Longtime Savannah businesswoman Diana Morrison understands what it’s like to start from the ground up. Thirty-five years ago, she was newly divorced and ready to dive headfirst into the workforce.

“My ex-husband owned a small business, and I helped in the management,” she recalled. “Since we were changing paths and he was selling the business, I needed income. I was nervous about starting a new position since I had been out of the workforce for the 11 years we were married.”

Morrison’s ex introduced her to someone who was in the promotional products industry – something that she had never heard of but knew she was more than willing to learn more about.

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“I walked out with a pat on the back, a (car) trunk full of catalogs and a love for the industry and what it does for the visibility of companies and organizations,” Morrison said.

As a result, AD Specialty -- a branding company for promotional products and apparel – is celebrating 35 years of serving the Savannah community and agencies nationwide.

Through the years, AD Specialty’s products have grown from 70,000 to more than a million advertising products. But the company is much more than a baseball cap adorned with a business’ logo.

“Our promotional products are designed to meet client’s existing and new promotional advertising and safety needs,” explained Morrison, who is president of the company she founded in 1988. “AD Specialty provides targeted, long-exposure product plans to help clients successfully gain return on investment and sustainability.”

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But the success of Morrison’s company hasn’t been without its challenges, she said. When she first started, access to capital was difficult as was “trying to do everything myself in the first years,” she added. The company now employs 10 full-time employees and two part-time professionals.

“(In the beginning) the biggest challenge was helping all businesses large and small understand the targeted value of long exposure products,” she recalled. “I am very grateful to say, in today's world, the value of our industry's products are an integral part of every business and organizations plan for growing their brand internally and externally.

“I’m very grateful for our client base, their loyalty, and their trust in us,” Morrison said. “No company can ever be successful without amazing team members, and I have been fortunate in the last 35 years to have some of the best.”

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The most common question asked by clients is “what’s new?” Morrison said. “Our tag line, ‘Products With Purpose,” which we trademarked in 2018 when we rebranded at 30 years says it all. Clients ask for items that will be used and not tossed because sustainability is important to them.”

Competing with the internet was once more challenging than it is today, she said. “What we offer to a client is far more than product with a logo, we offer direction, marketing expertise and service that exceeds the typical online offering,” she explained. “We don't just process orders, we engage, council and help them to make good decisions.”

Along with Morrison’s business responsibilities, civic engagement is an important part of life. She stays plugged into the community through leadership participation in organizations which support a culture that creates what she describes as a “strong business practices, a healthy workforce, ethical commerce, and help for those in need.”

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: AD Specialty celebrates 35 years of business in Savannah GA