I discovered the “website” of Boone Oakley today quite by accident. Loved it so much that I had to stop what I was doing and write about it. You know the drill. Those interwebs – they’ll get you every time.
For those of you who don’t know, I live in the “fly-over zone.” That means Nowheresville. Dud City. Ain’t Nothing Going On Heresville. And I’ll admit it — as a transplanted New Yorker, it took me a long time to get my snotty nose out of the air and realize that great stuff goes on in places other than the coasts. And that there are really smart people – all over the place. Oh, and it would be remiss of me not to thank that rapscallion Al Gore for inventing the Internet, because now they’re all closer than ever and easier to find.
But even though I get it, I routinely have to dispel the notions of prospective clients (and peers) that just because my agency is in Kansas City and not in New York, LA or even Chicago (perhaps the most posh spot in the fly-over zone), we do great work. (And that “we” by the way is collective – not exclusive to my agency). Sometimes small and midsized agencies in non-fancy locales do even better work and, fairly regularly that work that is exponentially less expensive than what you might find elsewhere. Sometimes, in fancy cities, you have the “oh, this is LA so we have to add an extra $30K onto that web dev fee just because we’re super cool” pricing model. Here, not so much.
Like V3, Boone Oakley is located in a not-cool place. But based on the creativity evidenced by their website, I know they get it. And by “it” I mean simply this: if you’re a business and if you like looking, feeling and sounding like everyone else out there, that’s totally cool. And no doubt, if you want the same crap that everyone else does, hire the same people. Whether it’s for your marketing plan, creative work, your web development needs or for PR and social media. Cookie cutter agencies or poseurs are a dime a dozen. And sometimes the bigger they are (or they more they tell you how great the are) the more cookie cutter they are.
But what I know is this: great minds don’t always live on the coasts. They don’t always work in high rise buildings, and they don’t always cost an arm and a leg. Great minds work for large agencies and small ones. And sometimes they work from a mountain cabin, a cafe or while sitting at their kitchen tables. Great minds are everywhere. When I look for someone to hire or collaborate with, I look for the people who bring the most creativity, experience, work ethic and passion to the table. And where they live and/or where they office doesn’t factor into it – not one bit.
There’s incredible talent everywhere. So when you need it, do what I did years ago, and try getting your snotty nose out of the air and look around. I can promise that if you do, you’ll find amazing and amazingly talented people to work with. Oh, and watch this video – you’ll see immediately why I was inspired.
Image credit: John Alan
Shelly Kramer is a Principal Analyst and Founding Partner at Futurum Research. A serial entrepreneur with a technology centric focus, she has worked alongside some of the world’s largest brands to embrace disruption and spur innovation, understand and address the realities of the connected customer, and help navigate the process of digital transformation. She brings 20 years’ experience as a brand strategist to her work at Futurum, and has deep experience helping global companies with marketing challenges, GTM strategies, messaging develoment, and driving strategy and digital transformation for B2B brands across multiple verticals. Shelly’s coverage areas include Collaboration/CX/SaaS, platforms, ESG, and Cybersecurity, as well as topics and trends related to the Future of Work, the transformation of the workplace and how people and technology are driving that transformation. A transplanted New Yorker, she has learned to love life in the Midwest, and has firsthand experience that some of the most innovative minds and most successful companies in the world also happen to live in “flyover country.”