OUTSIDE Names Drake Cooper 19th Best Place to Work

DRAKE COOPER Contact: Lisa Hawkes, (208) 342-0925, lhawkes@drakecooper.com

OUTSIDE Contact: Maya Meredith, (212) 255-0945, maya@rosengrouppr.com

BOISE, Idaho (October 2, 2014) – For the third year in a row, OUTSIDE has recognized Drake Cooper as one of the country’s Best Places to Work. Each year, OUTSIDE recognizes the top 100 companies in the United States that help their employees strike the ideal balance between work and play. These companies encourage employees to lead an active lifestyle, are eco-conscious, and prioritize giving back to the community.

In a state where work-life integration is part of our DNA, three Idaho companies made the list for 2014:
#19 Drake Cooper (Downtown Boise, Seattle)
#23 Balihoo (Downtown Boise)
#91 Smith Optics (Ketchum)

The entire list of winners appears online at http://www.outsideonline.com/dreamjobs

“This recognition speaks to much more than just the culture and company we build within our walls, but the attributes of the place in which we do it – Boise,” said Drake Cooper CEO Jamie Cooper. “Beyond our bricks and mortar is a welcoming and connected community and a playground of mountains, ski runs, rivers and trails. How we work is directly tied to where and how we live.”

In recognizing Drake Cooper, OUTSIDE featured the agency’s philanthropic and professional development efforts:

The agency’s Dream Big program gives a staff-picked nonprofit pro bono client work for an entire year. Staff reap the goods, too, with an in-house educational forum they call Drake Cooper University, a monthly roundtable on an industry-relevant topic led by an architect or, say, the executive director of a dance company that bolsters the tools in their marketing kit.

The magazine also noted Drake Cooper offers flexible work schedules, bikes to get around town, and an annual ski pass to get around Bogus Basin, the local ski hill that’s just 15 miles up the road. Staff can even earn financial rewards while reducing their personal carbon footprints with quarterly incentives to go off the grid and bike, walk, or carpool to work.

To find the best places to work in the United States, OUTSIDE conducted a rigorous eight-month vetting process in partnership with the Best Companies Group to assess the policies, practices, and demographics of hundreds of companies, and went straight to the employees to hear about factors like corporate culture, role satisfaction, work environment and overall employee engagement.

The Best Places to Work list represents the cream of the crop: companies who cultivate a comfortable and collaborative workplace, enable their employees to enjoy the great outdoors and take pride in their roles in the community and the environment.

“If you’re considering a career change or searching for your dream job, OUTSIDE’s Best Places to Work list is the first place to look,” said OUTSIDE Executive Editor Michael Roberts. “These companies set the standard for workplaces that really value their employees and offer an experience that’s fulfilling inside and outside the office.”

About Drake Cooper: We are a Northwest U.S. advertising and digital agency with offices in Boise and Seattle. Living and working in the Northwest, we embrace the idea of enjoying life while at work (and at play). Our mantra is – We Build Brands and we look for the ambitious. We love ambitious brands, ambitious team members and ambitious clients. Collectively we strive to make Drake Cooper the best place we’ve ever worked. For more information visit http://www.drakecooper.com

About OUTSIDE: OUTSIDE is America’s leading active lifestyle brand. Since 1977, OUTSIDE has covered travel, sports, adventure, health, and fitness, as well as the personalities, the environment, and the style and culture of the world Outside. The OUTSIDE family includes OUTSIDE magazine, the only magazine to win three consecutive National Magazine Awards for General Excellence, The Outside Buyer’s Guides, Outside Online, Outside Television, Outside Events, Outside+ tablet edition, Outside Books, and now Outside GO, a revolutionary, 21st-century adventure-travel company. Visit us online and on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter.

About the Best Companies Group: Best Companies Group works with national and local partners around the country and internationally to establish and manage “Best Places to Work,” “Best Companies,” and “Best Employers” programs on a national, statewide, regional and industry basis. Through its thorough workplace assessment, utilizing employer questionnaires and employee-satisfaction surveys, BCG identifies and recognizes companies who have been successful in creating and maintaining workplace excellence.