Katie Patterson

Katie Patterson founded Happy Medium, a full-service marketing agency with two guiding principles: honesty and transparency. With a strong background in media buying and account management, Katie launched and bootstrapped Happy Medium after seeing a need for an authentic approach in the market. Since its inception in 2011, the company has expanded to accommodate its ever-growing list of clients, services and employees, but its guiding principles have stayed at the center of all that Katie and Happy Medium do, while simultaneously achieving more than 1,000 percent revenue growth in just four years. While headquartered in Des Moines, Happy Medium’s offerings aren’t limited to a physical location, which allows it to serve clients of various sizes and in different industries and locations. The agency works hard to represent its clients with integrity and stays at the forefront of the latest trends and innovations across both traditional and digital advertising as well as now offering website development, graphic design, public relations, SEO/SEM, social media strategy, and user experience (UX) research. Happy Medium’s interactive team has been a leader in building responsive websites as a standard, a policy that has anticipated an industry shift and added a tremendous value to their clients from a user experience and search engine optimization standpoint. Beyond Happy Medium’s exemplary work, the team stands apart due to their authentic and fair business practices. Happy Medium never engages in contracts and offers a fully transparent billing process. Progressive thought isn’t limited to the cutting edge work the company provides; it extends to its hiring policies and internal culture as well. From full 12-week 100 percent paid maternity leave (and two-week 100 percent paid paternity leave) to unlimited personal time off, quarterly team community service projects and a flexible office schedule, Katie has long believed in extending the same respect to her team that she does to her clients. Happy Medium’s goal is to be the best in the industry while also a leader in changing work culture across the country. In 2015 alone, Katie was awarded the Iowa Women of Innovation’s Rising Star, Business Record’s Best Up and Coming Business Leader, and included in the annual Forty Under 40 class. Under her leadership, Happy Medium made repeat appearances on the Inc. 5000 list, placing the company among the fastest growing businesses in the country. Her company has also been named a Best Workplace for Young Professionals, Best Social Media Company multiple years running, and client work earned Gold for Website Visual Appeal by AIVA’s W3 Awards. In addition, Katie has been featured in Adweek, Inc. Magazine, The Des Moines Register, Business Record and more. Never one to rest on her laurels, Katie launched her first product, Happy Boards, a pioneering digital signage software, in 2015. The process helped her determine Happy Medium should include a place for creativity and inspiration in order to create solutions that not only answer needs of her agency but for businesses worldwide. Outside of work, Katie enjoys spending time with her son, Brig, and her English bulldog, Georgia. She also loves to cook, travel, stay active, volunteer and be involved in her community. For more information, visit www.itsahappymedium.com or follow @itsahappymedium on all social media platforms.