Growing Companies

He's a former wanna-be teenage rock star, a self-described "useless trivia" expert, and a Buckeye fan in the land of the Big Blue. He started his first management company at the age of 17, thinking he could do a better job getting his garage band gigs than anyone else. He's a former radio and newspaper reporter and editor and a TV anchorman.
    
So you might be forgiven if you think that Rodger Roeser's current firm, the Eisen Agency, was one big ego.
    
But you would be wrong.
    
"My job is not to promote myself, but to promote my clients and what they do, and to promote my staff," Roeser said of his Newport-based public relations and advertising agency. "I'm just another cog in the machine, I just happened to create the machine."
    
Indeed, Roeser takes an almost Zen-like approach to his work.

"We're just very blessed," he said. "The harder we work, the better we get."
    
It's paying off. Last year, the Cincinnati Business Courier put the Eisen Agency in its Fast 55 - the quickest growing companies in the area and named it a finalist in its annual best places to work category. The paper cited the agency's high morale, training opportunities, and unique incentives - such as a day off and $100 for any employee who beats the boss in a trivia contest.
    
Roeser said his agency is made up of the hardest and smartest public relations team not only in Greater Cincinnati, but anywhere on the planet. He said he encourages a risk-taking, go-the-extra-mile approach to his clients' concerns. His favorite campaign was on behalf of Roto-Rooter, which included the creation of a bathroom book, "Chilling Tales from the Porcelain Seat." The book combines strange but true plumbing horror stories, along with advice from the experts at Roto-Rooter.
    
The agency works with both large and small businesses, and with governments and non-profits. In addition to PR and advertising, the Eisen Agency helps track economic development and advocacy work. It will help launch a major campaign, or design and manage a website.
    
Roeser likes to encourage both cooperation and competition among his 16 employees. That pays off for his clients, he said, who get the benefits of quality, resourcefulness, intensity, drive and commitment.
       
Writer: Paul A. Long
Source: Rodger Roeser, President/Owner, the Eisen Agency