Setup's 8th Anniversary | Leveling Up
As of January 2, 2014, I was unemployed.
I had just spent six years leading business development and marketing for Engauge, but in 2013 we were acquired by Publicis Groupe and merged with Moxie, so it was clear that it was time for me to move on. It was a fun ride since the digital marketing shop (Spunlogic) I joined in 2007 at around 65 people, was acquired by Engauge (250+ people), and then the newly merged agency (Engauge and Moxie) employed more than 600. During my six-year tenure there, my team and I were responsible for bringing in key accounts to the agency including: Cisco Systems, Newell Brands, AMC Theatres, Van Gogh Vodka, Beazer Homes, Hanesbrands, Hershey’s, and Chick-fil-A.
Soon after my last day at the agency, I received inquiries from (mostly) agencies that were interested in my efforts to help them grow as I had done for Engauge. While some of the opportunities were quite appealing, it became clear after several conversations with friends and advisors, that it was time for something new.
My experience showed me that brands had significant gaps in capacity or capability and had a really hard time finding the best-qualified marketing agencies to support them. Marketing agencies did fantastic work for their clients but struggled with building a sustainable new business pipeline.
On February 4, 2014, AgencySparks (now Setup), a company built to connect marketers, was born. I had already gotten my first signed contract and hired my first employee by the time I signed the initial startup papers.
Before I got deep into the grind as a newly minted entrepreneur, I planned an epic trip to Peru with my wife knowing that there might not be another chance to take a break for many years. In the lush courtyard of our hotel in Lima, Peru, I countersigned an agreement with our second agency partner.
After I returned, I leveraged the apartment attached to our home as office space for my newly hired first employee and me, and took time to thank those “sparks” who encouraged, mentored me, and generally supported me as I was launching a new company. It is amazing how contacts from my past carried over to help kickstart and shape our work, proving that relationships are crucial in business.
Now when I look back at all that we have accomplished in the eight years since I first filed those incorporation documents, I could not be any more proud of what we have accomplished:
Served brands/clients and marketing agencies across the country
Successfully grown the team to six dynamic, full-time, and two part-time employees
Moved into a beautiful office in a historic building in the heart of Atlanta
Launched new services for clients such as Custom Agency Search, In-Network Search, Marketing Ecosystem Planning, and Recruiting
Added new services for marketing agencies including Agency Assessment, Sustainable Pipeline, Business Development Training, Marketing Diagnostic, Acquisition Services, and Team Building
Formed partnerships with fantastic companies like Clutch and Winmo
Published content such as the CMO Spotlight (35+) series and the third annual Marketing Relationship Survey (published in AdAge)
Designed new ways for marketers to connect through our Marketer Matchups and Marketing Mixer programs
Rebranded (in 2019) from AgencySparks to Setup (now trademarked)
Supported and continue to support many nonprofits
Reworked our PVTV (purpose, vision, tenants, and values) and implemented the Great Game of Setup (shoutout to Jeff Hilimire’s book - The Great Team Turnaround)
I am proud of what we have accomplished in the last eight years and I am delighted where we landed with our PVTV:
Our Purpose is to unlock the power of human connections.
Our Vision is to help marketers thrive by bringing them together with the best people and resources.
We will do this by (Tenets):
Making meaningful connections
Staying top of mind with marketers
Maintaining operational excellence
At Setup, we are (Values):
Honorable
Approachable
Insightful
Tenacious
Innovative
I hope you will continue on this journey with us as we move into the next phase of growth for Setup. Cheers to eight years, and thanks for staying connected with us!
In support of our vision to connect marketers with the best people and resources, we’ve hosted a Happy Hour for the Atlanta marketing community at our office for the last two years. Partners, community members, and Clients all join together to laugh, chat, and learn more about one another.
Connection in a post-Covid world is different. Most teams are remote and trying to rebuild the remnants of culture’s past. Our August #MarketersBreakfast was aimed to cure this slump by focusing on the tools leaders need to build better and more healthy communication practices to unite their teams and improve their organizations.
Our latest virtual Women’s event was themed “Marketing for Good - Turning Passions into Action,” where marketing leaders discussed the internal and external benefits of cause-driven marketing. Attendees included Setup Agency partners as well as members from established Brands at Cox, FIS, FedEx, Great Clips, Kimberly-Clark, The Home Depot, and more.
