Dear Reader,
Our journalists are storytellers, but they only can scratch the surface. Every one of you, every business owner, and every community has a unique story about how the coronavirus pandemic has turned things inside-out.
And when it comes to the businesses in Michigan that have been hit so hard during this crisis, getting that message out the right way to the right people can be critical. Especially as the state slowly, tentatively reopens.
That’s why MLive Media Group this week launched MLive Cares, a program that will match advertising spends of amounts from $1,500 to $50,000 with equal amounts of advertising and marketing services.
“It’s been a really tough go trying to help our advertisers through (the coronavirus shutdown), and really heartbreaking,” said Jamie Dionne, senior regional sales director for MLive Media Group. “We’re excited to see things start to open back up. And now – how do we help them reopen?”
Dionne notes that each business has different circumstances – how they staff, how they sanitize, how they serve customers, how they alter their physical space, and on and on. Communicating that to their communities becomes critical.
“Everybody is serving their customers now in a way they weren’t before,” she said. “So that message needs to be clear. There are stories that have to be told in order to invite people to come back in.”
Dionne leads a sales and marketing organization that, like the content operation I head as her colleague, spans the state of Michigan. Not just where our employees wake up, but where our readers and clients live. So, as a company and as individuals, we are connected deeply to the well-being of our neighbors.
In addition to MLive Cares, my team and Jamie’s have collaborated on Feeding the Frontlines, which paired restaurants featured in our Michigan’s Best campaigns with sponsors, who bought meals to provide to frontline medical workers on Nurses Day; Powering Positivity, in which our reporters have highlighted positive stories that are coming out of the pandemic; and Come Together, a weeklong series of Facebook Live appearances by notable Michigan performers to benefit the hospitality industry.
We know how businesses are hurting, because we are, too. As our clients struggle, we struggle. As we help them succeed, so will we.
“We are adapting to a new norm and will strive to continue to adapt as we navigate our way through the next year or so,” said Tim Gruber, president of MLive Media Group.
“Our hardest part to navigate was how we can help those smaller businesses get through these times and help them find alternative ways of doing business, and advertising what those new ways may be,” he said. “We did see a big decrease in spending from larger businesses that closed their doors, but at the same time we were able to bring many new businesses on board.”
MLive Cares is an incentive program that seeks to leverage our largest-in-the-state audience to deliver eyeballs, and customers, to the businesses that are regaining their footing.
“Our sales team wakes up every day with a mission of helping local businesses thrive. So you can imagine when COVID hit, how we mourned with our clients,” Dionne said. “As they were struggling … we tried to find innovative ways to help them survive and keep their message in front of the community.
“Our hope is, this grant program makes it easier for local businesses to tell these stories, and to get it in front of the right people … and see business come back through their doors.”
Businesses can apply for MLive Cares matching funding by clicking HERE. Applications will be accepted through June 15, and all spending must be completed by Aug. 31.
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