Scaling up Excellence: Dallas-based Eighty Three Creative, a Full-service Marketing Agency, All Set to Run and Run

“We have constantly tried to evolve our services to provide the best possible advertising solutions to our clients. From small startups to established companies, we believe in accommodating clients regardless of their budget or status.”

Marketing is both an art and a science. The art side of the equation — design, copywriting, photography — depends on the ever-evolving science side — analytics, marketing operations, and ad targeting — to get a brand’s carefully crafted message in front of the right eyes. There are a lot of moving parts involved, and even the largest in-house marketing teams need outside help or expertise from time to time.

Eighty Three Creative is a comprehensive marketing agency. Established in 2015 and headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Eighty Three offers a full suite of services, including app and web development, branding, digital strategy and design, photo and video production, and more.

Interview Excerpt: Thomas McShane, Co-founder/CEO

Why was the company set up? And how have you expanded your company and its offerings over the years?

Eighty Three Creative was born in unlikely circumstances — out of the in-house marketing department for what we now call our largest client — City Electric Supply (CES). The holding company that owned the subsidiary had so much faith in our creative abilities that they allowed us to turn into our own agency and start taking on outside clients. The only stipulation was that it couldn’t affect our ability to provide the same quality of service to CES, and it hasn’t. In fact, we treat all our clients as though we are an extension of their own marketing department.

Another cornerstone of the ETC brand is our desire to help businesses of all sizes. Many agencies will only consider meeting with a business if they have a substantial budget or have already obtained a certain level of success in their market, and we’re not about that. There’s never a charge for meetings at ETC, and we never turn a client down because of budget or status. That’s just how we roll.

Our agency’s promise is to go beyond creative for our clients. That means that we not only take the creativity level above and beyond what is expected but that we also offer incredible customer service from the time we pick up the phone until the time we deliver the results of a campaign. We believe that at the end of the day, people do business with people, and we pride ourselves on being the type of people that everyone wants to work with. To this day, the reason we do what we do is to see the look on a client’s face when we go beyond their expectations and deliver something truly incredible. We’re driven by a passion for our craft, not by the interest of shareholders or concern for sizable returns, and we never want that to change.

As far as our service offerings are concerned, we used to function as a standard marketing agency, offering our services à la carte and based on the customer’s specifications. But in an effort to extend our offerings, many of the departments created packages aimed at providing cost-effective solutions to SMBs and large, established companies alike. These packages range from web design and development to digital and social media marketing.

What challenges did you face in your initial years?

 We faced the same problems most businesses do in the first two to three years. Finding new clients and maintaining a steady source of income can be a challenge when you are a young company, but our passion and determination to succeed has continued to drive us to create innovative service offerings that get potential clients excited.

“Earning the trust and respect of consumers comes through consistent focus on delivering high quality.” How do you interpret this statement?

This statement could very well be an alternate to the mantra Eighty Three Creative was founded on. We have positioned ourself as an agency that goes beyond creative, meaning we go far beyond just creative services. We believe that every aspect of the client experience should go above and beyond what is expected. From our chauffeur services to fresh coffee and cocktails, we make sure that we roll out the red carpet for all our clients, big and small.

If you had to list five factors that have been/are the biggest assets to your organization, what would they be and why?

Our People – Eighty Three Creative brings together some of the best creative minds from all over the globe. We have people from Russia, Germany, Colombia, China, you name it. It’s a diverse melting pot of talent that’s more of a creative family than anything else.

Our Services – We have constantly tried to evolve our services to provide the best possible advertising solutions to our clients. From small startups to established companies, we believe in accommodating clients regardless of their budget or status. We are a full-service agency, and thus offer everything from brand creative and production to result generated digital experiences.

Our Office – The perfect place for the creative mind to thrive, our office boasts open seating, ample meeting space, ping pong tables, a stellar break room, and decor ranging from graffiti walls and reclaimed furniture to an employee art gallery.

Our Client Experience – Something we have never skimped on, the overall experience at Eighty Three Creative is what keeps our clients coming back for more. That and our creativity, of course.

Our Creativity – Creativity is the driving force of our agency, and something our clients have come to depend on to help their business make a lasting impression in a media-saturated world.

Do you have any new clients, or upcoming projects you are excited to start working on?

We have several new clients that we are super excited to start working with. We recently did a brand re-launch with a local sustainable retail business known as Favor The Kind. We also just started working with men’s skin care brand Jack Black. The team is very excited about that project, as several of our employees have been self-proclaimed brand advocates for years.

Where do you see your company in a few years?

It has always been our ambition to continue to grow and to help all businesses, large and small, advertise their products and services. We would love to expand to other cities in the United States, but would never want the quality of our work or dedication to client service to suffer as a result.

The Man Behind The Operation:  A Brief Background

Thomas’s passion for creativity was born during his first job. When working at a warehouse collating boxes, sweeping floors, and packing product, he would see designs ranging from packaging to business cards and knew that he could offer something much more creative. After a successful career as a marketing manager for City Electric Supply, Thomas was given the opportunity to move to his position as CEO for Eighty Three Creative. He has since worked to create successful campaigns for clients such as AT&T, American Airlines, and Greyhound.

“At Eighty Three Creative we believe that a happy team is the easiest way to ensure happy clients.”