Mutual career aspirations plus a burning desire to revolutionize the marketplace led Sherman Wright and Ahmad Islam to launch Chicago-based Commonground Marketing, an integrated multicultural and general market advertising firm in 2004. From the start, Wright and Islam bonded over shared life experiences.
The two bumped into each other in 2003 during separate vacations in Cancún, Mexico. At the time, the Alpha Phi Alpha frat brothers, who had met three years earlier, were both vice presidents at their respective ad agencies. Wright was a newlywed, Islam had been married for two years, and they were both first-time expectant fathers. As they pondered their future over margaritas and cigars, they sketched out a business plan in the sand that would take a year to fully execute.
“We put a model together that was based on three core principles: the fragmentation of media and the emergence of digital; an understanding of the new marketplace including the role of diverse populations, millennial culture, and global influence; and the ability to provide integrated, solution-oriented services,†says Wright, 44, a veteran of the account management side who worked at marketing and advertising agencies Upshot and FKM. Islam, also 44, honed his skills in the sports and fitness industry, first at Nike and then at ad agencies Campbell Mithun and Leo Burnett Co.
Capitalizing on their combined expertise, the two built commonground into the agency to watch by applying a bodacious cross-consumer approach–targeting ethnic minorities and general audiences–to provide total market reach. Commonground offers an integrated range of services that include traditional advertising; social media, mobile, and digital; experiential marketing; brand strategy; and data and analytics. Along the way, Wright and Islam changed the industry vernacular by framing campaigns as “tradigital.â€
This tack has enabled commonground to build a portfolio that includes A-list clients such as American Family Insurance, Bacardi USA, Coca-Cola, MillerCoors, NBCUniversal, Nike, Nissan, Verizon Wireless, and the Illinois Lottery. Moreover, the firm was chosen as an Advertising Age Small Agency of the Year in 2012 and appeared in season two of AMC’s advertising competition-based reality TV show The Pitch; in episode 5 commonground was the winning agency, chosen by Little Caesars Pizza to do its social and digital campaign.
The agency debuted in 2012 on the BE Advertising Agencies list with $15.3 million in revenues. Today, it ranks No. 5 with 2013 revenues of $26.4 million, up from $3.3 million in 2006–an eye-popping 700% increase in less than a decade. Operating one of the fastest-growing BE 100s agencies, Islam and Wright have opened offices in New York, Los Angeles, and Houston, and increased payroll to 150 employees within the past two years.
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For developing a groundbreaking agency culture rooted in a digital environment, attracting creative talent to design campaigns that appeal to the coveted 18 to 39 age demographic, and demonstrating consistent decade-long growth, Commonground has been named our 2014 Black Enterprise Advertising Agency of the Year.
Avoiding Broad Brushstrokes
Legacy black-owned advertising agencies pioneered niche marketing–targeting ads to African American audiences in the 1960s and 1970s. In recent years, the duo notes, general market advertising agencies have adopted broad, one-size-fits-all campaigns to reach consumers, including minorities. Commonground sought a different tactic–to be the overall agency of record bringing cultural sensitivities to not only a general market but a global one.
“Our approach is to lead with cultural nuances and unique ethnic insights,†Wright says. “We can apply them to the masses, especially millennials.â€
Commonground was a star on the MillerCoors roster thanks to its 2011 “Cold Talk†and “Cold Challenge†traditional and online marketing campaign of ads featuring hip-hop mogul Ice Cube arguing with a bottle of Coors Light. Ice Cube plus YouTube-expanded versions of the commercial and behind-the-scenes takes equaled a social media campaign hit. The Coors Light spot, played extensively in the mainstream market, helped the brand overtake Budweiser as the nation’s No. 2 brew. Coors Light sales by volume rose 0.8%
during 2011, to 18.2 million barrels, while Budweiser sales declined 4.6%, to 17.7 million barrels, according to Beer Marketer’s Insights, which noted that the Coors Light label grew through aggressive marketing and broader distribution.
