Meet Dave Duke of Catapult in Tempe

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dave Duke.

Dave, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Growing up in New England, I often would hang out with my father on Saturdays at the ad agency in Boston where he worked as an art director. It was at an early age that, I knew exactly what I wanted to do for a career. Though, I had no idea what path to take, I was always fascinated with design, advertising, and packaging. So, it was no surprise that my bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University was in marketing communications and my first two jobs after college included working at agencies in San Diego and Salt Lake City.

Unsatisfied with the limited scope of work and the compensation for an entry-level account manager, I jumped to the client side and landed a coveted brand management position at Quaker Oats in Chicago.

Working for a top-tier, marketing-driven company with numerous successful brands like Quaker Oats broadened and deepened my understanding of strategic planning, operations, new product development, consumer research, packaging, advertising, sales, and the retail trade. In particular, I gained valuable general management experience and respect for delivering financial objectives within a publicly-traded company. Brand managers are in effect owners of their brand and have responsibility for all aspects of its success, including their personal compensation tied to the profit and loss of the brand.

After several years, I left Quaker Oats and joined The Dial Corp in Phoenix. There I continued my brand management track of successful brands. However, I found myself increasingly frustrated with having enormous responsibility to drive brand volume and net income, yet when it came down it, having very little authority. This disparity is a reflection of having no autonomy, a characteristic typical of middle and upper management in all large-enterprise corporations. I had always wanted to own my own business. So in 1993, with the support of my wife, it was time for me to break away from the corporate world and start a brand-building and marketing communications firm. Soon, I was doing everything I loved about brand management and nothing I disliked about it.

Adding employees soon followed and annual revenues began to steadily increase. In 1999, my current partners invited me to merge our two firms. We did so and formed Catapult Strategic Design. Now in our 18th year, there are Catapult clients in Arizona and handful of US and international cities. We have successfully leveraged our unique brand position to think strategically before acting creatively, thus turning our client’s businesses into remarkable brands that are enduring and deliver long-term value.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Marketing spending is closely tied to favorable and unfavorable economic indicators. Yet, in spite of research that shows companies who maintain adequate marketing budgets during economic downturns ultimately emerge stronger from these periods, many corporations of all sizes erroneously believe the first place to cut spending is marketing. They are those who struggle to regain lost category share and consumer awareness during the recovery that always follows.

This is why small businesses in America know that maintaining positive cash flow and avoiding debt are the keys to surviving economic setbacks and even widespread recessions like that of 2008-2012. Since our biggest overhead expense is human capital and the costs associated with retaining highly talented associates, we adjusted our employee base through natural attrition during this period and managed to retain solid clients. Furthermore, collections were never an issue…another real blessing for Catapult to weather the economic storm.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Catapult – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
It begins with our name and ability to help our clients to think strategically and act tactically in ways that move them forward—to Catapult and launch them beyond their expectations. There are no partner initials to remember nor egos on our door—just a company name that clearly describes what we do best for our clients.

Everything we do for our clients disseminates from an established brand strategy. Whether it’s a small start-up or a large enterprise firm, we clearly understand that intelligent, strategic thinking drives great design and effective marketing. This ability to create design that has real concept is what gives our clients’ brands meaning, and makes them memorable and compelling.

This is more than just a business philosophy. It transcends our client relationships through to our employees—those we hire and the culture at Catapult. Our designers, art directors, and project managers understand the principles of brand positioning. They know how to evaluate the implications of a marketing plan—to think analytically and not just creatively. In other words, they know how to think with both sides of their brains.

To our clients, this means we understand how to translate their critical marketing issues into marketing communications that drive their business objectives. It’s what makes our work stand out. From brand identity, collateral, advertising, and packaging to point of sale, environmental design, and digital communications, we know how to engage customers and build brands.

And yet, while our core competencies include everything required to launch and maintain successful brands, it’s unlikely any company in the southwest or intermountain west has more experience with consumer packaging. With the design and development of hundreds of SKUs for our clients across nearly all consumer categories, Catapult understands that a visually compelling brand delivers real package power. Yet our understanding goes beyond just effective strategy and great design. We understand the regulatory details and the sometimes undefined nuances of effective package labeling, nutritional requirements, and production challenges that face our clients.

It starts with the brand identity—the handshake that visually introduces the brand to the consumer, customer, or end-user. Notable Catapult brand identities in Arizona include the cities of Phoenix, Mesa, and Sun City, Phoenix Art Museum, city of Scottsdale Parks, Shamrock Farms and Shamrock Foods, and Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Some of our client relationships have remained for 15-25 years. This longevity underscores our proprietary attitude toward our clients and our willingness help them succeed.

Catapult will continue to focus on clients that are willing to take a long-term view of their business and their brands. Our business is about building brands and moving them forward. Whether it’s via collateral materials, websites, advertising, naming, or marketing planning and brand positioning, Catapult is well suited to help companies and organizations add value and generate greater long-term equity.

Additionally, since few marketing firms truly understand how to design remarkable brand identities, consumer packaging, and environmental/way finding sign programs, Catapult knows that leveraging these unusual core competencies are clear, differentiating factors in the marketplace.

Contact Info:

• Address: 1690 N McClintock Dr, Tempe, AZ 85281
• Website: catapultu.com
• Phone: 602-381-0304
• Email: marketing@catapultu.com
• Facebook: Catapult Strategic Design

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