Thanks for the (campaign) memories: Recalling some of our favorite work – The Martin Group
25 years in the integrated communications game means plenty of campaigns for clients looking to illuminate their work to the masses.
And when you’ve been involved with enough of these high-profile (and high-touch) efforts, you tend to have those assignments that stick to your memory, pull on your heartstrings, or impact your personal and professional life in ways that give them a special place in your ongoing story.
In honor of this year’s silver anniversary, we at The Martin Group decided to go to some of our longest-tenured team members to learn about some of the work that has a special place in their agency existence, and why it still stands as so significant amid their client-service careers.
Here are their responses:
Michael Tsanis
Senior Vice President and Creative Director
Client: New Era Cap
Campaign: New Era Cap x NFL x Patricia Allen Fund
Year: 2023
What made it so memorable: Each project brings its own source of pride and accomplishment, but every once in a while, you get to be part of a moment so special, it’s impossible to forget. This was my experience working with a young girl named Abbie. Abbie was a patient at Oishei Children’s Hospital (now Golisano Children’s Hospital of Buffalo), dealing with far more than any kid should have to, including developmental disabilities and cancer.
On behalf of our client, New Era Cap, we invited her to the new Dick’s House of Sport in Rochester, NY for a special surprise: she was going to meet her hero, Josh Allen. For Josh, it was a moment to affirm his commitment to children’s health through his Patricia Allen Fund. For Abbie, it was a once-in-a-lifetime meeting with the person who had become a symbol of hope and source of joy throughout her treatment. As Josh walked toward her, we watched the realization sink in, and then the joy that took over.
There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. It’s a day that Abbie will never forget, and it still gets me every time I watch our little film of it.
Kate Chokshi
Senior Vice President, Account Service
Client: The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation
Campaign: 100/100/100
Year: 2018
What made it so memorable: In what would have been Ralph C. Wilson’s 100th birthday, his namesake Foundation announced they were giving $100 million to the Western New York parks and trails system and another $100 million to the Southeastern Michigan parks and trails system, completely transforming the park system in both regions. In two joint surprise press events—in Detroit that morning, then with the staff flying to Buffalo for an in-person announcement along the city’s waterfront—the logistics of the event were incredibly complicated, but we pulled it off.
It was an incredible experience being part of the planning and execution of such a meaningful day for the Foundation (and for both regions), and one that nearly 10 years later, I will never forget.
Dave Riley
Creative Director
Client: Delaware North Company
Work: Mission Control website and app experience concepts
Year: 2013
What made it memorable: Probably the most exciting for me, due to its coolness factor. At the time, DNC operated the hospitality and concessions at Kennedy Space Center. The Atlantis Space Shuttle was just decommissioned there and the client wanted us to create more awareness and a more unique experience for visitors.
We created a concept that connected their journey from booking and planning the day’s itinerary on a new website to an app complete with augmented reality, which was to be used on-site. The itinerary details were synced from the desktop to the mobile app. The app also included interactive educational functionality, AR experiences, and gamification. Our ideas really pushed the technological envelope for that period of time.
Dan Giacomini
Vice President, Strategy
Client: ECMC
Campaign: ECMC 100th anniversary
Year: 2018
What made it so memorable: ECMC’s 100th anniversary campaign in 2018 remains one of my favorite projects since joining The Martin Group nearly 10 years ago. We created a number of pieces to celebrate the milestone, including a 30-minute documentary telling the hospital’s history—a piece of work I’m still especially proud of.
But what made the project even more meaningful was discovering my own connection to that history. My grandmother, my mom, and my dad had all worked at ECMC, and it’s where my parents first met. Helping tell the story of an institution that played such an important role in my own family’s story made this one particularly memorable.
