Growth by Reinvention (2011 BE100s Ad Agency of the Year)

A company’s success and influence are defined by its leader’s ability to identify a need, capture an audience, and adapt to environmental change to maintain a dominant market position. Thomas Burrell understood those dynamics when he first opened Burrell Advertising in 1971. He was driven by providing clients with financial value while creating a showcase for positive, progressive black images. “We depicted them as families that had lives, loves, passions, and emotions,” he said when the firm was named BE’s 2002 Advertising Agency of the Year. “The response was enormous simply because we had not seen ourselves in a positive setting. It gave people a wonderful feeling about the products being advertised as well as affection for the companies delivering those messages.”

As Burrell proved adept at crafting messages and images that delivered profits to clients, it faced the demands of a constantly evolving industry. Over a 30-year span, the firm had to repeatedly reinvent itself with every major development, from mainstream Madison Avenue firms invading the turf of African American agencies to major cultural shifts that drove fashion and entertainment such as the rise of hip-hop culture. As Burrell sought to stay competitive through the acquisition of more business from clients seeking to reach a targeted demographic and pursuit of general market accounts, the firm had to grow in size and scale to offer a full range of marketing services. To fuel this expansion, Burrell sold 49% of the firm to the France-based global media giant Publicis Groupe in 2000, and changed its name to Burrell Communications. “The term ‘advertising agency’ [is] outdated. It suggests that we limit ourselves to a little box of advertising agency tools to solve client problems–even if the tools aren’t ideal. We are marketing communications specialists. You tell us the problem, and we use the tools to help solve that problem whether they’re in the box or not.”

What was outside of the box, particularly for a black agency at the time, was Burrell’s focus on developing a succession plan for his organization. In 1996, he began offering equity partnerships to members of his management team and grooming prospective successors. Among them were Fay Ferguson and McGhee Williams Osse. “Out of that management committee, McGhee and I were the ones who had grown up in the company,” says Ferguson.

Today, Ferguson and Williams Osse represent the visionary leadership driving Burrell Communications Group L.L.C. (No. 4 on the be advertising agencies list with $21 million in revenues). The two purchased 51% of Burrell and became co-CEOs in 2004, and set out to write the next chapter of the firm’s history and make it a transformative force among minority agencies vying for the $800 billion African American consumer market. “We were aggressive about new business and organic growth from our existing clients,” says Williams Osse of their strategic plan. “That made more sense. Here were people that knew and trusted you.”

Over the past few years, the two women have redesigned the firm by adding new employees and expanding its client roster. In 2006 Lewis Williams, who had worked with Burrell in the 1980s as an associate art director and then at Leo Burnett Business for 15 years, eventually becoming senior vice president/creative director, was named chief creative director–and business increased by 15%. Since that time they have added more than 20 new clients, including Walt Disney, Supervalu, Lilly, 3M, American Airlines, and most recently Comcast. The firm has also increased business with several existing clients such as Toyota, McDonald’s, General Mills, and Procter & Gamble.

To service these accounts, Ferguson and Williams Osse–two of Black Enterprise’s Most Powerful Executives in Marketing & Advertising–expanded the firm’s portfolio of advertising, media relations, research, and engagement marketing services in 2008 to include digital solutions through new technology and social media. To bring the firm into the interactive era, they hired Donald Moore, a former agency team leader at Google, in 2009 as president of the new digital department, which has created campaigns such as American Airlines’ Black Atlas and Toyota’s award-winning “If Looks Could Kill.” Because of these bold, deliberate decisions, Burrell hasn’t lost a single client even in the midst of the Great Recession and a sluggish economic recovery. “It has been phenomenal the last few years,” offers Moore. “The economy was tough, but if you looked at our new business track record lately, both co-CEOs have led teams that have brought new business in house. So, that leadership has been extraordinary.”

Walking into Burrell’s corporate headquarters in downtown Chicago, you’re overwhelmed by the creativity and dynamism. Overflowing with art, campaign images, and awards, the offices buzz with activity from a mix of professionals diverse in age and ethnicity. It is evident that Tom Burrell’s protégés are staying true to his legacy but also driving relevant messages to

the ever-changing needs of the marketplace. For its industrywide leadership, unparalleled client service, and innovative delivery of powerful, positive images and messages to the African American community, Black Enterprise has named Burrell Communications Group L.L.C. our 2011 Advertising Agency of the Year.

Research Brings Results
Burrell’s agency helps clients reach three distinct groups: the African American market, the “new” general market, and the “yurban” (young urban) segment. Both Ferguson and Williams Osse will tell you a big part of Burrell’s success has been the result of not taking their audiences for granted. “We always start from a strategic standpoint,” explains Ferguson. “That’s very important to us. We truly try to understand the African American consumer, what motivates them, what’s going to compel them to buy this product or service over a competitor’s. So, we study the segment and we truly go about making sure that when we bring a plan to our clients that it’s data driven.”

