Kristy Tozer 0:00

Welcome everyone to our third episode of Behind the Buzz. We recorded this episode in December, so it's got a little bit of a holiday vibe. Our special guest is longtime friend Jill Witecki, Vice President and Director of Marketing for Tampa Theatre. Jill takes the lead in amplifying buzz around the theatre's 600 plus annual showtimes and fostering civic connections. She curates partnerships that not only entertain, but also educate and enlighten our vibrant community. Jill kicked off her career as a wordsmith extraordinaire at the Tampa Tribune. From covering community events to spinning tales in the weekly humor lifestyle column, The Quarter Lifer, she left an indelible mark. She spent a solid nine years mastering the art of public relations at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, expertly handling media relations and crisis communications for the famed theme park. Fast forward to October 2012, Jill stepped into the spotlight as a key player in the Tampa Theater executive team.

Andrea Alava 0:53

As an intern at Bush Gardens during that time, I'm still soaking up knowledge from Jill. This is a total full circle moment for me, and we are so excited for this episode.

Kristy Tozer 1:03

Let's get buzzed. Welcome everyone to our third episode of Behind the Buzz. Today on our pod, our special guest is Jill Witecki, Vice President of Marketing for the Historic Tampa Theater. In fact, Jill and I have our own history. We worked together earlier in our career at Busch Gardens. In fact, Jill was the project manager for HowlOScream back when I oversaw events for the parks.

Jill Witecki 1:32

I think we see each other more now than we ever did did back then.

Kristy Tozer 1:35

I think you're right. We've come way way since those days.

Jill Witecki 1:40

We have.

Kristy Tozer 1:40

Alright, so let's get started. Welcome to Behind the Buzz. Um, are you ready to get buzzed? I that's perfect. Perfect, perfect. Alright, Jill. I mentioned that we previously worked together at a little theme park down the street, but when you moved on, you made your way to this beautiful, historic landmark, Tampa Theater. did. Uh, to set the stage. Can you share a little bit about the history and the significance of Tampa Theatre and how it's become a cultural landmark in the community?

Jill Witecki 2:14

Absolutely. Well, so Tampa Theatre has been right here in the heart of downtown Tampa since 1926. We have been showing movies on Franklin Street for more than 97 years. Um, and when we started, we were a silent movie palace for the first couple of years of our existence. And we were built in an era of time that it was actually studio money building these theaters. So we were built with Paramount money and there were others that were built with uh, MGM money or United Artists money. But the common denominator was that they were these beautiful show palaces because they were competition. The studios were trying to build, uh, or produce the biggest and best movies, but then they wanted to show them in the biggest, best, most elaborate movie palaces. So, uh, we opened in 1926 and we were one of several theaters in downtown Tampa, but we were the only movie palace. We were the only one that kind of elevated to that level of ornate grandeur.

Kristy Tozer 3:09

Amazing. Amazing. And it is ornate and grand and beautiful. So, Tampa Theatre is well known for curating classics and soon to be classic movies and programming, especially during the holiday season. What goes into your selection of holiday movies? Holiday Classics.

Jill Witecki 3:26

Well, I'm ashamed to say that Holiday Classics is probably our easiest series to program all year. Um, but we do have this reputation as being the old theater that shows old movies. So we do classic series throughout the year and some of them, like our Summer Classics, you know, that's three months of different movies and we try to cover a hundred years of filmmaking. Our family favorites are always those, those family titles, bringing the kid movies back to the big screen. With Holiday Classics, there's a little more of an element of people come year after year with their families to see their favorite movies, and so honestly, the lineup doesn't really change. It's always Miracle on 34th Street the first weekend, and White Christmas is in there somewhere, and Elf is in there somewhere, and It's a Wonderful life. The classics! The classics! Don't mess with perfection.

Kristy Tozer 4:12

I love it. That's great. So, in what ways do you integrate the interests of the local community into your programming, especially during the holidays? How important is community feedback in your decisions?

