Advertising/PR CEOs: Employee housing, rapid changes among industry challenges

BOULDER – Sure, so maybe new entry-level software developers at Boulder’s booming tech companies can afford the ever-increasing rent and cost of living in the city.

But what if you’re in an industry like, say, advertising or public relations where starting salaries might not be as high but your potential employees are still drawn to your company in large part because of its location?

In an industry where companies must deal with an ever-changing media landscape to compete and drive value for their clients, some executives at BizWest’s Tuesday CEO Roundtable discussion on advertising and marketing noted employee housing as one of the biggest issues they face and a limiting factor to their growth. That’s even in a city that’s carved out a nice reputation for itself in the advertising industry between the coasts.

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The CEO Roundtable event was sponsored by the Boulder law firm of Berg Hill Greenleaf and Ruscitti and accounting firm EKS&H.

“There’s only so much you can pay a recent college grad who’s adding only so much value,” said Leif Steiner, principal and creative director at Boulder design and advertising agency Moxie Sozo.

Steiner said his company, which has about 32 employees and is looking to grow, is exploring a solution that would include buying condos or other housing in the city where it can subsidize rent for interns or junior-level hires.

“We certainly attract the people who have the desire to work with us, but then they look at the financials and (living in Boulder) doesn’t work out,” Steiner said.

While some noted that the employees they’re plucking from the coasts might well enjoy more affordable housing in Boulder, the cost of living here is having an impact. Avocet Communications president and CEO Lori Jones said the local cost of living is leading to some wage compression issues in her industry, meaning that companies might be forced to pay new hires more than they hired current employees for just a few years ago during the recession. When that happens, those companies must also then weigh whether to increase their current employees’ salaries to maintain fairness.

Even with the cost of living, Voco Creative CEO Juli Dimos said the “faucet” of advertising and marketing employees looking to work in the area can’t be turned off. To make cost of living easier to swallow, her company has tried to create a benefit structure that allows for flex time and employees taking vacation as they need it, as well as the ability for employees to take a month out of the year to work from wherever they see fit.

“So far, so good. They like the flexibility,” Dimos said.

Housing costs aside, there are plenty of other aspects of the advertising and marketing industry that local companies are trying to keep pace with, some of which included:

COAST ENVY: While the presence of major firms like Sterling Rice Group and Crispin Porter + Bogusky has helped put Boulder on the advertising map, executives Tuesday said they still face the notion from some potential clients that they need a “Madison Avenue agency” to achieve their goals. But the execs said many of the local firms have every bit the experience needed, not to mention the access to data analytics, to produce results. “We have a lot of sophistication here, and it’s specialized,” Metzger Albee Public Relations CEO John Metzger said.

CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Whether it’s keeping up with and sifting through emerging social media channels or jumping on the content marketing bandwagon, the tactics and methods for the industry seem to be ever in flux. Jones said her company’s training budget is 10 times what it was just a few years ago. Others, though, noted that their companies keep up with the changes simply by targeting employees who have a natural curiosity to stay abreast of current trends. “It seems to me that’s the critical thing for everybody is they see it as their job to learn and keep their eyes and ears wide open,” said Bob Morehouse, CEO at Vermilion. “I think it’s fun to explore new ways to get results for our clients.”

THE ROLE OF PRINT: Newspapers are dead, right? Well, Morehouse noted that while there was a period where clients wanted all of their money in digital platforms he believes “it’s coming back to a much more sane balance.” His company, Morehouse said, is finding print media to be “hugely helpful and supportive. Most of our digital campaigns we’re finding, surrounded with more traditional media, whether it’s print or radio or outdoor, will get a 20 or 30 percent lift. I think part of it is that with the saturation of digital, it’s hard to break through for people. We’re really getting ourselves trained to ignore a lot of that. So the awareness you can get … we’re finding it’s much stronger when you have a full 360 mix of media.”

CONTENT MARKETING: Content marketing has gained buzz in recent years as companies try to drive conversation by placing their own content — blog posts, articles or videos– into the public realm. Metzger said that the strategy is all that his firm and others have ever done, just with a new name. “I think what it comes down to is it’s about the story,” Metzger said, noting that authenticity and quality content is a must rather than just blasting out high volumes. “We say you either start conversations or you join conversations.”

CHASING MINDSHARE: Data analytics has made many aspects of the value of advertising and marketing, particularly online easier to track. But there are still some aspects that Jones compared to “looking for the unicorn.” Meld Strategy + Communications CEO Matt Bennett said that the two major things that drive interest online are entertainment and information. “Is this content going to be entertaining or informational to the audience we’re going to reach,” Bennett said. “If the answer is yes on either one of those, then we’re going to be successful” in connecting with customers even if the results are difficult to measure.

Participants in Tuesday’s BizWest CEO Roundtable, hosted at Berg Hill Greenleaf and Ruscitti, included: Matt Bennett, CEO, Meld Strategy + Communications; Annette Coleman, principal, Annette Coleman Creative Communications; Juli Dimos, CEO, Voco Creative; Lori Jones, president/CEO, Avocet Communications; John Metzger, CEO, Metzger Albee Public Relations; Bob Morehouse, CEO, Vermilion; Leif Steiner, principal/creative director, Moxie Sozo.