Category: News

10 Giant Highlights from 10 Years in Business

We’re celebrating ten years in business this month, and to mark this milestone we’re taking a bit of a walk down memory lane. Read on for some of our favorite Giant memories from the past decade. 

2012 – A Giant Rebrand

Giant Voices evolved from The JPG Group—a marketing and advertising firm founded in the mid-80s in Virginia, Minnesota.

Pascha Apter joined The JPG group as an account executive in 2005, became a minority partner in 2008 and purchased and rebranded the company in 2012, making her one of the first women to wholly own a marketing firm in northern Minnesota. 

As a single mother to two young children at the time, Pascha’s decision to become an entrepreneur in a fast-paced industry was a huge risk with a huge payoff, not just for herself, but for every Giant along the way.

Pascha and her small team of Giants officed out of a charming space in Canal Park, taking Duluth by storm!

2013 – Lisa Bodine Becomes Giant President

When Pascha founded Giant Voices, she knew she needed a partner—someone to help share the heavy load of business ownership and provide the yin to her yang.

Pascha had worked alongside Lisa Bodine on several regional initiatives through the Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce and while Lisa worked for Involta and the Area Partnership for Economic Expansion (APEX).

When Pascha approached her with an opportunity to become president and partner of Giant Voices, Lisa immediately agreed—and the rest is history.

Lisa’s sales and business development expertise and deep network of industry relationships have been invaluable to Giant Voices for the past decade, setting a trajectory for rapid growth.

2014 – Visit Cook County Goes Giant 

2014 was a year full of new client acquisition success stories. One of our favorites is being awarded a contract with Visit Cook County, a relationship that continues to thrive today!

“We are personally invested in the success of all stakeholders in Cook County, Minnesota,” said Pascha.

We are incredibly proud of the award-winning work and record-breaking accomplishments we have made alongside the VCC team of marketing experts. 

2015 – The Giant Creative Team Expands!

After three years in business, 2015 required what was effectively a hiring explosion at Giant Voices.

Most notable was the hiring of Cory Southerton and Sally Carlson—two of our incredible creative team members who proudly work at Giant Voices still today.

Cory was only 19 when we joined Giant Voices, and it felt like forever before he could officially join one of our many agency happy hours.

2016 – Pascha and Lisa Travel to Africa! 

Business experts always caution that owners should never travel together—what if something happened? Would the company survive?

When Pascha and Lisa had an opportunity to travel to Africa together with their spouses, they couldn’t resist the temptation. They left the company in the capable hands of Barb Darland and Jena Mertz and set off on the journey of a lifetime.

After countless small plane flights, safari adventures, surviving an elephant stampede, and many other exciting yet frightening happenings, the Giant leaders returned to Duluth inspired and ready to tackle client and operational challenges alike.

2017 – The Giants Move to Downtown Duluth

After five years of record growth, the Giant Voices team was pushing the limits of our small Canal Park office. Lisa and Pascha explored significant renovations but ultimately decided that a new space would be a better fit for the rapidly-growing company.

They selected a 6,600-square foot space on Superior Street, putting Giant Voices directly in the heart of Duluth’s business district.The two-story office, formerly known as the ACE Hardware building, was completely renovated into a modern workspace.

It includes several conference rooms, expanded collaboration areas for staff, areas to showcase work and art, a fitness room and a kitchen. Apter also commissioned a hand-painted mural depicting the iconic Duluth skyline while incorporating a little Giant flare.

2018 – Pascha Recognized by Twin Cities Business

Pascha earned huge industry recognition when she was named one of the TCB 100: People to Know in 2018.

Pascha was recognized as an influencer in the business community and as a strong leader and savvy entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience in marketing and advertising.

Pascha’s fierce passion for helping her clients reach their financial, operational and marketing ambitions inspires creativity and innovation.

We’ve always known she’s incredible, and it was amazing to see her featured so prominently and among such good company. 

2019 – Jena Mertz Becomes Partner

Jena Mertz had been an essential part of the Giant team since 2013, bringing experience in sales and marketing to help Giant Clients strengthen brand awareness both internally and externally.

Jena also always had entrepreneurial ambitions, and she was thrilled to make that dream a reality with Giant Voices.

As a partner, Jena focuses on managing growth opportunities for Giant Voices while also overseeing all client relationships and developing strategic marketing plans that drive sales and operational growth for key client engagements.

