Leading Marketing Agency serves as Gateway to the Christian Audience
In an era where many companies are struggling in the wake of the pandemic, the seismic shift of brick and mortar to digital, and tectonic cultural and generational changes, FrontGate Media is continuing to expand their client-base and is proud to be celebrating 20 years as a marketing services firm.
Scott A. Shuford founded FrontGate Media in 2001 after a successful 10+ years in music and film with Frontline Music Group, Diamante Distribution, and the sale of one of the first Christian music web sites, Gofishnet.com to Crosswalk.com. Initially begun as an offshoot of FrontGate Creative, his full-service ad agency known for its work for IHOP, World Vision, Del Taco, OCTFCU and others, FrontGate Media’s mission was born to impact culture by creatively connecting companies with the Christian audiences they sought to influence.
When asked what it means to reach this 20-year milestone, Scott shared, “It has been my honor to see the results of our efforts deeply impact people in both large and small ways working hand-in-hand with world-changing organizations and individuals.”
When asked about favorite projects over the years, Shuford responded, “It’s tough to choose. We strive to move every client forward in their lifecycle, from the leading organizations in their fields to the startup entrepreneur, author, or ministry. I’ve learned that almost every endeavor we work on has value and makes a significant difference in people’s lives.”
“There are three that make me smile whenever they cross my mind. First, when the tsunami hit at Christmas in 2004, as I watched the news with family, I knew I’d get a call from World Vision. Two hours later I did. Within 48 hours, during everyone’s Christmas vacation, our team coordinated and sent millions of tsunami relief emails. Being able to help immediately for such a catastrophic world event at that specific time of year is one of my greatest joys. Second, in our work for El Rey Jesus, we transformed a school backpack giveaway from a humble church-based pick-up day helping 750 families to a Miami media event reaching 12,000 families and engaging 10,000 church members through neighborhood-based small groups. Finally, as part of our work for Pope Francis’ “Wake Up!” spoken word album, we created one of the most culturally, ethnically, and denominationally diverse companion devotionals ever published. Featuring 7 amazing Faith leaders, the devotional helped people engage with the Pope’s messages. It was provided free to everyone, direct and through YouVersion’s The Bible App where it is still engaging readers today, 7 years later.”
Born at a time when banner advertising and email newsletters began to grow in popularity, FrontGate was the first independent digital media group and remains the largest. It is the only group to be founded by a marketer for the purpose of promoting Christian products, services and causes, rather than by a publisher for the purpose of publishing content. An early differentiator was the firm’s preference for sites and events with high engagement, not merely large traffic volume.
The group found early success in bringing together several hugely popular web sites, events, and magazines starting with iTickets.com, Women of Faith’s conferences, and Christian Musician, then expanding to include Youth Specialties, K-LOVE’s Christian Music Planet, Gospel Music Channel, Winter Jam, several of the largest Summer music festivals and tours and more. Today, FrontGate’s network reaches over 10 million unique visitors monthly and 20+ million email subscribers through market leaders including Israel365, GOD TV, The Washington Times, NewReleaseToday, iTickets, Blue Letter Bible, Worship Musician, and more.
The firm continued to evolve. Early on, clients began to request Public Relations services after seeing the releases and coverage FrontGate was achieving for itself through announcements about client campaigns and media outlet milestones. In 2007, just one year after the founding of Twitter and 3 years after “The Facebook”, marketing and technology collided again and the firm found the opportunity to become first Christian agency to provide Social Media services. As success with client ad campaigns in the media group continued, Media Buying requests began to come in to deliver the entire Christian market audience. After years of work across advertising, public relations, event marketing, and social, the firm came full circle to Founder Scott A. Shuford’s history as a full-service agency offering Brand Strategy Development, but now specialized to reach Christians. More recently, as influencer marketing continues to have an incredible impact on the market, the proprietary FrontGate Women’s Blogger Network was founded then followed by the firm’s exclusive Christian Influencer Group integrating influencers over a variety of platforms to create brand engagement activities, more recently Facebook Street Team development, and last but not least, award-winning video production from FrontGate Moving Pictures (Emmy®, REMI, ICVM, ICFF, & CIFF awards.)
