Omnium-Gatherum

That's Dog Latin for hodge-podge. We needed a fancy name for it, because even if it is a bundle of disparate stuff, it's all part of who we are and why we're different.

Our Logo

Many years ago, we realized the world wasn’t hungering for a good agency in North Carolina; our opportunity was to be one of a handful of agencies actually redefining how brands go to market.  Too long a story for here, a red square became our symbol of that possibility, which we call “reinvention.”  The center is meant to evoke the virtuous circle of “making extraordinary things happen for our clients & their customers & our people.”  Put them together and our logo stands for “making extraordinary things happen through reinvention.”

Chick McKinney

Since our founding in 1969, the one constant in our name has been McKinney. That's for Charles "Chick" McKinney, a man of great creative, strategic and business instincts. His agency – our agency – was one of the first "Off-Madison" shops to make it to the national stage. We still like to quote a few Chick-isms:

"Creative is one area where a single person can defeat an army."  Chick knew you didn't have to be a giant agency to have real influence – it's all in the quality of your ideas.

"I don't mind being off the wall as long as we're not off the mark."  Like us, he was big on making sure he knew what he was trying to accomplish before putting pen to paper.

The Blackwell School

When you're reinventing the game, and you're doing it with a group of people you've assembled from all over the world, training becomes critical. That's why we launched The Blackwell School, our in-house university.

Blackwell School training ranges from basic business skills for entry-level employees to advanced classes taught by McKinney leaders. We also invite outside guests whose perspectives open up new possibilities in thinking for everyone at the agency. Past guests include:

• Dan Heath (Fast Company columnist and author of "Made to Stick")
• Bejamin Zander (Conductor of the Boston Philharmonic and author of "The Art of Possibility")
• James Surowiecki (The New Yorker columnist and author of "The Wisdom of Crowds")
• Michael Shellenberger (Environmentalist and author of "Break Through – From the Death of Environmentalism to the Politics of Possibility")
• Randall Rothenberg (CEO of the Interactive Advertising Bureau and author of the classic book about the agency world, "Where the Suckers Moon")

Pro Bono

We do as much civic and charitable work as we can. We find time to create communications for organizations we support and admire, like The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, the ONDCP’s "Above the Influence" effort, Project Safe Neighborhoods and Urban Ministries of Durham.

We try to raise awareness and funding for organizations committed to improving the quality of life and promoting the arts in Durham. The McKinney-led Triangle Battle of the Corporate Brands has raised well over a quarter of a million dollars for SeeSaw Studio, Communities in Schools of Durham and the Center for Child and Family Health.

We've sponsored and built a Habitat for Humanity house here in Durham. Lots of us are active in a wide range of cultural, educational and quality-of-life focused organizations in Durham and beyond. To help support these efforts, every employee is eligible for matching gifts of up to $1,000 each year.