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Now, Waters will have plenty of time to do just that. In October, Waters formed at partnership with two other people, Sandy Bridgman and Paul Collins. The firm is now called Collins, Waters & Bridgman. Collins, who joined the firm in 2003, is chief executive officer, and Bridgman, with the firm since 1978, is executive vice president/account services. Waters continues to serve as president. “It has changed us in a very positive way,” Waters says. Collins will focus on the strategy and vision for the future of the firm. He is working on expanding the firm’s reach in both Virginia and other states. Collins sees great potential when it comes to growth, he says. Since Collins, a former president of a Florida software company, arrived at Waters, the firm has experienced a 15 percent growth. In fact, for the first time, the 12-person firm will be expanding outside of Newport News this summer when it opens a satellite office in a huge new development in Williamsburg. Collins says he is hoping the firm will be able to capitalize on the astronomical growth that is occurring in the Williamsburg area. “We think there is real potential there,” he says. While there is room for expansion, Collins says, it is important that the firm not get so large that it loses its personal touch. And although the firm’s name has changed, the core values that have made it so popular among businesses have not, the partners all say. The client still reigns, first and foremost, they say. The firm has about 20 clients it works with regularly and 20 more that it deals with on a project-to-project basis. Collins, Waters and Bridgman handles a plethora of services that relate to advertising, public relations, and marketing. They have expertise in print and broadcast media, displays, special event and meeting planning, and audio/visual presentations. “We are at our best when we can handle everything from soup to nuts,” Waters says. “We kill with our client services. We do whatever we have to do.” The
firm’s client base is extremely loyal, says Waters, who took
over as president in 1984. That, he says, is because the agency
works so hard getting to know a client’s needs. The firm’s
personal touch is “What has kept us here almost 50 years,”
Waters says. Waters’ father, Leonard, started the agency in
1960. In its more than 40 years, the firm has retained much of the
vision of Leonard Waters. Howard Waters says his father would have been thrilled by the changes. “He probably would have thought it was great,” he says. “That’s one of the things that kept crossing my mind. I talked to a number of his cronies, and they told me that he would have been happy with it.” Since
the beginning, the agency has worked to earn a client’s trust,
100 percent, Bridgman says. One of the more creative people at the firm, Philip Burcher, who is executive vice president/creative services, says the changes at the agency have been nothing but positive. “It has been really good,” he says. “I’m pleased with the changes so far. We are projecting a different image in the marketplace. To me, it represents prosperity. We are bigger and better than ever before.” |
Oyster
Pointer Salutes: Collins,
Waters & Bridgman: Ad agency changes name, not priorities