Today we’d like to introduce you to B. Zachary Bennett.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was working as an executive at a marketing agency in Knoxville, TN when a local business called into my office. Having spent 20+ years of my career working to grow major companies like Bank of America, The Limited, The Air Force Reserve, Cracker Barrell, Lowe’s Home Improvement, BP and more, the call did not surprise me. From time to time, businesses would contact the agency to pursue a partnership. When this happened, there was a certain process the call would be passed through casually. It includes a common screening question – “What is your budget?” You see, when a business is competing for the time of a national agency, the size of their budget can help determine if they can afford to work with the agencies who hold the wisdom and creativity they seek. The business could not compete with the budgets of their large and national clients and was therefore redirected.
But shortly after the call, I thought to myself, “There is a niche here.” If I could provide a way for local and regional businesses to afford the same quality and professional marketing that has been afforded Fortune 500 companies by these agencies, I would be able to travel less while serving the business community in ways that I could be proud of. I had spent numerous years traveling across the country, 3 and 4 days out of the week, as someone that could see opportunities for clients and then implement both strategies and creative for them in an efficient manner but now I wanted to spend more time with my young children. So in 2008, I started my own agency – Reformation Productions.
At Reformation Productions, we believe in helping all businesses compete in the marketplace with the same strategic thinking and award-winning creative provided to the larger brands. We just needed to find a way to help them understand and afford what it takes to do it.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
There were a few things that I wasn’t really prepared for when starting out. When working with Fortune 500 companies, my client contacts were CMOs, VPs of Marketing, Directors of Marketing, and the like – people that were formally educated in Marketing. When I left to start working with small and regional-sized businesses, the majority of my client contacts were the business owners themselves. These are people that were gifted in whatever their business was and not necessarily in marketing as a business focus. So I had to add marketing education to our repertoire… which is ok because I enjoy teaching others. The owner of a business should spend his time on innovation and service. Marketing, while necessary, isn’t the owner’s primary job and should likely be left to professionals… either outsourced or hired. But even so, a responsible business owner will need to have an understanding of how important business communications are to his company and be able to feel secure that their business is doing all they can to market their business the right way. As a result of taking on this educational aspect, I now have the privilege of speaking at several events and seminars around the southeast to help teach Business Owners and Sales Professionals about branding, strategy, social media, and a large number of marketing-related topics at the request of various city chambers, trade associations, Score, networking groups, and more.
Another difference that we knew would be a challenge was financial. With larger corporations, writing a check for a $20,000 marketing expense is not a struggle. The client contact is well removed from the process and often feels they are simply moving numbers on a spreadsheet. But with small business, the money for that spend, while necessary, directly affects the owner’s pocket. It does NOT feel like simple lines on a budget sheet, Understanding this, we developed ways for the owner to feel secure in their investment and to pay for projects over time with interest-free financing. We find that is much easier on their bottom line and allows them the opportunity to afford the big picture strategic thinking that larger businesses do through budgeting smaller payments over time.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Reformation Productions story. Tell us more about the business.
We are a full-service marketing agency that specializes in leading small and regional businesses to be as effective and efficient in their business communications as possible. We use the same proven methodology as the Fortune 500 companies but provide it to them in ways that they can afford. We call it Straight Line Marketing and it’s a more scientific, data-led way of communicating your business to ensure that your creative works and that you’re marketing budget is utilized efficiently.
Specifically, we offer the following services:
– Brand Development
– Message Development
– Consumer Research, Surveys, and Focus Groups
– Strategic Planning
– Campaign Concepting
– Business Coaching
– Outsourced CMO services
– Web Design
– Graphic Design
– Commercial & Web Videography
– Commercial Photography
– Social Media Management
– Radio and TV Commercials
– Direct Mail
– Relationship Marketing
– Event Marketing
– And More!
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
We look at these more as divine opportunities rather than luck specifically. We have been very blessed with opportunities to serve so many clients and we are very thankful. Some we’ve helped set on the right track from their beginnings, while others we’ve helped to identify who they really are and the best ways to communicate and connect with their public after they had taken their business as far as they could on their own. Serving the business community is a great privilege and we take great pride and responsibility in being able to do so.
Contact Info:
- Address: Reformation Productions,
15 East Main Street, Suite 2B,
Buford, GA 30518 - Website:http://www.reformationproductions.com
- Phone:678-825-8086
- Email:info@reformationproductions.com
- Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/reformationproductionsagency/?hl=en
- Facebook:http://www.fb.com/reformationproductions
- Twitter:http://www.twitter.com/refproductions
- Yelp:https://www.yelp.com/biz/reformation-productions-buford
- Other:http://www.youtube.com/reformationagency
Image Credit:
©2017 Reformation Productions
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
