archer>malmo Featured in Agency Post's Pledge to Independent Agencies

In honor of the 4th of July yesterday, The Agency Post compiled a short list of independent agencies, pledging respect to them and the entrepreneurs whose vision guide them. One of the featured agencies was Memphis' archer>malmo.

Here's what principal and chief creative officer Gary Backaus had to say about the agency:
“Independence gives us the freedom to be mainly culturally driven instead of financially driven. Even so, archer>malmo is consistently profitable, and we don’t think that’s a coincidence. Our success is based on the quality of our creativity – which really means we have great, talented people – coupled with our ability to develop and maintain trusting and lasting client relationships.

In my experience, I have seen that people are naturally more creative and productive when they’re happy. So that commitment to culture directly benefits clients. I think that is a distinct competitive advantage for us over larger agencies. Our business, built on creativity, quality and solid relationships, is not capital intensive, and, that’s the beauty of it. We’re driven to do excellent work, but without the pressure of quarterly earnings.

Independence also puts us in charge of our own destiny when it comes to new business. There’s been a lot of talk lately about how the industry’s pitch-oriented approach is broken — RFPs, spec work, consultant conflicts of interest, etc. — and how agencies should stand up to it. We are fortunate to be in a position to occasionally and politely say ‘no thanks’. Our new business comes mostly from relationships, referrals and organic growth, and our business is up significantly. We’ve hired more than 20 people already this year and the growth outlook is very positive.”

Via