New partnership forms iMarlin, an Internet-based firm

When The Marlin Company advertising agency celebrated its 15-year anniversary with a retreat to Santa Fe, N.M., in May 2000, owner Dennis Marlin challenged the company with a new concept he called "out-think."

"Let's not do business the same way we were," Marlin told his staff of 28. "Let's look at opportunities that would help us have a more competitive edge in the marketplace out-think our competition, out-think our clients' competition."

Nearly one year later, that concept led to the creation of a new Internet-technology-driven sector within the agency. On April 1, Marlin acquired Modus Design. Its former owner, Robert Hodgson, and its five employees became iMarlin LLC.

Marlin said he anticipated the company moving toward e-commerce and electronic solutions more than a year prior to the acquisition. "It was easier, we felt, if we could bring a company in so that we work as a team to say here is a solution that can be applied against this particular problem that's more electronic-based or technology-based' than we would have thought of on our own," Marlin said.

After about three months of renovating and modifying the space to their specifications, Hodgson moved his technology team into the basement of the Marlin offices at 1200 E. Woodhurst, Bldg. V.

While Marlin had been looking to add an Internet-solution-based company to his operations, Hodgson said he was anticipating a similar change. "In our industry we found that our clients were looking for strategic solutions that typically precede the technology solution. We found a trend, kind of a blank in our business where we weren't providing the strategy and the marketing and the out-thinking' prior to the actual execution. We looked at (The Marlin Company) as an opportunity to add those qualities to the technology side."

Similarly, Marlin said that clients were bringing in technology companies to solve their problems, but those companies weren't understanding their products, brand and image the way his firm did.

Full integration

Marlin said his research shows that other agencies are doing similar things, but most are not using full integration like The Marlin Company is with iMarlin.

Hodgson said he agrees. "When we look at a client problem, typically The Marlin Company would look at traditional solutions and typically Modus Design would look at technology-only solutions. Now we all get together in a single setting and look at all the different solutions." He added, "By integrating all of our knowledge and know-how up front, we can assure the client that we will end up with the right technological or media choice at the end. It's integration from the very beginning."

That frame of mind, Marlin said, is why he chose Hodgson and Modus Design over the other firms he talked to. He said Hodgson stood out because he focused more on the solutions aspects than on the technology but still realized technology helps get to the client's needs.

"They had an appreciation for a good creative product, and we've always prided ourselves in our creativity," Marlin added.

"Where some technology companies get more hung up on the technology than the creative side, Robert tried to balance both of those. And that fit real well within our philosophy."

New services

The services that iMarlin adds to The Marlin Company umbrella include Web site development Internet, intranet and extranet; interactive CD-ROMs for sales tools, presentations and product catalogs; design and development of the touch-screen kiosks seen in airports, malls and trade shows; Web hosting; and the development of Flash animation.

And through the integration with The Marlin Company, it offers strategic solutions like Web marketing designs, overall communication strategies and an auditing service.

Hodgson said, "Basically we'll go into a company and audit their processes and assess how they're doing business now using technology all the way from back-office applications (like) accounting, inventory, system management, all the way to the front end, which is customer relationship management. Then we'll provide them with solutions to improve efficiencies."

Local client

Hodgson said iMarlin is now performing the audit service for Springfield's Decorize.com.

Although Decorize.com has been a Marlin client since its inception a year and a half ago, its president and chief executive officer, Jon Baker, now sees added benefits for his Web-based business.

"We were delighted when they acquired a technology company," Baker said. "To be able to have that service available to us through a company that we already do business with is just a real benefit."

Baker said The Marlin Company has done everything from collateral to ads and buying media. And iMarlin, he added, has already helped with the site's design functions and development in terms of customer service and internal operations.

"It was a real easy transition because Marlin already knew our business," Baker said. He added that thus far, he is very pleased with Marlin's competency in the technology realm, "which in our area, it's tough to find."

National clients

The Marlin Company specializes in the food marketing industry and the majority of its clients are not local, Marlin said, including Kellogg's; Portion Packing Inc., a division of Heinz Foods; Borden; Mission Foods; Saputo Cheese U.S.A.; and Sweet Street Desserts. One of its larger food industry clients is ConAgra Signature Meats and Poultry, both divisions of ConAgra Foods. Marlin said that Signature Meats, headquartered in Greeley, Colo., is one of several clients that have already bought integrated solutions from iMarlin.

Keith Arnold, director of marketing for ConAgra Signature Meats, said iMarlin has created Web-based category bro-chures for its sales force and brokers that allow them to customize a point-of-sale brochure to tailor the needs of each prospective customer. These brochures are outlined and designed on a password-protected extranet site developed and maintained on iMarlin's server.

"What our brokers can do now is target in on what we think this operator needs and what they tell us they want," Arnold said. "It allows it to never really go obsolete, because if our products change or if we want to change our message ... all we do is change the electronic copy on the Web site."

Beyond food

"We felt like broadening our base the way we're doing is going to open up new doors to even penetrate other market segments that we haven't in the past," Marlin said, looking to the future.

He feels the food industry always will be the core of his business, but he understands he must look beyond it to expand.

"We feel like we could grow outside our specialty. Our plan is to actually double this business in the next three years. We have a selling proposition that not a lot of people have, and we want to be rather aggressive in taking that opportunity to the best potential we possibly can."