Wendy Reynolds is the kind of person an advertising agency needs as a Copy Editor: she was almost arrested for pulling out her red pen to correct spelling mistakes in print ads in Manhattan subway cars – twice. “I had to assure the cops I wasn’t some kind of graffiti artist,” she laughs. “They let me go both times, but they definitely thought I was nuts.” We think she is, too, and we wouldn’t want her to be any other way.

TMG: What do you bring to The Martin Group as an editor?

WAR: I’ve worked as a legal, financial, advertising, publishing and pharmaceutical proofreader and editor in New York City, so all that experience comes in handy with The Martin Group’s diverse client list. But probably the biggest contribution I make is consistency.

TMG: Consistency?

WAR: Yes. I check everything at the agency, from the initial RFPs to the final deliverables. I make sure that the changes the client asks for in a print ad on Thursday are also reflected in the website we’ll be developing for them on Friday. Nothing, no matter how small, can get lost in the cracks. A campaign’s collateral has to be consistent, or the brand message is compromised.

TMG: So it’s more than just proofreading…

WAR: Proofreading is a huge part of what I do. There is nothing worse than looking at a great ad and being distracted by a spelling error or a typo – and yet we as consumers see it out there all the time. I work very closely with the copy department and the entire TMG team to prevent this from happening, because once it does, it ruins the trust you’ve worked so hard to build with the client involved.

Even when a client supplies their own copy for their collateral, I proof it for errors, put in missing trademark symbols and copyright information, make sure it conforms to their brand standards, and check that the language, tone and voice they’ve used is the same as what their audience has come to expect from their brand. The Martin Group makes that kind of editorial attention to detail a priority, whether we write the copy for them or not. A great example of this is the New Era Cap Company coffee table book produced for their 90^th anniversary. The fact checking and editing that went into the final product was done without compromising the style and message of their original copy. I didn’t “rewrite” it. I just made the copy better. That’s my job.

I also work closely with our digital department, and check websites and other Web products in different browsers to make sure there aren’t any bad characters, missing copy or images, or incorrect or “dead” links. And I help the art department by checking that the right images, logos and other graphic elements are used in each part of a campaign.

TMG: What’s the one thing people don’t know about you at the office?

WAR: They probably don’t know about my broadcasting experience. I currently host my own radio show, The MILF Mix, from 9 to 11 in the morning every Sunday on 91.3 FM WBNY, Buffalo State’s radio station, which you can stream live at http://www.buffalostate.edu/wbny/webradio/. I’ve also worked on-air and done voiceover work for other TV and radio stations here and in New York. So whenever one of our TMG clients needs a radio spot done, I’m available – just as soon as I proofread the script.

When a historic building underwent major renovations that transformed it into luxury lofts and premium commercial space nestled at the foot of Elmwood Avenue, The Martin Group was presented with the opportunity to brand this latest addition to downtown Buffalo’s revitalized skyline. For the newly named 100 South, our creative team designed a logo and other branding elements that truly define these living spaces as “the intersection of luxury & style.”

Through the use of exterior and interior signage, a Web splash page, grand opening invitations, and a corresponding eblast, we were able to build brand awareness and recognition throughout the building’s construction process.

Now accepting applications via their robust, TMG-produced website, 100 South is rapidly becoming one of the most sought-after residential and commercial addresses in Buffalo.

Barrett Industries is an industry leader in providing infrastructure solutions throughout the United States. Throughout their 150-year history, they have redefined road construction with innovations in the products and services necessary for paving an Interstate, constructing a new regional airport runway, and preserving the country’s four million miles of paved highways. When they came to us at The Martin Group for a newly-evolved website, we took our cue from their ingenuity, designing and producing a B-to-B site that integrates the latest in interactive map technology with a CMS platform that they can maintain themselves. This allows them to update their site easily as the company acquires new subsidiaries throughout North America, and continues to grow and expand.

This branded, robust website offers users engaging functionality, informative copy that is understandable to both laymen and experts in the field, and well-appointed navigation to find the answers they’re looking for.

Is your website in need of a Brand Fuel tune-up? Email Tod Martin, or give him a call at 716.853.2757, and find out how The Martin Group’s team can give your site more torque on all Internet search engines.

