This week for our Red Leaf Community Spotlight we got to (virtually) sit down with CVR Indy, a local ad agency here in Indianapolis that we’ve gotten the pleasure to work with over the last few months to create content and optimize our digital strategies. Dustin and Caroline, thank you so much for meeting with us and sharing a little bit more about CVR. Enjoy our conversation.
First, can you explain what CVR is and your positions at the company?
CVR, which stands for Caldwell VanRiper, is Indiana’s oldest ad agency, founded in 1910. We are a full-service marketing, advertising and digital agency and work with brands all over the world. We are an independent agency and a part of AMIN Worldwide, which gives us access to resources and partners across the globe.
“We work on everything from branding, marketing strategy, creative services, media buying and planning, social media strategy and content development, and digital marketing.” Dustin Thompson, VP Digital Engagement
“I focus a lot on eCommerce, content creation, community engagement, digital strategy and more. I work with multi-disciplinary teams at CVR to develop content and product photography for digital marketing channels, social media, email, and websites for both local and national brands.” Caroline Cox, Digital Account Supervisor
Talk to us about the foundation of CVR and how it came to be. What are the mission and values of the company?
The mission of CVR is Building Brands That Matter. We help brands tell their story, so customers take notice regardless of the channel, budget or timeframe. We believe that if we tell a great brand story, we can get customers to act. We tell stories in any channel, for clients across every industry. Our focus is outcomes, not outputs.
CVR has some awesome clients, Red Leaf included. How does your agency tackle new clients, and how do you decide who to work with?
Brands That Matter is our filter for who we work with. Companies that are making a positive difference in the world are those stories we want to market. To tackle a new account, we start with a discovery process. We ask a lot of questions , listen and learn. We work to uncover insights about their customers, industry and their competition. We partner with our clients to develop strategic solutions that will help them achieve their business goals.
Which leads me directly to my next question; what are some ways CVR gives back to the Indianapolis community?
Giving back is the mission of many of the clients we work with, such as Gleaners Food Bank, United Way of Central Indiana and Fairbanks Recovery Center. Like we said, we want to build brands that matter and supporting organizations that are making the world a better place is very important to us. In 2020, we helped launch Be Well Indiana to provide Hoosiers in need with resources to get through difficult times like we’re living in now. We also helped Gleaners deliver twice as many meals in 2020 as they did in 2019 with over 73 million meals.
Many of your other clients are quite large companies. How has it been working with a smaller, family owned company like Red Leaf Nutrition?
We enjoy working with brands of all sizes. Each has their own unique challenges and similarities. Smaller, family owned businesses, such as Red Leaf, bring a certain level of passion to the table. The passion that the Strohl family has for the business is evident in every project we work on with them. This pushes us and our team to provide the best possible service. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if it’s a six-person team or large global organization, we treat all clients with the same respect and curiosity. We’re here to help solve problems and grow their business.
Which is your favorite Red Leaf product, and what do you like about Red Leaf products?
I’ve been taking Red Leaf Immunity regularly during the work week. It’s nice in the afternoon when I just want a little pick-me-up, but I don’t want to brew a whole pot of coffee. Also, I think the flavor is really good! I’ve been trying to drink more water, and it helps with that.
Lastly, I want to ask how COVID has affected CVR, how it has been having to work remotely as a team, and how is that going?
Luckily, before the pandemic even started, in 2019 our owners Kevin Flynn and Matt Georgi started looking at how we can improve our processes and the tools we have in place. They invested in software and a new server and little did we know that it would pay off in 2020. So, when COVID started in March, we were thankful we were able to pivot so easily to operating as a fully remote agency. We are looking forward to eventually returning to the office, meeting with clients in person and continuing to Build Brands That Matter.
Thanks for tuning into this week’s community spotlight featuring CVR Indy! Again, thank you to Dustin and Caroline for meeting with us. Head on over to their website and Instagram, @CVRIndy, to learn more about them as a company and check out their amazing work.
