history

about history

about history
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A collage of 8 photos of Steve Rosa.

We've grown in big ways over 30+ years but our purpose has stayed the same: to solve problems and to make people happy

1989

At the age of 25, Steve Rosa launches (add)ventures in Boston with an initial investment of a $289 typewriter. Steve leaves his corporate job at EMC Corporation and strikes out on his own after recognizing the need for a new kind of advertising agency: one that solves problems and makes people happy.

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A red Valentine typewriter.

1989

At the age of 25, Steve Rosa launches (add)ventures in Boston with an initial investment of a $289 typewriter. Steve leaves his corporate job at EMC Corporation and strikes out on his own after recognizing the need for a new kind of advertising agency: one that solves problems and makes people happy.

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A black and white photo of Steve Rosa.

1992

Steve Rosa moves (add)ventures from Boston to Rhode Island despite the advice of friends and family. Seeking talent with his own entrepreneurial spirit, he grows a company that improves the quality of work, speeds production to cultivate strong client relations and impacts the community.

1997

Expanding into more full-fledged public relations, (add)ventures grows its offering with the talent of Mary Sadlier, who had recently moved back to Rhode Island from Washington, D.C. Mary adds experience in the healthcare, real estate and education industries.‎

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A black and white photo of Mary Sadlier.

1997

Expanding into more full-fledged public relations, (add)ventures grows its offering with the talent of Mary Sadlier, who had recently moved back to Rhode Island from Washington, D.C. Mary adds experience in the healthcare, real estate and education industries.‎

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A photo of Tracy Silva.

1998

With a focus on unwavering quality, Tracy Silva joins (add)ventures with vast experience in post-production printing processes and a photographer’s eye for color. During her interview, Steve and Tracy realize she executed the post-production “magic” for some of Steve’s EMC ad campaigns. Tracy sets the standards for what soon becomes her leadership over quality and production.

1999

Ho! Ho! Ho! We receive one of our favorite assignments: promoting Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys and accessories that were sold exclusively at CVS Pharmacy during the holidays. Not only do we earn national media exposure with a video news release, we also theme our annual holiday party with all of the misfits.

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Felted Christmas movie characters.

1999

Ho! Ho! Ho! We receive one of our favorite assignments: promoting Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys and accessories that were sold exclusively at CVS Pharmacy during the holidays. Not only do we earn national media exposure with a video news release, we also theme our annual holiday party with all of the misfits.

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Wayne Viera at his desk.

2000

Riding in on his Harley-Davidson, Wayne Vieira joins us as the new lead of our design team. With his foundation in graphic design from RISD and experience in packaging and print design, Wayne owns the art direction for clients including CVS/pharmacy, Textron Financial and Fleet Bank.

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The cover of Inc. Magazine.

2001

For the first time, (add)ventures is named one of America’s fastest growing companies by Inc. Magazine. We debut at #380 on the Inc. 500 list, which celebrates innovation and showcases entrepreneurial leadership and success. (add)ventures goes on to earn placement on the list for a total of 10 times.‎

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Headshot of Lisa Curtis.

2001

With the Internet barely a decade old, Lisa Curtis joins our team to lead user experiences in the digital world. Her degree in human factors engineering, plus experience at Sapient Corporation and IDEO Product Development, offer the perfect blend of talent to ensure digital experiences are well designed, easy to use and help client partners reach their business goals.‎

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(add)venturists post of a photo.

2002

Hooray for Hollywood! (add)ventures launches its video/animation discipline with an Oscars-themed party, complete with a live remote broadcast. The team completes video projects for its growing healthcare practice with CVS/pharmacy, Shields Health Care and Baxter Healthcare.

2006

We launch our SOLVEsessions® as a cohesive way to manage the strategic and design process in collaboration with our client partners. SOLVEsessions® align a company’s purpose with tactics to inform, inspire, recruit and retain brand stakeholders in new and exciting ways.‎‎

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An (add)venturer uses a board during a Solve Session

2006

We launch our SOLVEsessions® as a cohesive way to manage the strategic and design process in collaboration with our client partners. SOLVEsessions® align a company’s purpose with tactics to inform, inspire, recruit and retain brand stakeholders in new and exciting ways.‎‎

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A digital drawing of the new (add)ventures Miami office.

