Creating an Empire for Your Clients with Branding
Welcome to our Agency Spotlight series! Each article will feature pioneers of the #agencylife and how they run their businesses in the modern world.
Who are you? What is your background?
Im Leeanne Lowe and I'm the President and CEO of Empire Creative Marketing. I earned my BA in Theatre from Arizona State University and spent several years working in theatre and film before transitioning into marketing. Before I started Empire, I worked in marketing at other firms, doing everything from Graphic Design to Production and Traffic Control.
I started Empire in 2000 as a way to keep myself busy and bring in extra money while being a stay-at-home mom. Once my kids were older and in school, I hit a point with the business where I needed to either take the leap and grow or scale back the number of projects I was accepting. So, I decided to take the plunge, hire my first official employee, and I've never looked back!
How would you describe Empire Creative?
Empire is a full-service marketing agency dedicated to the success of our clients. But realistically, what agency would want otherwise for their clients?! On a deeper level, we really strive to partner with our clients and create lasting relationships. Our success is measured by the success of our clients. We work to develop, promote, and sustain their brands; helping them create a brand that will achieve their goals and make a difference in the world around them.
Our full-service capabilities are powered by my teams diverse collection of skill sets and willingness to always keep learning. In any given week, our team is designing websites, filming corporate videos, running Facebook campaigns, developing fresh marketing strategies, diving deep into a business SEO, creating logos, launching brands, writing blog articles, sourcing promotional items, and planning trade shows.
We find that marketing revolves around solving problems. Our clients come to us with a need. We work with them to define their goals, establish a strategy and create innovative solutions that meet their objectives and budget. Since we've developed deep relationships with our clients, they count on us as a resource for helping grow their business, even in areas beyond the standard scope of marketing.
What does Empire Creative do especially well? What is your speciality?
At Empire, we specialize in building and managing all elements of our clients brands, from brand assessment and strategy to campaign development and implementation. A brand strategy is the core foundation of a business and guides the steps they will take to grow.
We find that many companies have not taken the time to establish their core brand identity. Once we help them define this, we can structure it into a brand style guide and then move forward with their marketing initiatives that include design, digital, video, business collateral whatever they may need.
How would you describe your workplace/office culture?
I am truly blessed with a fabulous team of creative professionals. Our team at Empire is built on the core values of responsibility, authenticity, positivity, integrity, and dedication. Yes, we realize our core values create the acronym R.A.P.I.D. and it makes for some great office jokes and ways to encourage each other throughout the day.
We work hard, support each other, and have fun in the process. Fridays are always casual Friday, also known as jeans day. We celebrate every birthday, often with Bundt cakes! And once or twice a month you may catch us sharing a pitcher of Teris famous, hand-squeezed margaritas. We've actually had a client or two drop by to share these margaritas!
Constant communication and collaboration, both with each other and our clients, are an important part of how we work together successfully. Our office is built around an open design center so we can have quick pow-wows throughout the day. We are constantly chatting between ourselves and with our clients via Google Hangouts, Skype, Slack, or whatever is needed to connect with clients.
What is the most rewarding part of agency life?
The most rewarding part about agency life at Empire is seeing the smiles on the faces of my team members and clients when they've achieved their goals. We take so much personal ownership in the process of promoting our clients; when they win, we win. It feels good when I know the people I care about (including our clients) are happy and finding success in their lives, personally and professionally!
Want to showcase your agency? Email us at katie@heyorca.com to have your agency feature in our Agency Spotlight series!
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