Ever watch the medal ceremonies at the Olympics? Have you noticed the stoic, frowning faces of the athletes who place third? While you can still appreciate their whole “the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat” moment, third place in the Olympics still makes you a medalist. Standing on the lowest platform of the podium still says, of the more than 7.9 billion people on the planet, you are the third-best on this day in this sport.
Sure, you can whittle those numbers down to the 3 billion people or so between the ages of 16-32 for a more realistic competitive set or take it down even further when accounting for gender. Now we’re only talking around 1.4 billion or so. It’s still third best. And we think that’s pretty awesome.
So, when O’Dwyer’s PR recently released its 2022 Agency Rankings, we happily took to the podium’s third-place position with our 40.1% growth. Yes, there were a few other firms with slightly higher growth, but they were left off because their numbers were fueled, in part, by acquisition or third-party funding instead of pure organic, independent growth.
How does an agency grow 40% during a two-year pandemic while the economy balances on the edge of inflation, and talent shortages, work from home expectations and supply chain issues affect client performance?
It’s never one thing that drives that kind of result. It can’t be. There are simply too many barriers, challenges and unforeseen circumstances trying to derail your performance. Just like the Olympian up on the podium, we got here because of drive, coaching, training and, in some cases, the misfortune of others.
At T/K, we lean into talent, technology and training. Those three differentiators are built on a foundation of reputation, culture and philosophy. Like the Olympian, it’s not so easily replicated. The field is narrow when it comes to that level of performance. So, third-fastest growing firm in America, we’re standing pretty tall.
