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Social Media Director John Jiloty was recently featured in Buffalo Business First for his content creation and storytelling that spans both TMG and MDPR clients. Highlights from the story include John’s professional and WNY history and long-time involvement with social media. John also breaks down the details of his day-to-day job for TMG/MDPR and shares his philosophy on the effectiveness and influence of social media: “…from a public relations perspective, it’s part of everything,” he says. He also tells how TMG’s work with New Era Cap at this year’s Super Bowl went viral. Read the full article here if you are a Buffalo Business First subscriber.
You searched for new era cap – Page 14 of 32 – The Martin Group
The recent resurgence of Buffalo continues to amaze, from the transformation of downtown to the thriving startup community to the growth of our medical campuses and international companies like New Era Cap, Delaware North and Rich’s Products.
We’re honored to be a part of this evolution, and we were thrilled to have our Principal/Chief Creative Officer Tod Martin recently appear on Buffalo Business First’s Fast-Growing Companies Industry Roundtable.
Throughout the year, Business First journalists moderate high-level decision-makers from diverse industries who meet for a panel discussion, focused on a specific topic. Later, excerpts are published in the weekly newspaper. These discussions are sponsored by Hodgson Russ LLP and are held at the firm’s office on Pearl Street in Buffalo.
This fall, 10 top-level executives, who were among Buffalo’s 2015 fastest-growing companies Fast Track list (The Martin Group was No. 6 this year) convened to discuss strategies they use to promote expansion in industries such as real estate, logistics, insurance, entertainment, IT consulting and a variety of others.
Throughout the discussion, Martin highlighted why TMG is able to deliver top-of-the-line creative and strategic marketing ideas.
When the moderator asked a question about home-brewed talent affecting business, the answers varied. Some in the roundtable focused on company acquisitions and mergers as a major reason for their growth, others mentioned their strong strategic plans, and a few discussed their company’s ability to hire good people. Martin set the tone and Robert Rich III, president of ROAR Logistics, and Kevin McMullen, owner/CEO of Oogie Games LLC, agreed. Martin said, “You know, the better talent you have, the better talent you can attract and the better work you’re going to do. At the end of the day, the work that we do from a marketing/advertising standpoint is very visible, and if we’re delivering for our clients, the referrals happen.”
Martin also focused on how employees come first because there is a positive work environment and company culture, fostering positive employee morale, creating excitement to come to work every day and perform the best work.
Tom McManus, CEO of Kegworks, said, “A dollar is a dollar, but the environment that people work with and the people they work with is really what changes it.”
Proving TMG’s positive company culture, Martin built off of McManus and expressed that The Martin Group employees work on deadlines and can have multiple projects in the air at once. Therefore, it’s important that employees are recognized for their hard work and that they take well-deserved breaks. He said, “The management team works hard to make sure that once every couple weeks we’re doing something. Yesterday, we had a chicken wing challenge, someone ran out and we picked up wings from four different places around town and just had a competition.”
Last year, The Martin Group acquired Travers Collins, and then later AMDG Public Affairs. Since that time, TMG has had serious client and employee growth, which has both positively benefited the company and the greater Buffalo community.
Responding to a question about how necessary growth is to the company, Martin set the ground for other’s responses and said, “If you’re not growing, you’re shrinking, and it scares the daylights out of me.” McMullen agreed with Martin’s philosophy and added that while growth is vital, it is also important to step back and polish up on the internals of a company to ensure profitability.
McMullen’s response tied back to Martin’s comment about treating employees with the utmost respect and recognizing and rewarding them for their hard work. The Martin Group wouldn’t be The Martin Group without its diligent employees, thanks to the positive office culture.
Rich made another great point on growth, saying, “I think the successful companies grow with people who are looking in the stars while there are other people in more concrete aspects of the business: controlling the cost, maintaining the standard of service provision that you provide.” There must be a balance between go-getter employees who reel in the business and accounting, checkbook-balancing minded people; otherwise there may be a recipe for disaster.
The Business First Roundtable helps to foster the growth of the economic resurgence in the Buffalo area. It allows for the relaying of information between executives, allowing employees at each company to benefit from these discussions.
We couldn’t be more excited that our founder Tod Martin was among the 10 panelists and we look forward to the upcoming Industry Roundtable discussions.
