Tim McLaughlin, Founder & COO, Blink Advertising

The past two years marked a period of substantial transformation for digital marketing and advertising agency Blink Advertising. “2024 was a good year for us, but it was one of great transitions,” Tim McLaughlin, the company’s founder, told Invest:. McLaughlin highlighted a key acquisition, which has reshaped the company’s operations and service offerings.

What changes over the past year impacted the agency the most?

It’s been an interesting year. 2024 was a good year for us, but it was one of great transitions. We made a fairly substantial acquisition in September of a digital media company, Ethic Advertising. This means the last eight or nine months have been about merging processes, procedures, best practices and reevaluating personnel. There has been a lot of change.

How does this influence your operations, team dynamics, and service offerings?

Initially, both Blink Advertising and Ethic operated as full-service agencies, with Ethic specializing in performance media and Blink focusing heavily on marketing strategy, creative and video production. Blink recently simplified its name from “321 Blink” to “Blink Advertising” to avoid market confusion. Bringing the two agencies together was a natural fit, as each brought unique strengths. Ethic contributed its well-established media team, which was seamlessly integrated into Blink’s existing operations. In return, Blink enhanced its creative services with the addition of Ethic’s capabilities. This synergy was beneficial because, unlike mergers of two agencies with overlapping specializations, the distinct focuses of media and creative between Ethic and Blink allowed for a smoother integration. While still an ongoing process, the collaboration has leveraged the best of both agencies’ expertise.

What is Qujam, the geofencing platform that came from the Ethics acquisition?

We’ve taken the geo-targeting tech from our huge ad platform and made it into a simple DIY app. Clients can simply plug in their credit card and pick the areas they want to target, which is great for local businesses or even political ads. It’s designed for the client to manage on their own, but we’re here to help if they need it. Lots of businesses are using this in creative ways. Say a company in Pittsburgh wants to reach people in Louisiana? No problem. They set up a geofence and can deliver ads to that targeted audience. Clients can run their own campaigns, but if they need more advanced features, strategy help or creative design, they can always jump to Blink’s full-service options and managed services. This product has been a real winner for us, and we’re putting more into making it even better.

What are the major trends in your business at the local level?

Pittsburgh’s market is stable, characterized by consistent growth and decline within a 4-5% range, avoiding extreme fluctuations. It remains heavily reliant on traditional media like radio, TV, and outdoor advertising. Success lies in merging digital strategies, AI, and customer personas with traditional mediums, such as well-placed billboards or TV campaigns. While larger markets like Philadelphia, New York, San Francisco, and Atlanta lead in non-traditional advertising, markets like Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, and Cleveland with older demographics continue to value traditional approaches. This creates a dual challenge and opportunity. Despite advanced digital offerings, the continued engagement with traditional media like news broadcasts remains relevant. That being said, the Pittsburgh market is evolving into a tech hub, marking a transitional period that offers opportunities for agencies like Blink.

What challenges are emerging for firms like yours and what strategies have you employed to address them?

I would say one of the biggest opportunities is also one of the biggest challenges, and that is the implementation of AI. We use it to our advantage, and we use it to enhance what we’re doing for a client. People sometimes think AI is this magic button that does everything for marketing and business, as if it can just replace humans altogether. But really, it’s a tool, like any other technology we use. We’re leveraging AI in many areas within our agency and have implemented strategies that greatly benefit us as well as our clients.   

What are your key goals and priorities for the upcoming two to three years?

Continued growth. We have our foot on the gas and have already made multiple acquisitions. We’re still in growth mode and are looking to enhance our current services and add services that we maybe don’t have right now. We’re actively engaging our existing clients, showcasing the full range of additional services we offer. While we’ve always provided these services, we are now delivering them with increased quality and efficiency. Good work leads to client retention and repeat business.