SYRACUSE — Eric Mower + Associates (EMA), the largest advertising agency in Central New York, has launched a new unit that aims to get clients marketing materials fast and is “hungry” to take work off their plate.

EMA describes the new Hungry Pup Studio as an express-design studio for clients that need high-volume materials produced both “quickly and cost effectively, without strategic planning or creative concepts.”

The advertising business has a “very big market” for graphic-design production work, says Christine (Chris) Steenstra, managing partner and leader of EMA’s Syracuse office.

“Once the campaign strategy is developed and the creative concepts are developed … there’s a whole lot of execution work that typical clients need,” Steenstra says.

Nestled inside EMA’s headquarters in downtown Syracuse, Hungry Pup Studio offers capabilities that include digital production (HTML emails, banner ads, landing pages, e-newsletters); “traditional” production, such as print/outdoor advertisements, tradeshow graphics, white papers, and direct mail; and asset management (digital, media, image purchasing and retouching), according to EMA.

It’s not a “high level of creativity,” but they might need a hundred sell sheets, a 100-page catalogue, or thousands of counter cards for retail locations around the country, Steenstra says.

“They need a cost-effective, fast way to get this work done,” Steenstra adds.

The difference between Hungry Pup Studio and EMA’s graphic-studio department is that the client “is in control” by supplying the content, brand guidelines, and/or templates. All Hungry Pup has to do is “execute,” says Joseph DiVirgilio, director of client services for Hungry Pup Studio.

That’s a lot different, he adds, than the normal studio, which would be working in tandem with the creative department.

“There is no creative strategy in Hungry Pup Studio,” DiVirgilio says.

The studio uses a web-based workflow system that streamlines “project implementation, process and accuracy,” according to EMA. Online-content submission, electronic-file review, and final file e-delivery of the project are part of the process, according to DiVirgilio.

The studio focuses on work that a small shop or a freelancer would do in the past, but they might only work part time, Steenstra says. EMA created the web-based service “that makes it very easy for a client to order exactly what they need for graphic-design production work,” she adds.

EMA arrived at the name, Hungry Pup Studio, based on the attributes its wants associated with the studio, including “eager, fast, [and] flexible,” says Steenstra.

The studio’s tag line, “let us take it off your plate,” is its way of saying it’ll help a client handle that work.

“This is graphic-design production work. It’s high volume. We [the client might] need it tomorrow. Let’s just get it done, and when they [clients] come to us, that’s usually their mindset,” Steenstra says.

It explains why we’re “hungry pups,” she adds.

Clients

EMA will work with clients to create a pricing menu, so they’ll know in advance how much it will cost for the typical types of work that they need done. For instance, if a client needs a post-card mailer or counter cards, each has a certain cost. 

“It all depends on what each client needs. We’ll customize a price list,” Steenstra says.

Hungry Pup Studio has worked with clients that include KeyBank; Syracuse University; Domtar Corporation, a paper manufacturer and distributor; Chartlotte, N.C.–based AmWINS Group, Inc., a wholesale-insurance broker; and Galson Laboratories of DeWitt, which specializes in industrial hygiene analysis and monitoring products.

About 10 employees dedicate a portion of their daily-work time during the start-up process for Hungry Pup Studio, says Steenstra.

“And that covers business development, operations, planning, graphic-design production, digital-design production, and as the business grows, we will be adding full-time, dedicated staff,” she says.

Besides DiVirgilio, those employees include Valerie Hill, who serves as director of operations and Matt Read, senior marketing-services manager.

EMA currently employs about 90 people in Syracuse, including two part-time employees, with room for up to 130 employees, says Steenstra.  EMA’s managing partner isn’t making any promises for the remainder of 2013, but Steenstra says the firm has room to bring in between 10 and 20 more employees for the Hungry Pup venture.

“We serve at the pleasure of our clients and it all depends on how fast the business grows,” Steenstra says.  

The Syracuse headquarters of Eric Mower + Associates operates in a 35,000-square-foot space in the Jefferson Clinton Commons building at 211 W. Jefferson St. EMA also has upstate New York locations in Buffalo, Rochester, and Albany, as well as Atlanta, Charlotte, and Cincinnati.

The firm generated $36 million in revenue in 2012.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com