History of Legend, Inc.

“It all started with a MasterCard that was cancelled…”

Our agency was founded by Bill Purdin in 1979. At that time Bill was working at The New York Times. His career began, however, in the verses of poetry he wrote working as a stringer for a small, but historic, local newspaper, The Marblehead Messenger. In the pages of this 100-year-old newspaper, Bill provided a weekly poem for the readers. As the necessities of life and income bore down, he worked his way into the advertising department, then became the advertising manager, then assistant to the publisher, and then on to The New York Times. At the Times, his territory included the East Coast of the United States and the Maritime Provinces of Canada, plus the resorts of the Laurentian Mountains.

The personnel of Legend, Inc. came from both the national advertising scene and from within the New England market. Legend’s staff has experience throughout the country and around the world. Legend employees have come from Boston advertising agencies like Mullen and Hill Holiday and from publications like The Christian Science Monitor, The Boston Globe, and many others. Our experience in the media and direct mail markets includes work in Chinese markets, Europe, South America and Australia, to mention some.

We have always had a diverse client roster, although financial and high technology clients have been a consistent component since inception. We all know our jobs and responsibilities thoroughly and have the experience to insure that each project is completed smoothly, on budget, and on time. Our standard operating procedures embody the wisdom, and common sense, gained from over 17,230 projects and 34 years of effort on behalf of wonderful clients. While markets change and business climates heat up and cool down, good solid, proven creativity and business practices have meant a dependable outcome for our clients, every time, no matter what.

The advertising budget is an overstressed account. That’s a given. Those hard-earned marketing dollars either come from successful business profits or from aggressive investment in the goal of new business growth. In both cases, the advertising budget deserves every ounce of care and nurturing it can get. Toward this end, we adopted early on an approach that maximizes your potential for marketing success. Our network of associates guarantees a state-of-the-art and state-of-the-technology implementation that is second-to-none. No agency can keep up with everything in-house. But our system of trusted associates not only can keep up with changing trends and systems, but it leads the way. We always initiate and originate the concepts, copywriting, designs, direction, and account planning within our staff and within our offices. With that creative initiative each project is completed with carefully selected components of personnel and operations systems. Photography, film, Internet marketing, site production, media selection and placement, print placements and management, public relations, and anything else that is needed.

We have maintained a focus on creativity and client service that has generated long, loyal client relationships. Legend, Inc. and its staff and associates will surprise you with our flexibility, versatility, and creativity.