FLINT MI – Like many other small businesses, Dan Bennett and his team at Cell Core Creative have experienced a slow down due to Michigan’s “stay at home” order that was issued in the wake of COVID-19 (coronavirus) up spikes in the state.
Bennett, founder of Cell Core Creative and a Flint native, says he and his team suddenly had a lot of time on their hands due to the closings and they wanted to do something to give back to the community. Ideas were tossed around and they finally settled on the “1 Minute Media Initiative”, in which they will offer free professional video services to local businesses struggling with financial setbacks during the COVID-19 outbreak.
“1 Minute Media is a way for people to create their own video marketing that’s really good,” Bennett says, “but they’re not to a point yet where they can afford to hire a company like ours outright yet.”
Bennett says that they have been working on the 1 Minute Media Initiative for some time as a way to help business owners create their own professional video content. Watching many of his neighbors have to close their doors, because of the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent stay at home order, prompted him to launch the service early and to offer it for free.
“Because it was already being built here in our offices here in Flint, while we were doing client work and all that other kind of stuff too, when it came time to see how we were going to pivot if I was going to be able to keep my staff… we had a meeting.” Bennett said.
Bennett says that for the time being, he will keep his staff on parttime until they see what is happening. Fortunately, they can work from home, though Bennett does still head to the office where his gear is located. The office is downtown Flint in the Ferris wheel building.
“Because we have these capabilities, it’s more so about utilizing their time to help others instead of just sitting around, you know, waiting,” Bennett said.
The video service will be offered to all kinds of businesses, from restaurants shifting to takeout orders only to shops promoting their online stores. Bennett and his team say they will donate their time and expertise to local businesses in need of conveying their message to the right audience.
“Because we don’t have a lot of those barriers, I was just like, you know what, let’s do whatever capacity we have. Let’s get the word out that we can actually help people by bringing our little 1 Minute Media rig, which is just a light, a microphone and a camera on a stand, and show up at their place and shoot a quick video.” Bennett said.
“The cool thing is we have all these capabilities here that normally you’d have to pay for. So, I could go on the website, design a landing page, shoot the video, put all the resources in one spot, and get it out to people, all in one day.”
To submit your business to Cell Core Creative, email them at 1MM@CellCoreCreative.com. Be sure to include the name of your business, your location, the struggles you’re facing and what you want to convey to your audience.
For more information about Cell Core Creative and the 1 Minute Media Initiative, visit their website here.