Undoing the Damage & Celebrating the Wins

It’s a new year and there’s a lot to take stock of. As we assemble this, our 21^st edition of Bright Brothers Strategy Group’s “COVID-19 Cliffs Notes”, we feel the need to pause and reflect on a few momentous milestones. The first female and POC Vice President of the United States was just sworn into office. Democrats are taking control of the chamber, thanks to the valiant efforts of Georgians who elected the state’s first Black and Jewish senators. And Biden has chosen as his assistant secretary of health, Rachel Levine – the first openly transexual federal cabinet official. If confirmed, Levine will be the highest-ranking transgender official in the U.S. government. We’ve got massive challenges ahead of us, including repairing the damage of the previous administration and a pandemic that’s mutating new strains faster than you can say “ICU Capacity”.  It’s a frightening and yet exhilarating time.  We’re literally living “history”, and we’ve curated a few choice pieces of noteworthy news, articles and trends to help round out this historic January. Read on, friends!

– Your Bright Brothers Team

How can your restaurant ratepayers flip the script, perform front-of-house duties and strengthen community connections? And what about travel?  When should you pull the trigger on tourism campaigns and what the heck are blesiure blocks? Should we respond to that mask-denier?  All this and more is answered in our Bright Brothers Strategy Group January Trends Report! Read it now and give us a holler if you need help implementing actionable campaigns.

We all know that small businesses are the backbone of the economy and our local communities. It’s the local coffee shop, bowling alley or divey diner where memories are made. Since the pandemic has disrupted so much of their livelihoods, and the means to economic relief are slow and inadequate, we applaud the efforts of the Barstool Fund. The bodacious bros at Barstool Sports have finally put their massive reach to good use by driving awareness AND monetary contributions from their community of college humor-loving compatriots. To date that equates to nearly $28 million raised, assisting over 150 mom-and-pops around the country. Know of a local gem that needs some love (the green kind, we mean)?  Share the love and this link with them.

Did you know that Bright Brothers Strategy Group does a LOT of public speaking, MarCom education and merchant marketing classes?  It’s true!  We love to “share the wealth” and we’ve been busy little beavers so far this year.  We presented concepts, campaign inspo and technologies for small businesses reliant on foot traffic with Local First Arizona a few weeks back. And just last Friday, we teamed up yet again with the fine folks at the International Downtown Association for a sell-out webinar about keeping your MarCom positive during a pandemic.  Need a speaker for your district’s ratepayers or merchant marketing session?  Give us a shout!  We’re always happy to help.

Two loud rounds of applause please for a couple of stellar movers and shakers!  It’s been a banner month for our friends, colleagues and associates, and we’d like to publicly honor their amazing accomplishments! First, our friend Jazmine Reyes from the Downtown Tempe Authority was awarded the prestigious MLK Diversity Award for her DEI work in AZ. Kudos, Jaz!  And just this week, it was announced that our preferred partner for community engagement platforms,  Matt Salisbury, CEO and founder of ntropy data had inked an acquisition deal with Civica; a global leader in public services software. Well done, you two!

File under urban planning fails. Sadly, so many communities in major cities were ripped asunder when it was de rigeur to bulldoze through the middle of “blighted” neighborhoods (read: disruption and forced removal of POC communities) in the mid-20^th century.  Decades later, we now see the mistakes we made by running interstates through the center of once-vibrant neighborhoods – and as Next City reports, there’s a trend afoot to undo some of that damage by funding the undoing of freeways and rebuilding those communities. It all seems very timely and “woke” considering the recent social upheaval and long-overdue conversations coming to light in our national discourse, and we applaud the efforts our government is taking. A proposed $10 billion pilot would assist cities in removing these outmoded byways AND more importantly – engage disenfranchised communities to assist in the planning of what’s to replace them. Is there an ugly upper deck transecting your city that you’d like to see go?  What could/should replace it and how will you crowdsource the intel for planning its replacement? 

Photo credit: Daniel Lee, Unsplash