Why We’re Different

Portent was doing Internet marketing long before most agencies knew the phrase. That shows in the work we do.

In the last few years, there have been lots of mergers. Online ad agencies like Avenue A have acquired design and search marketing firms. Traditional agencies have acquired web creatives and developers. And creative online agencies pursued marketing companies.

My hat’s off to them. They saw the developing trend and have made acquisitions to keep up.

We helped create the trend: We’ve been a full-service Internet marketing agency from the start, and we’ve built our team from the inside.

Sounds presumptuous, doesn’t it? How can I suggest that our little 29-person agency surfed on the leading edge of Internet marketing?

The proof’s in our team:

Tracy Beach, our Chief Operating Officer and Creative Director, has been with us for eight years.

Matthew Henry, our senior search engine optimization specialist, came to Portent six years ago.

Branden Root, our senior developer, started here seven years ago.

Cathy Braun, quality assurance lead, came to Portent in 2004.

All Portent marketers started here as employees, and we’ve learned Internet marketing together. Everything we do, from consulting and analysis to creative and search engine optimization, we do as a single, unified company. That makes a difference you can see. Come to our office, and watch what happens during the day: A designer gets up and chats with a search engine optimization specialist to find out if a site design will support the client’s search strategy. A developer checks with a designer to see if their implementation matches the designer’s original vision. A web analyst meets with a copywriter to see if they can get a few test headlines for a new campaign.

Everyone at Portent is keenly aware that they’re all marketers – they’re all working to help a client grow their organization online. There’s no other agenda, and we’re all under one roof.

That team creates sites like ShoppingStand, that realize 100% growth. It builds sites like GOIAM.org that vault organizations ahead of their competition. And we craft campaigns: momAgenda’s blog and grass-roots marketing push put them on the map and helped launch a new product.

And, when new trends emerge, we learn them and adapt, rather than acquire. Social marketing? Been doing it for years. Search marketing? Over a decade, as part of a complete, balanced Internet marketing strategy.

I am very, very proud of the leadership and creativity we continue to show, and I’m thrilled that clients see it, too. I invite you to come meet with us and see why.

Ian Lurie
CEO
Portent, Inc.