Show and Tell

Hi everyone! I'm Ari Lewis, the cofounder of Payload. Welcome to the fourth edition of "Marketing From Space," my monthly newsletter on storytelling, comms, and PR in the aerospace industry.

Before diving in, let's run through some updates on the Payload front. Our flagship newsletter now sits north of 15,000 subscribers. Our Pathfinder podcast has an average audience size of 1,000+ downloads/plays per episode. Finally, our weekly Parallax science newsletter just recently crossed 1,500 subs.

Since my last Marketing From Space dispatch, Payload has announced partnership deals with Italian Trade Agency, AI Solutions, Millennium Space Systems, and Kepler Space.. If you're interested in reaching the Payload audience, chat with Brian, our new sales lead. If you just want to chat marketing, book time with me.

Now, on to the main business...

In this month's edition...💭 My thoughts on content marketing in space🎙️ A Q+A with OLI Global's Kelly Maloney👩🏼‍🚀 Four curated space marketing jobs🚀 Three articles to help you do your job better

Ari's View from Space

As the war in Ukraine rages on, I am continually impressed by the amount of satellite imagery I see in the media. This includes imagery and EO data from companies like Planet, Capella, Maxar, BlackSky, and many more.

The satellite operators are helping tell a story beyond the words that a journalist speaks or writes. I'm most impressed with Maxar's ongoing work; the company has a dedicated team that helps journalists source imagery to tell stories.

Many space executives that I speak with regularly struggle to tell their companies' story. Potential customers or recruits don't always understand the value proposition or see the full picture. What many EO companies have done is literally to let the product speak for itself through the media. When you see a Maxar or Planet image, you understand the value prop immediately.

If you are thinking about how to gain attention for your company, maybe think beyond the obvious. Try to come up with ways to fit current trends in the market and tie your story into that. Don't just tell people what you do, show them!

+ What are your thoughts? Agree or disagree? Any other feedback? Reply to this email to drop me a line about what you're thinking.

Profile of the Month

Name: Kelly MaloneyTitle: CEO @ OLI GlobalContact: Email / LinkedIn

What is one item you'd take to space?A picture of my family!

Kelly, you have your own communications consultancy. Tell us about the work you do.OLI Global (aka OLI Communications) is laser-focused on the space and aerospace industries. We provide strategic branding and communications to companies all along the value chain including startups, suppliers, engineering firms, and established OEMs. Our team has decades of experience in high-growth industries, with the highest concentrations in space and aerospace.

Our offerings include branding, marketing communications, public relations, media relations, advocacy, website development, business development, internal communications, external communications, employee recruitment campaigns, digital strategies, and tactics, positioning and messaging, writing, collaterals, and more. I can be reached at [email protected].

Some of your clients are on the supplier side. How do you help clients that aren't as "sexy" as your traditional space companies?You really hit the mark with this question. Space really is super "sexy" and most suppliers we work with are interested in being part of the mix. Overcoming the perception that suppliers are a commodity is key and doing it with sophistication is a must. To do this, we help our supplier customers position themselves as part of the space ecosystem.

As an example, the branding, videos, and messaging we did for Altek, Inc. (altek-inc.com)—a supplier of customer-proprietary satellite and rocket parts—depict Altek's contributions to a variety of spacefaring equipment, helping OEMs see how Altek fits into their overall strategy as a trusted part of the "team." We also continually message the work Altek did to reconfigure their shop floor to accommodate manufacturing for the specific needs of the space industry. Because of this, Altek's space business is growing exponentially.

When is the ideal time for someone to reach out to you? At what stage in a lifecycle can a communication firm maximize ROI vs. working with someone in-house?Anytime. We can work within any framework, starting with strategy all the way to implementation. Like most firms, we believe the more we can contribute, the greater our impact, so naturally, we'd like to be in the mix as early as possible. But we frequently get called in when an in-house effort has met with challenges of some sort. We are able to pick up the pieces and move the effort forward. One example is a space startup attempting to get traction with a one-page website, a logo that was pretty rough, no tagline, and no clear messaging. They also needed help with networking. We jumped in and helped them with all of it and more so they could concentrate on the core aspects of their company.

You are involved in a new non-profit called Space Northwest. Tell us more about it. I'm very excited about Space Northwest (spacenorthwest.org) and feel fortunate to have just transitioned to a Board Advisor after helping them form as a Board Member. Our Brand Promise, “BEYOND EARTH: The Future of Humanity in Space - Emerging from the Synergies of the Pacific Northwest” says a lot about where we are taking the organization on behalf of the industry.

Specifically, Space Northwest is designed to support PNW individuals and businesses passionate about space and who are seeking collaboration and a shared voice. Additionally, Space Northwest will market the industry in Washington State and across the PNW. We are working in tandem with other associations, industry, higher education, government, economic development firms, and advocacy groups. We are also focused on increasing DEIA initiatives in the space industry.

What is one marketing initiative that you have worked on at OLI that has been successful, and why?One of our current supplier customers had a large concentration of its business in aerospace, so when production of the 737 MAX was halted, they felt it. Then the pandemic hit making revenues plummet even more. OLI helped them diversify their customer base across multiple industries to increase their sales pipeline.

We also added more of a marketing emphasis for their space work to increase awareness about this aspect of their business. Then we rebranded the entire organization, developing new assets and implementing the refreshed brand across all channels. As they worked tirelessly internally to overcome the challenges, the combined results are that the company is experiencing a significant swing back to the norm and is now at pre-MAX and pre-pandemic revenues.

Curated Space Jobs

• Director, Internal Communications @ Relativity

• Communication Manager @ ABL Space Systems

• Marketing Manager @ Lunar Outpost

• Marketing Manager @ SpinLaunch

Ari's Top Links

• Marketers energized by using AI to write their copy amid Microsoft’s rumored OpenAI investment—What a shock...marketers are using AI. I'll be curious to see if this is a flash in the pan, like marketers using NFTs, or a long-term tactic to add value to a business.

• Vice Media Gets $30 Million-Plus Lifeline From Fortress as Bills Pile Up—Vice Media is going to likely go bankrupt or get bought for pennies on the dollar. It's a cautionary tale on why you shouldn't focus on only one channel, and an unfortunate reminder that web traffic is about intent, not visitors.

• CRASH COURSE: CUSTOMER SEGMENTATION—Really enjoyed this guide to customer segmentation. I'm looking forward to applying some of my learnings to our own channels (most notably Beehiiv, the ESP that we use to send Payload, Parallax, and this newsletter).

Final Thoughts

I have hired a salesperson full-time. Brian joins us by way of Morning Brew and Dow Jones. With Brian on board and ramped up, I'm planning on both A) running more paid acquisition campaigns for Payload and B) producing more marketing content. Stay tuned!

As always, I'd really love to hear from you. Reply to this email to drop me a line with feedback, constructive criticism, or just to say hi.

Your input really helps me iterate and make this a better experience for everyone. If you have anything to contribute, such as a marketing job, link, interview, or article, email me and I'll work on including it in the next edition.