Abed Adawi, co-founder of AB Marketing Group, cuts the ribbon for the new office at Suite 212 alongside other co-founder Steve Burk at 10 Lanidex Plaza West, joined by employees, community members, and family.
PARSIPPANY—AB Marketing Group, a digital marketing company based in Parsippany, has officially celebrated the grand opening of a new office suite at 10 Lanidex Plaza West, Suite 212.
The agency, specializing in online advertising and branding for local businesses in the Morris County area, kicked off its operations with a bang, hosting a jubilant ribbon-cutting event this past Thursday, May 15. Among the festivities were a multicolored bouncy house, a pizza vendor serving delectable slices from Calandra’s Bakery, and a DJ booth to keep the energy pumping for the suite’s exciting launch.
However, the one unifying thread among most of these vendors at the company’s ribbon-cutting was simple: ties to the AB Marketing Group. Keeping in theme with the group’s commitment to local community service, many of the companies providing service were clients of the marketing group itself, providing their vendors a great “opportunity for publicity and advertising,” in the words of AB Marketing Group Co-Owner Abed Adawi.
Adawi, one of two founders alongside longtime friend Steve Burk, tells the Parsippany Focus that their business came with surprisingly humble beginnings. The firm started over eight years ago and was run by just a couple of high school friends, a personal credit card, no investors, and a makeshift office working out of their parents’ basement.
Adawi and Burk, after whom the company is aptly named, weren’t ready to concede in the face of hardship that easily. Both graduates of the Parsippany High School Class of 2012, Adawi took on a few finance-related jobs there. He worked at a nearby Chase Bank for four years as he sought to make a stable living after graduation. However, after his unfruitful post in banking, Adawi was forced to reflect on his roots in the Parsippany community. A student-athlete for Parsippany High, Adawi was familiar with social media marketing from working with brands on the field. It was from that significant spark that the idea for the company was built—if Adawi and Burk could give just one person a space to develop their growing career and have the opportunity to thrive, it would all be worth it.
That’s why the pair resolutely propelled forward after working through office spaces across North Jersey, from Bloomfield to their parents’ basements in Parsippany. At first, working with local pizzerias and gyms, their clientele has since expanded internationally, becoming a marketing hub for illustrious brands such as Lamborghini, BMW North America, and Lithia Motors. Now a seven-figure business, the 40-employee team only aspires to shoot bigger, hoping to scale up to eight or nine figures in the coming years.
Yet, despite their rapid growth, Adawi and Burk have never forgotten their origins: the hometown community they fostered in Parsippany. Their love for the township was the driving catalyst that brought them back to a local suite at Lanidex Plaza as soon as their Bloomfield office lease expired, and the pair still works regionally to keep publicity for Morris County businesses up and running. For Adawi, who still holds regular presentations at Parsippany High School for business classes taught by beloved teacher Mrs. Christina Russell, he hopes to inspire Parsippany youth to keep their financial dreams afloat, creating professional opportunities for young people that Adawi wasn’t fortunate enough to have growing up.
“We’re always looking to recruit new talent!” Adawi tells the Focus. “Team culture is a big thing for our company, and we’re always looking to take care of our employees.”
“It’s inspiring to see young entrepreneurs like Abed and Steve return to their roots and give back to the community that helped shape them,” said Frank Cahill, Chairman of the Parsippany-Troy Hills Economic Development Committee. “Their success is a testament to what can be achieved when talent, dedication, and community support come together.”
For a company with roots in Parsippany, it’s refreshing for the AB Marketing team to be replanted back where it all started. With a multifarious business approach incorporating video production, website building, and online advertising into its broad portfolio of expertise, the group is actively seeking to expand its clientele with large and small businesses.
While ribbon cuttings are part of the fun at AB Marketing, the spirit of the community has driven their firm from a small start-up to an internationally recognized agency. For the two best friends who made it big in digital marketing, all the merriment would have never been possible without the support of their family, some ardent resolve, and a whole lot of hometown backing.
Festivities prior to the ribbon cutting in the office’s parking lot.
