Marcia Call is taking McKinley Marketing Partners Inc. to unexplored markets as the newly promoted head saleswoman of the Alexandria marketing manager provider.
McKinley, with 10 employees, has a database of more than 350 independent marketing managers it refers to clients for short-term projects that include public relations, product development, brand management, strategic planning, communications and advertising.
Ms. Call, 46, was promoted to chief marketing officer of the company. She had been an independent manager who often worked with McKinley before joining in 1999 as a partner and business development director.
She was promoted a year later to marketing and sales vice president, running McKinley’s marketing campaigns in the D.C. area. Among her achievements, Ms. Call secured McKinley a place on the General Services Administration’s federal supply schedule to provide marketing services to federal, state and local governments.
Her current role puts her in charge of McKinley’s efforts in the District, Dallas, New York, Atlanta, Boston and Chicago.
Additionally, Ms. Call said, she has the authority to enter new areas on the company’s behalf.
McKinley President and Chief Executive Officer Michelle Boggs said she tapped Ms. Call for the position because of her experience with the company. “Marcia has a proven track record with McKinley, and she has a good understanding of how our company is evolving,” Ms. Boggs said.
Ms. Boggs said she expects Ms. Call to expand business nationwide, primarily in the New York, Boston and Atlanta metropolitan areas.
McKinley made $7.8 million in sales last year and is forecasting 2004 revenue of $8 million to $9 million.
Ms. Call said she will focus on the company’s core service, helping clients find temporary marketing professionals for emergency projects that generally last three to nine months.
She says she already has faced her biggest challenge, dealing with a drop in corporate spending after the September 11 terrorist attacks and 2001 recession.
“We are now cautiously optimistic that the economy is moving forward in the right direction,” Ms. Call said, adding that companies started spending more from last July on marketing contractors.
Ms. Call lives in Alexandria with her husband, Lonnie Rich, and their four children.
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