The Setup Marketer Speed Dating #MarketersBreakfast is one of our most popular in-person events because attendees get to meet as many qualified people as possible in short bursts of time. Many attendees recounted that the facilitated structure of the matchmaking event made networking so much easier. Plus, to ensure that everyone’s time is valued, the roster of #MarketersBreakfast attendees is exclusive, only open to our agency partners and Client-side marketing leaders. Some of the brands in attendance included Veritiv, Cartoon Network, Primrose Schools, and more.
At Setup, we work with some of the finest marketing agencies across the nation with an array of capabilities. Our most recent March #MarketingMixer gave our partners a platform to share an exclusive behind-the-scenes look into their process, strategy, and campaign results in under two hours. Ten case studies in 90 minutes, with some fun trivia in between, featuring an array of brands like adidas, ParkMobile, PAMA, Prudential, and more.
As Setup celebrates our 10th anniversary, we reflect on a decade of pioneering the art of marketing matchmaking. From our early days as AgencySparks to our rebrand in 2019 to become Setup and all the way to today, we've been dedicated to bridging the gap between brands seeking expert marketing support and agencies capable of delivering outstanding results.
The beauty of our #MarketersBreakfast is that we gather a collection of marketing leaders with years of experience who are eager to connect and share their expertise when discussing an array of topics. For example, one of our recent breakfasts dove into “Marketing Therapy,” or marketers’ main challenges. This led to dedicating an entire breakfast to proving ROI and the Value of Marketing to the Executive Suite.
For this Mixer, we decided to cover “How to Attract Top Talent” since employers and interviewees are curious about how to navigate the job market and how to recruit the best talent. Our partners at Hire Profile are recruiting visionaries with the experience and tools to provide marketing and creative staffing and recruiting solutions to companies in the greater Atlanta area.
A lot has happened in the last six or seven years, and what better way to process challenges than through group therapy? Whether in your personal or professional life, it’s important to realize you are never alone, and challenges are just opportunities for growth, innovation, and insights.
For the event, we crowdsourced challenges Marketing leaders face, and then discussed those questions as a group. Talking points ranged from discussing rising AI technology, to acquiring talent, to branding strategies. Below is a brief recap of the conversation. (We kept the identity of contributors anonymous in true Therapy form.)
The Setup Women in Marketing series highlights the thoughts and advice of prominent marketing brand and agency leaders in companies. Our most recent In This Dame and Age event encouraged women from all backgrounds to #ShareYourStory.
An hour of networking and discussion led to 4 key points women, and all marketing leaders, should keep in mind.
Three years after our last Speed-Dating breakfast, we were finally able to return to our favorite and most cherished in-person event!
With glitter hearts decorating the tables, and guiding questions to spark the romance, we kicked off the love-filled event with several agency partners and clients like Papa Johns, Orkin, Jabra, and more.
The New Year is a time to reflect on the past and make movements towards the future. At Setup, we are proud of the past year that led to new services and resources for the Marketing community, and look forward to the next year to continue to empower Marketers to level up.
The Setup #MarketingMixer is a chance for marketing leaders to connect, discuss, and learn. At previous Mixers, we’ve hosted a number of panelists, held a marketing agency showcase, discussed burnout and business matchmaking, and even facilitated Marketer “speed-dating.”
We love the opportunity to bring together the best and brightest minds to share their experiences and, in this case, we heard from three unique brands about their perspective on “The Seasonality of Marketing.”
For the past four years, Setup has conducted a Marketing Relationship Survey to take the pulse on how Companies (Brands/Clients) and Marketing Agencies operate and work together. Because we live in the space between Brands and Agencies, we are in a unique position to bridge any gaps - in communication, work style, work needs, and more. In that vein, we’re excited to share the results of this year’s survey to provide insight and perspective on the current state of Agency-Client relationships.
Check out the results that were recently featured in Ad Age!
The Setup Women in Marketing series highlights the thoughts and advice of prominent marketing brand and agency leaders. The contributors’ powerful stories and advice led to our all-women networking group: In This Dame and Age, where we host virtual discussions and connect women marketing leaders with one another.
The latest event about exploring and leveraging different Leadership Styles was attended by agency leaders and brand representatives from companies such as Invesco, The Honey Baked Ham Company, Great Clips, Slutty Vegan, and more.
At Setup, we love to facilitate environments where people can network and embrace themselves freely, so our #MarketersBreakfast for August 2022 was all about “Getting Back to the Basics to Find Human Connection.”
