Solve. Serve. Grow. Those three words summarize Jackson Marketing Group’s guiding principles, and according to owner Larry Jackson, form the motivation that has kept the firm thriving for the past 25 years.
Jackson graduated from Bob Jones University with a degree in video and film production and started his 41-year career in the communications industry with the U.S. Army’s Public Information Office. He served during Vietnam, where he said he was “luckily” stationed in the middle of Texas at Fort Hood.
He left the service and went to work in public affairs and motorsports at Ford Motor Company in Detroit. After a stint at Bell and Howell, where he was responsible for managing Ford’s dealer marketing and training, the entrepreneurial bug hit and he co-founded Jackson-Dawson Marketing Communications, a company specializing in dealer training and product launches for the auto industry in 1980.
In 1987, Jackson wanted to move back south and thought Greenville would be a good fit. An avid pilot, he learned of an opportunity to purchase Cornerstone Aviation, a fixed base operation (FBO) that served as a service station for the Greenville Downtown Airport, providing fuel, maintenance and storage.
In fact, when he started the Greenville office of what is now Jackson Marketing Group (JMG) in 1988, the offices were housed on the second floor in an airport hangar.
“Clients would get distracted by the airplanes in the hangars and we’d have to corral them to get back upstairs to the meeting,” Jackson said.
Jackson sold the FBO in 1993, but says it was a great way to get to know Greenville’s fathers and leaders with a majority of them utilizing the general aviation airport as a “corporate gateway to the city.”
In 1997, Jackson and his son, Darrell, launched Jackson Motorsports Group. The new division was designed to sell race tires and go to racetracks to sell and mount the tires. Darrell Jackson now serves as president of the motorsports group and Larry Jackson has two other children and a son-in-law who work there. Jackson said all his children started at the bottom and “earned their way up.”
Jackson kept the Jackson-Dawson branches in Detroit and others in Los Angeles and New York until he sold his portion of that partnership in 2009 as part of his estate planning.
The company now operates a small office in Charlotte, but its main headquarters are in Greenville in a large office space off Woodruff Road, complete with a vision gallery that displays local artwork and an auditorium Jackson makes available for non-profit use. The Motorsports Group is housed in an additional 26,000 square feet building just down the street, and the agency is currently looking for another 20,000 square feet.
Jackson said JMG has expanded into other verticals such as financial, healthcare, manufacturing and pro-bono work, but still has a strong focus on the auto industry and transportation. It’s also one of the few marketing companies in South Carolina to handle all aspects of a project in-house, with four suites handling video production, copywriting, media and research and web design.
Clients include heavyweights such as BMW, Bob Jones University, the Peace Center, Michelin and Sage Automotive. Recent projects have included an interactive mobile application for Milliken’s arboretum and 600-acre Spartanburg campus and a marketing campaign for the 2013 Big League World Series.
“In my opinion, our greatest single achievement is the longevity of our client relationships,” said Darrell Jackson. “Our first client from back in 1988 is still a client today. I can count on one hand the number of clients who have gone elsewhere in the past decade.”
Larry Jackson says his Christian faith and belief in service to others, coupled with business values rooted in solving clients’ problems, have kept him going and growing his business over the years. He is passionate about giving back and outreach to non-profits. The company was recently awarded the Community Foundation Spirit Award.
The company reaffirmed its commitment to serving the community last week by celebrating its 25th anniversary with a birthday party and a 25-hour Serve-A-Thon partnership with Hands on Greenville and Habitat for Humanity. JMG’s 103 full-time employees worked in shifts around the clock on October 22 and 23 to help construct a house for a deserving family.
As Jackson inches towards retirement, he says he hasn’t quite figured out his succession plan yet, but sees the companies staying under the same umbrella. He wants to continue to strategically grow the business.
“From the beginning, my father has taught me that this business is all about our people – both our clients and our associates,” said his son, Darrell. “We have created a focus and a culture that strives to solve problems, serve people and grow careers.”
Darrell Jackson said he wants to “continue helping lead a culture where we solve, serve and grow. If we are successful, we will continue to grow towards our ultimate goal of becoming the leading integrated marketing communications brand in the Southeast.”
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Timeline:
[ezcol_1fifth id=”” class=”” style=””]1988[/ezcol_1fifth] [ezcol_4fifth_end id=”” class=”” style=””]Jackson Dawson opens in Greenville at Downtown Airport[/ezcol_4fifth_end]
[ezcol_1fifth id=”” class=”” style=””]1990[/ezcol_1fifth] [ezcol_4fifth_end id=”” class=”” style=””]Jackson Dawson acquires Therapon Marketing Group[/ezcol_4fifth_end]
[ezcol_1fifth id=”” class=”” style=””]1990[/ezcol_1fifth] [ezcol_4fifth_end id=”” class=”” style=””]Jackson Dawson moves to Piedmont Office Center on Villa Road[/ezcol_4fifth_end]
[ezcol_1fifth id=”” class=”” style=””]1997[/ezcol_1fifth] [ezcol_4fifth_end id=”” class=”” style=””]
Jackson Dawson launches Motorsports Division[/ezcol_4fifth_end]
[ezcol_1fifth id=”” class=”” style=””]1998[/ezcol_1fifth] [ezcol_4fifth_end id=”” class=”” style=””]Jackson Dawson moves to Task Industrial Court[/ezcol_4fifth_end]
[ezcol_1fifth id=”” class=”” style=””]2003[/ezcol_1fifth] [ezcol_4fifth_end id=”” class=”” style=””]Motorsports Division acquires an additional 26,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space[/ezcol_4fifth_end]
[ezcol_1fifth id=”” class=”” style=””]2009[/ezcol_1fifth] [ezcol_4fifth_end id=”” class=”” style=””]Jackson Dawson changes name to Jackson Marketing Group when Larry sells his partnership in Detroit and LA[/ezcol_4fifth_end]
[ezcol_1fifth id=”” class=”” style=””]2009 – 2012[/ezcol_1fifth] [ezcol_4fifth_end id=”” class=”” style=””]Jackson Marketing Group named a top BtoB agency by BtoB Magazine 4 years running[/ezcol_4fifth_end]
[ezcol_1fifth id=”” class=”” style=””]2011[/ezcol_1fifth] [ezcol_4fifth_end id=”” class=”” style=””]
Jackson Marketing Group/Jackson Motorsports Group employee base reaches 100 people[/ezcol_4fifth_end]
[ezcol_1fifth id=”” class=”” style=””]2012[/ezcol_1fifth] [ezcol_4fifth_end id=”” class=”” style=””]Jackson Marketing Group recognized by Community Foundation with Creative Spirit Award[/ezcol_4fifth_end]
