Why We Belong to Dane Buy Local
What COVID-19 Tells Us About Building A Sustainable Local Economy
Doing Work That Means Something
When I joined Dirigible as the team’s copywriter last year, I distinctly remember Kindra sitting everyone down during my onboarding meeting and explaining how she and Sam started Dirigible Studio because they wanted to work with clients that were doing something important, whose mission we believed in. The businesses we work with are not just clients to us, she said—we’ve chosen to work with them because what we do for them is meaningful and important. Our work for one client has helped them pay their mortgage and rise to the middle class. For others, it has allowed their dream project to become a viable reality in the marketplace.
As I began writing for these clients, I quickly learned how much I loved the process of telling their stories. Spending the day helping clients communicate effectively to their customers—it’s always satisfying work. But it was even more satisfying when I would see signposts of these same clients’ businesses as I drove home from work—passing one of Steve Brown Apartments’ buildings, watching a TDS Custom Construction van pulling out from the driveway of a home they were remodeling, picking up a gift or a prescription at Forward Pharmacy. Joining Dirigible has given me a sense of greater connection with the place I’ve been living.
Putting Our Money Where Our Mouth is
For a marketing/web design firm, the value of keeping it local may seem less evident at first glance. Sure, we’re not a brick-and-mortar store, and you could argue that a lot of our work could be done remotely, if need be. But building a vibrant local economy is just as critical for a company like ours. Our clients are local—so local that when a power substation goes out they all lose power at the same time. So there are very tangible, material reasons why we’re invested in building a strong, resilient local economy.
Cultivating the unique character of the Madison area is a core value for many clients, and many of them are themselves members of Dane Buy Local. TDS Custom Construction, for instance, has long been a sponsor of Madison’s many summer festivals, and a supporter of the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center and the Goodman Community Center. For many of our clients, the local economy is how they do business—the customers they serve are local, and the services they rely on are local, too. We want to be in a position to speak convincingly to their interests and concerns.
At Dirigible Studio, we believe in local first and as a result of COVID-19, have ended our reliance on Amazon for office supplies and furniture. We feel that Amazon isn’t treating its workers with the respect and safety they deserve. So, we decided it’s time to put our money where our mouth is, and work with companies that have a track record of bringing money back into the local community and supporting the wellbeing of its members, rather than pulling away from those valuable assets.
When local consumers understand these dynamics and start patronizing the businesses in their own communities, the result is that as consumers and community members, we end up building a more self-reliant, resilient economy in our own backyards. Our investment yields what Dane Buy Local describes as a “sustainable, local economy in vibrant communities that residents are proud to call home.”