SHAREHOLDER UPDATE – JUNE 14, 2024
Following the opening keynote on the 2nd day of The Emerging Growth Conference in Miami, on May 9, 2024, today Reggie James gave a brief update on the online conference. This was an update session and was therefore limited to 10 minutes. There were other areas that the Company wanted to discuss and talk about in more depth but the time allocated didn’t allow for a full session.
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By way of public company disclosure, participating companies are invited to attend an investor relations outreach series, and, as such, Digital Clarity was invoiced and paid in cash. This is normal practice for industry conferences.
Below is a transcript of the recording with the host Ana Berry.
A video of the event will be posted for Shareholders when available.
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Transcript
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Opening and Intro by Ana
Intro to Reggie James:
Founder and Managing Director of Digital Clarity
Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer
Digital Brand Media and Marketing Group, inc.
Ana:
Hello again Reggie. How are you? What are the areas you will be covering today in this update?
Reggie:
Hi Ana, Glad to be back at our third Emerging Growth Conference to share our initiatives and progress since our last discussion on May 9th.
Is a great way to build the narrative and integrate the various aspects of building DBMM and its brand Digital Clarity.
Here are the areas of focus [Agenda]
Ana:
Reggie, in the last presentation you spoke to our audience about the OTC Platform, and I think it would be worth touching on this again.
Reggie:
Sure, Ana – let’s talk about the OTC Platform.
The OTC platform is very short-term – and DBMM is building an enterprise that represents a competitive advantage and is sustainable. It is an integrated, and we believe, a sophisticated approach to the best value offering for all stakeholders.
Firstly, it does not operate, nor has the same rules as an Exchange.
An exchange has something called “Specialists” for each issuer whose role “is to maintain an orderly market.”
There is no such thing in the OTC, maybe that’s why it is euphemistically called “the Wild West.” The market makers (sort of) act like the Specialists but boundaries are not as well defined, and often are viewed as manipulative.
This can be challenging as people can have hidden agendas or treat the platform like an ATM, and openly post false statements which serve their purposes on message boards and the like.
That said – there are also huge opportunities and upsides.
But like the blue-chip counterparts, patience is usually required
The upside is that one shareholder shared on a message board that he bought 4 million shares at $0.0003 and sold them at $0.03. You do the math, he bought at $1,200 and sold at $120,000 a few years later.
The OTC is the riskiest of the public offerings and isn’t held to Big Board standards. DBMM following its mitigating circumstances and Final Dismissal of delayed filings a year ago, is using bluechip corporate governance to make certain sustainability is primary and that requires building a “cocoon. “
So while there can be large gains on the OTC Market by holding as the Company grows as the base price is usually very low. That is unusual in the aggregate as the OTC is the repeat, most short-term of all the markets in practice. What DBMM is diligently working toward is growth which will be sustainable.
However, that doesn’t follow the Basher plan of depressing the pps to manipulate the wash, rinse, and repeat pattern of behavior for short sales and selling on a few ticks.
To do this they need to shake shares loose. Difficult when the Outstanding Shares count has only increased by less than 10% since 2016.
That’s over 8 years and has been to settle debt to the benefit of the Company.
The Company has continuously acted in the best interests of the shareholders as it executes the growth blueprint
DBMM’s approach will benefit shareholders as long as they stay strong by understanding the amount of time sustainable growth takes…and they listen and have faith in the Company while it is taking place.
If they hold, the upside is even greater. OTC can provide enormous gains. Especially if they buy and hold while DBMM and its brand DC builds its cocoon and follows the blueprint.
DBMM is that company now and has enormous room for growth.
Another aspect of Digital marketing by a management consultancy is complex and multi-dimensional.
We have worked with a software company out of Atlanta for over 3 years. Our strategy and application have driven an enormous 90% uplift in the ARR. They have said that our involvement has been integral to their success. It is frustrating to some we have been told, that current clients work under NDAs, particularly with developing companies as they are smaller and subject to being ‘pirated.’ A management consultancy is hired to provide a competitive edge, with a hands-on approach by principals. DC provided that and the client continues to thrive.
Ana:
Reggie, that is quite some gain! Both in investor value and your software client, I can see the attraction and a win-win on both sides.
Reggie:
Indeed Ana, most recently there is a great, albeit surprising, incentive that has been launched by OTC Markets.
Ana:
Tell me more Reggie
Reggie:
Well, Issuers can benefit from the OTC expansion of trading to overtime hours. The Company intends to expand its outreach to reach new geographies for investors who have an understanding and interest in the digital landscape and how marketing integrates clients’ messages and expands its reach and impact.
After-hours trading can reach those markets for those in the US and beyond on their laptop who aren’t busy working but who could be reached as new shareholders. They can execute without the pressures of the workday.
