Written by: Brennan Hallock
Brennan Hallock is a communications specialist for the Nebraska Department of Economic Development.
We are all seeing and experiencing how much AI impacts our workplace and the world around us. It continues to replace tasks that were once routine in our everyday lives. But there is one thing I do not see it replacing: coffee.
For me, coffee is a connecting point. It is a symbol of people sitting down and talking; people coming together and creating community.
Nebraska is built on community, and community is built through relationships. Many of the small towns I travel to have very few businesses, but they have a coffeeshop, a bakery, or another small business where people come together and talk.
For marketers, those conversations are invaluable. Meeting people to have a conversation is when a connection is formed that will grow your marketing career. And nearly every time I sit down to talk with someone for my work—whether at a coffeeshop, at their business, or just a phone conversation—the value of the Nebraska community enters the conversation.
The stories of the state
This shouldn’t be a surprise to those who live in Nebraska, but it is sometimes hard to explain to those who haven’t experienced it. That’s why it’s important to tell stories about the community we live in.
And the people of Nebraska have a lot of incredible stories to tell.
There is a legend of a circus carrying a baby elephant up the narrow theatre staircase in Friend. There is the story of the first Native American to become a doctor, and the restoration of the hospital she built in Walthill. There are rural veterinarians in Hartington who are also National Geographic TV stars (but cannot say enough about how great life is in rural Nebraska).
There is a teenager who acted on her dream of buying the local popcorn business in her hometown of York. There is a world traveler who decided Oxford was the right place to build a travel technology business. There is a couple living in Colombia who decided to move to Dannebrog when they heard the bakery in her hometown was going to be put up for sale.
These stories are found through connections made in the local community. These connections are also how marketing moves from an idea to a conversation to an action. And the marketing industry is built around human action.
A sold-out event with no advertising
I recently experienced this when I attended a car race in the small Sandhills village of Arnold (pop. 591). I knew nothing about this open road race until a friend told me about the event. She lives in Arnold, and is one of the hundreds of volunteers involved in the yearly Sandhills Open Road Challenge. This race has been sold out on the first day of registration for over 20 years—without advertising.
I worked with my friend a few years ago redesigning a website. At the time I knew nothing about the event. We focused on completing the project, but stayed connected afterward. When she found out that part of my work is telling stories about the economic development taking place throughout Nebraska, she told me about the event and its impact on the local community. She also connected me with the people who started the race 26 years ago.
This race brings about 160 drivers and their teams to the Sandhills from all across the U.S. Arnold does not have space to host the racers in local motel rooms. Instead, the community opens its homes for the travelers to stay with them. This is the unique community that exists in Nebraska.
When I attended, they let me ride along with one of the racers in the shootout event. While we waited in line with the other race cars, the driver told me he has traveled from his home in San Francisco to this race for the past 20 years and stayed with the same family every year. These people became friends. They became community. It has even convinced racers to make Arnold their home.
This is marketing. It does not begin by creating a unique advertising campaign. It starts by having a conversation. That conversation may lead to a lifelong connection, an interesting story, or your next marketing campaign. But it starts with coffee.
These stories were found through sitting down with people, talking to them about their lives, and learning about their experiences. Scrolling a social media feed or having a conversation with AI can be useful, but it does not create the personal connections necessary for effective marketing.
Reach out, ask to grab a coffee with a stranger, and talk to them about their life. It is amazing what you will hear!