40 years of Ramey. 40 years of Reaching Higher.

Forty years ago, an entrepreneur named Tommy Ramey launched an advertising agency?that he hoped would make a mark on the world.?

I met Tommy a year-and-a-half later, when I became the agency's first summer college intern. I fell in love with the world of marketing, in large part, because it represented to me a place where creativity intersected with business. I saw very quickly that a smart strategy, executed well, could have an enormous impact on a company's sales and brand perception. For me, we were figuring out how to grow businesses with great ideas - and that ignited something inside of me.?

Looking back, I can trace a line from where Ramey is today directly back to Tommy. He?was a classic bon vivant and?he celebrated the magic that happens when friends and family gather around the table. He brought that love of food and wine to one of his early clients, Viking Range, and worked alongside Viking's founder and CEO, Fred Carl, to build one of the world's great culinary brands.?

That collective experience helped us build a deep reservoir of experience in building high-end, premium brands, as well as a keen understanding of the affluent consumers who buy them. We've written before about the power of a premium brand. Tommy got us started down this path, and along with a large number of clients and fellow team members, we've continued to build this discipline, and along the way, I believe that we've made a mark on the world in a way that would make Tommy proud.?

Recently, the Mississippi Business Journal published a piece about Ramey's 40th anniversary. Writer Becky Gillette wrote, “Ramey President Erick Evans said he thinks a lot of people would be surprised to know that, for 40 years, there has been a marketing firm based in a relatively small state…with outsized scope and reach that is helping to build some of the world’s leading brands.” She also quoted our friend and longtime client, Bill Ray, CEO of BankPlus, who said, “It is interesting that this small marketing firm is having a big impact around the country and world in a fascinating niche."?

While we will take time this year to pause and reflect on 40 years of Reaching Higher for our clients, we are also focused on the next 40 years - helping our clients, team members, and our firm reach our fullest potential.

To me, that's what Reaching Higher is all about.?