The Buzz About Our Founder
Bethany Siegler, UniqueThink's founder and speaker/instructor/consultant, is quite familiar with creating a buzz for her clients. She has had the fortune of working with solopreneurs and small businesses, health and wellness professionals, educational and inspirational non-profits, authors and musical artists… every day people growing their audiences.
Indelible Ink
In 1991, she co-founded an entertainment-based publication, Boulder Beat! The focus was to highlight the amazing regional talent in the Boulder, Colorado market. At this time, bands like Big Head Todd & the Monsters and The Samples were becoming national recording artists. Bethany created new outlets to help the multitude of talented unsigned musicians find an avenue of exposure to larger audiences.
During this time, she also interviewed major label artists, including the then unknown Sheryl Crow. Six months later, Sheryl would be selling out venues across the country.
Entertaining Causes
International Strategic Marketing (ISM) , a full-service marketing firm out of Longmont, Colorado, heard about Bethany and offered her the experience of working on their team.
ISM often tied in international businesses with regionally based non-profit and charity organizations like the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Canine Companions, and others.
ISM's clients included: SONY Electronics, JVC, Budweiser, Capitol Recording's musical artists Beach Boys, Beastie Boys, Megadeth, Bonnie Raitt, George Clinton, Atlantic recording artist Led Zeppelin, and A&M’s Bryan Adams.
Projects like Budweiser's Get Bud Get Music campaign tied-in major label musicians, which aligned with Bethany's past. Yet her first project was the launch of DSS: Digital Satellite Systems in ‘95/’96.
Tying in with the NFL and following televised Monday Night Football introduced the consumer to a then-new device which offered more game coverage. In each market, live remote radio broadcasts at major retail chains allowed fans to meet legendary football players while getting introduced to DSS: Digital Satellite Systems.
Giveaways on air and at retail events, concluded with a national sweepstakes. The grand prize winner received a trip to New Orleans for the 1997 Super Bowl.
My favorite part of this multi-tiered campaign was tying in the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. I appreciated the fact that it brought attention to the great work of local chapters within a marketplace.”
Finding The Heart
When Bethany worked with Sunrise Medical (a medical device company who manufactures the Quickie Wheelchair) she felt it was important to focus attention on the world-class athletes whose greatest professional achievements were performed from their wheelchairs.
This amazing group of individuals are ideal role models for the community of people who share their life with Sunrise’s product line. Highlighting the success of a wheelchair sports figure offers the end-users an opportunity to identify with an active lifestyle on their terms.
Like a good running shoe, not everyone who uses the product will race competitively, but positive role models can open a world to define ones own dreams.”
Defining Her Dreams
Bethany has lived many of her professional dreams, from being involved with cutting edge wellness products like The Journey to Wild Divine to having her own music magazine (Boulder Beat!).
A long-time dream was realized when she became the Marketing Director for the independent record label What Are Records? (aka W.A.R.?) whose roster included:
Frank Black, formerly of the Pixies; David Wilcox; Maceo Parker; Tim Finn; Glenn Tilbrook, formerly of Squeeze; Primitive Radio Gods; Stephen Lynch; and Lloyd Cole.
It was in this position that she would take a critical moment and turn it into a prosperous turning point.
We received a call that Frank Black (on tour for his solo CD project “Dog In the Sand”) had his whole trailer of musical equipment stolen.
Though we hadn't thought of it before, we now found an irony in the fact it was the morning of Friday the 13th, the night he was to play a venue called the Black Cat in Washington D.C.
Without the band's instruments, most of our staff began contemplating cancellation of the entire tour, but to me it was a no-brainer. I wanted to help them get their instruments back and continue doing what they love, playing music.”
Bethany's strategy was to call every TV, radio station and publication in the Pennsylvania region (where the equipment was stolen) to get the news out, possibly to get a lead on who stole the equipment.
She knew they didn't have much time, so she also used the Internet, emailing the 5 top fan sites and asking them to post information about the theft, along with the company's request for leads.
At the same time, she tried to see if they could find a way to keep the tour going by calling guitar manufactures and regional music retailers.
The energy in the office was heightened as the whole staff began to brainstorm and act on the larger possibilities.” She recalls, “We felt like we were really making a difference and affectionately called the day “Black Friday.”
Though the equipment was not recovered, the press welcomed the story with open arms; everything from the local Pennsylvania TV stations to MTV News ran stories. The efforts put Black’s CD, “Dogs in the Sand“, and the band’s tour into the spot light for months. In the end, “Dog in the Sand” outsold his previous solo projects and the press continued to take a renewed interest in Frank Black.
A Unique Way of Thinking
In 2005, Bethany decided to make a go at it with her own marketing consulting firm, UniqueThink (formerly BEthink•BethINK).
My goal is to continue to work on campaigns that make a constructive difference in people’s lives. Seeing a project or company grow as we build their online presence, is inspiring.”
Since UniqueThink became Bethany's full-time professional passion over a decade ago, she has created responsive and conscientious campaigns making a difference in music, game development, health and wellness, Internet, publishing and more…
Her expansive marketing knowledge, combined with her ever-increasing skill set, helps you think unique about your project.
Is UniqueThink Right for You?
We want to make sure it's a good fit, too, so Bethany is available for a free 20 minute consultation!
Bethany can usually be found in conversations about making your online presence stronger – using fun tools like WordPress and strategies such as Effective ways to use Email Marketing.
