After a recent interview with Peter, we realized this Q&A serves as a great FAQ resource to help new clients gain insight into our history, philosophy, culture, services and pricing.

GH: What is the MicroArts Difference? What would you consider your brand agency's superior value?
PLG: As individuals, we are as different as the seasons, but as a brand agency team we are all out to achieve the extraordinary for our clients—and for ourselves. To call it our creative passion seems trite or staged. But it is an ongoing balance of collaborative creative spirit merged with grounded brand strategy that yields a track record full of Proven Creative®.

GH: Why wouldn't I hire a brand strategy agency like Y&R, Interbrand or Landor for my next major brand launch?
PLG: You should! They'd be at the top of my short list too. Before you do, you best shoot the lock off your wallet. Essentially, we have one 13-person team of brand specialists stuffed with successful experience; they have fifty teams like ours located around the world. Our clients' annual marketing communications budgets range from $1M to $3M, which doesn't begin to get their attention. Be a big fish in a small pond when it comes to selecting your agency of record.

GH: Is MicroArts expensive?
PLG: Define expensive. The rate for our brand design and web team is $150/hr, and our principal creative rate is $185/hr. Annually our clients invest $300K to $500K in our services. We deliver full agency-of-record counsel and service for our clients. Our experience and value is best understood when compared against name brand agencies in Boston, NYC and DC.

GH: What do you do at the agency?
PLG: Craft the client brand strategy and energize the creative realization of that strategy. I love it because it fits how I'm wired, it just flows. My favorite part is brainstorming closely with our clients on a major new initiative. When magic happens, it's fun to see their expressions.

GH: For the last six years, MicroArts has stayed a 13-person creative team. Why no expansion?
PLG: At 13 creatives, we focus exclusively on our clients' new revenue growth and not our agency growth; its difficult to do both with high marks. Besides, we've gone through expansion in the past. We grew MicroArts to an 85-person agency and were acquired for a number my mother still doesn't believe.
See: http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/28/business/company-news-cordiant-communications-agrees-to-buy-microarts.html

GH: Are you still a public company?
PLG: Ha, no. In early 2003, our parent company started selling dozens of its agencies and somehow I was able to relive my dream and own the MicroArts brand again. This story is best told over a beer or three. It's hard to believe really.

GH: So you believe a 13-person agency is the sweet spot?
PLG: Yes, a 13-to 16-person creative team is bursting with creative firepower, has the perfect amount of redundancy and creates an ecosystem for a killer culture. Much like a Navy SEAL unit is 13 to 16 people; in fact, our largest client recently reinforced our beliefs on this:
"MicroArts is a special forces team for our brand. They are a smart, driven, nimble and well-trained team of brand launch specialists."

GH: In your agency boilerplate statement, you say "We choose our clients as carefully as they choose us." It seems a little cocky. Is it?
PLG: It's not meant to be. It just means we're mindful. We are black-and-white communicators and thrive when clients are the same. We'll do whatever it takes to achieve success and need our clients to live this spirit as well. In short, we need to believe in their brand opportunity, their team and the resources behind them, because ultimately we're responsible for driving new leads into their pipeline.

GH: Your agency is deep in brand strategy and design? What else?
PLG: We make your website ping, your telephone ring, and your doorbell ding. OK, that was bad, sorry about that. We are kicking ass at all aspects of inbound marketing leveraging everything Internet including; search engine optimization, blog outreach, pay-per-click marketing, social media marketing, viral marketing and the list goes on. We also develop the next evolution of website design; we call them self-service websites whereby a site visitor is able to self-qualify as a viable prospect for your business. This combination of inbound marketing and self-service website development, grounded in sound brand strategy, messaging and design is proving to deliver successful results. We call it the Ultimate Marketing Mix.

GH: Search engine optimization is where your site comes up organically on a Google search?
PLG: Exactly. The first page is where you want to be. We eat our own dog food on this; do a Google search on: "brand launch agency", "creative agency", and/or "brand design agency". MicroArts should be right there on the first page. It's an exciting celebration when we move a client up the search results page ranks onto the first page. Our search word portfolio and supporting SEO strategy are mature and sit center stage in our inbound marketing programs.

GH: You mentioned the Ultimate Marketing Mix [UMM]. What is this service?
PLG: In one sentence? [Smiles] It is when we craft the perfect brand strategy and launch it with comprehensive and optimized Internet based inbound marketing programs that are integrated with traditional marketing communications which deliver predictable returns on your marketing investment. Check out the UMM page to really dive in and learn more.

GH: This is your 22nd year at MicroArts. What's next?
PLG: Tomorrow. [Laughs] I don't go to work. Branding is what I do, it's just who I am. Creativity is not something you can shut off. It's the way branding people think, all day—everyday. Besides, I think I'm getting smarter ... I think I get branding now [Laughs].

GH: What's the deal with the surfboards everywhere in the agency?
PLG: TThey aren't decoration. Everyone here surfs. We paddle out as a team at day break on Friday mornings. It's good fun with great laughs. If you are interested, take an inside peek at our culture.

GH: Tell me about a great day in the agency.
PLG: The moments after our first presentation with a new client where we've knocked the cover off the ball. Or when our largest client last year told us they hit their annual revenue goal in the first three quarters. Or when I see a designer just beaming because they know they're onto something huge. Or when a company we launched goes public or its stock quadruples (as it did for iMany.com, RedHat.com and HoustonStreet.com). Or when I walk into Wal-Mart and my kids say, "Daddy, MicroArts designed that package" and it's in a customer's cart. Or when we take the whole agency to Puerto Rico for a company surf trip. Or when three people huddle and bake a great idea. There are many different kinds of great days.

GH: What's a bad day like?
PLG: I tend to forget them. A bittersweet day is when a client of ours gets acquired. This list is long, must be over 50 companies. We name the brand, create the brand strategy and all the marketing communications, and test our communication strategy to determine a predictable ROI. Then, as planned, their revenues grow and they are acquired by a public company. For their owners, it's typically their happiest day and our agency is considered a great success. That's the sweet part. Then, we typically lose the client to the public company's agency of record. I get melancholy when this happens. I miss the people as well as the relationship we build with the brand.

GH: What's next for MicroArts?
PLG: A slew of good days, sprinkled with bittersweet days.