CJRW Embraces Throwback Spirit

In its four seasons, the AMC drama “Mad Men” has captivated millions of viewers by portraying the advertising world of 1960s Madison Avenue.

The show’s website touts it as a “sexy, stylized and provocative” look at “an ego-driven world where key players make an art of the sell.”

Scott Caldwell, not surprisingly, is a fan of the series. But it’s not the in-house boozing, illicit trysts or the main characters’ insatiable appetites for power and influence that registers with Caldwell.

Caldwell, vice president of marketing services at Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods’ Springdale office, is most enthralled by the spirit of the work done during the time period “Mad Men” represents. It was a period, Caldwell believes, when ad men were kingpins capable of changing a client’s fortunes overnight with the right kind of campaign.

As CJRW prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary, Caldwell also believes the full-service communications agency he works for has preserved the best of what the “Mad Men” era had to offer.

“I think we’ve been able to maintain the idea that the creative is the key,” Caldwell said. “It’s not the medium as much as the message.”

Evidence of CJRW’s ability to send the right message isn’t hard to find, whether it’s in the form of continuous longtime clients like Tyson Foods Inc. and Oaklawn Racing & Gaming or $80 million in capitalized billings.

 

Parallel Paths

Interestingly, Wayne Cranford and Jim Johnson decided to start their own advertising agency based at least partly due to inspiration generated by the work being done on 1960s Madison Avenue. Cranford, according to a video posted on CJRW’s website, was convinced the agency could produce Madison Avenue-worthy work even though it operated a thousand miles away in Little Rock.

“And be home in 10 minutes after work,” Johnson added with a smile in the video.

Thus, Cranford/Johnson was born in 1961. Ron Robinson, meanwhile, first began working with Cranford/Johnson in 1962 and affiliated as a full-time employee in 1970.

Not long after Cranford and Johnson began their venture, brothers Wayne and Shelby Woods began building what would become one the region’s largest tourism marketing agencies, working hand-in-hand with the State of Arkansas.

Then, in 1990, the two agencies joined forces to form CJRW. In 1998, CJRW merged with Fayetteville’s Blackwood/Martin & Associates in an effort to establish a more regional presence. The Fayetteville office worked under the name Blackwood/Martin CJRW for a while before eventually morphing into CJRW – Northwest.

Now, as part of its 50th anniversary, the Springdale office is dropping “Northwest” from its name. Caldwell said the move reflects an increased synergy between the Springdale and Little Rock offices. CJRW has 100 total employees, more than 20 of which work in Springdale’s 6,400-SF space.

 

Building a Buzz

The atmosphere inside CJRW’s Springdale location practically hums with a sense of both the creative process and a spirit of collaboration. Account services director Laura McClellan thinks that atmosphere – or more accurately, the people who generate it – is the best part of working at CJRW.

“It’s just good to come in and work with people excited about what we’re doing,” McClellan said.

There has been much at CJRW to be excited about, as the company has added 20-plus clients in the last two or three years, Caldwell said. Caldwell first joined CJRW in 1999, and spent two years working on Tyson accounts before a job offer made to his wife led them to Ohio. The Caldwells returned to Arkansas in late 2008, when Scott Caldwell was offered his current role. He joined the company’s board of directors – a first for someone from the Northwest Arkansas office – last year.

It is the company’s growth, however, that seems to excite Caldwell more than personal accomplishments. CJRW’s work with Kum & Go convenience stores is a good example of that.

The company operates stores in 11 states and has dramatically increased its presence in Northwest Arkansas of late. It’s also exploring the possibility of opening 25 to 30 locations in the Little Rock area.

CJRW’s Springdale office has been the driving force as far as creative work, branding and in-store projects for Kum & Go. CJRW also coordinates all grand openings for Kum & Go.

Some of that work falls to Cyd King, the well-known former Arkansas Democrat-Gazette writer who joined CJRW as public relations account manager in September 2010. Her hiring reflected what Caldwell called a commitment to bring in a mix of the best talent available, both locally and nationally.

“With the way things are changing in our marketplace, with technology and all that, you’ve got to have the right people in the right places,” Caldwell said.

The diversity in CJRW’s employees is aligned with the company’s expanded menu of services. Founded as an advertising agency, CJRW now offers not just all forms of advertising, but a range services that includes retail packaging, public relations and public policy, event management and research capabilities.

“I think we’ve been consistent in the fact that we’ve honed in on what we do well and we do it,” Caldwell said. “We try new things, but we’re also not the first ones to go out and totally jump on a bandwagon and change our whole vision and capabilities around the trends.

“I like the fact that we offer the services that are current, but we’re not all about the current. There have been so many people that hop on a trend and go crazy, then flame out.”

 

‘We care’

That approach has resulted in a variety of new clients, which was one of Caldwell’s primary goals upon returning.

“As economies go up and down and people’s budgets get cut, one of my big pushes was to broaden the base of clients we have,” he said.

That much is apparent by glancing at CJRW’s newer clients, which include America’s Car-Mart, Pet Armor, the University of Arkansas’ Razorback Foundation and Springdale’s chamber of commerce and school district.

Another client is John Brown University. Lori Walker, director of admissions, said CJRW’s campaign to boost enrollment was “absolutely” a success. One of the biggest challenges for CJRW, Walker said, was devising a plan that would be effective across JBU’s seven locations, whether it was Northwest Arkansas or North Little Rock, Harrison or Hot Springs.

The campaign ultimately consisted of billboard and bench ads, newspaper ads and radio spots, as well as significant front-end research.

“We sat down with them and explained our goals and demographic,” Walker said, “and they just went to work.

“They made me feel like a person. I wasn’t just money to them.”

Greg Russell, director of marketing at the Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter, said the organization had a similar experience when CJRW led re-branding efforts that included a new logo and website redesign, among other components.

“We have books of material that are a result of just their analysis of what we needed to consider,” Russell said.

Caldwell said those stories illustrate CJRW’s desire to serve its clients’ needs, no matter the size or scope of the organization.

“We’re not trying to be all things to all people,” he said, “but the things we are doing, we’re trying to do really, really well.

“We don’t just do it to do it.”

 In that sense, Caldwell said, he doesn’t think CJRW’s work has changed much.

“I think the guts of the work are the same. … It’s still focused on, ‘Who is your core shopper?’ and ‘What’s going to motivate them to buy the product?'” he said.

“If you can figure that out, regardless of the medium … it’s going to work.”

CJRW will celebrate its 50th anniversary with an Oct. 14 gathering in Little Rock and a Nov. 3 shindig at Fayetteville’s Pratt Place Barn. The Fayetteville event also will serve as a celebration of CJRW’s 25th anniversary of its relationship with Tyson.

“Having a client for 25 years continually has been pretty exciting,” Caldwell said. “They have been a huge part of our business and heritage here in this marketplace.

“A relationship of that length is extremely uncommon, especially in the retail and food industries, or any CPG company, really.”

The party will feature a “Mad Men” theme, complete with a period appropriate band and signature cocktail. When its employees return to work the next day, though, only the part of “Mad Men” that CJRW has twisted to fit its philosophy will remain.

“We care,” McClellan said.