Neil Golden, chief marketing officer, of McDonald’s USA, confirms that assertion. “Burrell Communications has been a marvelous strategic partner and continues to provide important insights that keep the McDonald’s brand relevant, contemporary, and engaged with the African American consumer segment, as well as the general market,” he says of their work for the fast-food giant, the agency’s oldest partner and a client since 1978. “Over the years, Burrell has helped ensure that we’re able to move with the African American customer and has been on the cutting edge of creativity for McDonald’s advertising.”

Their focus on insights was the basis for the creation of the highly successful “If Looks Could Kill” campaign for the Toyota Camry. The account team believed the launch of the 2007 redesigned model offered a prime opportunity to boost Toyota’s market share among African American women. After conducting a survey of black women, they found mid-size passenger cars lacked appeal with those consumers. The study further identified a segment of black women as “flossers”–African Americans between the ages of 25 and 40 with a household income of $70,000 or more who “want to drive fast and be noticed.” Moreover, the research revealed that the African American car-buying market registered largely single and female. But the

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group’s preference was for competitors: Nissan Altima and Honda Accord. With a marketing budget of $2 million to $5 million, the team created an online augmented reality program with six episodes

that revolved around the espionage activities of a black female fashion designer and her Camry. “We wanted to change perceptions of the vehicle by putting the vehicle within an environment that was exciting and thrilling, just like African American females,” Ferguson explains. “It was the first of its kind marketed to African American women. It impacted sales, which is what we wanted to happen all along.”

The campaign surpassed all its objective measures: Camry’s perception among African Americans increased by 12 percentage points, 140% over goal, and purchase consideration for black car buyers was 260% over analysts’ expectations. The campaign’s success earned Burrell the coveted David Ogilvy Award in 2009 in the automotive category.

Two Management Styles, One Mission
It’s been seven years since Ferguson and Williams Osse acquired a controlling interest in Burrell and moved from managing directors to owners. As the company marks its 40th anniversary, Ferguson and Williams Osse celebrate 27 years and 25 years, respectively, with the firm. Both women came from general market agencies to work for Burrell as account managers to eventually having oversight of clients and significant operational roles. A former eighth grade English teacher, Ferguson worked for Chicago-based advertising firm Bozell & Jacobs (now known as Bozell) as an account supervisor when she was personally recruited by Tom Burrell. “He brought me in to work on Procter & Gamble,” recalls Ferguson. “They had just won the business, and he wanted someone who understood classical marketing and advertising.” Williams Osse, a Spelman graduate, joined the Atlanta office after working at the General Mills Restaurant Group on Red Lobster to handle the Georgia Power account and then Coca-Cola.

Before taking control of the company, the two women gained experience managing numerous accounts, contributing to innovative business solutions for clients such as the delineation of the yurban segment, “a group of young people between the ages of 18 and 30 who are connected in terms of mindset and lifestyle rather than ethnicity, geography, or demographics,” explains Williams Osse. “It’s more about a mindset, many millennials fall into this category. They represent more than $200 billion in spending power.”

The women jointly run the company, overseeing its vision, branding, and overall operations, which include financial management, human resources, IT, and administration. Each, however, manages separate accounts. Williams Osse’s roster includes P&G, Supervalu, 3M, Illinois Lottery, and American Airlines. Ferguson has direct supervision over Toyota, McDonald’s, General Mills, Lilly, Walt Disney Resorts, and JC Penney.

What’s also distinctive is their management style. “Fay’s a former schoolteacher. You have to make sure all the ‘i’s’ are dotted and ‘t’s’ are crossed. The grammar is correct,” notes Chief Creative Director Williams. “McGhee’s from Georgia. She has that southern spirit. They’re very different and very much the same.”
Ferguson and Williams Osse agree each has a different approach to management and problem-solving, but both remain united on the direction of the company. “We confer with each other on issues on each of the businesses,” maintains Williams Osse. “But when it comes to the fiscal management of the company and operations, when it comes to the philosophy of the company and core values–people, thought leadership, and integrity–those are things that we work extremely closely on. We are joined at the hip.”

New Ventures to Promote Growth
To keep the company’s competitive edge, the co-CEOs have been evangelical about making all employees in their Chicago, Atlanta, and Los Angeles offices digital-savvy, investing in a two-day training session called “Burrell Boot Camp.” Says Williams Osse: “We put on a seminar for two days and required everybody in the company to attend. Clients were already thinking digital. We had to know the language. We went out and found the best thought leaders, people that were active in the digital space. We rented an auditorium at one of the universities and we had lectures for two days.”

As part of another initiative to further probe the complexities of the African American market, Burrell launched Threshold Nation, a new division focused on the exploration of 35.5 million ethnically diverse males in the U.S. with spending power of $31.5 billion.

In Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz’s recently released book, Onward: How Starbucks Fought for its Life Without Losing its Soul, he wrote that an entrepreneur’s biggest challenge as his or her company expands is managing the struggle between nostalgia and vision. Ferguson and Williams Osse perfectly exemplify how the two co-exist: “I have always been confident in their ability,” says Burrell, who is now chairman emeritus of the agency. “I like to say they let me go. I was able to move on to another life and career with a great deal of comfort because of the high level of confidence I had in their ability. Certainly I proved to be right.”