PRactically Speaking Houston

PRactically Speaking Houston with Corey Martin

• Veronica V. Sopher, PRSA Member and Host • Season 1 • Episode 2

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Welcome Corey Martin to PRactically Speaking Houston – the official podcast of the Houston PRSA Chapter.

Corey has spent over 25 years contributing to powerful integrated earned communications programs – connecting influencer marketing with earned media to effectively take advantage of an ever-changing media landscape. Press + media influencers as well as social + cultural influencers create a media dynamic that requires a cohesive strategy and as Managing Director of Media & Influence at Allison Worldwide, Corey focuses on bringing an evolved approach to an expanding media universe to deliver true ROI for clients. Corey has built PR and influencer strategies for Super Bowl advertising campaigns and “Big Game” guerilla marketing initiatives leveraging influencers for a variety of brands including Cetaphil, AXE, Dove Men+Care, Flipz and many others. Corey is also a professor of influencer marketing at Montclair State University and creates content with his husband and son on their Instagram and TikTok Channel @RainbowDads with over 2M+ followers across Instagram and TikTok. RainbowDads has become a go-to voice for brands looking to connect with families through authenticity and laughter love of sports. Known for deep ties to the NFL, Buffalo Bills, and broader sports community, Corey brings both professional and personal influencer expertise to his work with a variety of clients.

Be sure to join us Thursday, Jan 22 for our webinar INFLUENCE IN MOTION: WHAT’S HOT, WHAT’S NEXT, AND WHAT MATTERS IN 2026
Register here: https://prsahouston.starchapter.com/meetinginfo.php?id=255&ts=1768491338

Connect with Corey Martin at:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/corey-r-martin-b604a5/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coreyreidmartin/
https://www.instagram.com/rainbowdads/

Connect with Veronica V. Sopher at:
Website: https://www.veronicavsopher.com/
Social:@VeronicaVSopher

Learn more about the PRSA Houston Chapter, our events and opportunities at www.prsahouston.org.

PRactically Speaking Houston is brought to you by Veronica V. Sopher, Public Relations.

Veronica Sopher:

Hello and welcome to PRactically Speaking Houston. This is the official podcast for the Houston chapter of Public Relations Society of America, and I'm your host, Veronica Sopher, and I have the opportunity to bring to you some phenomenal guests, not only from our chapter, but from other chapters, and folks who are really connected to public relations, to marketing, to visibility strategy to all the things that we have to do as communicators to make sure that we are providing excellent customer service for our clients and those that we serve. So if you are listening on the podcast, make sure you hit subscribe. We don't want you to miss any episode of practically speaking Houston. And if you are watching on LinkedIn, Facebook or YouTube, drop us some comments, because we would love to connect. And today we have a fantastic episode that really is going to act like a preview for an upcoming webinar that we have. And so joining me on practically speaking, Houston is our guest, Corey Martin, thank you for joining us. Corey, here we go. And Mr. Martin is joining us today to talk about some of the things that we are going to discuss and some of the great insight that you can get for our upcoming webinar later this week. Corey, thank you so much for joining us.

Corey Martin:

Thanks, Veronica. I really appreciate being here.

Veronica Sopher:

Awesome. Now, first and foremost, give us a little bit of background, so that those of us who have seen some of the materials about your upcoming webinar. Can get a sense of where you're coming from, the context you're bringing and just kind of share with us a little bit about how you got into the space. Sure.

Corey Martin:

So my name is Corey Martin. I am a I'm Managing Director of Media, what we call media plus influence at Allison worldwide. And I say those things, two things together intentionally, because in today's world, we really strive to put earned media- inextricably link it to influence and influencer marketing. But a little bit about me specifically. I have been doing public relations earned media for over 25 years. I got my start in the public relations space. I was, I was a media hound. I would pick up the phone call press, get hits. I loved the chase. Love getting my getting my story, my clients, placed in publications. And then about 15 years ago, I started to see the evolution of our industry as mommy bloggers and bloggers and even celebrities gained more cachet. Third party credentializers became more important part of who we were, and the notion of influencers became more real, and influencer strategies became more real. So I sort of doubled down on that a little bit throughout my career. I've worked both in house and in agencies, many agencies across across the US. I've also spent time at a talent agency called the League World group, learning how to represent and understand how the talent side, the supply side of influencer marketing, works. I'm all the while always being directly connected to and a big part of my strategies driving back to earned media and influencer marketing. Spent some time at a performance media agency, advertising agency, and have also developed a curriculum for influencer marketing that I teach at Montclair State University, which is New Jersey's largest public university, my husband's son and I also have a Instagram and Tiktok channel called Rainbow dads. So we pretty much create content, and I kind of am the person who follows my husband's lead when it comes to content creation and creative as as my son and my husband sort of, kind of create their own personality and character, and it's really, really soared that channel has over 2 million followers across Instagram and Tiktok. So I live, eat and breathe influencer marketing with a foundation branded in in public relations.