Jill Witecki 4:23

Well, once again, holiday classics, um, proved to us the importance of community feedback, and I will say this was before my time, before I joined the theater, uh, 11 and a half years ago, our CEO, John Bell, was programming the series, and we have been doing the same movies for several years, and at some point What if we'd be great if we, mixed it up a little bit? Let's do some other movies. There's so many great holiday movies out there. Let's pick some different ones. And almost immediately upon putting them on sale, he was inundated with phone calls that all kind of went along the theme of my family comes every year to see It's a Wonderful Life. You have now ruined Christmas.

Kristy Tozer 5:04

Oh my gosh, the pressure!

Jill Witecki 5:06

so rather than being known as the Scrooge of Franklin Street for the rest of his career, he actually Uh, went back and reconfigured, uh, the series, put some more of those in there, um, and then the phone calls stopped. So, community feedback, very important, especially when they have told you, this is what we want to see, don't mess with it.

Kristy Tozer 5:27

That's so, since we're here to talk about marketing, what role does marketing play in shaping and influencing the theater's programming, especially during the holiday season?

Jill Witecki 5:36

Um, probably more so than it would ordinarily in an organization like ours. Um, and that is because by virtue of kind of a really weird org chart, film programming falls under the marketing team. Because the person that we promoted to the film programming spot, used to be, up until very recently, the other half of the marketing team. Um, so, he still, uh, is, part of the marketing team, our, film program manager, James DeFord, who, uh, RumbleBuzz viewers have met before. Um, so, he is our film programming person, so marketing has a huge impact on film programming. Um, but it's wonderful, uh, How small our team is. We're a very small team at Tampa Theatre. Everybody is involved. Everybody, of course, is super passionate about movies, so when it comes to these series, there really is a lot of buy in and input from everybody on the team of movies that that are celebrating an anniversary, or maybe somebody's favorite movie, or You know, for example, this year we knew we wanted to put the Grinch in there somewhere, and when we were deciding what version of the Grinch, uh, I was fortunate enough to be able to pick my own daughter's favorite version of the Grinch, and have that be on the big screen. So it really is a team effort, but uh, yes, by virtue of title, uh, marketing has a lot to do with it.

Kristy Tozer 6:59

Hey, but then you know what's gonna be great for an audience.

Jill Witecki 7:03

and we're the ones who have to sell it, so they might as well be moving we think we can draw an audience for.

Kristy Tozer 7:07

That's perfect, that's perfect. Uh, can you tell us more about the collaborative process and decision making involved in marrying the marketing strategies with the selection of films and events to create a compelling and festive experience?

Jill Witecki 7:21

Sure. so when it comes to kind of the, the programming mix, so taking, taking a step back from the holiday classics in general, but to all of the, the holiday programming, all of the programming in general, um, the, the key metric that we look at both marketing and everybody else in the building is butts and seats. How many people are walking in? How many people are sitting down? And so the, Collaborative process is really the relationship between things like the classics and those big tentpole blockbuster movies and everything else we do as an art house theater. So if we can get 1, 100 people in the building for National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, which we did a couple of weekends ago, that's 2, 200 eyeballs. Assuming. that we can show everything else we're doing. Right. So, we've got, you know, we know you like comedy, we know you like slapstick, well let us tell you about these comedy shows that we have coming up that maybe you don't know the person, but now we can show you that the show is happening. Right. You've come for It's a Wonderful Life. Um, there's some nostalgia there. It's kind of a quirky story. Let us tell you about poor things that's coming up that was just nominated for seven Golden Globe Awards Right. and, you know, has some big name stars in it. So, sometimes it's not a direct correlation but it's just that sheer volume of people that were getting into the building with the classics that then allow us to talk about uh, some of the other programs.

Kristy Tozer 8:52

And make those great connections them. That's fantastic. So, as we move beyond things like Netflix and chill and the whole, you know, millennial, we've got streaming, we don't, you know, need to go to a movie house. How does Tampa Theatre reach this key audience as well as a younger Gen Z?

