Case Study
NBC Bay Area
Bay Area News Media Company Reports Exceptional Results with Silicon Valley Specialties
Wes R. is the Vice President of Marketing at a news media company that provides news, information, and entertainment programming for the San Francisco Bay Area. His department is responsible for marketing the company and producing advertising for local customers.
Wes needed premium branded products to outfit on-air reporters as well as gifts to give to clients and community members. The company had a vendor they’d used for several years, but Wes felt like this vendor focused more on coming in at the lowest number rather looking for premium products within his budget.
He knew there was a way to source the merchandise he was looking for without breaking the budget: “We wanted to dress our on-air reporters in a way that was cool and fashionable,” says Wes. “We wanted to give our clients nice gifts that they would actually use. We wouldn’t have achieved those results if we’d stayed with the same vendor.”
Enter Susan, who was able to provide a variety of high-quality options that managed to stay within the budget he’d allocated.
“By working with Susan, and Silicon Valley Specialties, I was able to show management that there are high quality products we can proudly put our brand on.” Adds Wes, “I did my homework, but Susan was able to source several premium retail brands—like Peter Millar golf polos—that I didn’t think were possible for us to get, so they weren’t even on my radar.”
“I’m busy. And when I work with Susan, she takes the pressure off of thinking about this stuff. Basically, I tell her, ‘Here’s what I need to accomplish. Here’s my budget.’ And she takes it from there. She provides great options. She communicates very well. She’s responsive to issues and solves any bumps that may arise. She makes it easy.”
Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall
One of the first projects Susan tackled was rain jackets for the station’s on-air reporters. These are people who spend most of their hours outside—and they needed a jacket that would keep them dry in heavy rain and adverse storm conditions. Susan sourced a leading manufacturer of all-weather apparel and, after several meetings with the manufacturer and laying out the requirements, Wes signed off on an order for over 100 jackets.
Unfortunately, there were quality issues. The jacket the manufacturer’s rep recommended didn’t live up to expectations, and Wes got complaints that his crews were getting drenched.
“Susan was committed to working with me—and also with the manufacturer—to resolve the issue,” adds Wes. “She respected the relationship between us as well as the relationship with her vendor to resolve the problem to everyones’ satisfaction . We ultimately got the product we needed and the quality we were expecting. Equally important, she negotiated with the vendor to stay within our budget. I really appreciated and respected that. Susan definitely went beyond my expectations.”
Keep On Truckin’
Wes recently received a last minute request for employee gifts for the company’s holiday party.
“Susan quickly prepared a list of quality options that could be delivered within the limited timeframe,” explains Wes. “We decided on an embroidered blanket in a velour fleece material. But we were on a very tight timeline with complex artwork and a team of decision makers.”
The order would be shipping in 14 boxes. The expedited shipping would have cost in excess of $1,200 through a third party shipper.
Susan researched options and was able to truck the boxes for about one fourth of the cost and still meet the hard delivery date. Wes is happy to report: everything arrived in time and the employees love the gifts.
Into the Future
Wes has plans to work with Susan on more projects going forward. “We’ll need to order new apparel for the reporters—including polos and other pieces. And we’re planning several promotional campaigns over the next year. Susan continues to be my first—and only—call.”
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