Veronica Sopher:

I love that, and I love that you're able to marry your background and your experience into a, you know, a new a new line, and then build it into your personal life. And so for those of us who maybe come from a more traditional setting, maybe we are really focused on crisis communication, or maybe we're in a different space, maybe oil and gas or finance or banking, how does influencer marketing start to play into the strategies that we're developing for earned media and for even paid placement,

Corey Martin:

I think it's that's a super interesting question. And quite frankly, when it comes to industrials specifically, or even B-to-B communications, one of the things that I'm seeing more and more of is how influencers or third parties play a role in how we set up corporate communications, manage crisis communications. Over 10 years ago, I was in house and ran Corporate Communications at a company that dealt with farm and labor issues at one point, and I wish. Ish, at that time, I had a robust and mature influencer communication strategy so others could speak on our company's behalf. And that's really where we're at today, when we think about industrials, the importance of how a company impacts a community, for example, becomes a big part of corporate reputation, and the influencers we tap into that can help sing our song. For us is really important. The CEO of Intuit once said, we're no longer who we say we are as brands. We're who others and what are, and we're who our community say we are as brands. And that's never been more true. So the truth is that as corporate communications professionals, just as much as consumer communications professionals, the influencers, stakeholders, the third parties, the media and press influencers that can help carry our story have never been more important.

Veronica Sopher:

Yes, absolutely. And I think for those of us in a different generation who maybe haven't really dove into it, that's something that we're having to learn. And where would you suggest we even start that conversation, especially if you're maybe in a in a nonprofit, or in a in a space where the budget doesn't allow for a whole lot, a big spend.

Corey Martin:

Sure, those are, those are two great questions. The first thing that I'll say is is, I mean, look, I've been doing this for a very long time, so I am of another generation. But what I'll say is that we as public relations professionals have always been in the business of influence. Literally, our job is to create influence with third parties and through third parties, through press and reporters. It's a relationship oriented business. So the skills we've always had that make us good at what we do are are the same skills that make people effective influencer marketing practitioners. So it's important for any professional who does public relations well to own that and really make that part of what who they are and who they've always been. The second with respect to pricing and cost. Ultimately, when we think about who our communities are, there are, especially for the nonprofit space, there are a number of creators and influencers who can and will be passionate about your mission, about what you're doing. The one thing I always tell my students when it comes to influencer marketing, the one thing we have to consider whether we have money or not, is, what is our value exchange between a brand or an organization? What value are we giving to a creator so that they act on our behalf, and that's very much what we have to think about, especially as nonprofits. What value can I give this creator or influencer? And that value proposition might be as simple as giving them voice to share their opinions in a public setting, or perhaps giving them an award at one of the platforms that that nonprofit might have. So thinking of them is very much a part of being the stakeholder community that you have and somebody that can help move the needle from a nonprofit perspective.

Veronica Sopher:

Now, I think that's that's great, and I think that there are some organizations that have done a really good job of that. Here in the Houston area, we've got several who have annual events, and then they'll bring in influencers that are very aligned to the mission and to the content that they create. So switching gears just a little bit Corey, if someone were interested in connecting with influencers. I mean, I know there's probably a lot of details you're going to go in the webinar. So just a quick little teaser. What are some of the first steps that an agency or an organization might consider when they're thinking about implementing influencers into their their strategy?

Corey Martin:

Also a very good question. I think oftentimes a lot of organizations go straight to the WHO before they think about the what it is hyper critical, so important to think about what you need to make say or do before you start to engage creators and influencers. Not all influencers bring the same skills to the table. Creators and influencers are both very different influencers have curated an audience, and they're really all about that audience. Now they may have an ability to make great content, they may be a creator in nature, but an influencer truly has to treasure their audience, whereas a creator may not even have an audience, but they have amazing skills. So it's really important for us as organizations to know what we want to make, say or do so we can pick the right people to be our advocates and partners.

Veronica Sopher:

And are you seeing, you know, you talked a little bit about the academic component to it. Are you seeing other programs in other parts of the country starting to do a little bit of that too? How are we catching up to what's really happening in the day to day with the academic perspective.

