Advertising and marketing have dramatically changed in the last several years with so many new ways to reach consumers anytime anywhere, but one local marketing company is focused on the heart of the matter. How can marketing help a company reach their goals and grow their business?
Full-service agency Prism Marketing covers brand strategy, advertising, marketing, public relations and digital marketing. Their capabilities cover the traditional forms of marketing, including radio, print, television, web and social media. But Founder Michelle Adams isn’t content to just offer all of these outlets to a client, the key is finding what is most effective.
“We want someone to take action,” she says.
To create compelling and differentiating campaigns, Prism Marketing starts by taking an in-depth look at their clients’ business and their customer. They look to answer questions like why a customer would change their behavior. Their strategy doesn’t rely on getting a client’s message out across every channel, but finding those that will be most effective to make a customer take action.
Who is their ideal client? “An organization that believes marketing can grown and differentiate their business,” says Adams. Prism Marketing wants clients that believe in the true value of marketing and know that good tactics can expand their business. Being in the industry since the advent of the internet, Adams has watched tactics change over time. She notes how computers have made pieces of marketing seem more transnational instead of valuing true talent and tactics.
Prism Marketing’s client list includes large companies like Cardinal Health, Worthington Industries and Ohio Health. Although they have several healthcare clients, the firm welcomes other industries.
“No matter the industry, people have a lot of the same issues,” Adams says.
Humble beginnings and hard work have made Prism Marketing the 15-person team it is today.
Adams started the company in the middle of her living room in 1995. An internship at a small ad agency in college and five years at a firm in Cincinnati provided the foundation she would need to start her own venture.
“It takes awhile when you are starting from zero to get off the ground,” Adams says.
Eventually, bootstrapping turned to booming. Prism has seen steady growth throughout the years and made the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest growing companies in the U.S. for the first time.
Adams contributes their ranking to, “Years of doing a lot of little things right that finally added up.”
She also credits a few lucky breaks, a phenomenal team and the willingness of businesses in Columbus to take a chance on a small business.
Adams says it was initially a challenge to break in to the market. A sometimes transient Columbus population presented both an opportunity and a challenge. However, the influx of new talent into the city ultimately provided their break. New managers would come in and not be afraid to go with a different vendor from the norm.
Once in the market, Adams noticed business’s tendency to cultivate and nurture companies that are already in Columbus.
“It’s a good climate for small businesses,” she says.
For more information, visit prismmarketing.com.
