A 10th anniversary party for founder/CEO Dick Thomas’ Trisect was celebrated by the agency’s more than 100 staffers last Thursday at its West Loop offices, and the evening highlights were seen via webcam by its LA office employees.
Toasts and roasts were given by staff members who have been with the company for many of its 10 years, including those made by president Tim Nelson, VP Jeff Thomas of the LA office and department heads.
There was plenty to celebrate. Throughout the past decade, the agency has acquired major clients ConAgra and its 15 brands, Kimberly-Clark’s Cottonelle, Mike’s Hard Lemonade, U.S. Cellular, and Kawasaki motorcycles.
And it will close 2015 with revenues of $17.5 million in fees.
A few years ago, having outgrown its previous West Loop offices, the agency moved into 130 W. Jefferson where it occupies nearly 40,000-sq. ft.; the entire fourth and fifth floors half of the second floor where content production division Jerry Rig and a sound stage are located.
Trisect’s name represents the intersection of three essential traits – fearless, inventive and humanistic – that Thomas saw being drained from agencies by the industry’s ongoing consolidation, which inspired Thomas to create Trisect’s unique environment.
Thomas, with more than 25 years of marketing experience, launched Trisect in 2005 after 11 years with Frankel as its CEO, a 45 year agency that Publicis Groupe acquired and folded into its Leo Burnett division, Arc Worldwide.
Thomas then took over as CEO of Arc Worldwide-North America, a position he held for two years before starting his own agency, which he says, “has a strong retail foundation but an approach that goes well beyond shopper marketing.”
Overall, 2015 has been a good year for Trisect. This fall, ECD Chris Hunter, previously at Y&R and DDB and CD Chris Vandette, earlier at Frequency540 and Y&R came aboard.
On the recognition side, Trisect was a finalist for the Chicago Ad Federation’s “Agency of the Year;” Forbes cited its Mike’s Hard Lemonade work as one of the year’s top integrated campaigns and Mike’s and Cottonelle won four 2015 PRO Awards.
