Stamats celebrates centennial, looks to future in move to new home

There are only about 1,000 companies in the United States that have been in business for more than 100 years. An even smaller number have been entirely family-owned for that same period. It’s just one of the things that sets Stamats Communications apart from many of its peers in the marketing field, many of which have been subsumed by mergers and acquisitions that have come to define the industry. And even as Stamats prepares for a physical move in early December, company leaders say Stamats, celebrating its centennial this year, is poised for a new century of growth and innovation in the industries it serves. “Certainly there are regrets,” Stamats President and CEO Peter Stamats said of the company’s decision to leave its longtime headquarters at 615 Fifth St. SE for a new, smaller office on the second floor of the Wells Fargo building at 308 Third St. SE.

The move will be completed by Dec. 1, with the company’s lease on the Fifth Street building ending Dec. 31. The building, occupied by Stamats since 1935, was purchased by downtown entrepreneur Steve Emerson in 2018. “Anytime an organization or family has been in a place for 90 years, you're sad to see it go,” Peter Stamats admitted. “But we also feel that it's a good time to transition and kick off a new era. We recognize that times change and needs change, and we're trying to stay on the forefront of that.” “I have less regrets about it,” Executive Vice President Bill Stamats added. “I think it's actually very healthy for us to move to a new space and have a fresh start, in a way, with our next 100 years. With the way we’re operating today, all the way around, we’ll have a fresh go at it.”

Company founded to help market men’s apparel, shoe retailers

Stamats has always been rooted in the marketing industry, but its industry focuses have shifted several times over the past century to accommodate changing market conditions. The company was founded in a small office at 10 First Ave. NE in Cedar Rapids in 1923 by partners Frank French and Herbert Stamats, the grandfather of current company leaders Peter and Bill Stamats, as a marketing firm to help haberdashers and shoe stores in the Eastern Iowa area sell their products. Thereafter, the company acquired two subsidiaries, including Rapid Press in Cedar Rapids and Guthrie Publishing in Chicago, and began producing printed marketing materials for those clients, Bill Stamats said. “Even though we’ve been thought of in this area as being a printing business, that was actually ancillary to the marketing origins of the business,” Bill noted. After surviving a 1929 flood that devastated downtown Cedar Rapids, as well as enduring the economic hardships of the Great Depression, the company moved its offices in 1935 to their current location at 615 Fifth St. SE, and shortly thereafter pivoted to the first of many new directions – targeted marketing for real estate developers and agencies. “They hit on the idea of creating a syndicated publication business model,” Peter Stamats said. “That model meant that you could buy the rights to a limited geographic area for a publication that would show your business' name on the cover, and we would distribute it to an audience or a group of people that you wanted to influence, primarily having to do with residential real estate.” Those titles included Perfect Home and later, Ownership and Building Progress. “That’s when the business really took off,” Peter Stamats said.

Ownership transitions, name changes ensue

In 1934, Frank French moved to New York City to handle eastern activities for the growing company. Just 18 months later, Mr. French died suddenly, and Herbert Stamats took over as sole proprietor. In 1942, French-Stamats purchased two monthly trade magazines: the National Real Estate Journal established in 1909, circulating nationally to real estate organizations, and Building and Ownership Management, established in 1906, which circulated nationally to owners and managers of office buildings. The company also began printing the roster of the National Association of Realtors, and twice expanded its printing facility to handle the growing demand. “The post-World War II housing boom was really good for our business,” Peter Stamats said. Building and Ownership Management later became Buildings magazine, one of the company’s most enduring business-to-business publications. The company continued to operate as French-Stamats Company until 1944, when the name changed to Stamats Publishing Company. Then in the late 1950s, Stamats branched into what would become one of its central focus areas – higher education – under the direction of Larry Zirbel, filling up press time by printing college catalogs and recruiting materials for institutions mostly located in Iowa and western Illinois. While the printed materials are no longer a primary focus for Stamats, the company still provides marketing and student recruitment services for colleges and universities throughout the Midwest. The endeavor eventually branched into the production of audio-visual materials, including slide and tape production, films and filmstrips – all written, designed and produced by the Stamats creative staff. Another major leadership transition also occurred during this time.  In late 1965, after 42 years as president of the French-Stamats Co. and later Stamats Publishing, Herbert Stamats passed the reins of leadership to his son-in-law, Horace G. “Fed” Hedges. Though retaining his Chairman of the Board status, Herbert Stamats was looking forward to his semi-retirement as an opportunity to spend more time traveling. However, he passed away only three months later. Fed Hedges began his career with the company in 1946 as associate editor of Buildings magazine and would guide the company, along with Herbert’s son, Peter O. Stamats, for the next 26 years. The company then acquired several other commercial printing contracts during the 1970s, including one highly-successful partnership with Amana that led to the printing of Amana Radarange cookbooks and other printed materials, and the company opened a new, 15,000-square-foot print production facility in 1974. The facility housed a range of cutting-edge printing equipment, including a four-color press, two two-color presses, and two one-color presses.

