Oct. 17, 2019 / Pam Hamlin, former Global CEO of Arnold Worldwide, and Mark Battista, former EVP of Brand Experience at Arnold Worldwide, join a group of creatively-minded business leaders to launch York Creative Collective (YCC). The company, founded by Travis York, CEO of marketing agency GYK Antler, unites the resources, relationships, experiences and capabilities of numerous highly successful, independent and creative ventures, with the mission of growing brands and businesses that share a commitment to creativity, craft and quality.
“We created York Creative Collective as a home for brands that seek the resources of a highly creative and entrepreneurial team in order to drive growth and take them to the next level. YCC has the freedom to flex talent across teams, ensuring that all businesses and employees alike reach their highest potential,” shared York. “As a lifelong entrepreneur, I’m proud to introduce YCC as we seek to lead, inspire and champion creative entrepreneurs through our collaborative model.”
YCC was formed to maximize growth opportunities for its creatively driven brands, businesses and people. The network of ventures all operate under an integrated model, with shared bottom line, infrastructure and business operations. At the center of YCC is marketing services, which serves as the growth engine to fuel the ventures. The model is self-sustaining, where the ROI of the work is reinvested to scale the collective.
The first ventures to join YCC include:
- Full-service marketing agency with a content studio with integrated media offering, GYK Antler
- Emmy-winning video production company, Big Brick
- Direct-to-consumer training footwear brand, YORK Athletics
- Media platform with a content arm, Iron & Air
- SaaS reporting & analytics platform, Explorics
- Sports media platform, Kompany39
- 7th-generation premium drum manufacturer, Noble & Cooley
- Non-profit, Rock on Foundation
YCC also has a strategic alliance with the newly launched investment company, York IE, that provides access to supplemental capital to accelerate scale of the collective’s ventures.
“It’s been rewarding for the YORK Athletics team and advantageous for the business plugging into the extended GYK Antler and YCC family to more strategically plan our growth, leverage their marketing expertise and collaborate with some awesome talent,” said Mark McGarry, Co-Founder and CEO of YORK Athletics.
“YCC brings together a really unique combination of talent and capital to grow brands and businesses who believe that creativity is a key to sustained growth. Being independent gives us the freedom to do what’s best for our ventures and our people,” said Hamlin. “I’m passionate about building businesses and I believe this model represents a new way forward to elevate the impact of creativity and entrepreneurship in today’s changing marketing landscape.”
YCC companies have continued to grow over the past few years with GYK Antler achieving a 62% growth rate over the last five years, and YORK Athletics having sustained an average yearly growth rate of 131%. GYK Antler was also recognized by Forbes’s list of Small Giants – 25 companies that value greatness over growth – as well as Inc. and Entrepreneur for exceptional growth. Big Brick Productions is a recognized Emmy-winning production company and Iron & Air is a robust and innovative publishing shop complete with a content arm that works with iconic brands like Toyota, Rebel Yell and Converse.