Finding True North | Compass Marketing & Advertising Partners

By LISA LOEWEN | Photos by JOHN BURNS

After working remotely since its founding, Compass Marketing & Advertising Partners opened its first physical headquarters in July at 1250 SW Oakley Ave. The new space features multi-colored artistic epoxy flooring that resembles marble, custom barn doors, plenty of natural light and an open design intended to address what the team identified as their biggest challenge: the need for dedicated space to collaborate and meet with clients.

Compass also celebrated the launch of its new website in July.

“I have loved this building ever since I came here to attend Washburn,” said Tara Dimick, CEO of Compass Marketing & Advertising Partners. “Now, I get to work here every day. It’s serendipitous.”

Before moving into the new office space, Compass team members had all been working remotely from home and meeting weekly at a local law firm. While that arrangement had been working well, at one of those check-ins a few months ago, the team agreed that having a permanent, exclusive workspace had become a priority.

That concern, paired with the addition of three marketing assistants who would need a place to land and people to mentor them, prompted a search for office space that could meet their requirements. Compass wanted to find a space that didn’t need extensive renovation but would provide co-working space, conference rooms and areas for drop-in employees and subcontractors to work temporarily when desired. They also wanted a central location that would be convenient for clients and team members.

The building at 12th and Oakley checked all the boxes.

“This was actually the only building we looked at,” Tara said. “It fit all of the requirements and just felt like home the moment we walked in.”

With a new coat of paint, epoxy floors and some new office furniture, the space was ready in record time, and Compass had found its true north.

YEARS IN THE MAKING

When Tara and Tim Kolling started Compass almost three years ago, they had a vision for an agency that could provide a complete, turn-key experience for clients.

“We had both worked for or with companies that provided various pieces of a marketing campaign but there were always gaps in the process to go from start to finish. We wanted to offer clients a one-stop solution,” Tim said.

Tara and Tim each brought a unique skill set to the collaboration. Tara started her first company, E2 Communications, in 2008, is owner of TK Business Magazine, and served as the chief business development officer for Envista Federal Credit Union. Tim spent almost 30 years with Alpha Media, helping businesses strategically reach their audiences with radio and digital advertising. The two had already collaborated on marketing campaigns for more than 15 years.

“Over the years, Tim and I have worked together to turn ideas into highly effective marketing campaigns,” Tara said.

So, the two friends teamed up to build a full-service media and creative firm to help businesses with all aspects of their marketing and advertising, from helping clients clarify goals, define strategy, identify audiences, design creative elements, manage media placement, analyze data and deliver results.

“When we told people about our plans for Compass, they recommended we take a more niche approach because of the complexity with all the working parts involved,” Tara said.

“We didn’t listen,” Tim said.

“We’d spent years doing every piece of the marketing puzzle. We knew if we built the right team, we could bring it all together in a way that made things simpler for our clients,” Tara said.

A ROADMAP FOR GROWTH

Tara and Tim say they took a leap of faith and launched Compass in January 2023. Three months in, they brought in their first designer and client partner, Danielle Smith. At the eight-month mark, Compass hired Jennifer Goetz as chief marketing officer.

Over the next year, the company added Christina Noland, Carol Gallmeyer and Miranda Lorenz as designer and client partners, and Sean Carter as senior media buyer.

“We have been really strategic with our hires. We needed people who could hit the ground running to make an immediate impact for our clients,” Tara said.

They also looked for people who understood the company culture: fellow entrepreneurs. Almost all the staff at Compass owned their own companies before they came on board.

“These are successful professionals who I trust completely with our clients because they have more experience in certain areas than I do and can deliver incredible results,” Tara said.

While their first few clients were based on previous business relationships or friendships, the company has since expanded its client base primarily through referrals.

“We bring a lot of life experience to the table,” Jennifer said. “We fight hard to keep the lines of communication open and provide the best service we can, no matter how big or small the job.”

Being a full-service agency doesn’t mean clients have to use all the available services. Because the Compass staff have all been entrepreneurs in their own right, they understand that businesses have different needs.

“We have clients at all levels,” Tara said. “For some clients, we are their entire marketing department. For others, we simply design a brochure or place an ad. We listen to what each client wants, and then tailor our services to meet those needs.”

GUIDING CLIENTS TO SUCCESS

Every new client at Compass meets with various team members who specialize in strategy, design and media placement. The purpose of that first discovery meeting is to help clients clarify what they want to accomplish and why.

Once a strategy is in place, designers create deliverables and media experts identify message distribution channels. Throughout the process, the Compass team walks each client through media spend data, Google Analytics, social media performance and earned media results to assess what’s working and where to optimize.

“If I didn’t leave you better than I found you, I am not doing my job,” Jennifer said.

Sometimes leaving a client better than they found them means taking a step back and making sure they have a good digital presence in place before they start an advertising campaign, she adds.

“Often clients want to jump right into creating ads,” Jennifer said. “But if those ads are sending customers to a website or a landing page that is unprofessional, they probably won’t be very effective in getting the results they want.”

“Sometimes the best service we can offer a client is to tell them no,” Tara said. “This may sound counterintuitive, but we aren’t going to let them waste money on something that isn’t going to produce the results they want.”

The Compass team says they follow the same approach they recommend to their clients: start with strategy, design great messaging, get that message to the right audience, analyze results and adapt accordingly.

While growth often signifies success, Tara says it’s not the priority.

“Our goal is our clients. When they succeed, we succeed,” she said.