You searched for new era cap – Page 14 of 32 – The Martin Group
BUFFALO, NY – The Martin Group (TMG), a premier advertising, branding and public relations firm headquartered in downtown Buffalo, announced the promotion of three team members: Rick Calzi, Jillian Gallagher and Andrew Henesey.
Rick has been promoted to creative supervisor. In his new role, Rick not only concepts and visualizes campaigns for New Era Cap, he will manage the creative process and team in executing them.
Jillian has been promoted to senior copywriter. She has displayed strong concepting skills, flexible writing across a range of clients and does a tremendous job on many of TMG’s most important and high profile clients. Jillian has excellent presentation skills and rapport with clients.
Andrew has been named art director. He will be responsible for the visual side, the way things look, and for a variety of work such as web design, brand identity and traditional print, outdoor and collateral.
About The Martin Group
The Martin Group was founded in 2001 and is a leading strategic branding, creative marketing and public relations firm. The company is headquartered in downtown Buffalo, with an office in Rochester, N.Y. Using its proprietary Brand Fuel process – a mix of research, positioning and creative invention – the agency has ignited brands for a wide range of local, national and international organizations. The firm has extensive experience in several categories, including retail and sports promotion, health care branding and advertising, financial services and legal marketing, industrial/manufacturing brand marketing, website development, public relations, and social and digital media. TMG was recently named one of the fastest-growing and top private companies by Buffalo Business First. To learn more, call 716.853.2757, or visit tmgbrandfuel.com and follow us on social media: Facebook (facebook.com/TheMartinGroup), Twitter (https://twitter.com/tmgbrandfuel), Instagram (instagram.com/tmgbrandfuel), LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/the-martin-group) and Pinterest (pinterest.com/themartingroup/).
You searched for new era cap – Page 14 of 32 – The Martin Group
May is the biggest month of the year for lacrosse players, and The Martin Group’s 6X6 Lacrosse brand capitalized with some key media placement and smart content marketing at the sport’s NCAA Championship Weekend. 6X6 got the conversation started with a May 14 article on InsideLacrosse.com, the sport’s top media company, that detailed the brand’s designer T-shirts and New Era caps. Next, we were there on the sideline at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field and around the parking lot handing out stickers to the 73,000 fans in attendance and taking photos and videos for Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. Days after the Final Four, 6X6 sponsored and attended The Tewaaraton Foundation Ceremony in Washington, D.C. (lacrosse’s Heisman Trophy). The results were a significant uptick in sales, 115,000 impressions combined across Twitter and Facebook and 60% growth in Instagram followers.
You searched for new era cap – Page 14 of 32 – The Martin Group
In commemoration of fallen American servicemen and women, New Era Cap produced a special cap that was worn by Major League Baseball players during this year’s Memorial Day weekend games. Our campaign to promote The New Era® MLB® Memorial Day Stars & Stripes 59FIFTY® Cap used the distinctive “digital camouflage” in the background, featured the headline “This Is The Cap That Honors Our Heroes,” and presented current MLB stars paying their respects to the military by holding their special caps over their hearts.
You searched for new era cap – Page 14 of 32 – The Martin Group
Buffalo, N.Y. — The Martin Group (TMG) today announced the formation of a new affiliate—Martin Davison Public Relations—following the acquisition of boutique communications services provider AMDG Public Affairs. The new TMG affiliate is being created to boost the agency’s public relations capabilities and augment TMG’s fast-growing branding, advertising and digital offerings. The transaction is effective May 1, 2015. Full terms of the agreement were not disclosed. AMDG Public Affairs principal Matt Davison will become managing partner of Martin Davison Public Relations and help oversee affiliate operations. TMG senior vice president Dick Shaner, Jr. and senior public relations manager Oliver Hays will shift to Martin Davison Public Relations and continue providing strategic counsel, staffing advisement and client account services coordination. Several other public relations staff members will comprise the remainder of the affiliate team.
“I’m very pleased to introduce Martin Davison Public Relations as an affiliate of The Martin Group,” said Tod Martin, TMG president and chief creative officer. “The creation of Martin Davison Public Relations is a direct reflection of our focus on cutting-edge thinking and enhanced client services to further position The Martin Group as the region’s most comprehensive branding, advertising, public relations, and digital agency.”
