RobertConnor Cortese

Robert Connor Cortese works for SC Advertising. Based in South Florida and Philadelphia, PA, the firm’s focus is providing high quality interactive and online marketing solutions to smaller clients. SC Advertising specializes in creating and directing Web traffic via SEM, SEO, social media promotion, Sweepstakes promotion, media planning, and web design and development. By enhancing their clients’ Web presence and social media presence. SC Adverting’s focus on smaller clients ensures a level of attention and quality uncommon in the industry. Larger firms tend to focus on the largest accounts, letting smaller businesses fall through the cracks. Cortese’s approach places equal value on every client, and judges his own success by theirs. Smaller firms also benefit from an intensive focus on Web traffic, SEO, and social media management in a way that eludes larger businesses. This flexible approach and dedicated support of small business development and marketing has proven to be a profitable niche in the industry.

Cortese’s passion for advertising and marketing has not dissuaded his other interests. A dedicated husband and father, he makes it a point to balance his work against the importance of his family life. Robert Connor Cortese is also active with several charities, including the Children’s Organ Transplant Association, The Fraternal Order of Police, and the Muscular Dystrophy Association. In his free time, he takes great joy in being outdoors and taking advantage of all the activities Florida life has to offer: boating, fishing, crabbing. A native of Philadelphia, he is a lifelong dedicated Eagles fan.

Robert Connor Cortese started in the advertising and marketing field in 1998. Initially employed by a larger marketing agency, he soon noticed that smaller businesses and individual clients were getting the short end of the stick. Larger firms had a strong tendency to focus on high-dollar clients and big corporate entities; smaller accounts got the short end of the stick. Discouraged by this discrepancy, he decided to turn it into an opportunity. In 2006, Cortese established SC Advertising, a comprehensive advertising and marketing firm with a focus on smaller clients and on quality service. Building on the lessons learned working for larger firms, Cortese ensured that each account would receive equal attention, regardless of their size or their budget.

Robert Connor Cortese and his firm developed an approach to advertising which was appropriate for resources and needs of a small business. A creative approach, based around the twin principles of flexibility and adaptability, emerged. SC Advertising worked to ensure that their accounts have an effective online presence. Traditionally, this would have included a website optimized for a traditional desk- or laptop computer. Websites remain an important part of online advertising, with over 70% of consumers evaluating a business online before entering a store or making a purchase. However, the current environment is much more dynamic than traditional Web advertising addresses. SC Advertising and Robert Connor Cortese have found that consumers have moved away from traditional websites.

More specifically, social media has supplanted the traditional website as the primary means of consumer communication. One in every eleven human beings has a Facebook account; smaller but still impressive numbers of us are on Twitter and Google+. Reddit and Pinterest are rapidly growing in popularity, adding another layer of complexity and depth to online communication. This dynamic and evolving environment requires an adaptable and innovative approach to social media management, particularly where small businesses are concerned. Social media is a fairly level playing field, one in which a smaller business can compete effectively with minimal resources and budget. Under Robert Connor Cortese’s leadership, SC Advertising takes this into account, tailoring a dynamic social media approach for each client.

In addition, online marketing campaigns have to take changing technology into account. The average consumer views online content via a different hardware set than would have been common 10 years ago. Tablet devices and smart phones have become the cornerstone of consumer Web activity. This change affects the ways in which audiences physically interact with the Internet. The Web is now a mobile portion of daily life, used to make decisions at all stages of the day. Web use has become spontaneous and pervasive—needs that should be reflected in an online marketing campaign. Another game changer emerged via this touch-screen technology. Tablet viewing necessitates a distinct approach to web design. Sites built for conventional desktop viewing are difficult to navigate via tablet or phone. Savvy businesses know that they must allow for these different interfaces when developing their online presence. Robert Connor Cortese and SC Advertising have adopted these updated technologies into their approach to advertising and marketing.

As the Internet becomes the core of advertising and marketing, an online reputation management system becomes another cornerstone in business success. Online reputation management is a subtle thing, involving a great many factors which can be difficult to handle in combination. Consumer complaints used to be handled in house, and the worst external fallout was perhaps an editorial in the local paper. With the prevalence of online consumer sites and the absolute penetration of the Internet however, consumer complaints are now public knowledge. Many potential customers evaluate a business via consumer review sites, which inevitably list negative reviews first. And unlike traditional print or broadcast media, information released on the Internet is effectively permanent. Newspapers decay and broadcasts fade into memory, whereas Web data is archived, mirrored, and shared unto infinity. As such, small instances in the life of a business can become a lasting stain on their online reputation. Via careful online reputation management such as that offered by Robert Connor Cortese and SA Advertising, social media monitoring, and SEO/SEM, the worst can be avoided. Negative reviews and comments which do occur can be hidden, even if they cannot be erased.

Robert Connor Cortese is quick to note the importance of the human touch, which shows in his management of his employees, his relationships with his customers, and his approach to marketing and advertising. Social media also allows a small business to draw on one of its great strengths: its people. Each employee has a story, former business contacts, friends and family. Smart business owners will take advantage of this, asking employees to reach out to those people as a means of enhancing their online presence. A few reviews and recommendations, the occasional reposted event or announcement, or the odd tag on a twitter feed can have great results over time. Any means of developing or strengthening a smaller firm’s online presence can have a disproportionate effect on the business. Cortese and his partners understand the importance of such details, and the ways in which they apply to small business.

An online, new-media focused advertising and marketing approach also takes advantage of the multitude of other small businesses available, by easily enabling small business owners to reach out to each other for mutual support. Partnerships, cross promotions, and other creative means of boosting mutual business make such collaborations a win-win proposal. Something as simple as bartering services can save a great deal of money, which in turn can be reinvested into other aspects of business growth and development. Whether these collaborations involve two businesses or a more complex group of partners, it makes sense to utilize these resources for mutual success. Such arrangements are becoming more common in the world of small business, as localization and connectivity become the norm. Cortese’s approach to small business marketing actively seeks out and makes full use of nontraditional business approaches in order to build his clients’ business.

Creative approaches like these are the key to SC Advertising’s success; their individualized approach and attention to detail has had a proven benefit for the small business who they serve. A dedication to innovation has proven to be essential for the success of advertising and marketing firms across the nations and around the world. Robert Connor Cortese has been a driving force in that firm’s ongoing innovative development, and will continue to shape their success in the future.

The advertising and marketing fields are only growing more complex. As the focus in American consumer life shifts back to small businesses and localized economies, the work done by Cortese and his partners at SC Advertising becomes increasingly important in the business life of the nation. Online media is becoming more pervasive in the American landscape. Web ads now appear before movies, during on-demand broadcasts, and via satellite radio. Online podcasts and videocasts are slowly supplanting traditional media in many respects; other, new forms of communication will no doubt continue the trend. However, the traditional behemoths which have comprised media for the last century—television, radio, and print—must not be neglected. While their role is changing, they will remain a key part of consumer communication for decades to come. A fluent engagement with these traditional means of consumer communication will also then remain an important part of any business marketing or publicity plan.

These are interesting times, and small business owners, consumers, and advertising and marketing professionals all have their eyes on the future. Success will come to those who take an adaptive and innovative approach to media management, incorporating new technologies and outlets as they become available. Industry leaders like Robert Connor Cortese will continue to light the way.

In the meantime, Robert Connor Cortese also plans to continue loving his family, enjoying the great outdoors, and supporting the causes and charities about which he cares deeply.