Founder and CEO Scott Brunjes says Mediassociates, a media planning, buying and analytics company founded in 1996, exists for three reasons: “One is to help our clients grow. Another is to create opportunities for employees to build nice lives for themselves. And the third is to use our success as an entity to help others less fortunate than we are.”
Mediassociates gives back by providing water to adopted villages in Honduras
From left, with local children at a 2019 ribbon-cutting in Pueblo Viejo, Honduras: Johnny Lopez and David Mitchell of World Vision; the Pueblo Viejo mayor; Jeff Larson and Scott Brunjes, president and CEO, respectively, of Mediassociates; Tracy Brunjes, Evan Nichols and Nick Swensen of Mediassociates; a local resident and president of newly formed water committee; Justin Anderson of Mediassociates; and Javier Mayorga of World Vision.
Working with the charity World Vision in a partnership that began four years ago, Mediassociates built a well, water delivery and irrigation system in a small village in Honduras, bringing running water to the homes of people who for generations did not have easy access to fresh water. Last January, Mediassociates committed to two adjacent villages. The program is set to continue this year.
Brunjes says his inspiration came from seeing a schoolhouse in an impoverished Myanmar village during a holiday tour of the country. The schoolhouse was built by a Canadian corporation, showing Brunjes the tangible impact corporate philanthropy could have on less fortunate parts of the world.
As part of the ongoing partnership with World Vision, Mediassociates sends six employees each year to Honduras for a few days, where they see how the Sandy Hook, Connecticut-based company makes a direct impact across the world. The company’s philanthropy—delivered through a charitable foundation, The Mediassociates Village Project—was cited in Ad Age’s Best Places To Work employee survey.
While Mediassociates didn’t make the ranking of the top 25 companies in the up-to-200-employees category, the company was rated highly overall by its employees with high scores for a mentorship program and community service.