Goodness Manufacturing is an ad shop that has quite a pedigree. Its five partners all resigned from superhot agency Crispin Porter & Bogusky in Miami and launched the firm 18 months ago.

At Crispin Porter, they worked on high-profile accounts including Burger King, Geek Squad, Miller Lite and the BMW Mini.

“Goodness is not just another small agency startup,” said Russel Wohlwerth, the L.A. principal in marketing consultancy Ark Advisors. “It was founded by some of the top people from arguably America’s hottest advertising agency.”

However, when Crispin Porter decided to move its offices from South Florida to Boulder, Colo., the future Goodness partners decided to break away.

“Collectively, we loved Crispin, but the move from Miami to Boulder ignited a re-evaluation for us,” said Brian Rekasis, one of the partners in Goodness. “We saw all these opportunities that we could pursue on our own.”

At a dinner in Boulder, the partners agreed to resign and move to Los Angeles, Rekasis’ original home. After they quit, the partners spent weeks moving to Los Angeles, communicating only by cell phone some from Colorado, some from Miami, and others from California or on the road.

Usually a new agency starts by taking one strong client from the founders’ previous employer, but the Goodness partners had decided they would not raid Crispin Porter.

“When you start an agency, you need to either have a client, an investment or your own capital,” Rekasis said. “We had none no investment, no clients.” Their personal savings helped them get through a few months without paychecks.

The partners went looking for capital, but the country was on the cusp of the credit crunch caused by the housing meltdown, complicating the task of money hunting. When the moment of commitment arrived, the potential investors backed out.

The economy likewise impacted the search for clients. When corporations go looking for a new ad agency, they conduct a formal review of competing firms. But reviews are becoming less frequent due to the uncertain economy.

“For the most part, marketers have their hands full fighting problems on many fronts and an agency review can be an unnecessary and unwelcome distraction,” Wohlwerth said.

So their first account wasn’t another Burger King it was Captain D’s Seafood Kitchen, a Tennessee-based chain of 600 restaurants in 23 states. Not the type of household brand name the partners had handled at Crispin Porter, but it proved a good deal.

“None of us had ever done business development before,” Rekasis recalled, “but we found personal connections open doors. At that time we were five guys with cell phones. Captain D’s believed in us.”

‘Blown away’

Goodness now has 13 employees, including the five founders, and has completed work for Ubisoft, Universal Studios and the American Cancer Society. Rekasis said their creativity, and the connections and reputations they’d developed at Crispin Porter have helped the agency win business.

When Jenni Cathcart, marketing director at GT Bicycles in Wisconsin, wanted an ad agency, she reviewed 10 proposals. Goodness immediately rose to the top of the pile.

“I was blown away by the work they had done,” Cathcart said. “The passion showed in everything they did. I was so excited to meet the people behind the work.”

The agency’s first project didn’t disappoint. GT makes mountain and racing bikes, with speed ranking as their main competitive advantage. The campaign’s key feature was a Web site with an unusual interactive element. A photograph showed two cyclists, one triumphant and one defeated (poses suggested hunters with their game or fisherman with their trophy catches). The Web site visitors could graft their faces on the winner’s photo, and a friend’s face on the loser’s. The winning rider was pictured with a GT.

“The campaign was unique, relevant and got people talking about GT,” Cathcart said. “We hadn’t been in that position before.”

While Goodness has succeeded in winning accounts, it still lacks a big brand name to anchor the firm’s identity.

“This is a major challenge for every new agency, as agencies tend to be equated with the work they create as in, ‘They are the Burger King agency,'” said Wohlwerth. “Until you win that signature account, you are just unfulfilled potential.”

So far, Goodness has taken a lower-risk approach.

“We find ourselves getting into pitches that are not based on full-blown dog and pony shows,” said Rekasis. “Sometimes we are eliminated by our size and we can’t get around that. We don’t pretend to be a size we aren’t, or to have resources we don’t.”

But when the opportunity arises, the agency may go for a big fish. At that point, Goodness will have to participate in formal reviews, or agency competitions, which can cost $100,000 to $500,000. A formal pitch may include professional TV commercials, media plans and multimedia presentations and if the pitch doesn’t work, the investment represents a total loss for the agency.

The firm has secured an investment from a silent partner. “The investment is still untapped, sitting in the bank, we have the capital there to invest in it,” said Rekasis.

In the meantime, Goodness has the kind of midsize accounts that can sustain a small agency through a recession. GT, for example, could have more needs and more money to spend next year.

“We are looking at increasing our marketing budget next year,” said Cathcart at GT Bicycles. “The cycling industry is still very healthy.”

The five partners plan to keep Goodness as an independent agency while finding brands that match the company culture without growing too fast.

“This is the most fun, where you’re first starting out,” said Rekasis. “The IT, assistants, office supplies all that you take for granted at large agencies they’re all gone. But we believe chaos heightens creativity. You have to embrace it and get ready for the ride of your life.”

Goodness Manufacturing


Headquarters: Venice

Founded: 2007

Core Business: Advertising agency now specializing in regional and midsized

companies

Employees in 2009: 13 (up from five in 2008)

Goal: To secure a national, household brand name for a client

Driving Force: Smaller companies that want an agency with principals who have a reputation for creativity and success on larger campaigns