Insights from Nebo

Hello. My name is Stacy and I’m a recovering business owner.

Hi, Stacy!

I owned a digital marketing agency for nearly 15 years, starting in early 2001. It was a search marketing agency called Prominent Placement, until we rebranded last year and became the B2B conversion agency Big Drum.

A little over three months ago, Big Drum joined the Nebo family, and I transitioned from being the CEO of a boutique agency to an employee at a 70-person company.

Everyone’s eager to hear how it’s going, and I understand their curiosity. The statistics are surely not on our side. The Harvard Business Review reports mergers and acquisitions fail between 70 percent and 90 percent of the time. Culture clashes, unmet expectations, personality differences…the mind boggles at all the possible ways the meshing of two separate companies can come undone.

But not in this case. Sure, there have been bumps along the way, but overall, it has been a positive experience for me and a smart strategic move for both companies. I am happier here at Nebo than most people would probably expect. Let’s take a closer look at what it’s like moving from being a business owner to an employee.

We've got some pretty cool cats at Nebo. Okay, let's be real... everyone at Nebo is a cool cat! And while you hear from us copywriters quite a bit, we want to show you the other men and women behind the curtain. So we're kicking off our "Meet a... " series. We'll be interviewing different team members around the office and highlighting them on the blog. First up: Jake Burk.

Let me start with a disclaimer: I freaking love football. I look forward to the start of the season and mourn when it’s over. I prefer college ball to the NFL, but I’m starting to come around to the pros. I play Fantasy Football and actually do my research and set my line-up. It’s just great – it’s all just great.

It started in 2004, when Nebo was a small newborn agency in Atlanta. But it’s stood the test of time, just like we did. The proof?

When craft beer mart Hop City announced its first shipment of pumpkin beer for the 2015 season on July 24, the reception was mixed. Hop City is a favorite of Atlanta’s serious beer drinkers, and some among them thought July too early to roll out the seasonal ale.

This summer, we announced the launch of the next phase of our Choose ATL campaign. Along with BBDO, Porter Novelli, and the Metro Atlanta Chamber, we’re continuing to grow the grassroots initiative by sharing why Atlanta is such a great place to live, work, and start a family. A new ad campaign showcasing exciting facts about Atlanta has launched, highlighting everything from walkability to our amazing food scene.

However, there’s another focus of phase two of the grassroots initiative: education. This doesn’t just mean showcasing the 66 superior universities that call Atlanta home, but also encouraging the brilliant minds that graduate from schools across the country to choose Atlanta as their city after college. In order to do so, we needed something big. Something that would show why Atlanta is the best place for recent grads to build a life after graduation. So we teamed up with the Metro Atlanta Chamber to launch the Ultimate Job Interview Contest.