David Moncur, founder and principal of Moncur, a branding and digital agency in Southfield, spoke with DBusiness Daily News about his company’s growth, its plans to open an office in Austin, Texas in late 2014, and the decision to rebrand its name.
1. DDN: Why did you decide to open an office in Austin?
DM: When we first started (about 20 years ago), we were in Silicon Valley, (Calif.) where we connected with venture capital firms and were part of their startup kits. If your company got funded, we were the creative resource that helped take your business to the next level. This was right before the high-tech boom happened, and it was a very exciting time — you could throw a stone and hit 10 high-tech startups before that stone hit the ground. And Austin, Texas has got shades of Silicon Valley all over it. It is, from my perspective, just about to explode. Because of our experience, we’re nicely positioned to be successful in that environment, so we want to be there as Austin takes off.
2. DDN: What kind of growth has Moncur been undergoing?
DM: Last year, we experienced almost 50 percent growth, and this year, we’re on track for 50 percent growth again. It’s the most growth we’ve ever had in the history of our company, and it’s happening back-to-back.
3. DDN: What’s fueling your company’s progress?
DM: There are a lot of things involved. One is that there’s been a shift away from traditional manufacturing toward professional services and high tech manufacturing. Those are areas that the marketing industry hasn’t been particularly focused on, but they have always been our specialty. So as the natural economy begins to align with what we’ve always been doing, all of a sudden, we’ve become very popular. Another thing is our focus on culture and (our efforts) to make Moncur a place where people want to work.
4. DDN: How do you do that?
DM: A little less than a year ago, we introduced a new position called the director of cultural environment in our Detroit office, which is now based in Southfield. This person is responsible for all of the interactions employees and clients have with the company. This might be making sure employees have the equipment and supplies they need and the food and beverages they prefer (in stock). It’s also about making sure that everyone is aware of what’s going on with the company and understanding how they can best perform their jobs.
Externally, the director of cultural experience is responsible for making sure that when a client comes to our office, they feel like they’re a guest — a very important and welcomed guest. I have to tell you, (creating this new position) is probably the smartest thing I’ve ever done. Because the moment we made (the experience) a priority, everything just started to just hum — it changed our business.
5. DDN: Why did you decide to drop the “Associates” in your company’s name?
DM: We’re a branding company. (Laughs) And we’re going through a change and expansion and a refocusing of what it is we do, where we pare down to the things that we are experts in nationally and even globally. To punctuate that transition, we think the appropriate thing to do is to rebrand, so that all of our communications and visuals are aligned with that new vision. We think the visual brand that we’ve developed more directly reflects … the perception of us in the marketplace, and it’s really clear about what our expertise is.
Plus, it’s a beautiful highlight of our work. It seems that with every website or brand (we create), the last one is always the best. So being the most recent thing we’ve launched, (our new brand) is our best work. But it will surely be eclipsed by the next client project that we launch — because we’re always going to try to one-up things with every project we do.
