Contact us
Return to Our Insights

With the Announcement of a New Minimum Wage Policy, Will the Industry Defy Gravity?

Dan Price, co-founder and CEO of Gravity Payments, recently announced that the minimum wage salary for the company would be raised to $70,000. The payment processing company made the drastic and unprecedented announcement on April 14, and it continues to garner coverage and remain a conversation topic over a week later.

We commend Dan on his revolutionary idea and the bold choice to execute it, as well as congratulate him and his PR team on an amazingly successful announcement! Dan and his team secured an exceptionally large amount of coverage in top-tier business publications, not only in the U.S. but internationally as well.

Given the unconventional nature of Gravity Payments’ new minimum wage program, a big splash would be expected and there’s no doubt it required a lot of work to identify the right media and coordinate the volume of interview requests and briefings the announcement generated. Below are three reasons why we believe this announcement was so effective:

  • It was innovative: Companies often want to promote the positive cultures they’ve fostered to attract talent, however, it is difficult to convince business press that culture is newsworthy. Gravity Payments found a way to break through by announcing a program that was groundbreaking and sparked a discussion about companies’ approaches to wages. Not only that, but people are now curious to see if Gravity Payments can sustain this new minimum wage policy and the long term effects it will have on the company. This interest in Gravity Payments will likely provide them with “follow-up” editorial opportunities in the future.
  • It was timely: The announcement broke at a time when employee engagement, employee happiness, wage discrimination, wage gap and raising costs of living were all prominent national stories and trends in the news. In fact, Price announced the program just as Seattle’s increased minimum wage was set to take effect. By announcing a program that addresses all of these topics, Gravity Payments made it easy to insert themselves into the conversation. Also, in one of the article covering the news, Dan mentions, that a friend of his was experiencing the pressures of increased cost of living was part of his inspiration, making this mission even more relatable.
  • It was well-executed: Gravity Payments knew that this program would be a great opportunity to not only present Gravity as a forward thinking organization that values their employees and their well-being, but also promote the name of the company and Dan. Clearly there was coordination with the media before the official announcement, given that the Today Show interviewed Dan in New York the day after it became public news and King 5 was there filming Dan making the announcement to the employees. They did exactly what they needed to do garner a wide range or broadcast and editorial coverage in a variety of outlets.

It’s great when positive and life-changing programs get the coverage they deserve. It will be interesting to see how Gravity Payment’s bold move influences other companies and industries. We’d like to congratulate Dan and his team on their success thus far and wish them the best of luck in the future!

You’ll find some of Gravity Payment’s coverage linked throughout the article; below are a few more: