Milwaukee-based marketing agency Creative Marketing Resources, d.b.a
CMRignite, has made the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private businesses in the U.S.
for the fourth year in a row. The firm, which has a three-year growth average of 596%, has found its niche in developing “cause and behavior change” marketing campaigns.
This means CMRignite’s campaigns are focused on community outreach and public information campaigns that help change behaviors.
“We focus on developing campaigns that use the same marketing tactics (as regular agencies) but to make sure people have vaccines or that people get screened for breast cancer,” said
David Bowles, president of CMRignite. “We’re really focused on having a positive impact on our communities.”
CMRignite targets its campaigns toward historically underserved communities. One of the agency’s recent campaigns involved working with the U.S. Department of Health and Services. CMRignite was tasked with educating Americans on the COVID-19 vaccine, so people could make their own informed health decisions. The government contract began in September 2020 and ended this July. It was this government contract that triggered CMRignite’s exponential growth, said Bowles.
“The catalyst for our growth was our government work,” he said. “From there, we’ve been able to continue to get clients who focus on social impact and cause marketing campaigns, both in the government and private sectors.”
CMRignite has also grown via acquisition. In 2021, the agency acquired D.C.-based marketing firm Ignite Digital Strategy Group to increase its presence in the nonprofit realm. Through the acquisition, CMRignite gained several national nonprofit clients. Bowles said it was always clear that for CMRignite to achieve its mission of having a positive social impact, the agency needed to break into the nonprofit sector. Of course, the addition of a new agency also allowed the firm to bolster its services.
“We were able to continue building ourselves as a full-service agency,” said Bowles.
Outside of its government work and the agency’s new venture into the world of national nonprofits, CMRignite also works with clients in the health care and wealth/financial services industries.
Bowles said CMRignite has an advantage in that the firm uses behavioral sciences to implement best marketing practices. The agency also highlights its diverse base of employees, which allows campaigns to speak to a diverse group of people and thoughts.
“We look at diversity in its entirety and I think it’s something that we’re proud of and it really drives business value,” said Bowles. “There’s a lot of talk in America right now around diversity but we want to show companies can be focused on impact and accountability and also be diverse and deliver that value to their clients.”
CMRignite now has 70 employees, with about 50 based in Milwaukee. Bowles expects the agency to add another 10 to 12 within the next year. He said the agency is going to be focused on organic growth in the near future, not necessarily targeting more acquisitions. This means eyeing clients with budgets for larger, national campaigns. At this point in the year, CMRignite has already exceeded its revenue total for 2022, which was within the $38 to $40 million range.
“I think what we’ll see (next year) is growth in terms of the net revenue, so the money that’s actually retained within our company,” said Bowles. "That will allow us to continue to hire people and continue investing.”
