The Importance of Innovative Business Marketing Strategies During COVID-19, Dustin Rivest, 223 Agency

223 Agency

Due to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, businesses have had to adapt their marketing strategies over the past year. Companies are currently presenting themselves with a digital mindset; therefore, online presence and representation are significant. There remains to be much uncertainty about the implications through 2021. Now more than ever, it is crucial to be continually developing innovative marketing strategies for your business.

During the pandemic, most businesses have been impacted and forced to adapt. 223 Agency continually strives to develop innovative business marketing strategies to help local Tallahassee companies thrive. By developing creative and mindful business strategies in Tallahassee, 223 Agency has pushed to stimulate several local economy sectors, including not-for-profits, hospitality, and health care. Three innovative business strategies and their impact on the Tallahassee community are Event Owl, TLH2GO/Foodies Takeout, and The Health Network.

Event Owl

Event Owl is a Tallahassee-based software-as-a-service company that has helped hundreds of organizations throughout Florida and across the country shift from in-person to virtual events. Event Owl offers virtual, live, and hybrid event streaming, enhancing the users’ on-screen experience through remote yet interactive and engaging content.

Event Owl quickly adapted to the pandemic by transitioning from an app-based service to a versatile virtual platform. Virtual events make it easier for organizations to connect and communicate online while grasping and maintaining the users’ attention, allowing the event to be more interactive and personal – just as if you were attending an event in person. Event Owl has hosted virtual events for numerous organizations, including The Tallahassee Chamber, The Florida Chamber, Florida Association of School Administrators, Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals, Iowa Association of Justice, and the University of Alabama. The platform has allowed organizations across Florida and the entire United States to host their events and keep in touch with their constituents while also remaining safe.

TLH2GO/Foodies Takeout

During the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, 223 Agency worked in conjunction with the Leon County Office of Economic Vitality to create a comprehensive online directory for more than 400 local restaurants called TLH2GO. TLH2GO initially offered free access to an online portal for ordering food for pickup and delivery. The program allowed numerous restaurants to quickly adapt to online ordering without the standard fees from national providers. TLH2GO helped many local restaurants meet their patrons’ demands for pickup and delivery while saving them significant revenue.

With the success of TLH2GO, it evolved rapidly to launch a new entity, Foodies Takeout, which allows the Tallahassee community to find locally-owned restaurants to host their complete menu for online order pickup or delivery through Foodies Takeout.

This platform has helped over 30+ Tallahassee restaurants adapt service through the pandemic, stay open, increase their brand awareness and sales. Some of those restaurants include Table23, Hangar 38, Jeri’s Midtown Cafe, Red Eye, Metro Deli, El Jalisco, and more. Unlike other online ordering platforms, the profits made through this platform go straight to these restaurants, which keeps money in the local economy and leads to more jobs.

The Health Network

The Health Network (THN) is an innovative digital advertising platform serving health care entities throughout the North Florida region. THN educates and engages patients with customized content and particular advertisements. The advertisements can be viewed in the waiting rooms of medical practices or even in nonmedical settings. The health care practices can engage and educate patients with pertinent digital information from local advertisers along with customized information such as practice specialties, physician bios, and expertise.

Using THN, health care client locations have access to customized digital content to broadcast pre-approved advertisements from regional merchants on their THN respective sites. The Health Network allows both the host and the provider the opportunity to provide valuable information to a wide variety of audiences.

As a full-service digital marketing agency, 223 Agency prides itself in supporting local businesses to ensure a stable, thriving business economy in Tallahassee. Stay safe, stay healthy and stay innovative.

Dustin Rivest, Founder & CEO
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