AJ Beson has witnessed the marketing industry transform and adapt to evolving consumer, cultural and technological trends for an impressive 25 years. This November, the creative entrepreneur will celebrate the 25th anniversary of his Jacksonville-based digital marketing and branding firm, Beson4, which he founded in November 1999 as Beson4 Media.
To kick off a planned, year-long celebration, Beson, along with his business partner of 20 years, Mike Hicks, and agency team members will host a charity poker event on the evening of Nov. 16 at the Jacksonville BestBet Poker Room. The event will be held in partnership with the Northeast Florida Builder’s Association (NEFBA) with the goal of raising money for The Charitable Foundation of NEFBA, where Beson is a board member.
“It seemed fitting,” said Beson. “Starting a business is like playing poker: Sometimes you've got to go all in, and sometimes you've got to fold, but you'll never win if you don't ante up in the first place! We’ve enjoyed a great, long run here in Northeast Florida, and the only appropriate way to celebrate is to try and give something back to the local community that has supported us for so long.”
Beson launched Beson4 as a publishing company. Beson4 regularly produced advertising for its magazine clients, many of whom began asking if the firm could also provide additional marketing and creative support outside of the magazines. As revenue began to grow on the agency side, and print publishing began to wane, Beson sold the publication business in 2015 and repositioned Beson4 as a full-service marketing firm.
Since that time, the agency has continued to evolve. Although it remains a full-service firm, its focus today is squarely on its digital marketing services including website design, search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, social media marketing, content marketing and video production.
Over the years, the firm has been honored for its outstanding creating creative work and been named to such lists as “Northeast Florida’s Fastest Growing Companies” and “Best Places to Work.”
Beson4 has worked with clients all over the nation, including many of Northeast Florida’s largest and most successful companies, many of whom the firm helped celebrate their own milestone anniversaries in the area, such as Chase Properties, The Jay Fund, LandSouth Construction, Baker Distributing, Lift Power and Daco Worldwide, among others.
“We’ve grown right alongside our numerous partners and so many other great businesses and people in this incredible community,” said Beson. “We’re blessed to live and work here and are looking forward to the next 25 years.”
For more information, go to beson4.com or call 904-992-9945.
