In an exciting interview, NorthAmericaTalk’s CEO/Founder, Dan Jones, captures the essence of what a strong, relevant brand looks like in the face of uncertainty and adversity:
Jacob Luplow, NorthAmericaTalk, VP Sales: Well, I’ve got to say, times sure have been interesting. I’m excited about this interview, so let’s just jump right in.
NorthAmericaTalk has navigated the pandemic landscape without sustaining any injury to brand growth or outreach: How has our inherent agility and adaptability played a role in this?
Dan Jones, NorthAmericaTalk, CEO/Founder: The @Talk platform is a digital first media company, and thus the foundation of our organization is built on technology that allows our teams to communicate in a distributed fashion.
The pandemic did not directly impact our day-to-day operations. What we did see, however, was the need to be agile and evolve our service to be ‘short-term focused’ community messaging campaigns.
Our @Talk model is forever pliable: it evolves based on demand and its infrastructure relentlessly conforms to this demand. It can’t break—because it forms a symbiosis with its readers, its marketers, and its Community Content Creators.
Luplow: How has NorthAmericaTalk tailored its operations to uplift and connect with the community during a troubling time?
Jones: Since our inception, and over the last decade of building brand trust, we have worked hard to create and share content that is truly the voices of the communities we serve.
With that being said, during the pandemic, we have worked hard to share important COVID related information, as well as positive community stories of the efforts our neighbors and community members are putting forward to see each other through this.
They say it takes a village to raise a child and that very well could be the single greatest metaphor for what we have seen, through the lens of a media company, happening in our communities during this unprecedented time. So many businesses, organizations, and community members coming together to uplift and connect—and it’s an honor that the @Talk platforms can serve in this effort.
Luplow: How has NorthAmericaTalk leveraged its brand to connect with and deliver solutions to businesses needing to connect to the community more than ever?
Jones: Since the start of the pandemic, we have seen web-traffic increases that have allowed our clients more reach into the communities we serve.
Now that being said, this goes back to how the @Talk model is pliable and evolves based on demand—based on current events, based on what our readers need, what our businesses need. It’s really quite spectacular and humbling to see a media model that truly touches the entire ecosystem of our local economy.
Luplow: What does the future look like for NorthAmericaTalk?
Jones: The future is bright for NorthAmericaTalk: We have amazing clients that continue to value our services, thus creating an environment that as the economy recovers, the @Talk Community Social Networks are ready for fast growth and expansion.
Luplow: People who know you well would consider you not only an entrepreneur and business executive, but also a thought leader, so I’m curious to know: What does Thurston County, as a whole, need to do in order to come out of this stronger than ever? And how does NorthAmericaTalk, and specifically our local @Talk platform ThurstonTalk, fit into this puzzle?
Jones: That’s a good question and I think Thurston County needs to continue doing what it has been doing: it has been wonderful to see groups coming together to put in place support systems for our non-profit, business, and childcare sectors.
As for NorthAmericaTalk and our local @Talk platform ThurstonTalk, we have been working to share stories about the community creating local connections and giving support for its neighbors. And we will continue to be the trusted, local media brand that our readers and business partners need to build local, community connection.
About NorthAmericaTalk
NorthAmericaTalk is a digital media company building and operating Community Social Networks™ . Through our proprietary technology and sales tools, we are disrupting the media landscape, while building a trusted, valuable, local media brand. Today, our media organizations cover an audience of 5,100,000 neighbors in Washington and Oregon State. Our fast-growing, community focused media companies span the Pacific Northwest. We count hundreds of marketers as long-term customers that use our platform to reach their target market, grow their brand, and measure results.