FEATURED ARTICLE

Mary Jo Brown, founder of Brown & Company Design in Portsmouth on the stairs to her successful company. Photo:  Rich Beauchesne

"The bar for design has been raised. (Businesses) know that brands need to be authentic and understand better the role design plays in the long-term goals." Mary Jo Brown, Brown & Company

When Richard Florida of Carnegie-Mellon University released his 2002 book “The Rise of the Creative Class,” it instantly became a topic for debate about how to measure the impact of the cultural aspects of the information age workforce on overall economic development. Florida’s assumptions about the cultural imperatives in the post-industrial economy — such as educa-tion and arts density, an accessible urban environment and a different emphasis of work values — were reflective of lightning fast changes in society and the economy.

And whether one accepts or rejects Florida’s conclusions, it’s hard to deny that a transformation has taken place here in the Seacoast region — especially in the sector of marketing, communications and graphic design where scores and scores of companies of all sizes have taken root.

The region’s “creative class” development is no surprise to Andy Beaupre, who along with his wife, Karen, founded the high-tech public relations firm Beaupre & Company in 1983. Beaupre, was a pioneer in high-tech media relations and he has seen hundreds of communications-related companies come and go. He said that many people thought they were crazy to start a company seemingly far away from the action but, as a native of the region, Portsmouth made perfect sense to him. “The city itself fosters a creative type atmosphere, a slightly different view of the world,” Beaupre said. “It’s cosmopolitan but blue collar, funky but pragmatic.” (For more on Andy Beaupre, see the Last Word, page 22) Beaupre’s “funky but pragmatic” observation aptly describes the changes taking place in a number of area agencies that serve a wide range of local, national, and international clients.

Erik Dodier and Thomas Obrey of PixelMedia at their offices at the Pease International Tradeport. Photo:  Amy Root-Donle

"We need people who do more than sling code. They need to pitch ideas and wear five hats at once." Thomas Bobrey, PixelMedia

Want to be a creative class savant? Here are the four major traits sought by PixelMedia Co-Founder and CEO Thomas Obrey. Must be able to hit the ground running. Must be confident in who they are and what they do and do not know. Must have the passion to be a life-long learner. Must have an independent skill set.

Smart exit strategies

Portsmouth-based Calypso Communications represents the dramatic change in the role of the creative side of communications. Founded in 2000 by industry veterans Kevin Stickney and Paul Young, Calypso offered itself up as a solution for “organizational growth pain.”

Stickney said that over the past five years the company had been recruited to assist as many as 13 pri-vately held start-up clients who “brand their product early on and integrate their brand strategy with an exit strategy.” In other words, a small company can develop a vast industry reputation that enhances its value to potential suitors. The exit strategy of merger, acquisition or going public has created a changed partnership dynamic. “We get involved early on in the overall business strategy,” Stickney said. “Marketing and public relations no longer can be an afterthought.”

Calypso’s services reflect the changing depth and breadth of what smaller agencies can now offer, a dramatic change from more modest offerings just a decade ago. These professional services include pub-lic relations, investor relations, survey research, long-term campaigns, graphic design, writing and edit-ing, interactive media, public affairs and measurement.

Calypso’s clients base includes the locally known such as Ocean National Bank and the University of New Hampshire to less well-know InterGen, an international Massachusetts-based energy company. What’s needed for small agencies such as Calypso, which has nine employees, is a team of talented, multi-skilled workers — just the type of “creative class” worker described by Florida. “The talent level in the Seacoast region is very good,” Stickney said. “There is a new breed of creative entrepreneur.”

As examples, he cited Yellow Steel, which specializes in communications for the construction industry, and Hatchling Studios, a high-powered Web-design firm which has ambitions to become a major player in the computer animation film sector.

Calypso Communications co-founders Paul Young and Kevin Stickney in their Deer Street office in Portsmouth. Photo:  Amy Root-Donle

"We get involved early on in the overall business strategy. Marketing and public relations no longer can be an afterthought." Kevin Stickney, Calypso Communications

Marketing cool

Brown & Company, the design company founded in 1992 by Mary Jo Brown, makes no apologies about how it markets itself as a “non-traditional” company that combines high-powered creativity with, well, a three-ring circus approach to work. “I went to UNH and never left the area,” Brown said. “People are com-ing here for the quality of life and the fact this is an engaged community full of history, arts and activities.”

During the past decade Brown said she has seen the area grow, the population grow and many more en-trepreneurs such as herself starts businesses here. “Designers and creative people are attracted to living here. We have attracted imaginative and creative people talent because of us being here,” she said. “The talent level in the area is doing nothing but increasing. Some of the (preliminary job) interviews I have with people are remarkable.”

But it’s not only employees who are drawn to the agency, which was named business of the Year in 2005 by the Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce, because of its location. “We have considered moving out of Portsmouth for financial reasons, like paying less rent,” Brown said. “But our clients like us being here. Our Portsmouth address is important.”

She has also noticed a real shift in a business world that has begun to place more value on creativity and innovation. Businesses now “look at us as a creative resource and also respect and recognize the need for a healthy work culture.” Brown sees a natural connection between how her company operates — with an emphasis on creativity, individuality, diversity and openness; relaxed dress standards, flex hours and an amusement park work environment — and the strategic goals of more businesses. “The bar for design has been raised. They know that brands need to be authentic and understand better the role design plays in the long-term goals,” Brown said of a diverse client base that includes The Grappone Companies in Concord, Public Service Company, America Online, Timberland, and Flag Hill Winery (the company also does a lot of pro-bono and reduced-rate work for non-profits).

Quantum leap

In Thomas Obrey’s view, what is happening in the area on the design and communications front is no different than what’s happening in Boston, San Francisco and Chicago.

Obrey, who along with Eric Dodier founded Portsmouth-based PixelMedia in 1994, should know be-cause he’s competing with agencies in those cities for talent. “I actually think getting talent is very diffi-cult, “Obrey said. “Recruiting is our number one priority.” It’s a priority that has paid off for PixelMedia. The company has more than 50 employees and, Obrey said, is growing at a 20 to 25 percent annual rate for revenues.

Obrey and Dodier both cut their teeth at the former Cabletron Systems (a seed that has spawned doz-ens of Seacoast area technology companies), and Obrey said while the economy is “not as hot as it was in the 1990s,” that’s probably a good thing. “The complexity of projects we are doing today are a quantum leap,” Obrey said. What this velocity translates to in practical terms, he said, includes creating a client Web presence with more than 40 pages for 37 sites in 19 different languages. “We require more tenured and experienced professionals,” he said. Just the sort sought by firms in San Francisco, Boston and Chicago. “We have global clients who are very demanding,” Obrey said of clients that range from Vermont Teddy Bear to ECCO Shoes. “We need people who do more than sling code. They need to pitch ideas and wear five hats at once.”

The good news for PixelMedia is that Portsmouth is drawing its fair share of “creative class” savants. “People go where the money is,” Obrey said.