Kristin Marcum

What we talked about

An intern who stayed to lead the firm

Kristin Marcum started working for Elizabeth Christian as an intern at 21. In this Making Names conversation with Aidan Evans, the owner and CEO of ECPR Texas describes the years of work behind that progression. Early in her career, she assumed the established leaders she saw at Austin events had everything figured out. Experience taught her otherwise. She learned to accept what she could not control while putting in the hours to build her skills. The reward was work she could point to around Austin, including the trail at Lady Bird Lake and Q2 Stadium.

A firm built around Austin and its clients

Marcum describes ECPR Texas as a civic impact communications firm. Its work, she says, should have a positive effect on the community. That outlook also shapes who joins the team and how they spend their time outside the office. When Marcum bought the firm, she deliberately kept her own name off the door. She wanted an organization with a deep bench of leaders, rather than one dependent on a single person. Client service follows the same principle: the client belongs out front. Seeing a client's story reach the newspaper or a client's goal advance at City Hall still makes her day.

High standards without a fear of mistakes

Leading a creative team means asking people to juggle deadlines, work demanding hours and stay involved in the community. Marcum sees part of her job as making that work easier to do. Some support is simple, such as bringing in lunch. Other support requires explaining the company's direction and giving staff room to make mistakes. She says she will back an employee who gets something wrong and help make it right. Fear of punishment, in her view, can stop people from doing their best creative work.

Data can bring perspective to a crisis

A newspaper story no longer reaches everyone a client needs to reach. Marcum discusses ECPR's digital work, coalition building and the need to meet people in person, even at a neighborhood coffee shop. Analytics help show clients and their boards what their communications investment is doing. They also help during a crisis, when anxiety can distort the apparent size of a problem. Her example is a CEO who believes everyone is talking about an issue, while sentiment tracking reveals a small group of vocal people. The point is to measure the response before treating it as universal.

Events with a purpose beyond the room

Marcum connects that approach to ECPR's work on the campaign to bring Major League Soccer to Austin. An online coalition mattered, but events gave the team a way to get in front of people. She distinguishes a strategic community gathering or press event from an event held simply for entertainment. The gathering needs a larger goal. For people who want to follow the firm's work, she recommends ECPR's newsletter, which shares client wins and includes a client's music playlist.