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22 HARTFORD BUSINESS JOURNAL | MAY 2024 | BUSINESS PROFILES Address: 18 Elm Ave., Norwich, CT 06360 Phone: (860) 887-6882 Website: www.mirandacreative.com Product or Service: Brand Management Top Executive: Maria Miranda, Owner and Creative Director No. of Employees: 30 Year Founded: 1988 Meet Connecticut's Small Business Person of the Year — Maria Miranda I n the quaint and often quiet neighborhood of Norwichtown, a once-small marketing, design, and brand management agency has been making big noise in 2024. Maria Miranda founded Miranda Creative, Inc. in 1988 and has continued to grow the brand management firm in size, reach, and capabilities ever since. After surpassing the 35-year milestone, the agency quickly received a pair of highly remarkable honors — Maria Miranda herself was named Connecticut's Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and Miranda Creative was named Eastern Connecticut's Small Business of the Year. We sat down with Maria and learned more about why Miranda Creative is being celebrated locally and recognized nationally. Why is Miranda Creative now gaining such meaningful recognition? Our community has been producing award- winning work since our early days, but over the past five years, we have achieved statewide and national attention for our work on landmark brands such as Parkville Market, Hartford Public Library, CT Grown (Department of Agriculture), Connecticut Paid Leave, Connecticut Interlocal Risk Management Agency (CIRMA) and Naugatuck Railroad — to name a few. While it's an honor to be selected by the SBA, these awards are truly a tribute to the entire team's talent, hard work, and strong relationships with exceptional client partners. What services does Miranda Creative offer, and what sectors do you support? Miranda Creative is a brand management company — unlike commission-driven agencies, we focus on a client's core values and ensure consistent messaging across all media through authentic messaging. Our expertise converts to an assurance that brands we manage are universally and successfully represented across all forms of media — from traditional collateral to integrated and interactive media. As a result of this process, we offer comprehensive services in brand development, creative design, content/copywriting, digital marketing, social media management, website design/development, strategy/planning, media buying, photo/video creation, and earned media/public relations. Over the past four decades, our clients have been in a number of market sectors, touching a wide variety of industries, including government, nonprofit, health and human services, arts/ culture/tourism, agriculture, manufacturing, and technology. Why do clients choose to work with Miranda Creative? We describe ourselves as having the energy of a start-up company paired with the confidence of experience. Clients turn to us when they are seeking trusted partners who are early adopters of new media solutions yet are not easily swayed by the next best thing when results matter. We pair our clients with a team of skilled experts — called a cohort — that seamlessly support established internal teams or a fully outsourced marketing team. In an industry that is constantly and rapidly evolving, we offer clients the ideal solution of flexible, specialized labor without the challenges of hiring and retaining an entire staff. What are some memorable projects or brands? We are honored to have developed or rebranded some iconic brands and achieved some truly remarkable results for our clients. Some recent examples include: • Supporting the 2021 roll-out of the CT Paid Leave program, driving more than 100,000 Connecticut businesses to register. • Developing and launching an exciting new brand for Hartford Public Library to kick off its 250th Year Celebration • Helping Connecticut's first food hall come to life with an exciting brand and interactive website for Parkville Market.