The new advertisement minds at 5Fold Agency are ready to help while also branching out themselves.
The company is located in a unique office space at 39 Dunlop St. E., on the top floor in Unit 5F, that has some of the original brick walls that survived a fire from the 1870s.
Marc Holmes is one of the young owners at 5Fold and says he's proud of the city he grew up in and its history.
“I’m a Barrie boy, through and through, and I find the history of the city fascinating. I have a big local history book at my desk I just love,” Holmes said. “I think that is part of the reason why I am staying in town with my business aspirations.”
Launched in September 2018, 5Fold Agency helps businesses improve their logos, social-media platforms, graphic design, websites, e-commerce and anything else to help their company compete in a competitive market.
Holmes joins the other members of the 5Fold Agency team to bring a new vibe to advertising to a city he feels needs it.
“What we’re trying to do here is become a really good advertising agency,” said Holmes. “We feel that Barrie advertising can be better than it is on every medium, whether it's radio or billboards, and we’re trying to become a little boutique ad agency to serve our market and help companies that we really like.
"How advertising is truly impactful is with a good idea and while we obviously will utilize multimedia, radio, billboards and everything else we can, it needs to start with the idea and grow into the perfect ad for your brand," he added.
With approximately 20 clients using their services already, one area that 5Fold has started helping is the non-profit world, and with the Ontario SPCA in particular with the organization’s iAdopt for the Holidays campaign.
The iAdopt campaign was a push for families to look toward adoption if bringing a family pet into the home as a gift. The campaign was successful in seeing 3,645 pets adopted, which made Holmes and the 5Fold team feel great.
“They came to us for some creative and we were able to give them a few concepts and they were able to use one along with the website, radio ads, poster design and we were able to help that awesome campaign get going,” said Holmes. “We’re a business, sure, but to help an organization who helps so many was just a great feeling that all of us won’t forget.”
While Holmes enjoys being considered a company full of young, enthusiastic and creative minds, he says that the young part is not as accurate as one might think. And that’s a good thing.
“I’ve worked at places a while back where the average age was 25; our average age is closer to mid-30s,” said Holmes. “Truthfully, that’s the only way to produce good work is to have experience.
"Now, we just hired a young guy who is 22 and he brings a certain amount of energy and excitement to the table, for sure, but it is all about the experience and knowledge of how to get the work done properly," he added. "That said, hey, we’re all not too old, just experienced.”
As a lifelong Barrie boy, Holmes has seen change happen in the city over the years and knows that lots more is coming. With a boost to the population predicted within the next few years, he tells BarrieToday that business owners need to be ready for the boom of competition that's bound to come.
“Companies in Barrie, which is a little bit bigger of a market than I think people give us credit for, are being handled by business owners that are a little lost and just spending money without a real plan,” said Holmes. “This city is growing and with it the competition for business will grow as will the ways people compete, it can’t be the same old way from before because there is a new way to market.”
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