We can't afford it… and other excuses for not hiring the MarComm/PR help you need.

It costs too much. 

But does it? If you invest $1,000 and that yields a significant uptick in brand awareness, you get in front of scores of potential customers. That exposure and heightened interest from prospective customers who will want to know more is worth far more than that initial $1,000 investment. Don’t forget that investing in outside services is a way to provide resources and support to current staff members who might be feeling overwhelmed. Think about: How important is it to you to retain your employees? The price of a revolving door of employees is exponentially higher than paying moderate costs of having expert external marketing, communications, and public relations support on your side. 

We can do it better.

But can you? Think about bandwidth, workload, a drought of fresh ideas. Sometimes it takes bringing in a fresh perspective and new set of skills to take your engagement, sales, and success to the next level.

The work we’re doing isn’t such a big deal. Why spend? 

Have you really thought that through? Do you want it to be low-key, or is it low-key because you haven’t taken the steps to make it something bigger, more profitable, more impactful? Agencies (like Turnkey) help you turn low-reach projects into something more impactful, meaningful, and engaging.

My boss doesn’t see the value. 

Have you explained the value? If not, we’ll explain it for you. We’ve been doing this type of work for a VERY long time, so we’ve heard it all. Many times, getting leaders to understand, respect, and invest in comms/marketing/PR is a major challenge. It’s up to us and to you to help them see why spending on partnerships like what we would create with you, is worth it. At the end of the day, we have to prove: increased efficiency, cost savings, revenue growth, strategic collaboration, new wealths of knowledge, and a detailed plan that becomes our roadmap to achieving your company’s goals. When your boss sees the positive impact to your bottom line, employee satisfaction, customer loyalty, and engagement, working with us (or competitors…but you have us, so do you really need to look any further?) more than pays for itself. 

Still need convincing? We have solutions and we build our scope of work based on what you really need. Let’s talk. 

Lessons in Cultural Timing from the Super Bowl

Every year, for a few hours, almost everyone is paying attention to the same thing.

Different backgrounds. Different politics. Different habits. But for one night, culture narrows. Attention converges. And timing becomes everything.

The Super Bowl isn’t just a sporting event. It’s one of the few remaining moments where culture actually syncs.

That’s why brands, creators, and institutions keep coming back to it. Not because of football alone, but because of what it represents: a rare alignment of audience, emotion, and moment.

And this year offered a vivid example of cultural timing in action.

When Bad Bunny stepped onto the Apple Music Super Bowl LX halftime stage, he wasn’t there simply to perform. He arrived with decades of cultural momentum behind him, from Grammy-winning albums to global tours, but also at a distinct moment when conversations about identity, representation, and belonging were front and center in American life.

Bad Bunny didn’t treat the Super Bowl as just another spotlight. He treated it as a conversation with culture, choosing to perform primarily in Spanish, centering Puerto Rican symbols and stories, and weaving in nods to Latino heritage with authentic pride rather than surface-level spectacle.

That matters for a simple reason: cultural timing isn’t about inserting yourself into a moment. It’s about meeting the moment where it already exists.

In an era where audiences quickly sniff out inauthenticity, the most resonant messages are the ones that feel inevitable in hindsight, like Bad Bunny’s halftime show felt unmistakably of its moment. Not because it was loud, but because it felt true to who he is, to what millions are feeling, and to a broader cultural shift that’s been unfolding for years.

Most communication strategies struggle here.

They focus heavily on messaging and channels, but less on context. Campaigns are planned months in advance, locked into timelines that don’t always reflect how people are actually feeling when the message lands.

The Super Bowl exposes that gap instantly.

Every ad sits next to another. Every message is judged in real time. And audiences don’t hesitate to let you know when something feels off, tone-deaf, or late to a conversation that’s already moved on.

What works is rarely accidental.

The moments people remember on game day aren’t just well produced, they tap into something already present in culture: shared pride, collective tension, or a long-unspoken truth waiting to be named.