TMG is one of Western New York’s “fastest-growing companies” according to Buffalo Business First, with more than 50 employees spread between its two offices in Buffalo and Rochester. In June 2014, TMG acquired venerable communications firm Travers Collins to begin increasing the agency’s public relations offerings for clients. The creation of Martin Davison Public Relations will allow the agency to provide traditional and boutique-style public relations services, with the support and capabilities of a large-scale advertising agency. The Martin Davison Public Relations client roster will include current public relations clients of TMG and AMDG Public Affairs, with no expected changes in client relationships and account services.
“This is an exciting opportunity to partner with a premier branding and advertising agency, while maintaining the flexibility and autonomy needed to build a truly innovative and responsive public relations firm,” said Davison. “The Martin Group has demonstrated a commitment to thoughtful growth, community engagement and an internal culture that very much aligns with what we were building at AMDG Public Affairs. I couldn’t be happier to join Tod Martin, the team at TMG and a distinguished public relations practitioner like Dick Shaner, Jr. in putting our mark on the public relations scene, while at the same time carrying on the legacy of a local PR pioneer like Bill Collins.”
Martin Davison Public Relations will focus on conventional public relations service offerings, while also advancing several practice areas, such as startups, entrepreneurship, small business creation support, advocacy and public affairs, community relations, Canadian/American and cross-border enterprises, special events, media training, crisis communications, and digital/social PR.
Initial organizational development plans for Martin Davison Public Relations include the prospective hiring of an additional senior-level public relations practitioner with extensive experience executing national media relations campaigns, and the recruitment of a mid-level account executive who has worked in both agency and startup public relations settings.
“Matt and I very much agree that our future team hires will be critical to the development and continued growth of Martin Davison Public Relations,” said Martin. “We want someone with serious national media relations chops, who can balance multiple projects and land the type of coverage that will make an even greater impact for our top-flight clients. At the same time, we will continue to strengthen our team with hard-charging and strategic-thinking PR account executives who are excited to be part of a dynamic and forward-thinking organization.”
AMDG Public Affairs clients include the 43North-Global Business Idea Competition, Niagara Falls Bridge Commission, Peace Bridge Authority, Canadian/American Border Trade Alliance, Sonwil Distribution, Welke Customs Brokers, American Diabetes Association Tour de Cure, Colligan Law LLP, Ted’s Hot Dogs, and Winthrop Financial, among others. Several other recent clients are Canisius High School, Cabela’s, and Pine Hill Fresh Foods, Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority, Montante Solar., Jefferson Awards for Public Service, Hebeler Corporation, and the Valley Community Association.
Some of The Martin Group’s current clients include ECMC, Evans Bank, Independent Health, Kaleida Health, New Era Cap, Orville’s Home Appliances, Phillips Lytle LLP, Diocese of Buffalo, and Seneca Gaming Corporation.
About The Martin Group The Martin Group was founded in 2001 and is a leading strategic branding, creative marketing and public relations firm. The company is headquartered in downtown Buffalo, with an office in Rochester, N.Y. Using its proprietary Brand Fuel process – a mix of research, positioning and creative invention – the agency has ignited brands for a wide range of local, national and international organizations. The firm has extensive experience in several categories, including retail and sports promotion, health care branding and advertising, financial services and legal marketing, industrial/manufacturing brand marketing, website development, public relations, and social and digital media. TMG was recently named one of the fastest-growing and top private companies by Buffalo Business First. To learn more, call 716.853.2757, or visit the TMG website at tmgbrandfuel.com, our Facebook page at facebook.com/TheMartinGroup or our Twitter page at https://twitter.com/tmgbrandfuel.
You searched for new era cap – Page 14 of 32 – The Martin Group
Recently, New Era Cap charged TMG with shining some attention on their new NFL On-Field Reflective Collection. Featuring a reflective technology, the NFL team logos on the caps stand out with a camera flash (or under stadium lights). To help showcase how the unique technology “pops,” TMG crafted animated GIF and Flash files for New Era’s website and nfl.com. To encourage social media interaction, all materials are tagged #SpeakWithYourCap, allowing fans to share their enthusiasm for the product and their team. TMG also developed ads, some featuring premier NFL athletes, in-store collateral, and a style guide for internal use at New Era.
You searched for new era cap – Page 14 of 32 – The Martin Group
The Martin Group (TMG) announced today it has acquired Travers Collins & Company and will absorb the nucleus of the Travers Collins client list and numerous employees to significantly expand its in-house public relations practice to complement TMG’s fast-growing branding, advertising and digital offerings. The transaction is effective immediately; terms were not disclosed.
