Today we’d like to introduce you to Karyn Martin.
Karyn, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I grew up believing that publicists were fairy godmothers. My mom was a freelance reporter with a shopping column, and she regularly received boxes upon boxes of products to review. After finishing her story, she would try to return the products and maintain the utmost level of journalistic integrity. They rarely wanted them back – they had marketing budgets to spend. A naïve nine-year-old, hugging her very first Vanna White Teeth Whitening Kit and begging her mom to not to send back just this one goodie, I asked, “Mom, who sends you all of this amazing stuff?” She replied, “Publicists.” I thought they must be the coolest people in the world. I immediately set aside my life goals of growing up to become Barbie and focused on developing my writing and communication skills. I was going to be a publicist!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
If anyone can say that their path to “success” has been an easy one, they are either lying or boring – both equally offensive in my book. I’ve had my fair share of challenges and anticipate having many more. How do I pay for college? Do I follow the boy to a new state or take the job close to home? (Spoiler alert: I followed him, and we’re still married.) Do I open my own shop or help build an existing agency? Do I delay having children to focus on my career first? I’ve had to struggle with all these challenges and made some tough decisions along the way. But they were my decisions, and they made me who I am today. I wouldn’t change a single one.
451 Agency – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
True to my nine-year-old resolve, I did become a publicist. I’ve spent years building the PR division at our agency, and now I’m one of five partners that runs it. I specialize in helping brands solve problems and leverage marketing to achieve their business objectives. In 4-year-old-speak, I help sell more chocolate chip cookies to people who like chocolate chip cookies. Our agency is loaded with talented people, from digital specialists, to creatives, to writers, to publicists. Working with these people makes me proud every day, and it’s their stellar work that helps us retain clients year after year.
What role has luck (good luck or bad luck) played in your life and business?
I don’t believe in luck on its own, but I do believe in the power of vocalizing your intentions and putting an ask out to the universe. Bear with me while I get a little new age-y, but I believe that we are all made up of energy and some of us know how to tap into that energy more, better, different than others. Doing so can manifest as luck sometimes, and I’ve certainly had a lot of the right place at the right time in my life.
For example, my mom was due with me on December 10, but I was born on December 19 delivered by Dr. Berger. 38 years later I was expecting my first child, on December 10. I ended up having him on my birthday, the 19th. I was 6 1/2 cm dilated, but he decided he really didn’t want to go anywhere. As I started to panic, a calm, cool female doctor walked into the room. “Hi,” she said. “My name is Dr. Berger and you’re going to have an emergency C-section. I’ll be taking care of you.” The two doctors are completely unrelated. But I knew in that moment that I could relax and that the surgery would go fine. I was exactly where I was supposed to be, and this is exactly how it was supposed to go. Was that Luck? Or the universe coming through for me?
Pricing:
- If you have to ask, you probably can’t afford us. Ha! Seriously though, we love helping brands grow. We tend to work mostly with mid-market clients that have marketing budgets from $2 – $20 million
Contact Info:
- Address: 100 North Washington Street, Boston, MA 02114
- Website: 451Agency.com
- Phone: 617-259-1605
- Email: kmartin@451agency.com
- Instagram: @karynmartin
- Twitter: @karynmartin
Image Credit:
Partners – Andrew Young
Karyn and Baby – Gwyn Hughes
Maternity shoot – Tiffany Cook Photography
Headshots at bar – Andrew Young
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
