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Turning partnerships into brand growth: Behind the Business with Nickerson in Boston, MA
Lisa Nickerson, CEO and founder of Nickerson, didn’t set out to start a marketing agency. With a background in real estate, she started her career as a commercial broker. As she took on more branding, marketing, and strategic planning across asset classes, something clicked. Her foundation in entrepreneurship and business strategy naturally evolved into a passion for brand building, leading to the founding of Nickerson, a national, full-service marketing and communications agency. Focused on the built environment, Nickerson is grounded in trust, collaboration, and the belief that the best work happens together.
The term “built environment” refers to nearly every part of our daily lives and includes all the man-made or adapted spaces where we live, work, and connect, and the technologies and companies that help create them.
Over the past seven years, Vice President of Performance Management Molly Silvia has seen Nickerson transform from a Boston-based firm into a nationally recognized agency. While the company has always specialized in the built environment, joining forces with client-partners in real estate, development, retail, proptech, and sports stadium projects, their reach has expanded significantly. The pandemic served as an unexpected catalyst, fast-tracking plans for national growth and leading to new offices in New York and Los Angeles.
At the core of Nickerson’s success is a commitment to partnership. “We refer to all of our clients as client-partners,” Molly explains. “That relationship is everything. We want to collaborate with companies in a way that helps them grow. It’s not just about providing a service, it’s about building something together.”
Word-of-mouth, referrals, and involvement in industry networks have fueled much of the firm’s growth. With an average client-partner tenure of more than six years, it’s clear that trust and results go hand in hand. “That longevity is especially meaningful in a service-based business where new client-partners often arrive after disappointing past experiences with other firms,” Molly explained. “Earning and rebuilding that trust has been one of the agency’s most consistent challenges, and one of our biggest strengths.”
Nickerson offers a full suite of marketing, branding, website, and communications services designed to accelerate visibility and performance for their client-partners. Internally, they rely on a robust CRM system to nurture relationships and maintain a high level of service. Externally, being accredited by the Better Business Bureau helps reinforce the trust and adds an extra layer of credibility.
Part of what makes the work at Nickerson so energizing is the variety. “Our firm’s client-partner base is diverse,” Molly said, “and allows the Nickerson team to bring fresh ideas and a cross-disciplinary perspective to every engagement. It makes the work exciting and creates an environment where our people want to stay and grow.”
The commitment to partnership doesn’t stop with paying client-partners. Many Nickerson team members are actively involved in a range of professional and civic organizations such as the Urban Land Institute Women's Leadership Initiative (WLI), US Proptech Council, and The American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) LA Chapter. Non-profit participation includes board seats at Housing Families and the Greater Boston Arts & Business Council. The agency also provides pro-bono work to support the charitable contributions of their client-partners. “When our client-partners give back, we want to help amplify that,” Molly said.
Nickerson benefits from Boston’s unique business landscape. It’s a city rich in culture, innovation, and connection. “Boston is such a networked community,” Molly notes. “It makes it easier to build real rapport and long-term partnerships.”
At its core, Nickerson is about helping businesses in the built environment tell their stories, grow their influence, and reach their goals through thoughtful marketing.
Nickerson has been an Accredited Member of the Better Business Bureau since 2019. For more information about Nickerson, check out their BBB profile. To learn more about BBB and read more stories like this, visit Behind the Business Stories with BBB in Eastern MA, ME, RI & VT.
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