Today we’d like to introduce you to Erik Peterson.
Erik, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
The journey in life is never straight. First, I thought I was going to be an architect, but I got bored. Then I thought I was going to go the path of ‘business’ but I hated ties and failed out of college school. As a child, I was drawn to art. I drew on my parent’s furniture, made fake radio ads with rap beats, doodled on notebooks, I made little robots, and I took a lot of things apart to figure out how they worked.
Failure is never great but necessary; after my brief stint in college, I worked random jobs. One day, I saw someone doodling package designs and I asked what they were doing. The guy stated he was creating some designs for a retail package and was working on placement. I thought to myself, “I could do that” That brief encounter sent me on a journey to art school to study design and visual communication. It’s hard to say it was the best decision in my life, but it was the right path, and I love what I do, and it’s fascinating that my life came full circle.
After art school, I started working in small and large agencies designing advertising campaigns, radio spots, websites, eCommerce stores, and other marketing assets for SUBWAY®, Sprint, HP, Pizza Hut, AT&T and a variety of other national and international companies. The most exciting aspect of this journey was the insanely passionate people I met, the creative talent of artists, writers, strategists, and, most importantly, the client’s that value creativity and design to promote their business.
But I noticed a common issue across all these agencies, lot’s of corner-cutting, lot’s of miserable employees, lot’s of micromanaging and lots of lost opportunity. Client’s often left disgruntled or delusion because of billing or a myriad of other things. That was tough to watch.
That’s why I started The Generous Agency. I believe in something different, a business model built on generosity, not winners or losers, or even competition. Those that work in this industry are some of the smartest, brightest, and most creative people you will ever meet. And our industry tears our employees apart, destroys client relationships, and turns us and our clients into cogs in a system. I want to do more for our employees and our clients. It’s my mission to share that talent with you to benefit your business, to inspire your customers, and to rally your employees.
The Generous Agency is something different. We are not order takers or freelancers. We solve problems with creativity, questions, and observations. We are the future model of the branding agency. Adaptable. Resourceful. Honest. We do more, give more, and share more. We are implementing a new way of thinking and a better way for businesses to respond to the world through generosity.
We believe by doing more, giving more, and sharing more, we help our business partners become more successful. And this is where you fit in — our dear clients, colleagues, and collaborators. We’re doing this for you. If you’ve been a part of this journey, we thank you immensely. If we haven’t met yet, we’d love to hear from you.
Has it been a smooth road?
The biggest struggle is creating a business model that has gone against the traditional agency environment that has been prevalent for over 60 years. Creativity has an exclusive value and it can’t be tracked with time but instead with results. The billable hourly limits us: the creative firm to develop the best strategy to serve our client’s needs. Often, resources are shaved because the perception to reduce cost is directly tied to the hour. This increases the client’s demand to shift priorities from strategy base solutions to order taking solutions consequently decreasing the quality of work and negating the reason you hired an agency in the first place.
This model is engrained in the business world from lawyers, doctors, architects, and design agencies. Overcoming this challenge is incredibly difficult that’s why positioned our business and used our core belief around generosity. Because that is what we believe.
Please tell us about The Generous Agency. What should we know?
The Generous Agency is a brand experience studio in Fort Worth, Texas. We operate with a team of professionals that have a minimum of ten years of experience, which means you get expert-level solutions. We focus on creating advocacy and influence to drive business results. We do this through research, design, and encouragement of generosity. We are adamant about partnering with good people and organizations who need exceptional custom-designed solutions to elevate and empower employees and communicate with clients.
Our fundamental difference is” “We believe generosity helps clients and employees become more successful.” “No hourly billing ever. We estimate it, we do it. No price changing, dishonest billing, or funky surprises.”
We specialize in:
BRAND STRATEGY & DESIGN:
We excel at developing brand strategies that map your business to your brand, understand customers, and define goals. We transform how your brand connects through our circular design process to create a unified voice then develop a visual language that allows you to capture eyes, ears, and hearts.
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE:
We build brand experiences around the science of generosity to help your organization create desire and loyalty through actions and interactions. Society has replaced time and energy with digital communications that waste time and energy. We believe by doing the little things; your business can build stronger relationships to harmonize customer experience and provide proof of the promise you promote.
DIGITAL DESIGN:
Your presence in the digital world is more important now than ever. Navigating that world can be complicated through mobile devices, desktops, and social media. We help streamline the experience between users and the information they need through intuitive, user-centered web experience that engages and communicates on all devices and platforms.
CONTENT CREATION:
At some point, your business has thrown away the old and implement something new. For us, that means sharing overselling. Creating over faking. In order to beat the algorithms, your business needs to provide content that is seen as valuable. The Generous Agency uses a full toolbox to create scripted, unscripted, live-action, mini-documentaries, social media content, beautiful photography, mission-driven commercials, branded content and beyond. We maximize every piece of content created to ensure 1 goal turns into 100 interactions.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The biggest trends for our industry will be technology for automation, project management and the continued growth of organizations implementing design thinking into the executive level. Companies will be made and broken on the visual brand they build and the experience they provide customers. The days of not investing in marketing and design are over. If you aren’t seen or heard, you won’t exist.
Pricing:
- Our projects start at $10,000 and above.
Contact Info:
- Website: WeAreGenerous.agency
- Phone: 214-636-0050
- Email: peterson@wearegenerous.agency
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_generous_agency/
Suggest a story: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
