Get Black Listed
Have you ever gone years living within driving distance of what turns out to be your favorite restaurant? Or spent hundreds of dollars at dry cleaner after dry cleaner before you find the one that understands how to get wine out of a silk dress?
Among its services, BLACKbook Experience Management Group (BLACKbook EMG), a VIP concierge service that connects employees to activities, networks, people and places designed to produce a measured increase in employee retention and attraction, a boost in employee productivity and morale, and employees that enlist as advocates of your brand.
BLACKbook EMG is prepared to sift through the plethora of options in Cincinnati through their Culture Shock program. Whether exploring the arts, businesses or nightlife, BLACKbook EMG tailors the experience to one you want to receive, whether that’s a place to hang out with the girls after work or a way to get to know other people in your field.
“We want to eliminate the trial and error of finding, for instance, restaurateur’s ice cream,” says Stephanie Wallace, lead consultant to BLACKbook EMG and a head of Digital Media. “There are wonderful boutiques out there, amazing chefs.”
The Culture Shock program was originally designed to acclimate new hires in a company to the culture, or social networks, of their new environments.
“In a nutshell, what we do is design and implement innovative strategies to help companies recruit and retain top talent, the best people,” BLACKbook EMG Chief Executive Officer Chris Ostoich says.
Many people new to Cincinnati are overwhelmed by the choices or just don’t know where to start. Wallace knows how alone someone can feel in such a big city because she moved to Cincinnati from Cleveland and felt out of the loop for quite a while.
“It took me nine months before I really found a good park to run in or a good salon to get my hair done,” Wallace says. “I was the only woman, there were a lot of older men, and I just didn’t have a lot to do. I had a lot of bad meals, a couple of bad haircuts.”
But BLACKbook EMG is not just for residents new to Cincinnati.
“Some of our biggest fans are people who have been here for years and years and years but who have never felt integrated,” Ostoich says. “There are so many people who live here but don’t feel home. We find that a lot with guys who are my age, who have a great job but aren’t fans of their own city.”
Wallace is happy with the response the company has received, attributing it to the great city and community in Cincinnati.
“We’ve really had a high demand for our services, and we’ve grown very quickly,” Wallace says. “It’s shown there’s a lot of people who want to put the glitter back in Cincinnati.”
BLACKbook EMG’s other services also include Rainmaker, a concierge service as fully personalized and customizable as all of the rest of the BLACKbook EMG services. Through Rainmaker, BLACKbook EMG will offer support in business meetings and conferences as well as entertainment. BLACKbook EMG is also offering a new service for creating branded company social networks (think Facebook for a specific corporation or community).
PHOTO CREDITS
Photo: Courtesy of BLACKbook EMG Facebook