With the firm’s unique focus on engaging the Christian audience, rather than serving one or two industry verticals, FrontGate’s client base spans multiple categories including working with ad agencies, start-ups, non-profits and causes, pastors and churches, movie studios and indie filmmakers; publishers and authors; travel; music labels, artists and managers; retailers; education from elementary to continuing ed, and more.
Serving from 20-40 clients each month ranging from complex brand development campaigns to single ad runs, FrontGate has worked on more than 5,000 campaigns. They have served a diverse clientele including such notable Agencies as Carat, Tocquigny, Media Storm, DigitasLBi, Redbird, and others. Non-profits include National Day of Prayer, Focus on the Family, AARP’s LifeReimagined, Open Doors, Mighty Oaks Warrior Programs, Gospel for Asia, Pre-Born, PureHOPE, and World Vision which honored the firm as their #1 emedia partner for 6 six years in a row. Publishing clients include Tyndale, HarperCollins’ Thomas Nelson, Zondervan, W Publishing and Harlequin; B&H (Lifeway,) Moody, Barbour, Baker, Deep River, and others, as well as hundreds of independent authors. Movie campaigns include: The Passion of the Christ, The Chronicles of Narnia franchise, Heaven Is For Real, God’s Not Dead, Son of God, Soul Surfer, The Young Messiah, The Nativity Story, Roe V. Wade, the Word Films roster, PureFlix, Cinedigm’s The Dove Channel, and many more. Church-related work spans coast to coast from Pastor Rick Warren‘s Saddleback Church team in Orange County, CA to Apostle Guillermo Maldonado’s El Rey Jesus in Miami, FL. Leaders in Christian education include Liberty University, Dallas Theological Seminary, Fuller Seminary, Biola University, Bridgeway Academy and more. Some of the most exciting recent projects include brand development and growth for Advancing Native Missions, PraiseWorld3D, the women’s ministry Redeemed Restored, internationally renowned recording artist Steph Carse’s My Shining Hour TV special, album, and devotional; Israel relief charity World Emunah, and Christian Journals Direct with current clients based around the world in the U.S., Israel, the U.K.’s England and Ireland, Australia, and more.
FrontGate’s unique focus and mission have resulted in many accolades including numerous features and interviews in highly respected business publications such as ADWEEK, The Daily Beast, Direct Marketing News, Orange County Business Journal, and more. In 2014, FrontGate Media was awarded the Internet Advertising Competition’s (IAC) highest honors for Best Marketing Website overall and Best Faith-Based Website. The firm has been recognized multiple times in both the IAC and the WebAwards.
In the end, FrontGate Media’s ultimate driving force will continue to be moving the needle for both their clients and the faith-based audience. For more information about FrontGate Media, please visit www.FrontGateMedia.com.
———————————————————————————————————————
About FrontGate Media
Award-winning FrontGate Media is the leading marketing agency and media group specializing in the faith and family audience. With a 20-year track record of success, the firm serves as “Your Gateway to the Christian Audience.” FrontGate’s full-service agency and media group has been trusted with over 5,000 campaigns, providing Faith-based market Strategy Development, Public Relations, Social Media & Marketing, and Media Buying. FrontGate’s own Digital Network also provides reach to 10 Million UMV, 20 Million Email Subscribers, and Millions more Social Followers each month. Founded in 2001, FrontGate has repeatedly been honored in the Internet Advertising Competition and the WebAwards. The company plays a key role in the success of for-profit and non-profit organizations seeking faith-based and family-friendly audiences. http://FrontGateMedia.com
FrontGate Testimonials
http://www.frontgatemedia.com/portfolio/testimonials
# # #
Contact:
Lori Heiselman
FrontGate PR
714-553-5181
[email protected]
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Religion News Service or Religion News Foundation.
