Meet Michelle McGinty of DRA Collective in Uptown

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle McGinty.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I arrived in the desert in the peak of summer from a small town in Canada when I was a young teenager (doesn’t it seem that all transplant stories begin in the brutal summer months? Is it trial by fire?). My father had won the contract to publish the inflight magazine for the emerging airline America West and so our new family adventure began. We quickly adapted to the Phoenix lifestyle and I enjoyed coming of age in this fast-growing and ever-changing city.

Following my graduation from Arizona State University, California was calling my name. With no real-life marketing experience, I was thrilled to secure a coordinator position on the Lexus automotive account at Team One Advertising Agency, a division of Saatchi & Saatchi, in Los Angeles. They placed me in the Experiential Marketing & Promotions department managing the automobile brand’s many sponsorships from Lincoln Center in New York to the first-of-its-kind product placement contracts in the movie Minority Report. Six years and millions of airline points later, it was time to come home.

Returning to the Valley after years away, I was impressed to find a more sophisticated and cultured city. I met my mentor, Denise D. Resnik, soon after my arrival home and joined her public relations agency working on varied local interests from real estate clients to non-profit organizations. Over my fifteen years with the firm, the DRA team has created innovative programs to increase public awareness for clients such as the Arizona Department of Commerce, multiple DMB communities, Greater Phoenix Economic Council, DAVIS Architects, Launch Real Estate, New Pathways for Youth, Arizona State University, Maracay Homes, Valley Leadership, Portland on the Park and the Arizona Humane Society, just to name a few.

A few years ago, Denise named me President of her 30-year-old agency and I am now lucky to continue the legacy she has built with the DRA Collective. Daily, along with our talented team of experts, I lead the development and implementation of strategic marketing and communication strategies including branding, media relations, digital strategy community relations, promotions and experiential marketing.

In addition to our client work, DRA Collective is heavily invested in the future of this city and state. I sit on the board of Valley Leadership helping lead the organization into its next 30-years of impact. In 2016, Phoenix Business Journal named me one of the Valley’s “Outstanding Women in Business.” I was also humbled to be named to their 40 Under 40 class in 2013.

I am an alumna of Valley Leadership’s Leadership Institute Class 33. Acting as the team captain for the winning class project, I co-developed a community garden for Phoenix’s Garfield Historic District with over $30,000 of in-kind donations.

For years, I mentored an at-risk teen through New Pathways for Youth and now give our agency time to this important mission through strategic planning and messaging for the organization. I actively volunteer for First Place AZ and the Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center.

But, my most important role is Mom. I am a single parent to an amazing 4-year-old little lady, Nora (or Nora Bean, No Nos and #norable).

Has it been a smooth road?
Smooth road? Is it ever? Over the course of life and career so many challenges have presented themselves: the economy, family crisis, client failures, personal upheaval, talent and resource challenges, death and new life. Every challenge or obstacle provides a lesson, an opportunity for growth, a chance to refine a skill, build character and define my integrity.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the DRA Collective story. Tell us more about the business.
DRA Collective is a boutique public relations and marketing firm located in Phoenix. For more than 30 years, we have told Arizona’s story. Every angle, every audience, across every platform and in every venue — we’re dedicated to telling the story of the 48th state and beyond. The people and places, events and ideas.

The Collective represents a carefully curated team, deep with professional talent. Journalists, marketers, researchers, artists, thinkers — we’re communicators in pursuit of strategy and content that add value to brands at each stage of development and implementation.

Our bespoke approach aligns closely with one researcher who defines it as, “the management function that entails planning, research, publicity, promotion and collaborative decision-making to help any organization’s ability to listen to, appreciate and respond appropriately to those persons and groups whose mutually beneficial relationships the organization needs to foster as it strives to achieve its mission and vision.” Simple, right?

In short, we help businesses and organizations pull inspiration from their strategic vision, form it into great ideas and achieve actionable results. It’s complex and intensive, but it’s what we do best.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The communications & marketing industry is evolving daily (even hourly) with new technologies, algorithms and now artificial intelligence. Earlier this year, the super computer Watson was appointed creative director for a newly formed advertising agency designed to serve consumers custom content based on their individual online interactions. Journalism, as a whole, is in a state of transition with Google investing over $300 million in research to determine the future of the industry. What remains constant is the demand for authentic, personalized, experiential interactions with well-thought of brands.

Contact Info:

• Address: 717 East Maryland Ave.
  Suite 110
  Phoenix, AZ 85018
• Website: www.dracollective.com
• Phone: 602.956.8834
• Email: michelle@dracollective.com
• Instagram: Instagram: @dracollective
• Facebook: Facebook: @dracollective
• Yelp: LinkedIn: @dracollective

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.