A Man with Many Messages: Greenleaf Marketing

“I’d heard that there were 2,500 to 5,000 advertising messages we receive each day,” Marshall recalls. “I decided to test it. Before I even woke up, KTTS came on my Sony alarm clock/radio, and I heard six or seven commercials. I reached and got my Panasonic TV remote and turned on KY3, tuned in through my Toshiba receiver and I noticed my Martha Stewart pillow with the tag right there. Before I got done combing my hair, I was up to 240 impressions.”

While this may sound like the act of someone with a mild case of obsessive-compulsive disorder, Marshall had a logical, business-related reason to undertake the task.

As president of Greenleaf Marketing, Marshall prides himself, and his company, in being aware of the way advertising daily affects the public – both the senders and receivers of these ubiquitous pieces of information.

He and Greenleaf are not what one may think of as typical in the field, and Marshall is candid about his outlook on the industry.

“Advertising is used for only two things: financial gain or ego,” he says. “Greenleaf prefers to work with the people who do it for financial gain, rather than ego, for two reasons: One, they’re easier to get along with, and two, they tend to stay in business a whole lot longer.”

The journey

Marshall founded Greenleaf in 2004 after holding down a couple of ad industry jobs.

He was the marketing director for a Los Angeles-area residential subdivision. He and his wife had started a family and found themselves thinking a place a little less “hectic” than L.A. might be better for family life.

“We looked all over the country,” Marshall recalls, “and my uncle, who played guitar for Boxcar Willie in Branson said, ‘Come on down here to Springfield.’”

The Marshalls fell in love with the area, moved to Springfield, and soon even his parents, his sister and their families had relocated to the Ozarks.

Marshall wanted to open an advertising agency, but a family emergency at the time made launching a startup out of the question.

“I worked for The Springfield News-Leader for a few years and got promoted in the Gannett Co. and was relocated to Greenville, S.C.,” he says.

He did training and speaking engagements for Gannett but eventually grew tired of it. He knew his home was in Springfield so he came back and rejoined the News-Leader before opening Greenleaf.

Ill-advised shotgun approach

The company’s method centers on finding the right target for the demographic each client is looking to attract. Marshall thinks what he terms “the shotgun approach” is an ad idea that has outlived its day.

“Advertising is almost … like legalized gambling,” he says. “The secret is putting the odds in your favor. Advertising is part science, it’s part exact numbers, it’s part experience, it’s part gut feel. One size just doesn’t fit all. It’s the shotgun start/stops that always fail.”

Greenleaf has collected about 35 clients that do business in a wide variety of industries. Client offices reach from Tennessee to Nevada, but 90 percent of Greenleaf’s accounts are within a four-state area, including Wyndham/Fairfield Resorts, Citizens Memorial Healthcare and The Mansion Theatre, Marshall says.

Recent work

Law firm Reynolds, Gold & Grosser PC is a recent addition to Greenleaf’s client list. The firm hired Greenleaf in January to develop a campaign around its Social Security disability practice, which had just added former administrative law judge Martin F. Spiegel.

The Greenleaf team created two 30-second TV spots and redesigned print ads, mainly for the Yellow Pages, according to Bob Stephens, the law firm’s office manager.

“It has been more successful than we had anticipated, and we have seen a very significant increase in the number of potential clients,” Stevens says, noting that the list of potential Social Security disability clients has tripled since the campaign started.

Beyond campaigns, Greenleaf will review media invoices for accuracy. For client Wyndham/Fairfield Resorts, the company in one year prevented around $15,000 in inaccurate billing sent by the News-Leader.

“Since we’re responsible for putting it out there, we’re going to be the gatekeeper to make sure (the client) got what they paid for,” Marshall says. “It’s customer first, last and everything in between. And the advertising world has become a jungle. To punch through, you’ve got to put out serious stuff and be very, very focused on what you’re trying to achieve.”

Greenleaf Marketing

Owner: Ron Marshall

Founded: 2004

Address: 1320 N. Stewart, Springfield, MO 65802

Phone: (417) 889-1658

Fax: (417) 889-6251

Web site: www.gowithgreenleaf.com

Services: Full-service advertising agency

Employees: 10

2006 Revenues: $2 million

SBJ Editor Eric Olson contributed to this story.[[In-content Ad]]