After two years in business, we tore our agency down and rebuilt it from the ground up!

As our two year anniversary was rapidly arriving (side note: I can't believe it's been two years since founding Telemetry), I looked at the services we'd provided and our portfolio of clients - those we currently work for and others we worked for previously, and realized something that had kept me up at night for the better half of a few months:

Telemetry was facing an identity crisis.

It dawned on me during a new business conversation with a prospective client as we attempted to introduce ourselves. We fumbled and fell back on the old standard "strategic communications" line. But honestly, that wasn't the entire truth.

No, we have done more. Much more actually. Beyond the blocking and tackling of media relations and press releases, this company of mine has:

• Designed four sub brands for a multi-billion dollar Tier 1 automotive supplier in addition to a complete redevelopment of their website.
• Executed a paid media amplification strategies that helped an international client create 70% more awareness on social media of their products and services in North America.
• Developed in partnership with the first family of hockey, the Howe's, a first ever NFT collection (Which is on the shortlist for best PR campaign of the year, mind you).
• And the 10-ton gorilla in the room - published over 400+ articles for automotive in-market shoppers on behalf of one of the largest financial institutions in the world.

So, I know what you're thinking. "Craig, you're fishing for attaboys." And that's not to say that I'm not fiercely proud of our work and our team. My goodness, am I grateful!!! But still, I go back to the struggle of trying to communicate who we are, what we stand for, and how we help our clients.

For the first time in a long time, I was stuck in analysis paralysis. So I made the decision that most agencies won't do - treat themselves like a client. Our team agreed with my feelings, and that we needed to prioritize the way to cohesively explain who we are. We weren't your typical PR agency, nor were we Hearst Magazines. We weren't BBDO or Publicis either. For better or for worse, this amalgamation of disciplines was a reflection of my own experiences and for that, it dawned on me: my identity could help define who we are and how we use the disciplines I've been immersed in to activate amazing things on behalf of our clients.

I had help. I recruited trusted friends Andy Von Kennel, Adam Barnum and Maury Postal: the most strategic and creative resources I know. I sought feedback from my teammates - Kaitlin Jarvis and Beth Nichols. They helped me, a communicator, better define our value and services, and for the first time in months - I took a long satisfying breath.

Onward with the news!

Of course, I've buried the lede. Today, we announced the rethinking of Telemetry. Two years to the day of our incorporation, we pulled the huge drogue?parachute behind us and slowed down our drag racer of an agency to a crawl, just to get it right. And friends. I think we got it right.

I mentioned we looked at ourselves as our own client. With that, we turned down work, a cardinal sin to most but imperative to us. We needed the time to think, retool and process whether we were on the correct path.

That path has led us to three offerings that can stand alone or work cohesively:

• telemetryTRUST? is our media relations arm, led by Kaitlin Jarvis. Like every client who has had the pleasure of working with her, I trust her opinion but more importantly, her vision on where we can take communications. She is supported by Wendy Stachowicz, whose experience in internal communications brings a credibility to our agency that few can claim, especially in the automotive industry.
• telemetryVISION? offers the very best in visual communications. Our clients are demanding more production from us and we're obliging where it makes sense in support of our client's larger objectives.
• telemetryTRANSMIT? is our brand publishing arm and our greatest investment in talent. Telemetry currently manages over 40 automotive freelance contributors with bylines across all facets of automotive publishing. We'll have very exciting news to share soon about the leadership we've hired to continue building on the incredible momentum we've accrued and that leadership is supported by Beth Nichols and Annie White, two ex-Hearst Autos teammates of mine I have an immense amount of trust in.

These three pillars are supported horizontally by telemetryBOOST?, the media planning and buying arm that helps our clients with audience targeting and paid social media investment.

Final thoughts and always being in beta

It's okay to evolve. Some companies do it faster than others. For us, I think back to a phrase I once heard former colleague Chad Stoller mention in a meeting, once. We should always be in beta. Always in beta means you're constantly seeking to improve - whether it's personally, culturally or professionally. We've taken the steps to iterate our services and tasked our clients with challenging us. Wherever there's a willingness to learn, we'll make good on doing so, building on the experiences from the past while focusing on the future.

Telemetry is the company we've built. I can't wait to experience what's next!