Основатель агентства Emerge Marketing Solutions отметила 10-летие работы с малыми городами Иллинойса

For a decade, Shelly Greving has helped small, rural communities in Iowa showcase their stories through the power of marketing. Greving, the founder of Emerge Marketing Solutions, is celebrating alongside the rest of her employee’s 10-year anniversary. Based in Manning, the business helped businesses, organizations and nonprofits grow by working with their digital marketing, web development, communication and more. Growing up, Greving’s family was heavily involved in their respective community. Becoming older, her desire to give back stayed with her, especially to others in small, rural communities. “I wanted to be able to help those communities, organizations, small businesses really understand the true gems that they have to offer this world, and how to tell that story better,” Greving said. Through most of her career, Greving worked in graphic design. After earning her MBA from Iowa State University, Greving moved around the state for different jobs. When her family was preparing to move to Manning, Greving wasn’t sure what to do for work, as creative jobs weren’t the norm in rural Iowa at the time. Turning hesitation to determination, Greving started her own marketing business. From there, Emerge Marketing Solutions was officially launched on Aug. 25, 2016. Because of her previous jobs, Greving had maintained connections across the state, helping her go a step further. “I believe in rural Iowa, I believe in my community, and I want to make a difference for those not just in Manning, but across our state,” Greving said. “With that, I started with a marketing plan and strategic plan, and really I started by just saying, ‘Okay, I can do this, do what I do best and use the relationships that I had already had, and really just start serving those who needed support.’” Starting off, Greving ran her business from her home, which wasn’t common for businesses like Emerge Marketing Solutions at the time. Because she didn’t have a strong internet connection back then, Greving would work out of different buildings in Manning and Audubon. One of her first clients was Coon Rapids, helping with marketing strategies before the city became a Main Street community. While she no longer officially serves the city anymore, Greving is proud the city now has a strong marketing plan for the community. “To me, that’s a success,” Greving said. “I really believe in giving our clients the tools they need to be successful. If that’s how they want to go about it, if they want our ongoing support, we’re happy to do that, but if I can help a business, a new business especially, or an organization, be self-sustainable and not need our support, then I have done our job in helping them believe in themselves and have the tools they need to succeed.” Emerge Marketing Solutions not only works with clients in Iowa, but across the country. In fact, another success story for Greving was their partnership with Indiana State University, producing a coffee table book for the university. “We can do our work from rural Iowa, and that I think is the most pivotal thing that I’m proud of for Emerge is that we kind of changed what the industry standard looked like for having a creative business in rural Iowa,” Greving said. “One, it wasn’t very popular. Two, we’re allowing and encouraging our team members to work from home, to be involved in their community, and to have a successful career in the creative world right here in rural Iowa.” Greving ran the operation herself for the first few years. Now, including Greving, Emerge Marketing Solutions has seven employees who live all over the state. Five years ago, one of the most notable projects from Emerge Marketing Solutions was Evolution of the Heartland, an online resource which encourages travelers to wander through rural Iowa. Greving said initiative started as a way to bring others into rural Iowa and go through an immersive experience. “At that time, the state wasn’t necessarily leading with our rural communities; they were leading with some of our top 10 largest cities,” Greving said. “Since that time, you have seen the storytelling of the state of Iowa really leaning into our rural communities, so, although we’ve continued to evolve Evolution of the Heartland, I think our biggest success has been to help others realize that they can tell this story too, and be really proud of our our rural roots.” As her business continues to grow, Greving expressed confidence in the future leadership of the small communities she works with, saying she hopes they’ll help continue rural Iowa to thrive. “I realize there’s other generations coming after us, they really care about our rural communities and have a vision of what the next steps for our communities look like,” Greving said. “The most successful communities and organizations are those who not just rest on their laurels, but are looking at how we can entice and engage the next generation of leadership.”