TMG, based in new offices at 477 Main St. in Buffalo, recently opened an office in Rochester, and even before this deal was announced, was named one of Western New York’s “fastest growing companies” by Business First. TMG founder and owner Tod Martin said that while TMG has offered some public relations services to its clients, this acquisition gives the firm an immediate injection of credibility and much deeper expertise in the public relations category. In addition to public relations business, TMG also will be acquiring clients to whom Travers Collins has been providing branding, creative, media buying and digital services.
Travers Collins advertising and public relations clients include ADPRO Sports, Catholic Charities, Independent Health, Paul William Beltz PC, Phillips Lytle LLP, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, Seneca Nation of Indians, Weinberg Campus and YMCA of Buffalo Niagara.
“For more than 20 years, Travers Collins has been synonymous with PR while also having been a major factor on the advertising side of the business as well. With this deal, I am honored to continue the legacy of what Bill and Bob have long established,” Martin said.
Collins said he sees this as a very positive development for the Travers Collins clients as well, whom he says will greatly benefit from The Martin Group’s full-service branding and advertising expertise. “The Martin Group is the hot agency in the market right now, and I’m extremely confident and excited that our clients are going to be well served by TMG. We have always had the utmost respect and affection for Tod and have admired the way he has built his agency from the ground up into the number one shop in town. He is taking a big step forward with this and we think this is going to be a win-win for everyone,” he said.
Martin said the decision to acquire the Travers Collins assets was made easier by the many cultural similarities between the two agencies. Notably, Martin worked for Travers Collins for seven years as the agency’s Vice President and Creative Director before departing in 2001 to establish The Martin Group. “Bob Travers and Bill Collins played a significant role in my career, so I am thrilled to be able to reach this agreement with them,” Martin said. As a result of the transaction, Collins will join Martin as a senior consultant; Travers retired in January. Travers Collins will formally cease operations as of today (June 30).
Some of the Travers Collins associates making the move to TMG include prominent Buffalo public relations practitioners Dick Shaner, Jr., Susan Asquith and Sharon Linstedt. PR Account Manager Angelina Ezzo and PR Account Coordinator Sarah DiPofi are also joining the TMG team. Several other Travers Collins employees will be considered as the agency evaluates its needs.
Martin declined to name the Travers Collins clients whom he expects will make the transition to his agency. “A transition like this is very sensitive and involves personal relationships. Our intention is to make it a seamless transition for the clients and hopefully they will appreciate and value the fact the same trusted associates will be servicing their accounts with the added resources of TMG.
Using its proprietary Brand Fuel process – a mix of research, positioning and creative invention, TMG has ignited brands for a wide range of local, national and international organizations. The firm has extensive experience in several categories, including retail and sports promotion, healthcare branding and advertising, financial services marketing, industrial/manufacturing brand marketing, website development, and social and digital media. Some of the agency’s clients include Buffalo Bills, ECMC, Evans Bank, Kaleida Health, New Era Cap, Orville’s Home Appliances, and Seneca Gaming Corporation. To learn more, call 716.853.2757 or visit tmgbrandfuel.com.
You searched for new era cap – Page 14 of 32 – The Martin Group
By Staff
This last month, our team at The Martin Group made one of our essential food and beverage-related stops of the season: Niagara University’s annual Food Industry Center of Excellence Summit.
This year’s edition inside Buffalo’s Hyatt Regency provided another engaging day of delicious food, industry camaraderie, and thought leaders sharing cutting-edge insights and industry breakthroughs across keynote addresses and panel discussions.
With an established event theme of “Built to Thrive: Next is Now,” our team was able to take in tips and trade secrets from of the brightest minds shaping the industry; gain a greater understanding of some of the significant innovations set to alter the future of food; and envision how our work could either be adjusted or augmented by these exciting developments.
In the event’s aftermath, we met up with our team members in attendance and asked for some of the most interesting takeaways that came from this year’s Summit.
Here’s what they said:
Lisa Bellacicco, Chief Operating Officer
What I learned: Unstaffed convenience stores are finding success overseas. Could the U.S. be next?