2020 – Giant Voices’ Digital Marketing Team Executes a Complex Lead Scoring Strategy

The Giant Voices digital marketing team manages a database with nearly 100,000 contacts on behalf of a Giant Client.

We’ve leveraged the organization’s CRM investment to deploy a lead nurture framework and scoring methodology designed to identify, rank and grow qualified leads.

As contacts engage and interact with various assets, they earn a higher lead score and move down the funnel from Prospect to Lead to Marketing Qualified Lead to Sales Qualified Lead.

This process gives the client a stronger understanding of each contact and has helped nurture prospects into thousands of viable leads that are passed to the sales team.

Oh and we survived a global pandemic….

2021 – Involta Billboard in Times Square

Seeing our clients succeed is truly why we exist at Giant. We have been an extension of the Involta team since the inception of Giant Voices—and for a majority of the 15 years Involta has been in business.

We’ve partnered over the years, helping align marketing with sales, as the rapidly-growing managed IT and data center service provider transformed into a national powerhouse.

Our team has helped shape the marketing strategies that grew Involta’s footprint from one market to six, and we’ve helped build narratives for Involta’s ever-growing line of hybrid cloud solutions. 

When Involta was acquired by the Carlyle Group, a growth-focused global investment firm, the Giant Voices creative team developed the billboard creative that was featured in Times Square during the holiday season.

We couldn’t be more proud that our work was featured so prominently at a national level. A Giant win-win, for sure!

A Giant Investment in Tiny Homes

If you follow business trends, the stock market or Twitter, perhaps you’ve heard that multibillionaire, Elon Musk, has made a big move into a tiny $50,000 home in Boca Chica, Texas.

While the news may have come as a shock to many, one thing is certain—the company that creates these small, transportable, 400-square-foot units is onto something big.

Boxabl is a building production company on a mission to create low-cost, high-quality, quick-assembly homes to last for generations—and our team is proud to have invested in this venture this July through Giant Ventures, LLC.

Giant Ventures is a business entity created by Giant Voices leaders, Pascha Apter and Lisa Bodine. Giant Ventures provides capital investment and leadership to promising, growth-stage ventures needing expert branding, marketing and sales strategy support.

Recent investments have included BoxablBotco.ai and Edge Data to name a few.

“Helping ambitious, creative and inventive business founders take their ideas to market is a passion of mine,” explained Apter. “By providing capital and consulting services through Giant Ventures, we help entrepreneurs improve their chance of success in the marketplace. Boxable is an exciting innovation and has the potential to revolutionize the residential real estate market.”

Are you a start-up or an entrepreneur with big ambitions? We’d love to connect! Learn more about Giant Ventures and contact us today.

Giant Voices Announces Jena Mertz as Partner, Director of Operations

Duluth, MN: Giant Voices, LLC announced Jena Mertz has been promoted to Director of Operations and has become a partner at the firm, effective July 1, 2019.

Joining Pascha Apter, CEO, and Lisa Bodine, President, Mertz adds depth to the Giant Voices ownership team with her experience in client services, marketing and sales alignment and operational excellence for the company.

“We are thrilled to have Jena truly invested in the future of Giant Voices. Jena’s strategic insight has served our clients well and helped grow our company throughout the past six years. She knows our clients’ industries and is energized to help take Giant Voices to the next level.”

Pascha Apter, Giant Voices CEO

Jena Mertz has been an essential part of the Giant Voices team since 2013, bringing expertise in sales and marketing to help organizations strengthen brand awareness with internal and external audiences.

With nearly fifteen years of experience in sales, marketing and business management—she is a multifaceted strategic resource for clients. She has executed results-driven strategy and marketing initiatives in a wide range of industries including healthcare, manufacturing, technology, non-profit and more.

In her previous role as Director of Client Services, Jena oversaw client relationships and developed strategic marketing plans that drive sales and operational growth for clients. As a partner of Giant Voices, Jena will continue to manage key client projects, while also focusing on managing organizational efficiencies and strategic growth for the company.

Jena grew up in Minnesota’s Brainerd Lakes Area before moving to Duluth. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota, Duluth. She followed a passion for design, sales and marketing to grow herself into the ambition of business ownership.

When she’s not tackling strategy or operational needs for Giant Voices, you can find Jena out enjoying Duluth’s biking and hiking trails. Jena lives in Duluth with her husband, their two daughters and a loveable black lab.

A GIANT Space: Explore Our New Office

May marked a GIANT milestone for Giant Voices.

