Cell Core Creative announces marketing initiative for struggling local businesses

FLINT, Michigan—Dan Bennett, 40, watched various Flint businesses temporarily suspend operations due to Covid-19 response. He and others at his workplace felt something had to be done to assist struggling businesses in need.

Through their 1 Minute Media platform, Cell Core Creative is offering digital marketing resource videos in a Facebook group thatDan Bennett, founder of Cell Core Creative. will educate businesses on how to market themselves effectively to a wider audience. This digital release is slated for April 15.

Until then, to those who qualify, Bennett plans to actively engage business owners in-person to create engaging one-minute video pieces for free.

“In the meantime, we want to help as many small, local businesses as possible during this difficult time,” said Bennett in a promotional video announcing the 1 Minute Media Initiative.

Monday, March 23, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer elevated social distancing recommendations by announcing a three-week “Stay at Home” order. Though these precautions are necessary for the greater good and health of everyone, they have led many businesses to lay off workers, and close their doors completely. Loss of revenue and wages is enough to cause any small and local businesses to make tough choices, often leaving fewer resources to invest in marketing.

“Our first thought to the response to this COVID-19 thing is to be a leader in a time where people need leadership. And then we thought, what can we do? Well, what we already do is help businesses tell really effective stories,” said Bennett. “So maybe, because we have had a slowdown of our own, we can create not just daily content like we normally do, but we could make it all tips and tricks and techniques and tools for digital marketing.”

To Bennett, developing and telling an engaging story with a personal edge takes precedence over any other standard procedure usually involved in content creation for brands and businesses.

“Any marketing agency could come along and make you louder, and any advertising agency could come along and dress you up and put you in front of people,” said Bennett. “But what we do is actually take a minute to make sure that you’re telling highly effective stories, and targeting an audience that actually cares about what you offer whether its a service or a good.”

It's a quick and simple operation, said Bennett. Once requested, he will bring professional equipment and two decades worth of videography experience to clients directly. Once the footage is taken, a final edited video should have an average turnaround time of 24 to 48 hours.

“It’s only because of the way we’re doing this that we could go and edit it, just take out the ‘um's’ and ‘and’s’, cut around it, and give it back to you,” said Bennett. “Because we’re not doing any second angles, no B-roll … we’re just getting in there, getting you in front of the camera, getting your message out to your people, and high-fiving you.”