How We Get Into the Holiday “Spirits” (and Why It’s Important to Our Core Philosophy)
Real talk: every couple of weeks or so, we'll find a reason to crack open a cold one with each other or a client. There's just something about coming together over a libation that breaks down barriers and allows us to do what we do best: build relationships. Maybe it's just a part of being regular old people who happen to geek out about digital. Maybe it's that we know our clients are regular old people (doing some extraordinary things), too.
Or maybe it's that we believe there are just certain simple things that unite people for a second, no matter what they do or where they come from.
Many years ago, we decided we wanted to extend the connection we felt with each other to our clients. So, each holiday season, we'd send out a custom bottle of wine, complete with a unique label, and hand deliver to our clients' business.
It was a small way to say "thank you," and give them a way to remember the relationship we were building together.
The last few years have started a new tradition, where we’ve brewed our own unique beer to give to clients. It was something we felt was pretty "us". Also, because you can't really rush a good brew, it gives us the opportunity to begin cultivating that holiday spirit far in advance of the season.
Now the excitement is two-fold. Not only do our clients have something to look forward to from us, we look forward to tasting and sharing the product that, in a small way, sums up our year and our work. A six pack of beer is not huge or grand or overly slick. It’s something that a lot of people have in their fridge right now. But it's familiar and honest, and there's a lot of comfort in that.
To us, that's the sweet spot when it comes to the relationships we build: getting to that common ground where we get to know each other as people so that we can produce even better results for your business.
Developing these types of relationships means having honest conversations, perhaps even respectful disagreements, but always keeping one goal in mind: to be better than we were the year before, together.
In that "spirits", we are proud to reveal this year’s holiday label. Thanks to all of you who continue to work with us each year. And thanks in advance to those we will build new relationships with in 2017. You're all why we're "people first, digital always."