Page 18 - South Mississippi Living - February, 2021

COAST NOTE
Woman Led for 26 Years
After working for another advertising agency for three years, Laura Hasty and Robin René Stephens were transferred. It was then that Hasty approached Stephens about opening her own agency. Stephens was quick to respond, “Can I come with you?”
In 1995, when there were few women- owned agencies, these women decided to take a chance. “All the men said we couldn’t do it,” Stephens stated. But the two women proved them wrong, and opened The Ad Group on January 16, Stephens’ birthday.
The two have worked together for 30 years, 26 of those years at their own agency. They started their business in
a rental building with no windows. “It was a claustrophobic nightmare. We had to get out of there,” Hasty stated. After three months, they decided to relocate
to Rue Petit Bois in Biloxi. Though they are in the same location, they have since added on to the o ce and taken over the
apartment next door.
What started as just the two women is
now a full team. “We work hard, and we go out of our way to please our clients,” Hasty says. “That’s what it’s all about. We do right by our customers. People don’t want to be taken advantage of.”
The Ad Group represents a variety
of clients, including several casinos. At one point, they were working with ve casinos at once. People told them, “You can’t do that,” but Hasty and Stephens were happy to prove them wrong. However, Hasty says, “If we mess up, we fess up and make it right. Our agency has the best customer service of any agency on the Coast.”
The testimonials of their clients
speak volumes. Cruisin’ the Coast Vice Chairman & Executive Director Woody Bailey states, “The Ad Group has met the diverse needs of Cruisin’ the Coast for more than two decades.” Vincent
Creel, public a airs with the City of Biloxi says, “There’s a great story to tell
in Biloxi, and we couldn’t tell it as well as we do on a regular basis without our great partnership with The Ad Group.”
The Ad Group
228 Rue Petit Bois Ste. 4, Biloxi 228.388.9830 www.theadgroup.net
story and photos by Lacey Pierce
18 | February 2021
www.smliving.net | SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living
Robin René Stephens & Laura Hasty