Two Good Agencies.
Different in the Right Ways.
EP+Co — formerly Erwin Penland — is a full-service advertising agency based in Greenville, founded in 1986. They are part of Hill Holliday and the Interpublic Group (IPG), with clients including John Deere, Michelin, and Bojangles. The agency rebranded from Erwin Penland to EP+Co in 2015.
This comparison exists to help you decide. We'll tell you what they do well, where we differ, and which option is likely the better fit for your situation. We'd rather you make the right choice — even if that's not us.
What They Offer
Large agency, national clients, IPG network
EP+Co is a 200+ person agency with national clients and a connection to IPG's global network through Hill Holliday. They offer traditional advertising, national media buying, digital, social, experiential, and PR. Their infrastructure is sized for the clients they serve — national brands with large budgets.
Greenville headquarters since 1986
EP+Co has operated out of Greenville since it was founded as Erwin Penland. For businesses specifically seeking Greenville-based agency credentials, that history is factually there.
Where Sidestreet Is Different
Built for small and mid-size businesses — not national accounts
EP+Co serves brands at the scale of Michelin and John Deere. Their pricing, process, and infrastructure are calibrated to clients with substantial marketing budgets and national communications needs. Sidestreet is built specifically for small and mid-size businesses — regional professional services firms, healthcare practices, faith communities, growing brands in the $1M–$50M revenue range — that deserve senior-level marketing and communications attention at a budget that makes sense for their scale. If EP+Co is the right strategic fit but the wrong price point, Sidestreet is the conversation to have.
Broadcast-trained production — in-house at every budget level
Both Sidestreet and EP+Co produce video. The difference is accessibility: EP+Co's production capability is part of a large-agency engagement structure. Sidestreet's broadcast-trained production — coming from an NBC News and ESPN background — is available to regional businesses at production budgets that make sense for their size. Local Spartanburg businesses don't need a 200-person agency to produce a brand film. They need a broadcast-quality crew that understands their market and their budget.
Direct senior access on every account
At an agency of EP+Co's scale, account management means layers — account executives, account supervisors, creative directors, strategy teams. The people pitching your account are typically not the people running it day-to-day. At Sidestreet, Joshua Kuhn has senior involvement on every client engagement from kickoff through delivery. If you want to talk to the person making your creative decisions, you call one number.
Church media and faith community specialization
EP+Co serves mainstream commercial and enterprise brands. Sidestreet operates a dedicated church media practice — live streaming infrastructure, worship technology, production for faith communities, and communications support for churches navigating sensitive situations. For Upstate SC churches and faith organizations that need a genuine ministry-sector partner, Sidestreet is built for that work.
How to Decide
EP+Co (formerly Erwin Penland) is probably the right choice if: you're a large brand with a national advertising budget that requires national media buying and a full IPG network agency.
Sidestreet is probably the right choice if: you're a small or mid-size Upstate SC or Southeast business that wants senior-level creative and communications work without enterprise overhead, needs production alongside marketing, or is a faith community looking for a purpose-built agency partner.
If you're genuinely unsure, talk to both of us before committing. Any agency worth working with will give you a straight answer about whether they're the right fit — and so will we.
How This Comparison Was Built
Everything on this page about EP+Co (formerly Erwin Penland) comes from their own published website and public materials — not speculation, not secondhand reviews. We describe their strengths in the terms they use themselves, and where we weren't certain about a capability, we said so. Sidestreet's senior team reviews this page and re-verifies it when either agency's offerings change.
Last verified: August 13, 2026. If you represent EP+Co (formerly Erwin Penland) and something here is out of date, email workwithus@hellosidestreet.com and we'll correct it.
400%+
E-commerce revenue growth for a manufacturer after a full-site rebuild and integrated digital campaign
0
Contract clients who stayed 1+ year and had a negative ROI — zero, ever
AI
Claude and in-house models integrated across campaign strategy, SEO analysis, and content — with senior editorial judgment on every output
75/25
Vote margin in a competitive county sheriff race — our digital campaign delivered a decisive win called before 7pm on election night
Still Deciding? Let's Have
An Honest Conversation
We'll tell you directly whether Sidestreet is the right fit for your situation — and if we're not, we'll say so. No pressure, no pitch. Just a real conversation about what you need.
Start the conversationEP+Co (formerly Erwin Penland) vs. Sidestreet — Questions Answered
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Yes — the agency rebranded from Erwin Penland to EP+Co in 2015 after founder Joe Erwin left. EP+Co remains headquartered in Greenville and continues to operate as a full-service advertising agency under Hill Holliday and the Interpublic Group.
Erwin Penland rebranded to EP+Co in 2015. Joe Erwin, the founder, left to start Erwin Creates — a separate consulting and entrepreneurship-focused venture based in Greenville. The advertising agency continued under the EP+Co brand with the same team and client base. EP+Co now serves clients including John Deere, Michelin, and Bojangles.
EP+Co is a 200+ person advertising agency built for national brands and large budgets. Sidestreet is built for small and mid-size businesses — with senior-led account management, in-house broadcast production, PR/crisis comms, and church media at investment levels that fit regional businesses.
EP+Co works with national brands and large accounts. If you're a small or mid-size business, ask about minimum engagement size before investing time in that conversation.
For businesses that need large-agency national capability, EP+Co is one of the few Southern agencies operating at that scale. For small and mid-size Upstate SC businesses, alternatives include Engenius, Your Creative People, Carolina Creative, and Sidestreet Media — each better suited to regional business budgets and needs.