As we start the new year, it’s a time of reflection and celebration for CLM. 2023 was a year marked by transformation, memorable highlights, and noteworthy anniversaries. Here are some of the most notable moments of the year for CLM and our work with clients.

Our journey with clients saw many milestones. Some of this year’s highlights include:

• Idaho Lottery provided the largest single-year dividend to the State of Idaho, with $82,000,000 to Idaho’s Public Schools and Buildings. As the media, creative, and strategy agency for the Lottery, we are proud to play a role in this giveback.

• D&B Supply proudly unveiled its flagship store in Caldwell, marking a significant milestone in the company’s growth and expansion. At CLM, we were thrilled to contribute in this venture, providing comprehensive support with both in-store signage and external marketing initiatives across this and all their locations. The new flagship store is a real game-changer.

• Corwin Auto Group celebrated their four newest dealerships’ first full year in Colorado, Washington, and Nevada. We helped plan and implement a grand opening in Boulder. In 2023, we launched new branding and incentive campaigns for these dealerships and other Corwin dealerships we work with across the West.

• Southwest District Health Department was awarded one of three State of Idaho grants to create a Youth Crisis Center in Idaho. CLM took pride in developing the identity of this Crisis Center as well as several other Southwest District Health programs.
• We developed, launched, and implemented campaigns for a wide array of target prospects and customers of successful Idaho businesses we are proud to call our clients like Commercial Tire, Simplot Grower Solutions, Pioneer Federal Credit Union, Expo Idaho, and Atlas Resell Management. We placed billions of media impressions to create awareness, engagement, and conversions for them.

We were able to learn about new concepts and grow our skills. A few of the things we did:

• We held two Flint and Steel events to help our community continue learning. The first featured Rob Jeppsen with his presentation, “Calling Your Shot: Secrets of the World’s Greatest Sales Teams.” The second event featured John Sviokla with his presentation about Generative AI.
• We became certified in Business Made Simple and led ourselves through Storybrand to live our value of continuous learning. We also led one of our customers through the curriculum for the same purpose.
• We went to advertising agency leadership events in Chicago, New York, and Atlanta to learn about the modernization of agencies, new skillset development, and leadership principles. We attended conferences like HubSpot’s Inbound conference, Adobe Max, and Generative AI Worldwide to develop our knowledge and skillsets about modern marketing techniques. We attended client association events with Idaho Lottery and Western Idaho Fair to grow our knowledge in best practices, innovation, and future planning.
• We added new skillsets to CLM with illustration, marketing automation advancement, and video production by adding new people, new training curriculum, and learning programs.
• We weren’t perfect. We tried to learn from mistakes or non-optimal outcomes so that we could do better next time. We wrestled with growing pains, which is a problem we can be grateful for.

This year we celebrated anniversaries and had a myriad of life experiences:

• October 1, 2023, was the anniversary of Brad’s ownership of CLM Marketing. We looked down memory lane to recognize how much we have grown and changed over the years. We celebrated Brad, his leadership principles, and some of our most memorable times here at CLM. We also celebrate Max White’s 25th anniversary. He is the last remaining person who was at WRC when Brad bought the company in 2003. Max has grown from Designer to Art Director to Creative Director during that time.
• We had a few role changes and promotions. We ended the year with four new faces at CLM including Julie, Sophia, Kate, and Bradley. All of whom are helping us grow our offerings at CLM. I became the President of CLM, which has been a new challenge and learning experience that I am embracing.
• Our team members embraced life beyond work, enriching their experiences with diverse activities. From travels across Europe, Asia, and North America to engaging in band tours, color guard coaching, roller derby games, and numerous kid activities, each experience added depth to our team’s experience, inspiration, and creativity.
• We had fun together. We learned about the Basque culture with a tour of the Basque Museum, made flower arrangements for Valentine’s Day, had a family-wide swim party at the Surkamer home, rafted the Boise River, spent some time at the Fair, and had multiple Christmas parties.

• We gave back to our community by serving on boards, making donations, and doing service work for a wide variety of worthwhile, local organizations.

Looking Ahead to 2024

As we step into 2024, we carry with us the lessons, successes, and memories of the past year. CLM stands stronger, more connected, and ready to embrace the new year with enthusiasm and innovation. A few things we are looking forward to:

• We’re launching a consulting arm that will include topics like Storybrand, Organization Health, and Marketing Technology.
• We’re in the hiring process for another Sr. Copywriter and know that we will continue to build our creative capabilities at CLM.
• We’ll be producing at least two new Flint & Steel events in 2024. The topics are still in development, but we know that learning together continues to make us all stronger.
• We’ll be focused on honing and growing our digital skillsets in technology, automation, AI, and optimization.
• We have four on staff that will celebrate weddings from June – September and another will celebrate their 20th CLM anniversary.
• We have clients adding new locations, new team members, and new products and solutions. We are eager to help them solve problems and create solutions.

Here’s to another year of growth, learning, and impactful work with our clients and team members.