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V O L . X X I N O. X X V I I I D E C E M B E R 1 4 , 2 0 1 5 20 your best work. If you do those things to the best of your ability, people will trust you.' ose lessons have served us well." Peter Rinck got into the industry in the late 1970s. His fi rst big job came in 1983 at L.L. Bean, where he was a copywriter for the catalogs and gained expertise in direct-response marketing. Rinck Advertising was established a month after 9/11. Rinck and Davis considered setting up in New York, but decided against it. "I said, 'Everyone's trying to get out. We could go there,'" he recalls. But Davis viewed Lewiston/Auburn as an up-and-coming area with plenty of potential. "She was right. It's been great here. e local community immediately treated us well. Local businesses hired us when they didn't have to, just to help us keep our doors open." Rinck developed a client list that has included Gorton's Seafood, Dean Foods, American Beverage Corp. and McDonald's, as well as the Amtrak Downeaster, University of Southern Maine, Partnership for a Tobacco-Free Maine, Portland International Jetport and Agren Appliance. Historically, 60% to 80% of its business has been with out-of-state fi rms, a percentage that remains consistent today, but with a larger roster of clients. Data-driven marketing e agency's overall approach is to off er a "tactical mix" that includes branding, television, radio, print, public relations, direct marketing, promotions and pro- prietary brands: BlogBeat and Listening strategies, and Brand Touch, a registered trademark. BlogBeat taps into Rinck's network of 1,700 infl uential bloggers to endorse and promote brands. Listening monitors more than 65 million online sources to track real-time conversations and reviews for clients, brands, competi- tors and industry. Brand Touch seeks to identify and dialogue with subsets of infl uential consumers to harness their infl uence for client brands. Clients receive an integrated approach, driven by data, typically available only from a large agency or network, says Rinck. ese strategies refl ect the agency's evolution in today's digital age. Rinck recalls a shift, in the early 1990s, when the Internet was changing both the industry's culture and methods. " e long, three-martini lunches went out the door," he says. "We all worked hard and ate lunch at our desk. It was as exciting a time as the invention of radio and the invention of television in earlier eras. It rapidly changed what we did and what we do on a daily basis." e "Mad Men" era met creative challenges with mass campaigns conveyed through television and sup- ported by radio, print and direct mail. " ere were only a few tools to choose," he says. " e Internet changed that. Instead of being a one-way conver- sation, it was two-way. Consumers had a voice on a granular basis. You mat- tered as a person. As a result, the nature of the business, and how we think about the business, changed dramatically. We have to pay attention to individuals, not just to an aggregate consumer." e business is informed not only by changes in technology, but by up- and-coming generations of clients and staff who are digital natives. "It's interesting, because they can get so granular, and they're comfortable doing so in the data," says Rinck. "And we refl ect that. At the same time, we provide the big insights." From the strategy standpoint, that means market segmentation. "Not all consumers want the same thing out of products or brands or services," he says. "So one segmentation might be age demographics. Another might be geo-demographics. A third might be lifestyle demographics. For example, if we take our millennial audi- ence at the upper age, mid-30s, they're having families and starting businesses. ey have purchasing power. At the lower end, they're 18 and still in school. e segment could probably be divided 10 diff erent ways. But then, if digital platforms can support segmentation, we have to ask what does a TV commer- cial or print ad look like? How do we address all of those consumer needs in a broad way on the mass market? It's a challenge — and that's what gets every- body excited. It's a continuous-learning industry, and we are a continuous- learning company." L a U r i e S c h r e i B e r , a w r i t e r b a s e d i n B a s s H a r b o r, c a n b e r e a c h e d a t e D i t o r i a l @ m a i n e B i z . B i z » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E Samantha Gifford, Ryan Porter, and Lindsay Gifford-Skilling Gifford's Ice Cream We're in business to help your business. Member FDIC Member FDIC We work hard to do things right. We're as passionate about our business as we are about our customers. Ask us about our business solutions that can help your business grow. www.bangor.com | 1.877.Bangor1 [Larry Rinck's] inspiration [Larry Rinck's] inspiration [Larry Rinck's] inspiration [Larry Rinck's] inspiration [Larry Rinck's] inspiration [Larry Rinck's] inspiration [Larry Rinck's] inspiration [Larry Rinck's] inspiration [Larry Rinck's] inspiration [Larry Rinck's] inspiration [Larry Rinck's] inspiration [Larry Rinck's] inspiration [Larry Rinck's] inspiration [Larry Rinck's] inspiration has always been, 'Be has always been, 'Be has always been, 'Be has always been, 'Be has always been, 'Be has always been, 'Be has always been, 'Be has always been, 'Be has always been, 'Be has always been, 'Be has always been, 'Be has always been, 'Be has always been, 'Be open, be honest, be transparent, be fair and do your best work.' — CEO Peter Rinck

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