A natural fit?(Outtakes: An Inside Look Into Arkansas Media)(Natural Brand Co.)(Brief article)

Though The Natural Brand Co. of Little Rock did not even make it to the presentations round of the lottery's search for an ad agency, the company is not giving up on pursuing business in The Natural State.

Natural Brand is a partnership among Little Rock businessman Percy Walker, Eric Payne of Washington, D.C., and Brad Michaelson, who is president of Brand Canyon, an Arizona advertising firm.

"While we are disappointed that we did not receive the contract, we look forward to pursuing future possibilities in Arkansas," Payne said. Payne formerly worked as procurement director of the District of Columbia's Office of the Chief Financial Officer.

Payne said he, Walker and Michaelson, whose agency has done work for the state governments of both Arizona and California, hope to pursue both private and public contracts. Payne's knowledge of procurement, Michaelson's advertising experience and Walker's Arkansas connections will pay off, Payne said.

Payne will relocate to Arkansas with his wife and child to help build the business, he said.

So far the agency has one client, Sims' Bar-B-Que of Little Rock, of which Walker is a part-owner. Without advertising, Sims' had $757,664 in taxable receipts for the year ending June 30, according to the Little Rock Advertising & Promotion Commission. Natural Brand will seek to further build the business and in the process show off the fledgling agency's creative capabilities, Michaelson said.

Brand Canyon is hoping to build its client base in new regions and possibly leverage work it has done in Arizona. The decision to begin soliciting Arkansas business was easy because of the state's relatively robust economy compared with many other areas of the nation, Michaelson said. Brand Canyon, which has nine employees, also owns a film production company, Apple Box Pictures.

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