Jim Weber opens Weber Advertising
Jim buys 628 North Duke Street and hangs out the very first Weber shingle.
Our story, since 1996
We Started in 1,800 Square Feet. We're in 48,000 Now. The Reason Is the Same.
Weber Advertising, an advertising agency in Lancaster, PA, designing and printing in-house since 1996.
The building got bigger because we kept saying yes, kept making the thing ourselves, and kept the clients who came with us. Here's the whole story, no fluff.
How it started
A few good clients showed up early. We did their work fast, did it well, and didn't mark it up.
In 1996, Weber Advertising and Marketing opened as a small advertising agency in Lancaster, PA, in an 1,800-square-foot building. A few good clients showed up early. We did their work fast, did it well, and didn't hand it off to someone else to mark it up.
Thirty years later, we're in a 48,000-square-foot building, with over 30 people and our own presses. Almost nothing about how we work has changed. We just have more room to do it.
How did Weber grow from 1,800 to 48,000 square feet?
One client at a time, by bringing more of the work in-house.
We didn't grow by chasing the next shiny account. We grew because the clients we had needed more, and we kept saying yes instead of sending them somewhere else.
- 48,000 sq ftone building, all the work
- 27xbigger than 1996, same reason
- 30+ yrsin business since 1996
- 30+people, own presses in-house
19961,800 sq ft
We opened in 1,800 square feet. Within two years, a few key clients pushed the work up fast.
20038,000 sq ft
Those clients needed more than design. They needed large-format printing and a wider menu of services, so we moved into an 8,000-square-foot building.
2011 to today48,000 sq ft
We added more printing, more technology, and more production muscle. That meant buying the 48,000-square-foot building on Janet Avenue that we still call home.
The part that didn't change
The building got 27 times bigger. The relationships stayed put.
Those key clients from the early years are still our clients today. They grew, we grew, and we grew together. That's the whole point of the square footage.
One building at a time
The whole story, year by year.
Three decades of clients, presses, moves, and a few questionable costumes. Drag it, scroll it, or use the arrows.
Hoober signs on
Hoober, Inc. of Intercourse becomes Weber's first ag equipment dealer, tractors and all.
Hershey Bears join the roster
The Hershey Bears lace up as a Weber client.
Donegal Insurance Group joins
Donegal Insurance Group joins a client list that keeps on growing.
Ryan Miller, first designer
Ryan Miller signs on as Weber's first full-time graphic designer, iMac and all.
Karns Foods signs on
Karns Foods becomes Weber's first grocery store client, straight down the produce aisle.
Weber makes the Millersville Review
Brad, Tony and Ryan land in a Millersville Review article.
Jim invents the Keg Koozie
Jim Weber dreams up the Keg Koozie, because warm beer is a tragedy.
Large-format printing born in the attic
Jen Weber starts the first large-format print shop up in the Duke Street attic.
Weber moves to Market Street
Weber trades Duke Street for a roomier building at 629 North Market Street.
George Mummert says NO. NO. NO.
George Mummert says "NO. NO. NO." for the very first time.
First Mimaki printer arrives
WAM buys its first Mimaki large-format printer, and the crew shows it off.
Jim wins the keg stand
Jim Weber takes the keg stand crown at a Phillies tailgate.
Joe builds the Job Jacket System
Joe Strosser builds the online Job Jacket System to track every single project.
Boyer's Food Markets signs on
Boyer's Food Markets joins the Weber family of clients.
The WAM Slam takes the field
The WAM Slam softball team steps up to the plate for its debut season.
Weber moves to Janet Avenue
After a big renovation, Weber settles into a 100-plus year old building on Janet Avenue.
Christmas sweaters and flip cup
The Christmas Sweater competition wraps up with a spirited game of flip cup.
THE BEAST arrives
THE BEAST, a huge digital press, rolls in to keep up with printing demand.
Big Bux wins his poker trophy
Brandon "Big Bux" Rehak stacks his chips and grabs his first monthly poker trophy.
National Hot Dog Day
WAM celebrates National Hot Dog Day the only proper way, elbow to elbow.
Weber turns 20
Weber throws a 20th Anniversary party for clients, staff and alumni.
Halloween costumes take the cake
Halloween costumes take the cake, T-rex included.
The Lug Buggy is finished
The Lug Buggy, a 70s-inspired fully wrapped hearse, finally hits the road.
First batch of bib tags
The very first batch of bib tags comes off the line, shrink-wrapped and ready.
