The ad agency Mekanism has joined the ranks of tech and creative agencies opening offices on Capitol Hill. This time, the music was part of the draw.
“We were just drawn to it,” said Mekanism partner Pete Caban. “The Capitol Hill area has a ton of history, a counter-culture pioneering vibe. A lot of it had to do with raw creative energy of the area.”
Mekanism officially launched its Capitol Hill office above E Pike and Broadway last month. The company is known for ad campaigns like Messin’ with Sasquatch. Caban says that while landing the Alaska Airlines account in January tipped the scales, the idea of opening up a brick-and-mortar office in the Northwest had been floated for some time.
“We’d been doing a lot of business up there,” said Caban. Mekanism’s other accounts in the area include Amazon and Nordstrom.
Caban described Capitol Hill as “authentically cool,” and said that while the ease of light rail and streetcar travel came as a pleasant surprise, it was not a driving factor in the decision to open up shop on Capitol Hill. Instead, Caban said the area’s music scene was a big draw. Events like the upcoming Capitol Hill Block Party, a three-day summer festival celebrating Capitol Hill’s sizable music and arts scene, caught Mekanism’s attention.
“Music really appealed to us,” said Caban.
Before Mekanism settled on the Capitol Hill office, Caban says the company saw upwards of 20 spaces, mostly downtown and in the Pioneer Square area. Finally, the realtor showed them one more space — a building that had just opened up on Capitol Hill.
“After seeing the space on Capitol Hill, it all kind of fell into place,” said Caban. The ease of walking in the area, the thriving music scene, and the brick and timber standalone office were all ideal for the company.
The Capitol Hill office had four people as of their opening in June. Caban said Mekanism was looking to add about six more, ideally locals who have a sense of the area and the culture and “grew up with the Alaska Airlines brand.”
