Views You Can Use: Why It’s Opine Time At Martin
By: Katie Walley-Wiegert, Martin brand communications manager
I’ll go first.
“Martin doesn’t do a great job of telling its own story. Without personal relationships with employees, I’d find your culture magnetic—but the people within the four walls mysteries.” This was my response to the very first question I was asked when interviewing for a role at the agency.
Case and point: You probably know Martin’s motto of impacting culture to impact sales. It’s so much more than an ambitious line at the agency—it’s a rally cry, a mission. In a world where choice is just as abundant as the ability to opt out, breaking through is an imperative. And I’m sure you’ve seen what we do out in the world.
Maybe you know about the GEICO Sequels. Or, Buffalo Wild Wing’s Jewel Stool—and you probably saw a thing or two about the world’s first song drop on an OREO cookie (thanks for making it a family affair, Wiz).
What really captivated me—and why I joined Martin—was the opportunity to tap into the agency’s inkwell. Who wouldn’t want to know about the insane feats of creativity, ingenuity and dumb luck it took to bring any of those things into being? You would certainly get to see and know the likes of:
- Stuart Good: The strategic planner who unearthed the factoid about vasectomies that took over March Madness for B-Dubs (she’s a big Ole Miss fan, by the way).
- Neel Williams: A Yale grad and group creative director whose brain matter is all over GEICO’s gut-busters—and in his spare time he’s launched a children’s podcast giving a new voice to story time (while kicking flighty and fickle princesses to the curb).
- Jim Burns: This digital producer’s first task at the agency was to help create and fabricate a music box that could play off cookies and crème (with limited time and lots of vendor restrictions). No pressure, right?
- Santia Nance: Often flexing outside her media duties, Santia assiduously pushes for reality and reflection of humanity across campaigns. Our work is better and our thinking stretched because of her involvement.
Not even a year into my role as Martin’s brand communications manager, I can not-so objectively tell you how enraptured I am by all my fellow Martinites.
That’s why we’re opening up our little website to the machinations and musings of our people. The good. The bad. The complex and uneasy. And yes, our senior leaders were all game when the recommendation to do this was made. Brave humans.
This won’t be a place for BS puff pieces and cringe-inducing promotion (and if you ever think you see that—call me out on it). And while my background is in editing, I won’t be here to censor what our people put forward. I will, however, be a grammar gate keeper and eradicator of any Oxford comma usage.
Our purpose is to fight invisibility.
What the heck does that battle look like? You’re about to get clear sight lines into it. If Martin’s mission is to impact culture to impact sales—how do we define, perceive and study culture for impact? We’ll talk about that. Just how messy is the creative process? It’s really messy, and we don’t always agree. So, we’re going to explore what we wrestle with and why within this very section of Martin’s website!
And we want to see you, too. If you’re itching to know something or have a question or comment we can start a dialogue on—shoot me an email: katie.walley-wiegert@martinagency.com.
In the words of our venerable former President, Mike Hughes, from a book he created on the realities of life in adland: “Welcome to our beautifully imperfect company.” Check back often, or follow us on all the common social platforms for the latest. Hot takes included.
