I’ve been known to share sentiments like, “It’s not what we do, it’s how we do it” and “it’s a great privilege to choose the people you work with.” When I say these things, I risk sounding like a broken record, but it’s so true! Despite regularly having discussions about the importance of our culture, our approach, and “who we are,” we lacked a formal set of core values.

We easily agreed on the basic tenets of being honest, communicating transparently, and adhering to a ‘no games’ policy, not only internally but also with our partners and clients.

A differentiating factor at &Marketing is that we pledge to measure ourselves by our client’s success and always use data to drive our decisions. We know that the best path is typically not always the easiest or smoothest. When we really push the envelope and innovate to find the better solution, we appreciate a healthy debate about the tactics and strategies needed to succeed. Sometimes this results in tough conversations, which we approach head on.

Ultimately, and most importantly, is that we wanted to highlight that we are not “yet another marketing agency.” We strive for amazing results for the client, and do not just check boxes. We have a unique and tight knit culture, where we value work-life balance, and we appreciate trustworthiness. Finally, we look for partnerships that embrace this unique culture. We look to partner and win together….thus our name – “&” Marketing. It’s not just our clients out there- it’s us too- taking the new path, having honest conversations, and measuring our success continuously as we go.

After we completed our exercise, I reflected on the old Peter Drucker quote – “Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast” and realized that it’s playing itself out in our business. It’s our culture that makes us unique- it’s the how we do it that makes the it special. But, best of all, it’s the people who make this my privilege.