Corey Martin:

It's It's interesting there. There are more and more schools, especially a lot of schools on the West Coast, who have introduced influencer marketing as a core discipline. I stepped into a curriculum that I built at Montclair State. There are other they really. Recently doubled the size of that by introducing other professors from the professional realm who are teaching classes on influencers and opinion leaders. But at universities across the country, many are doing that, introducing them under PR and comms or under social media. Interestingly, which then gives, quite frankly, more permission, I think, for us as public relations professionals to own that discipline where but there are many schools where we're not seeing it. And I think more and more there is definitely an opportunity to educate the the next generation of professionals, because there's no it is impossible to deny the fact that influencer marketing is completely changing, not only public relations, but paid media advertising, all forms of social media or shared media and marketing communication. There isn't, isn't an agency out there that isn't trying to hire and have influencer marketing professionals on staff, and more and more companies are are having VPs of influencer marketing, so the level of seniority for in house positions is dramatically increasing as well.

Veronica Sopher:

That's exciting, because traditionally, you would think that they would partner as a contractor or as a subcontractor, or you know someone, someone in that role, versus in house where, you know, we're having to make budgetary decisions and decisions on how many staff we're going to have and how many FTEs we're going to have, and so that really plays into the budget design for organizations. And so I see that that's something that organizations can really grapple with they're not quite sure where to put their dollars.

Corey Martin:

Well, interestingly, Unilever announced publicly just how much of their digital advertising budget they're putting towards influencers. Over 50% they put a big in the ground. I have clients who have shifted. Used to be 20% would be to influencers, 80% would be to traditional public relations. I have clients who've come clients who have completely shifted that so as public relations professionals, to make sure that we sustain, retain, and, quite frankly, maintain our business with our clients, we have to be adept at not only conducting influencer marketing programming, but also showing how those influencer marketing programs drive earned media, because that's the truth and the reality that we're facing. And in truth, everybody's trying to grasp for that money, but it really is something that public relations professionals, comms professionals in house, can and should control and own.

Veronica Sopher:

Yeah, that's fantastic. So getting back to the webinar that the Houston chapter of PSA is hosting, what can your viewers and participants expect for that session, and what do you hope they get out of it?

Corey Martin:

I think there are two primary things that come out of that we talk about the evolution of modern media. So how, from a public relations perspective, how influencers have shifted and evolved the modern media mix, but even more pointedly, how influencers have changed owned, earned, paid and social channels and platforms. So the entire marketing ecosystem has completely turned on its head because of the introduction of the Creator economy and influencer marketing, from budget allocation to function to performance, influencers have driven this massive shift change, really, in the last five to 10 years. So it's been, it's been quite, I think, cataclysmic, and a lot of a lot of people just need to wake up to that. So those are the two things, and it kind of has the side effect of saying that us as PR people, should, can and need to own the notion of influencer marketing as a critical part of our of our expertise and skill set, for sure.

Veronica Sopher:

And do you feel like there's a particular segment of professionals in our chapter, or in other chapters that are going to get more out of this webinar. Or do you feel like it's universally applicable to education, nonprofit, corporate? What do you who needs to be tuning in here?

Corey Martin:

I'm myopic. I actually do think it's it should be everybody like, I'm very focused on the impact of influencer marketing, so I don't think there's a comms professional out there that shouldn't be thinking about the others, meaning other people. Take the term influencer, broaden it. It's not just somebody who's holding up a shampoo bottle on Instagram and taking a nice photo. Anyone that can tell your story is an influencer, and how you engage with those people become really critical, especially as we think about press and media strategies. So we will definitely dive into and talk about why that is and what that means. But I don't think there's a comms professional out there that shouldn't be an expert in influence and influencer marketing. Yeah.

Veronica Sopher:

Up. I love it. I am so super excited. I know our board here in Houston is very excited, and I can't wait to see our members just absorb all this information and insight that you have, and we're thrilled and excited that you're going to be supporting the work that we do here in Houston. Well, thanks for having me. I'm excited as well. You bet. All right, everybody, we are going to make sure that the link to sign up for the webinar with Corey Martin is in the show notes. You are not going to want to miss this. You're going to also want to make sure that your friends and colleagues participate to get some great insight and grow your reach, especially with influencer marketing. So we're going to wrap up this episode of practically speaking. Houston again, I'm Veronica Sopher, your host and make sure you hit subscribe. We don't want you to miss any episodes of PRactically Speaking Houston. Drop some comments and LinkedIn, Facebook or YouTube. We would love to connect and be sure you tune in for our webinar this week. Veronica.