Advertising is a very fast-paced world. Unless a safety net is put in place – such as a proofreader – quality control can suffer. We played “Stump the Proofer” with our Copy Editor, Wendy Reynolds to find out if she could spot the errors. She also gave us a little insight into each one.

WENDY: Old Navy produced a new line of college and NFL team tees last fall called “Superfan Nation,” with a variety of products reading, “Let’s go!!” for dozens of teams. But almost every shirt, unfortunately, read “Lets go !!”

The grammar mistake on these Old Navy T-shirts actually got some national press – after all, the clients involved were colleges and universities. What troubled me, however, is that people only seemed to notice the missing apostrophe in “Let’s.” If you look closer, the exclamation marks are at least an extra full figure space away from the rest of the sentence (and I would have argued that one exclamation mark would be enough).

WENDY: The Cannes Film Festival is an advertiser’s Golden Goose – every media outlet on the planet is there, scouring the tiny town for news bites and footage for the whole world to see. I can understand why global advertising giant Grey Group would use Cannes as a self-promotion red carpet opportunity. It was a win-win situation, until the proofreader dropped the ball, and “famously effective” flew overhead as “famousliy effective.” By the way, the banner’s typo was allegedly pointed out by one of their clients at Grey’s film festival soiree. Joie de vivre, indeed!

WENDY:  Whoops! I hope this agency didn’t forget to pay iStock^® for the image, too! My guess is that the art director made the final deliverables file and forgot to route it for a final proofreading check. Advertising proofreaders are responsible for more than checking copy – we also have to make sure the correct artwork is in each version, and that any watermarks are removed from photos in the final layout.

WENDY: Looks like Thing from “The Addams Family” is doing catalog work these days. Photoshop is a wonderful tool. Just make sure that when you alter an image, you don’t leave anything creepy behind.

WENDY: I’m going to guess that the cans of root beer underneath the sign might also add to the “incontinence” problem. While someone did try to correct the copy with a pen, they missed a few other problems in the ad – I promise it wasn’t me this time!

Due to construction delays in our new headquarters, The Martin Group will be temporarily located at 487 Main Street, on the second and third floors of the Carmina Wood Morris Building. This move will allow us to work closely with our architects – and soon-to-be neighbors – Carmina Wood Morris on our permanent building two doors away, and sets us right in the heart of the action as part of the 500 Main Street Block Association. Our office will be closed on Friday, February 17, 2012 to facilitate the move.

Our phone numbers and email addresses will remain the same, as will our commitment to providing the best in branding and advertising for our clients. Only our mailing address changes:

The Martin Group
487 Main Street | Suite 200
Buffalo, NY 14203

So, as of Monday, February 20, you’ll be able to find Groupies all over our new neighborhood – having cappuccino with our friends at the Western New York Book Arts Center, checking out the latest art installation over at Main Street Studios, and grabbing lunch to go from eCafe. We invite you to join us as we become part of the Main Street renaissance.

With Bow Tie Friday catching on here at The Martin Group, I scheduled a field trip to O’Connell’s in an effort to provide my fellow Dandy coworkers with as vast a collection as possible. Upon our arrival, Glenn and the rest of the staff were their usual gracious selves, offering some keen fashion advice and showcasing some of their latest inventory.

As always, Mr. Meadows snapped some great photos of our journey.

Once the bow ties were purchased, everyone received a handy instructional guide on how to tie their new bow ties. Here’s the result – today’s Bow Tie Friday Dandies!

This year, instead of a traditional holiday card, we decided to do something a little more lasting, a little more personal, and a lot more hands-on. That’s where the Western New York Book Arts Center, our soon-to-be new neighbors, came in. The TMG team has been itching to print something on the presses at the WNYBAC, so we jumped at this perfect opportunity. A few of our Groupies got to immerse themselves in the wonderful world of letterpress for a few days, and then our Digital Department took their finished product and digitized it, creating this snazzy e-greeting. For a behind-the-scenes peek at “the making of” this year’s holiday card, check out the photos below. We’d like to wish you all the joy and wonder this season brings, and look forward to working with you in 2012.

