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Meet Bill Coontz of Dalton Agency

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I grew up in Waterloo, Iowa, and graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with degrees in Marketing and Public Relations. I immediately moved to Minneapolis, MN to begin my career.

I am fortunate that I was able to successfully begin and sustain a career doing exactly what I set out to do. When I graduated from college, I knew that I wanted to work in advertising, but I didn’t really understand the roles within an agency. When I started interviewing I naturally gravitated to account management and landed my first agency job at BBDO in Minneapolis. I rose through the ranks of account management at a few other agencies, and within 10 years, I had moved into agency management. I primarily worked in large, publically-held holding company agencies until the early 2000s.

It was at that point that I moved to a small, independent agency as president, eventually rising to become a partner at that agency. After 12 successful years at that agency, I moved to Atlanta in 2013 to become the president of the Dalton Agency.

Has it been a smooth road?
For the most part, my career has been a smooth road. I have learned a lot over the years, and have used that knowledge to smooth out the path ahead of me. I was extremely fortunate to have worked with many creative and talented people. During my formative years, Minneapolis was a hot spot for creativity in our industry. I am very thankful to have worked with – and learned from – some of the best minds in the business. A testament to the smoothness of my road is that one of our two boys also works in advertising. The other is a CPA. He got his smarts from his Mother!

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Dalton Agency – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We are an independent agency headquartered and founded in Jacksonville, Florida, 28 years ago. The Dalton Agency acquired an Atlanta agency in 2012 in an effort to expand our Southeast U.S. footprint. Since then, we acquired two more Atlanta businesses, and have recently acquired an agency in Nashville. We consider ourselves a full-service agency, and offer advertising, PR, social media, digital and production.

Notably, we have experience in retail, quick-serve restaurants, healthcare, food & packaged goods, travel & tourism, and financial services. We are also heavily invested in non-profit work and have many years of experience with the likes of the American Heart Association, Susan G. Komen (metro Atlanta, and national) and many others. The work for Komen is especially important for me, as my wife, Debbie, and my sister are both breast cancer survivors. Debbie and I serve on the local board for Susan G. Komen. In addition, I serve on the advisory board for the Atlanta Community Food Bank. We feel very fortunate to be part of the Atlanta community.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Being from the Midwest, moving to Atlanta was a big step for me. As my wife and I packed our car to drive down to Atlanta, we didn’t know what to expect apart from our previous brief visits to Atlanta. We heard about the traffic, and we heard about the heat. But when we moved here and got settled in to our high-rise home in Midtown, what we discovered was that Atlanta has the friendliest and engaging people. Whether we were out walking our dog, or going to dinner, we always found ourselves talking to some interesting and friendly people. There’s a vibrant advertising and PR industry here in Atlanta, as well. A lot of people think about New York, LA or Chicago when they think of ad agencies, but there’s a hotbed of activity here in Atlanta, and it is an exciting time to be living and working in Atlanta.

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Image Credit:
Dalton Agency

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