Starting a business can feel very much like setting off on an adventure with nothing more than a desktop globe and a child’s plastic compass. Our goal, then, was to set the folks at Rasberry Greene off with a pack full of supplies, a step-by-step roadmap, and a guide who had made the trip many times before.
They first approached us when this now-iconic wedding and event venue was nothing more than an idea tugging at their hearts. Our work would set the stage for the area’s most photographed wedding venue, and a story spread like wildfire throughout a long-forgotten community.
Supported by their undying love for their customers and a desire to create a business that would positively effect the lives of others, we worked to develop strategies for what would become an historic brand. As we guided them towards brand-building policies, pricing structures and offerings we were able to see a clear path forward to develop two strong blog content series that would help them reach capacity in their very first year of business.
To continue the trend of growth, we set out to produce a local festival as well as a series of videos that would drive hundreds through the gates year after year. Now, Rasberry Greene continues to grow their business each year through improvements to their offerings and construction of new venue features and event areas – all supported by an audience that is loyal, excited and engaged.
“Our story is wrapped in history and the memories of others; it is fueled by an idea that seems to burn brighter with every passing moment and inspired, even still, by the way things have always been.”
Bethany Byrd for Rasberry Greene
- Growth Strategy
- Product & Pricing Consulting
- Website Strategy
- Content Creation
- Social Media Promotion
- Email Marketing
- Event Production
- Photography
- Video Production
“Don’t hesitate!
Bethany is brilliant and will be totally honest about the direction your business should take. She moves forward with confidence and instills that confidence in her clients, as well.
When the Rasberry Greene dream was still just a spark, Donnie and I were talking through the possibilities with Casey and Laura, our younger son and daughter-in-law. Casey & Laura have been involved in the wedding industry for about 10 years as photographers and we have enjoyed seeing how much they love their work. (Casey is also a high-end web developer and designer.)
The immediate advice we received from Casey about starting RG was, “Before you do anything else, call Bethany. She understands marketing from a completely different direction than most professionals in the business. She will be completely honest with you about the possibility for success. Not only does she know marketing, but she knows the wedding industry as the former top photographer in the region.” Well, Casey’s advice was spot on! We connected with Bethany immediately and spent many hours talking with her about the direction we should take.
We are fully convinced that partnering with Bethany was the single most important step we took. She is brilliant in so many facets of business, from the concepts that she has illustrated so clearly, to her grasp of the people element, to incredible ideas that just seem to appear with ease at the exact moment a direction is needed!
It became clear to us within the first few weeks of working with Bethany that we would have done *everything* wrong! We feel like we have a trusted friend guiding our steps and that we started out in the best way possible to achieve success.
Donnie and I are exceedingly grateful to have her on our Rasberry Greene team!”
– Lauren Zumwalt, Rasberry Greene
Using a Storied Past to Build a Strong Future
Launching a strong new brand depends very heavily on your ability to tell a story that sets you apart in the minds of the community. With Rasberry Greene it seemed as though the story had been crying out to us through bits of conversations, inspirations and memories – begging us to share it with the world.
Over a period of two weeks we released piece after piece of nearly 100 years of town and family history, all leading up to this new place to come deep in the piney woods of Soso, MS – Population 500. During this time we referred to the brand simply as “Historic Place,” and waited to reveal the purpose until the series completed.
The result was over 4,000 readers sharing and commenting; some spending hours on the phone with friends and family discussing the stories of this place.
Even now, the story of Rasberry Greene is some of the most popular content on their website, and continues to inspire the comment we have heard over and over again from new customers – “I chose Rasberry Greene because I want to get married somewhere with a story.”
A Branded Blog Series That Would Spread Like Wildfire
Following a very strong launch, our job then became to support the continued growth of this new brand. We set out to capture the attention of the perfect audience – those who are already making purchase decisions similar to the Rasberry Greene offerings, and who have placed value on some of the same brand missions and values.
The “Mississippi Makers Series” was born. We created a set of criteria to identify those in the wedding industry who shared the Rasberry Greene love for stories and for their customers. We then reached out to the “makers” who best fit this criteria, interviewed them and collected visual collateral; and created a series of blog posts highlighting their love of stories and the aspects of their brand that make them stand out in a crowded wedding marketplace.
Each featured vendor then shared their story with their own audiences, and the Rasberry Greene audience grew substantially as a result. The new followers were engaged, and interested in the content Rasberry Greene shared because the Mississippi Makers series was created just for people like them.
The Mississippi Makers series has set Rasberry Greene apart in a very crowded industry, has helped them to build strong relationships with similar businesses, and has placed their brand in a place of loving leadership within the Mississippi wedding world.
The Cotton Gin Market at Rasberry Greene
What better way to share the experience of this historic place with locals and tourists alike, than to invite them through the gates for a day of family fun, art, vintage and antique goods, and great Mississippi music?
We worked with the folks at Rasberry Greene to create the concept for the Cotton Gin Market, developed the brand and marketing, and produced the festival itself in 2016. The festival continues to grow in both attendance and size year after year.
Telling A Visual Story
To further support the growth of the Rasberry Greene brand, we created a series of videos over a period of 12 months. The videos showcase the testimonials of their customers, a new festival for south Mississippi, and soon – the detailed history of this storied place.
By showing the faces of some of their first wedding clients as they discuss their decision to choose Rasberry Greene, their wedding day experiences and the reasons they continue to refer the brand – we have helped many others make a confident purchase decision that continues to fill the calendar each year.
Next, we created a video to allow viewers to experience a day at the Cotton Gin Market at Rasberry Greene. This video serves to increase attendance as well as to give potential vendors, sponsors and musical talent a feel of the event and to inspire them to participate each year.
