SYRACUSE — Donald Retz says his firm’s new headquarters on Syracuse’s Burnet Avenue is an ideal backdrop for the company. “Creatively, it’s inspiring to us,” says Retz, owner and creative director of retz advertising + design. “I love the noise of Interstate 690. It clears my head. It feels like you’re in Manhattan. For me, […]
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“Creatively, it’s inspiring to us,” says Retz, owner and creative director of retz advertising + design. “I love the noise of Interstate 690. It clears my head. It feels like you’re in Manhattan. For me, it makes me think a little bit better.”
The company moved into 3,000 square feet of space at 128 Burnet Ave. at the beginning of May. The location, which is next to the highway, is easy for clients to access, according to Retz.
It is in a former factory that was originally constructed in the 1890s, giving it some interesting visual cues, he adds.
“I think the overall feel of it, the brick walls, the light, the stained concrete floors, that kind of industrial look really did it for us,” Retz says.
His company relocated its headquarters from 8051 Cazenovia Road in Manlius because its lease was expiring. Retz opted to move the firm out of the Manlius location, which was a converted house where it leased 1,500 square feet, because he wanted a more central location with extra space, he says.
The marketing firm currently employs five people, in addition to Retz. It also has an intern working at its headquarters. Retz eventually wants to expand to about 10 total employees.
He has no plans for adding new workers imminently, though. The company’s hiring will be dictated by how quickly it lands new projects and clients, Retz says.
Retz declined to share revenue totals for the firm, but says it is targeting 25 percent revenue growth in 2012.
“We’ve been extensively pursuing a lot of new business across the region and in New York City,” Retz says.
Additionally, retz advertising + design is negotiating with a potential client in Washington, D.C., he continues. And it is in the process of working with a winery in Italy.
The firm’s services include branding and public relations, as well as print, television, online, and interactive marketing. It works with medical, manufacturing, and nonprofit clients. Other clients are in the real-estate investment, consumer-electronics, and wine and spirits industries.
Clients have been impressed by the marketing company’s new headquarters, according to Retz.
“So far our clients love coming here,” he says. “Our clients in Syracuse needed it to be easy to get over here, and some of them walk over.”
Little work was necessary to prepare the Burnet Avenue space to hold retz advertising + design’s headquarters. The firm’s employees only had to clean the space and paint it, Retz says.
The company will likely have some new desks installed, and it may eventually modify the space’s floor plan, he adds. It does not yet have a cost estimate for that work.
The firm will probably ask its landlord, Christopher Clemans, to build any new desks using reclaimed lumber, according to Retz. Clemans founded the custom-cabinet and furniture manufacturer CabFab, which owns the Burnet Avenue building where retz advertising + design moved its headquarters. CabFab occupies space in the structure, although it lists its address as 124 Burnet Ave.
“We have to give props to Chris,” John Taborosi, retz advertising + design’s director of business development and operations, says of Clemans. “He refurbished this building with energy efficiency in mind. The ceiling is insulated, there are replacement windows, and we’ve got radiant heat in the floor.”
New York City presence
As it was moving into its new Syracuse headquarters, retz advertising + design was also cementing a partnership with a marketing firm in New York City, giving it a base of operations in Manhattan.
The New York City firm, Foundations Marketing Group, is headquartered at 1140 Avenue of the Americas. Although retz advertising + design does not keep a staff member at that location full time, it can share the space when it needs to conduct business in the city.
The marketing companies finalized their partnership in May. But they have been working together for several months, Taborosi says.
“It started last fall, and we’ve been collaborating on projects since,” he says.
Previously, retz advertising + design was known as retzcanter. On Sept. 1, 2011, Retz bought out his co-owner in the business, Daniel Canter, according to Taborosi. The firm then changed its name to retz advertising + design. Taborosi did not disclose any additional details or financial information relating to the transaction.