Prime video: What The Martin Group x Mr. Smith means for clients – The Martin Group

When The Martin Group acquired the highly regarded Mr. Smith as a distinct division and brand of the larger agency last spring, the idea was simple: bring two creative operations together to enhance capabilities across branding, digital marketing, social media, and more for current and prospective clients, and do it under one roof.

But of all of the opportunities that were envisioned, expansion of video and in-house production possibilities provided particular intrigue for principals of the merger—including Mr. Smith founder, Rob Dimmer.

This month, we sat down with Dimmer to discuss what The Martin Group + Mr. Smith means for the agency’s growing list of capabilities; and at a time when video concepting and creation has become such a critical part of brand strategy for businesses, what this creative union means for current and potential clients in need of innovative, forward-thinking visual representation.

How did creative compatibility factor into Mr. Smith and The Martin Group coming together?

Rob Dimmer: It was everything. My co-founders, Collin Wittman and Chrissy Pyne, and I always said that if it was ever going to be anyone, it would be The Martin Group. We had a lot of respect for the reputation the agency built as a creative powerhouse, and truthfully, there wasn’t another shop in town we looked up to the same way.

Matt Davison and I had been checking in with each other for a couple of years, just trading notes on what we were seeing in the market. We both went to the same high school, so there was a natural bond there. Last fall, I told him we were repositioning Mr. Smith as a studio, leaning into what we do best: brand strategy and content production. I asked if The Martin Group was looking for ways to work with other agencies, and he said, “Let’s chase that.”

What made it work is that both teams put brand at the center of everything. We both start with the same questions: what is this brand trying to say, who does it need to reach, and what’s the best way to get there? That shared belief—plus the trust and transparency we had from those early conversations—made it clear this was the right cultural fit.

It also helped that our strengths fit together so naturally. The Martin Group brings decades of experience across strategy, research, media, PR/PA, and digital. We bring a hands-on studio that lives and breathes content production. Neither of us had to become something we weren’t. Mr. Smith gets to keep doing what it does best as a studio within The Martin Group, and Martin clients have access to a complete shoot team right down the hall, ready to go. For our existing Mr. Smith clients, nothing about the team or the attention they get has changed. They just have a lot more we can do for them now.

How does Mr. Smith’s resume of work add to The Martin Group’s video capabilities?

RD: We’re a brand strategy and content studio, so we’re not just a production shop. We understand how all the pieces fit together. The easiest way I’ve explained it to clients is that we’re a mini agency within the greater agency. For some clients we do everything, and for others we do one or two things while The Martin Group handles the rest.

Content production has grown for us over the years, both from the clients we’ve taken on and from paying attention to how people consume media and which stories need to be told. Every project starts with strategy, so the work is grounded in what the brand needs to say and who it needs to reach. From there, our creative direction shapes the concept from the first idea to the final cut, and our operations team keeps every production organized and on schedule.

Having a full-time director of photography on staff became a big differentiator for us. So did building a creative team that can animate, edit, design, shoot, and style photography, and think through how it all works across digital. That’s the reason we’ve been successful: a seasoned, senior team where everyone can do five to seven different things really well.

We also have multiple controlled studio setups and a team that travels on location with a full kit of cameras, lighting, lenses, and audio. So we can do a tightly controlled product shoot in the studio one day and film on-site the next.

What are some of the big projects you’ve done in the past, and what are you working on right now?

RD: Labatt USA is the easiest one to point to, especially in this market. We’ve been working with them for about seven years, and it’s the best example of range. We’ve done raw, interview-style video for social, stories, and reels. We’ve done broadcast work that’s shot wide, looks slick, and runs as part of a larger campaign. And everything in-between, from rich media to animation. We’ve worked with professional football players and on-air personalities who are comfortable in front of the camera, and with people who’ve never been on camera before.

Seagram’s Escapes is another one. That work runs from social to broadcast to retail, including tactics like video and animation for grocery store end caps and the little video that plays while you’re pumping gas. All of it has to work in the medium it’s in.

We just wrapped a big round of product and lifestyle photography for Buffalo Outdoors Workwear, where we manage all of their marketing and eCommerce presence. We’ve also produced an HR onboarding video for Child Care Resource Network, animated videos for GoBike Buffalo’s traffic safety work in schools, and live presentation coverage for Sandhill Investment Management, and the Buffalo Niagara Partnership.

How has this work—and your expertise in the medium—led to creative opportunities for The Martin Group’s current roster of clients?

RD: It’s kind of funny. You see the path on paper, and then it plays out exactly the way you hoped. I say that sincerely. It’s been true for our team internally, and it’s been true for clients, who started seeing the value almost right away.

The Buffalo Niagara Partnership is a good example. That relationship was a shared Martin and Mr. Smith effort before Mr. Smith became part of the agency, and we just started up a few video projects with them. Buffalo Pro Soccer is another, with Martin’s creative team and our production team working together on some video for this longtime Martin partner.

What carries over is how we approach production: making sure it ladders up to sales goals, seasonal objectives, product pushes and launches, and the stories the client wants to tell throughout the year. Then we make sure those stories reach every audience they need to, whether that’s social, a website, or a sales presentation.

How could this work lead to increased interest from potential clients?

RD: When a capability is truly in-house, it’s easy to have those conversations and think through solutions, because the person who does that work is sitting right next to you. Everyone at The Martin Group has always delivered great solutions and results for clients, but now we can get there faster.

Video is often the best way to tell a story, but it’s also one of the hardest things to get right. Too often it’s transactional: a client decides they need a video, goes to someone who makes videos, and gets a video.

When we’re part of the relationship longer and earlier, we understand the goals and the nuances, and we know how that video fits into the bigger picture alongside media, creative, and PR. That makes our job easier and the end result much stronger. We’re not looking for one-offs. We’re looking to build something that keeps working for the client.

How could our in-house video production capabilities help current and future clients navigate changing trends in marketing and communications?

RD: Brands are expected to show up in more places, more often, than ever. Broadcast, social, retail, internal comms, and live events all need content, and the formats keep evolving. Adding a full-time DP and a shoot-ready team to Martin’s world-class production capabilities and experience means we can move at that pace.

Every shoot should work harder than one deliverable. If we’re shooting a three-minute video, how do we cut it down for every channel? What stills can we pull? What animations or motion pieces come out of the same shoot? We plan for all of it up front, so one production day turns into a library brands can draw from all year. Paired with Martin’s strategy, research, and media expertise, that means clients aren’t just keeping up with trends. They’re ready for whatever comes next.

Finally, what most excites you about what a Mr. Smith + The Martin Group future means for clients eager to tell their story?

RD: It all starts with a story. Connection by Design™ has always been our philosophy. We work from the inside out, starting with what a brand believes, what makes it different, and what it wants to be known for.

Then we look at it from the audience’s side: what they care about, where they’re paying attention, and what will make them feel something. The work happens where those two meet. When a brand’s intent and its audience’s perspective line up, the strategy, content, and experiences feel right on both sides, and that’s when real connection happens.

Now that philosophy is carried out at a larger scale, with more departments, a bigger team, and more ways to bring a story to life. Clients get strategy, creative, and content production working together as one team, from the first conversation to the final cut. That’s exciting for us, and even more exciting for the brands we get to work with.

Every story we tell is built with a purpose: the right audience, on the right channel, at the right time.

To learn more about The Martin Group’s production and custom studios capabilities, click here.