Meet MJM Ink
Mary Jo Martin didn’t plan on a career covering the Plumbing industry. With a degree in Sports Marketing from the University of Iowa, she started working as a sports writer and had a lofty goal of eventually joining the staff at Sports Illustrated. So in 1994 when she answered an ad looking for an assistant editor at a trade magazine, she figured it would be a good stop over to gain more experience on her way to her dreams.
Instead of moving on after a few years as she originally planned, Mary Jo planted roots. She saw something special in the Plumbing, HVACR and PVF supply chains, and was impressed by the down-to-earth, friendly executives she had met at various conferences. They welcomed her with open arms, taught her the ropes of the supply chain and began giving her opportunities to visit their operations in person. She observed the very tight-knit relationships between trading partners and the loyalty exhibited by employees within these organizations. Soon, she began to feel like she had found a nationwide second family and a true career home.
Mary Jo spent much of her career on the road attending association and buying group conferences, where she cultivated genuine, long-lasting relationships with manufacturers, distributors and independent representatives. That led to hundreds of invitations to conduct exclusive feature interviews and provide media coverage of their customer events, major acquisitions, milestone anniversaries and grand openings. All of these opportunities gave her a unique first-hand perspective of the supply chain and the chance for candid conversations with members of their teams from the boardroom to the warehouse dock.
Mary Jo used her platform with the magazine to share these stories, and embraced the evolution of new ways to reach audiences. She played an integral role in the development of the magazine’s website, e-newsletters, social media, a video interview series and her own vlog.
Over the course of two+ decades, she built a trusted reputation as an advocate for the supply chains and the companies within them. Now as MJM Ink, she develops communications & marketing strategies that enhance clients’ visibility and engagement with their target audiences — and, ultimately, to increase sales.
Mary Jo is proud to have grown up in the heartland, and grateful for the examples of work ethics, honesty and integrity set by her parents and others in the small community. She graduated from the University of Iowa and remains a very loyal Hawkeye fan!