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| BRAND-AID: Firehouse founder Mark Hall helps companies make a statement. photography by Dan Sellers |
YOU NEED TO KNOW . . .
Mark Hall
Title: President and founder
Company: Firehouse
Stats: 20 employees, based in Dallas, revenue up 247 percent since 2002
Why You Need To Know Him:
A brand is more than just a logo or a name—it’s a promise. So says Mark Hall, president and founder of Firehouse, a Dallas-based ad agency that specializes in building brands. The right brand, he says, can influence customer behavior and have a lasting impact on a company’s bottom line. Hall should know. He chose his own company name based on the dependable and down-to-earth characteristics firemen bring to mind. “The ad industry is kind of overrun with hype and spin,” says Hall, 39. “Firemen don’t have any of that. They don’t pretend to be something they’re not. They’re not running around telling everybody they’re flame-extinguishing management consultants.” Even without any hype, in 10 years, Firehouse has quietly grown from a one-man operation to a 20-person company counting such big names as Nokia, Sonic, and FedEx Kinko’s as clients. They were one of the Dallas 100 award winners in 2006 and were named one of the area’s best places to work by the Dallas Business Journal. When describing the importance of keeping his staff satisfied, he reverts to the medium he’s most comfortable with. “What’s that TV commercial, ‘Happy cows make better cheese’?” he asks. “I think there’s a lot of truth to that.”
