unified.agency is the Chicago marketing strategy agency that was founded on the principal of morphing its resources to become a unique agency that fits to each of their clients needs. The 150-person agency consists of five Chicago agencies: BKV, DRUM, Hiccup, Resonant Analytics, and UMarketing. They have worked with an impressive roster of Fortune 1000 companies from Adobe and eTrade to AT&T and Chase.
unified.agency are true group of specialists and experts working as one. If you are interested in finding out more about this Chicago agency, keep reading below…
Inside unified.agency
In Chicago Since: 2007
Core Services: Marketing strategy that combines the expertise of our five teams to deliver a ‘custom agency’ solution.
# of Employees: 155
# of Four-Legged Employees: Depending upon the day, from 1 to 8
1. Their origin story…
Two guys, George Wiedemann (formerly CEO of Grey Direct) and Ken Lomasney (Founder/President of data and analytics firm, Market Knowledge) were frustrated with the way agencies worked, e.g., the silos, the lack of transparency, the lip-service given to strategy. They decided in 2007 to buy a small 20-person agency and transform it into their vision of what an agency should be, and finally, that is what unified.agency has become and will continue to be. In a world where channels evolve daily and technology overhauls expectations, more and more clients are finding themselves with a pile of fragmented partners that they cannot effectively manage and bring together in one unified voice.
2. What you’ll find inside:
This is pretty subjective, but after polling some people in the office we would say the barn doors leading to our edit suites, the antique lockers with the original high schooler’s playboy pinup picture still inside, or the stuffed beaver left over from a shoot – we claim. From a different perspective, there’s also cardboard cutout of a famous employee who literally “went through a wall” for one of our clients.
3. The meaning of #agencylife…
It means the ability to work with the widest range of personalities in any business. From creatives, to statisticians and strategists, with client work that ranges from liquor and hospitality to banks, utilities and insurance companies. And while the work is hard and sometimes relentless, there’s never a boring day and sometimes it’s even a lot of fun!
“Smart, hard-working people that understand the business and are committed to providing our clients the broad
resources of big agency networks combined with the bold passion of an entrepreneur.”
Chicago Creative
4. Why unified.agency loves CHI Town:
The attitude and values most recently reflected in the way the city responded to the Cubs World Series win! There is no other city like it in the world.
5. Chicago campaign unified.agency is proudest of:
Grand Victoria Casino – 20th Anniversary. Our client wanted maximum impact for minimal investment. We developed a cost-effective plan that targeted GVC’s core footprint zip codes with cable TV, radio, print and digital communications. Leveraging existing assets and efficient production processes, we created an affordable TV spot with high production values that fit within the tight budget—a goal that was originally thought impossible. Our digital efforts were developed based on location, customer demographics and interests, and included both contextual targeting via custom, approved website lists, site channels and mobile advertising. Our initial target was 5.4MM impressions, but by continually optimizing throughout the campaign, we were able to deliver 8MM impressions, with a CTR that doubled the industry standard.
6. National campaign unified.agency is proudest of:
LaunchPad – our proprietary product and offer development process that brings together multiple teams (creative, research and analytics) that has consistently improved campaign performance while reducing costs.
7. Most admired Chicago brands:
Chase, Allstate, Fifth Third
8. Most admired influencer in Chicago:
We’ve always been impressed with the work out of Schafer Condon Carter.
9. The best restaurant in Chicago:
Eddie V’s – prime steaks and seafood, live jazz and a great place to meet people!
“Treat all with respect, work smart and never give up, and you’ll always end up just fine.”
– Ken Lomasney, COO
Partners in Crime
10. What they do for their clients:
We develop customer-centric strategies that deliver results every time.
11. Want to work with unified.agency? This is what they look for in potential partners…
Our ideal client is a strategic partner who is open-minded and willing to push the boundaries for continual improvement.
12. Clients love unified.agency because…
We are honest, dependable, strategic partners who are extremely passionate about our work and the results we deliver. Our greatest complement was from a client that said, ‘you are the people I call when I can’t sleep at night.’
13. Who they helped:
Adobe, AT&T, SPANX, American Red Cross, Chase, E*Trade, Six Flags, Costco, Comcast, SONY
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