Walker Associates

October 30, 2010 – “Mad Men” is one of Ceil Walker’s favorite television shows, she says, because she can track how much the ad business has changed since the 1960s.

The days of three-martini lunches, machismo and all-around bad behavior are long gone, replaced by a new ethic of corporate responsibility and charitable giving, says Walker, president and CEO of Memphis-based Walker + Associates.

“Sorry, we don’t have any vodka in the office,” Walker says.

What she does have is a plan to help a nonprofit organization in honor of Walker + Associates’ 45th anniversary.
The “Walker Wish” is 45 hours of professional services donated to the nonprofit group that receives the most nominations on the company’s website, walker-assoc.com.

“We’re going to give them 45 hours of service, which is close to $6,000 worth of service,” said Andy Windham, the agency’s chief operating officer. “They can use it for new logos, new brochures, public relations, or any of the services we provide.”

Anyone can nominate an organization by e-mail, and all registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations in the Memphis area are eligible. One nomination equals one vote and voting ends at 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 10. Only one nomination will be accepted per e-mail address.

“My hope is that the nonprofits will get behind this and will encourage their supporters to log on and vote,” Windham said. “Instead of going out and spending money on a party for us, we wanted to put some time into helping an organization. I hope this will be the first of many.”
Walker’s late husband, Deloss Walker, founded the company in 1965 before the two were married. Ceil had been a director of marketing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the North American Soccer League and The Racquet Club in Memphis before Deloss persuaded her to join the agency.

Deloss died suddenly in 1996 and Ceil picked up the reins of the business the next day.

“He died on Friday, I buried him on Monday, and I was back at work on Tuesday,” she said. “I didn’t want the staff to feel uneasy, and it helped me to have something to focus on.”

But that’s not the only unheard-of thing she has done to support her business. When the McDonald’s Mid-South Co-op sought proposals for its advertising, Walker dove into her product research.

“I really wanted to win McDonald’s business because we had pitched it before about 25 years ago,” Walker said. “I was jogging down the street one day and thinking ‘dear God, I really need a good idea.’ All of a sudden an idea went off in my head.”

Walker got a job at a McDonald’s restaurant, working without pay, and spent a week making hamburgers and french fries. She was eventually found out by a maintenance man who saw her in her Mercedes, but the inspiration proved invaluable.

Walker + Associates won the account and has held it for the last 20 years.

Another longtime client is Lucite International, which makes acrylic sheets and resins.

“One of the keys things is that they are a small company and there’s a family feel about them,” said Simon Ellis, Lucite business director.
“With big agencies, they’ve constantly got changing personnel. Walker has sustained the interest with us, and we with them.”

Recently, Walker + Associates redesigned Lucite’s showroom where acrylic products are displayed and demonstrated.
Like most agencies, Walker has seen the recession bite into its clients’ budgets, but Walker kept all of its clients and avoided laying off any employees.

And things may be improving, along with the economy. Companies that took advertising projects in-house to save money are now ready and more able to give their work back to the pros.

“Now they see the value in having a little bit higher quality,” Windham said.

By Jonathan Devin, The Commercial Appeal