In January 2023, we were named a Top Workplace for the fourth year in a row by The Toledo Blade and their partner Energage, a national company that specializes in employee engagement.

Top Workplace winners are selected based on employee feedback. Energage uses its proprietary survey to measure 15 culture drivers essential to an organization’s success. The survey was developed after 16 years of culture research and with the input of 27 million employees from more than 70,000 organizations.

“Our unique culture is absolutely one of the keys to our success,” said MadAveGroup CEO Jerry Brown. “We place a high priority on the individual, ongoing training and authentic communication with our clients.”

“Earning a Top Workplaces award is a badge of honor for companies, especially because it comes authentically from their employees,” said Eric Rubino, Energage CEO. “In today's market, leaders must ensure they’re allowing employees to have a voice and be heard. Top Workplaces do that and it pays dividends.”

See more reasons to join the MadAveGroup team. 

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We asked a few of our staff members to describe their favorite work-related event of 2022. Here are some of their replies.

Van Gogh in America - On October 20th, 21 MadAveGroup team members took a chartered bus to the Detroit Institute of Arts to see this 74-work exhibit.

Daniel DiManna / Creative Consultant: “Standing only inches away from some of the most iconic paintings in history was a powerful experience. There’s a marked difference between looking at art on a postcard or calendar and actually seeing the brushstrokes up close. Seeing so many of Van Gogh’s paintings in person added to my understanding of his work, and changed my perception of my own creative work. I’ll always be thankful to MadAveGroup for giving me the opportunity to be in the presence of that kind of greatness.”

 

American Advertising Federation Leadership - Along with serving as the Governor of AAF’s Fifth District, our own Michael Seay sits on the organization’s national board.

Michael Seay / Director: “In March, I played host to AAF’s Fifth District National Student Advertising Competition, held right here in Toledo. The event drew about 250 participants from 11 colleges and universities throughout Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia. In June, I attended the AAF National Conference in Nashville. And in November, I was in New York City for AAF’s quarterly meeting, where we review initiatives and analyze the state of the advertising industry.”

 

Headless Tech Rollout - In February, our TouchStone Digital team launched their first headless WordPress website.

Joe Hochgreve / Senior Web Developer: “We created the new website for our SensoryMax agency using Headless WordPress technology. Headless is an exciting advancement that allows us to increase a website’s speed by more than 100%, improve on-page animation features and increase SEO potential. Since that initial launch, we’ve been able to improve on the technology further. Then, we created Headless websites for VacationLand Federal Credit Union, Gordon Lumber and AudioHelp Hearing.”

 

Headless Tech Presentation - There was a lot of buzz about Headless WordPress around our shop in 2022. Don and Joe were happy to spread the good news to others, too.

Don Miller / Director, TouchStone Digital Marketing: “In June, we presented our Headless talk to members of the local WP community. Then, in July, we shared it at the Nebraska.Code conference in Lincoln, Nebraska. I gave an overview of the importance of Headless WordPress and Joe discussed the technical side and implementation process.” 

Aaron Draplin Visit - AAF Toledo brought this nationally known designer to town to lead an all-day workshop. Later that night, he presented to a full house in the MadAveGroup Social Club.

Scott Greggory / Chief Creative Officer: “I’ve been following Aaron for many years. I identify with his independent spirit. I love that he does work that matters deeply to him and that he honors his influences with every project. Aaron and I share a love of old things, including ephemera - paper items created for a specific purpose, but not intended to have a long life. For instance, like me, he sees the beauty in the promotional memo books that were distributed to farmers in the first half of the 20th century, and he’s preserving his collection in this amazing online gallery.”

No one wants to wait on hold after calling a business. Yet, each day, companies all across the country force their valuable callers into a void of on hold silence. Or they make their customers and prospects listen to the same 60-second loop of music, interrupted only by the redundant and pointless reminder that “your call is important to us.”

That’s no way to treat the people who keep you in business.

BusinessVoice is our Caller Experience Marketing agency. Since 1989, that team has been dedicated to providing information callers can use to make smarter buying decisions. In other words, they serve their clients by serving their clients' callers.

One of the other ways BusinessVoice elevates the caller experience is by creating custom Humor On Hold. Take a listen to the four examples below. All were winners of a 2022 MarCom Award.

Video 1: Lakeland Auto and Marine won the Platinum award.
Video 2: Downey PHCE won a Gold award.
Video 3: Binkelman Corporation won a Gold award.
Video 4: Wellington Implement won an honorable mention.

To put Humor On Hold to work for your brand, call 800/473-9005 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

 

"It's all about creating marketing content that people WANT to hear, even when it's in a traditionally negative environment."

That's how Chief Creative Officer Scott Greggory describes Humor On Hold, the unique service provided by BusinessVoice, our Caller Experience Marketing agency.

"Nobody wants to be put on hold after calling a company, but if we can make the experience surprisingly funny, while still imparting useful information, both the caller and our client win."

And, once again, BusinessVoice has been named a winner for creative excellence. The agency received two honors during the 2022 MARCE Awards ceremony, presented September 19th by The Experience Marketing Association (EMA).

Our Humor On Hold for Wellington Implement earned the trophy for the Most Entertaining On Hold Marketing production, as well as a Judge's Choice award.

One judge wrote that "This is very entertaining. The situations really enhance the brand." Another judge noted that our work "made me want to listen to the next message all the way through."

Creative Consultant Daniel DiManna and Scott Greggory co-wrote the copy. Josh Jump served as recording engineer.

If you're considering a new approach with your marketing content, talk with our team about using humor in your videos, website, social channels and On Hold Marketing.

We asked a few of our staff members to step outside of their normal skill sets for a while and capture images of our hometown of Toledo, Ohio. 

Check out their photos below.

Want to live in our great city and work at MadAveGroup? Find details here.

 

Bob Seybold

 

Lindsay Gebhart

 

Kara Koepfer

 

Daniel DiManna

 

Scott Greggory