Domenica Giovannini is a young entrepreneur whose career goal is to help government do a better job communicating public health issues to marginalized populations.
By day, the lifelong Petaluma resident works on marketing and communications for Permit Sonoma, Sonoma County’s consolidated land use planning and development permitting agency, where land development or construction taking place in unincorporated areas of the county is reviewed, permitted and inspected.
As the sun begins to set, however, she returns to her other job - running the solo marketing-communications consultancy, MaberMe, in Petaluma. The name comes from “maber,” an Amharic word she picked up while doing advocacy and research in Ethiopia as part of her graduate work.
It means “working together with passion.”
MaberMe Inc. focuses on the nonprofit, government, and social-enterprise sectors, providing services in the areas of social marketing and communications. Giovannini opened for business in 2013.
“I had accrued years of experience working in the public sector and had many theories on how to develop communities via effective marketing and communication,” she said. “Coupled with seven years of working with public and private companies developing social marketing and outreach strategies, I was ready to create a marketing culture shift.”
To spread her vision, Giovannini produces a radio show every other Tuesday on Petaluma Access, KPCA FM, where she talks about policy and issue analysis. Recent topics have included a minimum wage increase, nationalism vs. patriotism, and the economic and political divide in the U.S. She brings substantial research to the show. Past broadcasts can be accessed on her personal website, Domenica.ninja.
Even though all her current clients are outside Petaluma, she chose to keep the MaberMe office in Petaluma because it is her home and she wants to contribute to the city’s small-business culture. At the same time, she feels it is hard running a small business in Petaluma, citing the high turnover of commercial property.
“Support for small businesses in Petaluma could be improved,” she said.
Although Giovannini specializes in a niche area, marketing communications for government entities engaged in public health, she has many insights into marketing in general. She says marketing is hard for small businesses because they need to invest in help but usually aren’t clear about specific needs nor how to find a consultant who can deliver results.
“I feel face-to-face meetings with several consulting candidates is the key,” she said. “Don’t just look at their websites. Does the consultant align with you and your goal?”
Giovannini believes the most common misconception about marketing is that it is the same as sales. Another mistake is to define it too narrowly, thus devaluing it.
“Many people think it’s just the website,” she said.
Giovannini views marketing as wide-ranging support for a business or enterprise that identifies areas for improvement, then brings in the right skills and resources as needed. Accordingly, a special feature of MaberMe is the Circle of Experts, local professionals in varied fields to whom she can refer her clients. The circle includes an attorney, a copywriter, an accountant, a digital marketer, a photographer and others.
The MaberMe website includes photos and bios of these experts, with links to their websites.
“I know I can trust these people, and that my clients will be well served,” she said. “I keep it local. That’s the essence of my company.”
Giovannini was born in Greenbrae and raised in Petaluma. After attending Santa Rosa Junior College for two years, she earned her BA at the University of California/Santa Barbara, where she started her journey toward becoming a self-taught graphic designer, photographer, and marketing professional.
She went on to earn a master’s degree in public health at Touro University, a private graduate school focused primarily on health professions and located on Mare Island in Vallejo.
“Touro gave me the opportunity to spend 2.5 months in Ethiopia,” she said. This was an early taste of translating the complexities of government policy for a culture outside the mainstream.
After college, she found work with the Marin City Community Services District, where she spent three years working on marketing and communications of public health policies for a largely African-American population.
“This was very much a formative experience for me,” she said. “My boss saw something special in me. I was able to employ her creative thinking to develop a campaign to re-brand Marin City and employ social marketing strategies.”
Later, her skillset was further developed by working with the Hopland Band of Pomo Indians, where she worked on more than 30 grants.
“It was an education for me to see how tribal government fit into the bigger picture,” she said, referring specifically to tribal courts.
As an entrepreneur, Giovannini has many plans for the future. She is especially interested in assisting in the development of women-owned businesses.
Said Giovannini, “I now consider myself to be a social entrepreneur who looks to integrate and develop new technologies and tools geared to help agencies better tell their story.”
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