Who is Rex?

It’s one of the first questions we get when clients walk into our downtown Missoula office: “Who’s Rex?”

Fair question. After all, it’s painted in bold yellow letters across our brick wall, impossible to miss when you walk through our front door. Turns out, Rex isn’t a person – it’s a flour company that was advertising on our wall over a century ago.

The Discovery

When Gecko’s founders purchased this historic building back in 2011, they inherited what most downtown spaces have: decades of “improvements” that buried the original character. The walls were covered in classically boring beige plaster.

Then came the asbestos testing. Contractors drilled into those walls and something vibrant green peeked through. Our owners dug into city records and discovered that the wall was part of the original exterior facade of Missoula’s historic Atlantic Hotel, complete with a hand-painted ad for Rex flour, manufactured by the Royal Milling Company in Great Falls, Montana. There was also an ad for a local jewelry store.

So they stripped all the plaster away. And suddenly, our office had a soul.

Same Wall, Different Era, Same Goal

Here’s what’s wild: Rex was doing exactly what we do now. Building brand awareness, occupying valuable real estate, making sure every person who walked down this street knew its name. The tactics have changed – today, we’re building websites and crafting digital strategies – but the fundamentals remain the same.

Marketing is Everywhere (And Always Has Been)

We can’t imagine this space without Rex. It’s a daily reminder that great marketing transcends time, that bold creative work leaves a mark, and that the best campaigns are the ones people are still talking about a hundred years later.