Standing on the
shoulders of giants

Before we were Big, we were Beatley Gravitt. As in Irv Beatley and Bill Gravitt, who joined forces nearly 40 years ago to launch this still thriving concern. And to whom we owe our stature today, not to mention whatever heights we may reach tomorrow.

We owe them so much, because their legacy consists of more than the unparalleled reputation and solid foundation they left us upon their retirement a few years back. There’s also the body of work—creative marketing that still impresses clients and inspires us today. Most important, maybe, is the philosophy they established, a way of doing business that stresses equally the value of truly creative work and the power of a truly interactive relationship with the client. Irv and Bill believe that great ideas only come when you’re responsive to your clients, open to their thoughts, and take the time to learn their business.

This philosophy actually got its start even before Beatley Gravitt, when Irv Beatley founded Beatley Associates in 1953. Handling jobs ranging from producing newspaper ads to retouching photos, Beatley Associates grew primarily as a graphics design company until Bill Gravitt came on board in 1970. The new partnership clicked—due in part to a shared work ethos—and the company soon took a new direction, eventually carving out a niche for itself as a full-service advertising agency specializing in corporate communications and investor relations for some of the world’s best known companies, including Reynolds Metals, CSX, Dollar Tree Stores, Owens & Minor, The Brink’s Company, and Capital One.

Clearly, Big has some big shoes to fill. But we don’t shrink from a challenge—that’s one of the many things Irv and Bill taught us. In fact, the future looks pretty bright from our vantage point, a vantage point from which we can see quite a ways. After all, we’re standing on the shoulders of giants.