COVID keeps the printers rolling
COVID-19 forces a shutdown, but essential clients keep Weber's printers running.
Joe Strosser becomes president
Jim steps down as president and forms a board, and Joe Strosser takes the helm.
Jim and Mike hit the NGA Show
Jim and Mike Miller work the National Grocers Association show in Las Vegas.
Jonathan Gingrich becomes president
Jonathan Gingrich becomes president of Weber Advertising.
Weber Marketing Alliance is born
Weber Marketing Alliance is created, opening a whole new chapter.
Why does Weber make everything in-house instead of farming it out?
Because every hand-off is a delay, a markup, and someone to blame. We took all three off the table.
Most agencies are good at the idea and then they disappear. They send your job to a printer, a sign vendor, and a mail house, mark up each invoice, and cross their fingers on the timeline. You end up managing four vendors and apologizing for all of them.
We went the other direction. We bought the presses. We hired the install crew, the video team, the art department, the strategists, and put them in one building. So when you come to us, the person who designs your store signs and banners works down the hall from the press that prints them and the truck that delivers them.
- No markup on what we make ourselves. We own the production, so you're not paying a middleman's cut on top of a middleman's cut.
- No waiting on a hand-off. When it has to move, it moves. We've taken a last-minute direct mail piece from idea to the post office in five hours, and that kind of turnaround is a normal day here.
- One team to call. One partner, not four vendors. When something needs to change, you make one call and it changes.
What does that mean for you, the person hiring us?
It means the recurring stuff goes out on time, and you don't have to babysit it.
Plenty of marketing is a one-time event. A logo. A campaign. A banner for the grand opening. We do all of that.
But the work that actually runs a business is the work that never stops. The weekly circular. The seasonal flyer calendar. The shelf tags that change every Friday. The signage program across every location. That drumbeat is where most marketing teams drown, and it's the thing we're built to carry.
15 years. Fifty-two Fridays a year. We own that deadline.
We've run a grocery client's weekly ad circular for 15 years, and we plan the whole calendar around not missing a Friday. We design it, plan and buy the media, and manage the whole run, then print it through trusted partners close to the mail routes so it lands on time. Fifty-two weeks a year, across multiple stores. You make one call, and the calendar, the deadline, and the coordination are ours.
So if you've got a lean marketing team and a calendar that won't quit, that's the job we want. You bring the ideas and the goals. We become the team you never have to apologize for.
We GetStuffDone
We have since 1996.
Who has stuck around, and what do they say?
The clients who started with us are mostly still with us. Here's a few, in their own words.
We could tell you we're great at keeping clients. It's better if they tell you. These quotes are from people who've worked with us for the better part of two or three decades.
B.R. Kreider & Son, Inc.
"As we have grown over the years, our size had created a barrier between us and our driveway customers. We brought in Weber Advertising and their ability to listen and understand our business allowed us to connect with our driveway customers again. The Weber team is very strategic and a trusted partner. Thanks to their efforts, we quickly became so busy in that area of our business that we have all we can do to keep up with the demand."
Brent Kreider, President · B.R. Kreider & Son, Inc.
"A team approach that has worked well for nearly 20 years."
Charlie Hoober, former PresidentHoober, Inc.
"Even though we're surrounded by larger competition, we're growing!"
Scott Karns, PresidentKarns Foods
How big is Weber now as a Central PA advertising agency, and does that change anything?
We're one of the larger agencies in Central PA, and no, it doesn't change a thing.
Bigger building, bigger staff, bigger presses. None of it changed the part that mattered: you still get the people, not a portal. You still get a straight answer on price and timeline. You still don't sign a contract that traps you, because we'd rather earn next month than lock up this one.
The growth isn't the brag. The growth is the receipt.
Thirty years, the same early clients, a building that's grown 27 times over: that's just what happens when you do good work fast and don't nickel-and-dime the people who trust you.
The map grew too. We started small-town and we still think that way, but the work no longer stops at the county line. From this one building we now serve clients across the country, and we've handled ag equipment dealers as far away as Canada. A Lancaster marketing agency with small-town roots and a national stage. We never lost the first part to get the second.
Start a partnership conversation
Thirty years says we'll still be here next year. Let's talk about what we'd build together.
You don't need a project ready to go. You need ten minutes and a problem worth solving. Tell us what your marketing has to do this year, and we'll tell you straight how we'd run the production so it goes out on time and you stop babysitting vendors.
No contract. No charge to think it through with you.