EMC Creative Is a Small Shop Making a Big Impact

Run Date: September 12, 2011

EMC Creative is many things to many people. It’s an advertising agency, a strategic marketing consultant, a business guide, a branding expert and a social media resource. That’s for starters. EMC is where companies turn when they need help shaping and delivering a commercial or corporate message, connecting with the appropriate audiences, and understanding the consumer side of the equation.

Colleen Edwards, president, is the face and the force of EMC, bringing more than 30 years of business background to the table, and hers is wide and varied experience. Edwards is endlessly curious and endlessly inventive with what she learns.

A Company Long on Consumer Insights

“Clients often ask what I think is relevant, what’s next, how things will change,” she says. “They want to know what I can synthesize from 30 years in marketing, and use it as the basis for forecasting.” Those aren’t unreasonable questions— not when you consider that EMC Creative has been a thought-leader in Northern California business since 1980. Over the years, that kind of cumulative knowledge represents a vault of information. And yet, some of EMC’s most salient data are very fresh. Edwards says that business has undergone a game-changing transformation in the past few years.

“The advent of social media has changed things,” she says. “Everything.” While clients may be looking for someone to foretell the future, they’re also looking for someone to put the present in context—and make the most of it.

Still, EMC did start out focusing on real estate. “We were lucky enough to ride California’s economic wave for the past 30 years,” Edwards says. Whatever the mix of fortune and foresight, it led the company to work on projects as difficult as base conversions and Superfund sites—but also historic properties, downtown redevelopment, waterfront sites, and more. And it doesn’t stop there. Edwards offers a blog and podcast—“The Real Story”—that delves into real estate from today’s news to tomorrow’s possibilities.

A Company Strong on Creativity

At EMC, creativity isn’t simply developing an ad, or even a campaign. “My clients need more than art services. They need smart services,” Edwards says. “They need to know how to rethink the marketing equation, and they need to know where their dollars should be allocated.” They also need to have a true view of what’s going on in their marketplace.

“We talk about how the consumer sees the client and the client’s product,” Edwards says. “This can be very different from what the client has believed. And this understanding is a tremendously valuable business tool.” Solar energy and sustainability. Health care. Banking. Placemaking. The creation of Citizenship 2.0. Exciting new uses of communications channels. This is EMC’s blend of clients and interests. “I think an intellectual quest has led us into these areas,” Edwards says.

What does EMC stand for? It grew from the way clients referred to the company’s original name, Edwards and McCaslin, but, Edwards says, “It’s really about making today count and planning for tomorrow. EMC means Every Moment Counts.”