welcome

business + humanity

There are two concepts in this business that are more important than anything else: strategy and service. We believe that every idea we present to you should be firmly rooted in solid brand strategy, from the simplest press release or email blast to the biggest event or interactive campaign. And as a complement, we believe that service is all about proactively listening to our clients and helping them find new ways to meet their objectives. Pre-eminently pursuing these two simple ideas, we've found, always leads to better results.

read more about o2facts | o2awards | o2history

facts

the who, what, where, when and why

philosophy

Being in business is about more than just making money. And at o2ideas, it’s about using our gifts and talents to serve not just our own interests. Rather, we choose first to serve the needs others. This ideology is summed up in the core purpose or our company, which is: to create and fulfill ideas for the good of business + humanity. This unique set of beliefs helps us keep our objectives in perspective. We serve our clients and our fellow man with the same strategy and approach that’s helped us be successful for over 40 years.

company/affiliation

o2ideas, Inc. is an Alabama S-corporation. While independently owned and operated since 1967, it is affiliated with the agency group Worldwide Partners (WPI). WPI is the world's largest owner-operated advertising and marketing communications network made up of 94 agencies employing 4,700 people in 154 offices located in 53 countries across Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and North America.

name and title of principal

Shelley Stewart, President and CEO

minority owned

o2ideas is minority owned and is certified by NMSDC.

service areas

We provide local, regional and national services.

key strengths

At o2ideas, we have a simple statement that shapes our approach to everything: think client. This means that whenever we recommend ideas, tactics and strategies for the businesses we serve, we first think through every aspect of the proposal as if it were our money, our company and our job on the line. Doing this helps us keep our focus away from what agencies often get focused on and keeps our eyes solely on what's most important: your business.

Throughout our history, we've had the privilege to work with clients all across the country, including California, Arizona, Texas, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, New Jersey, Maryland, South Carolina, Tennessee, and of course, our home state of Alabama.

industry experience

booksellers
cable
construction
department stores
financial services
grocery
health care
higher education
home improvement
manufacturing
packaged goods
pharmaceutical
qsr/restaurants
real estate
sporting events
sporting goods
wireless

awards

2008 creative excellence awards

While our philosophy on employment branding sounds good, it’s still nice to see it in action. And even though we can’t share with you all the internal and confidential data of our existing clients, we can show you how our work stacks up against the rest of the recruitment industry. In 2009, o2ideas entered six different campaigns in the Creative Excellence Awards, a contest designed to honor the best recruitment and employee oriented creative work in the industry. On behalf of four different clients, o2ideas received a total of eight awards, including two grand prize winners. Here’s what some of that work looked like:

Toys"R"Us | Print Advertising Magazine and Trade Publications | Grand Prize

Mars Petcare | Best Multimedia Campaign | Second Place

Taylor Morrison | Employee/Internal Communications | Grand Prize

history

from humble beginnings to now

We would love to claim that a grandiose, historic event spurred the birth of our company, but o2ideas actually started in 1958 when a department store tie salesman in Shreveport, LA, treated a black man with respect. The salesman was named Cy Steiner, and the store patron was our current President and CEO Shelley Stewart. At the time, Shelley was a radio personality and he recommended Cy for a sales job at his radio station. From there, the two developed an uncommon friendship on a foundation of respect.

Ten years later, Shelley was back in his native Birmingham and wanted to open an ad agency to service the clients that advertised on his radio show. However, being a black man in the segregated culture of Birmingham presented a formidable barrier. Instead of giving up, he remembered the integrity and respect of his friend, Cy. Shelley asked him to be the face of this new business, while he himself would provide leads from the station he now managed and be a silent, financial partner. Thus, Steiner Advertising (which eventually became o2ideas) was born.

Over the past 40 years of being in business and through a few different executives, partners and names along the way, something about that chance encounter stuck with us. Somehow, that one act of kindness found its way to the core of what we became. It’s still here. It still drives us today. And it helps us hire people who believe in it, too.

That’s our story. It may not be glamorous or say tremendous things about our abilities, but we’re much more proud of what it does say about us.