In the vibrant world of advertising and marketing, where fewer than 1% of agencies are owned by women, Robin Emiliani and Gem Swartz are looking ahead. Perhaps rolling their eyes and definitely drinking another cup of coffee, these trailblazers have remained unflinching—even optimistic—about the industry and their place in it. We sat down with them to hear more about how they got here and where Catalyst, a boutique marketing agency out of Denver, Colorado, plans to go next.
Agency Life Tell us a bit about Catalyst Marketing Agency.
Robin: Since our inception in 2016, Catalyst has thrived as a dynamic creative agency with strategy as its core ethos. This interconnectivity between two vital disciplines keeps us fiercely creative and boldly effective. One of only a few women-owned agencies, we built a strong technical foundation early on with one of our first clients, Microsoft. Evolving into a multimillion-dollar enterprise, Catalyst has positioned itself as a visionary force on a global stage, crafting compelling and impactful advertising and marketing campaigns.
What are your responsibilities as Co-Founder and CMGO?
Robin: As the Chief Marketing and Growth Officer (CMGO) at Catalyst, I use my deep understanding of industry and consumer trends to not only brand and market our agency but also to elevate us as thought leaders and generate business with new clients that makes sense for all parties. My mission? To build great partnerships that allow marketing leaders (our treasured clients) to think differently, create better work, and get promotions based on the effective work we create together.
What are your responsibilities as Co-Founder and CEO?
Gem: As a small company, everyone on the team wears many hats, myself included. As CEO, I have the privilege and responsibility of creating a sustainable vision for the agency and empowering our leaders to execute and help their teams be successful. I also get to step in and support the team’s daily work, from proofing copy to crafting decks to resourcing. I get to roll up my sleeves along with everyone else and stay connected to the work, our people, and our clients.
Hiring is one of the most important responsibilities I have as a visionary leader. Finding strong, experienced people that fit our culture ensures our team strengthens and grows in the Catalyst way. To that end, each new team member should uphold the company’s core values every day.
What makes Catalyst different from other agencies?
Robin: Wow, so many things set us apart. At the heart of our distinctiveness is our customer engagement approach, especially in B2B tech. Many B2B companies have unwittingly succumbed to the monotonous allure of rote, attribute-laden messaging, veering dangerously close to sounding like corporate automatons. Here at Catalyst, we approach our clients’ challenges and aspirations with an audacious commitment—B2B marketing and sales engagement should be loaded with creativity, even humor (when the moment and medium call for it). Taking a cue from the disruptors in consumer brands like Liquid Death, Apple, and Nike, we’re witnessing killer ad campaigns that redefine the game. These brands are making unexpected appearances in unconventional spaces, sparking a revolution. Our philosophy is clear: B2B brands, too, can glean inspiration from this playbook, can loosen their top buttons, and embark on a journey of awakening their audiences by charting a refreshing and distinctive course.
What are the most significant changes you’ve noticed in advertising services, and how has technology influenced them?
Robin: Change and innovation are persistent in our business. Of course, email/texting/social media as means to communicate have been game-changing. Overnight, it seems, we had to master digital communication and speak to customers using the various languages of each platform.
Now, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is shifting almost every landscape, especially when it comes to marketing operations. In the not-so-distant past, marketing automation tools didn’t exist (think Marketo, HubSpot, Eloqua, and Pardot). And when the technology emerged, we faced a tough choice—ignore it and expect someone else to learn it, or figure out how it could improve our daily tasks. Part of our continued success is linked to our willingness to embrace temporary ambiguity or discomfort, to educate ourselves about new technology and use it to support our needs.
AI is in everything and can fuel anything, so it’s an exciting new frontier. We just hope people remember the human aspect of our work. Because it’s more important than ever.
In what ways would you like to see the industry improve?
Gem:
Creativity: Advertising—and the public’s appetite for it—constantly evolves, so our industry must keep up. I think it’s our responsibility to push our clients’ ideas and considerations to help them think more creatively about their services, solutions, and audience. So, we want to create (and see in the wild) bolder, more memorable campaigns. Luckily, AI, digital marketing, and emerging technology can help speed these improvements.
Privacy and AI Oversight: Consumers avoid digital surveillance, but they also expect to have personalized marketing experiences. As marketers, we need to be better about finding that balance. Also, with the increase of AI-generated images, messaging, and deepfakes, we need to further protect consumers. We need greater verification of authentic products, reviews, and services so the consumer isn’t scammed. Thankfully, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is already proposing legislation that would prohibit the impersonation of individuals. The public has noticed the harms caused by voice cloning and other AI-driven scams, so we hope overseeing bodies continue to keep their eyes on AI’s negative potential.
Marketer Protections: I often see a trend toward stifling marketing leaders by strictly tying their jobs to marketing performance. We’re in a complicated industry. Sometimes, it makes sense to experiment with a new approach or technology. Yet, if a marketing action doesn’t perform well, many leaders fear losing their jobs. Marketers need to be better protected. We need to remember—high risk yields high reward.
