Blake Dowling
Memorial Day was noisy with digital branding and messaging (in my opinion). Specifically, the overload of the feedback that always comes with it.
Coming off the COVID-19 pandemic, I suppose people are finding new things to rant about.
The United States Vice President got a large dose of that: 45,000 replies to her “have a nice long weekend” tweet if you saw it.
Very few of them said thank you.
On the homefront in scenic Tallahassee, we did not travel again after a brisk May; we had a staycation. It was spectacular.
Regarding Memorial Day, I was thinking of my great-uncle Captain Alex Hood Dowling, quite a bit. He was in the 101st Airborne and was killed during World War II.
I wonder what he was like, what his kids would have been like? Those sorts of somber thoughts.
My grandfather always said he was a riot, and from this one picture I have of him in our home, it looks like Alex was not scared of a good time. From the pic, it seemed he and my grandfather could knock back some beverages.
Every time someone calls me Hood (my parents named me after him), I salute you, and part of me thinks of you, sir.
On the state level, the holiday came and went. I sat down at my desk at 7 a.m. Tuesday to get the lay of the land. The Tallahassee Democrat had an article on ransomware, and I was immediately drawn to what was easily the quote of the month by Ed Perrine, who I know.
Ed’s former company was hit with ransomware, and when he found out, he said: “I was really tempted just to go home and start drinking.” I was featured in that piece too, but Ed was clearly the headliner. Classic.
Next up is bestselling author Dan Silva, chatting with Sally Bradshaw and me on Twitter after Sally was a guest on our podcast.
We talked about his Gabriel Allon series and the upcoming release of his book “The Cellist.” Thanks, Dan.
Next, the tech news on Zdnet.com, then on to Florida Politics. It was there I found some special messaging.
Tri-Eagle Sales, the Budweiser distributor in North and Central Florida, put forward a locally produced video showcasing their partnership with Folds of Honor.
Folds of Honor is a nonprofit that provides educational scholarships to spouses and children of our nation’s fallen soldiers. If a former Marine orders a Budweiser, they are given a badge to write the name of a fallen friend; it’s proudly posted in that establishment.
I watched the clip a few times, and it halted my morning. Right after watching it, I reached out to Tri-Eagle to say, job well done, thank you. I then started sharing it on social media.
What a powerful message, so much better than much of the noise I heard all weekend.
Brittany Foster, director of Marketing for Tri-Eagle Sales, got back to me and shared:
“We wanted to showcase our veterans who help deliver Budweiser every day and our continued partnership with the Folds of Honor program. This is a true story that provides a glimpse of our team here and a Marine who honors a soldier who has made the ultimate sacrifice.
“In the commercial, we featured local Veterans from our community. It was important to provide a true story and feel that correlates with the Folds of Honor program and compliments the Budweiser brand.”
There were plenty of other folks doing great work over the weekend honoring our nation’s heroes.
Congressman Al Lawson spoke to a group in Tallahassee at Greenwood Cemetery, Memorial Day services planned at Tallahassee cemeteries, Gov. DeSantis asked for flags to be at half-staff and a moment of silence.
So, thank you to our leaders for doing their part, along with groups like Tri-Eagle doing something extraordinary.
To that end, this Bud is for you, Capt. Alex Hood Dowling, and to Folds of Honor and everyone who gave everything for our nation. Thank you.
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Blake Dowling is the host of the Biz & Tech podcast, author of the book, Professionally Distanced, and CEO of Aegis Business Technologies. You can reach him at [email protected].