Sale of syndicated titles leads to new focuses

In the early 1980s, Stamats found itself at a crossroads, leading the company to close its syndicated publishing division, including three of its most iconic brands: Perfect Home, Building Progress, and Ownership. Meanwhile, the company’s Buildings magazine division grew rapidly during this time, providing information for building owners and facility managers on the design, operation and maintenance of commercial buildings. “We were in a qualified subscriber business model, now known as ‘opt-in,’” Peter Stamats said. “At that time, it was an incredible accomplishment to provide something with significant value that people were willing to opt in in any large numbers.” Another transition came during this time, as the company changed its name from Stamats Publishing Company to Stamats Communications, reflecting a shift from print-centric operations to a broader suite of multimedia and branding campaigns, marketing, content strategy and creative services. The new name was the harbinger of even more changes on the horizon.

New divisions, end of a era

In 1988, Stamats launched a research division headed by Bob Sevier, allowing the company to tap into the power of data-driven decision-making. And as the company’s focus continued to shift, leaders made the decision in 1991 to sell the company’s commercial printing operations to Cedar Graphics of Hiawatha and owner Hassan Igram. The companies maintained a “symbiosis” for the next several years on print production, but today, less than 10% of the company’s operations involve printed materials. Some proceeds from the sale were invested in the acquisition of the publication Meetings Monthly, which later became Meetings Today, broadening Stamats’ reach into the thriving meetings and events industry. The company continues to produce Meetings Today as a monthly print publication and a robust website. Embracing digital technologies more fully, Stamats produced its first website in 1996, harnessing the growing power of the Internet to provide new services for its clients and launched B2B websites for its Buildings and Meetings Today brands. Mr. Sevier also expanded Stamats’ efforts integrated marketing efforts during this time, particularly in the higher education realm, and the company became the first marketing firm in higher education to create a digital viewbook on CD-ROM for Villanova University. Stamats also completed an extensive remodeling project in 1999, focused on “creating an aesthetically pleasing and architecturally modern look that would attract prospective employees in a competitive market.”

More dramatic shifts in the 2000s

In the early 2000s, Buildings acquired the Interiors+Sources publication and launched Architech, targeting audiences specifically in commercial real estate and interior design to further diversify revenue streams and expand into a vertical market. And Stamats withstood several challenges in the 21st century, including the devastating 2008 flood that forced the company to temporarily relocate its operations to a satellite campus of Upper Iowa University, and a global financial crisis that same year. The company’s digital shift intensified in the 2010s, leading to the acquisition of the Thorburn Group, a brand strategy firm, in 2014. And in 2020 came two more challenging events: The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the August 2020 derecho. Through it all, the company continued to adapt and sharpen its digital focus.

Today’s operations focused largely on digital marketing, audience management

Even more changes have occurred recently. In March 2022, Stamats sold its Buildings and Interiors+Sources titles to Endeavor Business Media of Nashville, Tennessee. And in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, when a vast majority of the company’s 80-plus employees shifted to a work-from-home model, Stamats made the decision to move from its 30,000-square-foot offices on Fifth Street SE to a 7,500-square-foot space in the heart of downtown Cedar Rapids. The new office will provide a headquarters and collaboration space, while reducing overhead costs and helping to streamline Stamats’ operations. Today, the company, now known simply as Stamats, continues to thrive as a digital marketing and research company providing a full range of services including websites, mobile, PPC, SEO/SEM, content marketing, email, research, traditional media, live events and database marketing. The company focuses on distinct markets, including higher education, health care, publishing, and audience development. The company will also remain headquartered in Cedar Rapids, maintaining the community partnerships with groups such as Theatre Cedar Rapids. "That Midwest work ethic is key to the current corporate culture,” Bill Stamats said. And when asked to address Stamats’ future, the company’s current leaders say they have no plans to merge with other agencies, and they remain steadfast in honing their digital focus. “It’s a story that unfolds year by year, and we believe it will continue to evolve,” Peter Stamats said. “We've been willing to face up to and embrace changes as we need to, and we will continue to do that … no one can really predict the future with significant accuracy. But we have certain trends that we continue to see. The future of our business is solidly placed in digital media and digital media services. The core of what we've done, though, hasn't changed. And that started back in 1923 with targeted marketing services based on quality content, and products and services distributed to audiences that have a need for those services.”

More on Stamats' centennial

To read more about Stamats' first 100 years, go to https://www.stamats.com/100years/