Mainstreet Martinsburg is a non-profit organization consisting of local business owners, local government entities, property owners, citizens, and volunteers that focuses on preserving the Historical Downtown District and promoting downtown economic vitality in Martinsburg.
“Our goal is to reinvest, revitalize, and just bring the focus back to our Historic Downtown Business District. We strive to cultivate and encourage the Downtown District so that it remains the heartbeat of our region,” says Executive Director, Robby Blair.
Mainstreet Martinsburg hosts events to increase traffic to the Downtown District, helping local businesses and encouraging economic growth in the area. With the help of local leaders, businesses, and sponsorships, the group is working to restore and renew the local downtown area to attract more businesses to ensure economic strength in the community for years to come. When Blair took the position of Executive Director in 2021, he began working with SC Studios to increase the level of awareness for the organization and their events. Blair began as a marketing executive at another local marketing firm that specializes in print and PR. He met Moises Cardenas, owner of SC Studios, when the firm began contracting out for videography. Blair says,
“It was his video skills that paired us originally, but now we continually collaborate, he has even sponsored some of our events.”
Their first event working together was Blair’s first with Mainstreet Martinsburg. SC Studios created video content, commercials, and helped with radio advertising. That early autumn event was so successful that the following year, the non-profit was able to significantly cut their marketing and advertising budget and able to funnel funds to help with their core mission.
“Without those videos, you know I don’t think I would have had the same success that that we had in year one,” Blair shares.
The first event was so successful, the two decided to collaborate again on a spur of the moment event. With a limited amount of time to plan, SC Studios put together a video to grab the community’s attention and bring the people back for a winter event. With carriage rides, ice skating, and hot cocoa, Blair was aiming to emulate a traditional Hallmark movie. As it was only his second event as Executive Director as well as being a quickly planned event, Blair had anxieties about the community showing up. Blair expresses,
“He (Cardenas) put together such a magical promo video and was able to really showcase what we were trying to do. We had record crowds.”
“That was probably the most memorable event that we worked on; we had never had anything like it. And he was such a large part of it, I mean he (Cardenas) even wrote a Christmas song for the event about Martinsburg,” Blair continues.
Blair commends SC studios for not only quality work, but the impact they have in the community. In addition to sponsoring events, Cardenas has even helped Blair recruit businesses to the downtown area.
“I admire his dedication to not just growing his business, but our community through his work with Main Street, (Martinsburg-Berkeley County) Parks and Rec, the (Berkeley County) Development Authority and the Chamber (of Commerce), SC Studios really does have a fingerprint in our community.”
Blair holds SC Studios in high esteem for their work with large and small businesses alike, as well as their willingness to collaborate with other marketing firms. Blair attests,
“I think if the phrase ‘a rising tide raises all ships’ were a person, I think Moises (Cardenas) would really embody that. He really does believe if everybody else in the community wins- so does SC Studios.”
Blair credits SC Studios for helping to lay the foundation for Mainstreet Martinsburg’s success the past few years.
“He was instrumental in bringing people to our events, especially in the first year when I was still trying to win people over on the new concept that I had for our downtown,” Blair says.
Along with videography, SC Studios also does photography for Mainstreet Martinsburg events, some of which have been submitted to the WV State Archives by local leaders.
With the help of SC Studios, Mainstreet Martinsburg has been able to increase their event ticket sales ten-fold. Their most recent event brought close to 15,000 people downtown with a large portion of those being from Baltimore and Washington D.C., an exciting increase in tourism for the area.
SC Studios is privileged to partner with such a virtuous non-profit organization and is eager to be a part of their continued successes! To see Mainstreet Martinsburg’s future events, visit Main Street Martinsburg.