Humanity, Tolerance, and Representation: I want everything we put out there to remind us that we’re all just people selling to people. Even with B2B marketing—especially with B2B— I hope agencies and clients remember there’s a human being on the other end of a product or service. Great messaging should balance the functional benefits with the emotional ones to make real connections. We also need more humanity in how we work with one another and how we value everyone’s contributions. More humanity in how brands treat their agency partners, understanding that negotiating past a healthy threshold erodes the people at the center of the work and behind those brilliant ideas.
What did you do before starting Catalyst?
Gem: During the summer before my senior year in college, I embarked on an internship journey with a boutique agency that ignited my passion for the dynamic world of advertising. In that transformative experience, I discovered the joys of assisting clients, strategically solving intricate problems, collaborating with brilliant creatives, and fostering a sense of camaraderie. Recognizing my potential, they extended a job offer upon my graduation, marking the inception of a decade-long chapter where I played an instrumental role in elevating the agency’s revenue from $3 million to an impressive $25 million. This journey was both life-changing and challenging, yet incredibly rewarding. Subsequently, I seized the opportunity to further enrich my professional portfolio by assuming the role of VP of Client Services at another boutique agency. Here, I spearheaded accounts in burgeoning verticals such as healthcare, retail, and consumer packaged goods (CPG). This trajectory not only broadened my expertise but also reinforced my commitment to delivering exceptional client service and driving strategic growth within the industry.
Robin: Prior to founding Catalyst, my experiences as a global marketing leader within the tech industry fueled my entrepreneurial vision. The frustration stemming from my interactions with advertising and marketing partners pushed me to take matters into my own hands. The so-called “marketing experts” I had enlisted fell short, lacking the crucial blend of creativity and agility I needed. What frustrated me most was their indifference to marketing performance metrics, a passion I held dear, and the metric I was measured on. This frustration became ‘the catalyst’ for my mission: to evolve into the strategic partner I yearned for—a partner who provided exceptional creativity, efficiency, and an unwavering commitment to marketing excellence.
What’s the happiest part of your daily routine?
Robin: My greatest reward is giving clients the partners I never had, seeing the joy and relief they feel after working with the exceptional team I’ve promised them. I work hard to show our clients the value of each teammate and the collective magic they bring, and I live for the moments when they experience it firsthand.
Gem: There are so many happy parts of my day:
- When I get to learn something new
- When I get to collaborate with our team to concept a bold idea or solution
- When I get to sit with the client and talk about their goals and challenges
- When we present our work, and I get to marvel at the incredibly talented people I work with every day
- When I get to interview exceptional talent and feel their excitement at the prospect of joining our dream team
How do you continue to grow and develop as a business leader, and what qualities do you think are lacking among today’s emerging leaders?
Robin: I’ve been incredibly fortunate to surround myself in a circle of outstanding leaders and peers who continually inspire, educate, and challenge me. An illustrative example is my participation in Acumen, a leadership advisory council comprising of fellow business owners and C-level executives. In this forum, we exchange diverse perspectives and offer recommendations to solve complex problems, fostering a rich environment for personal and professional growth. Additionally, my commitment extends to serving on the board of OneGoat, a charity dedicated to providing financial assistance to first responders, including fire, emergency medical services (EMS), and dispatch personnel. Notably, in collaboration with Gem, we initiated a Women’s Leadership Group—an exclusive, all-female, executive- level community designed for networking, collaboration, and knowledge-sharing. This platform reflects our dedication to empowering and uplifting women in leadership roles.
Gem: I have a thirst for knowledge and wake up every day excited to learn something new. That innate curiosity helps me evolve as a human, a teammate, a community citizen, a mother, a wife, and a business leader. As for what’s missing in some of today’s leaders, I’d say self-awareness and self-examination. Many people simply don’t understand how their words and actions impact others.
What’s the biggest professional risk you’ve taken?
Robin: The greatest risk I’ve ever taken was starting my own business. I realize how naïve I was and how simple I thought it would be. Little did I know it would become the greatest challenge of my career. I had to live through and help navigate a business and team through hyper-growth, a global pandemic, “The Great Resignation,” and tumultuous economic swings.
Gem: The greatest risk is starting a company, hiring your first employee, and then having the courage to turn away new clients who aren’t a good fit. There are 14,000 ad agencies in North America and fewer than 1% are owned by women. Think what that number could be in five years as other women learn from my successes and failures and do it better and faster! It’s exciting to think how taking a risk can translate into a bigger impact.
What’s your vision for the future of the company?
Gem: Catalyst’s vision is simple—do great work with great people. To make that happen, we must become the go-to brand for companies looking for high-performing creative, build long-term partnerships, and work with vendors and team members who want to take risks and influence culture. Although we’ve achieved steady success over the last eight years, we’ve seen recent exponential growth thanks to new, sizable clients. We want to use this momentum not only to build the business but also to be more selective about choosing clients who align with our goals and values. We also want to continue pushing boundaries and embrace unique approaches (like AI) to solving complex marketing problems.
How will you extend the company services globally?
Robin: Because we work with global brands, the opportunity to scale that capability increases with AI because it lets us localize our work more quickly and efficiently to test, learn, and repeat what works. We’ll get smarter faster about the unique perspectives and motivations of our clients’ various global audiences, which will help us generate messaging that resonates. The good news is, we plan to welcome the future and meet every objective with the same scrappy spirit we’ve always had. We don’t know how to do things any other way.
