Last month, Gyro, a London-headquartered marketing firm that’s been in Chicago since 2008, unveiled its new Wrigley Building office, a customized environment that successfully delivers on a concept to function as a multitasking extension of the agency itself.
The agency chose the Wrigley Building for its proximity to “the energy of Chicago and Michigan Avenue,” says EVP/managing director Mike Hensley, adding that the location is an invigorating update from their former location in the “Quaker Oats Building” at Kinzie and State.
Designed by internationally renowned architecture firm Perkins + Will, the eighth floor, 13,000-sq. ft. space provides an ideal environment for servicing Fortune 500 brands, like John Deere and USG, while simultaneously reinforcing the shop’s role within an expanding global network.
But to most first time visitors, the first thing that catches the eye is a replica of destruction near the reception desk.
“As you walk in, there is a wood wall that we’ve burned black,” Hensley points out. The charred fixture is a reference to the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
It introduces a tribute to the city’s resilience that continues into the work area by way of “an intricate trellis that simulates the grid that grew in Chicago after the fire,” he explains.
Inside, the walls are finished with terra cotta tiles that match the ones on the Wrigley Tower seen through the northern windows. They form a low key black-and-white color scheme that favors people over decoration.
“It emphasizes humanity,” says Hensley.
Farther on, a series of glass conference rooms called “ice cubes” curve like the banks of the Chicago River. An open section called “The Hub” serves as a work and collaboration center. Equipped with a bar, a pool table and a lot of cozy furniture, it offers views of the river, the lake and Michigan Avenue.
Gyro’s arrival here six years ago happened at the same time that Gyro-London announced a merger with Cincinnati’s HSR, founded in 1981 by Hensley and partner Rick Segal, now president emeritus.
“We wanted to expand our organization internationally and we realized that that meant being acquired internationally,” Hensley says. 
The $100 million, cross-continental results seem to be exactly what he was hoping for.
“What we have created in this merged entity, and led by our CEO Christoph Becker, is a strong culture, vision and purpose,” he says.
Gyro Chicago’s recent work includes a brand campaign for USG that won Best of Show at the 2014 BMA Tower Awards.
Including a new logo, a new tagline and a graphic design makeover, the effort reflects Hensley philosophy that “the purpose of B2B is to leverage the emotional core of business decision making;” in this case, “connecting contractors and architects with people who build buildings.”
“People believe business decisions are made on rational inputs,” he continues. “Far more often they’re made on emotional attributes.”
In light of his enthusiasm for the new office’s connection to Chicago, it is fair to say that he practices what he preaches.