2008

Welcome to Miami! As part of our national expansion, we open a Latin America Gateway office in the heart of South Beach on Lincoln Road in Miami. Our new office focuses on helping new and existing clients transcend language and culture barriers through multidisciplinary and multicultural brand communication solutions.‎

2009

Leaving his gun and badge on his desk at Rhode Island State Police headquarters, Joe Miech joins us as chief operating officer. With close to 30 (add)venturists and 20,000 square feet of office space between two cities, Joe brings management and operations experience from his previous role at the Rhode Island State Police to manage our explosive growth.

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Joe Miech headshot.

2009

Leaving his gun and badge on his desk at Rhode Island State Police headquarters, Joe Miech joins us as chief operating officer. With close to 30 (add)venturists and 20,000 square feet of office space between two cities, Joe brings management and operations experience from his previous role at the Rhode Island State Police to manage our explosive growth.

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A skyline view of New York City.

2010

With more clients headquartered in The Big Apple, we open a New York City office to support our growing client roster in the financial and insurance industries.

2012

A legendary lifestyle brand with a 40-year history of creating durable, environmentally friendly apparel and footwear, Timberland approaches us for a campaign to promote their groundbreaking SensorFlexTM technology. We create a three-pronged campaign fit for a worldwide audience.

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Leather work boots.

2012

A legendary lifestyle brand with a 40-year history of creating durable, environmentally friendly apparel and footwear, Timberland approaches us for a campaign to promote their groundbreaking SensorFlexTM technology. We create a three-pronged campaign fit for a worldwide audience.

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Steve Rosa meets Evander Holyfield.

2015

Boxing legend and five-time heavyweight champion of the world Evander Holyfield visits us to film a PSA for the Prostate Cancer Foundation. The Emmy Award-winning spot shares Evander’s story of perseverance in the ring and in life to encourage African American men to get regularly checked for prostate cancer.‎

2017

We add the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation to our client roster, which seems like destiny since we donate toys to children in need every Christmas season. We help Toys for Tots earn coverage on Fox & Friends, Good Morning America, USA Today and Sirius XM NFL Radio to promote their holiday matching campaign.

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Toys for Tots on Fox & Friends.

2017

We add the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation to our client roster, which seems like destiny since we donate toys to children in need every Christmas season. We help Toys for Tots earn coverage on Fox & Friends, Good Morning America, USA Today and Sirius XM NFL Radio to promote their holiday matching campaign.

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Inside our Miami office.

2018

We meet the growing needs of our Miami team and relocate to The Filling Station in the Arts & Entertainment District of Miami. With its centralized location, downtown views and proximity to Wynwood, our new office fuels our future growth.

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The outside of our New England EPIC headquarters building.

2019

The best is yet to come as we move into our new EPIC HQ in East Providence, RI. With a new Collabs for 60-person gatherings and six break-out rooms, plus two full production studios, a Club House kitchen for social gathering, six phone booths and a vintage London taxi, we are ready for epic growth.

2020

The COVID pandemic meant we all had to “pivot” during “unprecedented times.” We collaborated with clients to do our best work, with maximum flexibility. One of our proudest moments was documenting the turnover of a Honeywell factory to produce essential Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

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Essential workers in PPE.

2020

The COVID pandemic meant we all had to “pivot” during “unprecedented times.” We collaborated with clients to do our best work, with maximum flexibility. One of our proudest moments was documenting the turnover of a Honeywell factory to produce essential Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

COVID Testing Instructional Video

2021

10 million views. A video animation to help improve the COVID-19 drive-thru testing experience was our most viewed of 2021. We had to solve some big problems—quickly. People were confused. Testing was taking way too long. Precious tests were getting wasted. People were getting inconclusive results. Our video solved these operational problems and put people at ease during anxious, pandemic times.

CVS - Delivering Hope

2022

“Delivering Hope” won us our 7th Emmy award. Created as a rallying cry for the healthcare industry coming out of the pandemic in mid-2021, the message about the simplicity of giving and receiving a human embrace earned this spot the nickname “Hugs.”

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Virtual production filming in the (add)galaxies studio.

2023

History made. Rhode Island’s first full-fledged virtual production took place in our (add)galaxies studios in January. The campaign was for medical products sold at retail. With the frigid temperatures outside, we had virtual sets of an outdoor tennis court and basketball court, a yoga studio and an architect’s office loft.