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Kelowna's Twin Creek Media does a lot of marketing services really well

Twin Creek team delivers

James Shaw learned many valuable lessons over the last 20 years as he and his business partner built Twin Creek Media into a Kelowna—and beyond—success story.

Like many entrepreneurial journeys, the road to success was bumpy. The challenge is learning fast enough to survive another day. Some mistakes are comical in hindsight.

“In college, we called our company Mediaruption, which sounds kind of cool when you say it out loud,” Shaw says, especially with volcano hand motions.

There was only one problem. Every time he handed his business card to someone, they fumbled over the name.

“Not one person could say the name. Not even one,” Shaw says. “It was a one hundred percent failure rate.”

The name eventually changed to something easy to say and spell, and now Twin Creek Media is celebrating 20 years as a full-service marketing agency. They work as an outsourced marketing department for about 50 mid-sized companies across B.C., with a handful scattered across other provinces and the U.S.

The company started in 2004 with Shaw, fellow co-founder Thomas Berger and a third partner who has since been bought out. Instead of specializing in one marketing area, Twin Creek did it all.

“We were just doing a little bit of everything,” Shaw says. “Fresh out of school, we were too small to specialize anyway. But even as the years went by, we still liked doing a little bit of everything.

“Ironically, we decided to specialize in being general, which sounds funny, I know. But it became less and less common because our whole industry was niching down. Some companies focus on graphic design, some websites, some social media, some photography or videos. But small and mid-sized companies need marketing people who can do it all. So we built a team that is a well-rounded marketing department that can be ‘plugged in’ to other companies.”

And now Twin Creek Media is just what the doctor ordered for companies that make between $2 million and $20 million in revenue annually. Instead of contracting out to multiple companies or hiring a bunch of employees, businesses can simply hire Twin Creek and have all of their marketing services covered. Shaw states it’s often more cost-effective, and results are better, too. The 10-person team in Kelowna, plus its own network of contractors, provides strategy, design, programming, social media management, advertising, photography, video production, creative writing and so much more.

“We’ve worked with hundreds of companies over the years,” Shaw says. “The combined experience our team has is remarkable. We have insights into every industry you can think of, and we’re not just stuck in the mindset of oh, here’s what you do with your agriculture company, or here’s what you do if you’re a high-tech firm.

“We draw upon decades of knowing what works to get great results. We can help our clients grow their companies—by millions of dollars in new sales or by opening new locations or by attracting new employees. We’re involved in many aspects of our clients’ businesses, but the key word is growth.”

One of Twin Creek’s core values is philanthropy. The firm supports many organizations and programs through donations of cash, skills and time. “In our small way, we are trying to be the change we want to see in the world,” Shaw says. The company has been involved with many causes over the years, such as Central Okanagan Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity and Paws it Forward.

When you boil it all down, Shaw says Twin Creek Media is all about people. It’s about great business partnerships that value transparency and creativity. The company only works with one company per industry, per area, leading to a loyal, “all-in” kind of relationship with clients that is pretty rare in the advertising industry.

“I can’t believe it’s been 20 years already,” Shaw says.

Time flies when you’re having fun? Their own company video is a Barenaked Ladies music parody, so yes, most definitely.

Visit TwinCreekMedia.com to see what it can do for your company.

This article is written by or on behalf of the sponsoring client and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.



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