Holly Mason joined Group Baronet 19 years ago as an account executive in Dallas. But, she never imagined she’d be the owner and president of the advertising firm someday.
She worked with founder Willie Baronet, who started the company in 1992. By 2006, Mason was in account services where she got more involved in the operations and management of the company.
That experience became invaluable when Baronet surprised everyone by saying he planned to sell the business to pursue other interests. His roots were in design. He’s now a creative advertising professor at Southern Methodist University.
Mason had a big decision to make. Did she want to continue working for the agency she loved if someone else bought it?
The answer was no.
Unless she was the owner.
Leap of faith
I had to move fast if I wanted to buy the company.
It was a huge leap of faith for everyone involved. I put together a PowerPoint presentation to pitch my plans for the future of the company.
There wasn’t time to secure a loan or raise capital through traditional means.
So I took the unusual step of taking out a loan from Baronet to buy the business from him.
Rather than paying a bank, I was paying him back. He really believed in me.
I changed the name to MasonBaronet and started a rebranding process for the company. We typically do this for our clients but here we were doing it for our own company. It really helped me start with a clean slate.
I already had a great relationship with our clients and staff so Baronet could walk away with confidence.
Moving on
At the same time I was buying the company and rebranding it, we also needed to find a new location.
The old White Swan building where we had our office was being transformed into House of Blues. As we loaded up the moving trucks, Baronet’s truck went one way and we went another.
It was a symbolic moment for me as I watched my mentor drive away.
We moved to Landmark Center and stayed there for almost 11 years before moving into St. Paul Place in March.
Rapid change
The iPhone hadn’t even been invented when I took over MasonBaronet in 2006. The emergence of smart devices drastically changed the advertising world because people have new ways to get their entertainment.
There are so many new opportunities for advertising that weren’t even thought of a decade ago. But there’s also infinitely more noise to cut through. Businesses need to do something to stand out.
Our clients have to be very clear on what they stand for. Having experiences is everything. As an advertising firm, it’s critical that we be stewards of their brand as they maneuver a complex world.