Sullivan Branding enjoys internal growth and geographic expansion

Sullivan Branding is growing its presence in Memphis and Nashville; the PR, marketing and media company plans to open its first office in Charleston, S.C., next month.

“The last couple 18 to 24 months, we’ve seen fairly significant growth,” says company Co-founder Brian Sullivan, who estimates overall business has increased by as much as 30 percent in that time.  

Sullivan recently added four new hires in both Nashville and Memphis. Fresh faces around the Memphis office include Senior PR Account Executive James Dowd, Human Resources Manager Nikki Walker, Digital Project Manager Cara McLane and Graphic Designer William Malone.

Dowd worked most recently at The Commercial Appeal and brings more than 20 years of experience in communications with the small business, banking, casino, retail, advertising and public relations industries.

Walker joined Sullivan Branding from OppenheimerFunds, where her experience included employee relations, leadership development and HR technology. McLane previously worked on digital projects at archer>malmo. Malone is a former Sullivan Branding intern with additional internship experience at International Paper.

“The primary drivers of our growth are new clients as well as growth from existing clients, where they are really starting to invest more heavily in their brand,” explains Sullivan. “Some companies have been a bit reticent over the past two to four years about really spending much on marketing.”

Sullivan now employs a staff of 20 in Nashville and 54 in Memphis.

“We’ve re-engineered our business to be a truly integrated agency,” Sullivan says. “We offer both our digital marketing services as well as traditional marketing services, and the digital has been a big driver of growth for us.”

Next month Sullivan will open an office in Charleston, and the company is considering further expansion into Virginia.

By Michael Waddell