Since the day I launched Giant Voices, I’ve dreamed about moving my team into an expansive new space. Don’t get me wrong, our Canal Park space was charming and historical—but also full of challenges.

Our team has grown extensively in the past year, and Lisa and I knew our current space was not going to work for much longer.

We began the process to remodel the Canal Park space but quickly realized that would only be a temporary fix. We were bursting at the seams!

We had designers sharing desk space. We had a single conference room to offer clients. There was no space to expand. No room to grow. Even a beautiful, reworked space wouldn’t do the trick.

It was incredibly important to us to stay in the heart of Duluth. Our local roots are strong and we wanted to remain centrally located. We considered multiple local spaces but fell in love with the former Ace Hardware space on Superior Street.

A Space to Grow

Lisa and I are so proud that our vision has come to life. In many ways, it’s even better than we expected – and if you know how ambitious we are, that’s really saying something. We could not have done this without the expertise of Wagner Zaun Architecture, McGough Construction and many sub-contractors.

Their work transformed the 6,600-square-foot space into a beautiful, modern—and dare I say sexy—collaborative workspace.

We already love being downtown Duluth. We love being a part of our city’s thriving business district and joining so many fantastic local businesses. It’s a different kind of busy and we’re fitting right in. We’ll miss the proximity to Lake Superior, the Lakewalk and our friends and neighbors in Canal Park, but downtown suits us just fine.

Here are some of my favorite elements of our new office:

  • Multiple Conference Rooms – We are so excited to host client meetings in our new conference rooms. We can feel the ideas, creativity and strategy bubbling already.
  • Collaborative Meeting Spaces – Sometimes, casual meeting spaces are necessary to think differently about a project.
  • Beautiful, Handmade Wooden Tables by Lars Woodwerks – We can’t thank Lars enough for his exquisite, handcrafted works of art. They’re beautiful, functional showpieces that make our space truly unique.
  • Fitness Center – Productivity starts with taking care of yourself – and some of the best ideas pop up during a workout. Our new fitness center will allow our Giants convenient access to solve problems while building strength.
  • Modern Workspaces for Our Giants – Is there anything better than starting fresh? Our Giants are adding their creative touches to make the spaces their own.
  • A Fabulous Mural by Local Artist Brian Olson – I’d be remiss if I neglected to share this stunning mural by Brian Olson. Bright colors, Duluth’s beautiful skyline, and our powerful core values. I can see it from my office, and it inspires me every day.

Strengthening Our Services

In this new workspace, we’re going to take our work to the next level. It’s already started. The Giants are working together better than ever before. We’ve got the space to spread out, and it’s bringing us together.

Giant Voices is a strategic marketing firm. Helping our clients reach their financial and growth ambitions is our main focus. Our unique, strategic approach to marketing services builds market-leading brands, improves customer relationships, increases web traffic and creates strong company cultures.

Our services include:

  • Strategic Planning
  • Branding
  • Advertising
  • Public Relations
  • Web Development
  • Social Media
  • Lead Generation
  • Collateral

GIANT Leadership

My business partner, Lisa Bodine, and I leverage over 40 years of leadership in business, sales and advertising with traditional and cutting-edge digital marketing expertise to generate GIANT results.

Get to Know Lisa

Lisa Bodine is simply amazing. I’m lucky to have her as a business partner and partner in crime. She spearheads business growth and dissects business issues with incisive strategic insight honed by 20 years of experience with Fortune 500 companies, the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and organizations in the healthcare, information technology, manufacturing and nonprofit sectors.

Her experience spans sales, marketing, operations analysis, business development, board steerage and public and legislative affairs. She harnesses her formidable skills and fierce competitive instincts to solve Giant Clients’ sales, logistical, legislative and other challenges on time and on budget while also growing revenue.

A Little About Pascha

I’m fiercely passionate about helping clients reach their financial, operational and marketing ambitions. With more than 20 years of experience, I help clients scale their enterprise to achieve revenue growth through strategic and creative development and execution. I enjoy identifying, assessing and closing financial, education and communication gaps for my clients.

It’s my personal quest to stay educated on the latest developments in the marketing industry. I earned a B.A. in Mass Communications from St. Cloud State University and have completed several nationally-acclaimed business courses with the Aji Network and the High Performance Academy. I use this knowledge to strengthen and grow my team and help my clients reach their ambitions.

If you are looking for a partner to help you reach your giant growth goals, you’ve come to the right place.

Pascha Apter, Giant Voices Founder + CEO