Greetings!

April showers are said to bring May flowers...at least that's what we're banking on after a particularly cold and rainy spring in the Northeast thus far. Luckily for me, a few biz trips have brought me to sunnier climes in Arizona, Nevada, and Florida over the past few months, where not only has my early pre-season tan garnered compliments (thank you very much) but has also enabled me to fully enjoy the return of Steak 'n Shake's chicken fingers with my fave side of Frisco that we unfortunately can't get up here in these parts.

Spring flowers aren't the only things blossoming of late; below is some news from the marlo marketing front around the launch of two new divisions announced earlier this month: Outsourced Hospitality Marketing and Outsourced Senior Living Marketing. A long time coming, these new ventures are our commitment to always evolving that helped secure a spot for me on Boston magazine's list of the 150 Most Influential Bostonians. The other thing that helped land that spot was this very newsletter, that has gone out nearly every month since January of 2005. Am humbled for the recognition, grateful for my team that allows our agency to rise to the occasion every day, and thankful for the intrinsic motivation I've had my entire life to do things the right way that drives me to ensure that delivering ROI is a must for anyone we choose to work with.

With gratitude,
steak 'n shake
You crave their iconic hand-crafted Steakburgers. You dream of their legendary milkshakes. And now you're in for a cluckin' good time with the return of Steak 'n Shake's Chicken Fingers. You diehard fans asked -- via nonstop messages, phone calls, even a Change.org petition (yup, that happened!) -- and ye shall receive! Enjoy these treasured tasty tidbits at all Steak 'n Shake locations served alongside their sauce-y sidekicks: buffalo, BBQ, Frisco, ranch, and honey mustard. Shake a tail feather and get yours pronto.

Insider tip: skip the line and have your much-deserved order waiting for you when you order ahead on the Steak 'n Shake Rewards app. PLUS get a free milkshake just for signing up. Consider this an amends from Steak 'n Shake for taking away such a beloved treat in the first place... no harm, no fowl, though, right?!

calise bakery
Spring has officially sprung and with it prep for everyone's fave seasonal celebration... National Picnic Day on April 29th, of course! For us, that means stocking up on all the Calise Bakery goodies we can get our hands on. Whether serving hearty Scala Bread for some serious sandies or having pillowy Brioche Hamburger Rolls on hand for that BBQ hankering, a Calise spread o' bread will ensure that all your picnics rise to the occasion.

With their products in grocery retailers up and down the East Coast, this 100+-year-old Rhode Island bakery is at once an old pro *and* cutting-edge trendsetter of the bread biz rolled into one. Case in point: their decision to ditch sesame seeds way before they were added to the FDA's allergen list this year. One of the only major regional bakeries to be free of all nuts, dairy, eggs, and sesame, Calise is a legit member of the allergy avant-garde, making life a picnic for everyone regardless of food sensitivities. After all, butter safe than sorry -- bun intended!

ohm & oslm
Is there anyone who doesn't know Darwin's famous theory of evolution? It's surprising, then, that so many don't take it to heart in either their professional or personal lives. We, on the other, have been evolving and innovating at marlo marketing since the day we opened our doors on April 1, 2004 and, 19 years later, we've advanced into an entirely different kind of company with the official launch this month of two new divisions: Outsourced Hospitality Marketing and Outsourced Senior Living Marketing.

This latest endeavor can be traced back to 2016, when the CEO of a 27-unit casual dining Mexican concept called to hire us to replace his entire internal marketing team. It was an unusual request for an agency, but we rose to the challenge, replaced five internal team members within the restaurant and, to the delight of our client, proceeded to shatter a multitude of sales records for the chain, including setting the highest single-day sales in its 30-year history (That's right. Not all superheros wear capes!). COVID further drove the need for these kinds of services, as internal marketing roles were reduced, and we continued to hone our outsourced skills in the worlds of QSR and Senior Living.

So now, in 2023, we've evolved into a totally unique model offering both fractional CMO/strategy AND execution, all the while driving revenue to our clients' bottom lines. If the recent explosion of AI hasn't hammered home the point, companies must evolve...or they will go under. Here at marlo, we know which path we'll continue to take because we've naturally selected to do so since the very beginning. Darwinian, indeed!