Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • June 15, 2020 • Hartford Business Journal 9 their kids at home during work hours be- cause they don't have child care for now. Teleworking hasn't been much of a change, since it was already welcome and common at the firm. "They bring their laptops home every day, everything is in the cloud," said Turner, who has communicated daily via Zoom with the firm's Atlanta office since it was es- tablished more than two years ago. Though remote communication is old hat for Turner, he misses some aspects of in-person work. "It's that random walk-by where you just pop in and start having a conversation where some creative idea comes out," he said. "We're try- ing to force that [through remote interaction] but it's not as natural." The COVID-19 turbulence has cost GO some revenue, as campaigns have been canceled or stalled. To ensure it could hang on, GO was one of the more than 56,000 Con- necticut companies that successfully applied to the U.S. Small Business Administration for Paycheck Protec- tion Program stimulus funds. "There is still a lot of uncertainty," Turner said. "When will the businesses get back? When will 'normal' return?" Things are going well so far. It won't be a record year, but it will be a good year for GO, Turner predicts. "Work's coming in, we're feeling pretty good, we're actually hiring right now," he said. "A good year in 2020 is a great year." "I am so grateful for that," he added. While the situation has caused plenty of unexpected scrambling, it's also created opportunities, as clients felt an urgency to push out new messaging, whether through bill- boards, websites or other channels managed by GO, due to the sudden and unprecedented health crisis. For many, there seemed to be no other choice. Imagine seeing an ad now with people gathered in a group without masks on, failing to acknowledge the emotionally taxing need for social distancing to be safe? Viewers' immediate reaction, Turner said, would be "that doesn't look right." "Never before has it been that obvious for marketers who don't update their stuff," he said. "Every- one had to address this in some way, shape or form." The company has continued its work pro bono for a handful of cli- ents facing financial troubles, Turn- er said, and it's also picked up some unexpected work from PepsiCo. GO had done video work in the past for the company, which meant it had access to valuable footage that could be reworked into new advertising. Its latest PepsiCo spot makes use of voicemail messages left for the company by consumers grateful for access to food and beverages during uncertain times. GO also pivoted its ongoing work for the Hospital for Special Care in New Britain, shifting to a theme of thanking healthcare workers. GO's video team was on-site at the hos- pital in early June for its first shoot in months. There were new precau- tions: temperature checks, people appearing on screen attached their own microphones, and everyone wore masks, Turner said. He expects video production to become an even bigger piece of GO's business in the months ahead. The agency recently launched a new sub-brand, Greenlight Productions, for some of its video work, including projects with American Ninja Warrior and the U.S. Open golf tournament. "Video will come back stronger than ever before because people are consuming media at a higher rate, and we can't be there, but you still want to see it," Turner said. Entrepreneurs launch Hartford's newest brewery during pandemic By Joe Cooper jcooper@hartfordbusiness.com J on Patrei and Bo Kolcio this spring did what many entrepreneurs try to avoid during a major economic downturn: open a new business. The partners in late April debuted Phantom Brew- ing, Hartford's newest craft brewery, more than two years after they hatched the idea at the site of their estab- lished homebrew and restaurant supply business on Murphy Road. The 16-year-old homebrew busi- ness, which sells materials and holds classes for beer, wine and cheese making, has taken a beating in recent months due to COVID-19 restric- tions, but Patrei says the temporary shutdowns created an opportunity for the partners to develop their planned brewery operation within the existing 3,000-square-foot industrial space. "Right when the store shut down in March we spent the next few weeks planning our brewery opening," said Patrei. "The business was hurt on the homebrew side, but the brew- ery has been able to sustain us." The two part- ners first teamed up when Kolcio acquired in 2012 the former Beer & Wine Makers Warehouse, which is now Homebrew Supply at Phantom Brewing Co. The global health crisis has actually helped Phantom in certain ways as it created a somewhat level Continued on page 10 >> FOCUS: SMALL BUSINESS Chad Turner, CEO of Go-Agency, predicts his marketing and creative firm's video division will have increased opportunities ahead due to COVID-19. Sales have been strong at Phantom Brewing in Hartford during its first few months in operation. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS | CONTRIBUTED

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