Every December, we send out a gift to thank our clients, stretch our creativity, and capture the zeitgeist. We often try to mix humor with pointed observations of the marketing and communications industry. This has included everything from a Binge TV Guide to a Vacation in a Bucket. This year was different.
For over 20 years, Frank. Strategic Marketing has called Historic Ellicott City home. A quaint mill town founded in 1772 and home to the first train station in the country, the community is a mosaic of history, artistic expression, nature, and Americana.
On the night of July 30, 2016, six inches of rain fell within two hours, causing a devastating flood that killed two people, gutted buildings, ripped away parts of Main Street, and swept cars into the Patapsco River. While our agency was spared, many of our friends and fellow businesses were not as fortunate. Even now, five months later, buildings along Main Street remain boarded up, storefronts closed, foot traffic sparse, and the town’s future uncertain.
This holiday season, we’ve focused our creative energy on helping to rebuild Ellicott City one nail at a time. Engraved railroad spikes fashioned into bottle openers and housed in custom die cut, laser-etched honeycomb packaging, have been designed to commemorate the restoration efforts of 2016 that will continue well into the new year. For each spike sent, we have contributed to the Ellicott City Partnership’s flood recovery fund (ecpartnership.org).
While the spike represents the town’s rich history, the bottle-opening feature represents the celebration of triumph over adversity. As 2016 draws to a close, we intend to crack open a beverage and raise a glass to the challenges of 2016 that have been met with determination and creativity.
Cheers from everyone at Frank.
