Building youth brands

Beyond the front doors of Lincoln-based Archrival Studios are features that reflect the company's deep Midlands roots:

Work areas aligned to resemble Nebraska's irrigation patterns, a reception desk fashioned from the front end of a 1954 Fordomatic pickup truck, and a pseudo-cornfield featuring rows of fixtures that resemble the light sabers used in the “Star Wars” films.

To outsiders, the surface details may not mean much. But for co-owners Charles Hull and Clint! Runge and their clients, attention to even the smallest detail has helped their company grow into one of the top youth branding agencies in the nation.

If you take a closer look at the company and its workspace in Lincoln's Haymarket district, you'll find other signs that point to success: heaps of local, regional and international awards piled on shelves on tall bookcases, a small core of dedicated employees and a worldwide client base including companies like Red Bull Energy Drink, Microsoft, Honda, State Farm Insurance and Pabst Brewing Co.

Archrival's attention — rather, obsession — to creative details can be traced back to Hull and Runge's educational background at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. As classmates, they didn't study marketing or communications. Instead, they learned the intricacies of architecture, a program that pitted top students against one another during competitive projects, forcing the top young minds to hone their strategic thoughts and problem-solving skills.

“The architecture program taught us to think about things in 360 degrees ... holistically, and for everything to have a point,” Hull said. He added that those principles are applied by each of Archrival's employees, too.

“We saw a need for our clients and for brands to think about their marketing communications from a much more comprehensive standpoint than just a television ad or radio spot.”

Unlike branding agencies located in major metropolitan areas like New York and Los Angeles, Hull, 36, and Runge, 34, remain dedicated to their roots in the Midlands. There have been advantages and disadvantages of starting and running a business in Lincoln, they said.

When the company was founded in 1997, Archrival was forced to go outside Nebraska to compete against bigger firms for clients, a difficulty at first. Two-and-a-half years after opening, Hull and Runge were underdogs for a major project with Lowe's Home Improvement Stores. They were the Midwest guys who big-city competitors thought were in over their heads, “playing with the big dogs,” Runge said.

Their competitors were wrong. Archrival brought innovative ideas to the table, won the $500,000 gig and got its first major break.

“Nothing felt greater than winning that,” Runge said.

Being based in Lincoln helped keep startup costs low, since cost of living is less than in major markets, and now it even piques the interest of potential clients.

“I think it sets us apart,” Runge said. “It's less about where we're from because our work has achieved a certain level.”

In past weeks, Archrival has gained recognition for its work with Red Bull, creating an interactive Web site called “Red Bull Project X” that details the behind-the-scenes training of Olympic gold medalist snowboarder Shaun White. It was named Site of the Day by the Favourite Website Awards, a top accomplishment for the company.

The company has also received recognition from Yahoo.com, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal.

Friend and business partner Nick Hudson, an international entrepreneur who has set his roots in Omaha with developments such as Nomad Lounge and the Halo Institute, said Hull and Runge are well-positioned for continued success because of their ability to develop applications for social media networks like Facebook, in addition to their adaptability to quarterly trend changes spurred by the Generation X and Y consumers they cater to.

“They just know social media really, really well,” Hudson said. “They are absolute experts in youth branding and have a perfect balance between focus, passion and discipline.”

Like Hudson, Hull and Runge have worked to develop the Omaha and Lincoln's growing entrepreneurial “creative class.” It's a grass-roots movement spearheaded by progressives and entrepreneurs, rather than city leaders or politicians, Hull said.

Both Hull and Runge said Omaha needs to be in the discussion as one of the nation's “cool cities” instead of just the flyover state that many outside the Midwest perceive.

“One of the things that keeps us going is that there is this constant challenge of changing that face of the Midwest's creative culture,” Runge said. “That's a big part of Archrival's personality and character.”

Looking forward, there are a number of changes on the horizon for Archrival. The company is building a new, independent office space in Lincoln, which will be finished in fall of next year. Additionally, Hull and Runge have rolled out the Axis of Awesome, a college-based network that will help Archrival's clients reach students through campaigns implemented by the students themselves.

The concept has been implemented at 10 universities in the Midwest, including UNL. They hope to expand the concept to 150 campuses.

That project is one of the entrepreneurial ideas Archrival hopes to develop as it continues to evolve. Hull and Runge also currently have a stake in Nomad Lounge and plan to expand other business ideas under the Archrival brand that have been tabled in past years.

Hudson described Hull and Runge as quiet and unassuming. “They're not out there and pushy, but when you talk to them all this magic comes out.”

The magic comes out literally in Runge's case. On top of being a co-owner at Archrival, he's a magician and “one of the funniest, most colorful characters” Hudson says he has ever met. He also totes an exclamation point at the end of his first name. That mark was legally added by his mother when Runge was in first grade, and he's kept it ever since.

Hull, Hudson said, is the quieter of the pair, but has a “razor-sharp business mind” and “amazing ethics and solid principles” when it comes down to making tough business decisions.

“I think (their success) is a tribute to this region,” Hudson said. “There's something pretty cool going on in Nebraska and I think that's going to keep getting better and better.

“Archrival is a leading example of that.”

Contact the writer:

444-1414, ross.boettcher@owh.com