Wannenmacher Advertising rolls with personnel switches, growth

In addition to several staff changes, the firm’s office at 211 E. Walnut St. has been reorganized, and company owner and founder Paul Wannenmacher is moving into a new office off-site.

So many growth-oriented changes could have a chaotic effect on a small company where staff has consistently remained between 10 and 12 employees. Not so at Wannenmacher Advertising, where its leader attributes the smooth transition to mutual respect and low turnover.

“Most of my employees stick around. We all get along,” Wannenmacher said. “We have an environment where each person is respectful of each other person. I insist on that.”

There’s also a great deal of teamwork; titles are scarce at the company, with staff members sharing the duties and responsibilities that would typically be attributed to an art director or head writer.

Web endeavors

Paul Wannenmacher’s brother-in-law, Keith Sorbo, recently assisted Wannenmacher Advertising with two Web sites, boomerzest.com and bigosports.com. The agency plans to add Web programming services for its clients and is looking for a new account executive as part of this effort.

“To revitalize our business, really make that extra step, (we) have to do it full force,” Wannenmacher said. “Our Web design has been a very valuable part of our business. We are recommitting and putting more resources toward Web design … .”

Rebecca Ball, staff member in creative services, said that in the past five years, online developments have propelled the company into new territory.

“Whether it is search engine optimization or tying the Web site in with creative or coming up with a database, it has been geared toward finding ways to help a client market themselves,” she said.

Brian Hammons, president of Stockton-based Hammons Products Co., which harvests and processes black walnuts, has benefited from Wannenmacher Advertising’s endeavors to enhance its services. Hammons, whose client relationship with Paul Wannenmacher predates Wannenmacher Advertising, originally enlisted the agency’s help to publicize Hammons Products’ black walnut harvesting program.

“Over the last few years, they have added some other things that may represent the creative addition to their expertise as well,” Hammons said. “They’ve designed logos, done some package design for us and most recently designed a Web site. Basically, we are revamping the look and feel of the Web site.”

New spaces and staff changes

While the company is seeing more demand for Web-based services, traditional work for the advertising agency also is on the upswing, though Wannenmacher declined to disclose revenues.

Michael Cochran, a writer in both creative and account services, attributes some of the growth to additional work in Branson, where clients include Missouri Partners Inc., Stonebridge Resort, Elk Head Ranch and Emory Creek Ranch.

“We’ve managed to do some work for some really top-notch clients down there,” he said. “Good work generates more work.”

To handle the growth, Wannenmacher Advertising’s downtown office has been reorganized. Account executives are concentrated on the first floor, and creative services staff have moved upstairs. Wannenmacher’s move to an off-site office in an undisclosed location has freed up space for additional employees, he said.

One of those is Eric Deal, who joined Wannenmacher Advertising in creative services. At the same time, the agency is dealing with a departure in the same department, as Krysta Baird is moving to Kansas City.

Literary endeavors

Another change for the staff involves writer Cochran, who is taking a leave of absence to finish his work on the book “Hopalong Cassidy: An American Legend,” with actor William Boyd’s widow, Grace Bradley Boyd, and is in negotiations to write an authorized biography of John Fogerty.

Wannenmacher welcomes such endeavors among his employees.

“I take pride in the fact that all of my employees have an outside life,” Wannenmacher said. “If your life is just Wannenmacher Advertising Company, then you are leading a pretty shallow life. If you have outside interests, you are going to pick up the richness and fullness of life, which in my mind leads to better work at the office.”

Though Wannenmacher will still handle some accounts, and will be involved with long-term strategic planning for his company, he is writing a documentary on artist Thomas Hart Benton to air on KOZK/KOZJ.

Cochran agreed that taking time off to work on his books will help him better serve clients.

“If you just day in, day out write ad copy and come up with concepts of how to help your clients succeed, you can get stale,” he said. “It’s when you get out in the world and see what’s going on and actually get involved … outside the workplace that your own creative juices are refreshed. You get a feel for the street and a feel for the world.”