SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The marketing-communications firm Pinckney Hugo Group (PHG) expects to open the new space in its expanded Syracuse headquarters this fall after it opened a new office near Rochester in late August.

PHG’s newly added Syracuse space is in a building at 766 W. Genesee St. adjacent to its headquarters at 760 W. Genesee St. PHG has been renovating that structure after it bought the building in 2017, the firm tell CNYBJ in an email.

The building was previously home to an auto-repair business, PHG notes.

The renovations are nearing completion in the newly added 15,000-square-foot space, which connects to PHG’s existing 35,000-square-foot office along West Genesee Street. The annex has meeting spaces, including diner booths, and video-conferencing stations.

The firm paid $550,000 for both the building at 766 West Genesee St. and the parking lot at 770 West Genesee St., across the street, PHG tells CNYBJ.

Rochester expansion

Besides the Syracuse headquarters expansion, Pinckney Hugo Group has also expanded to the Rochester area and recently opened an office in Pittsford.

“As our business continues to grow, we are expanding our footprint and our team,” Doug Pinckney, president of PHG, said in an Aug. 31 news release.

Besides Syracuse and Pittsford, the agency also has a presence in Charlotte, North Carolina.

In the Rochester area, several professionals with more than 20 years of marketing experience each have joined PHG, and the agency says it continues to hire. The new Pittsford office is located at 1250 Pittsford-Victor Road.

“While the team worked remotely during the pandemic, we found an opportunity to hire additional talent in other markets,” Aaron Hugo, chief strategy officer at PHG, said. “We chose to open an office in the Rochester area based on proximity to our Syracuse headquarters and because of the marketing talent and business opportunities in the area.”

The marketing and advertising agency will celebrate 20 years under current ownership in 2022. Pinckney Hugo Group got its start in 1940 as Spitz Advertising and was acquired in 2002 by Doug Pinckney, Chris Pinckney, and Aaron Hugo, the partners who continue to lead the firm. 

Since then, PHG has grown organically from five to 90 employees, with “client referrals fueling the growth,” the firm says.