Marketers find upside to downsizing

BY MAUREEN MCDONALD | JANUARY 30, 2009 – A group of metro Detroiters have devised a virtual firm to serve the marketing needs of downsized companies with periodic need for creative expertise or short-term project outsourcing.

“We’re trying to make it fun while we turn the town upside down,” says Patty Cox, principle founder of afewgoodmarketers.com, a marketing on-demand company based “virtually” in the homes of its founding members. The firm guarantees a quote within 24 hours to the tier-two and -three creative agencies, along with smaller companies they target for services.

The team, which launched about a month ago, includes a software developer, communications consultant and branding expert, project manager, agency process master and Web programmer. They believe they’ve found the upside to downsizing by knowing who is available and how to deliver quality work at affordable prices — $75 an hour.

“The notion is creativity for hire is much better packaged in a group scenario than an individual. Everybody brings different talents and strengths to the marketplace,” said Michael Bernacchi, professor of marketing at the University of Detroit Mercy. “If they can deliver products in a small space of time, function as a 24/7 operation, they will succeed.”

The cyber group includes five people with 10 to 25 years of marketing experience, who are connected to a wide pool of talent to finish jobs with speed and competence.

“We’re struggling like everybody else,” said Cox, 42, of Ortonville.

She’s the CMO of NeoSynergy, a Bloomfield Hills-based software and Web services firm for car dealers. Todd Ridley, 35, of Detroit, is NeoSynergy’s vice president, creative director and another principle for afewgoodmarketers.com. Then there’s Dan Terry, 27, of Ann Arbor. He works there part time.

The trio expect to work weekends on rush assignments for new clients, while sustaining their day jobs.

“That’s why it is such a great time to get together in a virtual environment with very, very low overhead. We have collaborative work spaces, online tools for monitoring job progress and technology to connect creative directors and talent,” Cox said.

The pair enlisted Mary Bester, 44, of Troy, the former publicist for NeoSynergy, whose firm, Clear!Blue Communications of Birmingham, dissolved in December. While she’s job hunting, she plans to offer branding and editorial talent. They added a silent partner, who serves as a cost analyst and project manager, and plan to recruit producers, videographers and script writers for specific assignments.

The team holds weekly conference calls to review business development activities and client assignments. Ridley, a veteran graphic designer and Web specialist, believes midsized firms who downsized to their leanest capacity may have rush proposals, client presentations and special projects they need done — not by solo freelancers but a feisty young firm that can deliver people and PowerPoint at the ready. He sent releases about the new company to friends, family and a roster of midsize and large advertising agencies throughout metro Detroit.

“Many of us wished for services of this kind in prior roles,” said Cox, the interactive marketing and media wizard of the group with a legal background. She craved a few good marketers that could commandeer a task and vanish upon completion without complicated payroll requirements. A specialty company, she hopes, won’t threaten existing employees.

Victor Pytko, 63, co-owner of PorterPytko Marketing and Public Relations in Birmingham, founded the Individual Communicators Network in 2002 after noticing senior-level colleagues were laid off from large marketing agencies, media companies and public-relations departments within corporations during the fall-out of 9/11. Its 12 members pay $100 annual dues to support individual efforts and team up for health care, automotive and nonprofit clients.

The upside, according to Pytko: “We can tap the brain power of the group on questions of running a business or answering a client issue,” he said, noting that a treasurer divvies up hours and tasks and pays individual contributions on a per-project basis.

Through individual and collective efforts, the group works with more than 100 clients a year.

The downside of an aggregate of professionals without allegiance to a single boss: “It is harder to define to someone who doesn’t understand what the organization is about,” he said, noting that any group that meets collectively, without a corporate overhead, would be wise to hire a management consultant to better define the business relationship of the members and determine its strengths.

Normally, the group meets monthly at Crumpets in Troy to plot strategies.

Afewgoodmarketers.com plans periodic face-to-face meetings over coffee and beer, depending on the time of day and the mood of the team. They’re looking in Southeast Michigan and beyond for clients. Ridley cites group experience in automotive, banking, consumer packaged goods, healthcare, beverages and telecommunications.

“All of us have a different experience. We can tap resources within circles and identify others,” Ridley said, saying proposals are now in the hands of several companies; he expects to hear something soon. With a sour economy, he notes there is no shortage of people willing to invest a weekend or a month in a paying enterprise run by knowledgeable professionals.

Does afewgoodmarketers.com pose a threat to the Individual Communicators Network? Pytko concedes the game plan for the new group is heavier on podcasts, social networking and technology tools, and counters with a pitch for seasoned professionals.

“Experience and perspective remain decisive differentiators, especially when it comes to crafting and implementing effective communications strategies and tactics,” Pytko said. “You need a wise mind to direct the quick thumb.”