Beth Carlson and Kip Beacco are helping to digitize the Berkshires’ small business community. Through their multimedia creative agency Silo Media, they specialize in graphic design, video production, website design, and social media marketing management. Their “Fresh Start” service analyzes a business’s online presence and offers areas for improvement to provide visitors a more engaging experience. Even more than advertising, a strong online profile is the most important thing for a business, Beth says, as it’s the first place people go to find out about your business. This has become particularly true since the onset of COVID.
Kip, who is also the lead guitarist for jazz swing band The Lucky 5, has always been involved in creative pursuits. In college, he studied journalism, dabbled in video production, and then launched his career in graphic design. Beth came to the Berkshires with a psychology degree and landed in the Berkshire shuffle. She has used her instinctive community organizing skills to help tell the stories of various initiatives in the region, most recently as a board member of Dewey Hall and the Clinton Church Restoration Project. Beth and Kip joined forces as the result of a mutual love of American roots music. They met while working on Oldtone, a local roots music festival co-founded by Kip, and found their working styles to be complementary: Beth frames a story around the big picture while Kip’s practical skills implement the vision.
They consider themselves visual minimalists and offer simple, clean, and contemporary styles. You can see this in their work around town: the logos for One Mercantile and the Great Barrington Bagel Company, the Berkshires Farm Table Cookbook, or fundraising videos for Construct and Flying Cloud. One of their latest documentary pursuits is in collaboration with chef and culinary consultant Katy Sparks on a farm-to-table video project called the “Edible Natural World” in which Katy interviews farmers and food producers and then cooks with their products to paint a holistic picture of the movement. Their initial segments feature Molly Comstock of Colfax Farm and Elizabeth Keen of Indian Line Farm.
Each project varies depending on the industry, the client, or the medium; there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Kip and Beth like to start by sitting down with the client to better understand their mission, goals, and audience. They pride themselves on transparency and communication in regard to project timelines and deliverables. Whether they’re handed the reins for creative liberty or are collaborating with a hands-on client or multiple decision-makers, they always end up with a product that reflects the client’s values and aesthetics.
When it comes to growing their business, Kip and Beth have their sights set on the changing landscape of Main Street. With new shops come new opportunities to tell stories and enrich the online presence of small businesses. To newcomers and aspiring entrepreneurs, they offer the notion of diversification–of product and service offerings, media formats, and even payment options, like BerkShares! “The Berkshires are fertile ground for collaboration,” Beth reflects, and tools like our local currency help to facilitate cooperation among businesses by providing an incentive to shop with each other. “Our downtowns are thriving again,” Kip adds. The time is right to start a business and they can’t wait to tell your story.
Silo Media
info@silo-media.com
413.429.1176