Jill Witecki 9:09

Boo hiss. notion we don't need to come to theatre anymore. It wasn't lost on any of us at Tampa Theatre that when the Merriam Webster dictionary came out with their word of the year for 2023, the word of the year as, uh, dictated, I guess, by the search algorithms or what people are looking, I don't know how they decide of the year is, but the word of the year was authentic It's a we cheered down the block at 7 Eleven Franklin because that is the word that we have always used to explain what happens When you come to Tampa Theatre. you have an authentic experience. You are walking into a building that was designed to show you a movie that was designed to envelop you and overwhelm you from the moment you walk in to take you through that. That process of walking in under the marquee and buying your popcorn and finding your seat and watching the curtains. open. That is preparing you on a deep level to appreciate and enjoy a movie. And that is a very different experience than sitting down on your couch, and then the dryer buzzes, and then the phone rings, and then you're drinking, mailman comes in, and the mailman comes in, and your kids come running through, and the commercial comes up, although there's not as many commercials on streaming anymore. But it is a, an incredibly, um, Um, immersive experience when you come to a movie theater and you sit with a thousand of your friends and community members and watch a movie. It is a mundane experience to sit on your couch and watch the very same movie. I it. um, that is something that, that we hammer on all the time. But it's something that we really are starting to see young people appreciate. Um, and we've, there's been articles in the trade publications talking about this new generation discovering the cinema, What? How is that possible? Well, it's like our kids discovering 80s fashion. That's true. I'm

Kristy Tozer 11:11

like, whatever

Jill Witecki 11:12

it is get you here, that's fine. Yes, you're right. You discovered cinema. Come in.

Kristy Tozer 11:16

We'll take you. We'll take you. We'll welcome you with open arms, right?

Jill Witecki 11:21

programming, of course, has a ton to do with it, too, because, you know, you're not necessarily going to get Gen Z or college kids with, that. with some of the, the movies that we show. Um, but, uh, our, our newest team member, Sydney, and I were just talking the other day about some of the upcoming shows. Um, and she was telling me a great story that a friend of hers, who is in his 20s, texted her, uh, before he even knew she was working at Tampa Theater. to ask about a show coming up, uh, called Stardew Valley, which I had never heard of, but apparently it's a video game. I'm looking at the younger people in the room

Kristy Tozer 11:53

Everyone's nodding.

Jill Witecki 11:54

Um, and so it's a multimedia presentation that the game or images from the game are going to be up on the big screen, but a live orchestra is going to be playing the music for it.

Kristy Tozer 12:04

That's incredible.

Jill Witecki 12:05

And of course the ticket buyers for this thing are not. 46 year old women, They're 22 year old kids who want to come see their favorite game brought to life.

Kristy Tozer 12:15

What a way to, like, reach out to that next generation. That's fantastic. So, with the, uh, holiday classics being such a significant draw, what marketing strategies have you found most effective in promoting these events and attracting new audiences?

Jill Witecki 12:33

for something like Holiday Classics, it is definitely not lost on us that all of these movies, uh, do run on TV a thousand times between Halloween and Christmas. Um, you can see It's a Wonderful Life. on tons of streaming So to just advertise that movie, you know, we're playing Elf, come see it. Well, so are several other outlets, There was a re release of Elf this year because it was an anniversary year. We're showing The Grinch. Well, great, so is everybody else. So we always look at it through the lens of more than a movie. What can we do that is more than a movie that is going to increase that experience, that authentic experience? Um, and then that's the marketing hook. So, for example, um, we always kick off the series with Miracle on 34th Street Thanksgiving Weekend because, of course, that movie features the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, um, with Santa. And it just so happens that Tampa Theater knows Santa. And we know that that's his favorite movie.

Kristy Tozer 13:33

Well, that's fantastic.

Jill Witecki 13:34

And so when we keep showing it on Thanksgiving weekend, he keeps showing up to see his favorite movie.

Kristy Tozer 13:40

Celebrity sighting.

