Patronizing small businesses fuels individuals, teams, communities and local economies.

It also has a powerful domino effect in that those other businesses, neighbors and the general community benefit as a result of one individual action. Money spent with small businesses stays in that community and contributes to its other assets and institutions and ensures Main Street stays flavorful and intact without being all big box commodity brands.

When you buy from a small business, it has real meaning, value, instant impact and you know where your money is going…someplace real good. Places like Amazon, Walmart and CVS couldn’t care less if you made a small purchase at their store. They also wouldn’t miss you making the same transaction at a local business because they don’t really care about you at all. It’s a profit margin game. We presume you knew that and we’re not accidentally outing the business version of Santa not really existing to the unknowing. 

Shopping small creates jobs, strengthens communities, builds relationships and even increases tourism. Small business is what creates local flavor. If a city had nothing but Walmart, McDonald’s, and Applebee’s, why would anyone from out of town plan a trip to visit? They can get that at home. Small businesses are critical aspects of what make our favorite towns and cities great.

Supporting small business has become a hot talking point in many gargantuan brands’ ad campaigns. However, as a customer and the owner of a woman-owned business, I’ve yet to see these benefits. Wells Fargo is a prime example of a disconnect between the brand’s promise and the user journey. The advertisements and campaigns are everywhere, including the ad on the ATM.

 I do, however, have many firsthand experiences where it is difficult to get a hold of anyone and the only way I’d qualify for additional financial products is if I’m already rolling in it. When most small businesses need money, they can’t get it. You learn early on that being a small business doesn’t matter in those terms — what matters is that when they loan you the $$$, at the time, you need to have x-fold so they have something to take back if one defaults. I appreciate they are a top lender for women-owned businesses, but this ad doesn’t fit that narrative. Instead, I’m left feeling that their focus is on ‘Main Street’ businesses…which I have yet to see or experience in my many years of banking with them, and I don’t know any others who have, either.

Mastercard ran advertisements for its campaign to support Black women-owned businesses. In the commercial, superstar Jennifer Hudson got top billing getting significantly more airtime than the women the ad was intended to highlight. Their business names were difficult to read (on the commercial for sure/easier on the laptop due to size) for interested viewers to patronize.

Ironically, Jennifer Hudson who probably scored a great deal of the moola – her name is nowhere because everyone knows it. The other women ‘featured?!’, could have meaningfully benefited from a large placement of their business and contact details with a ½ second or two more – which is an eternity in airtime – on them. From this side, they went through the effort of the ad and spend and they didn’t even spotlight the stars of the campaign. Perplexing.

To us, this says it wasn’t really about the women — it was about using Jennifer Hudson to appeal to a broad audience with Mastercard starring as the Mastermind. Who do you think that commercial was really about?

All cynicism aside, we’re thrilled these women-owned businesses are a part of a multi-faceted campaign. We hope it benefited them in a significant way. For us, it lacks a bit of a ❤️-center. Duh, it goes without saying, we’re fans of J-Hud. On the other hand, Mastercard should consider going through a rebrand and name change. It’s a bit cringey watching the commercial and connecting it to the brand ambassadoring it in.

Now that we’re clear on that, what if the money used to hire Hudson was donated to the business owners they’re highlighting, instead? What if those owners got a better share of airtime? Why didn’t they pick an independent or group and give them their big break?! We agree, Mastercard is doing a great thing in pledging $500 million to support Black-owned business. It begs the question — how much are you spending on the self-congratulatory marketing campaign at the same time? How much further could those funds go? How many more businesses could they help, save and elevate? What really is the ad about? More current versions have Mastercard tying it to ‘Respect’ – surprise, no surprise – it’s the movie that Hudson starred in portraying the ‘Queen of Soul’, the formidable Aretha Franklin. Praytell, who is this for Mastercard? What is it about? How many initiatives did you try to combine? How much money was offset with the film company and other participants?!

Performative support of small businesses without real ❤️ is a high-style smoke and mirror show without really making the difference the flashy mini-move paints. 

It’s insulting and Captain Obvious insincere.

As we enter another year of the global pandemic, it’s no longer news that the effects of COVID-19 have been devastating to small businesses. We’ve seen some of our favorites close their doors, call it quits or try hard to keep up with the survivors’ modified hours and updated policies.

Small businesses need your help now, whether you’re a consumer or brand marketer. 

MKMCreative is a boutique business that’s a huge supporter of small business. As an experiential marketing agency that has historically specialized in putting on immersive real-world activations, it likely won’t come as a surprise that the moment-in-time has presented us with challenging situations. 

We know what it feels like to be affected. We know how many other business owners are experiencing the same thing. Our solution was to go all in and help other small businesses in any way we could. We gave away our services gratis, organizing blood drives for the American Red Cross, creating a relaunch strategy for Inner Heat Yoga, and giving free consults to endless small business owners. Anyone who asked in fact.

The pandemic showed that those who were hurting the most were the ones who were helping the most. 

It’s time for the heavies to do something, outside of talking about it and spending a lot of money on themselves under the guise of supplying aid.

