Lauren Taylor, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT & PARTNER
As we celebrate our 10-year anniversary, thoughts wander back to the beginning in April 1997 when there were four of us sitting in downtown Raleigh office space one quarter of what we have now. There was an element of anxiety about the new venture, but more than that, an element of excitement. This was going to be REALLY cool, breaking out and starting something new.
Personally, I don't remember ever worrying that the agency wouldn't succeed. Maybe once or twice I thought I could actually be out of a job if it didn't, but I never seriously thought it would come to that point. Our CEO kept us focused and we dug in, did great work, had great clients (our inaugural client, Wrangler, we still work with today), gained new clients and grew and grew and grew. Eventually, we took over our entire building and even moved north to open an office in the Empire State Building in New York City.
I'm sure there were many people locally and in the public relations industry nationally who thought we would probably end up being a strong North Carolina or regional agency. We've become so much more than that-the largest independent agency in the Southeast and one of the top 20 largest in the country.
It's easy to continue on the path of doing your job every day without stopping to think about the work, the clients and colleagues you have the privilege of working with, as well as the changing role of public relations in the business and marketing landscape. However, it's really been a tremendous experience. Our agency continues to succeed, buoyed by our work and client relationships and we continue to have fun. And, public relations continues to be accepted as a primary marketing tool.
As it often happens in life, we don't stop to reflect unless it's at milestones. Ten years seems like a great time to pause – if just for a moment.
