"John is an exceptional leader and a great manager. He’s one of the very few who knows how to bring out the best among his team members. With an insightful, positive, big-picture approach, John empowers his people and always delivers results. You get a sense when you talk to John that he "gets" what you’re talking about. Then, invariably, he will add some kind of twist to your idea and help you come up with some type of game-changer. I have seen firsthand how this rapidly improves morale within the organization."

"I’ll forever treasure the time I spent working with John Martin at SMS Assist. He was an inspiring and passionate leader, bringing humor and fervor with him each day to the office. In doing so, he cultivated a fun, collaborative and driven team dynamic that I’ll be lucky to find again in the workplace.

John not only acted as a manager and superior, but he also served as an advocate and ally, supporting my professional development whenever possible. Whether it was affording me opportunities to hone new skills, praising my work among his leadership network, or offering guidance to advance my career, John always had my back. His dedication to his team didn’t stop at 5:00. John was truly invested in each team member’s wellbeing and success, and he made an effort to know us not just as his direct-reports or colleagues, but as people. 

I feel incredibly fortunate to have worked under John Martin. From his enduring humor and passion to his constant commitment to his team, the lessons I learned from John are ones that I’ll keep with me throughout my career and life in general. Better yet, I know that I’ll always have John in my corner as a mentor, resource and friend."

"John Martin is a high-energy leader with great enthusiasm for whatever product or service he is representing. He is focused on building great team camaraderie, especially across multiple disciplines within an organization. John’s genuine likeability is a real asset to assist in getting concepts and programs initiated."

"John is a highly effective sales and marketing leader with a dynamic personality that immediately puts people at ease regardless of their role. John has a high degree of emotional intelligence that inspires his team and co-workers to think about the big picture and long term impact versus rash short-term tactical decisions."

"John Martin is an incredible mentor, manager, and leader, and I truly value the time I spent working on his team. John took a chance on me as a young professional and molded me into the dynamic, passionate marketer that I am today. His innovative approach and constant enthusiasm mean that no project is too big or task is too difficult. His encouragement, positivity and vast knowledge of the industry make him truly unique as a leader. 

To this day, I've never met anyone who commands a room quite like John. His warm personality is infectious, making him a pleasure to work with in any capacity. From social media to creative marketing campaigns, John has done it all and is able to offer valuable guidance and strategic insights to his team. He is driven to never stop learning and always encourages his team to do the same. I will always cherish my experience working with John, and I am thankful I had the opportunity to learn from him."

"John has a unique and refreshing way of empowering his managers to feel engaged and involved. This style helps to shift old traditional paradigms for greater than expected results. It was highly motivating and exhilarating to be a part of his staff. His creative approach to solution based selling will be sorely missed!"

"In my role as National Account Manager at Critical Mass Media, I reported directly to John Martin. While that time together is a few years ago, much of that experience influences me today. John was one of the best managers I have worked for and is the inspiration for how I conduct my business in my current role.

John has the ability to bring together people from every part of the company and focus their sights on a path for success. It’s John’s understanding of an employee’s strengths and weaknesses that aids in this process. John gets to know every member of his team, therefore understanding their contribution to the organization. All the while the employees feel vested in the mission.

Because of this, John is able to recognize business opportunities where others do not. By understanding the sum of the parts of the organization as well as the strengths of the individual parts, he helped Critical Mass Media create clear advantages in customers’ minds. By the time John left his post as President of Critical Mass Media, the research and marketing firm had become the largest research and marketing brand in the radio industry."

The knowledge, patience, enthusiasm and, most importantly, availability of John and his team at Converge Media, created the perfect environment for Holy Name Cathedral’s entry into the social media space. John guided us from concept through beta and to full roll-out with the steady hand needed to match our comfort level. Holy Name Cathedral now has an additional conduit to reach out to our parishioners and large visitor population.

"When City of Chicago decided to explore municipal marketing, it was essential that we retain a consultant with a broad range of marketing expertise to guide the process. We are pleased to have selected Converge Media in 2012 to serve in that role. Importantly, Converge has the breadth of experience to continually adapt as our own understanding of municipal marketing grows and our needs change. Initially, they helped prioritize marketing ideas and assure process integrity.

Once we launched the Chicago Digital Network, a 60 sign-face network of digital signs located along the City’s expressways, Converge’s role expanded to include developing, scheduling and tracking public messaging for millions of PSA’s. Converge is highly service-oriented, creative, adaptable, and enjoyable to work with.

For the past 3+ years, we have had quarterly RFQ’s to make sure that we saw the best ideas, services and people. Converge was selected from that process. To date, we have not identified other vendors with the same skill set in municipal marketing consulting that Converge has brought to our City."