By Emma Stoneall
The Twin Cities are home to a wide variety of strong B2B agencies, and those involved in the BMA Minnesota Agency Crawl, held on February 7, 2015, were no exception. Put on by BMA’s Young Professionals group, the event consisted of tours and presentations given by The Social Lights, BBDO, Schermer, and Tartan Marketing. With an inside look at the offices of some of the Cities’ top industry leaders, members of BMA Minnesota’s Young Professionals group learned what it takes to make your B2B strategy stand out, how to take your brands to the next level, and why marketing should always be evolving.
Here are some top moments from each agency of the day.
1. The Social Lights
It’s all about perfecting what you know, according to Co-Founder and COO Emily Pritchard, and the Social Lights know social media. Discussing how important nostalgia is to incorporate new ideas into historic businesses, Pritchard talked about how she and business partner Martha McCarthy, both St. Thomas graduates, invoked Tommie tradition of “Thursdays at Tiff’s” to revamp the campus hotspot. With clients ranging from Progresso Soup to the Zombie Pub Crawl, The Social Lights prove no task is too large for their social expertise.
1. The Social Lights
It’s all about perfecting what you know, according to Co-Founder and COO Emily Pritchard, and the Social Lights know social media. Discussing how important nostalgia is to incorporate new ideas into historic businesses, Pritchard talked about how she and business partner Martha McCarthy, both St. Thomas graduates, invoked Tommie tradition of “Thursdays at Tiff’s” to revamp the campus hotspot. With clients ranging from Progresso Soup to the Zombie Pub Crawl, The Social Lights prove no task is too large for their social expertise.
2. BBDO
In its Fifth Street Towers office, BBDO had the BMA Minnesota Young Professionals thinking about one thing: bacon. Referencing long time clients Hormel Foods, they talked about their “Driven By Bacon” campaign, which involved fueling a motorcycle with Black Label Bacon grease and documenting its cross-country journey to the International Bacon Film Festival. This marketing strategy went to show how BBDO and Hormel took a popular product like Black Label and translated it across a different and relatable medium where you wouldn’t normally find the concept of bacon. To say that marketing is an ever-changing industry is an understatement.
3. Schermer
Schermer is all about making its B2B Marketing sleek yet direct. Exploring its work with Honeywell, the BMA Young Professionals were able to see firsthand how B2B is an opportunity to, as President Chris Schermer put it, “Solve some really interesting problems and serve some really interesting brands.” The agency took an idea as simple as a stethoscope and proved how it can be packaged and marketed in a new, sexy way. Schermer takes the complexity of B2B marketing and transforms it into relatable and compelling campaigns, showing that every niche of the industry is as important as the next.
4. Tartan Marketing
What does a Scotsman wear under his kilt? While President Jim MacLachlan never answered the “do-you-dare?” question of Tartan Marketing, the Young Professionals were able to discuss Tartan’s humble beginnings in Jim’s parents’ garage to becoming today’s “best damn Scottish B2B Marketing Agency in Minneapolis.” From the wide open common rooms of their converted church headquarters to their personal offices, anyone who walks into the agency can see that Tartan is focused on offering its employees a range of workspaces in order to keep the creativity flowing. CEO Margie MacLachlan, Creative Director Michael Vogt, and even Mascot Fergie the dog joined Tartan employees who were available to talk about all aspects of B2B marketing, ranging from art to copywriting, and how they all work together to tackle their four markets: food, healthcare, service, and high technology. With clients like Cargill and Ecolab, the Young Professionals saw how a small agency can produce big ideas (and it didn’t hurt that Jim made the group Scottish cocktails).
Touring four highly successful and completely unique agencies across Minneapolis proved to be a valuable lesson in the importance of B2B Marketing and what our city continues to contribute to the industry. We look forward to many similar events to come.
In its Fifth Street Towers office, BBDO had the BMA Minnesota Young Professionals thinking about one thing: bacon. Referencing long time clients Hormel Foods, they talked about their “Driven By Bacon” campaign, which involved fueling a motorcycle with Black Label Bacon grease and documenting its cross-country journey to the International Bacon Film Festival. This marketing strategy went to show how BBDO and Hormel took a popular product like Black Label and translated it across a different and relatable medium where you wouldn’t normally find the concept of bacon. To say that marketing is an ever-changing industry is an understatement.
3. Schermer
Schermer is all about making its B2B Marketing sleek yet direct. Exploring its work with Honeywell, the BMA Young Professionals were able to see firsthand how B2B is an opportunity to, as President Chris Schermer put it, “Solve some really interesting problems and serve some really interesting brands.” The agency took an idea as simple as a stethoscope and proved how it can be packaged and marketed in a new, sexy way. Schermer takes the complexity of B2B marketing and transforms it into relatable and compelling campaigns, showing that every niche of the industry is as important as the next.
4. Tartan Marketing
What does a Scotsman wear under his kilt? While President Jim MacLachlan never answered the “do-you-dare?” question of Tartan Marketing, the Young Professionals were able to discuss Tartan’s humble beginnings in Jim’s parents’ garage to becoming today’s “best damn Scottish B2B Marketing Agency in Minneapolis.” From the wide open common rooms of their converted church headquarters to their personal offices, anyone who walks into the agency can see that Tartan is focused on offering its employees a range of workspaces in order to keep the creativity flowing. CEO Margie MacLachlan, Creative Director Michael Vogt, and even Mascot Fergie the dog joined Tartan employees who were available to talk about all aspects of B2B marketing, ranging from art to copywriting, and how they all work together to tackle their four markets: food, healthcare, service, and high technology. With clients like Cargill and Ecolab, the Young Professionals saw how a small agency can produce big ideas (and it didn’t hurt that Jim made the group Scottish cocktails).
Touring four highly successful and completely unique agencies across Minneapolis proved to be a valuable lesson in the importance of B2B Marketing and what our city continues to contribute to the industry. We look forward to many similar events to come.
 | Emma Stoneall is a senior at the University of Minnesota graduating in May. She hopes to pursue a career in PR or marketing. |