2 year anniversary

This quarter heavy turned two, and just as one does during an anniversary, we find ourselves reminiscing on the journey thus far. While starting a creative agency is a big undertaking under normal circumstances, doing so with an unprecedented pandemic unknowingly on the horizon makes it that much more…interesting. In our whirlwind of existence, heavy as an agency has gone through more changes than most. And in just this past year, we’ve transitioned from a shared office space to working remotely with team members spread throughout four time zones across eight states. 

 

So who actually is heavy? Well, we thought it would be great to ask those folks who have built it. 

 

“We’re a small team building this giant thing up” – Art Director Austin Lotz.

“We’re a bunch of creatives who don’t take themselves too seriously, but are serious about making great work.” – Copywriter Shannon Snyder 

 

 

We’re also a family of twenty five. Made of designers and writers, editors and animators, producers and project managers, who live and work in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Florida, New Mexico, California, Wisconsin, New Jersey, and North Carolina. Between us we have six dogs, seven cats, and 14 little people. And as Group Creative Director Tim O’Donnell puts it, “We’re all similarly goofy”. 

 

So how has it been building “this whole thing up” during these crazy times? That probably depends who you ask and on what day. As the world has collectively experienced this year, working remotely has been a challenge. While for some of us, doing so is synonymous with chaos – crawling babies, needy kids, partners without volume control, and dogs barking at the mailman. For others, it can be lonely. Constant quiet and the company of plants in place of the camaraderie of the office. But overall we found that speaking up is key. 

 

 

As Creative Director Elliot LeBoeuf says, “Going remote made us realize the importance of communication and forced us to change how we communicate with each other. It’s not always convenient, but we need to be able to work together the same way we did when we were all present in an office. We don’t have a choice.”

 

Project Manager Tasha McGahee-Shangvi believes that “The pandemic has also made relationships between teammates more intimate, we know more about each other’s personal lives and pets since we all see each other’s living rooms on a day-to-day basis.” 

 

“There’s more consideration knowing that employees are working from home and things are chaotic. Pets are running around in the background and basements are being fixed. Mental health is also considered more so than other places,” – Video Editor Michelle Yzaguirre 

 

 

And like Austin says, “We’ve had some “baby hiccups” along the way, but we’ve been able to follow through with our big ideas.” 

 

We’ve even managed to learn a few things throughout the process. Like “how to properly crash a website with images and what to say when emailing a nun,” Project Manager Shane Skoda Or “how social video calls can be and how much we needed it during the pandemic and working fully remotely” – Project Manager Karyn Strife

 

And that “it doesn’t matter if we’re in the same physical space or not. When you have good chemistry and good people, you can make great things.” – Elliot LeBoeuf

 

So what’s the best thing about working for heavy these past two years? 

 

“Joining heavy during the pandemic, I was worried it’d be hard to integrate to the team. But everyone made me feel like a part of the family since day one, and I haven’t even met any of my co-workers yet!” – Creative Director Jared Miller

 

“I love that the clients we work with are legitimately doing amazing things, so it’s easy to care and it truly feels rewarding. Plus, I get to watch art come to life from behind the scenes, so it’s a pretty sweet deal.” – Project Manager Meredith Beiler

 

“The Pandemic forced us to look beyond Philly and expand our horizons. Now we’re national.” – President Greg Ash 

 

“We’ve grown a lot – new people and new clients. What we’ve been able to accomplish in two years going from a “skeleton crew” to an army of freelancers and interns and employees has been crazy.” – Austin

 

He also adds, “We grew with the times, established Good Together, found ways to give back and make good work at the same time. We can grow as a business while supporting the communities we work in/with.”

 

“We just want to make good work for good people” – Shannon 

 

KP compares it to “ watching a child grow up. First year was gonna be a grind, and everyone jumped in. Second year was about getting our footing. Third year – we learn how to run, “ He also believes that, “Most problems through this process have been good in the long run – they’re new opportunities. We’ve flipped the narrative with a perspective shift – is this a problem, or an opportunity to make things better?”

 

Tim believes, “The hardest thing is to scale without sacrificing or compromising the culture and quality of work.”

heavy has worked hard to create just that – an environment that doesn’t sacrifice individual growth for agency growth, but instead promotes both. As KP puts it, “Caring about the people who make it happen is our goal post and guiding star. Other good things fall from it.”

 

“For the first time in my career, I’m part of an agency that has equal passion for its work and its people.” – Executive Director of Strategy Lindsay White 

 

Designer Kayla Velocci likes that we’re encouraged to be human and that you can express yourself without judgement. Video Editor Billy Denham agrees, “I can be myself and can be comfortable without worrying.”

 

So as we celebrate our anniversary, our growth, and our many lessons learned, we are looking forward to the future. It’s easy to wonder what the next two years will bring, and after the last two, it’s safe to say that we’ll be able to handle anything that is thrown our way. Even if it’s emailing a nun.