This is not an anti-big brand tirade. We support them and they support us. Rather, it’s a request to reconsider their impact on the world and how they’re allocating their budgets and spending the big bucks. Amazon doesn’t need to run another ad — their business will continue to grow with or without marketing. The goliath spent $6.8 billion on advertising in 2020. Where else could those funds have gone? Why…?! I personally remember sitting in my space around April 2020 and an Amazon ad came on bragging about how they will be zero emissions in 2024. I thought it was a joke. The world was literally shutting down and fighting over toilet paper. Some were frantic about how they were going to stay alive, feed their families and live under one roof 24/7 and teach, work, cook, clean and…interestingly they thought that was the appropriate way to allocate resources and the message to spread during the time. It felt exactly like what it was, an out-of-touch, poorly delivered move.

What if some of that money was invested into the small businesses in the 110 cities where Amazon has fulfillment centers? That could have helped save countless local businesses, restaurants, shops, service providers and more. We are here for that commercial.

What if instead of Little Caesars or Pizza Hut spending millions for a Super Bowl commercial, they just sent free pizzas across the country? Or if instead of canceling…that’s right…canceling their Super Bowl ad, Budweiser took that money and covered the bill for how many 6-packs were distributed to the neighborhood from the local package store? That would generate exponentially more buzz than a we-kind-of-have-seen-it-before commercial produced with viral aspirations and buzz. The affinity that would have come from women, men, children, everybody touched by it is priceless viral lubrication that leads to rapid word of mouth. Do you know how many personal conversations would have included those brands in the telling and retelling of how they made the 2022 Super Bowl epic, even in a pandemic. That’s viral material, no? That’s rhetorical. Social is simply an amplification of a real world happening. The good deed and smart marketing move most likely would have also garnered a lot of organic press.

And if you’re wondering where those Super Bowl ad funds were reallocated to?

Interesting. The money – if it indeed happened – went to a good cause. We wonder what amount, if any – you have permission to call us cynics here, we’re o.k. with it in this instance – as we have deep experience in the space. We do wonder if this actually happened. 

Budweiser shifted funds for self-serving purposes. Between the ad buy costs during prime time Super Bowl and the campaign created to dazzle with all eyes on it, from our estimation, Budweiser could have split it. There are a lot of 0’s at the end of that number. Fifty percent to COVID-19 vaccines and the other fifty percent to supporting the communities, individuals and business owners who otherwise would’ve been thriving in Super Bowl times. Even half would have made a notable, positive difference for local businesses and communities and at the same time supported the global situation we’re all currently in together.

Domino’s knows how it’s done. 

While Domino’s is doing great things, our Mazel goes to Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. Each night of the live show, a guest holds down the bar. Since the pandemic, he regularly hosts and highlights small businesses and their owners in the greater Manhattan area and beyond. This is how to use power, celebrity, access and ones’ platform for good. He gushes about his favorite cookie shop and Hampton’s pizza joint rejoicing that they remained through Covid and endorsing their offerings on a highly-watched, trendsetting show. At no cost to him, he is giving small business owners a gift that is truly priceless and, guess what, we couldn’t find the press release on it. He just does it, because it’s the right thing to do and he can.

It’s interesting, we can find the press releases from the companies who are sharing how great they are, yet we can’t seem to find an article about it actually happening or the positive, significant difference their actions made. Hmmm.

We need big businesses as much as we need small ones. After all, they are their own ecosystems that fuel much of the economy. We simply feel that they should do better and stay big and stop using the small guy. It’s tasteless, obvious and self-serving.

Every major grocery store has that wall of gift cards, right?

What if the mega-companies and national chains like Red Lobster, Express, Forever 21 and Chili’s, were replaced with gift cards to local small businesses? In San Francisco, I’d love to leave the Uber and AMC cards behind and instead stock up on fluff funds to places like Earnest, Nest, The Mill, Alamo Draft House Cinema and Baggu.

> Shop local. Buy produce and goodies from your neighborhood farmer’s market and purchase gifts from small businesses in your area.

> Write a positive review. It only takes a minute, and it can make a big difference! Use your personal email if needed.

> Follow and engage with your favorite small businesses on social media. Help them feed the algorithm and grow their brand online!

> Spread the word. Tell your family, friends and colleagues about a small business you love. Referrals go farther than you realize.

> Go direct. If you’re ordering from your favorite restaurant, skip the apps and give them a call, or order directly from their website. They’ll save on fees and don’t have to split profits with a third party. 

> Tip generously. 20% is the new minimum. Give a little extra when you can.

> Contract professional services locally. Whether you need a lawyer or a marketing agency, it’s easy to be tempted by impossibly low rates from online firms. With most things in life, you get what you pay for, and hiring local means better relationships, greater personalization and more fuel for the local economy. 

Can we let you in on a little secret? Hiring a locally owned small business can do BIG things for your marketing. Boutique agencies are nimble, scalable and know how to get things done strategically, flawlessly and with impact. They know your geo intimately because it’s their home. They feed the local community, too, by working with more local vendors to create jobs and keep your coin in your town.

We welcome crafting bespoke campaigns with flawless execution and white glove attention-to-detail that has real, positive impact to brands, communities and the individuals that support it, regardless of what life sends their way.