Atlanta-Based Ad Agency Sees Upside in Rhode Island Expansion
While economic woes have forced many a marketing firm to cut back on staff, Atlanta-based business-to-business ad agency MLT Creative sees a huge upside in swimming upstream, expanding in the face of recession.
Just last year, the agency expanded their operations to Rhode Island — a long way away from its east Atlanta hometown.
“It’s definitely a bold move,” says MLT Creative Strategic Director Patrick Maness, “but we have never been afraid to take calculated risks; especially one with such potential”
How did it happen? Well, when Maness decided to leave Atlanta over a year ago for the Providence, R.I. area, it opened up a rather serendipitous opportunity for MLT to establish a northern foothold. Rather than leave the company, Maness opted to retain his existing position while, at the same time, working toward a long-term goal of creating a client base up north.
“Essentially,” he says, “we were testing the waters to see if a remote office would mesh well with our existing office infrastructure, and after a year, it’s worked out great.”
More than its own separate entity, the Providence-based post also manages to stay seamlessly integrated into the daily flow of the Atlanta office. And by taking frequent trips back, Maness still makes it to plenty of meetings.
“It’s actually worked out really well,” Maness says, noting that the move has allowed him to shift his focus to the “broader issues and opportunities facing our clients and the agency.”
MLT Creative’s founding partners — Billy Mitchell, Craig Lindberg and Glenn Taylor —are dedicated to finding new clients not only in Rhode Island, but in Boston, New York City or anywhere in between.
“There are plenty of opportunities in the Northeast to leverage our niche of working as an extension of corporate marketing departments to deliver top-notch creative solutions that get results,” Maness says. “It’s the same model that has been such a success for us – and our clients – in the Southeast for the past 25 years.
About MLT Creative
MLT Creative, based on the east side of Atlanta, GA, with a Northeast office in Rhode Island, was founded in 1984. Known as the idea launch pad™ for B-to-B marketers, MLT Creative’s services include strategic planning, positioning, brand development, advertising and sales promotions.