Young entrepreneur makes mark in marketing
Aaron Watson is the CEO of an innovative marketing firm. • Photos Submitted
By Tom Victoria
Aaron Watson does not talk about his marketing expertise, he shows it.
In lieu of advertising his Pennsylvania business Piper Creative, he makes YouTube and LinkedIn videos covering business news, such as trends and corporate administrative shakeups, as well as interviewing movers and shakers.
“Let it speak for itself,” Aaron said.
That method has worked for the 29-year-old chief executive officer. Much of Piper's clientele contacted the Pittsburgh company first, not vice versa.
“It’s our being prolific,” Aaron said.
He hosts the “Going Deep” podcast, which has been downloaded in more than 120 countries.
Aaron and his business partner Hannah Phillips started Piper in early 2018. He said Piper practices what marketing agencies should: do what’s best for the client, not the agency, by cutting a fat margin on profit.
According to Aaron, contemporary marketing is perceived as trickery.
“Get out of debt ... Work harder than everyone else. Develop a differentiated skill set, so you can avoid competition.”
“It’s not when really done well,” he said.
Aaron compared Piper’s work to the ad men of the 1960s and 1970s as portrayed in the television series “Mad Men.”
“It was so clear,” he said. “You knew exactly what you were getting.”
The Piper CEO said his digital agency also differentiates itself with the presentation of ample client content. More traditional agencies may produce two or three videos for their clients while Piper may craft around 20.
Aaron said the rationale is even if a few videos turn out less than effective, there still are quite a number of good ones. He pointed out another advantage to that practice is providing more interaction between Piper and its clients, building more trust.
For Aaron, Piper’s methodology makes it unique to the Pittsburgh area.
“There’s no one that matches us,” he said.
Aaron graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, where he studied economics, which led him to start pondering marketing in the real world, not textbooks. He wondered how economic value was created.
After Aaron completed his education, his first job was in finance.
“I got severely disenfranchised very quickly on that,” he said.
Aaron then started doing independent jobs. He started the podcast, lining up 600 guests in a year.
Finally, he started his own agency.
“Once Piper starting making enough revenue, I wound down the freelancing work and just focused on growing Piper,” Aaron said.
In the process, the company created job opportunities for young people.
“We now have people - they never had full-time jobs,” Aaron said. “We need people who are hungry to learn and don’t come in with arrogance about what they already know, so it helps to hire younger folks.”
Aaron also hosts a podcast interviewing movers and shakers in business.
Despite the negative impact caused by the government-mandated closures in reaction to the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, Piper’s business has increased.
“February through October is the busiest we’ve ever been,” Aaron said.
He attributed the success to the current situation.
“Our services are more relevant than ever,” Aaron said. “If a business can’t go to trade shows or conferences, they need to reallocate that marketing budget somewhere.”
Piper also hosts the Going Deep Summit for businesses.
“The summit is a one-day event designed to expand your mind, fill your heart and grow your tribe.”
Aaron has advice for students and recent graduates wanting to start their own business.
“Get out of debt,” he said. “Work harder than everyone else. Develop a differentiated skill set, so you can avoid competition.”
Starting a business can be a daunting proposition. Aaron attributed his determination to stick with it by not losing sight of the big picture.
"I've trained my mind to love delayed gratification," he said. "Plenty of stuff is more appealing in the short run, but nothing looks as good in the long run. So, I get excited about building towards that vision on the horizon."
The link to Piper's YouTube channel is: https://www.youtube.com/c/AaronWatsonPiper/featured
The link to Piper's website is: https://www.pipercreative.co