Brothers & Co. to move to Kress Building

19 Jun Brothers & Co. to move to Kress Building

Posted at 00:00h in press-release by Hexcode Designs 0 Comments

Brothers & Co. to move to Kress Building

By: Carrie Rengers

Published By: The Wichita Eagle

Brothers & Co. is moving to the Kress Building downtown with a plan that served the advertising agency well when it opened its first Wichita office: Lease more space than it needs and hope to outgrow it.

“We would be absolutely thrilled if we had to go procure more space or add more floors,” says Kristjan Olson, an account supervisor and Wichita team leader.

The Tulsa-based agency, which is known here for the “Bravely Onward” campaign it did for Fidelity Bank, has done business in Wichita for about a decade. It opened its first Wichita office in 900 square feet at WaterWalk Place in early 2013.

The space was too big then “and it’s now too small for what we need today,” Olson says.

The new space at the Kress Building, which is at the northwest corner of Douglas and Broadway, will be about 4,500 square feet.

“We’ve had a lot of growth,” says associate creative director Shawn Harris. “This move is really a reflection of that growth. … We’re hoping to continue that growth.”

Olson says a big part of that is through talent acquisition.

“Being able to reach out and find new employees who can help us grow more,” he says.

The agency, which also has an Oklahoma City office, has about 80 employees, seven of whom are in Wichita.

“Our space will probably allow for a solid 15-person agency in its current configuration,” Olson says.

He says the agency frequently partners with others, such as video production companies and photographers, and the extra space will help with that as well.

“Part of good client service includes proximity,” Olson says. “The idea is that we’re really here to service our clients and to service them better.”

Though the agency’s work in Wichita isn’t strictly Wichita-focused, it has a number of clients here, such as Kansas Strong and a division of Invista. National clients include Remington firearms and Carhartt and Under Armour clothing.

“We’re spread across a pretty wide variety of industries,” Olson says.

That includes the oil and gas industry, a fair amount in the financial sector and the outdoor sector, including sports such as hunting and fishing.

“A good number of our clients are located in this area,” Olson says. “There’s certainly a number of companies that we’d like to … get on their radar.”

He says the agency is looking at the Kress Building as more of a permanent home.

“The biggest thing probably for Brothers is that we can finally have an address here in the Wichita market that’s official, that’s sort of a front door,” Harris says.

Olson says the Kress Building has 14-foot ceilings and hardwood floors under carpet that the agency will remove.

“We’re doing a big demo,” he says. “It’s a space that’s got a lot of character and a lot of opportunities.”

The address is important, too, Olson says, “being right here at Broadway and Douglas, which is kind of the epicenter of new development.”

“It just seemed like the perfect place to be for us,” he says. “We’re just really excited and honored to be part of that growth and … hopefully we can help contribute to that.”

The new space, which will be about three fourths of a floor, will be ready this fall.

Olson says there’s an opportunity to expand at the Kress Building if Brothers runs out of room.

“We’d love for it to be a problem.”

Craig Simon of Landmark Commercial Real Estate handled the deal.

“I’m excited that Brothers & Co. is a part of our community,” Simon says.

Olson and Harris are Wichita natives.

“We’re pretty passionate about Wichita,” Harris says. “We’ve kind of grown up in this market and now have a chance to sort of leave a mark here, and that’s pretty exciting.”