Hawke Media was established on the idea that all modern businesses need a CMO-level expert to head up marketing efforts. The company was founded in 2014 by CEO Erik Huberman, and specializes in custom, data-driven, performance-focused solutions to help launch, scale, and invigorate businesses of all sizes, industries, and revenue models – because businesses of all shapes and sizes should have access to top-tier marketing for their brand. We spoke to Huberman about the company has pivoted since the Covid-19 outbreak, and what the future holds
How has this pandemic shifted the way your business operates, and how have your people responded to the crisis?
- “We are a company where generally everyone works and collaborates in person. We sit in three solid offices: Los Angeles, New York City, and Boston. In just one day, we had to shift to everyone being remote on a dime. What was solid and gave us a leg up was that we had already implemented software that not only helped us collaborate in person but also lent itself to working from home, like Slack, Zoom, and Google Hangouts. We work off the cloud, so even though we weren’t traditionally leveraging it, we didn’t miss a beat during the transition to working from home. My concerns as a founder were more cultural, such as how people will function not being in person and building that rapport. My concerns were laid to rest because most people already had those relationships, so since working remotely we haven’t really missed a beat.”
What are you most proud of that your company has achieved over the last year, or any specific milestones you want to tout?
- “A lot of our business is generated through events. In just three weeks of quarantine, we put together an online event that was literally seven times bigger than any event we’ve ever thrown and got some of the most prominent speakers we’ve ever gotten to come speak at the event, as well as the best audience, spanning 16 different time zones around the world. I was proud that we were able to put it all together so quickly and of how nimble our whole team is operationally. As a business, our only pain point right now is not being able to interact with some of our clients in person, but to that point I think we’ve adapted nicely to fully online meetings.”
How would you describe your workplace culture, and what attributes are you looking for when determining who gets hired there?
- “We’re looking for people that resonate with our core values: IQ + EQ + AQ (intelligence, empathy, and adaptability), unwavering pursuit of growth, massive impact, having fun, building community, communication, and accessibility and accountability. Not only do we want our team to be willing to abide by these values, but we also want to make sure that they actually match their own values.”
Are there any guiding principles that you or your company live by?
- “Our core values (see above!) are what embody the people that we look for and feel make the best parts of Hawke because if they align with our core values and mission statement, it usually means they’re going to be great citizens of the company.”
What has been the biggest challenge to overcome as a business, and how did you rise to the occasion?
- “The biggest challenge that we’ve had to overcome as a business has been creating a scalable, repeatable, and reputable service business driven by people who are in their own right unpredictable, uncontrollable, and different. It’s always going to be our biggest challenge, but staying in sync with one another and doing so in a way that delivers success for our clients and customers has helped us rise to the occasion thus far!”
What are some of the best practices you and your staff do to stay connected, in general, and in times of crisis?
- “We try to talk and not always make the conversations just about work. We hold virtual happy hours and open discussions about what people are going through during the pandemic, doing activities together above and beyond just getting the job done, which allows us to connect on the most basic human level. Humanity is very important to a business like ours—and to almost any business for that matter. While our outside-the-office activities have shifted from taking the entire company on a cruise together to now hosting these virtual happy hours and more emotional discussions on what people are going through, as well as having clubs like a fitness and a charity club, having extracurriculars that people can do together beyond just working is important.”
Would you like to share anything else that we have not yet asked?
- “During this time, we’re seeing that companies have to change and pivot really quickly, so we launched speed marketing: 15-20 minute free phone call or video conference sessions with our experts who will provide guidance and top-tier insight on what a business can do to change quickly, as well as answer any questions they might have in regards to their marketing. It’s our way of giving back. We launched it with the idea of helping right now in the way that we can and know best: guiding people in how to pivot and adapt with the time from a marketing perspective.”
