While other marketing and communications firms were downsizing their staffs in the late 1990s, Dick Maggiore, president and CEO of Innis Maggiore Group in Canton and Youngstown, was recruiting seasoned pros. The firm now employs 51 associates; at the end of 1997, it employed just 12.
The recruitment, deployment and retention of the right people is his first priority.
“The right people make the right decisions, and to skimp on talent is to skimp on results,” Maggiore says.
Innis Maggiore was named Ohio’s fastest-growing major agency by Advertising Age magazine two years in a row and has capitalized annual billings of $32 million. The agency is owned by its principals, which encourages accessibility to the management team and removes the issue of rank in the day-to-day service to clients. Maggiore says 20 percent of his agency’s net profit is distributed to the entire staff in equal shares each quarter.
“That way, everyone’s focus is on profit, and rewards happen frequently,” he says.
Employee empowerment is the key to a successful communications business, and Maggiore believes creativity can be harnessed and transformed into solutions that help clients get results. The agency focuses on prospects that have an aggressive mission, which, in turn, creates excitement among employees and fear among competitors.
“They’re the kinds of companies for whom associates gladly work nights and weekends,” Maggiore says. “These clients are profitable and merit the attention of top people.”
Looking toward the future, Maggiore says where there is an opportunity to create a strong return through a modest investment, the agency will open new offices headed by individuals who understand local market conditions and Innis Maggiore Group’s strategic value proposition. How to reach: Innis Maggiore Group, (330) 492-5500 or www.innismaggiore.com
