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Bart Cleveland/Creative Director
Sawyer Riley Compton
How would you characterize 2001 in terms of your business or industry in general? Challenging. But challenges are opportunities and our attitude is to make the most of them. We're doing things better, more efficiently and with more results because of the challenges we've had to face this year. It actually has invigorated us…Our attitude is to get through hard times with a proactive and positive attitude.
What has most affected your ongoing business in particular? Have you taken any drastic steps or gone through any upheaval? Have times been better than ever? Are you maintaining business now or moving forward or moving backward? Is there a rainbow at the end of this storm? The unprecedented challenges our clients are facing has made us think unconventionally.
We didn't just have to think outside the box. We had to tear the box apart.
In the case of CNN Newsource, a client we've worked with for the past 3 years, we did just that. The client wanted something other than direct mail in a printed form to go to their customers. (This is pre Sept. 11, it didn't have to do with the anthrax scare). Our answer was take the way they distributed their product (news footage over a digital feed) to their customer and send a TV commercial specifically designed for the TV station news producer. We also emailed it to others in their market. The response was huge and the client is now having us work on an even larger second round. That's what I meant by we had to do more than think outside the box we had to tear the box apart.
Have you taken any drastic steps or gone through any upheaval? We experienced less than most, so instead of licking our wounds, we counted our blessings.
The past calendar year we've had no layoffs. That's why I say we experienced less than most. We saw the downturn coming and made sure we didn't add overhead until we saw what was ahead. Sept. 11 made the near future pretty certain. Our being already lean has helped us weather that storm.
Have times been better than ever? For us the answer is yes. The attitude of our agency, its sense of purpose and the quality of our staff, has never been better. Our people believe in SRC as a team. That's hard to beat.
Are you maintaining business now or moving forward or moving backward? We've moved forward in several ways. Our current clients all saw growth in their category and spending. Our new client wins were all for consumer brands. That's where we see our future. The quality of the agency’s work has never been higher. No other agency won nationally at the level we did this year.
Is there a rainbow at the end of this storm? The rainbow we have is that we have become forged together as a group. We believe in one another and what we're doing. We will not be defeated from lack of caring or trying. We cherish our victories and learn from our defeats.
How has the financial drama of 2001 affected your business, from the highs to the lows? It's much more unpredictable, obviously. But if you're doing great work you can work through it.
…Some of our clients are shuffling their plans and reshuffling them to try to do the right thing during an unpredictable time. A program is put on hold and then reinstated the next week. So far, we've been able to react appropriately to their needs by looking at the possibility of the stops and starts happening ahead of time.
What do you see changing for your business in the year 2002? How will your industry change? The changes are probably all going to be for the better for those that see them as opportunities to improve. What agencies communicate for their clients has to be meaningful. It has to be smart and relevant. That's the definition of great creative. It's what we have found gets the most results for the money. Those that can do this kind of work are going to survive, even thrive.
Some say better times are in store for Atlanta agencies, claiming that the heyday of the dotcom was bound to fall and now things are stabilizing rather than plummeting. Do you agree? I do. I think the city is diverse enough to feel the effects of an upturn quickly. Also, I think there are people here who aren't satisfied with the status quo. If things are tough, we're going to fight it. We're going to use it to take the lead.
What do you think clients will want to see from you? I hope they will see how much we value their business. We genuinely care because when they succeed we do. That's a cliché because it's true. Also, I hope they see action on our part to answer their needs and bring them creative thinking in every thing we do for them.
How are clients changing the ways they spend and what they want to see for their dollar? They need to be as efficient as possible. But they want effectiveness and that means knowing where to be efficient and where to put the money. That's where they expect our expertise. Of course, our clients have always expected us to be efficient, so this is nothing new.
What do you think are the lowest dollar, highest bang ways your client can market themselves? A great idea is still the greatest bang for your buck. Bad work costs the same to produce as good work. And when you run it, it costs more. Clients that use these times as an opportunity to stand out in the crowd don't have to do it by spending more. It they run great ideas.
What new accounts have you won over the last year? Great Stuff, an insulating foam made by Dow Chemical. Sphinx Rugs a brand of Oriental Weavers. The Ritz Carlton Club, shared living properties located in resort areas like Aspen. Also we were just awarded Music Midtown.