A few months ago, ADK Group joined forces with projekt202, a global experience design and software development firm headquartered in Dallas. For the ADK Louisville office, this marks the second acquisition in 3 years and the third rebrand in 4 years.
But, as we sat and watched the painters change the interior office wall colors, we noticed something interesting: one of projekt202’s primary brand colors is identical (at least to the naked eye) to one of Blackstone Media’s original brand colors—Peppercorn Gray. That’s from a palette that dates back to 2006, the date of origin for our local agency. To fully appreciate the irony of this, one needs to first understand the unique history of the Louisville office.
Louisville Office Backstory
In 2015, almost-10-year-old Blackstone Media had just secured some of its biggest clients ever (Toyota Forklift, Mercer, and PetFirst Healthcare), catapulting us to one of Louisville’s leading digital marketing agencies, seemingly overnight. We all embraced the small-agency-big-impact mentality. As such, we were building up the team and the brand while riding high on our new, much larger office space in the city’s rejuvenated museum and bourbon district. We were seeing high growth potential, and moving ahead accordingly.
In 2018, just as the now re-branded Blackstone Digital (rebrand #1) had stagnated, one of our partner agencies, ADK Group, was thriving. With similar cultures, services, and processes, ADK acquired Blackstone Digital (rebrand #2), and we continued growing together, harmoniously. Fast forward to 2021, ADK Group is acquired by projekt202, (rebrand #3) an international experience design and development powerhouse.
Locally, we are still the same group of eager, passionate experience designers, developers, and marketing strategists. But with a wealth of new resources available, we are now more motivated than ever before.
So now, we are painting some walls
Through it all, one thing has remained consistent – the Peppercorn Gray color. But, the paint color represents more than just a fun coincidence. We haven’t lost any of our identity, we’ve simply continued to build onto it, adding brightness, layering on colorful expertise but keeping our roots in the ground. We’re still architects of user experience – from design to development, content, and beyond. But now, we have a skilled and highly knowledgeable team that extends well beyond our local market.
Locally, we are still the same group of eager, passionate experience designers, developers, and marketing strategists. But with a wealth of new resources available, we are now more motivated than ever before.
This palpable excitement is more purpose-driven than ever before. Why? We have WAY more opportunities to make a greater impact on the world at large.
- Awesome Locations: Under the umbrella of projekt202, we are stronger and better positioned to continue building exceptional digital experiences for future-focused companies. projekt202 is truly a global company, with over 600 employees spread across offices in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Kuala Lumpur, Medellín, San Francisco, and Seattle. Louisville might be one of the smaller offices in terms of boots on the ground and market size. But, pound for pound, we are one of the mightiest.
- Awesomer Brands: projekt202 works with everyone from high-profile brands to scrappy startups. Our mission is to deliver better digital experiences to people everywhere. We now are able to leverage that breadth and depth of experience for companies right here in Louisville.
- The Awesomest Humans: We feel like we’ve found the family that we always belonged to. It’s all about like-minded people sharing knowledge, and being passionate about delivering exceptional experiences to other humans. We want our products to make people’s lives better across the board – from the clients’ employees to the end users.
So What’s Next?
projekt202 is investing in Louisville in a big way. We’ve already got the digs with a great view overlooking the Muhammed Ali Center and Ohio River. The space is taking shape with some light renovations and re-branding. And, we’re hiring! If you or someone you know is a mid or senior-level UX Designer who wants to work with other awesome people and do super interesting work, apply here.
Almost 6 years exactly after Blackstone pivoted towards longevity and regional relevance, we are again reminded of our purpose—providing exceptional digital services & solutions, now with the expanded capabilities and resources that being a part of projekt202 will provide.
