Group 46, A new Bluffton-based marketing group looks to use its national and local experience, innovation and unique talents to offer businesses an all-inclusive stop for all their marketing and advertising needs.
A group of local professionals have joined forces to create Group 46, located at 1323 May River Road, at the corner of the four-way stop in Old Town Bluffton.
Group 46 is a team of creative professionals with more than 100 years of combined experience in all facets of communication and marketing including website design, content development and the creation of innovative and unique advertising and branding campaigns for print, TV, radio and digital.
Ryan Lockhart is one of the founding team members of Group 46. His current business, Expanding Profits, focuses on Search Engine Optimization and online marketing. But he and web developer Ed Houston saw the need to provide their clients with a broader range of services in order to help those businesses reach their full potential.
The two have collaborated with a team of diverse and talented marketing and advertising professionals who, when they work together, can take companies to the next level.
“Our resourcefulness is our most valuable resource and our team is the most important thing our company has to offer,” according to Lockhart. “We’ve assembled the most accomplished group of professionals available in different disciplines so our clients only need to go to one place in order to achieve all their marketing and advertising goals.”
The Group 46 brand allows Lockhart and Houston to collaborate with advertising planner Michael Weaver, marketing and content specialist Lynne R. Anderson and creative director Donna Thomas to offer businesses a multitude of expertise, while still allowing these professionals to continue serving their current individual client lists.
According to Lockhart, when the economy struggles, one of the first budget line items a business cuts is marketing.
To him that seems counterproductive, but often true. As the economy is rebounding, many business owners are realizing that if potential new clients don’t know who they are or how to find them, their business will never grow.
“Now that winter is over, businesses are ready to spring into summer,” Lockhart says. “And we can help them by developing a MAP (Massive Action Plan) for success.”
When business owners enlist the help of Group 46, they are able to continue focusing on their craft while allowing the experts to develop a plan to grow their customer base. Group 46 will aid clients in digital marketing including website development, design and SEO; advertising creative for print, radio and TV; direct mail and direct response campaigns; content development as well as branding development and strategic marketing campaigns.
“Working with an experienced team is where the magic really happens,” Weaver says. “It’s where 1 plus 1 doesn’t just equal 2. It equals 3, 4 and 5 because this team collaborates to create the most comprehensive marketing and advertising plan for the client.”
Learn more about Group 46 by visiting Grp46.com.
Group 46 team members
• Ryan Lockhart consults with a variety start-ups and mid-sized companies world-wide to expand their profits. He uses his eight years of sales and marketing experience to help drive sales using a synergistic marketing approach that integrates traditional marketing with online digital marketing efforts.
• Ed Houston started in the software industry at the ripe old age of 11 when he got a job writing and maintaining software to process a company’s weekly payroll. After receiving his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, he started a 10-year endeavor with a Fortune 500 company. As rewarding and educational as that experience was, he never lost the desire to start his own business. In 2001, Houston launched his own consulting company, which focuses on web site and app development and the support services that go with it.
• Michael Weaver is a 25-year veteran of the marketing and advertising industry where he spent many years on Madison Avenue as a strategic planner for brands such as Pepsi-Cola, Miller Lite, Wendy’s and the Jeep Division of Chrysler Corp.
• Lynne R. Anderson, who has been a Hilton Head Island resident since 1984, has also spent more than 25 years in the marketing and communication industry working with local, regional, national and international clients on areas such as marketing, advertising and content development. Her specialty was real estate and resort marketing and new business development. During her career, she has worked closely with the group’s Creative Director, Donna Thomas. Thomas is a designer with more than 20 years of experience developing brands and producing creative print and digital communications for a variety of industries.
