What makes us tick

“What do you want to be when your grow up?” was a question I remember being asked often as a kid, though I never really had a good answer. A wedding planner? A professional crafter? Is that even a thing? Though I always knew I wanted to do something “creative” when I grew up, zeroing in on exactly what I wanted to do for the rest of my life was a daunting decision for a high school student.

Some businesses survive less than a year. Others, like Gentile Pastificio, survive for hundreds and more. Only days ago, my family and I visited Gragnano, the tiny Italian town celebrated for its air-dried pasta. As we entered the massive stone building, I couldn’t help but wonder what the workings of an 1876-founded business might look like inside.

With tourism down in the Portland-metro area because of the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with ongoing protests in the city core, sales stalled for Orox Leather Co., a family-owned business that prides itself in its craft leather goods and Mexican heritage. Adding to this already challenging time for small, local businesses, the Orox team was robbed not once, but twice over the course of two months, losing tens of thousands of dollars of leather bags, wallets and other products.

2020 was, needless to say, a year full of changes. We saw consumers shifting their needs, wants, perceptions and behaviors, and we along with our clients had to learn to evolve quickly. But what do you do when your consumer feels they can’t do anything?

With this blog post, we are announcing and publishing our second Certified B Corporation™ and Oregon Benefit Company Annual Report. It provides a window into our world including the tribulations and the triumphs during the last year or so of our journey to improve the social and environmental fabric of our communities.

2020 was a difficult year, and as marketers, we found brands not immune to these challenges. How do you break through the noise to reach an anxious, angry and skeptical audience?