Employee tenure comes down to the culture, which they describe as entrepreneurial and supportive.
“It is a very entrepreneurial place, and people feel that they can truly make an impact,” said Shafer, using herself as an example. She started as a junior account executive and now she’s nearly at her 20th anniversary because she felt all along she could make an impact.
She praised Bosworth for setting up the culture as one that cares, for its employees, its clients, its way of conducting business and how it interacts with the communities it’s in—Greenville, S.C. and New York—with the southern culture leading the way.
“The big, hairy, audacious goal that we’ve set for ourselves…is to be a place people crave to work at and a place people crave to work with,” said Bosworth.
Advice to the next generation
Bosworth acknowledges that the industry is rapidly changing and that EP+Co has done its best to meet those changes head-on.
The agency has made big investments of money, belief and time in AI and other technologies. Two years ago, the agency wrote its code of ethics around AI to keep a human element to the technology.
“I think humanity is the key to this. Yes, we’re going to do things faster. Yes, we’re going to do things more efficiently. But while we’re doing that, I believe that the digital pendulum is going to continue to swing,” said Bosworth, adding that the human, analog element is going to swing the other way to balance things out.
His advice to Shafer and the industry is to bet on both because the integration of humanity with technology is what is going to drive this business.
After his four decades in the industry, Bosworth looks forward to his passion for teaching young people. He has served as the president of the board of advisers for the University of North Carolina’s Hussman School of Journalism and Media for the past several years and has enjoyed teaching many of the school’s advertising and marketing classes, which he will continue.
“One of the sayings we have at EP+Co is, “always be humble enough to be a student, and always be generous enough to be a teacher,” said Bosworth, who is looking forward to continuing to serve others.
At the agency, he would always ask people: Did you try your hardest? And did you do it in the best interest of others?
“If you can say that in your heart, then you are leading a worthy life. And what I hope to do is I hope to continue to lead a worthy life in the service of others,” concluded Bosworth.