Idea Bank Marketing Celebrates 25th Anniversary
Idea Bank Marketing, a Hastings-based advertising firm, is celebrating 25 years of providing full-service communications, strategic marketing plans, creative design and public relations for clients across the Midwest.
Founded in 1982 by Ann Martin and Bob Portwood under the original name of Portwood & Martin Advertising, the firm has grown from three to 12 employees, and has served more than 800 clients in health care, manufacturing, nonprofit, small business and large industry sectors during its 25 year history.
Portwood retired in 1989. Sherma Jones joined the firm in January 1988, and the name changed to Portwood, Martin & Jones when she was named partner in 1993. The name changed again to Idea Bank Marketing five years later when the company moved into a turn-of-the century bank building at the corner of Second and Hastings Avenue in downtown Hastings, where it remains today.
Always in step with the latest trends and innovations, Idea Bank Marketing was the first to embrace computer technology. “I vividly remember our staff’s reaction when our first Mac SE arrived in the early 90s,” jokes Martin, “we were like a bunch of monkeys staring at a radio.” Nearly overnight, the days of rubber cement and exacto-knives were left in the dust, and the firm has earned an award-winning reputation for providing cutting-edge marketing plans, corporate identities, ad campaigns, public relations, and web and interactive strategies at the local, regional, and national level.
Advertising has changed drastically, with the Internet making a global impact on daily living. “People want near-immediate access to information,” said Jones, “and we anticipate the web-based portion of our business to continue to skyrocket.” With more consumers relying on the Internet for information gathering, the use of online video, character animation, blogs, podcasts and database integration will become vastly important in the advertising market. “I’m excited to see what the next 25 years brings!” Jones said.
