News

October 16, 2024

Blink Advertising aquires Ethic Advertising

(Pittsburgh, PA 10/9/2024) – Pennsylvania marketing and advertising agency Blink has announced the acquisition of Ethic Advertising Agency, located in Pittsburgh, PA. The addition of Ethic immediately extends Blink’s advertising and marketing footprint and client roster, and furthers the agency’s digital performance marketing, traditional media planning and buying, creative services and website development capabilities.

Founded in 2014, Ethic Advertising Agency has grown into a digital-first advertising agency offering full-service capabilities with a focus on performance marketing. Ethic founder Jeff Swartz will join Blink as a co-owner alongside Tim McLaughlin, Robert Baker and Mark Dello Stritto. As the agency’s EVP and Chief Media Director, Swartz will lead the media team with his expertise in digital and broadcast media strategy to advance Blink’s media services.

“The Ethic team will bring additional experience and tools to the already expansive capabilities of Blink’s existing media team. Through Jeff’s leadership, we’re excited to see the growth of our digital media strategy and add even more efficiency to our traditional media services,” said Tim McLaughlin, Founder and Chief Operating Officer at Blink.

“I’m excited to join Blink as a partner and get to work on merging these two unique and successful agencies,” said Swartz. “Both of our teams and the services we provide create a great compliment to each other professionally and culturally. Partnering our digital advertising, media background and creative capabilities with Blink’s marketing strategy and top tier creative chops, will create many new integrated marketing opportunities for the brands we partner with.”

“Additionally, the core values at Ethic have been the foundation of the agency’s success and are incredibly important to me. The overlap with Blink’s core values will allow us to continue to operate and grow while maintaining our principles, and allows me to continue my personal mission to be part of one of the most people and culture centric agencies in the market,” added Swartz.

“This acquisition will elevate our digital marketing offerings, extend our creative capabilities and bring fresh perspectives to the agency,” said Mark Dello Stritto, Blink’s President and Chief Creative Officer. “Ethic and Blink share very similar visions for operating an agency. We have high expectations of ourselves and our work, emphasize great customer service, and we always look for new ways to improve the quality of life for our employees,” Dello Stritto added.

Through the acquisition Blink will also secure “Qujam”, a self-served geofencing online platform developed by Ethic that helps customers easily build geofencing digital advertising campaigns for their product or service. The platform uses GPS targeting to service display, OTT/CTV, or video pre-roll ads to people because of where they have physically been. For Qujam customers who need additional marketing, media or creative support, a Qujam representative will connect them to Blink’s agency team.

Blink CEO and CMO, Robert Baker said, “Blink has had exceptional growth in the past five years due to three previous acquisitions, new business wins and client retention. With the acquisition of Ethic and Qujam, we feel we’ll be positioned to become one of the top 10 ad agencies in the Pittsburgh region.” In addition to the Pittsburgh market, Blink also has an office in Central Pennsylvania. Baker elaborated, “Between our Pittsburgh and Bellefonte offices, we’ll have nearly 40 employees with a deep knowledge of marketing, media, creative strategy and video production. We’re excited for what the future holds for Blink and our clients.”

As they’ve risen to become an award-winning regional leader in the advertising, marketing and creative space, Blink has earned the trust of brands such as Giant Eagle, Viatris, ORX, Happy Valley Adventure Bureau, Senior Life, MSA, 1st Summit Bank, UPMC Enterprises, Sloan Lubrication Systems, Duquesne University, Riverview Auto Group, GetGo, Mitsubishi Electric Power Products, Inc., Centre Foundation, Fluid Conservation Systems and Peachey Hardwood Flooring to name a few.

Blink was founded in 2011 and is currently one of the top ad agencies in the region with offices in Pittsburgh and Bellefonte, PA offering clients a suite of services including marketing, digital, web, media and video production.

Contact:
Tim McLaughlin, Founder and Chief Operating Officer
tim@321Blink.com
412-897-6006

September 20, 2024

Leadership Change at American Advertising Federation Pittsburgh & Ad 2 Pittsburgh

– Pittsburgh Business Times coverage

August 19, 2024

Government Affairs Update – A report by George Potts, AAF Pgh Government Affairs Chair

Republican Governor Renews Calls for Ad Tax

Nebraska’s Republican Governor Jim Pillen called the state legislature into special session this summer to consider property tax reform, and it includes a tax on many advertising services.