“The campaign tapped into the spirit of competition among millennials,†says Islam, and “Ice Cube has cross-cultural and cross-generational relevance.â€
Commonground was initially hired by MillerCoors in 2004 to work on Miller Genuine Draft and has since become the brand’s agency of record. MillerCoors was impressed with Islam and Wright’s “passion, insight, and creativity,†says Jackie Woodward, vice president of marketing connections at MillerCoors. “They really understand the urban millennial–that is one of the sweet spots for beer drinkers in America today.â€
The agency uses a proprietary social listening tool that allows it to hear what conversations are taking place real-time across multiple platforms (i.e., Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram) with consumers.
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Commonground received considerable attention last year for its work on the Illinois Lottery account. Already on board to produce the account’s multicultural advertising, Commonground was asked by Illinois Lottery Director Michael Jones to produce a general market TV commercial promoting Powerball. The spot, which showed evocative scenes of the Illinois landscape, changed perceptions about the Powerball lottery.
“This is one of the best pieces of creative I’ve ever seen,†Jones declares. “The brilliance of the images chosen to represent our state made it a universally appealing, highly emotional, riveting, and memorable television spot. It completely changed the negative brand image that our research indicated most adults in Illinois had about the lottery to a brand that everyone supported and was proud of,†he explains. Jones says that the Powerball campaign was highly effective–the state’s per capita sales significantly exceeded those of any of the other roughly 40 states that have statewide lotteries.
Creating A Masterpiece
Lower corporate advertising spending and a dramatic change in how people consume media have constrained advertising agencies
World reports.
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“Digital is not defined as solely a tactic—it is an operational philosophy of engagement,†says Wright. “Digital has several components, among them are social media, distribution of content, and mobile technology.â€
The challenge of any ad agency is constantly finding ways to stay relevant. Says Islam, “In a time where there has been significant client turnover and unsteadiness in our industry, we’ve been able to grow and succeed.â€
The bulk of the agency’s growth in the past three years has come from existing clients spending more and investing in new areas like digital, data and analytics, media planning, content development, and entertainment marketing. Commonground is also growing a roster of new clients. Its New York outpost was opened in September 2013 to serve one of its newest and largest clients, Verizon Wireless, with an in-market presence. The agency created the “3x MVP†commercial with Kevin Hart for the Basking Ridge, New Jersey-based mobile phone service provider. Commonground opened a Los Angeles office in January to serve key clients like NBCUniversal. The Los Angeles office enhances Commonground’s position at the intersection of marketing and entertainment. The agency’s work with NBCUniversal includes media buy recommendations and strategic direction aimed at African American audiences for the films “Ride Along,” “Non-Stop,” “Neighbors,” “A Million Ways To Die In The West,” and the upcoming sequel “The Purge: Anarchy.”
Wright and Islam are scaling the business by exploring new types of industries and diversifying verticals as well as revenue streams outside of the traditional marketing world. “For us it is about evolving the brand and becoming a premier global marketing solutions provider,†says Wright.
Adds Islam: “One of our biggest competitive advantages is that we bring a unique lens to the marketplace for our clients.â€
Utilizing a Colorful Palette
In part, the founders’ success has to do with sticking pretty closely to the business plan that they created in Cancún. The two also attribute their success to the top talent they’ve hired. The agency prides itself on its diverse staff and collaborative environment. The following are Commonground’s takeaways on attracting and retaining the best and the brightest:
1. Stir the pot. Wright and Islam’s staffing philosophy has been to add people that enhance diversity through experiences, skill sets, and perspectives. “We look at the agency like a pot of gumbo–every time you add an ingredient to the pot it should taste better,†says Islam.
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2. Create value for employees. What added value can you bring to your staff? “We had to create a value proposition for them in our career offerings, which was this level of growth opportunities, engagement, and a unique, authentic culture,†says Wright.
3. Create value for clients. The value proposition is providing products or services based on where your industry is going, not where the industry was when you started. “We tell our people we don’t sell, we solve. If you are always solving problems, then you are always creating value,†Wright says.
4. Stay true to who you are. “We had to transfer our company culture to new offices and new people. We knew they wouldn’t be mirror images because each city has its own nuances. But we make sure that each office is following those core values as we grow,†Islam says.
5. Create intellectual capital. Be a catalyst for aspiring entrepreneurs within your midst. Wright and Islam want their employees to go out and start businesses one day. “We are building on the legacy of Chicago, of providing opportunities for businesses to flourish,†Wright says.