Dynamic Advertising Solutions Is Putting the Swagger Back in Philadelphia’s Step One Community at a Time

Andrew Langsam founded Dynamic Advertising Solutions in 2003 with the intention of doing more for businesses than just slapping a logo on promotional products.

While today, a team of 25 branding specialists located in Philadelphia and Washington D.C. work hard to provide their customers with a brand that everyone remembers, DAS is also on a mission to engage and inspire everyone who comes in contact with them.

That extends far beyond business, with a focus on using his resources to serve the local community.

Dynamic Advertising Solutions, Inspired to inspire

Throughout Andrew Langsam’s career, he was fortunate enough to have other entrepreneurs reach out and support him. Thanks to the kindness of those who offered support, he was able to go beyond any goals he could have hoped to reach on his own. It made quite an impression and as a result, he made it a personal mission to provide the same support to others who were just getting started. He wants to help their businesses grow and willingly shares advice to help them succeed.

Sharing the knowledge he’s gained over the years wasn’t enough in his mind though. Always a philanthropist at heart, Langsam believes that in addition to providing value to their shareholders, customers, and employees, entrepreneurs have an obligation to support their communities as well. After all, they are the very people who make a company a success.

So he and his team have made philanthropy one of DAS’s core values.

They strive to promote caring, community, and culture in all they do. Volunteering their time and heading up drives to gather donations that make a difference in the lives of those in need is commonplace, and they’re always on the lookout for opportunities to reach out with helping hands. 

Should philanthropy be public or private?

Langsam admitted that his thoughts on publicizing DAS’s charity efforts have changed over the years, saying, “In the past, we never publicized our charity efforts, but when I realized our actions were inspiring people around us to step up and help, I began to see the value in publicizing it because that drives more people to get involved. That was a big change for me and my team, and it was uncomfortable at first, but the increased impact made it all worthwhile.”

In 2021, Langsam and his team took that new philosophy and ran with it. The DAS Cares Project was formed under the guidance of Operations Manager, Alicia Dietz. Since launching the project, DAS Cares has raised nearly $10,000 in direct donations to be shared in a variety of ways with those struggling throughout the Philadelphia area. Moreover, it’s gathered thousands of dollars worth of food, clothes, and other essentials to distribute to those in need as well.

Langsam and the DAS team know that they’re sharing more than necessities. They’re sharing hope—and a little hope goes a long way when facing big challenges. DAS Cares is committed to helping people realize they can have a fresh start and rebuild their lives. To date, they’ve volunteered around 200 hours of their time, but they’ll be the first to tell you that there will be more where that came from.

Tina Pagotto, CEO of Bethesda Project, said, “Bethesda Project is proud to have DAS as our partners in ending homelessness in the local community. The team at DAS takes the time to learn what items and support are needed most by the people we serve, including ways to offer motivation and kindness beyond the necessary tangible items and financial support. While making a difference through their team efforts, they are also serving as a role model for other businesses and helping to spread the word about Bethesda Project to their network of customers and peers.”

Some examples of how DAS gives back are:

• It recently partnered with the Bethesda Project to bring a splash of color to the lives of others. The entire DAS office shut down to color several art pieces that were then nicely framed. You can find them hanging on the walls of different homeless shelters sponsored by the Bethesda Project across Philadelphia. The hope is to provide motivational and uplifting messages for those who find themselves passing through them. The team sponsors food drives and picks up garbage for the Bethesda Project homeless shelters as well.
• DAS Cares sponsors two families during the holiday season. They raised over 200 gifts for them over the past two years through the Adopt-a-Family program hosted by Volunteers of America.
• It also partnered with Our Closet to gather clothing and accessories to stock their mobile shops for the underprivileged. It allows them to have a free place to shop without having to worry about losing their dignity.
• DAS Cares provided 300 emergency hygiene kits for the homeless, refugees and the reentry community through JEVS Human Services.

While DAS works with several non-profit organizations, Langsam says they are always on the lookout for additional organizations his team can align with to help even more people.

“We’re looking to double down on our charity efforts this year and maximize the impact we have in the Philadelphia community, both directly, as we’ve been doing, and indirectly, by inspiring others to follow this path,” he explains. He also said the company has a goal to hit a minimum of 600 hours of community service among the team.

Philanthropy builds a better world

We still live in a world filled with caring people even though the “dog-eat-dog” mentality gets a lot of hype. In reality, entrepreneurs, both here in the United States and around the globe, are providing resources to make the world a better place—one community at a time.

Are you willing to start the ball rolling in your community? Look around. It won’t take long to find a need that you can fill. It could be as easy as providing window boxes for local businesses to brighten up the community. Or, perhaps, your company could host a drive to gather necessities for local homeless shelters or crisis centers. Whatever you decide, it’s sure to put a pep in your step that wasn’t there before because there’s nothing like helping someone who’s down on their luck. It’s—well—heartwarming, actually.

Moreover, when other business owners take notice of the things being accomplished for the betterment of the entire community, it could inspire them to get involved too.

The ripple effect keeps expanding, and soon, other communities are reaping the benefits as well. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what a life changing effect that can have across the nation and even around the world.

So, how about it? Will you follow Langsam’s lead and make philanthropy a core value of your business too?

Just imagine what would happen if we all made that change—the result would be pretty amazing. We could move full throttle past putting a pep in our step and transform it into outright swagger, and in doing so, inspire everyone around us to get out there and do the same.