Short Profiles: Seismicom

It didn’t take long for Seismicom to make a name for itself.

Perhaps it was the America Online win, which came just months after former Flair Communications execs David Flaherty and Kathy Mitchell joined with Marden-Kane vet Bill Carmody to open the shop in early 2000. Maybe it was the work with other blue-chippers like Dole, Visa, and Pfizer, which also signed on that first year. Or it might have been those two PRO Awards the shop earned last fall.

More likely it’s the fact that San Francisco-based Seismicom (No. 63, despite the lack of revenue history used for ranking) hit the ground running as a full-service agency offering promotion, online marketing, advertising, merchandising, and direct-response capabilities. (A lack of mobile skills was solved quickly through the acquisition of Chicago-based The Event Group last summer.) “The integration sets us apart,” says ceo Flaherty. Net revenues more than tripled to $4.3 million in 2001 as billings leapt to $12.7 million.

For a nascent and relatively small (25 employees) agency, Seismicom has been hanging around with some big clients. AOL handed the shop its massive Celebrity You’ve Got Mail campaign. ExxonMobil assigned a test of its Speedpass system in Chicago-area McDonald’s restaurants. Microsoft Corp. commissioned a national tour for its UltimateTV digital video recorder. “There is a perception that they’re an online marketing agency,” says Bob Pifke, San Francisco-based Visa’s senior vp-marketing services. “But the majority of their business is offline.”

Or a combination of both: A summer effort for Dole Fresh Vegetables puts codes in 42 million bags of Salad Blends; consumers enter online to receive $10 worth of discounts from 10 partnering companies. The program also includes an instant-win game, coupons, P-O-P materials, and FSIs.

“They are truly an extension of our marketing arm,” says Mark Stewart, Dole’s senior vp-value added sales and marketing. “These guys are top-notch.”