Communiqué founder, Linn, rolls with the punches

ITHACA — In the 1930s, the term “killer instinct” was added to the American lexicon, based on the fighting spirit of heavyweight-boxing champion Jack Dempsey. 

Today, the term describes someone determined to succeed in everything. 

Add Laurie Linn to the list, even though her avoirdupois puts her in the bantamweight category. You can find Linn every morning at 5:15 weightlifting, shvitzing from a cardio-workout, or in the boxing ring sparring with her trainers at Black Irish Athletics in preparation for another day at the agency she owns and manages.

Linn is celebrating the silver anniversary of Communiqué Design and Marketing, Inc., a firm she founded in Ithaca and serves as president. “I took the name from a song released by Dire Straits [in 1979],” reflects Linn. “The lyrics made me think of the need to communicate clearly to engage a target audience, stakeholder, or bring about change in the community. My goal is to offer integrated marketing that moves the needle for our clients, both for-profits and nonprofits. The key is our ability to innovate and create, inspiring people to action. We are a core staff of five plus multiple partners, who offer advertising, public relations, web development, and digital media that is always solutions-oriented.”

Standing out from the crowd
Linn has plenty of competitors trying to beat her to the punch. “What separates us from the competition is that the company started out as an integrated-marketing firm when the concept was still cutting-edge,” avers the company president. “I was a believer long before the clients understood the power of this new, marketing tool. Integrated marketing creates a unified message that reinforces each of the communication components. Another key difference from our competitors is our networking strength and the leadership roles we take in the community. I have always seen our role as being immersed in the Tompkins County community, and that means connecting with CEOs. How else would we understand a client’s business and strategy, unless we worked with top management. It also means cultivating professional relationships with the media and other partners in order to target our clients’ news so they can communicate effectively.”

Linn’s current leadership roles include selection to the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce board of directors, including the executive committee; Tompkins County Area Development (TCAD) board; United Way of Tompkins County board and chair of its marketing committee; president of Friends of Ithaca College; and Tompkins Trust Co. business-development board. Past roles included co-chairing the Tompkins County Chamber, co-chairing the annual United Way campaign, and serving as the president of the Tompkins Cortland Community College Foundation board. Linn has also volunteered to spearhead a female-empowerment program at South Hill Elementary School, coach soccer, serve on the committee to elect Ithaca’s current mayor, and support Tompkins Connect and Tompkins County’s Young Professional Organization.

Linn returns to the primary trait that sets Communiqué apart. “We are innovators with a reservoir of creativity,” she intones. “The team acts as entrepreneurs, bringing fresh perspectives to a problem. That’s how we generate ideas. The office is laid out as open-architecture just so the staff can easily share ideas. Count on us to develop big-picture, marketing strategies designed to increase the bottom line. We create a marketing culture with a core pulse that beats throughout a client’s organization. And when we present a message, it’s always at the forefront, while good design is invisible. Put it all together; that’s how we create a program to reinforce a company’s brand, the tool that converts a buyer into a loyal follower.” 

Linn says some of Communiqué’s most creative ideas occur on “whiskey Friday,” a 4 p.m. weekly, informal session when the staff, partners, and clients mingle to spark new ideas. “My staff suggested whiskey Fridays, and now my clients and colleagues eagerly anticipate the end of the work week,” affirms Communiqué’s president. “It’s an amazing time when adult beverages and creativity both flow.”

Clients
Over the past 25 years, a number of clients have subscribed to the Communiqué message, including Borg Warner, Cayuga Medical Center, Cornell University, Eureka Tent Co., Ithaca College, the regional airports for Ithaca and Binghamton, Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes, Tompkins Cortland Community College, TCAD, Eastern Managed Print Network, Incodema, Woodhouse (a national timber-frame company), Audrey Edelman/Realty USA, Warren Real Estate, Coltivare Farm-to-Bistro, Wells College, and the Tompkins Trust Company. The firm has garnered a number of accolades along the way for its creativity in package and logo design, video excellence, marketing concept and execution, publication and brochure design, fundraising support, and higher-education marketing.

