In recent years, ad campaigns have become so cleverly engaging and entertaining that the audience often view ads as the main attraction instead of the side show. 

Fashion magazine readers focus on the glossy advertisements; Super Bowl watchers look forward to the commercials and YouTube viewers seek out the most avant-garde marketing campaigns. And, thanks to AMC’s Mad Men, the award winning series about the advertising executives during the 1960s, many are captivated with the men and women behind the ads.

Here Patch introduces the “mad men” of Bee Harris Creative, Robert Bruzio of Mahopac and Richard Bastardi of Golden’s Bridge. Rather than have a Don Draper-style commute to Manhattan, they relocated their full service advertising agency, BeeHarris Creative, from Mount Vernon and Yonkers to Bedford Hills, less than a year ago.

Created in 1995, BeeHarris Creative has served hundreds of clients including Twisted Sister, Coca Cola, Lucille Roberts, and the Metro Transit Authority, among others.

Patch: Why did you relocate to Bedford Hills?

BHC:  When this location became available we relocated because we knew we wanted to expand our reach up into the northern parts of the county and the state.

Patch: Tell us about your services.  

BHC:  We are strategic planners that offer full service integrated marketing. We may develop a television commercial, direct mail campaign, packaging, displays or sales collateral—but each client will require different executions based on their business and the marketplace in which they compete.

What makes us different is that we provide full creative services.  There are not too many firms that offer it all anymore, unless you hire one of the big agencies which come attached to very big costs.

Patch: Do you consider your firm to be a classic advertising firm?

BHC: We are a classic advertising agency (web, print, and broadcast) that provides cutting edge digital marketing and advertising.

Patch: What’s an example of “cutting edge” advertising?

We just finished a print ad campaign for a client using QR code marketing.  QR codes—which are just now gaining traction but are expected to takeover in the next year or two—allow us to communicate through mobile devices to create a very strong message.

The way it works is that the target consumer scans the code with their smart phone or tablet, which links him (the consumer) anywhere that we (the marketer) want to drive him. 

We were inspired to delve into QR code marketing when we spotted a Calvin Klein billboard.  Calvin Klein, notorious for having ads pulled for being too racy, placed a billboard on Houston Street in New York.  All that was on the billboard was this giant QR code with a note on the top which said “Scan to get it uncensored.”

Patch: How has the advertising industry changed in the 15 years that BeeHarris had been around?

BHC:   The big shift has been from technology to content.  When mobile phones and iPhones first entered the market, it was all about technology.  But now that the technology is in place, for us it’s now about content development and content access. With the technology in place it (digital communication) is only going to get bigger, better, and faster.

Bee Harris Creative is located at 438 Cherry Street in Bedford Hills. The owners may be contacted at 914-864-1619.