898 Marketing – Find Out About The Meaning Behind the Name

Since starting 898 Marketing, everyone asks the question, “What does the 898 mean in 898 Marketing?” Well, to be honest, it means something different to every client, which we help them define. I’ll explain this later on in this blog but, for us, the name for our company was actually determined a long time ago, in a house on the West Side of Youngstown, Ohio, far, far away… When I was 3 years old, my grandfather, Stephen P. Suhar, who, like our 33^rd President, Harry S. Truman, had a middle initial that didn’t stand for any name, it was just a letter, pulled me aside while visiting at his home one day. He had a card with the number 0-9 listed and told me to point to any three numbers. As the story goes, I pointed to the numbers 8-9-8.   From that day forward, he played that lotto number everyday. Every time it hit, he would put the winnings into an account and invest it for me. I like to think I already won the lotto by having a grandfather like him but it wasn’t until 10-years after that encounter that my grandfather revealed to me what he had been doing. As a 13-year old, I would cut my grandfather’s grass every week. One day after a fresh trim, we sat on his front porch enjoying a Pepsi watching the cars go by on Connecticut Ave., he revealed to me what he had been doing. He told me that he believed in me and, when I turned 16, he wanted me to use the money from the winnings to buy a truck and start my own lawn care service. As a 13-year old, all I heard was “I’m getting a new car in 3 years.” However, 4 days before my 16^th birthday, the man who was my mentor, role model and grandfather, passed away before I could live his dream for me. I swore, from that day, that whatever business I started, would include 898 in the name. Fast forward 18 years later and here we, and you, are at 898 Marketing. And while 898 Marketing is a strategic marketing and creative consultancy delivering accountable business development campaigns with a relentless commitment to brand growth and digital innovation for small- and medium-sized businesses, this story is an example of what we try to unlock for each of our clients – a passionate and meaningful approach to marketing and grow their business with their customers and team members through clear, attainable goals. Earlier, I said that “8-9-8” means something different to every one of our clients. While this story is very personal to our company and me, the numbers are the foundation to how we create our branding strategies, how we develop our ‘elevator pitches’ for sales teams, how we focus on implementing cost effective digital strategies, even to the way we measure our team members’ performances and goal setting. We believe that every company has story and we want to help tell it in the most efficient and meaningful way possible. 898 Marketing has proven that groundbreaking creative and customized strategic marketing plans incorporating traditional, digital, mobile and social tactics do not have to be costly for small and medium size businesses in order to be effective.  In addition to crafting custom marketing direction designed to achieve collaborative business objectives, 898 Marketing also serves as a trusted network of resources that can assemble the right team for the right project.  With a reputation solidified in a proven return on innovation, 898 Marketing has developed solutions for businesses in Northeast Ohio and beyond. More than 30 years ago, three simple numbers changed my life forever by creating a connection that will carry on forever. Now, we want to show your company how they can do the same for you with your customers. So…what’s your story?