Commentary

Acknowledging Life Outside Metropolitan America, Appalachian Agency Aims To Serve Underdogs

For an ad agency, it sure would be nice if every client was a household name, but that's just not how things work out in life. Sometimes, rather more often than not, ad agencies have to handle clients that no one has ever heard of.

Blacksburg, Virginia-based The Perks Agency -- which handles no name clients like Campus Automotive, IST Research, Valley Landscaping and the Glavé Kocen Gallery -- is perfectly fine with that and is more than happy to serve clients they deem underdogs.

Of the approach, Founder and Creative Director Dave Perks said: “Everyone’s got an underdog story. Especially at a time when the media landscape is changing so quickly, it’s easy to feel like you’re falling behind or missing an opportunity to put your brand in front of the right group of people.”

And of Blacksburg's decidedly non-Madison Avenue vibe, Perks added: “This whole region of the country has been an underdog for generations, but there are exciting things happening with tech companies and entrepreneurs in all categories here. We want to add our efforts to the mix and be a catalyst for reversing the misconceptions about Appalachia and the situations of many people here.”

Lest you think Perks is just the proverbial country bumpkin, Perks is a 1995 graduate of Virginia Tech and a 2002 graduate of the VCU Brandcenter, one of the top grad schools for advertising. Throughout his career Perks has worked at JWT and MGH in Owings and has created award-winning work for brands such as the United States Marine Corps, Orkin Pest Control, University of Maryland, Rita’s Water Ice and others

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