Ad firm adds content, people and sales

A statewide tourism boom has ignited a growth spurt at Tampa-based ad agency Spark.

The firm has hired 10 people in 2013, to raise the payroll to 38 employees. Sales are up 25% over last year, and Spark now has clients locally and across the country, from the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg to a boutique hotel in Seattle. “We've had a great year,” founder and Chief Creative Officer Michael Peters tells Coffee Talk. “The travel and hospitality area has really helped us.”

New clients include Visit Florida, Visit Tampa Bay and The Epicurean, a Tampa hotel with a planned opening this December. Several people hired for those accounts and other work, adds Peters, come to Spark from bigger talent pools in New York, San Francisco and San Diego. The company intends to hire several more employees in 2014.