Who's Who in Phoenix Public Relations

This morning Alysa and I had a meeting with the Martz Agency in Scottsdale to discuss the Citizenship Counts public image and brand. We are lucky enough to have Carrie Martz, the "hands-on owner/CEO" of the Martz Agency as a member of our Board of Directors. Carrie not only uses her experience in marketing to help Citizenship Counts, but she also has been instrumental in a number of Phoenix non-profits and charitable groups. The meeting was overall incredibly professional and fast-paced.

When you first walk into their office, you are surrounded by twenty foot walls, covered in awards and honors from ceiling to floor. These trophies are not just a credit to the kind of marketing work done in this office, but also to the kind of people who work in the office. From being the force behind Zhu Zhu Pets, one of the hottest toys of 2009, to being the Marketing Co-Chair for Super Bowl XXX, to being named "Business Woman of the Year" by the Phoenix Chamber of Commerc, Carrie Martz has quite a bit of experience under her belt. So when you can imagine my surprise when it was Carrie herself, coffee mug in hand, who met us at the door at 9:30 am.


The meeting was fast-paced, covering topics of overall branding to specific promotional tools. She showed us a professional media kit that made our photocopies of newspaper clippings and Staples-purchased folders look almost silly. She assigned our project to Nicole Cusimano, one of their Account Executives, and she was off and running. By the time we had left, not only had we discussed all aspects of Citizenship Counts' PR strategy, but we had constructed a rough idea of specific promotional materials to create, with short and long-term goals already set. And I have a feeling that even with everything we talked about, the Martz Agency could have kept us busy all day, learning new techniques and developing new ways of reaching out to teachers, donors and partner organizations.

All I know is I now have myself a new understanding of efficient organization, professionalism, and a much longer to do list.