What many people do not know about The Technology Therapy Group is that we are a full service digital branding agency. We do whatever it takes to help our clients position themselves effectively. We’re even willing to embrace old-school technologies like print for special projects.

We’ve been working with Talisen Construction since they opened their doors in 2010. During that first year, we designed their brand identity – creating a logo, website and promotional materials. Then the holiday season rolled around. When I asked my client what his holiday gifting plans were, he told me they were giving gift cards and bottles of holiday cheer.

That was good, I told him, but it could be better. In 2011, things were going to be different.

Flash forward. Brainstorming sessions with the Talisen leadership team resulted in the plan for a coffee table book. The concept was to showcase New York City’s most iconic buildings. Our collaborative process made it easy for Talisen – they picked out the buildings they loved the most, and our team created a short, engaging story for each one. When all the pieces were put together, Talisen had a holiday gift their clients loved. The book was a big hit and received rave reviews.

That made planning 2012’s holiday gifting easy: we’d just do another book. But sometimes things that sound simple get complicated in a hurry. Remember Hurricane Sandy?

2012 – The Book That Almost Wasn’t

Everything started out well. Having learned from experience, we deliberately built time into the Talisen coffee table book production schedule. By October, we had our topic selected, and were ready to embark on the project. Our team got to work creating a spotlight of the architecture and style of each neighborhood in New York City, from Harlem to Wall Street.

Enter Hurricane Sandy. No one was expecting a storm like this to hit the East Coast. Everyone was impacted. I’m not ashamed to admit that there was some concern that we would not be able to get the project done in time for print. Internally, we put on extra bodies and set aggressive deadlines and we made it happen. We had the book completed and to the printer before 6pm on 12/3.

On Friday December 7th at 9am I received a call from Talisen a very distressing call: the printer would not be able to deliver the book until after December 25th. This was unacceptable. Clearly we needed another printer!

I started to make some calls and then I stopped myself. Why spend hours searching when I had a whole world of talent at my fingertips?

It was time to leverage the power of LinkedIn. I looked through my 1st degree contacts and found Julianne of Kirkwood Printing. We had met over a year ago at theNew England Expo. That in-person meeting had a big impact: I remembered how much I’d liked her and her friendly, open personality.

I did not waste time with email – I jumped on a call and explained the situation. Before the end of the day she had a proposal to me and we had a deal. I am so impressed with how helpful Kirkwood Printing has been in a time of need – especially considering we were a new client at one of the busiest times of the year.

LinkedIn really delivered on its promise. I’d been very uneasy when I’d started my Google search for a new printer. I didn’t know who I’d connect with or how trustworthy they might be.

LinkedIn is populated with people I have some reason to know, through personal experience or the recommendation of a respected colleague. That trust proved to be the vital component I needed to have in place to be comfortable awarding this crucial project.

Social media connections laid long before we ever contemplated doing business together made it easy to choose Kirkwood. This goes to show how important social media is. Even if the value is not immediately apparent, conversations you have today can totally transform the business you’re doing tomorrow.

Today we received the the coffee table book. We’re over the moon with the quality. Talisen, our client, is pleased with it – and they’re more pleased that Technology Therapy was able to solve the last minute printing problem, for a better price.

What’s your social media success story? Share it with us. We’d love to hear it!