Company: Jennings Social Media and MarTech, Overland Park, MS
Company Description: Founded in 2003 by Valerie Jennings at the age of 24, the agency's purpose has been to educate, lead and inspire others by providing cutting-edge digital marketing and advertising resources to large and small companies around the world.
Nomination Category: Entrepreneur Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Entrepreneur - Advertising, Marketing, & Public Relations
 Nomination Title: Valerie Jennings, CEO
- Which will you submit for this nomination, a video of up to five (5) minutes in length or a written essay of up to 650 words? Choose one:
Essay of up to 650 words
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the nominated video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video:
- In bullet-list form (up to 150 words), provide a brief summary of up to ten (10) of the chief achievements of the nominated entrepreneur since 1 January 2020:
Total 140 words used.
- Honoree Top Women in Media & Ad Tech Awards 2022 - Entrepreneurs category.
- Bronze Stevie Award 2022 - Entrepreneur of the Year - Advertising, Marketing, & Public Relations.
- Gold Stevie Award 2021 - Female Entrepreneur of the Year in the advertising, marketing, and PR from the CEO category.
- Bronze Stevie Award 2021 - Marketing Executive of the Year in the CEO and founder category.
- Silver Stevie Award 2021- Marketing Executive of the Year.
- KCDMA AMBIT Awards 2021 - Excellence in Data-Driven Marketing (SEO) and KCDMA AMBIT Awards 2021 - Excellence in Data-Driven Marketing (PPC/SEM).
- Silver Stevie Award 2020 - Female Entrepreneur of the Year in the business services category.
- Panelist at the Womens Conference presented by the Stevie Awards 2021.
- Top Women in Media 2020 and 2021 Honoree by FOLIO.
- Speaker at 2021 Midwest Digital Marketing Conference in St. Louis.
- If you are providing a written essay for this nomination, submit in this space an essay of up to 650 words describing the achievements of the nominated entrepreneur since 1 January 2020:
Total 494 words used.
Valerie Jennings has been a marketing visionary since she founded her agency in 2003 at the age of 24. Her leadership and tenacity as a digital marketer and early adopter of social media since 2005, has created jobs, mentorship opportunities for women and girls, and provided innovative marketing strategies for agencies. She has demonstrated compassion and the foresight to stay the course during challenging times — not laying off any employees during the pandemic and instead incorporating innovation for future growth. Throughout 2020 she led her team into uncharted waters with positivity and strength. JSMM exceeded industry growth benchmarks in Q2 - Q3, pacing at 16% versus national benchmarks at 7.2% in 2019. Jennings renewed contracts with decade-long clients and garnered new business in additional verticals. In 2021, she and her team increased revenue by 14% compared to 2020, which was a 50% increase in profits from the previous year.
Not only did the agency maintain a modest profit during the recession, but it also added many clients. Furthermore, the agency supported essential clients, keeping their businesses successful — some of which had better years than the previous year. The team even beat record sales goals, driving new innovative digital advertising programs, which led to significant financial success for clients.Throughout the pandemic, the agency also provided numerous resources to brands and businesses. Valerie donated her time to local chambers of commerce and other online content platforms, providing strategic insight and advice as an entrepreneur and digital marketer. Most of those resources have been made available on the agency’s resource page: https://jsmmtech.com/gallery-resources/.
She has also created a company culture that spans multiple time zones, languages, customs and beliefs. She has transitioned her agency from being predominantly centered in the Midwest to the coasts and then to the Philippines. Additionally, the agency has created Hispanic outreach for clients by promoting diversity and inclusion in content and images. Because of these changes, new and diverse clients have flocked to the agency, representing global, publicly traded companies to black-owned startups. Jennings’s leadership and vision is global. It’s about changing the mindset of others through positive examples and driving valuable, thought-provoking discussions among the C-suite. Valerie has addressed the “Great Resignation” with grace, recruiting digital marketers from across the country with specialized skills to compliment trends in social media such as TikTok advertising, video content for reels, niche influencers and more. She has embraced remote work and encouraged work-life balance for her team. The agency continues to thrive in industries such as automotive, transportation logistics, healthcare, beauty, financial services, travel/tourism, tech, home services and more. Valerie received numerous awards and honors from the Stevie Awards, FOLIO:, AMBIT and more for entrepreneurship, digital marketing, women in business leadership, and innovations in running a digital marketing agency. By introducing a new leadership vision, and implementing performance-based AI and MarTech-focused strategies to innovate content marketing, SEO and digital advertising, Jennings continues to keep the agency relevant and competitive.
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