Special Advertising Section
To say that Ryan Martin and Ryan Smoker, co-owners of The Infantree, have a lot in common is an understatement. The business partners met at Kutztown University and became roommates; besides having their first name in common, both were from Lancaster County and enrolled in the commercial design program. Even their birthdays are uncannily close--one week apart.
After graduating and spending several years cutting their teeth at various creative agencies, the friends realized the biggest thing they had in common: the desire to start their own agency with a fresh approach to design and marketing. In 2008 they left their agency jobs and worked out of a collective space in downtown Lancaster. Soon after, in 2010, the pair founded The Infantree, choosing the name as an alternate spelling of “infantry,” putting down roots in Lancaster.
“Our concentration is on branding tied to a message—telling people why your business exists, addressing the perception people have of you. Design is a piece of that, but we never wanted to be simply a design shop—we start with branding, the persona of a business,” explains Martin.
“We’re not interested in just making a logo and walking away,” adds Smoker. “It’s powerful to have one company managing your brand so that everything is consistent—logo, website, advertising, marketing, etc. We’re able to build a comprehensive brand program.”
Their approach has struck a chord with a long and diverse list of clients—corporate entities such as Willow Valley and Clair Global, non-profit organizations such as Lancaster County Community Foundation, and smaller startups such as Thistle Finch Distillery and Passenger Coffee Roasters.
The Infantree has grown from a partnership of two to an agency of 12. “Our team collaboration is essential,” says Martin. “In the infantry each member may have different purposes, but you’re still a group of people who work together for a common goal and objective. That’s the kind of environment we want to create—a team.”
Self-proclaimed World War II “history dorks,” the office space is filled with war relics. “We have an appreciation for that era,” Martin says. “’The Greatest Generation is tied to our core design sensibility—hardworking and no nonsense. From our propaganda posters to our helmets in the window, it’s an era that greatly influences both our aesthetic and our approach.”
The pair also agrees that the infantry, or The Infantree, relies on a brotherhood-style relationship—very appropriate for these co-owners whose lives appear to be on parallel tracks.
“We are both creative types but we have different strengths—where one is weak the other is strong; we can’t do our job well without the other,” says Smoker. “For the past eight years we’ve been walking through life together. Now our wives are friends, our children are growing up together…our lives are tightly intertwined. It’s how a great partnership should be.”
The Infantree | 114 East Chestnut Street | Lancaster, PA 17602 theinfantree.com | 717-399-8322 Back to The Faces of the Susquehanna Valley
