Jonathan Saquicili (Photo Credit: Andre Salazar Photography)

Jonathan Saquicili ’15, an alumnus of the Lucille and Jay Chazanoff School of Business, and currently Project Manager at Merkle, an NYC-based marketing agency, has decided to use his expertise to lend desperately needed assistance to small businesses in the food and beverage industry through Volunteer Marketing Clinics.

According to Saquicili, he “started the Volunteer Marketing Clinic as a way to give back to the community. The agency I work for is helping its clients prepare for once this pandemic clears and I want to do the same for the small businesses that may not be able to afford the [marketing services of] the WPPs or Dentsus of the world. I understand that businesses need money to keep afloat, but I believe that a good marketing strategy can help them get back on their feet as well.

“The clinic,” Saquicili continued, “is made up of close friends I’ve made while working in advertising. These folks have worked on beauty, automotive, financial, travel, and entertainment clients. We offer audits, best practices, and strategies gained from our experience with our clients. Right now, we are able to consult on organic and paid social media, email marketing, content marketing, audience strategy, and advanced analytics.”

So far, Saquicili reported, the clinics are going well. “As we work to ramp up our client roster, we are seeing some positive results. One of our clients received an organic social strategy that has now had them rank in the top results for their niche. We’re even seeing engagement increase by more than 200%.”

Looking to the future of this effort, Saquicili said that “Through my @meetmeinmytummy [Instagram food] page, I am hoping that I can provide a limited number of businesses with a complimentary photo shoot to highlight their staff and menu items. I believe this will allow me to connect with local businesses and help me tell their story. The bonus here is that I am multilingual and can publish content in different languages.”

By Terry Mares