And that’s the core of cultural timing.

It’s understanding not just what you want to say, but when people are ready to hear it. It’s reading the emotional temperature of the room, knowing when humor will land, when authenticity matters more than polish, and when a message that feels rooted in identity and timing will actually resonate.

Most organizations miss this.

They chase trends or opt into every big moment because it seems relevant, not because it actually is. They rush to be present everywhere, but miss the one moment that really matters.

When timing is right, even a simple message can carry weight. When timing is wrong, even the most polished campaign can fall flat.

At Turnkey, we spend a lot of time helping partners slow down just enough to ask a critical question:

Why now?

Why this message? Why this moment? Why this audience, today?

When teams can answer that clearly, decisions get easier. Messaging sharpens. And communication starts to feel less like noise and more like participation.

The Super Bowl reminds us that attention is finite, but relevance is earned. You don’t earn it by showing up everywhere. You earn it by showing up intentionally, aligned with the moment.

As we plan campaigns, launches, and stories for the year ahead, it’s worth asking:

Are we speaking because we have something to say?
Or because this is actually the moment to say it?

Cultural timing isn’t about being first.
Or biggest.
Or loudest.

It’s about being aligned.

When communication is aligned with the moment, it doesn’t feel like an interruption.

It feels like it belongs.

And in a crowded landscape, that’s what people remember, unmistakably and over time.

Amplifying voices for impact

As a values-based firm, we care deeply about social issues. We feel a sense of responsibility to give back to our communities in ways that would make our grandmothers proud and that reflect what they taught us. We proudly use our God-given talents of storytelling and information-sharing to educate audiences and position them to answer crucial calls to action. We stand behind campaigns and causes using stories that need to be told with the goal of moving issues closer to justice, especially for people who have historically not been set up to succeed by noninclusive systems. 

A perfect example of the need to tell stories to achieve impact is that of our friend and client Manteo Mitchell who literally gave his all to earn a silver medal for Team USA in the 4 x 400 meter relay in the 2012 Olympics. Now, as a member of the US Bobsled team, he was about to make history as the first African American man to medal in both the winter and summer games, but for unfounded reasons, he was stripped of that chance. After years of immensely hard work and after enduring a decade of sacrifice alongside his family, his efforts are being dismissed. His voice is being muted. We invite you to learn much more about his story on his social channels and ours. @manteomitchell on IG and Facebook. Manteo seeks not only to clear his name, but most of all to ensure that athletes are allowed due process– that’s not a lot to ask. Together, we’re unveiling a system where individuals who dedicate their lives to representing their country are declared guilty before proven innocent and that’s not acceptable. By creating awareness and putting our calls to action, Manteo is doing something about it.

Working with Manteo is just one way in which we’re helping to fight the good fight. When we founded Turnkey, we did so knowing that aside from doing what we’re really good at for a living (within our rules), we also wanted the flexibility to jump in to help people and causes we support. That’s why, we’re incredibly proud to announce that as an extension of our community-serving work, we’ve launched a nonprofit passion project— a space where we uplift stories, take action to yield impact, connect our clients on the company side with philanthropic opportunities on the Foundation side, and more. The Turnkey Impact Foundation will support timely causes and allow us to add our grains of sand into greater movements for good. Over the next several weeks, you’ll learn about a REALLY exciting Foundation project we’re embarking on with one of our favorite partners. 

We will always shape narratives and we hope you’ll join us as we tell more stories, contribute to more change, and embark upon more partnerships for social impact. 

The Era of ‘Nice-to-Have’ Marketing Is Over

Every January, the same question quietly sits beneath the planning conversations.

“What do we really need to invest in this year?”

It doesn’t always get asked out loud. Sometimes it shows up as budget tightening. Sometimes as a pause before approving a campaign. Sometimes as a subtle shift in how leaders talk about marketing and communications, not as a growth engine, but as something that has to prove itself.

For a long time, marketing had the benefit of goodwill.

