Marlin 'zags' into 20th year

All would likely meet the same objective – presumably, hit the water and enjoy the thrill on the way down. But The Marlin Co. motto is “zag” when everyone else “zigs.”

It’s the type of creative thinking that has carried the company through unpredictable times and into a 20th year that is 7 percent above its 2004 capitalized billings of $34 million. By the end of the year, The Marlin Co. expects to reach nearly $40 million in capitalized billings.

In the past year, four new clients – Escalon, Nestlé Foodservice (Nestlé, Nescafé, Nestea and Stouffer’s), Splenda and Sartori Cheese – have joined a base of national and local entities that includes Starbucks Foodservice (Starbucks and Seattle’s Best coffees), Mission Foods, Hasbro, National Pork Board, Tracker Marine and French’s Foodservice (French’s Mustard, Frank’s RedHot and Cattlemen’s Barbecue sauces).

The company is on the brink of expanding under an umbrella name, The Marlin Network, to include two full-service agencies, The Marlin Co. and FishHead Communications, and the four-year-old, Internet-based iMarlin, which handles everything from Web site design to custom print on-demand systems, database marketing, e-mercials, media placement and interactive compact disc training.

The company is looking to lease a separate building for FishHead Communications and has plans to move in by the end of the year, said Michael Stelzer, FishHead’s newly named president.

Meanwhile, the company plans to add 10 to 15 staff members to its 32-person team, Stelzer said.

Fresh fish

Like many advertising agencies, The Marlin Co. has had its share of ups and downs.

Started on May 7, 1985 – founder and Marlin Network president Dennis Marlin’s birthday – the agency began with one employee. By the end of the year, Stelzer, Account Supervisor Tom Kujawa, Production Manager Bill Mammorella, Operations Manager Sherry Schellack, Copywriter Jim Moore and Account Executive Janet Folk all were brought on board. All but Moore and Folk – who are now retired – are still with the company.

First year billings were between $300,000 and $400,000, Marlin estimated.

“We’ve pretty much self-funded our growth over the last 20 years,” Marlin said, adding that it was difficult at times. “The agency business is a very volatile, competitive business.”

The aftermath of Sept. 11 was felt throughout the agency business, and The Marlin Co. was no exception: it had to lay off almost a quarter of its work force.

“But we bounced back and are stronger today than we were,” Marlin said.

The reverberations continue to affect staffing outlooks – many longtime agency professionals left the business, while younger candidates never entered the arena at all.

The key has become recruiting and retaining top talent.

“Don’t lose sight of the fact that it’s been our people, and their talents, that helped build our brand and make us who we are,” Stelzer said.

The company boosts morale through company outings, continuing education and excursions for all associates and their spouses to destinations such as San Antonio, Santa Fe, N.M., and Beaver Creek, Colo., (this month) for landmark anniversaries.

It seems to be working: 21 percent of the associates at The Marlin Co. have been there for 15 years or more. Clients are satisfied as well.

“I think they have very bright people (and) a very energized corporate culture that lets those bright people thrive,” said Jeff Pigott, director of foodservice marketing at the National Pork Board. “They have a depth of experience, folks that have been in the business for a very long time, and a passion for doing a very good job.”

“They are fantastic human beings who work hard, deliver outstanding product and are great team players. We couldn’t ask for a better partner,” said Julie Felss, director of brand marketing for Starbucks Foodservice.

Weathering the storms

Helping to weather the storms is The Marlin Co’s financial backup plan.

“We keep six months of working capital in retained earnings so if we lost all our business tomorrow, we have six months to build it back up,” Marlin said.

The agency doesn’t put all of its eggs in one basket, either.

“We never became a slave to any given client. A lot of agencies always have one or two big clients they’re afraid to lose, so they’ll do everything to keep that. We’ve never had that situation. Our largest client will probably represent 25 percent of our business at any given time,” Marlin said.

The company has met some tough client challenges.

“We helped grow Frito Lay’s business with Subway by 30 percent in one year – that was our challenge. We called it Mission Possible,” Marlin said.

And it has done pro-bono work for community groups such as Ozarks Literacy Council, the Care Mobile, Court Appointed Special Advocates, Springfield Symphony, Alzheimer’s Association, Habitat for Humanity and Ronald McDonald House. Most recently, the agency raised $750,000 for Camp Barnabas in a direct mail campaign sent to only 35 recipients. “It was either a really good direct mail campaign or a really good list,” Stelzer said.

Changes within the industry, especially technology, which makes it possible to maintain relationships with high-profile, national clients, and do great creative work, has also helped to lure once-reluctant professionals to the area, Stelzer said.

Marlin said at one time, “You’d go to Chicago; you’d go to New York; you’d go to Minneapolis, those kinds of cities. Now we’re seeing people that say, ‘I want a lifestyle. I want a life and (to) do good work.’ So they’re looking at agencies like ours.”

Next challenge

“The new challenge is going to be how do we take and divide this company into these two separate agencies and make sure that our product and our culture and everything we’ve worked the last 20 years will continue to be there and continue to grow,” Marlin said. “It’s an opportunity, and it’s really scary at the same time.”

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