Ad agency emphasizes knowing clients
by Sandra Zaragoza
Scott Creamer, founder and owner of advertising and marketing firm The Screamer Company, likes to get to know his clients and their customers.
To that end, he has carried out shopping bags, hung out at makeup stations and mingled with home buyers — all for the sake of building a good advertising and marketing campaign. He even spent a couple days at a park in California with one of his newest clients, Old Town San Diego State Historical Park.
“We spent two days talking to employees, talking to visitors and watching their experience,” Creamer says. “It becomes a lot more than just reading it off a piece of paper. In effect, it’s helping clients find their voice.”
Although every client doesn’t require that level of research, Creamer and his team engage in field studies when they can.
And the strategy seems to be paying off. In two years, Screamer has grown nearly 300 percent, and has gone from 1 1/2 employees to seven full-time employees, housed in an office off of South Congress Avenue. The agency’s services include print, direct mail and Web site development.
Last year, the company generated about $1.27 million in revenue. Due to one client loss and the scaleback of another client’s work, this year’s revenue will be just shy of last year’s, Creamer says.
But he is hopeful that his company can resume its growth streak. The agency has the office space and financial resources to add up to three employees in the next 12 months; hiring will depend on whether the agency adds new clients.
The agency has grown primarily through word of mouth and leveraging its creativity — reaching out to potential clients through direct mail and phone promotions.
In the last six months, Screamer added clients such as Spicewood Communities, California State Parks, Ootra Handbags, National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors and Orf Brewing, a local beer maker. The company’s existing client roster includes Seton Family of Hospitals.
Seton has been the biggest single driver of the company’s growth.
“I had the opportunity to take on a large client [Seton] and had to rebuild my business model,” Creamer says.
Paul Bradshaw, president of the Austin Ad Federation, says landing Seton as a two-man shop was a coup, and he credits Creamer for being able to rise to the occasion.
“He had to confront what a lot of small businesses do when they get a big account. He had to manage that growth effectively,” he says. “You have to grow in a smart way.”
Looking forward, Creamer says he plans to be selective about the clients the agency takes on, and is looking at a number of industries, including health care, education and the public sector. The long-term goal is to grow the agency to about 20 employees in three to five years.
“One really huge goal is to be an agency that everyone wants to be a part of,” he says. “Part of reaching that projected growth will be accomplished through inspiring people.”
Visit the Austin Business Journal article online – click HERE
ABJ article
Ad agency emphasizes knowing clients
by Sandra Zaragoza
Scott Creamer, founder and owner of advertising and marketing firm The Screamer Company, likes to get to know his clients and their customers.
To that end, he has carried out shopping bags, hung out at makeup stations and mingled with home buyers — all for the sake of building a good advertising and marketing campaign. He even spent a couple days at a park in California with one of his newest clients, Old Town San Diego State Historical Park.
“We spent two days talking to employees, talking to visitors and watching their experience,” Creamer says. “It becomes a lot more than just reading it off a piece of paper. In effect, it’s helping clients find their voice.”
Although every client doesn’t require that level of research, Creamer and his team engage in field studies when they can.
And the strategy seems to be paying off. In two years, Screamer has grown nearly 300 percent, and has gone from 1 1/2 employees to seven full-time employees, housed in an office off of South Congress Avenue. The agency’s services include print, direct mail and Web site development.
Last year, the company generated about $1.27 million in revenue. Due to one client loss and the scaleback of another client’s work, this year’s revenue will be just shy of last year’s, Creamer says.
But he is hopeful that his company can resume its growth streak. The agency has the office space and financial resources to add up to three employees in the next 12 months; hiring will depend on whether the agency adds new clients.
The agency has grown primarily through word of mouth and leveraging its creativity — reaching out to potential clients through direct mail and phone promotions.
In the last six months, Screamer added clients such as Spicewood Communities, California State Parks, Ootra Handbags, National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors and Orf Brewing, a local beer maker. The company’s existing client roster includes Seton Family of Hospitals.
Seton has been the biggest single driver of the company’s growth.
“I had the opportunity to take on a large client [Seton] and had to rebuild my business model,” Creamer says.
Paul Bradshaw, president of the Austin Ad Federation, says landing Seton as a two-man shop was a coup, and he credits Creamer for being able to rise to the occasion.
“He had to confront what a lot of small businesses do when they get a big account. He had to manage that growth effectively,” he says. “You have to grow in a smart way.”
Looking forward, Creamer says he plans to be selective about the clients the agency takes on, and is looking at a number of industries, including health care, education and the public sector. The long-term goal is to grow the agency to about 20 employees in three to five years.
“One really huge goal is to be an agency that everyone wants to be a part of,” he says. “Part of reaching that projected growth will be accomplished through inspiring people.”
Visit the Austin Business Journal article online – click HERE