“I run a three-ring circus,” John Risdall says. He says it very calmly. He’s been running the advertising, marketing, and public relations agency that bears his name (and which he founded) for nearly four decades. A remarkable run, with no signs of ending. “This is my seventh recession, and this is the worst one.” He says that calmly, too.
He can afford to. His one-stop marketing communications shop had a strong 2009, and pulled in 14 new clients in 2010 as of mid-February. (It has about 300 total.) How did he and his circus pull those rabbits out of a grudging economic hat? Why is his agency in solid shape while many others have been struggling? What’s the secret of John Risdall’s durability?
He doesn’t run a flashy agency. It’s headquartered not in a century-old repurposed industrial structure near Washington Avenue (not that there’s anything wrong with that) but in a new building in New Brighton next to still-in-use freight tracks (likewise).
John doesn’t pontificate or get all mystical about marketing and its revolutionary power over consumer culture. He’s avuncular and matter-of-fact. He’s well aware of social media and all its forms, and he certainly knows they reflect changes in the marketing business.
Those clients include a number of medical technology firms (Risdall’s biggest group of clients), financial services firms, and a diverse group of clients in numerous other industries. John is particularly proud of the firm’s interactive work. Risdall interactive team won 21 Web development awards from the Web Marketing Association in 2009, after winning 29 the year before.
John introduces the leaders of the various practices, runs through their professional backgrounds, which include top agencies like Fallon and Martin/Williams, as well as Target, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
Lara Balai, Risdall’s co-president of creative—she guides the visual side, Tina Karelson the words—and a former Martin/Williams creative director, describes the Risdall approach as “having a good relationship with the clients and really understanding them. We don’t try to fit them into our solutions.” Each client, each brand, requires its own approach. A good Web site isn’t always enough. And not every B2B client needs to be on Twitter—their buyers often aren’t there.
“How would you describe our approach?” John asks Tina.
“Here, anything is possible,” Tina says, pointing to Risdall’s integrative capabilities. “It’s a broad approach.”
John: “Holistic?”
“You can say holistic,” Tina replies wryly. “Though that’s a little crunchy.”
One of John’s “secrets”—he makes good hires. Given his people’s experience and capability, he doesn’t need to micromanage. In fact, he prefers not to, though he does keep in touch on all that’s going on. Each client works with a team of marketing group staff. The teams “don’t report to me, they report to the client,” John says.
Risdall has a social media practice, and in 2008 created a strategic planning department to help it better understand its clients’ customers and help coordinate the growing number and combination of possibilities for reaching them. (it started an online search marketing practice back in the mid 1990s.)
All this staff experience and insight, customer contact, and openness to new approaches no doubt contribute to Risdall’s quiet durability. So does something a bit more old-school. John calls “busting and grinding”—making the calls, working hard to find and keep clients, and working hard to help them make money.
He also clearly enjoys his staff. At the end of my visit, he turned to me and said, “They’re pretty cool, aren’t they?”
Tweets for the coming spring: Risdall Marketing Group, Risdall McKinney PR, Twin Cities Business, and el hombre BTW.
Well-earned recognition for one of the hardest working, most successful shops in-town. Congrats to John, the next generation, Ted and the whole Risdall team.
Sarah Smith
Director of Business Development
Blue Earth Interactive
@SarahResults
Posted by: SarahResults Smith | February 19, 2010 at 09:14 AM