35th Anniversary
Lesson 16 – Try New Things
Back in the early 2000’s, our founder and current CEO had gotten much more involved in the construction business, moving to Des Moines to run one of Septagon’s companies. He wanted to try new things. While he was away, our team never missed a beat, keeping our clients happy while adding new ones. While he…
Read MoreLesson 15 – Never Stop Learning
The marketing and advertising industry has been driven by the changes in technology which have made what we do harder and easier, but definitely more effective and more measurable. We’ve had to learn it from scratch, which we did, and that hasn’t stopped. It’s the same in every industry, including senior living. One of our…
Read MoreLesson 14 – Things Change
As we approached the turn of the century and the year 2000, there were some people who believed that all the computer systems in the world that were in use at that time would crash when their internal clocks hit 1/1/2000. Apparently, they had not been programmed to function after that date. Frankly, people were…
Read MoreLesson 13 – Evolve and Innovate
One of the exciting things we’ve enjoyed at Callis over the past 35 years has been experiencing the digital revolution of media firsthand. When we started, everything we did was by hand. No computers. No internet. No technology. Today, everything we do is digital and technology is driving marketing more and more every day. We…
Read MoreLesson 12 – Diversification Can Be Good
In 1998, we were rolling along and running very smoothly. We had an excellent, well-seasoned team and were well-positioned for growth. One day, one of our clients came to us with the idea to partner with them on a student planner. This wasn’t one of our traditional partnerships where we form a strategic alliance with…
Read MoreLesson 11 – Pray About It
In the late ’90s, one of our clients asked if we could design and manufacture a product that they could sell to their customers to commemorate their 50th anniversary. I really think they could have built it themselves but staying true to their business and products, they wanted someone else to do it. What an…
Read MoreLESSON 10 – IF YOU WANT SOMETHING BAD ENOUGH…
For many of our agency staffers who grew up in Sedalia, they’ve been going to the Missouri State Fair since they were kids. Some showed livestock there. Some worked there and others just enjoyed all the many things you can do there. Simply put, we love the fair! Once our agency proved that it knew…
Read MoreLesson 9 – Marketing Works
This may go without saying, but we know that marketing works. Over the years, when the right and appropriate approach and budget were put into place, we saw the results first hand, and our clients did too. We also saw them in our own marketing efforts. Back in 1993, we were actively doing direct mail…
Read MoreLesson 7 – Know Your Team
As our agency grew, taking on new clients, looking at new opportunities, and selling new projects, finding new people to join us became paramount to our success. When you’re a small business, every employee has to be an A player, and we had them, and we added more of them as we needed them. We’re…
Read MoreLesson 6 – Carve Out a Niche
Throughout our agency’s history, we have ebbed and flowed in and out of certain markets and industries, based on our clients, always looking for the opportunity to identify and expand on a niche. One of those niches was economic development, working with cities and chambers of commerce around Missouri to help them tell their stories.…
Read MoreLesson 5 – When Opportunity Knocks
When opportunity knocks, answer the door. The year was 1991. We were feeling the pinch of suffering growth pains. Things were going pretty well but we were struggling in some ways and we lacked the resources and expertise to continue to grow. We started looking around at ways we could strategically move forward. We had…
Read MoreLesson 4 – Stay Connected
Over the years, our founder and leader has preached the importance of relationships, whether that be with associates, clients, vendors, media, community or industry partners. Our business is really all about people and frankly, you just can’t have too many friends. Through time however, people move. They relocate. They change jobs and move to different…
Read MoreLesson 3 – Accept Help
Back when we were just getting started, in the late 1980’s, there were people who wanted to help. Some came to work with us and gave us all they had. Some gave us business doing new and exciting projects when they didn’t have to. Some helped us learn things that we never would have even…
Read MoreLesson 2 – Trust Me
Back in 1988, there were some folks who thought Cliff was crazy and that he would never make it in the advertising agency biz in such a small, rural market. There were people he had to convince so he would ask them to trust him. He used the word so frequently that our employees at…
Read MoreLesson 1 – Listen
As we reflect on our first year in business, way back in 1987, we are reminded of how important it is to listen…to your head, your heart and your gut. When Cliff founded the agency, his mind told him there was nobody else doing what he set out to do. His heart confirmed that he…
Read MoreCallis Turns 35
This year marks the 35th anniversary of the founding of Callis & Associates. To celebrate this milestone, we are launching the #CallisTurns35 campaign across our digital and social platforms. Every week for the next 35 weeks, we will post a lesson from each year Callis has been in business and spotlight a client or project…
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