Borough honors The Lightstream Group
Marketing firm recognized for spreading word about town
LANSDALE >> The November winner of Lansdale’s Business of the Month award is one that has spent the past decade helping others reach their potential, while doing the same for Lansdale.
Economic Development Committee member Alex Felts presented the monthly award to The Lightstream Group, an advertising and marketing agency that has become a downtown fixture.
“The Lightstream Group is a full-service agency that enables financial institutions, healthcare providers, and universities to accomplish more with their marketing and advertising,” Felts said.
“Whether it’s their proven brand-building process that increases institutional value, well-conceived marketing plans that reach business goals, or strategically sound execution of digital and print components, Lightstream helps clients rise above their competitors,” he said.
Located at 20 E. Main St., Lightstream was founded by partners Amy Biemiller, Heather Gibbs, Rob Parker and Arta Reikmane, who all worked together at an ad agency in the early 2000s before layoffs hit during the 2007 financial crisis. Lightstream was originally headquartered in Fort Washington, but a year later moved to Lansdale, at first renting on the 400 block of West Main until their current location came open.
“They have 31 employees, spread out across two locations; the other is in Telford. They have 20 employees at the Lansdale location, and they are coast-to-coast, with clients including health care companies, finance, higher education and more,” Felts said.
As they moved into the new Lansdale location, employees juggled their normal nine-to-five responsibilities with work on the building, scraping wallpaper, laying down new carpet, and eventually rehabilitating their entire building.
“They found it easy to work with Lansdale Borough in regard to permits and zoning designations, and were delighted that local businesses are available to support their business,” Felts said, naming Wilson’s Hardware, Minuteman Press, Sign-A-Rama, Citizen’s Bank “and every single restaurant in town.”
Why did the firm choose Lansdale?
“They were outgrowing their space in Fort Washington, but also looking for an equidistant location for all four of their partners,” said Felts.
“They wanted to be in a place that could attract good talent, had easy access to Philadelphia, a town that was walkable, where you wouldn’t need a car, and also was a creatively inspiring place,” he said.
One-quarter of the company’s workers commute by SEPTA, and staff take part in local events and activities, including the North Penn Arts Alliance and the annual summer Festival of the Arts, according to Felts.
Biemiller thanked Felts, the Economic Development Committee, and council for the award, and said she and her employees are always glad to spread the word about their town.
“We really love being in Lansdale, and I always tell people to come to me for advice, if you’re looking for a great place to start your business, and grow your business,” Biemiller said.