farmers and residents to find relevant and targeted services. From there we created social media campaigns that were designed around showcasing inventory that people may not be aware of for that location.
Our favorite part of working with Four Star Supply has been working with the several locations across two states to showcase what each location brings to their local communities. We have created local Youtube ads for each location to create brand awareness for each location that are updated based on the season of the year and the customer’s needs.
For a sample of our work:
When we began working for Nuevo Vallarta
It was delightful to get to know the owners of a local staple of our community. Nuevo Vallarta has been a popular Mexican eatery for more than 20 years in the Pullman community. During the pandemic, it was difficult to encourage customers to communicate with customers and surging prices and complications with systems like DoorDash made it difficult survive.
We partnered with Nuevo to begin creating consistent and regular social media content to engage past customers. From there we began featuring specials and running advertisements to build brand awareness with un-initiated college students who stayed close to their dorms and apartments. At each Covid Phase change, we immediately coordinated and broadcasted how Nuevo Vallarta could serve their customers.
As with many established businesses, it can be hard to keep track of all resources, menus, logos files, reviews, directories, etc. We worked with them to vectorize their logo for continued print and digital uses, build a new website with an updated menu, re-claim their Google My Business Directory, update directories with new and changing hours, and provide on site support for their brand awareness campaigns.
All that to say, Nuevo is our favorite dining and takeout spot and we use photos of our own food to advertise their restaurant.
The kitchen sink
We believe and support all of our clients. Even our life coach, we have gone through their program.
While many places use stock photography to describe their businesses, we believe authenticity of a brand should be the real deal.
Occasionally we do have to use a stock photo of landmarks, scenery, or other images from across the country. Although the photo might be stock, we only use that kind of imagery for when it is too expensive for us to the videos or photos, legal concerns, or privacy concerns.
It is difficult in many ways to describe this form of authenticity, yet our society has continually continuously evolved the idea of authenticity. For us, authenticity is the real story in the real relationship the community members should have with their local businesses and as our hearts desire to introduce one to another.
