who we are

Get to know TIS

What is an authentic brand?

There is no one-size-fits-all for creating an authentic brand. At its core, it is the understanding that every brand must have a unique selling point that separates it from the rest of the businesses in its oversaturated industry. Queue the concept of authentic branding! By diving deep to find the heart of why you started your company and the goals you hope to achieve through it, our team of strategists, creatives and marketers can help you create genuine stories that resonate with your audiences. By crafting messages and visuals that are unique to you, not only will you connect with those who matter most, but you will shine in a room full of competitors.

What makes us different, makes us stronger.

How we got here...

Our human capital is the most valuable asset we have. Our team today brings decades of combined experience with healthy diversity in culture, age and talent. But it wasn’t always this way. We took the first step years ago toward more inclusiveness in our workplace by stepping out of our comfort zones and being willing to see things from a different perspective, without judging that perspective.

Rob and I were on the leadership team for Equity Drinks—a grassroots group that brought community members together in safe spaces to openly discuss and learn more about how to advance equity in our community. This group later formed the Equity PAC in Grand Rapids. Through our journeys, we learned that the more diverse our viewpoint, the more valuable the discussions, our work and our mutual success.

We embrace and encourage our employees’ differences in age, color, disability, ethnicity, marital status, gender expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status and other characteristics that make our employees unique.

– Karen Tracey

Mission

To reduce friction between the messages an organization sends and what the audience hears by creating authentic communications

Vision

To create, support and sustain authentic brands.

Values

Honesty We achieve the best outcomes when we are genuine and truthful.

Collaboration We encourage the exchange of ideas to deliver higher value.

Inclusiveness We strive to include people who have diverse cultural backgrounds and beliefs to achieve better outcomes.

Creativity We applaud curiosity, dreaming big, inventive problem solving, mess-making and resting well to refuel.

Sustainability We respect the needs of our people, planet and community, and work collectively to attain a just future for all.

THE PEOPLE WHO WILL CREATE YOUR AUTHENTIC MESSAGES

The voices behind the marketing.

If authenticity is what separates one from the mountain of other businesses in their industry, our team is the branding world’s needle in a haystack. TIS is made up of real people with a real passion for what they do. We’re more than just a branding agency; We become your full-time partner in building authentic communications that speak to your business’ target audiences. Click on a TIS team member to learn more about each of us.

Karen Tracey COO & Managing Partner

Rob McCarty CEO & Partner

Elyse Flynn Creative Director

Aaron Schaut Lead Web Developer

Elyse Grey Digital Marketing Specialist

Mark Bolek Senior Graphic Designer

Devon Yousif Copywriter & Content Strategist

Khoi Tran Digital Designer

Claire Bennett Traffic Coordinator

LEAVE US A MESSAGE

testimonials

“TIS continues to amaze me… they see inside and really understand our brand to become a valued extension of my team.”

“We appreciate the TIS posse through and through. They’re more than just brand marketers—they’re true allies.”

“TIS takes the time to understand me and my business and effectively transforms my message into a succinct, consumable, beautiful package.”

“We were impressed with TIS’s strategic, collaborative approach to the rebranding process.”

“We’re a startup with a big vision, a complicated project and a very small staff. The Image Shoppe has become an invaluable, trusted member of our team, providing a level and breadth of branding, marketing and PR that we could not possibly achieve on our own.”

“The store is going really well! It has already paid for itself for the year in the first two weeks. The e-commerce option you recommended works so much better for the business and literally saved us $8,000 based on quotes from other third-party e-commerce companies. Huge win for us.”

“Our partnership with The Image Shoppe has been fantastic. Offering digital marketing insights to our downtown Grand Rapids businesses has been invaluable to the growth and optimization of these businesses during the pandemic. We really appreciate the generous expertise and support for the downtown GR community from The Image Shoppe!

“TIS has served as our marketing ally for 12 years. I highly recommend the whole team, and I don’t know what we’d do without them!”

“I’ve worked with Rob and the team at TIS on various projects over the years. They are knowledgable and share that information freely with clients on best practices, myths and process. The caliber of talent—including web development, graphic design and strategy—are all top notch. They are my go-to for all things brand and marketing.”