CLAY - Integrated Marketing Services, Inc., a local company specializing in direct marketing and advertising, is now operating in its fourth location since the company was founded in 1993.

The company's new home at 4682 Crossroads Park Drive in the town of Clay follows a pattern with the company's three previous locations - it's larger than the space it replaces.

The building is roughly double the square footage of the firm's former office, says Michael Barker, president and CEO of Integrated Marketing.

"We had significantly outgrown our previous location, both in terms of production space and office space, says Barker, noting that the Crossroads Park Drive building also provides more warehouse space as well.

Integrated Marketing moved into its current 20,000-square-foot space in mid-August. The move from its 10,600-square-foot space at 6724 Thompson Road in the town of DeWitt took about a week to complete and ended a 10-year run at that office.

Prior to the Thompson Road location, the company had operated in separate offices with 6,000 square feet and 2,500 square feet of space, both along Corporate Circle in DeWitt.

The search for a new building started about 18 months ago, says Barker.

"We looked a long time before we actually found this building," he says, noting that Integrated Marketing needed the right combination of manufacturing space and office space in the same location.

The company started eyeing the Crossroads Park Drive building in July 2007, says Barker. At the time, three tenants occupied the building, each with different lease termination dates that were beyond the time when 'Integrated Marketing's lease at the Thompson Road location was set to expire.

"So we kind of wrote it off as not being a viable solution for us," Barker says, noting that the building seemed to have the space the company was seeking.

Earlier this year, Barker learned that the building had been sold to locally based ZG Realty, LLC of North Syracuse, and he was able to negotiate a seven-year lease with that firm for the entire building.

The three previous tenants, including Aapex Environmental Service, Inc., moved out once their leases expired, says Barker. He was unaware of the other two tenants.

R.F. Esposito & Co. of Manlius handled the renovation work inside the building, with several subcontractors including AVR Electric LLC of Cicero, Hill's Heating & Air Conditioning of Lysander, and Austin Plumbing of DeWitt.

The renovation work cost $750,000, which was partly covered in Integrated Marketing's lease and partly financed with $150,000 of company funds, Barker says.

Integrated Marketing employs 25 full-time employees, and^ about four or five part-time workers through temp agencies. Barker says he plans to hire two or three new employees immediately and another two or three employees in 2009.

Barker wouldn't disclose the company's revenue information, but says Integrated Marketing expects revenue growth of 20 percent in 2008. Barker is the majority owner, and John Kinslow and Edward Mertens, Jr., company vice presidents, also have a minor ownership stake in the company.

One of the company's specialties is direct-mail marketing, and its growth means Integrated Marketing can handle larger projects requiring 1 million or 2 million pieces of mail. The bigger building provides much more warehouse space for materials needed to execute a large direct mail distribution.

Time Warner Cable, Inc. is Integrated Marketing's biggest client, says Barker. His company is responsible for the mailings that promote Time Warner's digital phone service.

"We've helped them build that brand," he says.

Integrated Marketing also handles fulfillment services for Time Warner, providing third-party storage, inventory, and direct shipment to customers on two of the company's well-known services.

When a customer signs up for Time Warner's digital phone service or Road Runner (the company's high-speed Internet service), Integrated Marketing can send the customer a self installation kit instead of making an appointment for a technician to handle the process.

In addition to direct-mail marketing, the company also focuses on print advertising for magazines, newspapers, and trade publications.

The company also designs materials for trade shows, such as pocket folders, sales flyers, printed brochures, and materials for presentations.

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