Before you can print, you have to set your type. Some of the thousands of wood and metal type blocks housed at the WNYBAC are shown above.

Shown here: our first tray of type to be printed. Once the type is set in the tray, it must be transferred to the press for printing.

As we prepared to print, we had to mix it up a little – the ink, that is.

Dave Riley inks the rollers of the Vandercook Press.

Dave Riley, Rich Kegler of the WNYBAC, and Rebecca Awald examine the first proof.

Looking good!

The limited-edition prints go into the drying rack one more time before the last ink is laid down.

What a year it has been! While we at The Martin Group celebrated our 10th Anniversary and received numerous accolades from our peers and community this year, never far from our minds were those who actually got us to where we are today: our clients. So, as 2011 draws to a close, we’d like to thank all our wonderful clients, past and present, who have given us the opportunity to become the only real branding agency in Buffalo.

We went straight to the source and asked each of our TMG Brand Managers, Brand Strategists and Account Coordinators what their role in client and account services means to them. Read on to get to know our team a little better – and see just how much we appreciate our clients.

We’ve all been there. You go to a restaurant because you hear that the food is really good – and it is good – but you swear you’ll never go back because the service was awful. I’m a firm believer that the same analogy applies to advertising agencies. We can develop strategic and breakthrough creative, but if our clients feel we’re not providing adequate service, they’ll go elsewhere.

Brand Management Service is the “value-added” in our industry, and we here at TMG strive to be accessible, accountable advocates of our clients’ brands so that, at the end of day, they feel they’re receiving good value in the service provided. My goal is for our clients to feel like they can come to us with any challenge and we’ll find a way to deliver, while making the process of working with us as easy and pleasant as possible.

We stress the “service” in “Brand Management Service,” and that means letting our clients know that they can reach us when they need to, even if it’s after business hours or on the weekend. We will find a solution regardless of the challenge, and that gives our clients the comfort level they need to let us do our best work for them. It’s also admitting when we make a mistake, and doing whatever it takes to make it right. Our Brand Management team members become an extension of the client’s team, keeping an eye on the competition and providing insight and recommendations. And most importantly, we have the clients’ best interests at heart and are always advocating for them.

Lastly, I think a strong account services team can never rest on its laurels. The business climate is ever-changing, and The Martin Group’s clients’ needs are changing with it. We have to continue looking for new and better ways of working with our clients and providing the value and the service they need.

– Lisa Strock

What I love about my role at The Martin Group is the ability to build relationships with my clients. It’s exciting to have the opportunity to work across a variety of industries, all of whom possess their own individual branding challenges and opportunities. I enjoy taking the time to get to know each one of my clients, their organizations’ strengths and weaknesses, and the unique differentiators that set them apart in the marketplace.

In my role as Brand Manager, the additional reward comes in being able to share that knowledge – and relationship – with the internal creative team and seeing how advertising, marketing and strategic thinking can catapult these businesses to the next level and drive consumers to act.

– Julie Molenda

I’ve been at The Martin Group for over three years, and the last eighteen months as an Account Coordinator have been incredibly rewarding. Getting to be a part of such a powerhouse team of individuals is an honor and the learning experience of a lifetime. We have such an incredibly wide variety of clients, there’s no telling what challenges we’ll face on any given day – or even any given hour! But that’s all part of the partnership. Their deadlines are our deadlines; their success is our success.

And that brings me to my absolute favorite aspect of Brand Management Services: client meetings. The collaboration and conversations that arise while working together on a project are instantly rewarding and incredibly fun. That interaction and give-and-take is what makes this such an amazing job. Ultimately, I’m grateful to be part of such an incredible team, and to have some pretty awesome clients.

– Marilynn Militello

Being a Brand Manager at The Martin Group for the last two and a half years has been such a great experience. I have been fortunate to be exposed to a number of different industries, ranging from healthcare to industrial manufacturers, which has allowed me to grow professionally by living and breathing each company and their brand day in and day out.

I take great pride in the relationships that the team builds with each client, not only establishing a professional relationship, but in some cases a friendship as well. I love being a Brand Manager because I have the opportunity to learn about different businesses, create solutions for marketing challenges, and ultimately see The Martin Group’s work help our clients succeed.

