When we first met Mike and Rachel, they weren’t just opening a café—they were building Sippers Café & Bakery from the ground up with their whole heart in it. Months before the doors ever opened, we were already meeting to plan their branding, logo design, website, and all the small but important details that needed to be in place for a strong launch.
Then the date got closer, and closer. They were in deep:
Late nights testing recipes, training staff, getting permits in place, refining the look and feel of the shop, making sure every detail matched the experience they wanted people to have on day one.
Like a lot of small business owners, they were wearing ten hats already.
They didn’t need “more to do.”
They needed a partner to take marketing off their plate and make sure the community actually showed up. That’s what we did.
What They Needed From Merkados
Mike and Rachel were clear about their priorities:
- “We want people to know who we are before we open the doors.”
- “We need marketing that actually works, not just noise.”
So our role was simple and very human:
Let them focus on baking, service, and operations, while we handled branding, visibility, messaging, and promotion.
What We Did For Their Grand Opening
We built a focused launch campaign designed to do one thing well:
Make Sippers known, liked, and visited.
1. Grand Opening Ad Campaign
We created a digital campaign to introduce Sippers to the local community and build excitement before opening day.
- Around 35,000 views on the campaign
- Engagement up by 2,400%
- Followers grew by about 1,000%
For Mike and Rachel, this meant people weren’t just scrolling past—they were noticing the brand, following them, and sharing the content.
2. Press Release & Invitation to the Community
We wrote and published a press release that told their story and invited the public to the Grand Opening.
That positioned Sippers as a new local spot worth paying attention to, not just another place that quietly opens its doors.
On top of the digital campaign, we worked side by side with Mike and Rachel on the materials people would actually touch and see on-site. We designed and produced printed graphics for the café, created and printed their Grand Opening flyers, and delivered clean, professional business cards that matched the brand they were proud of. Every piece, from the signage to the handouts, was intentionally aligned with the look and feel of Sippers. And of course, all of that tied in with the social media ads we ran, so the experience was consistent: what people saw online matched what they felt when they walked through the door.
3. Website Traffic & Real Interest
During that campaign week, their website didn’t just get a bump, it surged:
- 375%+ increase in total sessions
- 197% increase from organic search
- 1,400% increase from social
- 266% increase from referrals
Behind each of those numbers is a real person:
- Someone clicking from social because a friend shared the post
- Someone discovering them online before ever stepping inside
The Result: A Strong Start and a Warm Welcome
By the time Sippers opened, people already knew the name.
They had seen the brand, heard the story, and many walked in on day one already curious and excited.
The campaign:
- Built awareness in the local community
- Drove real traffic to their website
- Helped bring customers through the door for the Grand Opening
- Gave Mike and Rachel the breathing room to focus on delivering an amazing in-person experience
What This Says About How We Work at Merkados
This project with Mike and Rachel and their team reflects how we like to work with every client, whether you’re running a clinic, a law firm, a coworking space, a landscaping business, or a medical practice.
- We see people, not just “accounts.”
We knew their names, their story, their pressure points. We weren’t just shipping “assets”; we were supporting real people betting big on their dream. A dream that we really admire and get behind. - We focus on what actually works.
No smoke and mirrors. The numbers we report are connected to real actions: views, engagement, search, referrals, and visits. We care about impact, not activity. - We act like a marketing arm, not a vendor.
We didn’t wait for Mike and Rachel to tell us every step. We execute first, then we ask for their input, we refined, and then ship, so they could stay in their zone—running the café. - We integrate everything into one clear push.
Ads, press, social, website traffic—they weren’t separate efforts. They worked together toward a single, clear goal: a successful launch.
How This Applies to Your Business
If you’re reading this as a business owner or marketing director, you might be in a similar spot:
- You have a lot on your plate already.
- You know marketing is important, but you don’t have time to test random tactics.
- You may even be posting to social media already but without a clear path to what works.
- You want honest, strategic help that respects your time and your investment.
What we did for Mike and Rachel can be adapted to:
- Opening a new location
- Launching a new service or program
- Rebranding and reintroducing your business to the market
- Running a key seasonal or promotional campaign
- Supporting your marketing from an innovative, helpful, and truly strategic perspective
At Merkados, our goal is simple:
Help you attract more of the right clients, improve your digital marketing, and build momentum for your brand—in a way that feels real, human, and effective.
While you’re focused on running the business, we’re focused on making sure people find you, remember you, and choose you.
