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HERO|farm – New Orleans Marketing Strategy & Design Agency
The Co-Founders of HERO|farm joins Enterprise Radio. HERO|farm is a Marketing Strategy & Design agency based out of New Orleans, LA & like their city, they do things differently there.
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There’s nothing quite like having your industry collapse around you to make you evaluate the future. The advertising world is usually a good prognosticator to the health of the economy. And having worked in this industry for several years together, it had dawned on HERO|farm’s soon to be founders Reid Stone and Shaun Walker more than once that a great shift was on the horizon. To work in a typical advertising agency during a recession it’s like you’re sitting in a waiting room waiting for a doctor to stroll in and give you the news that you have a terminal illness. You’ve known it before you ever even walked into his office. You felt it coming. Things weren’t going right. It’s not personal. Hell, you’ve been healthy and productive. But circumstances outside of your control have made you the walking dead. And there’s several other people just like yourself in that same room.
Your choice at that point is to accept the inevitable news and begin the scratching and clawing that is interviewing at the few, still profitable agencies, or you can create opportunity. When the market tripped and the axe fell in 2008 due to scared clients and shrinking budgets, our “what ifs” turned into “what nows?” Thankfully, we had pondered the idea of a new breed of advertising agency and, at this point, just had to find a way to make it a reality. I’d be a great politician if I could say with a straight face that we were 100% sure that our idea would pan out, but alas, we were kissing lady luck, rubbing a bald guy’s head and rolling the dice.
We first began working out of Reid Stone’s house and used our connections to strengthen our new, fledgling business. We have never taken out a loan and used maybe a couple hundred dollars for simple things to get going. Otherwise, we built up from scratch and have become the 2011 Business of the Year, selected by the International Association of Business Communicators – New Orleans.
We were truly lucky/blessed/charmed to have been surrounded by individuals who had been given the same unemployment death sentence. It’s with these individuals we formed our creative guild and with a few trusting (and now very happy…We think) clients that HERO|farm came to be – an agency based on creating opportunities out of unconventional thinking and maintaining a philanthropic side to keep us grounded. Some of our original teammates have grown with us and some have moved on to other opportunities, but all of them, coupled with a “head first” attitude, have helped us to where we are today.
About HERO|farm
Founded in 2009 by Reid Stone and Shaun Walker, HERO|farm is a marketing strategy and design agency with a simple philosophy: Do great work for good people. We’ve discovered that when following this principle everything else seems to fall into place. HERO|farm is founded on organic creative that serves the greater good. We actively pursue avenues of impact that create valued connections between people, places and things while also initiating innovative ways to extend the positives of the human condition. Every story needs a hero. And we’re here to save the day.
Not only do we want to do great work, but also do good for the world while doing it. A cornerstone of HERO|farm is to do at least one campaign per year pro bono for a non-profit, as well as work with clients who have admirable missions. Our mission is to establish a guild of creatives who elevate social entrepreneurs, small/mid-sized businesses and non-profits by creating relevant brand messages in unconventional ways.
We don’t want to be the biggest or richest; we’re striving to be the most creative that makes the biggest positive impact on the world. We’ve come to realize how beneficial and impactful advertising can be for the viewer when it is paired with a client who has a good mission. When you add value to a person’s everyday life, you do more than just sell a product; you create a lasting relationship of goodwill and a connection that goes far beyond sell-buy-consume. Our goal is to help evolve advertising into something people don’t run from, but applaud.
Simply, we just want to do our part in making the world a better place.
Listen to host Eric Dye & guests Reid Stone & Shaun Walker discuss the following:
- What is HERO|farm?
- How did you get started?
- What are some of HERO|farm’s achievements of which you are most proud?
- What are some of your favorite campaigns done by HERO|farm?
- If you had a super power, what would it be and why?
Links: hero-farm.com
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