Traction (agency)

American interactive advertising agency

Traction

Industry| Advertising, Marketing, Design, Interactive, Media, Strategy
Founded| 2001
Headquarters|

San Francisco, CA

United States

Area served

| Global

Key people

| Founders: Adam Kleinberg, Theo Fanning, Paul Giese

Number of employees

| 40 employees
Website| www.tractionco.com

Traction is an interactive advertising agency based in San Francisco. In 2014, they were named Independent Agency of the Year in the iMedia Agency Awards. Their clients include Alibaba.com, Adobe Systems, Bank of America, Cabot Creamery, California Bank & Trust, Camelbak, Intuit, Intel, Kelly-Moore Paints, Livescribe, Meebo, Robert Half International, Salesforce.com, SAP, and Shutterfly, Walmart, ZoneAlarm.[1]

## History

[edit]

The agency was founded in 2001 as Traction Corporation by Adam Kleinberg, Paul Giese, Theo Fanning and Michele Turner. The founding partners had previously worked together at Think New Ideas, a new media pioneer with heavy investments from Omnicom. Michele Turner left the company in 2009.

In 2006, Traction Corporation started a creative staffing agency called SubTraction.[2] In 2009, Traction acquired 8 Speed Multimedia, a provider of dynamic media.[3]

The agency broadened its services to include Media in 2013.

## Awards and recognition

[edit]

### 2008

[edit]

* Selected by Adobe Systems to be featured in an original documentary series “Designing Minds” showcasing creative leaders of the design industry with a view into the creative forces behind the shows, ads, and products people use every day.[4]

### 2009

[edit]

* Awarded BtoB Magazine "Interactive Agency of the Year"[5]
* Inc. 5000 - Ranked #1,399[6]
* #51 on the list of "Fastest Growing Companies in the Bay Area".[7]
* Named "Social Media Agency To Watch" by iMediaConnection[8]

### 2010

[edit]

* Awarded BtoB Magazine “Top Interactive Agency of the Year - Runner-up”[9]
* Inc. 5000 - Ranked #1217[10]

### 2011

[edit]

* Awarded BtoB Magazine "Top Interactive Agency of the Year - Runner-up"[11]
* iMediaConnection named Traction blog among “5 agency blogs you should be reading”[12]

### 2012

[edit]

* Focus.com "5 Agencies Built for Technology Marketing" [13]
* The Next Web "10 small agencies that define 'Digital Spring' in San Francisco" [14]

### 2013

[edit]

* Awarded BtoB Magazine "Top Interactive Agency" [15]
* Awarded "AdAge Small Agency of the Year: West Region/Silver"[16]
* San Francisco Business Times "Fastest Growing Companies in the Bay Area" [17]
* Agency Post's 2013 Agency 100 [18]
* iMedia Small Agency of the Year - Finalist [19]
* Digiday Best Brand Campaign, B2B - Winner [20]
* Digiday Best Video Campaign, B2B - Winner [21]

### 2015

[edit]

* iMedia Small Agency of the Year - Finalist [22]

### 2016

[edit]

* iMedia Small Agency of the Year - Finalist [22]
* BMA Small Agency of the Year - Finalist

### 2017

[edit]

* launched Live Suite for delivering a live video stream across many sites.[23]

## Notable campaigns

[edit]

* “Real or Fake?” Adobe Systems \- One of Adobe’s most successful social media campaigns was developed by Traction geared toward driving engagement to their new CS products. This campaign has been featured in a number of articles including being featured as a case study by Facebook.[24]
* “Never miss a word.” Livescribe \- Traction introduced the Livescribe Smartpen to the college market.[25]
* “Find it. Make it. Sell it.” Alibaba.com \- Traction launched a $30 million campaign for China’s largest online retailer Alibaba.com to the U.S.[26]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Clients - Advertising & Interactive Agency San Francisco - Traction". www.tractionco.com. Archived from the original on 14 January 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
2. ^ “Weekly Profile” and “Campaign of the Week,” San Francisco Examiner, September 18, 2006.
3. ^ "Traction Acquires 8 Speed Multimedia," Market Wire, FindArticles.com, April 25, 2011.
4. ^ “Designing Minds,” Adobe Systems, June 8, 2008.
5. ^ “Top Agencies – Traction. Winner, Interactive Agency,” Archived 2011-01-02 at the Wayback Machine BtoB Magazine, April 6, 2009.
6. ^ “Inc. 500|5000 – Company Profile No. 1,399,” Inc. Magazine, September 24, 2009.
7. ^ “Traction pulls ahead,” Lazaro Fraga, San Francisco Business Times, Dec 1, 2009.
8. ^ “Social media agencies to watch,” iMediaConnection, August 17, 2009.
9. ^ “Top Agencies – Traction. Runner-up, Interactive Agency,” Archived 2011-03-16 at the Wayback Machine BtoB Magazine, March 8, 2010.
10. ^ “Inc. 500|5000 – Company Profile No. 1,217,” Inc. Magazine, September 22, 2010.
11. ^ “Traction – Interactive Agency Runner-up,” Archived 2011-05-22 at the Wayback Machine BtoB Magazine, March 14, 2011.
12. ^ “5 agency blogs you should be reading,” Michael Estrin, iMediaConnection, January 10, 2011.
13. ^ "The Technology Marketers’ Handbook, 2012 Edition," Archived 2012-02-04 at the Wayback Machine by Focus.com.
14. ^ "10 small agencies that define 'Digital Spring' in San Francisco," The Next Web, March 17, 2012.
15. ^ "2013 Top Agencies: Traction Interactive Winner," Archived 2013-03-11 at the Wayback Machine BtoB Magazine, March 4, 2013.
16. ^ "AdAge 2013 Ad Age Small Agency Awards," Ad Age, July 26, 2013.
17. ^ "Fastest Growing Companies in the Bay Area," San Francisco Business Times, October 15, 2013.
18. ^ "2013 Agency 100," Agency Post, August 28, 2013.
19. ^ Finalists announced for the 2015 iMedia Agency Awards Archived 2015-11-26 at the Wayback Machine
20. ^ "Digiday Awards 2013," Digiday, June 2013.
21. ^ "Digiday Video Awards 2013," Digiday, November 2013.
22. ^ a b "Finalists announced for the 2015 iMedia Agency Awards". MarketWatch. Retrieved 2015-10-28.
23. ^ "Traction Media launches Live Suite for delivering a live video stream across many sites - MarTech Today". MarTech Today. 2017-02-16. Retrieved 2018-06-11.
24. ^ “Case Study: Adobe uses Facebook Pages to Engage Users and Deliver Results” Facebook Marketing Solutions, April 10, 2009.
25. ^ “Livescribe Pulse™ Smartpen Makes Nationwide Retail Debut,” Livescribe Press Release, June 23, 2008.
26. ^ “Alibaba.com Plans U.S. Push,” Jessica E. Vascellaro, The Wall Street Journal, August 7, 2009.

## External links

[edit]

* Traction official website

Authority control databases |

* VIAF

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