David Buffaloe UGRAD '92
College Alumnus Creates Impact with Development of Innovative Marketing Business
September 30, 2009
David Buffaloe credits his alma mater, the North Carolina State University College of Management, for giving him the tools he needed to start his own successful and unique business. Buffaloe, president and founder of M-pact Marketing, found the inspiration to start his new business by working with a series of smaller start-up companies since graduating from college.
Buffaloe (B.S. Business Management, marketing concentration ’92) is a member of the North Carolina State University College of Management’s first graduating class.
The seed of the idea that would become M-pact Marketing began to grow when Buffaloe noticed a lack of marketing companies in the Research Park Triangle area, especially companies that provided for the needs of small and early stage businesses.
Buffaloe started M-pact Marketing when he became aware that his experience with small and early stage businesses would “make it easy for local start-ups to relate” to him, he said. M-pact Marketing moved to its new location in downtown Raleigh in early 2008, a change that brings the company closer to prospective clientele.
The name “M-pact” came from “a personal anecdote,” Buffaloe said. “Back when my business partner, Dede Houston, and I were working at BuildNet, we made a ‘marketing pact’ to one day start a company that would use our talents to help other small and medium-sized businesses grow. From that, the name M-pact was born, signifying both our commitment to marketing and the impact we hope to help our clients make on their business.”
Helping Early Stage Businesses
M-pact Marketing focuses on helping early stage businesses grow through integrated marketing strategy and execution.
“Integrated marketing is critical not only to the growth of a new business, but to its survival, yet no marketing agencies were currently offering a full scope of services including strategy and execution at a reasonable price to these businesses,” Buffaloe said.
He and Houston look at business through the one-of-a-kind lens of their combined skills. “Dede brings over 15 years of creative strategy, design and marketing experience to the company,” he said. “She has the creative mind, whereas I have the strategic mind, and together these skills enable us to deliver hard-hitting, effective marketing services to our clients.” Houston, creative director of M-pact Marketing, graduated from Lynchburg College in Lynchburg, Virginia with a bachelor’s degree in marketing.
Buffaloe said his business focuses on “providing strategy, project management and execution to our clients. As one of their clients, Schedulefly, has said in the past, ”M-pact Marketing helps you figure out what marketing direction you need to go in, and then they drive you there.”
Buffaloe developed his experience with small businesses through other companies he has worked with in his career since graduating from the College of Management, including BuildNet, DataFlux (a division of SAS) and First Research, Inc., and a division of Hoover’s (a Dun & Bradstreet company). While Buffaloe was vice president of First Research, he oversaw the development and implementation of the company’s marketing strategy. After D&B acquired the company, Buffaloe served as an integral part of the management team that led the integration of the two organizations. Witnessing these changes gave him a better idea of how M-pact Marketing could be run so it would better serve small and early stage businesses.
M-pact Marketing currently focuses on working alongside all types of early-stage businesses, but Buffaloe’s experiences tend to concentrate on business-to-business (B2B) and technology companies. They have also started working with some business-to-consumer (B2C) companies.
Community Involvement Includes his Alma Mater, Hospice
In addition to developing his business, Buffaloe has an active voice in several other community functions. He remains engaged with the College of Management, especially through the student chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA) based in the College of Management. He does, he said, because “the university gave so much to me during my college years.”
Several years ago, Buffaloe had been contacted by the college to participate in “Meet the Pros,” an event that gives the student AMA chapter members an opportunity to speak in small groups and one-on-one with marketing professionals from the Triangle area.
Since 2007, Buffaloe has hired four interns from this pool of students, allowing them to attain the same experiences in business that he had acquired from NC State.
Jennifer Smith, one of the interns M-pact Marketing has hired, worked this past summer and returned to work with the company this fall. Smith did a great variety of work during her internship over the summer, including market research, media relations, client meetings, business development and product launches.
Buffaloe said he and the rest of M-pact Marketing hope to “continue expanding her responsibilities based on her career goals and our business objectives.”
Ed Weems, strategy and marketing instructor in the College of Management, and owner of the Raleigh-based consulting firm Venture Management, Inc., contacted Buffaloe to ask if he would speak at a student AMA chapter meeting. Buffaloe agreed and has presented twice.
Buffaloe has also mentored and networked with prospective business leaders and marketing professionals, and has had the opportunity to speak about the importance of marketing for early stage companies. It’s a topic that Buffaloe is passionate about. He also led an open discussion earlier this year about the effectiveness of the 2009 Super Bowl ads.
Buffaloe has been active in the Raleigh community. One of his key projects is helping with fundraising for the Hospice of Wake County. As co-chairman of the Hospice of Wake County Golf Classic, which he helped to create and coordinate in 2005, Buffaloe and his team have raised more than $176,000 over the past five years, which equals over 1,100 days of patient care.
“Being a part of that has been incredible,” he said. “My parents are what prompted me to start working with Hospice. They both battled cancer and received amazing care from Hospice of Wake County. Seeing their struggle has taught me to appreciate life and give back to the community and those who need help most,” Buffaloe said.
He is also involved with the American Cancer Society, Stop Hunger Now, Prevent Blindness North Carolina and Operation Christmas Child. M-pact also provides marketing services for certain non-profit organizations as part of their “continuing commitment to community service and philosophy of leading an integrated life by giving back,” he said.
Buffaloe credits North Carolina State University and the College of Management for giving him the tools and knowledge he needed to be a success in the business world.
He originally decided on NC State for his academic studies because of its nearness to his family and home, and although he wasn’t sure what he wanted to study, he was aware that “NCSU was a diverse school with a lot of curriculum choices that I could explore to really find my personal niche. It wasn’t until later that I knew I wanted to study marketing and business in the College of Management.”
Attending NC State turned out to be the perfect decision for Buffaloe.
“The education I received from the NC State College of Management gave me all the fundamental training and provided the foundation I needed not only to be successful in marketing, but in overall business, including accounting, economics, ethics and communication. NCSU equipped me with all the right tools and business sense that were necessary for starting my own business years down the road.”
Buffaloe and Huston were honored with 2009 Movers and Shakers awards from Business Leader Magazine. The award recognizes up-and-coming business leaders who are both great leaders and mentors in their workplace and are heavily involved in their community.
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