Small Business Summit Center

Rosemarie Monaco, Group M Inc. and Car-Tatts LLC

[Rosemarie's got two irons in the fire - PR & Marketing consulting, and stick-on vinyl art for cars. Yes, tattoos for cars. Perhaps those new floral hood decals for NYC taxis will give Rosemarie's business a bump.]

AB: What marketing tool worked the best for Car-Tatts in 2007?

RM: Nowadays investors want to see success before they invest. So with a bare-bones budget, we relied on public relations, word of mouth and sampling. Luckily, I have Group M talent to draw upon. Most of our business has come from nationwide writeups in magazines and newspapers, postings on blogs and in Facebook.

AB: Running a small business for the first time means lots of new challenges. What part of entrepreneurship have you worked hardest on?

RM: Financial management was my greatest challenge. But so many issues come up that you are not prepared for. I joined a group of small business owners, which has become an invaluable resource. We have all faced similar issues somewhere along the way, so we share experiences and help each other find solutions.

AB: What would you do if you weren't in business for yourself?

RM: I’d be writing my novel. But I’d need a source of income so I would have to marry a millionaire, which is a problem since I am already married. Seriously, I cannot imagine my life any other way than it is now–free to invent.

Business Bio - Group M Inc, Public Relations and Integrated Marketing

I left corporate America in 1991 to start Group M Inc, a public relations and integrated marketing firm. Having been the “client” for a number of years I felt uniquely qualified to build an agency focused on client needs. I brought together the most talented people I had worked with over the years and Group M was born.

Most agencies will put together a comprehensive public relations plan but too often it is a formula for getting media attention rather than a strategy for achieving the client’s goals. My goal for Group M was to have an agency that knew how to listen and identify client needs.

We’ve been very successful operating as an extension of our client’s marketing department. That was such a critical issue for me when I was the client with little staff and heavy demands from the executive office. I also always felt that public relations should not be treated separately from advertising and direct marketing. Getting recognition from the media or any third party lends credibility to all other marketing communications, so integrating PR into the marketing strategy is essential. We now have a track record of exceeding client goals, be it a single project for increasing attendance at a conference or an in depth plan for corporate branding.

Another of my pet peeves as a client was the cavernous gap between sales and marketing. I have worked with a colleague in sales to develop a fool-proof program for bridging that gap. Showing companies ways in which marketing and sales can work together to improve revenue has become a key Group M offering.

I am proudest of the PR and Business Marketing awards we have won going up against New York’s biggest agencies. It is not often that a boutique agency like ours gets that level of respect. Most importantly, it is nice to know that my strategy to focus on client needs has paid off.

Business Bio - Car-Tatts LLC

It was because of one of my clients that I started a second company in November 2006, Car-Tatts LLC. Car-Tatts is a web-based business that sells do-it-yourself art for your car. The idea for Car-Tatts came out of a client meeting about three years ago. I was learning about vehicle wraps. The colorful advertisements you see on buses, trucks, and even race cars nowadays are printed on adhesive-backed vinyl material using a wide-format inkjet printer. The end result is a car-wash proof, New York-weather proof, and nearly ding-proof display. But then I learned that this durable vinyl material is not only easy to apply; it’s also easy to remove, easy enough for even me. And it won’t damage the car. Vehicle wraps, however, are professionally applied. You need an expert who knows how to properly stretch the material around bumpers and over hoods to keep the graphics from distorting. Then it hit me, what if the graphics were designed in such a way that stretching and shaping were not necessary. I could put snowflakes anywhere on my jeep or design a garden along the door of my car. Slogans, sayings, crossbones and skulls, a Christmas wreath—Wow! The possibilities were endless. (See for yourself www.car-tatts.com.) My problem, however was launching Car-Tatts without detracting from Group M. The solution was to find a partner who could do most of the legwork while I handled art development. After a few market tests, we launched Car-Tatts in the Spring of 2007.