Cheers to 21 Years

We’re feeling lucky on Jefferson Street. Why? This summer, redpepper celebrates its 21st birthday as an agency. That’s over two decades of relationships built, challenges tackled and creative problems solved. We’re grateful to our partners and community for the adventures past and present—we've sure learned a lot along the way.

From a scrappy team of two to a growing company of 50+, redpepper has got some stories to tell (just ask us). And while we’ve got big plans for where we’re going, we also wanted to take a moment to share a bit more of where we came from. So here’s the original story how we became redpepper and what the spicy name means to us:

A vision for constant growth

I've always known I wanted to own a business since I was a little kid. While I wasn't always sure what I wanted to do, I knew I loved shaping environments and experiences for others. At first, I thought I wanted to own restaurants, but quickly learned that life was not for me. Then I discovered marketing while playing professional soccer in New Orleans, and I have never turned back.

I fell in love with how marketing and innovation can never be perfected. We must always unlearn old things and learn new things in order to stay relevant. This requirement for growth and collaboration is what makes this industry so interesting. That, and the “anything is possible” aspect of our industry make it irresistible to me. Today, my “why” is to truly create a company of stars—a group of people that grow and peak perform in a collaborative environment.

- Tim McMullen, CEO & Founder

What's on our business card

We chose the name redpepper from among hundreds of options primarily for its memorability. It invokes a concrete, mental image with multiple sensory associations. It evokes feelings associated with spicy foods, fresh foods, and brightly colored foods.

And, of course, because it is unexpected. We wanted our name to communicate “creativity” while engaging intelligence and emotion by appealing to one’s curiosity.

The spelling of redpepper is also deliberate. It is all lower case because doing so limits the number of character shapes to three, lending to a more “rhythmic” visual dominated by playful “round” characters.

Finally, by combining the words “red” and “pepper,” the logotype becomes one, simple, single word.

- Nate Fleming, Director of Strategy

From our space to our growing team and every goal we've knocked out along the way (more on all of that here), we've got a pretty good thing going. So here's to the next 21, everybody. Grow forth.