Jill Witecki 13:41

It's amazing. So we do photos with Santa in the lobby. they're free. You take home a souvenir photo, take them with your own camera, take them with our camera. Um, but that's something that we can market. Um, this year for the Grinch, uh, we partnered with a local performer to do a storybook on stage. It was Oh, she was great. So So half an hour before the movie, Samantha, Samantha Claus, as she likes to go by this time of year, was up on the stage, invited all the kids up to sit up on the stage with her and, Okay, sidebar. 7, 8 year old kid getting to stand on stage at Tampa Theatre and look out over those things, a core memory right there! is

Kristy Tozer 14:19

a core memory!

Jill Witecki 14:20

But getting to sit and hear that book, the original words of Dr. Seuss, and then see how it was translated up on the big screen. Um, we're doing a diaper drive with the Junior League. So all of those little things, that's what we're marketing. Is come see this special thing we're doing.

Kristy Tozer 14:35

It's about the experience.

Jill Witecki 14:36

At your favorite movie. Exactly.

Kristy Tozer 14:38

Totally. I love it. I love it. So, that also probably kind of answers, but I bet you have more to say about how that experience compares. Well, and how, how that marketing and how those experiences compare to like the modern day movie, you know, theater that you're.

Jill Witecki 15:00

Well, um, I've never marketed a modern day movie theater, if I had to guess, um. The things that, when you think about the ads that you see, whether they're TV ads or radio ads or newspaper for us old folks that still remember um, the ads that you're seeing from the big cineplexes, from the big brands, um, you're either seeing like, here's our list of titles or, you know, here's our new membership discount. Here's our new, you know, we, We got a restaurant in the lobby now, we got some video games, but there's nothing about that relationship, uh, between people and a cineplex. No offense to the cineplexes out there. There's no emotional connection to that building. Um, if there's a movie out there you want to see, you, you look and find. see when, when and where Barbie's playing and you drive to whatever theater that is because that's the movie most Exactly, With Tampa theater the people of this community are passionate about the building. and there's a connection a feeling an opinion about the building. So sometimes, fortunately, they're willing to give us a little more leeway. on maybe I don't know that title that you're showing, but I know Tampa Theatre, and I know the kinds of things you show, and I know I always enjoy my time there, so I am going to come see that movie, even though I've never heard of it, because I trust that this relationship that I have with Tampa Theatre will not disappoint me. So no pressure on us, of course, to sure that the lives up to that.

Kristy Tozer 16:36

Although, You do have a good reputation for putting the right movies out there that people can kind check out in time for the season.

Jill Witecki 16:43

Well, you know, Oscar season is coming up and we try to tell people, uh, great example of this. So last year, uh, we got Everything Everywhere All at Once as a first run movie. And if you've seen that movie, you know it is bizarre.

Kristy Tozer 16:58

It's weird. It

Jill Witecki 16:58

is so bizarre. And the reviews for it were great, but also like, Yeah, we

Kristy Tozer 17:04

don't really know what's going on

Jill Witecki 17:05

here. Yeah, you gotta be in the mood So we did not do terrific business with that movie, despite our best efforts to tell everybody like Trust us. This is going to be big, Um, you know, did okay. Numbers with it. Well, then uh, the award season came and all the nominations came out and it was nominated for everything and we brought it back for a couple more screenings because we had an opportunity to blow the doors off and we're thrilled. But at the same time, we're like, Seriously,

Kristy Tozer 17:35

believe us the first time.

Jill Witecki 17:37

exactly. If we're putting it on our screen, it's not because we couldn't find anything else. It's, you know, there's a reason that we're showing this.

Kristy Tozer 17:46

Right, right. That's awesome. Um, Okay, so let's change gears just a little bit and talk about fundraising. So, fundraising, vital for the sustainability of a non profit, uh, historic movie venue like Tampa Theatre. How does the marketing team actively contribute to the success of fundraising?

