In March 2020, the coronavirus devastated many small businesses, leaving them with no solutions in sight.
“COVID-19 negatively impacted my business immediately,” says Angela D. Mack founder and CEO of Axiom Blue Marketing. “We couldn’t produce live events so the experiential unit of our agency suffered. On the brand side, our clients weren’t willing to commit dollars without knowing the potential damage caused by the pandemic.”
Ms. Mack, a Howard University graduate, decided to dedicate the company resources to the community. “My team jumped in immediately by volunteering to develop organizational strategy, and COVID-19 safety messages for Black and Brown communities,” she disclosed.
The Mayor of Springfield, Massachusetts, Domenic J. Sarno and his COVID-19 task force championed Axiom Blue’s efforts. The task force, Mayor Sarno and the commissioner of health and human services, Helen R. Caulton-Harris, Angela and Axiom Blue’s director of digital strategy, Fernanda Meier, helped make sure communities of color had access to the vaccine along with credible facts.
“When the vaccine was rolled out, it was important to the Mayor and commissioner that every neighborhood had access to safe vaccinations. Our strategy grew to include recognizing that communities of color have valid reasons for not trusting the medical community. Instead of ignoring that history, we used marketing communication as a means to assure underserved populations that the COVID-19 vaccine was safe and would save lives.”
As the nation adapts to a new normal, Axiom Blue will produce two activations in the next five months — producer Bryan-Michael Cox’s annual Grammy brunch and New England Noir — a Black wine festival.
New England Noir will be held in collaboration with Vikter Duplaix’s Kiss n Grind and the Hampshire County Regional Tourism Council.
“We’ve completely changed the way that we approach experiential marketing. Our top priority is public health, which is why New England Noir will take place at Glendale Ridge, a lovely vineyard with acres of land. This will allow our guests to practice social distancing while they enjoy wine and good music, in a beautiful landscape. We’ll also have COVID-19 testing on site.”
Mack restructured Axiom Blue’s business model by offering several Black businesses marketing services, free of charge.
“We really want to help young entrepreneurs and longstanding Black businesses,” she offered. “For example, our team is working with one of our colleagues, Taurean Bethea and his project, Springfield Pride Parade. We’re in this together, and it’s going to take a lot of sacrifice to rebuild the community, and sometimes that means committing free resources, whether it’s marketing services or advice.”
For tickets and information about New England Noir x Kiss n Grind, please visit www.thenewenglandnoir.com.
For more information about Axiom Blue Marketing please visit www.axiomblue.com.
