My Biz: JWMorton rebrands, marks 40th anniversary

CEDAR RAPIDS — JWMorton, a marketing, communications and branding agency based in Cedar Rapids, is celebrating its 40th anniversary — with a rebranding of its own.

The new logo, website and name — shortened from J.W. Morton & Associates to JWMorton — comes from Jeff Westrom and Dave Morton, the two University of Northern Iowa graduates who founded the company on July 1, 1984, in Westrom’s mother’s basement.

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“I’ve said ‘good morning’ to David over 10,000 times, half of our staff has been with us 20 years or more, and many of our client relationships have spanned 10, 15, up to 25 years,“ said Westrom, 65, president of the company’s creative services.

“Several years ago, we had the tagline ‘Good relationships mean great work!’ That pretty much sums it up for me,” he added.

“Our story is about our ability to adapt,” he said. “Change is constant in our industry, and we’re proud of our agency’s ability to evolve with our clients’ needs. While I’m certainly proud of our work over the last 40 years, the most gratifying aspect of our longevity is the relationships that we have built.”

Morton, 64, president of the company’s marketing services, agreed.

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“We continue to develop marketing and brand strategies,” Morton said. “Today, 80 percent of agencies use Artificial Intelligence for their or their clients’ work. It doesn’t replace creativity, but it can save time on base-level work such as fact-finding, research and set standards.”

Company’s growth

After Westrom’s mom’s basement, the founders worked from their Cedar Rapids apartments before moving into a space overlooking the St. Andrews Golf Course in January 1985.

Four years later, they had seven employees and 30 clients. Once they added the Penick & Ford starch works account and were introduced in the right places, they were on their way to success.

The company developed its first website in 1996 and launched the first bank website in Iowa.

As the business grew, so did the team and office, moving to a new facility in 1998 adjacent to the old one on St. Andrews Court at Blairs Ferry Road, where it remains today.

The team includes both presidents, three designers, two copywriters, two media specialists, four account managers and two support staff.

Like most full-service agencies, about 15 clients make up 90 percent of the agency’s work, with the owners saying they focus on doing more for fewer clients though they're always open to new clients.

Accolades

The agency’s marketing work has earned numerous accolades.

For the past two years, it has been helping the University of Northern Iowa increase enrollment, and last year helped UNI achieve its largest enrollment increase in 10 years.

For TaxAct, an online site for filing taxes, the agency produced radio spots the first year. In six years, TaxAct had grown enough to do local, then national, TV ad spots, including a Super Bowl ad, the only independent ad agency in Iowa to score that achievement.

JWMorton also helped an ag company launch a new poultry feeder, increasing sales by 300 percent.

The agency’s team has produced work translated into five languages and created displays for domestic and European trade shows. It created work with the winner of the Tour de France and also has worked with Cabin Coffee Co., DuTrac Community Credit Union, the University of Dubuque, Iowa Eye Center and CAT, plus major appliance brands and packaged goods.

“Regardless of the industry, platform or technology, our goal is still to help clients who want to do it better,” Morton said.

“We keep a balanced perspective in our business and marketing,” he added, noting part of that balance prioritizes relationships in a digital and AI economy, and part of it involves staying diversified with offerings in tune with clients’ needs and requests.

“We’re being deliberate about building a team ready to lead the next generation of marketing,” Morton said. “We’re positioning ourselves to serve clients for many years by staying ahead of industry trends. This is just the beginning of our future.”

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