Today for our Agency of the Day, we’ll be taking a trip to North Dakota, where advertising team Odney has been growing their business for almost four decades. Let’s take a look at just who Odney is, and how they’ve managed to stay in the game for this long.
The Basics: Headquartered in Bismarck, North Dakota, Odney Advertising Services is a full-service agency with a defined mission. The company was started in 1985 and has been proudly serving clients from anywhere and everywhere ever since. They’ve spent the last 38 years diversifying a solidly built portfolio of marketing and communications services, constantly working at improving their “left-brain analysis” while sharpening their “right-brain creativity.
Clients: Odney’s extensive client list juggles many different spheres with a calmly controlled balance. They’ve brought their professional services to national diner chain Denney’s, as well as the Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Orchestra. They’ve rubbed elbows with international manufacturing company General Motors, and also with the Bismarck Airport. Odney spreads their skills between local community endeavors and companies with larger, even global reaches: they have the tools and the diverse thinking skills to get the job done, at any level. Other clients include Bismarck State College, First Western Bank and Trust, Houston Engineering, NPR, and the North Dakota Petroleum Foundation.
Core Mission: Odney makes the tenets of their agency clear from the get-go. This well-weathered team is all about ‘thinking smart.’ “It’s good to be creative,” reads the first message you see moments after clicking on their website. “It’s better to be smart.” Working under the impression that “Smart Works Harder,” Odney. is committed to doing in-depth research for every campaign, learning their clients’ desired strategy so they can firmly funnel it into every possible mode of communication. Odney’s “smart work” and “forward thinking” has earned it a sound reputation over the years. Their campaign for the North Dakota Department of Health educating North Dakotans on COVID-19 sent billboards and print ads about the vaccine and COVID safety protocols to every corner of the state; by the end of the campaign, the Daily Positivity Rate in North Dakota had fallen 7.9%. In 2020, after Odney made brightly cheery print ads for the North Dakota Secretary of State encouraging citizens to vote, North Dakota’s voter turnout was the highest in the entire history of the state. Odney Advertising is proof: by focusing on ‘working smarter,’ you can unlock all the fresh creativity and results that you need.
Campaign Standout: It’s hard to pick just one campaign from Odney’s rich repertoire. But for me, Odney’s work for the North Dakota Department of Commerce Tourism Division might just be the winner. For this campaign promoting North Dakota as an attractive tourist destination, the agency lived up to their ‘full-service’ name by crafting gorgeously photographed print ads as well as splashing just a taste of all of North Dakota’s colorful opportunities on the sides of public transportation in Chicago and Minneapolis. The campaign embodied everything Odney stands for. It thought ‘smart’ by not only showcasing North Dakota visually, but also repetitively labeling specific places and people throughout the campaign. And because they knew the biggest challenge here was rebranding most travelers’ mental image of North Dakota, they were sure to imbue every piece of work here with a vibrant, creative spirit. On the side of this train alone, there are almost too many colors and landscapes to count! The result was a roaring success. Odney estimates that the campaign motivated around 354,000 trips to North Dakota, generating over $300 million in visitor spending.
The Bottom Line: There’s a reason Odney has been around for so long and forged so many lasting partnerships (indeed, they’ve been the ND Department of Commerce’s agency of record for almost twenty years.) They know that if you think strategically and count on experience, creative ideas will come naturally. In the agency’s own words, “‘good’ advertising creates awareness, but ‘effective’ advertising…connects people to your brand and persuades them to choose you.” It’s a simple creed, but an undeniably successful one. And it looks like as long as they practice it, Odney will stay one of the most influential agencies in North Dakota.
Want to hear more about Odney Advertising Services? Click here.