Prodigal Company Marks 25 Years of Growth

BOARDMAN, Ohio — The Prodigal Company, a branding, marketing and digital firm, marked a quarter of a century of work in the region in 2019. The silver anniversary was also the beginning of new digital marketing fronts for the company.

Late in 2019, the Teaching Institute for Excellence in STEM, known as TIES, awarded Prodigal a contract to develop a national web-based platform to connect all of the science, technology, engineering and math ecosystems across the country. This platform will serve as the leader in all things STEM and connect students, parents, teachers and businesses.

“We were thrilled to land the TIES project because it represents a new area of expertise for Prodigal beyond traditional website development. To be a part of launching something that will connect so many people is truly exciting,” says Jeff Hedrich, president and lead brand strategist at Prodigal.

Other notable digital work included a new website to connect TLC Insurance Group and its agents across the nation as they provide group retiree and Medicare coverage.

The firm also worked with the Regional Income Tax Agency to modernize its taxpayer notification communications by moving the process online. This was accomplished through a digital advertising campaign that used programmatic, artificial intelligence driven ad buying. This created cost savings and increased the frequency and impressions per household beyond traditional direct mail.

“What’s differentiated our business over the years is our proprietary Brand MRI process and the thinking that drives it to help our clients identify their competitive advantages,” Hedrich says.

Several new accounts named Prodigal as agency of record. They include Alta Behavioral Healthcare and Briarfield/EDM Management Inc. The company was also awarded branding, strategic and digital communications projects for the Mahoning Valley Economic Development Corp.

Last year also marked milestone anniversaries for two of Prodigal’s longest standing clients – Farmers National Bank and Sheely’s Furniture and Appliance.

“Farmers was the first client I signed when I began this company in 1994 and Sheely’s came on board as a client shortly thereafter,” Hedrich says. “It’s something that is almost unheard of in our industry, to have such strong and long-lasting relationships as we have with both of these clients.”

Hedrich credits the company’s success to the ability to adapt. “Advertising has changed dramatically over the last 25 years and Prodigal has kept pace,” he says. “We have embraced the pairing of digital technologies with data as key to what we do for clients. We think strategically about our clients’ brands and hold ourselves to a high standard of service.”

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.