Focus on Entertainment Gives PR Firm a Strong Edge

MAYO COMMUNICATIONS, West Hills No. 1 Fastest Growing Company Under $5 Million (1,400%) By THOM SENZEE Contributing Reporter With $1.5 million in sales for 2007 marking a 1,400-percent growth rate, Mayo Communications is the number-one fastest growing firm with less than $5 million in revenues. The wife-and-husband team of Aida Mayo and George S. McQuade III give credit for their West Hills-based public relations firm’s steady growth to good branding, a clear company philosophy, and strong performance. “Act and think like every client is your company or organization,” said McQuade, Mayo Communications’ vice president. “Believe in the company, product or service and publicize it with passion and commitment.” According to McQuade, succeeding in P.R. is about giving “low expectations and delivering high results.” Likewise, the boutique firm’s slogan succinctly expresses that low expectations-high delivery theme. The slogan goes “We don’t guarantee media, we just get it!” Those words and their underlying philosophy are so important to McQuade and Mayo that they formally trademarked the phrase. Another element of the pair’s philosophy about getting constructive media coverage for clients such as the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, the Port of Los Angeles and The Gas Company is staying alert enough to recognize opportunities nestled in unplanned-for events, issues or news that might be relevant to a client’s publicity needs. “Mayo believes you should always expect the unexpected, and you’ll never be surprised,” McQuade told the Business Journal. Getting attention Such was the case when Mayo, LAEDC’s media-relations firm of record, saw an opportunity to capitalize on worldwide interest in the writers’ strike of 2007-08. “During the strike, we garnered a record 85 million-plus media impressions for Chief Economist Jack Kyser (of the) Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation,” said the firm’s president, Aida Mayo. “Jack was bombarded with calls from the BBC to CNN to Fox Business News and scores of business and entertainment media trades from Forbes to the Hollywood Reporter.” Another piece of the Mayo philosophy, which brought the company from earnings of just $100,000 in 2005, to its current position on the list of Fastest-Growing Private Companies, is its belief that focusing on a niche is one of the best ways to operate in today’s business environment. McQuade said Mayo Communications’ niche includes providing media placement, brand awareness, crisis communications and media training to industries for which the two principals have a passion. With offices in Bern, Switzerland; West Hills; San Diego; and New York, Mayo specializes in providing communications services to clients in business and entertainment “We recently had a European singer come to us,” McQuade said. “She spoke Italian and Spanish. Aida is from Argentina, speaks Spanish, and speaks Italian. We hit it off with her and we both love her music, so we have the passion it will take to represent her effectively.” Mayo concurred with McQuade, adding that there is no point trying to sell another on something you don’t have a love for, an interest in, or a passion about. Music business In fact, the music business is nothing new for Mayo. The firm has also worked with Warrior Records, as well as recording artists, Eddie Money, Benny Mardones, plus singers-songwriters, Seven Silvasy and Aron Cowen. That is not to mention Saints of the Underground, which is made up of members from rock bands Alice Cooper, Warrant and Ratt. During the past 10 years Mayo Communications has received awards from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). The firm won Best Media Placement (2003 and 2005); Best Corporate Communication (2004 and 2005); and Best Educational Campaign (2004). In addition to Mayo Communications’ affiliations with PRSA, McQuade is a former president of the Los Angeles-New York Chapter of the Entertainment Publicity Professional Society, and current board member. “We have also done a lot in the arena of public policy,” McQuade said. In fact, Mayo has represented major political campaigns, including one in support of a recent $20-billion state bond measure to address traffic congestion, as well as the so-called Whistle Blower campaign, a successful grass-roots movement to change the way freight trains operate in residential neighborhoods in California. “The future is bright for us,” McQuade said. “Our only challenge is to continue finding unique clients with a compelling story to tell.”