Transforming an Agency- Kristen Cavallo - CEO and Elizabeth Paul- CSO- The Martin Agency

Kristen Cavallo re-joined the Martin Agency as CEO 3 years ago. 

The agency was in crisis and was in urgent need of rejuvenation. 

She had spent 13 years at Martin in a variety of roles ranging from Planning Director to Head of Business Development but left in 2014 to join Mullen.

It was Kristen's first CEO job and she leaned in on her experience as a strategist- applying brand planning skills to the Martin Agency brand.

By going back to the origins, she unearthed the first principles of the agency and found they were still relevant today. 

In 2019, she was named Ad Age's Executive of the Year. 

Elizabeth Paul joined Martin from Mullen in January 2020 and has been instrumental in bringing new strategic thinking to the table- like the "Diversity Brief". 

Having built a strong team-when the pandemic struck, the team's strength paid dividends since they already had such a solid working relationship. 

Out of the gate- within days of the pandemic and the impending "work from home" IPG mandate, the Martin team brainstormed implementable ideas for every one of the agency's clients and was all in on getting these ideas made and ensuring there was no slow down or pause.

The change of leadership, the doubling down on the importance of getting brands talked about by consumers, and the commitment to diversity have all been strong transformative forces for Martin; not only has this helped to maintain the confidence of its existing client base, but it has also been instrumental in bringing in new clients. 

Since the pandemic struck in March of this year, the agency has brought on seven new pieces of business. 

In a wide-ranging conversation, we talk about the process of change, what the agency believes in, and why and how they managed to keep it all together working remotely and via Zoom