1 Year of Quan

“When you are in the ocean you must swim.”—Pedro Almodóvar, 1999 Academy Awards Best Foreign Film, All About My Mother

I recently read an article in Forbes by Avi Dan on shifts in the advertising landscape, and there was one quote that immediately resonated, “It’s pretty easy to start an agency. The barrier of entry is low. It doesn’t require a big investment, just confidence and ambition.” After taking stock of the last 365 days of my life, I can definitely toast to that sentiment.  So now, the cliché line is “I can’t believe it’s been one year” and the cliché post would be to reflect on that one year, highlighting the successes we’ve had in a several paragraph diatribe that ends with a bold statement like “we can’t wait for what’s ahead.”

Well, let me have my moment for a quick second. In year one Quan worked with 30 different clients, ran 40+ out-of-home campaigns and faced a global pandemic. This pandemic was a time when brands looked to shift dollars elsewhere, and we were able to work with our clients to help them realize it wasn’t a time to run away from OOH, rather figure out how to utilize the channel in a smart, strategic, cost effective and hyper-local way. Over these past 3 months we’ve run 14 campaigns through relevant and curated opportunities, saving our clients 81% holistically in media costs. One of the accomplishments we are most proud of was partnering with fellow agency Zambezi to help elevate an employee-led DEI initiative (Open Waters) in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. We spread this important message over 100 pieces of DOOH across 11 major markets. 

When Quan was being conceptualized our biggest fear was wondering if media partners would quickly forget about us since we were no longer tethered to one of the “big shops.” But we are still here one year after we started because of our media partners. They’re the ones who didn’t miss a deadline when we were sending RFP’s out one-week in. They’re the ones who sent us proactive opportunities that would make us look good in the eyes of our clients. They’re the ones who said yes to the added value we asked for. They’re the ones who rolled their eyes but agreed to another 15% off the rates to help up come into budget. They’re the ones who went above and beyond providing us with that extra data that helped us nail a piece of new biz. They’re the ones who got us beauty shots of our large wall the day it posted because they knew the client wanted to see it immediately. They’re the ones that actually referred clients our way.  Like a speech at The Academy Awards, there are a lot of “thank yous” to be made, and I may forget someone (please don’t stop working with us if that happens), so the rest of this article is a giant “THANK YOU.” To all media partners we worked with across the 40+ campaigns we ran in Year 1.

·      Thank you Justin DiMaggio and Lamar

·      Thank you Steve Link and Branded Cities

·      Thank you Paul Lenhart, Dan Petsche and Outfront Media

·      Thank you Skye Suttenfield and CHUCK

·      Thank you Anthony Tsigourakos, David Lewis, Neil Sweeney and Freckle/PlaceIQ/Killi

·      Thank you Matt Boyington, Jasmine Gonzalez and Clear Channel

·      Thank you Zak Pala and Project Outdoor (now Van Wagner)

·      Thank you Alyssa Tobin, Marcelle DiMarco, Gregg Marshall and JC Decaux

·      Thank you Lee Krackow and Silvercast

·      Thank you Rob Levine, Jessica Gonzalez, Val Iaccarino and Intersection

·      Thank you Mike Bolbach and Strong

·      Thank you Richard Pribble and Outdoor Solutions

·      Thank you Scott Attar, Erin Trebilcock and Total Outdoor

·      Thank you Matt Tucker and Colossal Media

·      Thank you Vince Manone and Red Star Outdoor

·      Thank you Ian Rappaport, Emily Lanzilloti, Christina Mak and Big Outdoor

·      Thank you David Zago, Chris Palumbo & Adams Outdoor

·      Thank you Jeremy Levine and Van Wagner Aerial

·      Thank you Lucy Markowtiz, Gabby Stoller and Vistar

·      Thank you Lonnie Passy, Pam Lipner and Curb

·      Thank you Tom Burr and Clear Channel Airports

·      Thank you John Frangakis and Mira

·      Thank you Jay Heleva, Rodwell Jeffrey and SEEN Outdoor

·      Thank you Lucas Bullerjahn, Jon Davis and JC Decaux Airports

·      Thank you Dawn DelMastro, Gabby Ingebrand and City Outdoor

·      Thank you Stuart Cochrane, Roberta Sponsler and Elevation Media

·      Thank you Nick Sizer and Madison Square Garden

·      Thank you Dave Starensier and WOW

·      Thank you Anthony Toledo and Regency

·      Thank you Jeong Kim, Alex Kouba and Summit Outdoor

·      Thank you Adam Snyder and Interstate Outdoor

·      Thank you Deanna Pizzi and Catalyst Outdoor

·      Thank you Eric Forman, Imran Saleem and Skyline Outdoor

·      Thank you Vince Mastria, Jess Becker and New Tradition

·      Thank you Matt Grosse and LURE

·      Thank you Keith Stewart and 3.0 Outdoor

·      Thank you Evan Malone and Becker Boards

·      Thank you Kat Vanderbush and Sway Outdoor

·      Thank you Chris Tavlarides, Lynn Dudish and Capitol Outdoor

·      Thank you Kris Bistre and Firefly

·      Thank you Glynn Williams and Mahlmann Media

Thank you to Michael Palatnek who has been an irreplaceable sounding board, along with Ellmadi who has done a lot of the heavy lifting on the production end for us this first year. Thank you to Alex Center and the entire CENTER Design team who gave us a brand identity! Thank you to Ashley Moll who has been an incredible help from overseas. Lastly, a huge thank you to Lana McGilvray, Cassady Nordeen and Julie Ginches of Purpose Worldwide, who have gone above and beyond for us on the PR side of things. Couldn’t have envisioned any team better to help share our success as we scale.

To the clients that entrusted us with your brands and to the partner agencies that looked to Quan for some help, there aren’t enough words we can use to express our gratitude for believing in us and choosing to work with us. 

(Cue the music playing me out…..)

When we look to next year, we acknowledge it's been a challenging past few months, but Out-of-home isn’t going away. It’s growing, it’s evolving and it’s measurable. We have the ability to fully understand the change in commuter and traffic patterns. We know where our consumers are going, where they’ll be and how to reach them. It’s on us as an industry to change the way client’s approach and think about OOH. We’re a long way from strategy simply being “Hey – this billboard is great because 450k cars see it each day.” Through leveraging mobile data along with audience insights, and not looking at outdoor as a siloed media channel, we can and are changing the narrative. There are so many good shops out there, and I’m not ending this article by touting Quan, I’m ending it by touting our industry as a whole. We should no longer be an “add on” to a holistic media plan. We should be looked at to help launch a brand as a channel that’s efficient, targetable, and most of all data driven. The future is bright for OOH. We evolve, and we’ll continue to.

Last August, I published an article on LinkedIn that stated, “the secret to this job is personal relationships.” I’ve met so many incredible people in the past year, talked with so many bright minds, and that “secret” still rings true.  

…Oh, and we can’t wait for what’s ahead!