Focus on food and ag triggered rapid growth for Agency 29

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There was a time when diversification made sense for Maureen Ballatori’s marketing firm, when the industry sector of a potential client was not the driving force in the quest for the perfect partnership.

But then she got to thinking: why not differentiate? Why not zero in on just one industry? What if the team at Agency 29 dedicated the majority of its efforts to brands in the food, beverage and agriculture sector?

“I just had a hunch that narrowing our focus would actually expand our opportunities,” Ballatori said. “I saw signs pointing to more attention being paid to the food, beverage and agriculture scene. Some of it was in my own backyard with the Grow-NY competition and how that was attracting global businesses to our own region.

“But I also seeing that kind of significance and attention paid in various pockets in the rest of the United States.”

Her own background of growing up on a dairy farm also played a role. “I had that personal connection to that traction that was happening,” she said.

So she took the leap of faith — a calculated risk, as she termed it — and aimed the Agency 29 focus on firms in the food-bev-ag space. Since the firm already worked with several clients in the sector, the pivot made even more sense.

“It felt like the right thing to do from all the external signals I was getting, and then also feeling right in my gut,” Ballatori said.

Nearly six years later, it’s very clear she made the correct decision. Annual revenue has nearly tripled and the staff has nearly doubled (from six employees to 10) for the Rochester-based agency.

“Our core focus is brand strategy and marketing strategies, the day-to-day execution of getting the job done but also the strategic guidance,” Ballatori said.

Thus, when you’re immersed in a particular field, the expertise and industry know-how becomes apparent. Clients begin to view you as a go-to agency.

“I hear often from them, ‘It’s great that we don’t have to explain the basics to you, you guys just understand this industry,’ ” Ballatori said.

In other words, a client such as Cornell University doesn’t need to explain why methane mitigation is a critical and complex issue in the dairy industry.

“It certainly helps get the ball rolling because we have that baseline understanding,” Ballatori said. “Animal agriculture, dairy in particular, is one of our strongest areas of focus because we have that clear understanding of not only what it takes to market the product, the heavy competition in the industry, but also there’s an appreciation when you talk to folks who work with farmers who have to get the job done every day; I’ve lived that.”

Agency 29 also has strong relationships with national and even global legacy brands within the consumer packaged goods space. They’re often multi-generational businesses that perhaps have an on-farm component.

“But they also have a big need to fill as it relates to the strategic growth of their business and the ongoing marketing execution that’s required to keep that going,” Ballatori said.

There’s another advantage to focusing on the food-bev-ag sector, too. People are always going to need to eat. Ensuring clients know how to reach consumers is the trick.

“Those industries — agriculture and food — are no longer behind-the-scenes stories,” Ballatori said. “They are what consumers care about when they’re choosing what to put on their plate three times a day. Where our food comes from, how it was grown, they’re so central to today’s consumer purchasing decisions.

“The storytelling of them — especially when GLP-1s, and more, more, more on protein, and fiber is now a rising trend again — there are so many factors that go into what consumers choose to eat and it’s becoming more and more complex to align with the kind of customer that you’re looking to attract.”

Being able to providing those answers has enabled Agency 29 to thrive. But friends and other business owners also sometimes come looking for a little advice or insight on her decision to specialize.

Friends or other business owners are intrigued by

“They’ll say, ‘We find that we have a cluster of clients in X-Y-X industry …’ and I even say, ‘Have you thought about niching there, because if you’re finding good traction in a segment,” she said. “That niche expertise only compounds the more you’re able to continue to work in those specialized industries.”

The point is proven by Agency 29’s growth. In 2024 the firm was named a Top 50 fastest growing Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprise by the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce.

“A lot of that traction has come from supportive biz-dev efforts,” Ballatori said. “When we reach out to someone who’s in industry and we say we are specialized in food-bev-ag, they know we’re not just like everybody else. And that was the whole reason I wanted to niche down in the first place; I didn’t want to be like every other agency down the street.

“I wanted to be the best at what we do and be really focused on who we serve.”

Agency 29 does still have clients outside the of food-bev-ag sector, they just don’t go looking for them.

“Are you good people and are you looking for something we can help you solve?” Ballatori explained. “Is it a brand strategy problem or a marketing system execution that you need help with? We’ll certainly take those on but we don’t seek them out.

“The way that we prospect and work with clients is so relationship focused. We are not just looking for any old client; we’re looking for strategic partnerships. Our prospecting is richer and our relationships are stickier because we care about working collaboratively with good people.”

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