As many states and cities struggle with tax shortfalls, taxing advertising is a serious consideration even among Republican governors and mayors. We continue to monitor proposals to tax advertising in the Commonwealth and the City of Pittsburgh.

Federal Privacy Legislation Sits

Federal lawmakers have still not brought the American Privacy Rights Act up for a committee vote to begin the legislative process. It sits in the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee respectively.

The wide-ranging measure is complex and went through numerous changes since being introduced early this year. AAF supports a federal privacy law but holds that facets of the legislation are flawed.

State Privacy Laws Update

• Rhode Island’s Transparency & Privacy Protection Act will become law January 1, 2026.
• Vermont Governor Phill Scott’ vetoed their consumer privacy act and the veto was sustained by their State Senate.
• New York’s legislature is currently considering a health information privacy act that could restrict the use non-sensitive information such as a consumer’s purchase of non-prescription shampoo at a local grocer, attendance at a fitness event, or signing up to receive promotional notices about specific clothing or footwear restocks.

AAF Advertising Day on the Hill Is March 13, 2025

Every two years, the AAF organizes a gathering of advertising agency executives in Washington, DC to learn about issues confronting our industry and visit Congress to educate lawmakers about these issues and the importance of advertising in the United States. This year the AAF Advertising Day on the Hill take place on Thursday, March 13, 2025.

If you would like to participate in the event with our Government Relations Chair, George Potts, please email him.  Please note that all travel expenses are participants’ responsibility.

June 13, 2024

Pittsburgh’s Animal wins national gold ADDY at American Advertising Awards

 – Pittsburgh Business Times coverage

May 3, 2024

FROM ATHLETES TO REDISTRICTING TO BUTTER, PITTSBURGH-AREA AD AGENCIES HONORED FOR THEIR MARKETING WORK

 – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette coverage

May 3, 2024

VOYAGE VISUALS TAKES BEST IN SHOW AT PITTSBURGH’S AMERICAN ADVERTISING AWARDS 

 – Pittsburgh Business Times coverage

May 1, 2024

MNI is now Media Now Interactive

June 6, 2023

Deeplocal and Red House strike gold at American Advertising Awards

April 29, 2023

Pittsburgh’s ad industry celebrates creative work and seeing each other again _ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

April 28, 2023

Wall-to-Wall Studios wins Best of Show at AAF Pittsburgh Awards – Pittsburgh Business Times

April 17, 2023

We Participated in AAF Day On the Hill

A report by George Potts, AAF Pittsburgh Government Affairs Chair

For the first time since Covid, the AAF (American Advertising Federation) held its bi-annual Day on the Hill, and our Pittsburgh chapter took part. Advertising Day on the Hill is an important event organized to demonstrate to lawmakers the economic importance of the advertising industry. Local clubs from across the country participate.

The morning consisted of briefings from the FTC, BBB National Programs, Digital Advertising Alliance, and Venable. The seminars covered regulatory issues and trends including privacy, the importance of the industry’s self-regulation, and the consequences if business advertising spending would no longer remain a deductible expense. Advertising expenditures account for $7.1 trillion of economic output in the United States – that represents almost 20% of our country’s total financial activity and 28.5 million jobs.

In the afternoon, our chapter met with:

• Legislative Assistant Alex Rajakovich, from the Office of Representative Chris Deluzio,
• Legislative Aide Rory Daly from the Office of Senator Robert Casey, and 
• Jason Smith, Chief Counsel for the Office of Senator John Fetterman.

For the meeting with Representative Deluzio’s office, we shared how the advertising industry represents 63,000 jobs and $11 Billion in economic activity just within Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District.

The focus of our conversation with Senator Robert Casey’s office involved reviewing the economic impact of advertising in the state overall, 1.2 million jobs and $280 Billion in economic activity, as well as the critical importance of keeping advertising as a deductible business expenditure.

Our meeting with Senator John Fetterman’s office was the longest of our three meetings on Capitol Hill. Given TikTok’s testimony earlier in the day and frustrating meetings earlier with social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, Mr. Smith was intimately interested in our perspective on privacy and digital advertising. We shared our point of view that we do desire a national policy on privacy for digital advertising but that audience targeting options should remain given their efficiency and ultimate interest in serving the consumer an ad that is relevant. We also stressed that the social media platforms are not part of the AAF and do not speak for our interests.

We look forward to deepening our relationships with each office, continuing to communicate our economic influence in Pittsburgh and the Commonwealth as well as our perspective on any future legislation.

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April 14, 2023