“Being recognized is truly an honor because it serves as an important reminder that women leaders can positively impact their communities and even the world.” For more than 25 years, Kelly Zitlow has built her award-winning, highly respected career as a vice president and Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist® on earning the trust of her clients and partners by providing … [More]
4 Key Marketing Questions Every Business Must First Answer
There are several questions businesses should answer before beginning any form of post-COVID marketing. The first question that a company needs to address is whether the business is truly ready to be marketed. As we know, many businesses post-COVID are currently struggling with staffing and product scarcity. Marketing before the business is ready can be considered … [More]
Now Is the Time to Seize Opportunity
Has there ever been a better time in recent history to turn the page? A new chapter is upon us, and the greater business community is — finally — focused more on seizing opportunity than crisis mitigation or maintaining status quo. The collective desire to move forward is clear. Yet, this desire comes also with its own set of challenges. How to move forward, which marketing … [More]
Tapping into the Market’s Changed Expectations
Businesses have undergone tremendous setbacks as a result of the pandemic. Marketing was the least of a company’s worries, but now, as businesses begin to reevaluate and attempt to recover, it’s important to think about how to navigate the new marketplace with changing consumer behaviors, preferences and loyalty. There are a few things to consider when it comes to marketing in … [More]
How Marketers Can React, Reengage and Reemerge in a Post-COVID World
Last year, as anxiety surrounding the pandemic was at its peak, the term “pivot” became all-too-common — and oversimplified — guidance for brands eager to navigate the ever-shifting crisis. And while the term itself became overused, the core of that principle remains to this day: To weather such dramatic change (pandemic or not), companies must evolve to be more nimble, … [More]
2021 Is a Reset Year, and Opportunity Is Pounding on the Door
In every type of downturn, the first thing businesses do is cut their marketing budget. We’d already anticipated that a recession would begin during 2020. We posted a premium download about “How to Market in a Recession” quite early in the year, stressing the importance of businesses sticking with their marketing efforts during bad times, but nobody could have anticipated the … [More]
Reigniting the Marketing Engine in a Post-Pandemic World
Being seen and heard is a necessary part of running a successful business. However, 2020 all but halted some companies’ outreach and impacted marketing budgets across the world. As businesses reemerge, branding and awareness are crucial in letting the public know a company is still open for business. What are some of those first steps when restarting the marketing wheel? … [More]
Savvy Business Leaders Focus Their Marketing on What Matters Most to Their Customers
The pandemic of 2020 had differing effects on various industries. Many businesses in tourism and live entertainment came to a screeching halt, while others such as healthcare, financial services and certain consumer products — like furniture and groceries — flourished. In either case, savvy business leaders learned to change on a moment's notice and focus on what mattered most … [More]
Post-Pandemic, Doing Good Is Good for Business
We are entering a period of post-pandemic growth, and there has never been a better time for businesses to consider their purpose — their “why.” Purpose is rooted in long-term strategy, aligning brand identity with consumer beliefs, and it has become the fifth “P” of marketing, creating connection, conversation and loyalty between businesses and their customers. Organizations … [More]
Consumers Bring a New Reality to Their Brand Interactions
With more than half of Americans fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, the economy is in much better shape than a year ago. And while this is good news for businesses, we’re entering a new phase where the recovery is expected to continue at a slower pace. It’s easy to understand why so many businesses are rushing to launch new marketing campaigns after such a dismal … [More]
Ditch the ‘Wait and See’ and Nurture Subject Matter Experts
There is no question that COVID was difficult on all businesses, but even more so on destination travel. As we started to turn the corner and see some sense of return to “normalcy,” it was important that we prepare our clients for the phases of reentry to ensure that they would be ready. Timing is of the essence as things were (and are) changing every day. TJA presented a … [More]
Rebuilding Your Brand, Growing Your Workforce and Supporting Local Business
While COVID-19 certainly took its toll on many business-to-consumer market sectors — particularly entertainment, hospitality and travel — business-to-business sectors such as high tech, sustainability and life science experienced unprecedented growth. As we emerge from the pandemic, the marketing and business development needs of all these areas vary greatly, depending on both … [More]
How We Make the Most of Our Potential – What’s Next
“Statewide, we have many opportunities and momentum, but we need to come together to plan for the future,” says Carrie Kelly, executive director of Arizona Association for Economic Development, emphasizing the need for collaboration on a united, long-term economic development vision and goals. “We need all Arizona residents to be covered by regional visioning processes, and … [More]
How We Make the Most of Our Potential – What We’re Doing Now
“We are making the most of our potential by continuing to court, in a systematic way, the organizations that fit best with the business ecosystems that are thriving in Phoenix,” says Mayor Kate Gallego, naming semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, biosciences, electric vehicles, healthcare professions, financial services and construction. “Phoenix is the fifth largest city … [More]
How We Got Here
With more than two decades’ experience in her field, Phoenix’s community and economic development director Christine Mackay says, “I’ve never seen a market like today." “We’re reaping the benefit of all the work our development community put in, in the time that was the Great Recession,” she adds, explaining that universities, community colleges and the development community … [More]
What the Opportunity Is for Business
“For me one of the most encouraging signs is the ‘Phoenix Global Rising’ initiative which dares to claim Phoenix as a leading global city,” says Doug Bruhnke, founder and CEO of Global Chamber, contrasting now to the last deep recession and sharing that Global Chamber recently prepared an "Invest in Arizona" presentation for Japanese companies that highlights the dynamics in … [More]
The Greater Phoenix Market Now – Surging
Business growth and population growth go hand in hand, observes Micah Miranda, economic director for the City of Chandler, and notes, “People are moving here because of great job opportunities that promise a better quality of life.” On the business side, he notes access to talent is one of the top factors in most corporate location decisions, and “businesses choose Metropolitan … [More]
Keeping Moviegoing Magic
Harkins Theatres Harkins Theatres president and CEO Mike Bowers divides the recent challenges into two distinct phases, noting that each presented its own challenges. First was the mandated closure period, and then there was the period of reopening during a continuing pandemic. “When the closure occurred, my attention was focused on our team,” he says. Initially, Harkins … [More]
