Origo Turns 40, Welcomes New CEO, Preps For New Office in Grandview

Article published by Dan Eaton – Senior Reporter, Columbus Business First. Read full article here.

A family-owned Columbus marketing and communications firm is getting both a new leader and a bigger, more versatile office.

Tommaso and Diana Ciaffoncini founded what is now Origo Branding (originally called Tommaso Design Group) in 1985. As it hits 40 years of business, two big changes are underway.

Their son, Alessandro Ciaffoncini, is now CEO after 17 years in a variety of other roles with the firm, most recently as president.

Origo also is moving, with plans to relocate from downtown Columbus to a new office at 1400 Goodale Blvd. in March.  

Alessandro said the new space is 50% larger, which will give them more meeting and collaboration spaces and more room to invite clients, the community or industry members in for events and gatherings.

“People need a place,” he said. “I think most of the work and relationships that happen are in the in-between times. Yes, we have meetings, but after that people are saying, ‘Come over here. Check this out,’ or they’re meeting in the lunch area talking about a problem they’re trying to solve. That’s the creative process.”

Though the Great Recession was a downturn blip – as it was for many businesses – it’s largely been an upward trajectory for Origo. In the last 12 years, revenue has increased tenfold.

Employment has more than doubled from 10 a decade ago to 24 project managers, brand strategists, designers, animators, copywriters and more today.

The firm, which specializes in healthcare, education and community initiatives, expects to add up to four more positions in the next year. Key clients include the state of Ohio, PPG Industries, Abbott Nutrition, Cardinal Health and McGraw Hill.

Columbus Business First sat down with Tommaso and Alessandro to talk about the firm’s past and future. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

How did Origo start?

Tommaso: I came to this country in 1980. I graduated from a really good school in Italy and worked for four years there. When I came here, one of the first people I met was Joseph Canzani (the first president of Columbus College of Art & Design). He liked my work. He introduced me to a few other people in the business. So getting that start, that’s why I came here.

But how did you end up in Columbus?

Tommaso: That’s the romantic story. I met Diana when I was 19 in college. She was (an exchange student) from Ohio State. She moved to Italy for two years. We lived together in Rome. We came here for a month to get married. I love Rome, but I always wanted to work in graphic design in the United States. The intention was to be here for two years and then go back. Diana loved living in Italy. It wasn’t her idea to move back here.

You started Origo in 1985?

Tommaso: Our first office was in the Short North. From the get-go, we worked with the local community, especially in the arts. We started to work with Abbott, Borden. We did packaging for their ice cream. We were really small but I thought we had something to offer. I feel lucky that I started the business in a place where it was needed.

It grew to the needs of our clients. We still are a creative agency, but we added things to up our services. We’re growing clients. We’re growing the number of people.

Alessandro was a year old when I started. We worked so many hours, he’s always been around the office. When he graduated college, he probably knew more about the business than we did.

Alessandro: I’ve always been impressed by Tommaso and Diana and how they grew the business. To be a guy who goes to a new country. To have a daughter who was 2 and a child on the way and to go out on your own? That was a courageous move. I think about that quite a bit. You have a little bit of family pride there.

What are you going to do now?

Tommaso: I’m still going to consult. It’s gratifying to know this company has a future. To continue to keep our tradition, our standards, our principles, that’s very satisfying. That’s a credit to Alessandro.

Alessandro: Having a family business, you care at a different level. Ohio University has a fantastic college of business, but getting out of college, I had a one-on-one mentor immediately with Tommaso and he showed me bit-by-bit how this machine works. He says he wants to give me credit, but I’m obviously on the shoulders of what they’ve done.

What are some of the lessons you’ve learned from Tommaso?

Alessandro: You have different individuals – business people, creative people, technology people. Each is motivated by different things. Success is different for an account manager than for a designer. The way you communicate, showing appreciation, showing respect and empathy. The idea to encourage, not discourage. Helping work through problems. That’s very important.

Empathy goes down the chain. You’re an account manager. A client calls at 4:30. They need something the next day. They’re probably in a bind. It’s our job to be a partner who can help them out. The account manager has to go across the office to creative and break the news that we have a situation and we all need to come together. Creative has to understand the account manager isn’t trying to make life hard for anybody. We’re all just trying to make something successful and to get someone out of a problem. It’s working toward a singular vision.

What are your plans to grow the business?

Alessandro: We’ve always grown based on our clients’ needs. As Tommaso started, it was graphic design. In the ’90s, ‘Hey do you guys do websites?’ So we added web. ‘Do you do video?’ We can go across the hall now to our animator and video specialist. That’s why we rebranded to Origo Branding. We take a brand-oriented approach but branding is only part of what we do.

We have a great level of leadership – creative director, director of account strategy, VP of operations.

We do advertising and marketing campaigns, sales strategy, media campaigns. What is your brand story? What are you trying to convey? Who do you want to connect with? It’s not always the whiz-bang, Mad Men reveal. Sometimes the challenge is building a 200-page guide on how to address individuals with opioid addiction.

In terms of industries, government’s been great. We’re focused on our roots in healthcare and education. Also cause marketing, like Goodwill Columbus.

Something I’m very proud of is that we’re measured in our growth. With some others, you get a big project, you hire a bunch and when the project goes away, you get rid of them. Our promise to our people is we’re going to have spikes and lulls. If you’re with us during those spikes – and those might be harder hours – we’ll be there for you in the lulls. The better we accommodate our people, the better work they produce. Growth will happen organically for us if we do that.

Read the full article at Columbus Business First here.