Why I found it insightful: South Korea consumers are flooding the massively popular zeroSTORE, an unmanned, 24/7 convenience store franchise specializing in low-sugar, low-calorie, zero-sugar, and protein-dense products such as snacks, drinks, sauces, meal alternatives, and desserts. Since its official launch in 2024, zeroSTORE has expanded to over 224 locations across South Korea. This is an example of a brand strategy that merged cultural shifts, unique consumer behaviors, and retail innovation with an equally smart execution, gathering elusive online health brands and placing them in stores near neighborhoods, university campuses, and dense office districts.
The question it left me with is, “Would we ever see an unstaffed, 24/7, zero-sugar-only boutique store in a typical U.S. market anytime soon?”
Kendra Breen, Account Director
What I learned:Bundles are making mealtime easier.
Why I found this insightful:Grocery stores are increasingly packaging everything needed for a complete meal or recipe and selling it together, whether it’s breakfast, dinner, or a specialty cocktail. It’s a smart move that takes the guesswork out of mealtime and makes the shopping trip that much simpler. Bundles tap into the growing demand for convenience: fewer decisions, less planning, and a clear path from cart to table.
Could this reshape how stores think about merchandising? It certainly seems headed that way.
John Jiloty, Senior Vice President – Growth and Insights
What I learned: Think like your customers dream.
Why I found this insightful: Mary Purk’s AI talk was so insightful in terms of directing focus to the business outcome and not the AI tool first. On the customer side, she talked about how consumers are thinking of entertaining like Martha Stewart or Joanna Gaines so that should be the level your recommendations aspire toward. And then on the internal side, she talked about how AI is so much more than IT and really needs to involve the strategy and goals of your entire business.
Technology itself will not be your differentiator; it will be how you use it—and the people who are leading the way.
Brynne Deppas, Senior Account Manager
What I learned: Smaller can be smarter when it comes to convenience and innovation.
Why I found this insightful: One speaker highlighted Sprouts’ strategy of shrinking the box stood out to win on convenience (proximity and speed) while creating room to test entrepreneurial products and new ideas. Smaller formats seem to make experimentation less risky and let retailers react faster to what shoppers want. It will be interesting to see whether more grocers follow suit and trade square footage for agility.
Kate Measer, Director of Public Relations
What I learned: Washington’s political climate ripples out to the food industry—and can impact your neighborhood grocery store.
Why I found this insightful: As Chief Public Affairs and Advocacy Officer at the National Grocers Association (NGA), Laura Strange used her presentation to show how specific D.C. decisions play out for independent grocers, and how direct the line from policy debate to produce aisle can be. Most people running a food business don’t have time to follow every twist and turn in Washington, and that’s fine. Someone just has to be keeping an eye on it. Issues like SNAP, tariffs, regulation, and competition policy have a way of making their way from Capitol Hill to the store floor, whether through rising costs, changing shopping habits, or new operational challenges.
The bigger lesson for me wasn’t that politics shapes business; that part is obvious. It’s that the policy landscape is crowded and chaotic, and food businesses need trusted voices who can filter out the noise and focus on what will actually affect their bottom line.
Andi Krollman, Vice President – Account Service
What I learned: Don’t worry about the specific AI agent—worry about the strategy for the agent. Why I found this insightful: Figuring out the strategy and workflow for how you want to use an AI agent is just as important as the agent you actually pick. Work through how you want to use the system and look into the AI agent that works best for your needs.
Marley Gleason, Senior Digital Marketing Manager
What I learned: Young shoppers are using products to signal identity.
Why I found this so insightful: If shoppers are using products to signal identity, it makes brand messaging that much more important. Brands need to be developing their products and their messaging beyond just what the product is why it should be purchased. Instead, they need to be considering how the product fits into the life, the identity, and the overall vibe of their consumer, and creating marketing strategies around that.
Simply put, it changes traditional marketing approaches from marketing why something is great to marketing to what the product actually means to the buyer.
Biagio Patti, Senior Vice President – Media
What I learned: Major national retailers dominate grocery revenue share, but consumers report higher customer satisfaction with regional grocers.
Why I found this insightful: This provides a significant competitive advantage for regional grocers. While regional grocers can’t compete on scale, they can win with a consistent store experience, local relevance, and a focus on service; and they can also achieve emotional loyalty and trust from their shoppers.
To learn more about The Martin Group’s extensive work within the food and beverage space, click here.
