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Loving Local: A Social-First Turnaround

Bartell Drugs, the nation’s oldest family-owned drugstore chain, was a beloved Seattle staple with almost 70 stores in the Seattle area, but with Seattle being one of the country’s fastest-growing large cities, new residents were more familiar with the national chains, and Bartell Drugs had been experience a decrease in market share since the great recession.

Challenge

As national chains moved into Seattle and the city experienced a wave of new residents, Bartell needed to defend its hometown loyalty while introducing the brand to those who had never known “Bartells.”

Objective

Reinforce Bartell’s reputation as Seattle’s neighborhood pharmacy while modernizing its social voice to attract “new-to-Washington” residents.

Strategy

CROWN anchored all work around Bartell’s mission: advancing their PNW neighbors’ health, happiness, and well-being. Our team built a repeatable, locally grounded social strategy to balance day-to-day community management with larger tentpole campaigns.

What We Did

Editorial Framework
Created evergreen content pillars that leaned into local ideals, ensuring longevity and relevance. Delivered weekly editorial calendars to sustain narrative continuity

Community Management Upgrade
Established SLAs to govern communications, including escalation and crisis protocols. Within two months, average response time dropped from 2 hours to less than 30 minutes across comments, DMs, and tags.

Creative System Expansion
Introduced motion graphics, carousels, and Instagram Instant Experiences to increase engagement depth. Ran holiday campaigns (e.g., “Gift of the Week” and “Shop Local”) supported by custom design and photography

Campaign Amplification
Integrated contests and giveaways with measurable reach — including collaborations with local partners and media tie-ins.

Reporting & Governance
Delivered comprehensive campaign reporting and monthly analytics to internal stakeholders, creating a benchmark system for future measurement

Results

Response Time: Reduced to less than 30 minutes on average (from a 2-hour SLA baseline).

Engagement Quality: Content leaning on local ideals showed sustained performance, shaping Bartell’s ongoing editorial calendar

Creative Output: Delivered dozens of custom graphics, motion assets, and campaigns (e.g., 9 campaign images, 4 “Gift of the Week” designs, plus photography & copywriting for holiday campaigns)

Operational Impact: Established documented processes and reporting frameworks that allowed Bartell’s internal team to scale their social efforts beyond the engagement period.

(acquired in 2020 by Rite Aid and then CVS in 2025)



Client: Bartell Drugs
Agency: Crown Social