Meet Kent. He is the founder and President of Anvil Media Inc, with an extensive background in PR and Digital Advertising. As our fearless leader, he ensures our team is living and breathing the mission, vision, and purpose of Anvil. Though he’s always on the move, he took some time out of his action-packed day to answer a few questions for us about his twenty years in digital marketing and founding Anvil Media.
Why did you choose a career in digital marketing?
KL: I transitioned from a career in high-tech public relations to digital marketing in 1996, primarily because I was frustrated with the people and politics in the PR industry and wanted to try something new. Since then, I’ve continued to leverage my PR background, which has made my digital marketing capabilities stronger and more effective.
What originally attracted you to Anvil?
KL: I learned I didn’t work well for others (old guard) who didn’t understand the new-fangled Internet and realized I should go out on my own. I founded Anvil in 2000, a week after getting fired from an agency I co-founded in 1999, but wasn’t able to commit to Anvil full-time until late 2003 after leaving an email marketing startup I co-founded for my true love: search marketing.
What is the favorite part of your job at Anvil?
KL: I enjoy leveraging my knowledge, experience, connections, and creativity to solve problems daily, whether they be company- or client-related. I want to make an impact with every interaction.
Who is your favorite Anvil client and why?
KL: My favorite Anvil client is Travel Portland. They’ve been a client of mine (on and off) since 1997, at three different agencies. Most recently, we helped Travel Portland launch a new website, which required a year of advanced SEO strategic planning. We see each other as strategic partners, which has required a great deal of work, but has been very rewarding.
What do you feel is your greatest accomplishment to date at Anvil and why?
KL: To this day, I feel that my greatest accomplishment as a business owner has been helping my team create and achieve goals, both personally and professionally. Helping my team has been more rewarding than the client work, which is a close second, however. Any time I can make a positive impact on my team, clients, or the communities we serve, I’m fulfilled.
What digital marketing influencers, blogs, podcasts, or publications do you find most informative for your career?
KL: My daily email newsletters and feeds include Business Insider, eMarketer, Nuzzel, SmartBrief and The Drum.
We appreciate Kent kicking off our series of employee profiles that we’ll be posting each week. Stay tuned to learn more about our team of Anvilites on our blog. If you want to know more about Kent, find him on Twitter at @kentjlewis, LinkedIn at Kent Lewis, and at AnvilMediaInc.com.