Kendra Breen
Account Director
Client: Wegmans
Work: Wegmans Astor Place grand opening
Year: 2023
What made it so memorable: One project I’ll always be proud of is the opening of Wegmans Astor Place in 2023. As the first Wegmans store in New York City, it was truly special, with a design unlike any other location. Our team worked hand in hand with the client for months to help bring this unique store to life. When the doors finally opened, the excitement was contagious. Customers were thrilled, the store was beautiful, and our clients were grateful to our team for being part of such a big milestone. It’s a project I’ll always remember.
Levi Neuland
Senior Vice President, Digital Marketing
Client: Erie County Medical Center (ECMC)
Work: ECMC website redesign
Year: 2025
What made it so memorable: The ECMC.edu redesign is one I’m proud of. Our agency built the original site nearly a decade ago, so getting to revisit our own work was a real opportunity. Over the years, it had grown to more than 1,500 pages, and the new version needed far more sophisticated integrations than we had in that first build. The centerpiece was a rearchitected Services and Provider directory, which gives people a real sense of the depth of services and expertise at ECMC.
What I’ll remember most is the team that helped make it happen. A multi-year project at this scale takes strategy, content, design, and development all pulling in the same direction, plus steady support from our account and creative operations teams. We built the first version a decade ago, and coming back to it with fresh perspectives and deeper experience made this version that much better.
Jennifer Hunold
Vice President, Business Insights
Client: Regional Food Bank
Work: Organization rebrand
Year: 2024
What made it so memorable: For the last project I led as an account manager, we were given immense trust to rebrand the 23-county food bank, based in Albany. The stakes were high: they had a new CEO, were building a new facility in the Hudson Valley, and demands for their services were larger than ever before. I was amazed how our comprehensive research showed that the Regional Food Bank stakeholders and team were remarkably aligned around their mission and their future—which was imperative when unveiling the new name, tagline, logo, and identity.
I’d say the icing on the cake was seeing how their team extended the brand to every possible touchpoint, from murals to interior design to merch and truck wraps to events, web, and marketing.
Jim Lynch
Vice President, Media
Client: Kaleida Health – John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital
Campaign: Children’s Hospital is Moving
Year: 2017
What made it so memorable: One project that will always stand out is our awareness campaign for the Kaleida Health – John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital move to its new Buffalo location. Our client made it very clear how critical it was to communicate the exact date and time of the hospital’s transition to the community. It wasn’t simply a marketing campaign—lives depended on ensuring people knew where to go in an emergency.
On the day of the move, I volunteered at the former Children’s Hospital location, and it was an incredibly emotional experience. It was especially meaningful because my wife, along with many close friends, had worked at Children’s Hospital over the years. Being part of such an important moment for our community is something I’ll never forget.
Lianne Coogan
Creative Director
Client: The Martin Group / AAF Buffalo
Work: ADDYs MMXIX – Saints + Sinners
Year: 2019
What made it so memorable: We were tasked with hosting the 2019 AAF Buffalo Addy Awards inside Buffalo’s church-turned-performance confines of Asbury Hall. We transformed the event into a provocative, irreverent take on good and evil through an elaborate Saints + Sinners theme, combining elements of drag culture, non-denominational religious undertones, and advertising into one eye-popping spectacle—and for once, the vision in our heads was replicated in reality.
The night was a smash, all while we left with an armful of awards, including Best in Show.
It took an agency-wide effort to make it all happen, and the project created a buzz and energy in the 620 Main building that was so cool to feel. I remember working in the office until 8 p.m. almost every night and genuinely being excited to be there—even at eight months pregnant. But looking back, what makes the project especially memorable now is how it stands as a sort of halcyon-days moment before the next year’s COVID shutdown, when we were all transitioned to a much more digital and remote existence. The Saints + Sinners project featured the peak of in-person hustle culture—but in the best possible way: executing a ton of creative together, face to face, exactly how we envisioned it.
It was an exhausting, exhilarating, wildly collaborative, and fun time. And it remains one of those projects that reminds me exactly why I love what we do.
To learn more about our team at The Martin Group, click here.
