Maverick is hoping a name change will more clearly communicate its service offerings.
The Toronto-based communications firm has dropped “Public Relations” from its logo, social media properties, company email addresses and URL, which is now WeAreMaverick.com.
“There’s a big misconception about what PR is,” Julie Rusciolelli, founder and president of Maverick told Marketing. “We have been pigeon-holed in a way that makes it look like PR is only about media relations. And that is a huge problem for our industry—not just for Maverick… We’ve been typecast.”
Beyond PR and media relations, Maverick’s services include experiential events, reputation management, crisis management, product launches and social media campaigns.
“Clients would come in looking for media relations and find out everything else we did and they’d say, ‘wow, I didn’t know you did all this as well,” said Rusciolelli. “So that was the reason we had to drop it. It was not really conveying what exactly we did.”
Maverick, which marked its 14th anniversary June 17, also announced a new client, Richtree Natural Market Restaurants and new senior management team leader Jennifer Nebesky.
Richtree is opening a new 450-seat flagship restaurant at Toronto Eaton Centre this summer. Maverick will handle all marketing communications, including creative, couponing, promotions, PR and events. Maverick currently works with Cadillac Fairview, which owns Eaton Centre, and launched the mall’s new food court, Urban Eatery, in 2011.
Nebesky, meanwhile, joins Maverick from Thornley Fallis Communications, where she was VP and general manager. As senior VP, client services, she will lead Maverick’s health/wellness and pharma practice and take a leadership role on consumer marketing accounts.
“She brings not just a different skill set, but a lot of different industry experience and we need that,” said Rusciolelli. “I also am looking at my plan to grow a very strong management team so I make sure that I do what I do best, which is about growing the business.”
