"We're honored and privileged," commented President Joe Mastrocovi,
"but more than anything else, it's gratifying that we've been able to
maintain our excellence during a year that saw many changes." In
September of 2008, Moderne Communications
became the new name of its two previous entities: Moderne Promotions
and TheSLAgency. The Moderne Promotions name lives on as one of the
agency's three divisions, handling all of the nightlife and event
marketing programs that Moderne runs for clients like Budweiser Select
and McDonald's. TheSLAgency, originally focused solely on virtual
marketing in Second Life, has been incorporated into the Moderne
Interactive division, which now handles all online, virtual, social
media and mobile phone-related marketing efforts. The third of the
three divisions is Moderne Mosaic, which specializes in multicultural
and specific audience-based media and initiatives.
Chief Strategist Leigh Rowan notes that "the changes in 2008 have been good for us. Our rebranding allowed us to officially grow our service offerings of non-traditional marketing programs without sacrificing any of element of our excellent client service record. The Top 100 Listing validates that we made the right choices, and reinforces the high level of quality that Moderne boasts."
Moderne finds itself in good company on the It List, a position it sees as more of an opportunity than anything else. "The other 99 agencies could be seen as competitors, but many are agencies we have worked with and/or are strategically collaborating with for our mutual success," Mastrocovi explains. Agency partnerships, especially in a time when supply outweighs demand so heavily, support Moderne's unofficial motto of supporting, not supplanting other agencies - a practice that has obviously worked thus far.
2009 looks to be a big year for Moderne, as the company plans on
growing its New York offices with new account staff and service leads.
Additionally, Moderne is pursuing unique non-traditional marketing
programs with current clients (such as Adobe Systems, Gilead
Pharmaceuticals and Kozy Shack and McDonald's), and adding select new
clients to its roster. They note that their main objective for the year
is to introduce new programs that show the power of integrating a
variety of services for their clients' initiatives, helping them to see
great results while working with a limited marketing budget.
