Today we’d like to introduce you to Derrek Coss.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was hired to the Junior Designer position by Accent Banners previous owner more than 11 years ago. I had recently graduated from the Art Institute of Boston, now the Lesley University College of Art and Design, and was eager to begin working professionally. Once settled into my role at Accent Banner I identified areas of need and helped implement processes that made the sale, design and production of custom flags and banners more efficient, accurate and profitable. Efforts like these and others lead to the creation of an art department and eventual promotion to Art Director.
As the Art Director I began interacting with clients more frequently, accompanying sales personnel on various meetings with existing and potential clients. Being sidekick to the company’s previous owner (and 5-star salesman) Curt Dietrich on such client meetings was incredibly educational and helped fine tune my previous sales experience for the next stage of my career with Accent Banner as the General Manager.
During my time as General Manager Curt retired. Alice Dietrich who joined the company in 2005 as a company owner and Managing Partner. Alice has always invested in our staff and continues to support our entire team by building from within. Together we have implemented many of the same strategies I started as Art Director however, this time the processes and procedures put in place were done in support of our sales efforts. Alice’s skills in all things financial has allowed the company to begin marketing on a larger scale and in turn servicing clients nationally. As those efforts have continued to evolve and grow we have begun reaching an international market in addition to our core New England and national client base.
As time went on and Alice and my teaming up proved to be successful she offered a partnership in the company. An opportunity I am grateful for every day. For the last three years I have been the company President and co-owner with Alice. Together we have elevated this company to a new level by reaching customers on a global scale, setting record breaking sales and promoting the belief that a well-made product made right here in the United States is one of the greatest things this world has to offer.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Have you ever heard of a small company that was free of obstacles and challenges? Me neither. In addition to the economic challenges we have all endured in the past decade, our company faces the ongoing challenges of securing new customers, competing with advancements in print technology, and finding workers skilled in the art of applique stitching.
It’s true, good stitchers are hard to find. Our production staff is comprised of talented craftswomen who were trained in other countries and brought their skills here to America in pursuit of a better life. We are lucky to have them and show our gratitude in many ways including doing all that we can to help their families assimilate to life state-side. They provide our company with a quality product unsurpassed by any competitor we have encountered. We support our company and our staff by investing in them, by training them and furthering their skills. This provides job security as they move up the “production team ladder” and creates opportunity for new hires to enter at a basic level.
Advancements in print technology have allowed for less expensive product options to flood the market. Applique production is a labor-intensive process, whereas printing continues to become faster, cheaper and more readily accessible. In a day and age where we want things now and we want them cheap, it becomes increasingly difficult to persuade potential clients to the value of a well-made, hand crafted product. We continue to fight this battle by showing the tangible evidence of applique as a far superior product. Most often after a buyer has seen the comparison of print and applique with their own eyes, felt the difference with their own hands and heard the benefits of applique with their own ears the choice is clear and they opt for the applique product. None the less, there are times when a customer’s needs are better met by a printed product. In those instances, we employ the old adage “if you can’t beat them, join them” and offer a wide range of printed products from signs, table drapes and retractable banner stands to flags, large format banners and light pole banners.
The challenge of finding new customers is prevalent in every organization and perhaps even more so in a small company whose niche is as unique as ours. We have lived on the good word and referrals of our existing clients for years. Building upon that foundation we have focused on and invested heavily in the concepts of inbound marketing. Through creating content relevant to our client base, promoting that content, having a strong internet presence and constantly tweaking our search engine optimization we have continued to expand our reach nationally and even globally in recent months. Our willingness to listen to client needs and create content that resolve those issues helps draw semi-qualified leads to us, allowing us to focus our attention on potential customers we can properly help.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Accent Banner is one of the nation’s premier manufacturers of appliqued flags and banners. Although we do offer many different print products such as light pole banners for clients of every size, from the Boston Celtics to St. Josephs Elementary, our real niche is in appliqued product.
Applique is the process in which a digital design is produced as a pattern and transferred to layers of nylon and various other material. The traced design is then stitched carefully. Once the design has been completely stitched, our expert production staff hand cuts away the excess materials, there by revealing the desired text and design. The final stage is “finishing” the flag or banner by adding pole sleeves, header and grommets or any other combination of our many finishing options.
One often finds applique banners on display in the athletics facilities of colleges and universities or as backdrops on the stages of their commencement ceremonies. Appliqued flags fly everywhere from corporate headquarters to personal boats. Most impressive however, are the many 30’W x 50’H flags and banners we have produced for an assortment of clients to fly at the Boston Harbor Hotel. These banners have become an icon of downtown Boston especially the Boston Strong banner, the hotel’s winter on the Wharf and Wine Festival banners, and most recently the massive Sail Boston banner which appeared over and over on social media and local news.
The characteristic of our company that sets us farthest apart from our competition is our quality. We are extremely fortunate to have a stellar production staff. They are true artisans from whom we demand and receive a high level of perfection. We are often contacted by clients who are surprised and disappointed to have purchased a banner elsewhere and found that its construction and durability were lacking. Fortunately, our 30+ years of banner manufacturing has allowed us to also become experts in the art of banner and flag repair.
We are extremely proud of our ability to serve a wide range of customer types. For instance, one day we might find ourselves working on a small project for Beaver Country Day School while the next we are teaming up with major companies like Price Waterhouse Coopers to produce banners for the PanMass Challenge. Our clients and the relationships we have established motivates us more than anything else.
What were you like growing up?
I was raised in Columbus, Ohio. For much of my childhood my family consisted of two brothers and a single father. We spent much of our time as many families in central Ohio do; attending school, going to church and pursuing activities like fishing, back yard football and all the shenanigans three young boys get themselves into. Though, when not tearing around the neighborhood with my brothers, I often escaped into comics and even began drawing my own superheroes at a very young age.
As I grew older my interest in drawing and art grew right along with me. I became the type of tween that sought out music that spoke to me and explored art that had a voice different from the mainstream. I found punk rock and began skateboarding. By the time I was sixteen I knew I was a creative person drawn to the more rebellious and underground scenes of culture.
My family moved to upstate New York in my junior year of high school. We lived in a small town and although I established friendships that are meaningful to this very day the town itself didn’t quite suit me. This motivated me to travel after high school. Backpacking across Europe with little more than my skateboard and best friend I learned more about our world than I could ever explain. It was on that trip I decided to pursue a career in Art, leading to my decision to apply to Art schools.
In 1998 I enrolled in the Art Institute of Boston to study illustration and Graphic Design. There I met the woman that would later become my wife. We have planted roots here and I have officially lived in the Boston area longer than any other city. Boston and now the North Shore is, without a doubt, home.
Contact Info:
- Address: 17 Locust St.
Medford, MA
02155 - Website: www.accentbanner.com
- Phone: 800-367-3710
- Email: info@accentbanner.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/accentbanner/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AccentBanner/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/accent-banner-medford
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