Three years ago, we became the next generation of owners at AOR.
Our ownership story, however, began long before that. Between us, we have spent 10, 14 and 16 years at AOR, growing within the agency, building relationships with clients, leading teams and helping shape the work from within.
We understood AOR’s history, culture, and the qualities that have helped the agency thrive since 1992. We also saw opportunities to build on those strengths and shape its next chapter.
Since becoming owners, our focus has been twofold: preserve what has always made AOR strong and become more intentional about the agency we are building for the future.
At the center of that work is a belief that has long shaped how AOR operates: people first by design. It influences how we lead our team, how we partner with clients, and how we approach the brands, experiences, and places our work helps bring to life.
Deepening Our Focus
One of the most meaningful decisions we’ve made over the past three years was to deepen AOR’s specialization in placemaking.
AOR has long worked with organizations that shape the places where people live, work, gather, and connect. Today, we are more intentionally focused on serving real estate developers, cities and municipalities, architecture, engineering and construction firms, and other organizations connected to the built environment and community experience.
These organizations often operate at the intersection of technical complexity, public impact, multiple stakeholders, and long-term investment. Their marketing must do more than look polished. It must clarify complex ideas, establish credibility, build trust and help people understand why a project or organization matters.
This is where we believe AOR does its strongest work.
The more deeply we understand our clients’ industries, audiences and challenges, the more valuable we can be as a partner. Whether we are developing a brand, building a website, shaping a marketing strategy or supporting an ongoing partnership, our role is to connect the complexity of the work with the human impact behind it.
Building for the Long Term
We did not step into ownership to change AOR for the sake of change.
We wanted to build on what was already working while strengthening the agency for what comes next. That has meant expanding our strategy, digital, creative, and AI capabilities, improving the systems and processes that support the client experience, and becoming more intentional about how we lead and work together.
It has also meant becoming clearer about the kind of agency we want to lead.
For us, being owner-led means:
- Thinking beyond the next project.
- Prioritizing lasting relationships over short-term wins.
- Remaining closely involved in the work.
- And making decisions with the long-term health of AOR, our employees and our clients in mind.
Looking Ahead
Three years into ownership, we have greater clarity about who we are, where we can make the greatest impact, and the organizations we are best equipped to serve.
Later this year, we will share more about how our placemaking focus is shaping AOR’s next chapter, including a new website that better reflects our work, expertise and direction.
For now, this anniversary gives us an opportunity to reflect on how far we have come and thank the people who have made it possible.
To our employees, clients, partners and the leaders who built AOR before us, thank you for your trust, talent and support.
We are proud of what has changed over the past three years, but equally grateful for what has remained constant: strong relationships, thoughtful work and a shared commitment to helping organizations and communities move forward.
As we look ahead, we feel more focused than ever on the agency we are building and the places we are here to help shape.
Alyssa Ash, Elena Lippincott and Dave Schneider
Principals, AOR
