Great news, but I wonder where SJI is going? I hope they don't plan to leave the city.

I have to think that they are/will be staying in the city. They've always been in the city.

I would also assume they are staying. Hopefully downtown.

SJI has hit hard times. My brother left last April as he saw the writting on the wall. Things went bad when they bought the building and then their major Fulfillment client Angelica left for Chicago. SJI also passed up the chance to rent out space to AG Edwards when they first opened the building. They occupied the bottom floor and the top (6th) floor only. The owner has been in denial for some time but missed paychecks are a sure sign things are going bad and his top two accounts people left for AB and Relay Word Wide. I have worked on many projects for SJI and I always liked the owner, hopefully getting out from under the SJI building will allow them to flourish once again.

Other marketing shops in the area ranked in the Promo Top 100, 2004:



Momentum North America (9) HQ's in Clayton and in the Loop. Used to be know as Marketing Mix and Louis London (awsome name).



Zipatoni (28)- in the beautiful 555 building next to Dillard's on Wash Ave. Agency of the year a few years ago.



Pro Motion (35)- Smaller shop, ranking comes from improved revenues. Good people but located in West Port area.



Relay (37)- HQ'd in Chicago but their marketing department is located here in STL after they bought out JC Dolan. My brother works here. Dorsett & Olive.



Ervin Marketing/Communications (67)- not sure of location in area. Not familiar with their work either but in the top 100.



Javelin (69)- Owners came from Marketing Mix/Louis London/Momentum. Located on top of either the Congress or Senate where Jive/Gasm used to live. Beautiful office/view.



The Spark Agency (74)- Used to be AB's in-house marketing company or Busch Creative. Located downtown, rumor has it looking to move into an all in one shop, maybe a new build in downtown area. Will not leave the city or downtown very tied to city and AB to this day. I work here. This is a massive shop with own fabrication shop/photo studio near the Science Center. Ranking is tied to revenues.



Summit Marketing (81)- Located in the Gateway Building downtown I believe.



SJI (93)- might be the fisrt and last year for SJI. Hopefully not.



Kicking Cow- didn't make the top 100 but they are located on the Landing and spun off from SJI.

Damn, I didn't know that about SJI. They're a client of ours, so I hope they rebound. At a time when so many fulfillment companies are doing very well, it makes you wonder if the cost of rehabbing that building was just too much of a burden.



Ervin Marketing is in Clayton, by the way.



Who knows, maybe in a few years there will be another St. Louis firm on the Promo list - Moosylvania, which was founded by the former director of Zipatoni. They're in Grand Center on Olive.



I don't understand why any creative firm would want to be anywhere besides downtown/the city. Wouldn't you want your employees to work in an environment that would help stimulate creativity and new ideas?

A medium-size suburban Connecticut-based Web design and marketing firm I used to work for freelance (I'm a copywriter) found they simply couldn't attract the talent they needed in the suburbs.



So, while their management and consulting functions remained in the suburbs, they moved the creatives to Chelsea, in Manhattan, where there's more street action in five minutes than in a lifetime in the tonier precincts of suburban Connecticut.



Because I had to attend meetings up there , I know the kind of drive-to-the-Burger King . . . eat . . . drive back to work syndrome you've written about, DeBaliviere. I couldn't imagine how people could bear it, day after day.

Im sorry to break the conversation but I get so happy when I hear businesses leave the suburbs for the city.



IMO, the momentum is going to do nothing but increase over the next 5 years.

Good question Arch. I think it's as simple as the St. Louis business acumen translates very well on a national basis. This acumen comes from a long line of established major companies that have made St. Louis their home. We're established confident and creative, courteous yet firm with clients, and generally we aren't pushy, false or full of gimmicks. Location is also key as well.

ibleedlou:



How about creative talent? If they're not local, do they balk at relocating to St. Louis, look forward to it, or simply accept it as part of taking on a new assignment?

Generally I have worked out in the field but finally I am in-house just starting at the Spark a few weeks ago even though I worked for them in the past as Busch Creative. We have around 50 people on my floor and I'd say 50% are not from Missouri or St. Louis and maybe 15% are not native of the U.S. The person next to me is from London and the guy behind me is from Holland. I was at Relay with my brother working on a project a few weeks ago (Noche de Pasion, the Mexican National Soccer Team and Budweiser) and it's the same story there with half the shop being from out of town and multiple international co-workers as well. In all honesty I have been blown away by what I've seen as of late. Our group at Mardi Gras this year was dominated by non locals and we were around 20 strong (including a guy from France, his girlfriend from Venezuala, and a guy from Puerto Rico who shared his home with us in Soulard as a pit stop!) The only negative thing I'm seeing is the fact that most of the transplants are ending up in Chesterfield or other burbs because they don't know any better. A guy from Orange County (Cali) just moved out here 3 weeks ago and hangs out with us every weekend, works for my brother and he is in Chesterfield. He is in love with Soulard and wants to break his lease, but more important he is mad he didn't have the information easily at hand that showed this type of urban setting for young or older transplants. This is something we have to change and this forum can be a factor. My brother's girlfriend is from North Carolina and lives in Clayton, although she is happy there because she is used to Raleigh Durham (they work together as well.)

Most people transplanting to STL usually don't have ultra high expectations so when they do arrive if they utilize the city they end up wanting to stay let alone falling in like with the place.

ibleedlou- great post. and you're right we as a forum, and we as a City, need to do better at infoming transplants of options. In my mind it's something that the St Louis Partnership should be doing. To tie this all together- I remember working on a brochure 8 years ago with Metropolis that would compile info that every newcomer should know, and we were going to hand them out to employers to give to potential/ newly hired employees. I know we came up with some good ideas but I dont think it ever got printed up. And one of the first employers I remeber who were all for it was.... SJI.