This post was created in partnership with Elite Media
In an industry built on gleaming skyscrapers and high-stakes pitch meetings, sometimes you have to go left when everyone else goes right.
During an ADWEEK House Advertising HQ fireside chat co-hosted with Elite Media, Alison Weissbrot, executive editor of ADWEEK, sat down with Chris Crawford, founder and CEO of Elite Media, to discuss how he built ethics, equity, and community into his agency’s business model.
Rewriting the industry rulebook
When Crawford founded Elite Media, people advised him that he needed to be on Madison Avenue and spend most of his time chasing new business. Instead, he launched the agency in a one-bedroom apartment in Harlem and focused on his existing clients.
“If you have a small agency, there’s no way you can super-service a partner if you’re constantly thinking about all of the other people you can connect to,” he reflected.
That same instinct drove Crawford to invest his own money in an early project: Stomp the Yard, which reimagined college step shows as national championship competitions with WWE-level production. When Crawford sold the platform to Sony, the payday allowed him to move out of his mother’s house, while the proof of concept attracted clients like the U.S. Army and Boost Mobile.
“We had something they could invest in that could drive their business, but we had to create that vehicle,” he said.
Crawford bucked another convention early on by investing heavily in a single anchor client. The relationship was successful because of their shared values and perspective about how to approach the work.
“There wasn’t value in chasing a lot of other opportunities when I thought the real value was building a deeper relationship and connecting to somebody,” he said. “We needed to mine the diamond that was in our own backyard.”
Using creativity for good
As Crawford sees it, Harlem isn’t just the neighborhood where his business is headquartered. Elite Media is an active part of its community and culture.
“When you walk out of your door, you’re not walking into an office complex; you’re walking into a neighborhood,” he stressed. “So, if you know that you have creative gifts and you want to do some good, you don’t have to search for where you can make a change.”
In one instance, that meant walking into a nearby school and asking the principal what Elite Media could do to help. She told Crawford she was losing roughly one-fifth of her workforce every year due to burnout and underappreciation. Instead of flying the whole Elite Media staff to Cannes that year, the agency took the money it would have spent on the trip and gave 50 educators self-care grants of $3,000 apiece in a celebration featuring CBS’ Gayle King. “For the first time, they didn’t lose the educators they were losing each year,” Crawford recalled.
The story reflects Elite Media’s commitment to living its values. Crawford refuses to do any work that might damage his community, which means he takes no business from tobacco, alcohol, gambling, or predatory lending companies.
“You’d be surprised that when you say a hard no, it can refine everything in your life as to what truly is a yes,” he explained.
His closing message was personal: “Don’t underestimate the power you have,” he said. “Define your own version of success.”
