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Priority Marketing named ‘Company to Watch’ by GrowFL

GrowFL has honored Priority Marketing as a 2020 Company to Watch, a prestigious designation that recognizes second-stage businesses poised for significant growth over the next several years.

Priority Marketing was the only company in Lee County, and one of just three in Southwest Florida, to be named as a 2020 honoree. Teri Hansen founded Priority Marketing in 1992, and today it is the region’s largest marketing firm delivering solutions to for-profit and nonprofit clients across the region, state and nation. Priority Marketing has grown to employ more than 40 full-time professionals.

“Florida is home to more than 2.5 million small businesses, so being recognized as one of just 50 top-performing businesses is quite an honor,” said Priority Marketing President and Creative Director Teri Hansen, APR. “The companies and nonprofits we serve recognize that effective marketing, advertising, public relations and digital marketing solutions will help advance their organizations, and we’ve had to grow to help them grow.”

Now in its 10th year, GrowFL’s Companies to Watch program was developed by the Edward Lowe Foundation and honors impressive second-stage companies that are developing valuable products and services, creating quality jobs, enriching communities and broadening new industries throughout Florida.

GrowFL announced 50 honorees on Nov. 10 from a pool of 82 finalists named in September. The organization received more than 400 nominations for the award this year.

Honorees were selected after a final round of judging by a panel of independent judges comprised of past honorees, economic development leaders and corporate partners of GrowFL. Companies were judged on criteria that include growth in number of employees; impact of the business in the job market; increase in sales and/or unit volume; current and past financial reports; innovativeness of the product or service; response to adversity; and contributions to aid community-oriented projects.

“These stand-out companies are all led by entrepreneurs, and have demonstrated not only their willingness to grow, but their capacity to do it successfully,” said GrowFL Founder Tom O’Neal. “They are all positioned to make a significant impact on Florida’s economy with their products, services, critical intellectual property or a niche position that gives them a competitive edge in their markets. These business owners demonstrate strong leadership, philanthropic involvement, perseverance and all it means to be an entrepreneur.”

“The 50 second-stage companies named as GrowFL Florida Companies to Watch honorees reflect the exceptional leaders who are making a difference in growing and diversifying the state of Florida,” added Jennifer Barrows, chairwoman of the GrowFL Advisory Board.

Second-stage companies are defined as those with six to 150 full-time employees and between $750,000 and $100 million in annual revenue.

From 2016 through 2019, Companies to Watch honorees generated $813 million in revenue and added 668 employees, reflecting a 103% increase in revenue and 113% increase in jobs for the four-year period. That translates into a 27% average annual revenue growth and 20% average annual growth in employees.

Even through the pandemic, these Florida companies collectively projected continued growth in 2020, with a 15% revenue increase and 17% growth in employees compared to 2019. If their projections hold, these companies will have generated $1.14 billion in revenue and added 887 employees over the last five years – a 133% increase in revenue and 150% increase in jobs since 2016.

Companies named to the list will be officially recognized at the 10th Annual GrowFL Florida Companies to Watch Celebration on Feb. 18 at the Hammock Beach Resort and Spa in Palm Coast. The event will also be livestreamed. For more information, visit GrowFL.com/flctw20/about-flctw.

About Priority Marketing

Established in 1992, Priority Marketing is a full-service marketing, advertising, public relations and digital marketing agency located at 12140 Carissa Commerce Court, Suite 201, in Fort Myers. Follow Priority Marketing on social media through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. For industry news and marketing insights, visit PriorityMarketing.com/our-blog and watch the FAQ Fridays video series on YouTube. For more information, call 239-267-2638 or visit PriorityMarketing.com.

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