Rob Gaedtke From KPS3
Rob Gaedtke, president and CEO of KPS3, is known for promoting a positive work
environment, helping engineer a wine throwing Swirl Machine for Santa Maria Valley,
and sneaking in a reference from “The Office” into any presentation he can.
With more than 20 years of leadership experience, and a personal motto of “do amazing
things,” Rob knows that no challenge is too grand for KPS3. Rob doesn't just help the
team produce award-winning work, he leads the charge when it comes to pushing the
agency upward. Stubborn about his goals but flexible about his methods, Rob will
always put people first—and it shows.
From sitting in the bullpen at the office, working on client strategy and always being
game for a huddle, he wants to really know and support each and every one of his
coworkers. During a new hire’s first month at the company, Rob meets three times and
individually walks through the company culture, annual strategic plan and the last
month's income statement and balance sheet in its entirety. This importance of human
connection and radical responsibility and transparency is one of the main reasons KPS3
has won “Best Place to Work” back-to-back-to-back-to-back (you get the point) for six
Years.
Rob constantly seeks opportunities to push his own limits—both personal and
professional—and is the first to make sure others do, too. If he finds the boundaries of a
project, he makes himself go just a little bit further (hence why he looks back on his type
II fun-in-retrospect family fun adventures with fondness).
A longtime board member of The Children’s Cabinet, Rob regularly volunteers his time
throughout the community. He also serves on the Dean’s Advisory Board for both the
School of Journalism and the School of Social Work at the University of Nevada, Reno,
the Advisory Board for the Truckee Meadows Community College Business Department,
The Reynolds School of Journalism Alumni Board and the Washoe County Manager’s
Advisory Committee.
Please tell me all about your agency and what makes it unique?
KPS3’s mission is to change the way marketing is measured.
But this mission isn’t all about data. It’s about changing how clients interact and measure
their partnerships with agencies. It’s about changing the way team members judge their
experience and growth at an agency. And it’s about changing the way brands measure
their marketing and brand programs. Data is merely a means to judge, not a means to change.
Fueled with this mission, KPS3 brings a unique partnership to the brands we manage.
We don’t specialize in industry. We don’t take on clients that represent more than 10% of
our revenue and we don’t have a department that represents more than 30% of our
revenue. Think of us as well-rounded marketing experts that bring a depth of experience
and a wide range of tools to the table with zero bias and zero “been-there-done-that”
Blinders.
3. Can you describe your journey to becoming an agency owner?
Rob’s story began in Stockton, California where he was born and raised. He was given
the opportunity to attend the University of Nevada, Reno. He told his mom he wanted to
go because of the amazing journalism program, but in reality, he just wanted to
snowboard and live closer to the mountains.
During college, Rob kicked off his career working for a very talented photographer. He
learned an incredible amount from him on how to run a business and give a unique flare
with each photo. Even more importantly, he met all the local big shots (pun intended) in
the marketing industry.
He then landed his first agency job at KPS3. His time there started as a production
assistant working with some of the most talented creatives in the region. Wanting to
learn more about the account side of the business, Rob moved to a digital marketing
firm, Twelve Horses, which later became One To One Interactive. He continued to push
the limits and soon found himself as the head of the travel and tourism division at a
global 200+ person agency.
Not long after, KPS3 called him back, and he restarted his career as the VP of creative
services. At the time, founder Stephanie Kruse wanted to elevate the agency’s services
in the digital world (keep in mind, this was 2010). She worked with Rob to build KPS3 up
as one of the premier digital branding agencies in the region.
Five years later, Rob took the helm as the president & CEO of KPS3. Since then, he’s
been continually innovating about how the agency approaches brand, digital, public
relations and everything in between. Today, KPS3 has grown to a crew of 55 people,
with approximately $9 million in annual revenue. KPS3 has been listed on the Inc. 5000
as one of the fastest growing companies for three years in a row. The agency has a
diverse set of clients in various industries, including B2B SaaS, travel and tourism,
healthcare, government, education and nonprofits.
What do your clients like most about your agency?
It’s the human element. Everyone at KPS3 has the drive and enthusiasm to separate our
clients from the pack. The crew has created a Swirl Machine for California’s wine month,
digitized kissing booths for charity and created brand activations that involve a Luke
Combs’s concert, rocking horses and a jam-packed photo booth.
KPS3’s work has personality and style—just like the team. KPS3’s clients get to work
with happy and talented moms, baseball coaches, mountain climbers, concert-goers and
gamers. And that diversity—that unification—brings everyone together to do
extraordinary work.
Let’s face it, agencies are a dime a dozen. How do you make your agency standOut?