– Sarah LaPare

As a new Account Coordinator at The Martin Group, I’m still learning the ropes a bit. However, this hasn’t prevented me from appreciating the opportunity I have to work with a number of different clients in a variety of industries. From healthcare, retail, and financial companies to academic and athletic organizations, I’ve been fortunate to assist many of TMG’s Brand Managers with the needs of their diverse client base.

I’ve really come to appreciate how different every client’s needs are, and how differently those needs should be handled. My favorite part of my role so far is sharing the knowledge gained from client relationships with the creative team – and seeing how that knowledge helps create marketing solutions that add to our client’s success.

– Britney Godfrey

A friend of mine once said that the hallmark of great service in a restaurant is having a full water glass at all times – without having to ask for it. In the world of marketing and advertising, I believe that exceptional account service also means having a proactive team on your side.

We should know your business, anticipate your needs, and present solutions that deliver the results that matter to you. The Martin Group’s Brand Fuel process sets the stage for this to occur naturally, as we dig deep to understand your organization, your industry and your unique position, and then ensure that the creatives working on your account are on board with your brand and your needs. Having this foundation allows us to become a true partner and extension of you to help you reach your goals. In a nutshell, great account service is never having to say you’re thirsty!

– Kelli Putney

To me, Brand Management Service is about forging and managing great relationships. The client and agency relationship is about being in partnership. Like personal relationships, business relationships are built on a foundation of respect, trust, communication, understanding, commitment and patience. It’s not about maintaining one or two of the factors; it’s about hitting all six factors, day in and day out, with each and every client.

Brand Management Service is not solely the Brand Manager’s responsibility, just as the creative product is not solely the creative department’s responsibility. Here at The Martin Group, it’s the team’s responsibility as a whole to make sure each and every part of the equation is addressed.

– Scott Follett

When I think of great customer service, so many things come to mind, including well thought-out strategies, timeliness, thoroughness, a proactive approach and great project management, to name a few. But in the bigger picture, I feel all of these things lead to trust, which is paramount to strong customer relationships.

There’s no greater experience than gaining a client’s trust – trust that we’ll go above and beyond to meet their needs, day-in and day-out, and look out for their best interest (as well as their bottom line). This way, they can focus their time where it matters most, while feeling comfortable that we’re in their corner, doing what we do best.

– Melissa Skipper

I started at The Martin Group in February 2010 as an Account Coordinator, assisting Melissa Skipper, our Brand Supervisor, with several of her clients. It was my first job out of college, and I was unfamiliar with how an agency runs, but I was excited to learn as much as I could about our clients in order to provide the service they needed. Almost two years later, and with the new title of Brand Manager, the learning surely hasn’t stopped.

My favorite part of my role at The Martin Group is the opportunity to work with different clients on a daily basis, build and foster trusting relationships with them, and ultimately see how the creative team’s incredible work will help their brands become more successful. What I love about being on the Brand Management team is that no two days, or hours, are the same, and I’m continually growing and learning from my clients and colleagues. It’s a constantly changing environment here at TMG, and I’m so grateful to be a part of it every day.

– Shannon Toughey

Continuing a holiday tradition we began last year, the TMG staff generously placed new, unwrapped toys for our annual Toys for Tots donation under our holiday tree here at the office, as well as canned goods for the WNY Food Bank. We also made a charitable donation to the Food Bank in lieu of client gifts.

We here at The Martin Group are thankful for the chance to give something back to the WNY community – and grateful to all our clients and friends who have given us the opportunity to serve them for the past 10 years.

Incorporating a new Logo Lounge-featured logo, as well as stunning photography by renown local photographer David Noyes, The Martin Group recently developed and launched an interactive website for our client Global Fellowship.

We ensured that this robust website, which includes a secure “Donations” page and an e-commerce page for merchandise, can be accessed internationally across multiple platforms.

Current and potential donors, Global Fellowship Partners, and anyone interested in the organization’s mission can now access more in-depth information and numerous resources on this cohesive, elegantly executed new site. Is it time to re-think your brand’s presence on the Internet? Email Tod Martin or give him a call at 716.242.7499 – and find out how The Martin Group team can spread the word across the Web about your business.