Brand mattered. Presence mattered. Storytelling mattered. And while outcomes were discussed, they weren’t always scrutinized. A strong narrative or a polished campaign could carry weight on its own.

That era is over.

Today, communication is no longer treated as a “nice-to-have.” It’s being evaluated as a business function. One that is expected to move people, support revenue, protect reputation, and make sense of complexity, often all at once.

And that shift is changing everything.

What we’re seeing across organizations isn’t a loss of belief in marketing. It’s a demand for clarity. Leaders want to know what work is essential, what work is optional, and what work is simply noise.

The challenge is that many strategies weren’t built for this moment.

When strategy is clear, teams don’t have to debate every post, every message, every launch. They know what belongs and what doesn’t. They know when to say no. They know where to focus when time or budget tightens.

That’s what separates communication that survives scrutiny from communication that gets sidelined.

At Turnkey, a significant part of our work is helping organizations move out of the gray area. To stop treating communication as a catch-all function and start treating it as a system, one that supports growth, credibility, and long-term momentum.

That often means doing less, not more.

Fewer campaigns. Clearer messages. Stronger throughlines. Metrics that inform decisions, not just dashboards. When communication is built this way, it stops competing with other priorities and starts reinforcing them.

And trust follows.

Teams trust the strategy because it reflects reality. Leaders trust the investment because they can see how it connects. Audiences trust the message because it’s consistent and grounded.

What’s interesting is that the organizations doing this well aren’t necessarily louder than everyone else. They’re steadier. They don’t chase every trend or platform shift. They focus on being useful, credible, and clear, over time.

That consistency is what makes communication indispensable.

As we move further into the year, I keep coming back to a simple question:

If everything had to justify its place at the table, would our communication still be there?

Not because it’s flashy. Not because it’s familiar. But because it’s doing real work.

The era of “nice-to-have” marketing may be over, but that’s not a loss. It’s an opportunity. One that pushes us to build strategies that matter, systems that last, and communication that earns its place.

At Turnkey, that’s the standard we hold ourselves, and our partners to, work that’s intentional. Grounded. Designed to hold up when conditions change.

Because when communication is essential, it doesn’t disappear under pressure.

It proves its value.

Quietly.

Consistently.

And over time, unmistakably.

LEADING WITH VALUES IN TURBULENT TIMES

Bob Marley was once quoted as saying, “The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.”

Albeit slightly terrifying, there’s something especially liberating about taking the daunting plunge of starting your own business. It’s not so much about no longer having a supervisor to answer to or doing away with the operations of other workplaces that just don’t work for you, it’s more than that. At Turnkey, for me, it’s been the opportunity to co-grow the agency within the parameters of a very clear set of values that reflect our own personal and professional commitments, identities, and visions. 

We have been very intentional about how we do business as well as who we do and don’t partner with because, at the end of the day, we want to be proud of everything we associate Turnkey with. We might bring in more clients and make more money if we separate what we believe in from how we make a living. However, the two cannot be mutually exclusive. As Marley’s words remind us, what really matters is being able to look at ourselves in the mirror and be proud of the decisions we make and what we put our names behind. 

Staying true to ourselves is essential, but it’s not always easy. We find that regardless of what a client sells, promotes, or advocates for, they often struggle to understand where they fit and what they should or shouldn’t do or say. This is where leaders need to decide how to use their voice and platforms. The risks for a business run everywhere from the impact on generic public opinion to how consumers use their dollars to support or reject their stance. Companies like Turnkey state their values from the very start and live by them knowing very well that some customers will choose to go elsewhere, but that comes with the territory.  

Recently, a national corporation we connected with had the opportunity to publicly stand up against an injustice, and, as is their right, they chose not to. While individuals undoubtedly were personally interested in stepping up and impacting change, at the end of the day the company’s bottom line was prioritized. The company was unwilling to jeopardize revenue-generating partnerships by speaking out and so they didn’t. In business, we’re often tasked to make decisions at work that we might treat differently at home; can anyone genuinely straddle both?