National Invest In Veterans Week, a Tech From Vets brand, is adding multiple innovations to its arsenal in 2021. Having won numerous awards for its social impact strategy, innovative technologies, and overall business approach, the organization is destined for continued success for years to come. The Hudson Weekly name National Invest In Veterans Week as a winner of its 2021 Veterans in Business Award, The Belmont Star presented them with an Innovative Media Excellence Award. Furthermore, The Ritz Herald named them the Best Social Impact Initiative of 2021. Before launching National Invest In Veterans Week, the organization won a BizTech Award from Comcast Business and the Jacksonville Business Journal for their innovative Vets 22 mobile application under their Tech From Vets brand name. With honors filling the award cases of this impactful organization, their strategy remains rooted in social impact.
As a nationally syndicated columnist specializing in innovative digital marketing, Jeff Shuford knows the impact of having a digitally impactful brand. A recent Black Men Xcel Award winner from Black Enterprise Magazine, the creative executive, leverages the power of marketing to advance National Invest In Veterans Week’s mission. “As the Grandson of a GRAMMY Hall of Famer, the impact of influence is always forefront in my mind. Our goal was to utilize the power of virality to advocate for veteran business owners nationwide,” stated Shuford. One innovative strategy the organization used was through the power of hashtag marketing. By encouraging people to share their favorite veteran business owners with the hashtag #NationalInvestInVeteranWeek the team found a unique way to track the amount of support for the organization holiday and tap into the excitement that social media users have around sharing hashtags. “One way that businesses invest marketing dollars in a proverbial pit is by only focusing on digital ad spend as opposed to bootstrap marketing approaches to market their brand,” stated Shuford.
Outside of the successful hashtag strategy that the organization utilized, innovative technology was a significate tool the organization employed to ensure its brand’s virality. “Having radio shows on multiple platforms, mobile applications for users on all devices, and a digital magazine were a few strategies that we implemented to build around National Invest In Veterans Week,” stated Chynelle Washington, who serves as the organization’s director of initiatives. Since National Invest In Veterans Week is celebrated every year during the first week of March, the brand has multiple months to prepare for the following year’s festivities. “Although we may launch other holidays for veteran business owners in other months in the near future, our goal to continue making March our primary focus both digitally and technologically,” stated director of innovative philosophy Angel Shuford. Angel holds a degree in Military Technology Leadership from Thomas Edison State University and is an SBB Research Group STEM Scholarship Recipient. In a recent interview with the Belmont Star, when asked about the organization’s mobile application strategy, Angel stated, “Our strategy when launching our NIVW technology was to have a resource for veterans to connect directly with advisors at a touch of a button.” National Invest In Veterans Week’s strategy is focused on veteran business owners nationwide, and their impact continues to help veterans struggling with transitioning into the business world. With multiple innovations to boot, this organization will continue positively impacting the veteran business community for years to come.
