Page 24 - RE-NJ

22 SEPTEMBER 2024
Adam Taylor is founder and CEO of Splendor, a full-service creative agency based in Red Bank.
IN THE MARKET
Splendor’s growth in Red Bank, creative agency’s home since 2011, has gone hand in hand with robust commercial real estate practice
It was 2011 when Adam Taylor moved Splendor Design Group to downtown Red Bank, prompting
what felt like an overnight change in how prospective clients approached his then-12-year-old graphic design firm. “Suddenly, people were much more interested,” he recalled, seemingly thanks to the new address in an established business community.
That was one draw for Denholtz Properties President Steve Cassidy, based in Matawan at the time, who found Splendor online in 2014 while searching for a vendor to redo the firm’s website.
“He chose to work with us because we were accessible,” Taylor said. “We could meet face to face ... and when we got together, there was a pretty good rapport and synergy.”
What’s more, he added, “It really started to open my eyes to how much work is actually happening right in our own backyard in real estate.”
For Splendor, it was the first of many commercial real estate clients that have been a key source of its growth over the past decade, accounting for some 40 to 60 percent of its business in recent years. Now a full-service creative agency with a team of 15,
the firm has worked for the likes of Russo Development, SJP Properties, Onyx Equities and J&L Cos., part
of a niche that comprises both corporate branding and campaigns for individual buildings and projects, which Taylor sees as a vital growth area.
All the while, his decision to locate in Red Bank continues to pay dividends when it comes to business development and attracting talent, prompting it to expand several times since its initial move to 50 Broad St.
“(Everybody) talks about being in a transit village, being in a place
where there’s a walkable downtown — areas where people want to go
to work,” said Taylor, founder and CEO of what’s now known simply as Splendor. “And that’s definitely the case here.”
Taylor’s journey as an entrepreneur began as many others do: “leaving
a string of horrible jobs at print shops,” where he was a graphic artist who had “a vision or a notion that there’s something bigger and better ... just waiting for me to figure out what it is,” he said. He notes that he had no formal training in business management or even design, but loved the creative arts enough to take
By Joshua Burd
Photos by Aaron Houston for Real Estate NJ