Matt Smith is coming home -- sort of.

Smith, president of SmithGifford, a Washington-area advertising agency, has opened an office in Shockoe Slip.

Beyond expanding its client base, opening in Richmond brings Smith and partner Bruce Gifford back home.

"Bruce and I have strong ties to the Richmond community," he said. "We want to support the community, and we want to be part of the community."

Both men worked at Hawley Martin Partners and several area agencies, and Smith's wife grew up in the West End, off of Staples Mills Road.

Smith drives to Richmond three days a week.

The firm is sharing space with Spurrier Media Group and Qorvis Communications. The three pitched and work the Virginia Lottery account together.

Smith said there is a "line of demarcation" when it comes to clients in Virginia, with Fredericksburg as the dividing line.

Smith said he knows firsthand how this works.

He was president and executive creative director of Hawley Martin when it merged with Arnold Worldwide in the early 1990s. He remained in Richmond as the chief creative officer and executive vice president until Arnold closed its office in 2001.

Clients, Smith said, look at the Virginia and see two distinct markets: Washington and Richmond.

There is a perception among some clients and ad people that to do business in the state you go to Richmond, but if you want to reach customers in Washington, or even nationally, you go to the nation's capital, he said.

Rick Boyko, director of the Brandcenter, Virginia Commonwealth University's graduate school for advertising and marketing, said he has sensed that perception as well.

"I really have not ventured much out of Richmond other than to go to NYC, but given what I've seen here, the Civil War is still not over; I'm sure there is a divided market," he said.

Yet ad agencies in both cities do local, statewide and national business.

SmithGifford does the creative work for the lottery, and one of its major clients is Brown's Car Stores, which has 18 dealerships across the state, including three in Richmond.

David Saunders, president of Madison+Main in Richmond, said the Washington market is a good one, especially for agencies looking to get into defense work.

He has three clients there and said he would consider opening an office in Washington if he got a few more clients in that area.

SmithGifford and Spurrier also work the Brown's Car Stores and Foundation for National Archives accounts together.

Contact Louis Llovio at (804) 649-6348 or LLLovio@timesdispatch.com.