“Working In The City” is The San Diego Sun’s feature Q&A series with downtown San Diego business operators. It’s a way to get to know the city by meeting the people who work here. This is the 25rd in an ongoing series.
Company Name: The Shipyard (185 West F Street, Suite 700, Marina District)
What happens here: We’re an Advertising/Marketing Agency.
Company motto: Engineering Brand Love
Managing partner: Tammy Haughey, Managing Partner. I moved to San Diego in 1986 after a spring break visit that opened my eyes to this amazing city. Went back to Montana, packed up my Dodge Colt, headed west, and transferred to San Diego State University.
My commute: From Mission Hills it’s 2.3 miles to be exact. I drive my EV but am considering getting an electric bike to make use of all the new bike lanes developed around our urban core.
Company deets: The Shipyard was founded in 2014, and we opened our new California headquarters in downtown San Diego in the first quarter of this 2025. We have 400 employees company wide; nearly 100 in California and 50 in our San Diego office.
Specialty: “Engineering Brand Love” is more than a tagline. It’s a marketing discipline that embraces the irrational power of love and the methodical results of engineering. We are ideally suited for brand marketers who believe in and derive value from brand building and creative excellence but seek enhanced performance and full-funnel growth.
The science of brand love: Our ability to align bold creativity with individual consumer motivations across paid, owned, and earned media lets us do more than hope for brand love—we methodically engineer it throughout the consumer journey. That means we can build brand affinity and future growth while simultaneously driving current-day performance.
Accolades: The Shipyard has been named by Campaign Magazine as one of the world’s top independent agencies for two years running, and a “Fastest Growing Agency” by Adweek.
Company pet/mascot: We have many company pets! In fact, our dog culture is pretty special. On any given day there will be a handful of dogs in the office, from a Dachshund (Birdie), Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier (Tulla), Boston Terrier (Sullivan), and German Shepherd (Daisy) to two Shih Tzus (Tashi, Archie), two Golden Retrievers (Charlie, Poppy) and a handful of mixed breed fur babies (Callie, Raven, Auggie). Our office is directly across from a large green space, and we are conveniently a couple blocks from the new dog park west of the Children’s Museum.
Difficulty of finding staff: Not at all. We lure people to The Shipard because we’re located in San Diego, and they want to live here. Our most recent hire is relocating from New York City. We have a hybrid in-office schedule and were intentional in looking for office space near the train station, since we have quite a few people who live in North County and take the Coaster to downtown.
Regular clients: We handle a wide range of travel and tourism clients, including Visit California, San Diego Tourism Authority, Mammoth Lakes Tourism, Visit Napa Valley, Visit SLO CAL, San Diego Zoo/Wildlife Alliance, San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, and San Francisco Ballet. We also work with In-N-Out, San Diego Gas & Electric, and Veloz, our most recent campaign focused on countering misinformation about EVs.
Most surprising part of working downtown: That downtown San Diego is made up of seven neighborhoods over 275 blocks. We moved to the Marina District in January, and I continue to be surprised at how different this part of downtown is from the other neighborhoods like East Village or Gaslamp.
Best aspects of working downtown: Our new office is on the top floor of Bristol Square. We have outdoor patios on two sides, both with water views. It’s pretty spectacular. Beyond that, it offers so many options for team outings – taking in a Padres game, going to Happy Hour or doing a group workout using the San Diego Convention Center stairs or Embarcadero Park.
Business friendliness of the city, on a scale of 1 (easiest) to 10 (hardest): When we moved to our new office we negotiated external signage rights. Leading up to our official launch event in March, our production director was working with her signage vendor to get this done. We went down to the wire not realizing we had to get a permit. Beth Binger, our PR consultant, had scheduled a meet-and-greet for me with District 3 City Councilmember Stephen Whitburn, who generously offered to assist us – but the permit came through in time. Based on this experience I’ll give it a “1!”
More business-friendliness: I think San Diego is widely regarded as a business-friendly city. I sit on the Executive Board of LEAD San Diego and have met a wide range of business leaders who exemplify what it means to be part of a thriving community:
- As the long-time agency for the San Diego Tourism Authority, I have seen the mayor and city officials champion this industry and the importance of the visitor industry to our local economy.
- We’re a hub for high-growth industries, from life sciences to cleantech, that attract talent.
- We’re home to top-ranked business schools, including the Rady School of Management at UC San Diego, recognized for its entrepreneurship programs, and the Fowler College of Business at San Diego State University, ranked among the top public business schools that bring skilled graduates to the local workforce.
- We have strong organizations such as the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation and the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce that work to maintain a business-friendly environment. I’m thrilled to be doing business in a city that offers such depth and dedication.
Best insider tip for running a downtown SD business: Get involved with the Downtown San Diego Partnership. We are new members joining the ranks of 300 other businesses across a wide variety of sectors. Betsy Brennan and her team are fantastic. DSDP holds member appreciation mixers, provide essential services that keep downtown neighborhoods clean and safe, and advocate for policy and legislation that advance the economic prosperity and cultural vitality of this vibrant city.
Celebrity sightings: They haven’t stopped by our business, but we’ve worked with a lot of celebrities for our clients. Our TV commercials for Visit California used to feature Rob Lowe (a personal fan favorite from the Brat Pack days), local golfer Phil Mickelson, local surfer Rob Machado, Jonas Brothers and many other musical artists, the late,great Betty White, Jack Nicholson, Clint Eastwood, and former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Fun fact: An Uber driver recently told me he relocated from Canada to California because of those ads.
Favorite downtown business that isn’t yours: Brian Malarkey’s Animae. We have so many great restaurants to choose from, but I love this place. The dining room is richly appointed, a futurist’s interpretation of Art Deco design, and the food is off-the-charts delicious. Executive Chef Tara Monsod’s Asian-inspired menu is creative with a lot of complex flavors. Two of my favorite dishes are the tuna crispy rice with wakame, charred pepper ponzu, and spicy aioli (a deconstructed variation to what you see on a lot of menus today), and the coal roasted cabbage with brown butter miso.
If your business starred in a movie, what would it be called: Crazy Stupid Love Robot – a love story about data, desire and the disciplined art of engineering connection. The movie would star Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone (as the robot). SDSun
