Just a Minute, with Don Ellingsen

Title: President/CEO Company: Ellingsen Brady Advertising
Company address: 207 E. Buffalo St., Suite 400, Milwaukee 53202
Company Web site: www.ebadvertising.com
Industry: Advertising and Public Relations
Number of employees: 13
Company’s annual revenues: $5.9 million
Education: B.A. in comprehensive art education, UW-Eau Claire
Marital status: Single.
What was the smartest thing your company did in the past year?
"Bought a new pool table. Surrounded ourselves with a fresh crop of smart, hard-working talent and created an environment for comaraderie and creativity. Put more focus on research so that we can better measure our results. Invested in technology that is not going to go away."
What’s new at your company?
"The beauty of this business is that there is something new everyday. Right now, we are putting our emphasis on marrying e-commerce and e-marketing with traditional forms of advertising and PR. We opened a web division to meet the evolving needs of our client base. And we got a new binding machine."
Do you plan to hire any additional staff or make any significant capital investments in your company in the next year?
"We plan to strategically upgrade our trashcans from plastic to metal. And we’re building additional office space to reflect our growing client roster."
What will be your company’s main challenges in the next year?
"We always challenge ourselves to continually improve to anticipate trends and provide our clients with the best possible service. We hope to continue to grow and reach out to companies outside of the Milwaukee area. We also need to continue to provide creative opportunities for our staff."
What is the hottest trend in advertising?
"The proliferation of digital media. Everything is being done digitally now. It causes us to stay ahead of the curve and remember that advertising is about ideas."
From a business standpoint, who do you look up to?
"William Eisner Sr. — He gave me an opportunity at an early age to learn and make mistakes. He always busted his butt to make things happen."
What was the best advice you ever received?
"Don’t confuse what you like with what will work."
What do you do like to do in your free time?
"Sail, ski and travel."
April 30, 2004 Small Business Times, Milwaukee