Laird Christianson Harris
ad agency loses HarrisDoug Harris is stepping down from
the company he joined five years ago
Doug Harris is leaving the advertising agency that bears his name.
CORRECTION
Wednesday, April 28, 2003>> A story on Page C1 Thursday about principal Doug Harris leaving Laird Christianson Harris Advertising Inc. included Harris' estimate that Hawaii's advertising industry has lost $10 million in accounts to mainland agencies in the past two years. That figure was not a reflection of business at Laird Christianson Harris. In fact, billings at the agency have been growing at a rate of $1 million a year since 2001, said principal Buck Laird.
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at fbridgewater@starbulletin.com.He told the staff at Laird Christianson Harris Advertising Inc. Tuesday morning he was leaving the agency and it would be his last day in the office.
"Those are good guys," he said of President Buck Laird and fellow principal Dennis Christianson. However, the agency business is seeing some troubling times, he said, since $10 million dollars in accounts have left Hawaii for the mainland in the past two years.
Harris cited a difference in direction in his decision to leave the agency. The company wants to focus solely on advertising, "but I'm a marketing guy," he said. Advertising is only part of an entire marketing strategy, "and I'm a nosy bugger who wants to know everything," he said.
Four months of strategic planning made the divergence apparent, Laird said.
"It causes owners to take a close look at their personal roles ... in the process there may have been some discovery in what was really important to him," Laird said.
"He's a terrific guy, creative and entrepreneurial ... he's made huge contributions here and we're grateful and lucky to have had him with us as long as we did. He's going to continue to make his mark in this market."
Harris ran his own agency, SmartComm, before joining Laird Christianson nearly five years ago.
"We've had such great success," he said. The company has increased revenue and Harris estimates it is now among the top three in billing.
The agency won six Pele awards from the Hawaii Advertising Federation, and Laird and Christianson each received individual honors.
"It was a completely joint decision and we wish him all the best and are helping him all we can to get him into these things that he wants to pursue," Laird said.
Harris is going to weigh his options. "I need some blue sky," he said.
The company will continue to be called Laird Christianson Harris, "but that will evolve through the transition period into something new," said Laird.
