STUDIO NINETWENTY GETS NEW NAME, LOCATION

By Steven Liner, Business Matters Editor (Featured in Tallahassee Democrat July 15, 2008)

Clearly, Nadia Kamal, principal at Studio NineTwenty, believes change is good. At age 30, she’s built Tallahassee business success with the strategy and is ready to take it to the next level.

Last month, Kamal’s Studio NineTwenty communications and marketing firm was recognized by the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce as Emerging Business of the Year at the annual Small Business Excellence Awards. This month Kamal is changing the firm’s name to The Onyx Group. In August the firm will move to Mt. Vernon Square in MidTown.

“We’ve outgrown this space and we’ve got too many restrictions on how we can brand our company,” Kamal said Monday of her firm’s offices on Magnolia Drive.  Studio NineTwenty, which started as a graphic design studio in June 2007, is to be transformed as well, with a broader footprint, marketing strategy and more employees.

Armed with a full-service approach, Studio NineTwenty was posting record-breaking billings by April, she said.

The Onyx Group has four full-time employees, supports two interns from Florida State University, and hires four independent contractors. Plans call for Kamal to bring the contractors on as full-time employees as the firm’s client base grows.

Contact Business Matters Editor Steve Liner at (850)599-2238 or sliner@tallahassee.com.