In this era of Tik Tok, YouTube and “influencer marketing”, many small businesses are wondering how they can build scale and create national recognition. Not every small business has a product or service that lends itself to short videos. Many small businesses struggle with self-service marketing on Facebook or Instagram. One small business has been able to help resolve those problems.
Bob & Sheri is a podcast and syndicated radio show owned by Now! Media. The broadcast show is heard in morning drive in over 70 cities across America as well as 170 countries via American Forces Radio and has built a loyal following across North America. Unlike many syndicated shows, which are generally owned by large broadcast conglomerates, Bob & Sheri broke away from its corporate parent in 2017. A small business itself, the owners of the company are keenly aware of the challenges of “going nationwide.”
During the Pandemic, the show needed to engage audiences who were no longer commuting to work each morning. The podcast (which they have been producing since 2006) helped listeners who were working from home keep up with the show but the show’s co-host, Sheri Lynch, wanted to stay engaged with quarantined listeners. The solution: A Thursday night happy hour on Facebook Live. Each Thursday night Sheri and her on-air cohost Bob Lacey engaged their listeners with fun conversation and other content designed to create a feeling of community and to distract from the challenges of quarantine. Occasionally the happy hour featured guests like singer-songwriter Ethan Thompson, Comedian and Ventriloquist Jeff Dunham, and actor Leslie Odom Jr.
“As we emerged from the Pandemic, we thought we would try some different ideas to add interest and create something special”, says Sheri Lynch, who is also a co-owner of Now! Media, the small business she and partner Tony Garcia founded in 2017 that produces and distributes Bob & Sheri. “Last year we tried a backyard BBQ and it was a big hit, so we decided to do it again this Spring”.
The Bob & Sheri team partnered with Carroll’s Sausage and Country Store, a Georgia-based small business that sells burgers, sausage, bacon, sauces and seasonings in two brick-and-mortar locations as well as online. Carroll’s owner, Hugh Hardy, Jr. partnered with Now! Media to introduce his product to a national audience.
“We’ve always been committed to finding new ways to not only reach, but to interact with the Bob & Sheri audience, and ways to connect them to new businesses they may never otherwise know about,” according to Tony Garcia. “Pairing Bob & Sheri listeners with a client that sells meats is a logical fit for our BBQ livestream.”
The Bob & Sheri team invited Carroll’s owner, Hugh Hardy, Jr. as a special guest for the livestream while one of the show’s personalities, Lamar Richardson did the ‘grillin’ and chillin’’ during the event, which can be viewed here.
Over the past year, Now! Media, and Bob & Sheri has partnered with a half-dozen small businesses representing a diverse range of products including a cat-toy manufacturer, a candy purveyor, and a scone bakery.
For more information on Now! Media and Bob & Sheri, can help small businesses dip their toe into the national marketplace, please contact Tony Garcia at 303-557-1961, https://www.linkedin.com/in/garciatony/, or tony@nowradioshow.com.
About NOW! Media:
Now! Media is a multi-media company founded by Tony Garcia and Sheri Lynch in 2017. The company produces all the Bob & Sheri branded audio features, publishes books, and hosts several independently produced podcasts. With the Bob & Sheri radio show as the cornerstone, NOW! Media has expanded to other platforms.
*Bob & Sheri logo and “Real People, Real Laughs” are registered trademarks.
