The social practice ties social strategy to business strategy, combined with agile content creation. It utilizes the in-house production arm to create content at scale.
Since brands are the most valuable untapped asset in most companies, Via is moving it to be an organizational engine, not just a marketing construct. It will use this practice for brand platform development, executive branding and organizational immersions, among other needs.
Emerging technologies are top of mind lately, and Via saw a readiness gap, which MacLeod said is the area between the excitement an organization has around technology and its ability to put it into play.
“Our emerging tech practice is all about closing that gap and giving organizations a more prioritized way to tap into technology, prototyping different ways that that could come to light for them, and just taking what’s emerging and making it real,” said MacLeod.
Via hopes the revised practices give the agency a way to solve different problems for clients and be more nimble in landing business and generating revenue. The efforts have landed a few signed agreements already, with more coming over the next quarter, according to MacLeod.
“When you try to be a full-service creative AOR, you can sometimes dull the edges on the tools that you need to stay ahead of what’s current. So, by having these practices, by having dedicated people that are experts in these fields as they change, we think we can give companies more of an advantage than they would otherwise have,” said MacLeod.
A four-day workweek
While Via has some remote employees, most work happens in the gorgeously remodeled 1888 Baxter Library building in downtown Portland, Maine. The agency wants people in the office three days a week, with one flex day outside the office, which means Via has a four-day workweek.
After a pilot program last year, the agency decided to implement the four-day week, centering the agency’s work and employees. MacLeod said the three days in office are focused and intentional, not bogged down by meetings. The time away, he said, is great to get employees reenergized, which often helps unlock creativity. Even the agency’s clients are onboard.
“The crazy part is that our clients actually are even more satisfied with it than our associates, which we never thought would happen,” said MacLeod.