At this breakfast, no one was a stranger.
With a balance of attendees from both marketing agency and brand leadership teams, the breakfast consisted of open networking and an “improv” activity led by Setup’s Marketing Manager, Madeline Evans, who is actively teaching and performing improv professionally in Atlanta.
Most employers are not (and will not) demand workers to be in-person in the office five days a week. That means that there are many days when employees work from a home office, coffee shop, co-working space, or some other remote location. Connecting with coworkers through video and audio will only continue to grow.
Setup hosted a breakfast for some brand-side marketers to discuss remote work and how to make it better.
The Setup Women in Marketing series highlights the thoughts and advice of prominent marketing brand and agency leaders. The contributors’ powerful stories and advice led to our all-women networking group: In This Dame and Age, where we host discussions and connect women marketing leaders with one another. The latest event we held a discussion about fostering Creativity + Connection in the workplace.
For our first #MarketersBreakfast event back at the Miami Ad School @ Portfolio Center, we revisited a classic theme: Show and Tell, to share the marketing strategies, thought processes, and success stories of incredible brands like Aaron’s, NCR, The Coca-Cola Company, and ParkMobile.
Setup’s latest Women’s Event “In This Dame and Age” discussed the importance and power of Mentorship. Representatives from a variety of companies such as Truist, IHG, Regal Cinemas, Hiscox USA, and The Home Depot attended to network and share their stories.
This blog post was written by Setup Founder and CEO, Joe Koufman, highlighting the origin of Setup and the multiple achievements that have followed throughout the years.
In February during pre-pandemic days, we would host “speed-dating” events for marketing agencies and brands to connect with and learn about one another’s needs, business, and personal goals. Since going virtual, we’ve explored themed topic events with 1:1 networking sessions that included panels, case study showcases, and group discussions.
After two long years of no speed-dating, we decided to bring this beloved event back, but with an added twist: Bingo!
After a year of Covid, our Marketing Manager, Madeline Evans, went to camp over the summer to bring joy, insights, and a new Setup offering to the office. Read about the lessons she learned from the entire experience and more!
The October #MarketingMixer was the last one of the of the year! At the event, we provided tips to marketing leaders to combat burnout for themselves and their team. In addition to our input, the leaders who attended from a variety of companies such as Delta Airlines, Zep, Char-Broil, FIS, and more shared their own methods in their breakout and discussion rooms which ranged from running, dancing, and painting rocks.
As the expert marketing matchmakers, Setup prides ourselves on knowing the ins and outs of the agency-client relationship. After countless matches and conversations with both parties + yearly surveys tracking trends in the relationship, we’ve managed to highlight a few common themes.
In our latest virtual #MarketingMixer, we presented these findings to a group of marketing leaders from both the client and agency sides.
At Setup, we prioritize creating a safe space for communication between our client-side and agency-side marketers, and what better way to do that than through a therapy session. Last Thursday, we continued to foster those important conversations at our virtual #MarketingMixer event where we held our Marketing Group Therapy Discussion.
The Marketing Multiverse: Marketing in Small, Medium + Large Companies featured a panel of marketers with similar job roles from different sized beverage companies sharing their unique perspectives and experiences. The CEO of Arden's Garden Leslie Zinn represented the small company, the CMO of SweetWater Brewing Company Brian Miesieski represented the mid-sized company, and the Group Marketing Director of Coca-Cola Freestyle at The Coca-Cola Company Eric Lewis represented the larger company.
Our February #MarketingMixer offered attendees the opportunity to learn about business matchmaking and then put their skills to the test in one-on-one Zoom break out sessions.
It is no suprise that 2020 was a tough year for many (global pandemic, racial injustice, divisive politics, and economic despair). While we at Setup had our share of difficulties, 2020 was a pivotal year that transformed our business from a regional to a national scope as the preeminent marketing matchmakers in the US.
In the spirit of celebrating wins in the face of adversity, here are some of our top achievements from the past year.
Last week, Setup hosted a LinkedIn Live event led by Setup Founder & CEO, Joe Koufman, that featured Courtney Lewis, the CMO of The Variable, and Elicia Azali, the CMO of Beazer Homes, to unveil the 2024 Setup Marketing Relationship Survey – an annual report that delves into the dynamics between marketing Agencies and Clients. This year’s results, drawn from over 400 responses across industries, spotlight the evolving priorities, challenges, and opportunities in these relationships.