BtoB Magazine has recently named Hart as one of the top advertising and marketing agencies in the country. The agency, located in Maumee, has been recognized as the best small agency in BtoB’s annual list of the top best agencies across the country for the eighth consecutive year.
Hart is Northwest Ohio’s largest integrated marketing communications agency, according to the company’s website. The ad agency, operated by fewer than 50 employees, is responsible for the ad campaigns of the Ohio Lottery, the Certified Angus Beef brand, Paramount Health Care and many other companies.
BtoB, “the Magazine for Marketing Strategists,” is a monthly publication with more than 45,000 subscribers and is maintained by Crain Communications Inc. Every year, the magazine rates the country’s top 50 marketing firms based on the total percentage of the firm’s business that is “business-to-business,” a marketing term that describes the transactional relationship between two companies.
According to Hart’s news release, approximately 63 percent of Hart’s work is business-to-business, including several new clients that were added in 2011. The agency’s business grew by 15 percent last year, said President and CEO Mike Hart.
Mike Hart
“We had a great year,” he said, “but by the end of the day, we don’t talk about the numbers, but about the satisfaction of our clients.”
Other factors, such as revenue growth, new client wins, innovative work and expanded service capabilities, are considered when BtoB Magazine determines the best agencies for the list. Agencies are judged in categories based on the size of their operation: small, midsize, large and interactive.
Hart’s submissions for the magazine’s judges included an interactive ad campaign, a program guide and tool kit for franchises, and an event designed to promote a company’s brand to its investors.
“We are so pleased to be on this list,” stated Hart in the agency’s news release. “We work hard every day to bring value, strategic thinking and creativity to our clients’ marketing efforts, and this award is an affirmation of that.”
The BtoB’s rating is not the only award Hart has received this spring. At this year’s ninth annual Service Industry Advertising Awards, Hart was given a Best of Show Award for its “Gas Guzzler” ad campaign for TARTA as well as a handful of other awards. Hart also recently received three bronze awards at the 33rd Annual TELLY Awards for the agency’s ProMedica television spots and its HCR ManorCare television ad campaign.
Hart’s success derives from the agency’s ability to build relationships with its clients in a personal and hospitable way ever since its founding in 1965, Hart said.
“Three words can illustrate the Hart experience: involvement, empathy and integrity. Those three words set us apart. We take the golden rule — treat others as you would like to be treated — and apply it to our business. You can still be a great business, but those fundamental Midwestern values and a creative approach make us, and many other local businesses, special. It’s a great community, that’s why we love to call Toledo home.”
For more information regarding Hart’s services, visit the agency’s website at: www.hartinc.com.
