The company was founded in 2003 by Gabriel Shaoolian, under the name Gabriel Productions, then re-branded as Blue Fountain Media in 2005. In the first years, the company functioned as Shaoolian's self-employed freelancer business. He focused on the effectiveness of brand marketing, studying user behavior, website bounce rate, individual pages performance. Based on these observations, he created marketing strategies identifying the specific audience and the value offered to this audience through a clear message, both on the business website and on social platforms. After building a portfolio of successful projects, the effectiveness of his approach became better known and the company expanded. Shaoolian managed to develop the company without taking loans or investment money. In 2008, the company moved its headquarters to Union Square in New York City, eventually expanding the location to two offices in 2009. In 2011, the company moved to Madison Avenue. Blue Fountain Media developed websites and online strategies for clients like Procter & Gamble, NASA, HarperCollins Publishers, AT&T, Nike, the United Nations, Canon, and the National Football League. In February 2011, at the request of a reporter from The New York Times, Blue Fountain Media uncovered the unorthodox ways the company J. C. Penney managed to trick Google's search engine. In December 2011, the company was featured on CNN Money as one of the businesses that have started to rival more established digital agencies. The marketing effectiveness approach of the company was covered in various other newspaper articles and television segments.
Ratings and awards
Blue Fountain Media is rated A by the Better Business Bureau. In 2010, the company was rated five stars by Dun and Bradstreet in their Open Ratings System Review. In 2011, Blue Fountain Media was ranked #23 in the 2013 Crain's Fast 50 and #1091 on Inc. Magazine's 2013 list of the fastest growing U.S. companies. Blue Fountain Media is listed as one of Awwwards' 10 Best Agencies in New York City and it was ranked in the 2011 Top 10 of the Digital Agencies worldwide by the Interactive Media Awards. It has also been named as one of TIA's Top Interactive Agencies in New York. In 2013, the company was awarded runner up by the Best in Biz Awards for Advertising/Marketing Agency of the Year. Blue Fountain Media has also received awards or distinctions from the Web Marketing Association, the HorizonInteractive Awards, GD USA, the Davey Awards, the MarCom Awards, the Communicator Awards, the AVA Awards, the Videographer Awards, the Boss Exhibit Awards, the Telly Awards, and by 10 Best Design.