Jill Witecki 18:05

Sure, well, if we didn't mention it before, that is an important point. Tampa Theatre is a non profit organization. Um, in fact, most Existing movie palaces that still kind of remain true to that programming are because the idea of one screen and 1, 200 seats for a movie theater is, is a failing business model and it has been since the 40s. Um, So economically, that doesn't make sense. So the support of our community is vital, um, not only, um, for all the reasons we've already talked about, but financially. It is financially, uh, necessary for us to be a non profit, Although, as our CEO likes to say, non profit is a tax status, not a financial role. That's right. That's right. We are not looking to not make money. We once had that said too. We try very hard to make money. it just means, uh, that we cannot Possibly earn as much money through ticket sales and popcorn and goobers as it would take to maintain that majestic, historic building. but fundraising, good fundraising, I have learned over the years of working for a nonprofit all begins with a love story. I love it. That's excellent. you can't get somebody to donate to something that isn't meaningful to them, that they're not passionate about.

Kristy Tozer 19:24

100%.

Jill Witecki 19:25

Um, so where marketing comes in on that is, we're the storytellers. We're the ones who help craft that love story. We're the ones who are getting that person in the building for the first time to see their first show, to see their first movie, to stand on that stage for the first time, um, and start to fall in love.

Kristy Tozer 19:45

That's

Jill Witecki 19:45

fantastic. Job correctly, and we make those smart programming choices, and we get them back year, you know, day after day, year after year. Um, That love story grows. That dating relationship continues to blossom until the point when our development team is ready to pop the question. The answer is, well, yes, of course, I'll write you a check.

Kristy Tozer 20:04

I love that analogy so many ways. That is It's a It a commitment. But not one you should be afraid of.

Jill Witecki 20:12

Exactly! And one we take very seriously.

Kristy Tozer 20:15

I love that so much. That is fantastic. So, I mentioned that we both came from Busch Gardens, once upon a time. But before that, um, you were in journalism.

Jill Witecki 20:26

I was. My, my degrees are in journalism and theater. Um, and finally when I got to, uh, to Tampa theater, I think my parents finally like, Oh, okay, so that's what you degrees in journalism and theater. Um, but my first job out of college was with the Tampa Tribune, dearly departed. Um, as a writer covering, um, arts events covering community events. Um, but as I just mentioned, it all goes back to a good story. So my whole career through all of the different titles and all of the different uh, organizations has always been about telling the stories of the community, whether it was in the newspaper through interviews, whether it was at Busch Gardens and capturing the history and the tradition that was happening there, um, or making up stories of what Bird, this newest rollercoaster, that earned after, it's all story crafting, some of it fiction, some of it nonfiction, but capturing and retelling those stories. Um, and I've, I've always joked that, that I have spent an entire career working hard to make sure other people have fun. Oh, I that. and that really is

Kristy Tozer 21:32

it, Oh, so many good nuggets,

Jill Witecki 21:33

Jill!

Kristy Tozer 21:34

Excellent!

Jill Witecki 21:35

but, you know, I, I would if I. spent all my time behind a desk and, you know, so instead I've, I've chosen uh, daily media and theme parks and movie palaces and, uh, not a Monday through Friday, 9 to 5 among them.

Kristy Tozer 21:49

Nope, not at all.

Jill Witecki 21:51

But again, getting to, to make sure that people are having fun and that they're really enjoying all of the experiences that this amazing town has to offer. That's amazing. So when you transitioned, so we talked about journalism to publicity, publicity to marketing. Was there any major learning curve there? Oh gosh. Um, so journalism to publicity, uh, was, I'm not gonna say easy, uh, but, but it's two sides coin. But same

