As people drive on Route 202 through the middle of Bernardsville, one after another small independent businesses come into view – creating the art of downtown Bernardsville.

The businesses on Claremont Road and Olcott Square, are the heart of Bernardsville for townspeople and visitors. However, it takes more than people driving by to advertise these names, so local business “King Willy Studios” is there to help.

King Willy Studios established its home at 17 Claremont Road in Bernardsville in 2019, with twelve and a half years of business already under its belt. It has made a silent, but major impact on the local community.

Specializing in creative digital marketing services for businesses, King Willy has helped local businesses such as The Station, Burnt Mills Cider, Bella’s Burger Shack, 56 Degree Wine, Between the Ears Fitness, and more to develop their websites, social media branding, and to bring more traction to their businesses.

Next to Penguin Ice Cream, the Studio is a comfortable and vibrant creative space with big windows allowing natural sunlight and good vibes. With stacks of vinyl records, house music bumping, camera equipment, and trinkets across the rooms, King Willy Studios is a creative haven.

Walking into the studio there is a very close-knit team working behind the scenes – all working on different projects for different brands. Computers out: the team is energetic and embraces creative ideas, going back and forth with each other, editing graphics, and more.

Everyone on the team has a special piece in the King Willy puzzle. King Willy’s Instagram harbors over 3,140 followers, and showcases how “The studio is a great creative space, as you’ll see from our [social media] posts – we like to have fun. We believe in working hard and playing hard and that comes back down to who we have here.” Everyone’s talent shines on King Willy’s team. 

Adam Sparrey, co-founder and head of growth and innovations says, “It all starts with the team. We have an unbelievable team here. Everything is done in-house which sets us apart from all our competitors from around here and we just have a good vibe.” 

According to Statista, as of October 2024, about 63.8% of the population, or 5.22 billion people use social media. And according to Niche, around 42,700 students obtain a bachelor’s in marketing each year. With the rise of many young adults and the population on social media, the rise of online presence to attract people for businesses has grown, compared to paper posters and signage.

Because “everyone is constantly on their phones, tablets, laptops.” Creative digital marketing brands are the bread and butter since there are “just so many tools out there that match with our expertise that we can find a solution and attain goals in a quick and easy manner” says Sparrey. 

Nowadays a creative online image for businesses is more important than ever to establish branding for a vast target audience. Young adults are at the forefront of creativity and talent due to growing up with social media. Young adults have many resources at their fingertips, such as Adobe Photoshop to create poster graphics or Adobe Premiere Pro for video editing.

King Willy Studios proves that a colorful name is more than a brand – a brand should have a story behind its name, just like how King Willy Studios was named after a childhood nickname “Little Willy” and Adam Sparrey added the ‘“King” to it, to honor his British heritage! 

Stories of hard-working local businesses need to be told, so we thank King Willy Studios for putting on the crown and leading the Bernardsville community forward.