In 2012, when Margie Newman Tsay arrived in San Diego to open her public relations consulting firm called Intesa Communications Group, several business leaders told her that San Diego already had enough well-established PR firms.
“At the time, most PR agency owners in town were male,” Newman Tsay told Times of San Diego. “A couple of them also said to me that I should call them when I was ready for a stable job. One guy in particular would often say to me at networking events, ‘How’s that little business you’re running?’
“Was it patronizing? Yes, of course,” said Newman Tsay. “But, it provided fuel for my effusively-optimistic, entrepreneurial fire. Today, most of those same guys receive our quarterly newsletter, and they open it.”
Today, Intesa operates with seven full-time employees, including Newman Tsay as founding partner, and Maddy Kilkenny, who joined the firm as a business partner in 2016.
This month, on Saturday, Aug. 12, Intesa will begin its 12th year in business.
According to Newman Tsay, the word “Intesa” is Italian for agreement, understanding, a meeting of the minds and harmony in understanding.
“All of those traits resonated with me,” she said. “I didn’t want to name the business Newman PR because I wanted to build something bigger than its founding partner.”
A Nashville native, Newman Tsay moved to San Diego from Washington, D.C., where she served for four years as a media relations and social media manager for The Pew Center on the States, a division of The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Prior to Intesa, her career included work with public affairs, private, government and nonprofit entities, including time with Hall Strategies, a Nashville-based public affairs firm. She also served as a press aid to former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, a Democrat. She is a graduate of Auburn University in Alabama.
“I moved to San Diego to start the business because my mom had moved here, and I just had a baby, Suzie, who is now 11 years old. I wanted to be closer to my mom and stepdad during that time,” said Newman Tsay. “In the early days, most of my clients were in Washington, D.C. and Memphis. I traveled back East a lot with a baby strapped to me.”
Newman Tsay credits her success to her “Southern confidence.”
“I hung my shingle in a town where I did not know anyone,” she said. “What I lacked in San Diego roots, I made-up for in Southern confidence.
“Today I feel that we are a woman-owned powerhouse, a go-to, trusted partner to some of the most respected leaders and organizations in the county. We are a nimble team that remains small by design, but with deep roots throughout San Diego County. Our clients include the gold-standard among community leaders.”
Clients over the past decade have included Brookfield Properties, Clark Construction, San Diego Downtown Partnership, California State University San Marcos, Palomar College, Riverside City College, Expedia Group, H.G. Fenton Co., JPI Realty, SeaWorld San Diego and OceanKAMP in Oceanside, a future planned community with new homes, a hotel, commercial space and a recreational wave pool.
Intesa also has been involved in promotional efforts for Cross Border Xpress, the pedestrian bridge between San Diego and the Tijuana airport.
Another high profile has been San Diego State University. Beginning in January 2017, Intesa said it played a vital role in PR and government affairs efforts helping SDSU purchase the 135 acres known as SDSU Mission Valley, and the construction of Snapdragon Stadium that opened in September 2022.
Recent new clients have included the San Diego Tourism authority, San Diego Workforce Partnership, Community Housing Works and MiraCosta College. In May, Intesa led community affairs efforts for the Sycuan Tribal Government’s announcement of co-ownership of the San Diego Football Club, a Major League Soccer franchise.
Nonprofit clients have included San Diego Rescue Mission, Family Health Centers San Diego, Healthcare Ready, Junior Achievement of San Diego County, South Bay Community Services, YMCA of San Diego County and MAAC, the Metropolitan Area Advisory Committee on Anti-Poverty .
Intesa staff also has volunteered with I Love a Clean San Diego and the USS Midway Museum.
“We’ve always been intentional about whom we worked with,” said Newman Tsay. “Even in the beginning, when times were lean, we knew that we wanted to engage in partnerships with organizations that were leaving their employees, customers, projects and communities better than they found them.
“The naysayers will say that when you run out of good people to work with, you will eventually lower your standards. Turns out, they were wrong about that one, too.”
Newman Tsay declined to reveal recent annual revenue figures, but she said the firm has achieved double-digit percentage growth on a year-over-year basis since 2020.
“While it’s fun to look back on our first 10 years, we’re looking forward to the future and we really like what we see,” said Newman Tsay. “The best is yet to come for this outstanding team.”
Tourism Authority Seeks Proposals for Destination Master Plan
The San Diego Tourism Authority, a publicly-funded nonprofit, is seeking proposals from consulting firms with experience in destination planning and tourism development for an update to its existing 20-year Destination Master Plan, which was developed eight years ago.
The deadline is Friday, Aug. 18, for responding to a request for proposal to create what the Tourism Authority calls the “2024 Tourism Master Plan Update.” The budget for completing the update is $575,000. Finalists will be notified the week of Aug. 28, with a winning firm announced Sept. 8.
Funds to pay for the master plan update is from a federal grant, a Tourism Authority spokesperson told Times of San Diego.
The spokesperson said the authority received a $3.5 million grant from Visit California, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to develop and maintain marketing programs that inspire travel to and within California. Visit California is funded by a federal grant from the U.S. government’s Economic Development Administration under the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965, the spokesperson said.
According to the Tourism Authority announcement, in 2014 and 2015, a 20-year master plan became the roadmap to guide investment in sales and marketing programs to stimulate hotel room night demand and lodging revenues.
However, over the past eight years, a Tourism Authority statement said. “technological advances, social changes and the COVID-19 pandemic have radically reshaped the travel industry. As a result, the authority is soliciting a qualified vendor to research, prepare and design an update to the San Diego Destination Master Plan to include resident sentiment, visitor insights, considerations for sustainability and tourism sector resiliency.”