Kristy Tozer 22:17

family. Yeah,

Jill Witecki 22:18

it is. You're, You know, either you're writing the story for the newspaper, or you're writing the press release just like you would have written the story. because the, the great journalists out there, and most of them are, are going to take that information and, you know, put their own spin on it. But, think about it. In my PR days at Busch Gardens, that was the, the rise of the blogger, the rise of the, the citizen journalist. And all of a sudden, you know, everybody and their brother was, was putting content online. uh, and, and we as a, uh, community, you know, as a, as an industry, we're still trying to figure out exactly how that worked. Um, but part of what we were seeing in all of that was a lot of cut and paste. That they would get that press release, cut and paste the entire thing, and put it out there. So that's where my style of, of press release came from, is that if that's what you're going to do is cut and paste it, it's going to sound like a news story That's right. Um. And makes my job all the much easier. I can just cut and paste it. Um, the transition from publicity to marketing, um, was a whole different lift in a whole different way. Because as you well know, there are so many more facets to marketing, uh, than just publicity. And none of, I had training in none of it. I had training in journalism. in telling a good story. Um, and of course. through the years and being project manager for HowlOScream and some of those experiences, I had learned to work with a marketing budget and what a marketing plan looked like and, oh, what a marketing plan My

Kristy Tozer 23:53

favorite! It's my love language

Jill Witecki 23:56

Um, thank goodness it's somebody's it was not mine.

Kristy Tozer 24:00

Um,

Jill Witecki 24:01

but I was also very fortunate to walk into an organization that was, and I mean this not as a slight, was small and was simple. You know, we weren't talking about a multi billion dollar corporation that was trying to reach markets around the world. We were talking about a beloved community institution that was trying to talk to their neighbors and friends. Right. Um, and so that allowed me to kind of ease in, um, you know, and, and I was, uh, coming on the heels of a marketing director who had been there for 20 something years, who was beloved in the community, but who also didn't have a lot of marketing background, um, and was also taking a very grassroots approach to everything. So it was a very easy transition in that way that I could say, okay, I see what she's doing, I can definitely do that. I can do and I

Kristy Tozer 24:54

can learn.

Jill Witecki 24:55

Right. Um, and so as the organization grew, I was able to learn kind of along with them, meet other great marketers in the community that were doing the same kind of thing for similar organizations, learn from what they were doing, and then of course, uh, you know, when all else fails, hire brilliant people as contractors.

Kristy Tozer 25:15

Shameless plug.

Jill Witecki 25:18

Brilliant people like RumbleBuzz. to manage your social media and to help you with ad planning and all of the things that aren't. Native to me, but there are others that is, and rather than reinventing the wheel, we can just partner.

Kristy Tozer 25:33

I love that. that's what we're here for. Uh, that's great. So this has been so much fun. We're going to start to wrap things up now. Um, and we're going to move on to our lightning round. Are you ready this? I feel like we should have a little Taylor Swift background. Alright, so, let's talk about what you're currently buzzing about. What are you currently watching?

Jill Witecki 25:55

Well, given the time of year, um, we are watching Hallmark Channel.

Kristy Tozer 25:59

Oh my gosh.

Jill Witecki 26:00

So, like, mid November every year, and it's not even me, it's my husband. He downloads the Hallmark Channel and then we cancel I not have expected! You know, he wears his emotions very close the chest, close to the vest. But, um, yeah, every year we download the Hallmark channel and that's what we have on, like, 24 7 Oh from right after Halloween through Christmas. Um, and then the rest of the year we go back to, um, Murder, Forensic Files, and, you know, True Crime,

Kristy Tozer 26:30

Because not a juxtaposition. you

Jill Witecki 26:32

know, felt the same thing. I was like, man, we must be the weirdest people ever, that all we watch is murder and Christmas movies. There are shirts out there that talk about murder and Christmas movies. Of course there are. it's not just us.

Kristy Tozer 26:43

It's a thing.

Jill Witecki 26:44

Somehow that's a, there's thesis money in there somewhere. I bet there is. Whoever wants to do that.

Kristy Tozer 26:48

Actually, it sounds like my mom, too, so. Alright. And what are you reading?

Jill Witecki 26:53

I am reading, um, Cuban Sandwich, A History in Layers. Which uh, just came out in this past year. It's actually written by a couple of friends of mine, Oh! including Jeff Houck, who was the former food critic for the Tribune and now works for the Columbia Restaurant Group, Yes! Columbia! Absolutely. and Andy Hughes, Okay. He is a local author who has written a bunch of different books and is uh, currently writing the 100th anniversary book for Tampa Theatre. Awww. So, um, of course, I wanted to read some more of his writing, Uh, and I've I've got it in my bag now, and it It truly is the history of the Cuban sandwich and all of the different influences and layers.

