| About: | Tom Sicola and Steve Martin, two individuals with zero capital or net worth, very little in common,
no particular desire to work together and no educational training for marketing or advertising,
founded SicolaMartin in Austin, Texas, in 1985. Tom, with a background in education and a
passion for technology, along with Steve, who began his career as a copywriter at GSD&M, found
that their approach to marketing and unique blend of talents and skill sets added up to a great fit
for a broad range of clients. The company quickly became one of the region’s leading advertising
and marketing agencies, with consumer and high technology experience for industry leaders
such as Stop’N Go, I Can’t Believe it’s Yogurt, Motorola, 3M and IBM.
After the death of one of Tom and Steve’s partners in the early ’90s (and a few close calls
for the company), SicolaMartin focused on the fast-growing needs of a business-to-business
technology market which was hungry for strategic marketing and integrated communications
support. The plan worked, and SicolaMartin soon built an impressive track record representing
global leaders including AMD, BMC Software, Compaq, Dell, Motorola and Novell. The agency
became recognized for its solid understanding of technology, from silicon to the network.
SicolaMartin and its founders received numerous accolades during the fast-growth period of
the mid ’90s and early ’00s. Marketing Computers named SicolaMartin among the nation’s top
50 high-tech advertising agencies in 1996 and 1997; Adweek included the agency in its annual
listing of top regional agencies throughout the mid ’90s. Tom and Steve were named regional
Ernst & Young Entrepreneurs of the Year in 2001. Their B2B technology leadership and client
success stories caught the eye of Young & Rubicam Brands (a division of the WPP
international network), who bought SicolaMartin in 2001.
Although the dot-com/technology bust of the early ’00s provided another business rollercoaster,
SicolaMartin emerged stronger. The agency leveraged its foundation in marketing and branding
methodologies, exceptional technology literacy and entrepreneurial culture to create resultsdriven
campaigns for a combination of high-tech and consumer accounts. Clients such as
Balfour, Blu-ray Disc and Mutual of Omaha are recent examples of consumer-focused
companies that benefit from SicolaMartin’s distinctive blend of high-tech and consumer
marketing savvy. The agency has found that experience gained from a fiercely competitive
and constantly changing B2B marketplace ten years ago provides a powerful advantage for
clients targeting today’s demanding consumer audiences.
Regardless of the type of client or areas of marketing expertise in play, Tom and Steve attribute
all success, past, present and future, to the culture they have painstakingly built. Along the
entry hall, these words are cast in metal: “Great People. Great Work. Great Clients.” “Great
People” comes first for a reason. SicolaMartin knows that without great people, there will be
no great work or great clients. Through a broad range of activities, from mentoring to rewards
programs to community outreach, SicolaMartin ensures that its core values of honesty,
respect, passion, fun and accountability are practiced on a daily basis.
SicolaMartin, www.sicolamartin.com, is located in downtown Austin, Texas, with a satellite
office in San Francisco. |
