Schupp Company Blog

Happy Holidays from Schupp Company

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

This year for the holidays we thought we would share what it’s like to be a creative here at Schupp Company. It’s your chance to share your big ideas with our fearless leader, Mark Schupp.

Grab a seat by the fire. You’re about to get burned.

http://firesidechat.schuppco.com/

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MIBW 2009: Donna MacDonald, Schupp Co.

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

Article is from the St. Louis Business Journal

When Mark Schupp started Schupp Co. in 1995, he sought out Donna MacDonald, a former colleague at D’Arcy, to see if she would be interested in managing account services for the new ad agency.

MacDonald, who was working at Ralston Purina at the time, took him up on the offer, and that decision has worked well for both MacDonald and the ad firm.

Since MacDonald came aboard, Schupp Co. has grown from a 10-employee outfit to a staff with more than 45 workers. The agency had $40 million in billings in 2008.

Earlier this summer, Schupp received an Effie Award, one of only 24 given worldwide, for its Metro Decongestant M campaign. The Effies are the pre-eminent, international marketing award, recognizing a marketing campaign’s effectiveness.

Schupp’s clients include American Express, Medicine Shoppe International, American Association of Orthodontists, Franchise Concepts Inc. (Deck the Walls and The Great Frame-Up), Beech-Nut and Solutia.

The average client tenure for the company is eight to nine years, which is double the industry average, according to Mark Schupp, president of the company. He gives MacDonald a good deal of credit for that fact.

“Donna has played an integral role in growing our business and managing existing clients,” he said. “We wouldn’t be where we are today without her.”

MacDonald attributes her success in part to being equally “right- and left-brained,” blending her creative gifts with her analytical, business-oriented skills.

Her passion for creating a fun, team-focused environment has led her to plan group excursions, such as an overnight trip to Chicago to see a ball game at Wrigley Field. She also helped bring about a semiweekly “boot camp” at the agency, during which a personal trainer leads employees in two-mile runs and conditioning exercises.

MacDonald began her career at D’Arcy, where she did administrative work, media planning and account services during her five-year stint. Next, she took a brand management position at Ralston Purina, where she worked for nine years on brands such as Continental Baking, Chex cereal and some of Ralston Purina’s private label products. She likened the brand manager position to being “president of a small company.”

Outside work, she has served as a member of the board and the development committee for Central Christian School. MacDonald led a brand positioning project with the school, helping the team to develop marketing strategies based on research with current, new and prospective parents of students.

A graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, MacDonald has returned to donate time as a visiting professor for a week. She has brought in colleagues to share real-world experience with the students to help prepare them for what their textbooks cannot. She also has mentored candidates for the Schupp Co. internship program who, if hired, worked under her guidance.

MacDonald sits on the steering committee/marketing adviser for Heart to Heart, a nonprofit devoted to women’s heart care issues. Someday, she said, she’d like to take on more community activities, including help for the abused.

MacDonald’s ultimate goals extend far beyond business success. When she eventually retires from advertising and marketing, she anticipates staying just as busy as an advocate for women’s heart health, abused women and children, education, and a number of causes she professes “a heart” for.

“I don’t think I’ll ever retire,” she said. “I think I’ll just draw my passion into new places.”

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Optimistic, Helpful, Encouraging Proactive…

Friday, August 14th, 2009

Optimistic, Helpful, Encouraging Proactive … conversations using these positive adjectives are harder to find these days, especially when people talk about their workplace. However, I am going to use this blog entry as my brag entry on some of the proactive actions made by Schupp Co. employees.

We have an internal team at Schupp Co. we call P.A.T (Positive Action Team) that tries to keep the company on track in supporting different volunteer opportunities, making donations, organization assistance, providing awareness, etc.

One of our biggest initiatives is an ongoing fundraiser for Our Little Haven. Our Little Haven provides a safe, healing environment for the youngest children recovering from abuse, neglect, abandonment or early childhood trauma in the greater St. Louis region. This fundraiser is simply being done by placing baby bottles around the office to collect donations. Something as simple as placing a baby bottle next to the vending machine has prompt many employees to throw that leftover change from a Twix and soda pop (Diet Dew rocks) into the donation basket.

If you would like to donate or simply check out what is stocked in the Schupp Co. vending machine, please contact me. I can provide you with direction to the nearest baby bottle in the SchuppCo office. To learn more about Our Little Haven organization, please check out their web site: http://www.ourlittlehaven.org/.

Schupp Co. employees also held a school supply drive for the month of July to donate to The Little Bit Foundation. Not only did we have some fun by holding a different Schupp Spirit theme week (stars & stripes, prom, sports & wild west) throughout the month to get in that school spirit, but we exceeded our supply drive goals by collecting 30 fully stocked, NEW backpacks that includes each student’s complete school supply list packed inside!

To find out more about how you can help support the Little Bit Foundation, please checkout their website: http://www.thelittlebitfoundation.org/index.html

I applaud my co-workers for all the positive suggestions and support they give everyday. It makes our daily goals feel more important and definitely more rewarding. Thanks Schuppians!

If you have a suggestion for the SchuppCo P.A.T. crew or you, your office, your corporation, your friends, etc. would like to join us in supporting a cause, please contact me. The more of us, the more support and good things we can accomplish! Cheers!

Tags: Our Little Haven, Schupp Co. P.A.T., schupp company, The Little Bit Foundation
Posted in Miscellaneous, Schupp News, Water Cooler | No Comments »

Schupp Co. on “No Email Day”

Thursday, July 16th, 2009

Schupp Co. on “No Email Day” in this  KSKD Segment

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VP, Donna MacDonald on Lee Presser Show

Thursday, July 16th, 2009

VP, Donna MacDonald provides branding advice on the Lee Presser Show

Note: The video you are watching is a condensed, four-minute
excerpt featuring highlights from her 30-minute interview.

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Fox 2 News: Creative Director Jim Mayfield Interviewed

Thursday, July 16th, 2009

Fox 2 News: Creative Director Jim Mayfield Interviewed About Sex in Advertising

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Schupp Co. on Super Bowl Advertising Performances

Thursday, July 16th, 2009

Schupp Ad Experts Share Their Two Cents on Super Bowl Advertising Performances

Mark Schupp on 720 WGN (Chicago)

Mark Schupp on 1120 KMOX (St. Louis)

Audio Clip 1

Audio Clip 2

Jim Mayfield on 550 KTRS (St. Louis)

Anthony Simmons on 550 KTRS (St. Louis)

Mark Schupp on KSDK

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