Thirty years in the making, CMRignite’s president has received honors at the Mayor’s Masked Ball in Milwaukee as a Young Professional Mastermind as it celebrates another milestone.
The Milwaukee-based agency is the state’s largest and oldest minority-owned and operated communications agency. It specializes in developing “cause and behavior” marketing campaigns. It likens itself as a social impact agency that focuses on helping companies harness the impact of social causes that benefit the community. On March 29, CMRignite’s current president David Bowles received honors at the annual Mayor’s Masked Ball.
CMRignite was founded in 1995 by Jacque Moore and has seen explosive growth throughout its years. Initially, it operated as a “one-woman agency,” Moore describes it in Shepherd Express. Its clients range from the Wisconsin Department of Tourism to McDonald’s, Northwestern Mutual, the Department of Health and Human Services and many Fortune 500 companies
It often promotes campaigns centered on public benefit such as its work on relaying the safety and benefit of the COVID vaccine to communities of color and its notable “Kissing a smoker is like licking an ashtray,” that led to a reduction in smoking in youth.
“We’re actually using real behavioral science and best practices to really help companies authentically engage their audiences, then drive real change,” Bowles said.
The company has remained a family affair as the years passed. Bowles, who is Moore’s son, came in as president of CMRignite in 2021. He previously led the company’s strategy, planning and business development.
COVID marked a huge growth period for CMRignite. It acquired a D.C.-based marketing firm and grew its staff from 10 to around 70. Recognition followed soon as it became listed on Inc.’s list of 5,000 fastest-growing U.S. companies due to its 709% growth rate over three years.
Despite the exponential growth, CMRignite still strives to ground the culture it cultivated throughout its tenure. It prides itself on its staff being a majority BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and people with disabilities — which has been a strong point for CMRignite since its founding.
“We understand the value of being truly multicultural and what that means,” Bowles said. “We call that ‘Total Market.’ Making sure that our team looks like the entirety of America.”
Bowles received the Young Professional Mastermind in late March at the Mayor’s Masked Ball in Milwaukee. He credits the achievement to the opportunity that his mother, Moore, gave to him by starting CMRignite. Bowles feels honored to continue his mother’s legacy, but also feels he needs to give back by being a leader others can look up to.
“Never give up despite the adversity that you’re going to face. A lot of these young people, they’ve seen it. They’ve lived through it,” Bowles said. “But if you want to be successful, you have to work for it. You have to hustle. Sometimes you have to work twice as hard to get half as much.”
