necessary pieces together --that's what I enjoy." title="Constance Mussells: "Putting all thenecessary pieces together --that's what I enjoy."/>
necessary pieces together --
that's what I enjoy.
Company: Providence Creative Group
Owner: Constance Mussells
Location: 86 Weybossett Street, Providence
Type of business: Marketing company
Year founded: 1983
Employees: Eight
Annual revenues: $750,000 (Fee Revenue)
Finding a place for her company in the fast-paced, cutthroat world of advertising
and marketing has been a challenge upon which Constance Mussells thrives.
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A part of the advertising and marketing industry for many years before starting her own firm in 1983, The Providence Creative Group, Mussells watched as the industry evolved, and then looked at voids left by the changes.
“A couple of the large advertising agencies had merged, and as a result many people left these companies,” she said. “Those people then started their own companies and all of sudden we had lots of small companies competing against each other. I had to sit back and think about what I really wanted to do, what I wanted my agency to do.”
What she decided to do at the time was innovative, but according to Mussells is more main stream today. Instead of working with clients based on a retainer, she decided to work with them on a project basis – having them only hire her when they needed specific things done. And though it was a drastic change from the way the rest of the industry was working at the time, Mussells said it has proven to be a very successful model.
“Doing things this way, I don’t have to maintain the overhead that I would have before,” she said. “And my clients seem to like it.”
A few years after starting her company, Mussells made what she called another “strategic decision”: to become involved with the Second Wind Network, an international alliance of marketing and advertising companies. The network allows Mussells to call upon any of the member organizations for assistance, or expertise for help with projects her company is working on.
“The network has more than 500 companies world wide and we were one of the original founding companies,” Mussells said. “It has proven to be a good tool for us, saving us from some thorny problems.”
Mussells said the alliance has also provided another benefit — she is able to specialize and diversify at the same time.
“I know that if I can’t do something for one of my clients, that one of the member organizations can help,” she said. “At the same time, this company has its own focus that we can help other members of the organization with.”
Mussells said the company’s specialties, which include marketing, advertising and sales promotion, corporate identity programs, and marketing communications, have developed over time, and are the direct result of the needs of her clients.
“We started with design and marketing,” she said. “But as things happen you gain expertise, and that’s what we have done.”
Mussells said she also watches certain industries in an effort to find clients. For example, she said, for the last five years Providence Creative Group has done a lot of work in the medical and biotech industries.
“It started by us having a hospital as a client,” she said. “And it has continued to be very good for us. I have been around a long time, and have learned that you need to look around and see what industries are most stable. Biotech is one of the strongest sectors of the economy. If I am going to look for business, I am going to look at a thriving industry.”
And as a result, Mussells has developed an expertise in the field, researching biotech issues and understanding the industry – a knowledge she believes has earned her company a permanent spot with biotech clients.
“It’s not the easiest field to walk into,” she said. “Clients get comfortable working with us, and would be hesitant to go to another agency.”
A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Mussells said she chose Providence as her base of operation, because of its labor pool. And though few of her clients are actually in the state, Mussells said the talent still remains here.
“There is a constant source of good talent here,” she said. “We get the best of both worlds here. There are tons of things to do, Rhode Island has a good atmosphere, and we are able to service both New York and Boston.”
Though her company has only eight employees today, Mussells said at one point it had more than 20 — a concept she vows never to embrace again.
“I like to keep management simple,” she said. “The fact that this company isn’t bigger is purposeful. I don’t want to be too big; the dynamics change and frankly, the reward isn’t much better.”
And while its size and focus may have undergone some changes over the past two decades, Mussells said her favorite part of the job remains the same — the conceptual part.
“This business is a puzzle,” she said. “The client has objectives and our job is to take those objectives and turn them into a message or an image by putting all the necessary pieces together. That’s what I really enjoy.”
