Barrett Pryce and his peers worked together for years, doing brand development and web design, first in Pasco at ImageWorks and then through a series of businesses after that folded into a larger company, Vivid Learning Systems.

“We developed our skills over the last eight years working together. We dreamed of working together with our own business,” Pryce said.

Now, courtesy the Covid-19 crisis and the need to work from home, they’re making it a reality.

In August, Pryce together with Chris Collier, Josh Pratt and Seth Burnett – all under the age of 40 - launched Swing, a Tri-City creative marketing firm that takes its name from a baseball swing as well as a sense of freedom.

Pryce said Swing aims to build a national profile. There’s no reason to leave the growing Tri-Cities to make it happen.

“We’re here because we’re natives. We have families here. This is where we choose to raise our families,” he said. “We want to bring an agency presence that is every bit as talented and ambitious as an agency on the west side.”

Pryce jokes that he can enjoy brunch on the west side if he leaves early enough. The rest of the time, “I don’t have to do a 45-minute commute.”

“There’s just a tremendous amount of opportunity here,” he said.

The team has secured a federal tax ID and business license and launched a website, weareswing.com in early September. The temporary placeholder on the site until they build it out? A GIF of a pug in a swing, a nod to the company’s name.

The big challenge is to get noticed.

How, Pryce wondered, do you hold a launch party in a pandemic?

While they will focus on web development and design, copywriting and content creation, they will take on anything.

“The thing we’re best at is business to business lead generation and demand generation. That’s the thing we really do. All the disciplines feed into that,” he said.

As a small firm, Swing aims to be “scrappy” and take on projects that delight customers.

Pryce left his former job and is working at Swing full time. His three partners are keeping their current positions.

There will be no physical office for the time being. Pryce is a Pasco High School graduate who attended the University of Washington then graduated from Eastern Washington University. He worked in Olympia until he married and came home to raise his family in the sunshine.

Josh Pratt, from Finley, is another Eastern Washington graduate with nearly 20 years of experience building websites, including many for local entities.

Chris Collier specializes in digital advertising and search engine optimization. He is a Washington State University graduate and is the “super connector” of the group.

“He knows everybody,” Pryce said.

Seth Burnett, a Kennewick native, is another WSU graduate. He specializes in digital design and has worked locally for years.

“We’re midcareer professionals who are wanting to go out and do our own thing,” Pryce said.

Reach Swing at [email protected] or 509-531-4747.