We wrapped up March with one last trip — executive producer Craig, and I traveled to NYC to see Sarah Laird & Good People as well as DMA United.
The first stop was Sarah Laird & Good Company. I wasn’t familiar with the team at SLGC, so this was a learning experience for me. SLGC represents all sorts of production specialists, such as photographers, directors, stylists, set designers, and makeup artists. Within their directory is a photographer and influencer named Landon Nordeman, who Craig actually worked with early in his career. The meeting went by quickly, but it was nice learning about what they do.
Our second meeting was with DMA United — a NY-based creative agency. Their front door is pretty unassuming. Located around the corner from a standard pizza shop, it’s easy to miss altogether — the only thing that informs you of their existence is the stream of well-dressed employees walking in and out of the building. That said, once you go through the front door, everything becomes progressively cool —their office was modern, stylish, and minimalistic. I feel odd calling things “sexy,” but here we are. The elevators, conference room, bathrooms; everything was sexy.
After Craig and I took a quick tour of the space, DMA Co-Founder Sam Sohaili and two art directors joined us in the conference room. The meeting was fast, but we were able to show a decent number of portfolios. Three books that stood out were Trevor Traynor, Tim Black, and Anthony Bruce Cunanan. While looking over the collections, we chatted about our services and learned what they do as an industry. Contrary to my initial impression, they’re involved in much more than just advertising.
DMA United is a unique company with deep roots in fashion. Founded in 1994, DMA United has always been at the forefront of fashion and technology. To accomplish this over the years, they’ve had to expand their services and become a new type of agency. DMA United now describes itself as, “a branding, marketing, and business development agency that provides creative advertising services, and the representation of individuals and brands.” In a nutshell, they develop creative relationships and utilize their connections to accomplish the marketing and branding needs of clients. For a great example of this, check out their case study on Zappos Couture.
Overall this was a pretty solid trip! We got to learn about two unique businesses while showing some of our talented photographers. We also got free candy so let’s give a shout-out to Reese’s!
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