Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Kallick.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve always been creative. I wanted to go into fashion design, actually. What I love about fashion is the intersection of artistic creativity and the real technical know-how of construction. Which is incredibly similar to Marketing. On the surface it is beautiful and effortless but the workings behind that image are nerdy and calculated!
In my [winding] journey to what I do today, I joined the Army to pay for art school, moved from Fairfax City to Winchester, worked as a one-woman marketing department for an interior design boutique and eventually was encouraged (by life and my boss) to go freelance during COVID after a layoff. That freelancing quickly led to the agency that I run today.
I’ve spent the last decade-plus working with small businesses, wearing just about every marketing hat from design and branding to websites, social media, and event design. Over time, I became the “go‑to” person who could connect all the dots (brand, website, email, social, print, etc.) for teams that don’t have in‑house marketing. I learned by doing; and a lot of listening to what owners actually needed day to day.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
My business was born in a very trying time. The clients I served were in survival mode, and whole industries were crumbling. I think the reason that we all made it is that we took up the policy of “yes, and…” – to use a improv theater term. “yes, folks can’t come out to my retail business just now, AND I’ll show up in their Instagram feed instead”. It’s the scrappy ones that know the value of community that made it.
These days, I refer to the out of the box strategies as guerrilla marketing. Like when I worked with our local library to advertise their ABC Saturday event by making the ABCs of Winchester using local businesses (ie: K is for Kimberly’s boutique) and the customized event posters for each of the businesses. Through this, the early literacy brand ‘Grow A Reader’ that I created for them, and the work of many other great people, the library was awarded a sought-after accreditation!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Wildember serves local organizations like boutiques, therapists, architects, hospitality brands, nonprofits, and wedding professionals. Many come in overwhelmed or under‑resourced and through our work gain clarity, a plan, and a marketing partner who actually listens and translates ideas into something real. My favorite thing is giving a client a brand and/or website that look beautiful but also feel lived‑in, practical, and maintainable for their actual team and capacity. Though, we do offer a full range of marketing services.
What sets my agency apart is the level of partnership we provide. I get to know my clients deeply, many over years, and build marketing that feels human, local, and sustainable. I’m proud of being the creative behind brands that are doing good work in their communities. I’m known for absolutely nailing a brand founder’s voice on social media or distilling an author’s manuscript into a cover that makes them shed happy tears.
I’m proud to be the marketing partner of many change-makers in my community. From non-profits like Habitat for Humanity and United Way, to our local Handley Library, to keystones in our community retail space like Kimberly’s and their family of boutiques. I’m also incredibly humbled to work closely with BikeWalk Winchester and Art Again Thrift & Creative Reuse as a board member.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
Luck maybe has played a quiet, but present role. You could say it was bad luck to start a business in a pandemic – but you could also (rightly) say that I never would have been pushed to start outside of that highly specific scenario.
I do count myself lucky in business because even as I am in the marketing industry, I’ve never had to market myself. I am lucky to have every one of my clients and business relationships. Though, if you were to press me, I might say that having a reputation of honesty and a policy of kindness sure do give luck a run for its money,
Pricing:
- I take complementary 30 minute Discovery Calls before quoting a project. Every project is unique to the client
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.wildemberbrand.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wildemberbrand/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wildemberbrand
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-m-kallick/
