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Al Krueger founder, partner and right brain, Comet Branding + PR. Prior to founding Comet in 2007, he was the director of public relations for a branding communications agency, national brand manager for a large leisure travel company and a brand coordinator for Wisconsin’s largest health care system, among other roles. Together with business partner Sara Meaney, he is the co-host to Comet Branding Radio, a weekly Internet radio show that shares and discusses the progressive and evolving elements of marketing, public relations and social media, and features thought leaders from around the country. Al is a seasoned public speaker and gives presentations on branding, public relations and the strategic use of social media in that mix. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from University of Wisconsin – Whitewater. He sits on the board of directors of The Eisner - American Museum of Advertising & Design, is the co-founder of the Social Media Club of Milwaukee and co-chair of the Social Media Committee for the PRSA Milwaukee Chapter.
Sara Meaney, partner and left brain, Comet Branding + PR, held several marketing and communications leadership positions before partnering with Al Krueger at Comet in early 2009, including as vice president of a communications agency, firm-wide head of marketing for a leading national accounting firm, managing director of marketing and communications for a private equity and turnaround investment company, and marketing director for a startup biotech company, among others. She led national and international teams on both sides of the client/agency fence to launch and grow a myriad of business-to-business and consumer brands across diverse industries. Together with business partner Al Krueger, she is the co-host to Comet Branding Radio, a weekly Internet radio show that shares and discusses the progressive and evolving elements of marketing, public relations and social media, and features thought leaders from around the country.An experienced public speaker, Sara has addressed audiences on various topics related to marketing, public relations, branding and social media. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and has completed executive education programs at both Harvard Business School and Kellogg School of Management. Sara is co-founder of Social Media Club Milwaukee and co-chair of the Social Media Committee for the PRSA Milwaukee Chapter.The story behind the new Comet Branding.
In April 2009, Al Krueger and Sara Meaney decided to partner up to combine creative, big-picture concepts with strategic, process-based execution to deliver comprehensive marketing and communications services to its clients. With the titles of right brain and left brain, respectively, the pair has 25 years of diverse experience in both client-side and agency-side marketing, branding and public relations.
Both Wisconsin natives, the would-be-partners met in early 2008 while volunteering for a local non-profit organization’s marketing committee. The two struck up a friendship and as Al worked to get the company he founded in November of 2007 up and running, Sara and he often met for coffee before work to bounce around new ideas, brainstorm project challenges and share general professional insights.
It quickly became apparent that the two shared many of the same business ideals and philosophies for how great branding and PR is created and managed – and how to treat and work with clients. It was also clear that their different perspectives could be used to develop a strong strategic-creative dialogue.
The Comet partners also share an affinity for the effective use of social media as a fourth media platform – along with print, radio and broadcast - to enhance great marketing and communications strategies. Comet Branding has used its own brand as a test case for many of the social media strategies and tactics the company offers to its clients.
The story behind the Comet Branding name and brand.
This part of the story involves a margarita and a dream. Read on.
In November of 2007 Al Krueger arrived at a career crossroads. After a dinner of Mexican food with his wife, which included a tasty margarita, Krueger went to sleep. He woke up in the middle of the night, and as he lay there awake, he contemplated following his entrepreneurial spirit by starting his own company. He fell back asleep expecting not to remember the episode. Shortly thereafter, he had a dream about starting his own company whose name was – Comet Branding. In the dream he considered how weird it was to name a company based on a dream but figured he wouldn’t remember that part, either.
The next morning he awoke, remembering everything and feeling really good about it. He spent the next two days trying to talk himself out of starting a business in light of the fact that his wife was 20-weeks pregnant, making it a less-than-ideal time to start a business.
He was unable to talk himself out of the idea. Over breakfast one morning, he pitched the idea to his wife and she supported it. He also shared the story about the name and realized that it sounded pretty corny. So he spent the next week trying to come up with a different name but after pitching a bunch of new name ideas to his wife, she suggested he stick with the original one and stop fighting it.
After doing some research about comets, Krueger learned that as they fly through space their paths aren’t affected by the gravitational pulls of the planets that they pass. And comets are always pointing at the sun. Interesting huh?
So, what does this mean for Comet Branding and why is it an appropriate name? Well, we tend to chart our own path to creative and strategic ideas and bring our clients along for the ride without being affected by naysayers or doubters. Plus, we are always striving for excellence and reaching for amazing goals; in other words, we reach for the sun.