Our Story
Built on Legacy. Designed for How Marketing Works Today.
Marketing has never been more active or more disconnected.
Brands are publishing content, running ads, pitching stories, managing social channels and investing in SEO. Many still struggle with inconsistent messaging, unclear priorities and uncertainty about what is actually working.
That is the problem we focus on every day.
We bring structure to modern marketing by aligning strategy, talent and execution. This enables smart work to build awareness and momentum instead of competing for attention.
35+ years in public relations. Modern digital execution. One coordinated system.
How it worksFrom Public Relations Roots to a Modern Marketing System
Media Relations Agency was founded more than 35 years ago by Lonny and Robin Kocina, with a focus on earned media, credibility, and disciplined messaging. Long before digital marketing became mainstream, our agency was built around one core belief: attention must be earned, not manufactured.
Early on, we recognized that earning media was one of the most valuable and most intimidating parts of marketing for clients. So we asked a simple question: What if earned media were as accessible and predictable as buying ads?
That thinking led to the development of Pay-Per-Interview Publicity®, a model that removed friction, simplified procurement and aligned cost with outcomes. The industry pushed back. Clients embraced it. As the marketing landscape evolved, so did we.
After many years of collaboration, we formally integrated a digital marketing firm into Media Relations Agency, intentionally combining traditional public relations with modern digital execution. This was not about adding services. It was about adapting to a world where stories no longer live in one channel.
Today, the agency is owned and led by Jason Kocina and Heather Champine, bringing two complementary strengths together.
Heather leads the public relations side of the organization, ensuring messaging clarity, credibility and earned media excellence.
Jason focuses on strategy, systems and digital execution, designing structures that enable teams and clients to operate with focus and accountability.
This evolution honors our PR roots while building a model designed for how marketing actually works now.
That same mindset, reducing friction while increasing accountability, still drives how we design our marketing systems today.
Founded in 1987 as a public relations firm focused on earned media
Introduced Pay-Per-Interview Publicity® (1989) to reduce friction and improve accountability in broadcast radio
Expanded into print and television (early 1990s) as earned media evolved
Integrated digital execution (mid 1990s) to support multi-channel storytelling
Today: publicists, specialists, and systems working together to support fully integrated marketing
Why Modern Marketing Breaks Down
The marketing landscape has changed.
It used to be common for one manager to oversee a small team executing clearly defined work. Today, execution itself requires management. Coordination across platforms, messaging discipline, constant prioritization and real-time decision-making are now part of the work.
Many agencies respond by tightly defining deliverables to match fixed budgets. The result is often automation, limited action, or disconnected efforts that check boxes without building momentum.
We see the problem differently.
Marketing does not fail because people are not talented. It fails when there is no structure for smart people to work within.
When priorities, budgets and execution are not aligned, even good work gets lost.
A System That Aligns Strategy, Talent and Execution
We designed Media Relations Agency around a simple idea.
Great marketing happens when strategy and execution stay connected.
Our model is built around:
Publicists who manage messaging, priorities, budgets and coordination
Specialists who focus on execution, including content, design, advertising, SEO, development and media outreach
Leadership that provides direction without bottlenecks
This structure enables us to:
Maintain consistency across channels
Adjust priorities as conditions change
Allocate budgets where they have the most impact
Measure success meaningfully, not just by activity
It is not about doing more.
It is about doing the right things, in the right order, for the right reasons.
Our work is guided by our Reach and Teach Product Promotion® philosophy.
Awareness alone is not enough. Brands must reach the right audiences and teach them why a product, service or organization deserves attention.
Today, that teaching happens across multiple channels. Earned, owned and shared media work best when the message is consistent everywhere it appears. Credibility is built over time, not in a single moment or media placement.
With this approach, marketing efforts to reinforce each other instead of competing for attention.
Strategically Aimed Marketing
(Sam 6®)
Strategically Aimed Marketing is the framework we use to bring clarity to messaging, markets and execution. It is not a tactic or a deliverable. It is the system that ensures marketing efforts stay focused, intentional and aligned with real business goals.
Our entire team is trained in this methodology because structure only works when everyone operates from the same foundation.
An Agency of Firsts, Built to Evolve
Over the years, we have helped shape how public relations and digital marketing work together. We were among the early agencies to integrate internet marketing with publicity. We pioneered Pay-Per-Interview Publicity®, selling earned media by the story rather than billing by the hour.
These innovations were not about novelty. They were about accountability.
That same mindset continues to guide how we operate today. We evolve our model as the industry changes, without abandoning the principles that built trust in the first place.
Great marketing happens when thinking and execution stay connected.
Proven Experience. Modern Execution.
We have worked with organizations of all sizes across industries, helping them earn attention, build credibility and turn visibility into momentum.
Our experience is supported by decades of continuous operation and a commitment to evolving with the industry rather than chasing it.
Companies & Brands we’ve worked with
Awards and Recognitions
Our goal is simple
To provide a system where clients, strategy and talent work together so marketing efforts stay aligned, adaptable and effective over time.
We believe structure enables smart people to do their best work. It creates clarity, accountability and momentum across channels.
If you are looking for more noise, we are probably not the right fit.
If you are looking for structure, clarity and marketing that compounds, we should talk.