Indeed they are. And so are magazines, and furniture stores, automobile makers and
clothing brands. But that is why the world needs top notch agencies, and why the world
needs bold leaders at the helm of these companies. There is too much noise in today’s
over-stimulated world. Companies and agencies who put people above profits, and who
put mission above progress stand out. And we are one of those brands.
If you could pick your dream brand to become one of your clients, which brand would that be?
It’s less about the brands and more about the culture of the client. Some of our favorite
clients are little known SaaS companies or behind-the-scenes global giants. But what
makes them amazing partners is our shared core values. They “Challenge everything,”
“Never settle,” “Take action,” “Have each other’s back,” and they take time to “Play” and
share a smile together.
What would you say are the top 3 strategies used by your agency to land new
clients?
Referrals are the backbone of any good agency's lead generation strategy, and KPS3 is
no different. This past year, referrals made up approximately 70% of its new business
Revenue.
The strategy is fairly simple:
1. Always do great work. Period. Make it a positive experience to work with KPS3’s
team. Solve the client’s problem, and clients will recommend you. For KPS3,
referrals are the biggest compliment, but it starts with the work that’s delivered.
2. Ask. When the timing is right, KPS3 asks clients if they enjoyed the experience of
working together and to possibly refer us to others in need. Asking may be the
main ingredient, but a few pinches of keeping KPS3 top-of-mind (strong brand,
tongue-in-cheek social and useful emails) are also needed.
3. Thank them personally. It’s incredibly important to show appreciation for those
who recommend the agency. Make it personal and give that person a smile (e.g.
local coffee in a Yeti, a captain’s compass, artisan cookies with Coca Cola).
Know how to make people’s day.
What works best when it comes to retaining clients at your agency?
Trust. It’s something every agency has to earn with clients. And, to be honest, it’s
something they have to earn with the team as well. Once that trust is locked in, clients
will take you from organization to organization and partner with you time and time again.
KPS3 earns trust from clients by the value they bring to the conversation, by having their
back or by telling them that we might not be the best partner for this initiative. Candid
conversations and having the strategy to back them up is foundational to building trust in
this agency. Clients trust KPS3 because the team builds the best marketing solutions
within the budget parameters agreed upon.
What are some of the pain points you experience as an agency owner?
Every business has similar challenges and pain points. But agencies do have a few
unique struggles. The primary being balancing the creative culture with the technical and
analytics cultures. This is also where the real magic happens and why KPS3 will never
let a single department or offering get too large. Because the struggle between the two
produces amazing results.
Another area of pain lies in management. It lies in moving specialists and subject matter
experts into leadership positions. This comes naturally to many, but can be a steep
learning curve for others. And when you put as much emphasis on people and
happiness, the pressure compounds. This is a large area of growth for KPS3 and the
fruits of the labor are already starting to shine.
What advice do you have for someone who is just now starting their agency?
Rob emphasizes that the basics should be set in stone. That means a company's
mission, vision and game plan should be carefully mapped out ahead of time. These
basics should also align and/or define company culture, which is one of the most
important elements of any company.
KPS3 has a term for these foundational principles. These are called "table stakes." For
instance, KPS3 has a rule to not become reliant on one client. No single client has more
than 8% of earnings. Today, KPS3 has been built by having a diversified mix of
marketing services to stay nimble, as well as a diverse set of clients. This has been a
foundation to KPS3’s success. This allowed KPS3 to keep its head above water through
recessions and through the pandemic and will help guide the organization for whatever the future throws our way.
Know what your “table stakes” are, and let them navigate the decisions you make.
Can you think of a time in your agency journey when you made a mistake and learned from it? Please explain.
Mistakes make us who we are. And Rob makes a ton of mistakes. From overstaffing to
bad estimates, not setting clear expectations to being overly optimistic. You name it, Rob
has probably done it wrong. But it’s the fun mistakes that we remember.
For example, back in the early days of his career, while joking back and forth via email
with a co-worker, he had used some rather colorful language to describe his excitement
for completing a job.
Well, that email somehow got fired off directly to the CEO of one of KPS3’s top clients.
After his heart started beating again and a forgiving call was made, the client laughed
over the incident and is still a client to this day. The moral of that story: delete the
recipients from email and only add them when you are ready to hit send.
Looking ahead, what do you think will change about the agency landscape in 2024?
Agency life is all about evolution. Throughout history, agencies have struggled to adapt.
To move from print to television. To jump from traditional to digital marketing. To manage
privacy and third-party cookies, social media and now AI. The battle over fake vs. real,
self vs. social and direct vs. mass is actively being fought right now. The outcome of
these could drastically change marketing mixes. But one thing always stays true. The
best brands, the boldest ideas and the smartest strategy always wins.