Personally, Linn has been recognized for her leadership and community involvement. The Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce has twice bestowed on her the title “Small Business Person of the Year” and crowned Linn thrice as the “Key Person of the Year.” The chamber board of directors cited her for exceptional service with the “Outstanding Leadership” award. The National Association of Professional & Executive Women named her the “Woman of the Year.” The Boy Scouts dubbed her the “Distinguished Citizen of Tompkins County,” and she was awarded the Patricia E. Stage trophy by the United Way of Tompkins County as the “Outstanding Volunteer of the Year.”

Tough start
Launching Communiqué was a struggle recalls Linn. “I started the business during the recession of 1991,” she acknowledges, “probably not the most … auspicious time to throw my hat in the ring. While I was a true believer in the concept of integrated marketing, it took a few years to educate our clients. In the early 1990s, the Internet was starting to come into its own. Clients were frankly confused on how to use it effectively, and so, again, we spent considerable time educating them. Like all start-ups, it wasn’t uncommon to work 80-hour weeks and then search for coins so I could buy milk … I grew up in a family where all of my relatives ran businesses, so I wasn’t surprised by the obstacles that needed to be overcome to be successful. Or to use my boxing jargon, I knew how to roll with the punches. Besides, I always had plan-B. If the venture didn’t work out, I knew I could get a job.”

Communiqué picked up two big clients in 1993. “These clients gave the firm financial stability, which allowed us to begin growing,” recalls Linn. “At one point, the company had 15 employees. I found myself spending too much time as the human-resources director and not enough face time with the clients. We were adding national accounts, which meant I would have to do more travelling. At the time, my daughter was young, so I decided not to travel more than 150 miles from Ithaca. I also decided to take off every Friday afternoon to be with her. That’s when I downsized the organization and created a group of partners with whom I could work to supplement the agency’s business. I consider our partners an extension of the Communiqué team.”

In 2013, Linn began the process of certifying Communiqué as a woman-owned business enterprise (WBE). “The certification has opened doors to us that were [long] shut,” asserts Linn. “New York State mandates that all state entities reserve a percentage of their purchases for women- and minority-owned businesses. Recently, Gov. [Andrew] Cuomo raised the level to more than 30 percent. This has been a game-changer by bringing us more opportunities. We have secured several New York State contracts, and now we are building relationships with those institutions and agencies.”

Career beginnings
Linn began her career in the 1980s working for Tom Yaegel Associates (TYA), a marketing-services firm located near Philadelphia and an early adopter of integrated marketing. TYA was an international marketing company, which included global-financial institutions. “I spent 80 percent of my time travelling to clients,” she avers, “and a lot of my trips were on red-eyes. I convinced the vice president to whom I reported that I should be closer to her; that’s when I moved to Ithaca. This also put me close to my hometown — Syracuse — to help my ailing mother, who had cancer, and to support my family. At that point, most of my time was spent with Citibank in New York City. Tom Yaegel was very supportive in helping me start my own company.”

At age 54, Linn makes the Energizer bunny look sluggish, which is to say she has no plans to slow down.” My daughter is getting ready to go off to college, so I feel more comfortable accepting national accounts again,” she announces, “even knowing it means more travel. I also want to empower women to seize the opportunities out there. When I started in business, it was totally a male-dominated environment. I wanted to be at the table, which meant I couldn’t be mute. As a woman, I needed to shine through innovation, ideas, and execution. Today, I want to be an inspiration to women; we can change the world. I haven’t thought a lot about succession at Communiqué: some day I could merge or sell the business or groom an employee. Right now, I’m having too much fun. I just love business.”

Albert Einstein is quoted as saying, “Creativity is intelligence having fun.” He must have been thinking of Laurie Linn, who keeps on wanting to move the communication needle. If Jack Dempsey, the man with the killer instinct, were watching Linn in action, he would say, “She’s definitely not ready to throw in the towel.”