Kristy Tozer 27:30

Oh, how fun!

Jill Witecki 27:32

the book, it was just featured in the New York Times not too long ago. So Oh my gosh,

Kristy Tozer 27:37

I love that, that is great. Alright, what's your favorite lunch spot, speaking of Cuban sandwiches?

Jill Witecki 27:42

Oh, okay. So, um, immediately adjacent to our box office is Siam Thai Oh, yeah, adjacent to our stage door is Supernatural. I don't actually have to leave the block ever.

Kristy Tozer 27:57

That's excellent. They do. We talked about their donuts this morning. All right, what's the next show on your radar?

Jill Witecki 28:06

So, uh, last Christmas, my sister and I bought our mom, um, tickets for Leanne Morgan, Who is coming up, a comedian, um, who kind of came to comedy later in life. Um, does a lot of mom humor, so we thought it'd be a great show. Well, The show got, um, postponed because Leanne, uh, landed a role in a movie. So now the show, uh, got moved sold out. And then we added a second screening and it's, for a second show and it's sold out. And then that one, so now there's four shows my

Kristy Tozer 28:43

Amazing how fun I love that you're going with your mom too. All right. And so next what brands are you currently watching?

Jill Witecki 28:49

Um, so when you sent me that question, I thought, man, they think I am far more hip. than I am. I really had to. I'm not on TikTok at all. Um, and I seriously had to, like, think about, geez, what the heck am I following? so, well, I let my Facebook algorithm tell me what brands I'm following. That's Um, And it did, cause like, looking for inspiration, I'm scrolling through and, and the pop up ad, I was like, oh, that is a brand I follow. It's called Two Blind Brothers. Okay. Are you familiar with it?

Kristy Tozer 29:22

I am not.

Jill Witecki 29:23

Okay, so it's, it's a clothing company, clothing and accessories. And the two owners are. literally two blind brothers. No way. It's two brothers who suffered from an eye condition that robbed them of their sight. Wow. And so now they create clothes that are, you know, comfortable and, and mushy and soft and cute, uh, but also have raised braille in them so that blind wearers can tell what color it is and and put outfits together based on it.

Kristy Tozer 29:50

Amazing.

Jill Witecki 29:51

But the coolest part

Kristy Tozer 29:52

How did that end up in your algorithm?

Jill Witecki 29:55

I'll tell you. So, uh, the other thing they do is they encourage people to shop blind. So you can, you can look at their website and you can pick a level and they will just send you the package. You have no idea what it's going to be. It's always something different. but 100 percent of the proceeds go to benefit research to curing blindness.

Kristy Tozer 30:14

That's incredible.

Jill Witecki 30:16

They're looking at it right

Kristy Tozer 30:18

now!

Jill Witecki 30:19

to answer your question, the reason it shows up in my feed, I mean, honestly. My eyes aren't great, but I'm not quite there yet, but my goddaughter is blind. And that's how I know

Kristy Tozer 30:28

that. incredible. That is amazing. I love it, and now I'm gonna go follow them. Well,

Jill Witecki 30:34

and, and,

Kristy Tozer 30:35

you

Jill Witecki 30:35

know, here I'm at. Exactly. as you know, how in the world do you break through in this world of cluttered marketing messages, especially around the holidays? Um, and the fact that they did, you know, this little company in a different part of the country, magic. broke through and, and got to my feed. My hat's off.

Kristy Tozer 30:52

That's amazing. I love it. And now we're all going to be following them too.

Jill Witecki 30:55

Yay.

Kristy Tozer 30:58

That's fantastic. We're going to figure it out,

Jill Witecki 31:00

right?

Kristy Tozer 31:01

All right. Well, this has been awesome. We loved buzzed you. like a little afraid of what's All right. And until next time, this is Behind the Buzz.