Dodson, Craddock & Born
| Dodson, Craddock & Born Advertising | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Industry | Advertising |
| Location | 4711 Scenic Highway (1967) |
| Established | 1958 |
| Founder | Mayhew "Pat" Dodson |
| Defunct | 2000 |
| Merged with | Duncan McCall Advertising |
| Gross revenue | $1.3 million (1999)[1] |
Dodson, Craddock & Born Advertising (DC&B) was the first full-service advertising agency in Pensacola.
Contents
Origins
The firm was founded in 1958 as the Pat Dodson Agency by ex-Marine captain Mayhew "Pat" Dodson, who borrowed the $75 needed to buy a city license. He was joined that year by local artist Patricia Thornton Born. Their first office was located at 314 South Baylen Street, a building that, according to rumors, was previously a brothel in the city's red-light district. The agency's initial clients included Mutual Federal Savings & Loan, First National Bank of Milton and the Bank of Jay.
Frank Craddock, returning home after serving as a bomber pilot in the Korean War, joined Dodson and Born in 1961, reportedly asking (half-jokingly), "What's an ad agency?" They were incorporated by the state as Dodson, Craddock & Born, Inc. on May 1, 1962.[2]
Growth
The young agency soon acquired clients including the Santa Rosa Island Authority, Spearman Brewery, Pensacola's Municipal Advertising Board, plus several smaller businesses. One of their most recognizable projects was the neon Pensacola Beach sign, designed by Pat Born, that stands near the Bob Sikes bridge. As art director and vice president of the agency, Born was selected Ad " Man" of the year by her peers in 1960 and also won the area's first Silver Metal Award sponsored by the American Advertising Federation and Printer's Ink magazine.
In 1962 the agency began a partnership with the regional McDonald's restaurants that lasted for 26 years. Among the employees who joined the agency shortly thereafter were media buyer Mary Nolan, copywriter (and later national columnist) Charley Reese, and TV/radio producer Harriet Krippes.
The growing agency made several moves to different quarters in the Seville Square Historic District, which Dodson was instrumental in helping to preserve. They finally built new offices at 4711 Scenic Highway in 1967. Through the years the agency served a wide variety of clients including financial, health care, fine restaurants and auto parts. Their industrial clients including the St. Regis Paper Company, Champion Paper, International Paper and Westinghouse.
After the passing of Pat Dodson in 1975, Frank Craddock assumed the presidency of the agency, a position he held for 25 years.
Merger
In 2000, Craddock retired and Mary Nolan became president of the agency. That year, the firm merged with Duncan McCall Advertising, then a graphic design and photography firm specializing in brochures and catalogs. Under the terms of the agreement, the DC&B principals — Craddock, Nolan and vice-president Harriet Krippes — received a share of profits for three years following the merger.[1] Mary Nolan remained a media director with the Duncan McCall firm.
A voluntary dissolution was filed for DC&B on May 6, 2004.[2] Original artwork, historic photographs, business plans, brochures, newspaper ads, etc. are archived in the Special Collections department of the University of West Florida's John C. Pace Library. This Dodson, Craddock & Born Collection is maintained by the university as a resource for advertising students and those interested in researching the history of a particular company through its advertising.
References
- DC&B history by Harriet Krippes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Ad agency merger draws on the best of old and new." Pensacola News Journal, August 1, 2000.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 SunBiz.org record
