broadhead’s state-of-the-state 2023
Dean Broadhead | CEO
Last week we gathered as an entire agency, welcoming folks from our East and West Coast offices to the land of 10,000 lakes for our annual summer symposium. There was plenty of food and fun, but at its core, it was a time to both literally and figuratively cheers to what we’ve done together as an agency — and how we’re better serving our clients as a result.
Our symposium theme was “Momentum,” — something we’ve had in spades the past two years. We’ve been making waves with our successful hybrid workplace model, expansion into new offices, and the hiring of top-notch leaders, all while being recognized externally for our culture and our work. We could talk about this all day (and we did — for two days, actually). But for the sake of time, we’ll sum it up for you in four major points.
The Momentum of a Hybrid Workplace:
You can’t open LinkedIn without seeing an article about organizations struggling to bring teams back to the office. We won’t minimize the challenge it is for both business leaders and their teams. But in the summer of 2021, we blazed the trail early, making a workplace decision that was best for our client experience as well as the well-being and growth of our employees.
Team members have the flexibility to work wherever they want on Mondays and Fridays, but we adhere to an in-office schedule Tuesday through Thursday. The talent we’ve attracted in the past 18 months as well as the work we’re producing for clients is proof that our hybrid arrangement fuels creativity, productivity and most importantly, the talent development that comes from in-person collaboration and energy.
The Momentum of New Offices and Additional Leadership:
We’ve set our sights on new horizons by adding offices in Charlotte and Portland (more here in case you missed it). Our expansion on the coasts represents our commitment to attracting extraordinary talent, extending the clock and enhancing our ability to serve clients coast-to-coast. And we couldn’t ask for better leaders to help us get there thanks to the addition of industry veterans Kelley Briggs in Charlotte and Jaime Komitor in Portland.
We have a few other big changes that will only add to our momentum. Lynne Robertson, managing director of Fame, will now also serve as executive vice president of brand for the entire agency. And we’ve hired Rebecca Lunna as senior vice president of public relations. Our PR work is already making an impact (spoiler alert) and with her expertise, we expect exponential growth.
The Momentum of Recognition
On top of our internal and client successes, we’re proud to have received several recent awards that speak volumes about our culture and our work. In the past few weeks, we’ve been named to:
- Star Tribune’s 2023 Top Workplaces
- Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal’s Best Places to Work
- Twin Cities Business Magazine’s Best of Business: Advertising and Marketing
- Twin Cities Business Magazine’s Best of Business: Public Relations
- Portland Business Journal’s 100 Fastest-Growing Private Companies
I also want to give a shout out to our AdVocation team for their work extending our DEI commitments beyond broadhead’s walls and bringing together a collective of Twin Cities agencies who have a common goal of sharing learnings and implementing programs that improve the industry as a whole. If this sounds like something you’d like to get involved with, the more, the better. In fact, we’re hosting the next happy hour and would love to see you there. RSVP here.
The Momentum of Industry-Leading Client Work
In the past year, we’ve added clients such as Ziegler, Norfolk Southern, Great Clips, Best Buy, My Burger, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and UnitedHealthcare; you can see why we’re excited to keep sharing our work with you.
In the transportation space, we’re helping clients make a splash by launching new brands and evolving others. broadhead clients were the stars of the show at the recent Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo, starting with the debut of RIZON — a new electric truck brand from Daimler Truck. We also helped launch the Freightliner em2 truck as well as Greenlane, a new zero-emission commercial vehicle charging network that we had a hand in naming.
In April, we debuted a new food-focused event called Table Talk. It featured an all-star lineup of panelists from Target, Post Consumer Brands, Peace Coffee and My Burger coming together to talk about how they’re navigating the challenges of rising prices, supply chain roadblocks and more.
And, in staying true to our agriculture roots, our president Beth Burgy was named National Agri-Marketing Association’s Marketer of the Year.
What Do We Do with This Momentum?
The combination of all the above has been rocket fuel for broadhead’s growth — which we put right back into the organization so our clients reap the benefits. Our momentum helps us continue to foster a culture where people are proud to work and where they do their best work for our amazing client roster — laundry list here, and if you don’t see your company listed, it’s time we grab lunch.
We’ve already tripled our data science group, doubled our brand strategy team and established deep digital and social capabilities, and that’s just over the past year and a half. So, if you have FOMO from missing our annual summer symposium (comes with a side of karaoke and rooftop views), we’re always hiring we hope you’re part of it next year.