John and Kristy Sexton have always had an entrepreneurial spirit.
Originally from Saline, Ohio, the couple moved to Houston in 1982 when John got an accounting job and Kristy got a job at an advertising agency.
“Within a month [of starting the job], she said, ‘I can do this on my own,’ and I’m like, ‘Okay, let’s do it,’” John said.
Now, the couple will celebrate 45 years of Adcetera, a full-service digital marketing agency, in 2027.
Over the years, the agency has worked with large companies including HP Technology and Chevron.
Kristy said that, as people who are married and work together, they have to have their own lanes in the company in order to be successful. For the Sextons, John is the business side and Kristy is the creative side.
“We have a line in the sand,” Kristy said. “Everything that is client- and creative-related is on my side. Everything that is finance, technology and systems-related is on his side of the line.”
How we got here
The idea for Adcetera came to Kristy as an opportunity with IBM, which was a client at the agency she worked for. She said they offered that if she would step out on her own, they would give her project work.
The couple was young and broke at the time, John said. The company started in their garage and modern technology was non-existent, so much of the work was done by mail and on typewriters, he said.
They also bartered a lot.
“I did logos and direct mail pieces for dentists, little furniture stores,” Kristy said. “We would trade it out, and they would give us a couch.”
The Sextons' big break came when they bought a house and their neighbor, who worked in marketing at Sysco Foods, allowed them to work with the company.
“She really gave us our big opportunity with a corporate account,” Kristy said. “And they were a client for 35 years.”
Since then, Adcetera has worked with nonprofits, tech companies and local municipalities.
Remember this?
Kristy said she has enjoyed doing major projects that require “everything from the creative toolbox,” such as print, digital and technology marketing. One of those was when the iPod was first introduced. HP’s technology was in the devices, and Adcetera helped with the campaign.
“Probably one of my favorite things was when we did the iPod,” she said. “We called it, ‘party in your pocket.’ It was so much fun.”
John said his most memorable project was when they helped with a fundraiser to build Texas Children’s Hospital in The Woodlands.
“That made me proud of not just the work that we did, but the deliverable that came out, that was a hospital for the children,” he said.
A new chapter
Adcetera now has three offices: Houston, The Woodlands and Chicago. Each office plays a different role in the company, with creative work being done in the Houston and Woodlands offices, John said.
“Chicago has a really nice media market,” he said. “The media planning … is done out of there.”
As they prepare to celebrate 45 years next year, Kristy said the company has managed to stay relevant by keeping up with technology.
“These are all just tools. When the computer came out, people said it was going to get rid of designers; it was going to be able to do all these things. AI is the same way,” she said. “The beauty of all this is that the tools are only as good as the people who use them. The threat is not in the tool.”
A family affair
Adcetera is an independently owned agency, which they prefer, John said.
“Within this industry there’s been a mass consolidation of independent agencies,” he said. “You have to fight to remain independent because big holding companies use that against you.”
John said he discovered that when agencies were acquired, it ruined the culture of the company.
“You become an employee instead of a coworker; this is a family business,” he said. “We don't want this to become a job for everybody. We want everybody to want to come in here, enjoy the people that they work with, have a great family life, have a great faith life and enjoy that aspect of their life as much as work.”
