PHASE 3 Marketing and Communications: Many Steps to Success

For Phase 3 Marketing and Communications, a marketing and printing company headquartered in Atlanta, with production facilities in Atlanta, Dallas, Nashville, Charlotte, and Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, the tagline “ideation to execution” is a North Star – guiding principle that remains a constant amid the company’s growth and evolution.

Shown in Phase 3’s corporate headquarters (left to right) are co-founder and president Ken Holsclaw; senior vice president, marketing and development Susan Frost; vice president, sales – Atlanta Kimberly Daniel; executive vice president, sales and marketing Jenny Harris; senior vice president, sales Hollie Quinn; executive vice president, agency services David Randolph; with Dan Marx, Gabby Houck, and Toni McQuilken of Wide-Format Impressions.

A recent visit to the company by myself, and my Wide-Format Impressions colleagues Toni McQuilken and Gabby Houck, provided an exceptional opportunity to learn the company’s history, how it was grown, and how it seeks to define itself as an exceptional and unique provider of printing and marketing services.

Founded in 2001 with a focus on printing, president and co-founder Ken Holsclaw says the company was witness to the low-quality files sent by customers and hired graphic designers (and offering design services) in response. This move resulted in two strong realizations. The first was having control of design services brought more robust creative approaches. Second, as a provider of design and printing services, Phase 3 could also realize a higher profit margin – it was a strong point of differentiation.

Promising as that was, the company sought to find further opportunity by moving upstream and downstream from that current level of service. Upstream claims, Holsclaw says, were achieved by moving into ideation – creating the creative kernels and concepts that inspire customers – filling the space traditionally filled by ad agencies. Downstream, execution went beyond printing and finishing to include kitting and fulfillment.

Much of the company’s recent growth has been driven by acquisition, first in the creative and design spaces, then with printing companies. Holsclaw says the purchase of printing companies is not simply about increasing capacity – it is more about achieving better timing and cost efficiency in shipping and expanding its geographic reach.

Troy McGinness, executive vice president, print services, explains process flow in Phase 3’s Atlanta production facility.

One of the defining concepts driving Phase 3 today is neither new nor unique in today’s printing industry: becoming a one-stop shop. What is unique in its approach, however, is the breadth of their offerings – they're more a department store than a specialty shop. Today, the company’s mission is to simplify life for marketers by delivering the most-needed marketing services in-house, under one roof.

Those services, as presented by the company, include:
• Agency-type work, which includes strategy, branding and creative, public relations, social media and influencers, media planning and management, web design and fulfillment.
• Printing and marketing fulfillment services include marketing collateral and direct mail, commercial signage and retail displays, fabrication and installation, online print storefronts, warehousing and distribution.
• Branded merchandise includes promotional products, branded apparel, custom sourcing, company stores and micro-shops, packaging and kitting.

Of the company’s current customers, Holsclaw says roughly 85% utilize services from more than one of those key categories, a service-oriented approach that creates a deeper connection with customers.

Shown in Phase 3’s Atlanta production facility (left to ) are vice president, print services – GA facilities Karen Foley, executive vice president, sales and marketing Jenny Harris; Wide-format impressions’ Toni McQuilken, executive vice president, print services Troy McGinnis; Dan Marx and Gabby Houck of Wide-format Impressions.

Phase 3 is currently building its capabilities in fabrication, recently adding metal fabrication to its existing wood and plastic-focused capabilities. Involvement in the promotional products space is also increasing mostly using external suppliers, including an exploration of whether a greater amount of that work will be brought in-house.

The visit concluded with a tour of the company’s Atlanta production facility which houses an array of wide-format presses and finishing technologies, as well as digital document printing presses that facilitate its production of direct mail. According to executive vice president, print services Troy McGinness, production capabilities are mostly similar between locations – only subtle differences exist among them.