That photo of workers sitting on the beam – known as Lunch atop a Skyscraper – Is now an iconic image.
Regardless of whether or not the photo was staged, the image has come to symbolize perseverance and the hard-working legacy that built one of the largest cities in the world. It’s the symbol of a ‘roll up your sleeves and get the job done’ attitude that has been typically used to define the generations of our parents and grandparents.
When I first started at TMD in 2011, a scale version of this scene was mounted in the reception area, complete with a miniature steel beam and 11 ironworkers; a replica of the original photograph. I was drawn to this immediately, recognizing what it was. The founder and then-owner Randy Timmins explained to me that it was a symbol of how TMD worked. “We’re hard-working, blue-collar marketers, we get the job done, whatever it takes.”
It was exactly what I was looking for. When David Hicks and I bought the firm from Randy Timmins and Joe Farina in 2015, those ironworkers on the beam stayed right where they were. That scene is a big part of our DNA. Looking down over the rest of us throughout the day, the replica is a reminder that there are no short cuts, that “good enough” doesn’t cut it, and that, sometimes, doing it the right way takes longer. A strong work ethic forces us to bring our best – and then some – and sometimes the blood, sweat, and tears are more real than we want to admit.
We’ve recently outgrown our home of many years at 457 King Street and have moved into a new space at 359 Horton Street in London, Ontario, Canada. While these spaces are completely different, they reflect the evolution of TMD over the past 25 years from a pretty traditional marketing company to a robust, integrated firm that leverages deep expertise in forward-thinking capabilities, such as CRM, Marketing Automation, and Customer Journey Mapping, to name just a few.
In addition to the award-winning business strategy, brand creative, and disciplined execution that has been the foundation of our reputation so far, we have grown with our clients and the markets they serve and have continued to develop our team, so it reflects the needs of our clients’ businesses.
Those ironworkers on a beam still feature front and center at our new location, looking down on us as we continue to build our business. Because while we’ve grown and evolved, the qualities that got us here remain and are perhaps more important now than ever before.
Article by Dave Cliche, President & CEO at TMD