Today we’d like to introduce you to Simms Jenkins.
Simms, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
After running the CRM team at Cox Interactive Media, the company began to shut down the company and as a newly married young man, I needed to hustle to generate some income with the job market being very tight after 9/11 and the dot com bust. I had gained quite a bit of experience in email marketing and online customer relationship program management and began to do come consulting, My first break came after a cold email turned to a large client that worked with BrightWave for almost ten years.
Our next big jump occurred when I wrote my first book (The Truth About Email Marketing, published by The Financial Times) and we acquired several marquee clients, including longtime client, Chick-fil-A. We kept the company nimble, fast moving, humble and focused. Slowly but surely, becoming the largest and leading email marketing company in the United States.
Today we have over 50 dedicated and passionate employees in Atlanta and a blue chip client list including Aflac, Equifax, Ferrari North America, Cox Media Group, Mattress Firm and other leading brands that reply on us to manage and advise them on their email and eCRM programs.
The agency has been ranked among the fastest growing private companies by Inc. Magazine the past five years (the only company in its industry to achieve this) and was named the top email independent agency by The Relevancy Group.
Jenkins has been awarded some of the most prestigious honors in the digital industry, including the first Lifetime Achievement Award from the Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association, the AMY Marketer of the Year from the American Marketing Association and the Email Marketer of the Year at the Tech Marketing Awards held by the Technology Association of Georgia. Jenkins is regarded as one of the leading experts in the email marketing industry and is regularly cited by the media as such and called upon by the financial community to provide market insight and consulting.
Jenkins is the author of two definitive and highly regarded books on email marketing; The New Inbox (published in April 2013 by ClickZ/Incisive Media) and The Truth About Email Marketing published by Pearson’s Financial Times Press in 2008).
He has been featured in The New York Times, Fortune Magazine, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Adweek, Bloomberg TV, Wired Magazine and scores of other leading publications and media outlets. Jenkins is a regular speaker at major digital industry and general business conferences and is the creator of EiQ, the intelligent email gathering, a major one day event focused on innovation while showcasing Atlanta’s dynamic leadership in the tech world.
Prior to founding BrightWave, Jenkins headed the CRM group at Cox Interactive Media.
Jenkins has served on several civic and professional boards, including Atlanta Families, Zoo Atlanta’s Marketing Board and Fernbank Museum’s Corporate Leadership Council.
He has served as a mentor at Flashpoint, a Georgia Tech based startup accelerator program. He also is a proud graduate of Leadership Atlanta. Jenkins is a graduate of Denison University in Granville, Ohio and resides in Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood with his wife and three children. Jenkins is active as a coach and volunteer with his children’s activities and enjoys travel, most recently touring Italy with his family.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
– Having to “sell” email marketing which has never seen well understood or sexy despite its history of high performance.
-Having to differentiate services from broader digital agencies and software companies.
-Bootstrapping the company and remaining independent/profitable as agency goal.
-Hiring and retaining top employees from tiny company to high growth nationally recognized agency.
-Juggling CEO responsibilities with a busy wife (herself named a Top 40 under 40 Atlantan by the Atlanta Business Chronicle) and three small kids.
-Growing pains constantly over the “slow growth” of nearly fifteen years.
– Challenging and demanding clients which are the lifeblood of the business.
-Even today, during a high growth spurt, challenges are good ones to have but challenging such as finding new real estate well before our lease is up, hiring top talent quickly and continuing to adapt the agency to the next phase and anticipate growth curveballs coming our way.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about BrightWave – what should we know?
BrightWave is the leading email marketing agency. With over 15 years of managing and advising the best email programs in the country, BrightWave specializes in elevating email marketing, eCRM and cross channel programs that drive revenue through industry leading innovation, relationship orchestration and pioneering inbox experiences.
In short, we help brands like Chick-fil-A, Aflac, Cox Media Group, Panera Bread and Ferrari to name just a few, deliver awesome experiences right to their inbox. The fact that we have been doing this for almost fifteen years but are regarded as the most innovative agency keeps it as fresh and exciting as ever. The work we are doing for our clients is incredibly cool and I am continually impressed and amazed by the thinking from our team.
We have focused on email for almost fifteen years and understand the technology complexities, creative nuances and strategic vision to ensure email subscribers to leading brands have a consistently awesome experience just like they would in their stores or on their websites.
With over 50 email experts, we have helped make BrightWave not only the leading email agency in the world but Atlanta the email capital of the world. We are proud to be the host of EiQ, the intelligent email gathering, which had over 300 digital marketers from across the country come to Atlanta. in 2018, EiQ will be at the Loews Hotel in Midtown Atlanta on April 19, expecting almost 500 passionate marketing pros to attend.
I am really proud of our team for continually achieving success for our clients and driving a very high return on investment for our client roster while also receiving very high client satisfaction ratings.
Most recently, we were named the leading independent email agency by the prestigious agency group, The Relevancy Group.
I am also proud of a unique culture that keeps evolving with our team. We have a lot of uniquely cool things at the agency from Day of Awesomeness (opportunity to take time off to volunteer in our community) to nautical themed lexicon to tremendous work-life balance, not to mention our killer bar “the Siren” also featuring local and seasonal beers on tap.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My three children inspire me every day and my wife has been such a crucial supporter and advisor since day 1. Kelly, my wife, has played the role of investor, cheerleader, psychologist, consultant, accountant and more and is a primary reason I am where I am today.
My parents have been incredible cheerleaders and my in-laws deserve that accolade as well. It’s so important for any entrepreneur to have a strong support system given the ups and down that come along with the ride.
I have watched and learned from so many smart and successful people in my career and I am thrilled and humbled to have had multiple clients hire us as they move from job to job. That speaks to the quality of our team and thinking.
We have such a tremendous team – the best thinkers in the email industry and the many of the hardest and most strategic people in the Atlanta agency world.
Take Brent Rosengren, our Chief Client Officer, for example. He has been at BrightWave over twelve years which is unheard of in today’s world. He took a huge chance joining BrightWave as the first employee and now oversees our roster of top tier clients and ensures we are a critical business advisor to them all while managing a large team of BrightWavers.
Another key player has been Thomas Barnhart, currently our Vice President of Business Development. He has broken every sales record at BrightWave and earns the trust of some of the largest brands in the world as they hire BrightWave. He has grown so much in his six plus years at BrightWave that it is really rewarding to see.
We keep adding great players that make us stronger and well positioned for the future. Raj Choudhury, our President is one of the top marketing technologist in Atlanta, and has helped keep the train on the tracks as we grow.
Pricing:
- BrightWave clients typically spend at least $250,000 annually with BrightWave and often well over $1,000,000
Contact Info:
- Website: www.BrightWave.com
- Email: sjenkins@brightwave.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/g.simms.jenkins
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/simmsjenkins
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simmsjenkins/
Author website: http://simmsjenkins.com/
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