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Local Marketing Agency Explains Why They’re In Charleston

Feature Image Source: FB / Push Digital

For the seventh consecutive year, Charleston, S.C.is the number one city in the entire country.

With a booming population, beautiful scenery and beaches, a growing tech scene, and one of the best culinary scenes in the world, it’s no surprise that the Holy City has found itself atop of Travel + Leisure magazine’s Best United States Cities list once again.

The charm of the city is something locals have known all along and unsuccessfully tried to keep a secret from the rest of the world.

As the city continues to grow and expand, it’s found itself as a hotbed for digital and creative professionals in the Southeast with unprecedented growth in the media, web/digital, and graphic design industries, rivaling big cities like Charlotte, Atlanta, and New York. This growth has given rise to new, niche marketing and public relations firms that operate outside of traditional marketing/PR centers.

It was for these reasons that one firm, Push Digital, decided to move their headquarters to Charleston. Founded in Columbia as a political consulting and advertising firm, Push Digital saw the extraordinary growth rate of Charleston and officially moved their headquarters in 2015.

Perhaps because of the incredible scenery, the lower cost of living, or just good ole Southern culture, Charleston’s rise in the marketing and media space means big brands no longer have to pay big city prices for advertising and marketing. Companies of all sizes are beginning to see this trend and leaving the big cities for Charleston.

After expanding to Charleston, Push Digital had brands knocking on their doors and since then the firm has gone on to work with several Fortune 500 clients including SeaWorld, HSN, and Kmart; national nonprofit organizations such as Stop Soldier Suicide; and many other brands.

The firm still continues its work in political campaigns and advocacy, helping several U.S. Congress members get elected and even running a presidential campaign for Marco Rubio during the 2016 election.

A key factor in their success?

Founder and CEO, Wesley Donehue says it’s because “thousands of young, energetic, hardworking, and creative people come to Charleston, they want to live here because this place is so awesome, which means we get, and you get, to work with the cream of the crop.”

Because of Charleston’s popularity with creatives and ability to attract artistic talent, Push Digital is able to compete with the “big city” firms who have traditionally dominated the marketing space – at a lower price point. These two factors, combined with Wesley Donehue and his team’s experience in creating messaging that resonates for big brands, have led the once-small firm’s growth into one of the premier, digitally-integrated marketing firms in the country.

We wouldn’t be surprised to see this firm continue to grow and continue to take over market share from the larger, slower and more expensive NYC, Chicago, and L.A. agencies.

What do you think is the next big industry for Charleston?

News

Ten Manatees Stranded In The Cooper River Rescued By Multiple Organizations

Featured Image Credit: SeaWorld Orlando

A team of SeaWorld rescuers and other organizations recently banded together right here in Charleston, South Carolina to help save a group of ten wayward manatees. The stranded manatees were spotted in the Cooper River where there was an outflow area of warmer water.

Typically, manatees move south when the water turns colder, typically below 68 degrees. As a result of the rapidly dropping water temperature, the group was stuck in this cold outflow area instead of continuing south. There was also a limited food source for the manatees, and if they remained isolated, they may not have survived.

SeaWorld, Sea to Shore Alliance, Manatee Rescue & Rehabilitation Partnership (MRP) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) staff and local businesses monitored the manatees’ condition and behavior. Jon Peterson, SeaWorld’s rescue manager, coordinated a multi-agency team to get the job done. The rescue took place over a period of three days on November 28-30 and included the rescue of eight male and two female wayward manatees.

Image Credit: SeaWorld Orlando

Each individual manatee was provided with an immediate health assessment by a crew of veterinarians from Jacksonville Zoo, SeaWorld, and UF. After, manatees were transported south to the Jacksonville Zoo for more health evaluations. Nine of the ten manatees were able to be released back to warmer water. FWC would perform the transportation of manatees to be released in Brevard County, FL. The Sea to Shore Alliance tagged five of the manatees in order to monitor their activity for their Atlantic Coast manatee study.

One lone manatee was demonstrating signs of mild cold stress. She was unable to be released and is now in critical care at the Jacksonville Zoo. She is being supervised and tended to there with the support of SeaWorld and Lowry Park Zoo. This is Jacksonville Zoo’s first critical care manatee at their new facility. The good news is, they reported that the manatee is doing well!

Image Credit: SeaWorld Orlando

Thanks to all of these organizations for banding together to help save these Charleston sea cows!

Featured

One Of 2017’s Best Ads Came From A Charleston Agency – Take That New York

Featured Image Credit: Screenshot

Charleston is known for some killer creative types and the cool creative agencies that hire them.

But one Charleston-based digital ad agency, in particular, is taking their talents far beyond the state lines of South Carolina, and it’s a company you’ve probably never heard of before.

Well, you might have heard of Push, but it’s probably because they are one of South Carolina’s most prominent political and issue advocacy consulting agencies. Or because it’s owner, Wesley Donehue, is a partner at Frothy Beard Brewing. Ever been to Frothy Beard and seen all those people with computers? That’s the Push team. As Frank Ocean once said, “work hard in silence, let your success be your noise.”

What you may not have known, is that for the last couple years, Push has been shifting from political and issue advocacy to crisis communications and brand reputation marketing. With the rise of digital media, Push has been working to attract some of the biggest national brands to its home right here in Charleston.

SeaWorld’s latest ad, created from start to finish by Push Digital, has been ranked the top “Breakthrough Ad of Q3 for 2017” by Ace Metrix. According to Ace Metrix, the ad has performed better across all metrics than any other travel ad in SeaWorld’s database (dating back to 2010).

Woah.

From curing ill, injured and orphaned animals to saving the environment, SeaWorld shares how they want to change the world with their new mission in this ad. Every single time you visit one of SeaWorld’s parks, you are contributing to that mission. The ad itself takes you on a visual journey with breathtaking footage of the ocean, sea creatures, animal rescues, releases and so much more.

When you think of advertising, you think Madison Avenue, New York. But Push Digital is proving that Charleston is becoming a creative center of the South. Just watch the ad they created that took our breath away, and you’ll see why.

Ace Metrix went on to say, “After dealing with a tarnished reputation in recent years, SeaWorld successfully demonstrated to most viewers that they are committed to making a positive impact on this planet. ‘From Park to Planet’ outperformed advertising norms across all user groups.”

Push Digital, located in West Ashley adjacent to Frothy Beard Brewing, started in 2007 by a couple of guys wanting to make their mark in the world. As Push Digital’s Founder and CEO, Donehue is constantly preaching about “Positive Vibes” and “Pushing People To Action” on their social media accounts. On any given day, when they aren’t kicking some serious a** in the office, you can find them next door sipping a beer in the brewery brainstorming ideas for a new campaign.

They’re obviously doing something right, here in the Holy City.

SeaWorld is definitely one of Push Digital’s biggest clients on the roster, right up there with Marco Rubio and Airlines for America.

We’re proud to call Push Digital one of our own, and we can’t wait to see them continue to climb the ladder of success in the coming years.