When Sue and her wife Marcia set up Hashtag Creative in 2015, like many business owners, they had big hopes and dreams. Sure, they wanted to create marketing people love. And they wanted an agency where they could use their creative skills. And hey, a wheelbarrow full of cash would be nice.*

But Hashtag Creative turned out to be so much more than just an award-winning marketing agency. It’s a fun place to work, where the team collaborates and shares ideas. It’s the kind of place where you can be good at what you do, come to the office, and be yourself. No, not your “on your best behavior at work” self. Your real self. The “laugh at full volume” self. The “listen, guys, this is crazy, but it might just work” self.

That’s because Hashtag Creative believes in diversity and freedom of expression. We believe in inclusion. We like to use all the crayons in the box. And you know what? It works.

Before there was Hashtag Creative…

As a gay business owner, Sue had 10+ years of marketing experience for gay advocacy nonprofits all across the nation under her little rainbow belt before setting up Hashtag Creative with Marcia. Yup, she was Communications Director at Equality Florida, and she worked with national groups like LGBT Task Force, Freedom to Marry, National Center of Lesbian Rights, and the Human Rights Campaign.

When she was Founder and Creative Director at Indigo 501 Creative, her clients included equal rights organizations all across the nation, such as Rainbow Families of New Jersey, Equality Washington, GLBT National Helpline, Denver Pride, Equality Texas, and so many more.

Isn’t that the gayest resume you’ve ever seen? I mean, top that.

Proud all year ‘round

June is Pride Month, and it’s the perfect time to celebrate the fact that we’re a gay-owned business, and that we live and work in St Petersburg which is a truly gay-friendly city.

As you know, Pride Month is in honor of the Stonewall uprising, and every June Americans celebrate LGBTQIA pride month. It’s a chance to honor gay history, celebrate community, and create an accessible safe place for members of the LGBT community.
However, in St. Pete, you’ll notice that the pride flags are always flying, not just in June, and several businesses are gay-owned or gay-friendly. St. Pete mayor’s office LGBTQ Liaison Jim Nixon said recently

“one of the things that’s really great about St. Pete is we’ve scored a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaigns Municipal Equality Index for 8 years in a row. These things are the foundation for business development, tourism, relocation, it really talks to the liveability of our city.”

You’ll also notice the progressive pride mural on the intersection of Central Avenue and 25 Avenue. It’s hard to miss! When people share photos of themselves at the mural on social media, it sends a message: St. Pete welcomes everyone.

Let’s party

St. Pete hosts the biggest Pride Festival in Florida, and this year the city expects a record turnout for the return of the Pride Festival, marking a special milestone: 20 years of pride in the city. Because of Covid, the last two years were canceled, but it seems that the festival is back with a bang, and you can expect food trucks, a waterfront concert, family-focused activities and performances, and the Sunshine Skyway Bridge will be lit up like a rainbow.

Of course, the jewel in the festival crown is the parade on June 25. See www.stPetepride.org for all the deets. We hope to see you there, and we’ll be waving our flag with pride.

Proud to serve you

So, if you want a marketing agency that takes pride in its work, look no further. Our clients include nonprofits, lawyers, mortgage experts, real estate marketing photographers, fitness gurus, restaurateurs, and more. See samples of our work in our portfolio section, and you’ll see why our talented team is proud to show off their web design, logos, branding, social media, and content creation. No wonder we get big bold results.

Let’s see what we can do when we put our heads together!

*No such luck. But at least that whole marketing stuff turned out pretty well, right?