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Brand Videos Celebrate Vibrant Small Businesses

Posted on January 14, 2025

By Brooke Thomson
President & CEO

AIM is celebrating the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King by raising the profile of 11 dynamic Massachusetts small businesses owned by women and people of color.

The association this morning posted brand videos awarded to the companies last year as part of an effort to promote economic inclusion throughout the commonwealth. The businesses participate in AIM Business Connect, a supplier-diversity initiative that matches companies owned by entrepreneurs from underrepresented communities with fellow AIM members seeking to diversify their supply spends.

Each marketing video is valued at $10,000. The project is funded by a generous grant from the Eastern Bank Foundation.

VIEW THE VIDEOS

The companies, which range from transportation providers to food markets to music-therapy companies, were selected from among 40 applicants. The production companies that created the videos are likewise owned by Black, Latino, LGBTQ, female and veteran entrepreneurs.

The winning companies include 88 Acres, Canton; Nubian Markets, Roxbury; Dorchester Food Co Op; Dorchester; Long Wood Corporation; Dorchester; Anh Vu Sawyer, Boston; Candle Lux, Boston; Rozi Rides, Springfield; Roman Music Therapy, Wakefield; Commonwealth Kitchen, Dorchester; Rosetta Languages of Malden and Baku Care, Hadley.

The production companies were Dillard Morrison Productions of Canton, Greener Concepts of Boston, EmVision Productions of Lynn and BeeMore Productions of Somerville.

“AIM has a clear mission to facilitate meaningful connections between AIM member businesses seeking to engage in inclusive procurement and a diverse range of supplier businesses. We decided to provide branding videos because many small companies lack the capital to assemble important marketing assets,” says Karen Wallace, Executive Vice President of Economic Inclusion at AIM.

“We are grateful to the Eastern Bank Foundation for supporting this important effort to provide marketing resources to growing businesses throughout Massachusetts.”

Applications were judged on criteria that included financial soundness, value proposition, social impact and planned use of the videos.

Serving as judges were Juliette Mayers, Founder and CEO of Inspiration Zone in Norwell; Marianne Lancaster, President and Owner of Lancaster Packaging in Hudson; Keith Fairey, President and CEO of Way Finders in Springfield; Kyle Pardo, Executive Vice President of AIM HR Solutions; and Ms. Wallace.

“As a woman-owned company, we have experienced tremendous changes in our business in recent years. This award is not only an affirmation of my calling to bring music to more people. It is also providing a way for us to better articulate who we are as a business in this environment in which we have grown exponentially,” said Meredith Pizzi, Founder and CEO, Roman Music Therapy

Added Kevin Doherty, Chief Culinary Officer of Commonwealth Kitchen, “Having access to a professional production company that will create a video that showcases what we do and some of the firms we work with will provide a much-needed marketing help for customer acquisition.”