David Allen of Jump Marketing Team

First Online: August 17, 2018
Page Last Updated: April 12, 2019

Portrait of David Allen against a brick wall Birmingham Lights: Mr. Allen, thank you for joining us. Please tell us about Jump Marketing Team and your connection to Birmingham.

David Allen: I've live here basically my whole life and started the Jump Marketing Team in 1998. I thought a marketing firm could be successful if it moved fast, worked hard and was honest. Most of the 240 or so clients we have had over these last 20 years have been Birmingham- and Alabama-based small and medium businesses and organizations. My single greatest satisfaction is helping a company develop a marketing strategy, implementing that strategy and seeing the company enjoy the results.

BL: Please tell our readers briefly about Jump Marketing Team.

DL: We are a marketing agency for businesses that do not have a dedicated marketing department or those who wish to augment their in-house efforts with outside creative talent. We help companies build their unique brand in order to meet their business objectives. To do that, we provide clients with a range of marketing services, including marketing plan development, research, strategic planning, advertising, public relations, media relations, video production, copywriting and digital marketing services. Of course they rarely need all of that. In fact, for some clients, we may work on a single project once every two or three years.

BL: What distinguishes Jump Marketing Team from other Birmingham agencies?

DL: I will give you the three things we are all about. The most important to me is that we maintain a level of integrity that is beyond reproach. It is essential to how we work and what we do. If we are not that, we can't be this second thing. We want to be far more than a marketing or advertising vendor. We want to be trusted business advisors--people who are in the trenches with that business owner or that senior manager consistently working through a marketing plan or completing a single marketing project and making a real, measurable difference. We do that because we look at a client's business as if our name were on the door. That sounds cliche. It is anything but. It is what drives everything we do. Third, we move fast. Earlier in my career, I worked for a large organization that used ad agencies. Part of my job was to coordinate marketing projects with them. I was often surprised by how long it took agencies to get things done. When I started our business, I wanted us to be known for turning marketing projects around quickly. In fact, that's why the company is named Jump Marketing.

BL: What one tip do you have for the City of Birmingham to improve our image outside of Birmingham?

DA: I like the Lewis Carroll quote: "If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there." I would like to see us take a step back and decide what one thing we want Birmingham to be. A tech town? A tourist destination? Cutting-edge medical research? The home of Fortune 500 companies? Decide that, get all hands on deck and pursue that one thing relentlessly over the long term. The result will be a true brand for Birmingham. Don't do that and we are just another medium-sized city trying to be all things to all people.