Forecasts indicate that online retail market investors are expected to grow by 14.6 % compounded annually from 2021-2028. The market today is described at 72% women and 68% men.
A global market enhancement for sure! Good for OTC and in turn can advantage pps for DBMM to focus global awareness and expand its marketplace to people who have an understanding of the digital landscape during an individual’s downtime when they can really drill down and focus their own strategy and commitment.
So, an alternative form of retail consumer browsing and shopping, we can develop investor interest in exploring an OTC market like DBMM. This approach reinforces the importance of shareholders doing their due diligence as the Company continues to stress. This future development uses all available channels to influence and increase ROI. Again, another aspect of a win-win situation.
Ana:
Sounds great. I have been hearing a lot about this. Everyone is super busy and overtime hours for the OTC during a more quiet time is a big plus for companies and prospective shareholders.
You mentioned last time that awareness is a function of marketing dollars used in the right way. You also talked about what makes the operating brand of DBMM, Digital Clarity differentiating. Can you tell us some more about what has been happening?
Reggie:
The development of DC’s client advisory relationships is laborious and incredibly time-consuming to get right.
None of the drilling down could take place for new clients until all of the Company’s earlier mitigating circumstances were positively concluded.
All accomplished amid Covid and the UK lockdown and Brexit very bumpy road. All that is behind us—welcoming but frustrating as none of the events are of the Company’s making.
That happened a year ago, and the Company has been developing and executing its “cocoon” of advisory services since then following a very elaborate blueprint.
That would include strategic alliances the first of which, 1of many, is a company engaging in organizational change to optimize the client’s offering at the front end and DC to increase their ROI by executing marketing the product on the backend. There are several others in the pipeline to provide an expanded offering to prospective clients.
We announced representation established in Irvine, CA to roll out West Coast advisory services from DC through a lead designate who has the experience and expertise to be the Company’s eyes and ears on the ground and utilize the industry and university surroundings to grow the infrastructure there.
The quality control all run out of London while growing the US operations with experts in the business. I’m intending a podcast around the Irvine initiatives shortly.
The model is a larger version of that in Austin to support a new client already announced, and it worked initially in Atlanta, which was an earlier US client.
Other representation being discussed and evaluated are in Miami, Chicago, and Asheville NC, among others.
The lead time are long and complex and extremely laborious. Relationships are everything and we are organizing on that basis. We will update along the way.
Ana:
Thanks, Reggie. You really do have a focus in the US. I presume that is the first leg of growth, will other geographies follow?
Reggie:
Rome wasn’t built in a day – and nothing travels in a straight line.
There are a thousand cliches, they become common because they are accurate. Measurement of results does occur. In a public company, they take place every quarter in 10-Q’s and 10-Ks. The results follow the blueprint and are a natural progression, but after the cocoon I mentioned is in place, or will simply not be sustainable.
There will be ups and downs along the way, but the goal is always to execute the plan – step by step, learn from each step, and improve the plan. That will provide the measurable results quarter to quarter reported in filings.
The biggest companies that we take for granted as household names have had times in the wilderness and we are no different.
The digital model honed in Silicon Valley and now exported to other tech hubs is cashflow financing to grow and acquire – and only cross over to profit when a TBD plateau is reached.
Growth and acquisition will still continue, but the Company is at a stage where those initiatives are absorbed as part of doing business.
Amazon went 14 years without making “a bean,” in British terms. Even Apple has been in the doldrums periodically. These are huge organizations and that is the nature of business, the smaller ones often do not survive.
DBMM has shown its resiliency and it is a survivor.
I’ll say it again Ana, DBMM’s approach will benefit shareholders as long as they stay strong with the understanding of the amount of time sustainable growth takes…and they listen and have faith in the Company while it is taking place.
Ana:
Thanks, Reggie. We are getting close to our allocated time here.
Last time you mentioned continuing to educate shareholders. How is that coming along?
Reggie:
Well, Ana, I have been doing a series of videos and podcasts with a variety of industry leaders. I am going to house them in one central site so our clients, shareholders, and current and future investors can have access to them as well as on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
I will return soon to describe the representation developments and initiatives undertaken in Irvine, California with our lead person on the ground. So stay tuned for another shareholder update along the way.
Ana:
Thanks, Reggie, great insight, and best of luck for the future.
Reggie:
Thanks, Ana, see you next month.
Ana: [Ends]
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Linda Perry and Reggie James
DBMM Management
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The foregoing contains certain predictive statements that relate to future events or future business and financial performance. Such statements can only be predictions, and the actual events or results may differ from those discussed due to, among other things, those risks described in DBMM’s reports filed with the SEC. Opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice. This document is published solely for information purposes and is not to be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in any state. Past performance does not guarantee future performance. Additional information is available upon request.