By Anna Fobair, junior ADPR and broadcasting student
When Brendon Henning was a sophomore in college, he had no idea that one freelance project would turn into his career. Two and a half years later, he is the co-founder and creative director of Red Thread, a small Lincoln advertising agency in the Haymarket District.
Henning didn’t originally come into college with the goal of becoming an advertising professional. Instead, he had two other passions: aerospace engineering and marketing.
“I would watch space shows about the moon landing and then really enjoy the commercials,” Henning said.
One of Henning’s high school teachers told him if he didn’t work with other people creatively, he would not enjoy his career. This prompted Henning to change his major from mechanical engineering to marketing before he even went to his first freshman class. He eventually began taking general advertising classes, which led him to apply for his first internship at Bailey Lauerman as a copywriter.
When Henning was a sophomore, he was asked to join Adam Kroft, a senior ADPR major, and Rhett Muller, senior journalism and ADPR major, to help with the creative development and copy writing for their freelance video project. Henning saw this as an opportunity to gain more experience and work on a project to put in his portfolio.
Eventually, Kroft and Muller began gaining more and more freelance clients, and Henning stayed on to help him with the creatives. This was the beginning of Red Thread. The trio rented office space, opened a bank account and registered Red Thread as a legitimate business. Red Thread now has five employees and has been running for two and a half years.
“Probably what I enjoy most is the freedom creatively that it brings, and being super, super small so you can know your team,” Henning said.
David Forrest-Andersen, account executive at Red Thread, said, “He [Brendon] really acknowledges everyone on the team, and values any type of work they put forward and is always willing to hear someone out for a contribution. What I learned from Brendon is what I value in a coworker and in a leader.”
What played a part in Red Thread’s startup success was finding talented and dedicated employees, working hard, and managing time. Henning also recalled that he never felt like he had any big fears that couldn’t be managed.
“Who cares if I fail at this point, I can always do something else,” Henning said.
One project led to another project which led to another. Henning was able to create his own career path at Red Thread and he knows he will be doing this for years to come.
“We’re young. I think we’re very flexible in the way that we work, and clients seem to appreciate that about us. I think we are very, very talented in our own way and passionate about what we do,” Henning said.
Notable clients of Red Thread include Walker Tire, Nebraska Bank of Commerce, Latitude Living Spaces and Lincoln Jewelry. A complete list of clients and some of the creatives can be found at http://www.redthreadads.com/work/.