Two principals still hold down restaurant jobs on the side, but one year after opening, Richmond, Virginia agency Arnika has achieved most of its goals.

In an incredibly short space of time, five Virginia Commonwealth University graduates have secured an impressive regional client roster, including Bon Secours Health Systems and Baltimore's Clipper City Brewery and Babe Ruth Museum. This spring they released their first TV campaign for the PGA Tour's Richmond Open.

"They were in serious need of an image pick-up," says copywriter Matt Fischvogt. "Attendance was down, sponsorship was down, and after Sept. 11 the prospect of raining money had gotten a lot more difficult. We came in and gave them a whole new look and feel."

The new look culminated in three animated :30s by Serious Robots, Raleigh, NC showing golf tournament scenarios in unlikely circumstances. "Deck" shows a man silently sweeping a leaf off a deck while a muted golf audience oohs and aahs at his progress, while "Bar" shows the slow-motion slide of a beer bottle down a cluttered bar.

This year's was the most successful Richmond Open in recent tournament history. Fischvogt attributes the project's success to the agency's policy of pairing creatives and planners at every level. "We're starting from a solid strategy and making sure we're on that strategy the whole way through." That makes sense. "Arnika" is a spy term used to describe information-gathering groups during the Cold War.

Arnika is also celebrating its first hire, art director Diana Tung.

Webfiles:
Arnika> http://www.arnikans.com