“San Diego’s 2024 Tourism Master Plan will serve as a comprehensive strategic blueprint that outlines a new vision for our growing tourism industry, and encompasses various aspects such as infrastructure development, visitor experience enhancement, marketing strategies, and sustainable practices,” said Julie Coker, president and CEO of the Tourism Authority.
“As our tourism landscape continues to evolve, it is crucial for us to partner with the right firm to revise the current plan with new research, community input, and valuable insights to help ensure San Diego remains at the forefront of traveler preferences by establishing a clear directive and path forward for our community betterment.”
“The challenges and opportunities facing the tourism industry are changing rapidly in the post-pandemic environment after a decade of steady growth,” said Caroline Beteta, president and CEO of Visit California. “More than ever, destinations must aggressively pursue new strategies to build resilience and plan for a more sustainable future. Visit California fully supports San Diego’s decision to take this step.”
For more information about the RFP can be directed to Gaby Arroya, administrative assistant, at GArroyo@sandiego.org.
The Tourism Authority is a nonprofit, mutual-benefit corporation composed of approximately 920 member organizations, including tourism-related and local governments. Funding comes from member dues and a percentage of room revenues from hotels within the city of San Diego.
InnoVision Marketing Chosen By Solutions for Change
San Diego-based InnoVision Marketing Group reports it has been selected as the agency of record for Solutions for Change, a nonprofit dedicated to solving the root causes of homelessness and transforming the lives of individuals and families in need.
A statement said Solutions of Change deploys a ground-up, community-based and social-enterprise driven approach that sees homelessness as a consequence of misdiagnosed causative triggers rather than simply a housing access issue.
By seeing homelessness as a people issue rather than a housing issue, Solutions for Change has developed and refined programs that create an optimally healthy environment where families can live, learn, grow and transform their lives. The nonprofit said 74 percent of its academy students achieve long-term transformation.
InnoVision said Solutions for Change will join its portfolio of nonprofit organizations, including Fresh Start Surgical Gifts, National Native American Human Resources Association and the Fentanyl United Crisis Coalition.
“We are excited to engage with InnoVision Marketing Group, confident that together, we will change the narrative,” said Chris Megison, president and CEO of Solutions for Change. “When we change how people see the problem of homelessness, we change how they act on it, which then can deliver the results they desire and deserve. It’s simply about results and the relentless, uncompromising pursuit of delivering the results that matter most for those we serve. InnoVision gets that mindset, and like us, they won’t stop no matter what.”
“We are honored to be chosen as the agency of record for Solutions for Change,” said Ric Militi, CEO and executive creative director, InnoVision Marketing Group. “As soon as we met their team and learned more about their mission, we knew we had to work together and join them in making real change.
“At InnoVision, we believe in the power of marketing to effect positive change, and we are eager to leverage our skills and creativity to help Solutions for Change amplify their impact and connect with more individuals in need of their life-transforming services.”
Community Newspapers Partner to Share Advertising, News
Three San Diego-area local community newspaper publishing companies have announced a partnership to share advertising revenue and news content. They include San Diego Community Newspaper Group, The Coast News Group and Coronado News.
A statement said the partnership will offer advertisers more than 200,000 weekly print readers and more than a quarter million monthly online reads.
The partnership was formed, the statement said, in response to the recent sale of The San Diego Union-Tribune to Alden Global Capital’s MediaNews Group, which owns roughly 200 publications, including the Chicago Tribune. Alden Global Capital, a New York-based investment firm, has been criticized in journalism circles for cost-cutting methods that have included staff reductions in its papers’ newsrooms.
The three community newspapers described themselves as “the unsung heroes of grassroots journalism.”
“These publications have embraced a different approach to news delivery, catering to specific neighborhoods and serving as the voice of their readership,” a statement said. “Their direct delivery to high demographic zip codes has cultivated a strong bond with the communities they serve.”
The statement said the partnership “seeks to expand the reach of community newspapers, incorporating additional zip codes and ensuring market saturation for readership and advertisers. By pooling resources and expertise, these publishers aim to provide advertisers with an unprecedented opportunity to target audiences with precision, maximizing their reach and impact.”
San Diego Community Newspaper Group has eight publications that are delivered to more than 130,000 homes in the communities of La Jolla, Pacific Beach, Point Loma, Ocean Beach, Downtown San Diego, Mission Hills-Hillcrest, La Mesa, College Area, San Carlos, Del Cerro, Allied Gardens, and Granville areas.
The Coast News Group has two news publications reaching 70,000 weekly print readers and placed in 530 racks across nine communities in North County.
The Coronado News delivers 9,500 copies every Friday to every home and business in Coronado, and another 1,500 copies are distributed to retail outlets in that city.
“The demand for accurate and in-depth community news is at an all-time high and this partnership is a big win for our readers,” said Chris Kydd, associate publisher, The Coast News Group. “Plus, a stronger paper creates more reader engagement in print and online allowing us to deliver more value for advertisers.”
“The partnership will allow small businesses to afford to advertise because they will have the option to buy into their target communities,” said Julie Main, publisher, San Diego Community Newspaper Group. “Also, larger corporate accounts can buy at a wholesale price for the whole circulation network.”
Main’s newspaper group of eight titles has grown to be the largest independently woman-owned and operated newspaper group in San Diego County.
“We are absolutely thrilled to be working with two amazing, well-respected newspaper publishers,” said Paul Huntsman, owner of Coronado News. “Readers in Coronado now will have access to additional in-depth and feature stories throughout the San Diego region, and our advertisers will have a broader reach to other communities across greater San Diego.”
Rick Griffin is a San Diego-based public relations and marketing consultant. His MarketInk column appears weekly on Mondays in Times of San Diego.