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Social Media Pioneer

Founder of Shazaaam began Internet outreach back in 1989.

Bill Carroll
Contributing Writer

B

illy Batson would have been
proud of Adrienne Lenhoff.
He was the newsboy in an
old-time comic book who, when trouble
arose, would shout the name of the wizard
"Shazam!" — and he would turn into
superhero Captain Marvel, an invincible
Superman-type character.
Lenhoff, a public rela-
tions, marketing and
social media wizard,
was so impressed with
Captain Marvel that she
named her company
Shazaaam when she
founded it 10 years ago.
As president and CEO,
Adrienne
she
has been performing
Lenoff
marvels in the world of
communications ever since, using her PR
and marketing savvy and innovative ideas
to achieve national recognition, a bevy of
awards, 30 clients — and billings of more
than $3 million a year.
Lenhoff, 43, of West Bloomfield is a pio-
neer in electronic social media marketing,
conducting her first electronic campaign
in 1989, before Facebook and Twitter
were fashionable. She was experimenting
with Internet outreach back when people
thought that "tweet" was only the sound a
bird made.
Whether focusing now on business-
to-business or consumer campaigns, she
has earned a reputation for finding high-
impact, yet cost-effective programs that
generate significant return on investment
for clients.

Like Social Megaphones
But Lenhoff hasn't shirked the old-time
public relations methods of news releases,
press conferences, and radio and televi-
sion interviews.
"Social media is just an extension of the
traditional PR methods that lasted for so
long in the communications world:' she
said in her office, apologizing for a clut-
tered desk — the usual hallmark of an

"idea" genius. "Facebook, Twitter, YouTube,
Four Square, Linkedln and others are like
social megaphones — getting the messag-
es across quickly and loudly to the media
and the public. They're thought-provoking,
two-way conversations:'
The Shazaaam office is in a building
owned by the Lenhoff family. Lenhoff's
mother, Shelly Lenhoff of Farmington
Hills, is her bookkeeper. The facility is
shared with her uncle's equipment com-
pany in a Novi industrial park. Most of
the 15 employees share windowless offices
plastered with photos and advertising
posters depicting the firm's successful
campaigns. The quarters are pretty mod-
est for a successful communications "idea"
factory — but the main thing is that it
works.

became a booking agent for two night-
clubs. She traveled often to California.
"It all was very exciting, but I
was spending more time in
the air than on the ground,"
she mused. "By the late
'90s, I was burned out.
Then my mother called to
tell me my father, Saul, had
cancer (he is well now), and
that prompted me to move
back to Detroit."
She launched Shazaaam in 2001
in her home with three employees. After
four years, the firm moved to Southfield
for a while, then to the current Novi
facility. In the midst of all this, Lenhoff
got married and divorced; she has a
daughter, Hannah, age 7.

Employees Share Passion
In fact, Lenhoff is brazen enough to put
the word "ingeniance" on her business
card, which is the company's motto and
means clever or skillful. "We have tal-
ented, creative employees who are equally
as passionate about our clients as I am,
and who have pride in ownership of an
account," she said. "We develop innova-
tive approaches that connect with target
audiences for our clients. We call it the
Shazaaam magical touch."
But 20 years ago, Lenhoff was about as
far from the Shazaaam magic as anyone
could get. After graduating from North
Farmington High School and Boston
University with a bachelor's degree, she
found herself immersed in the hectic
entertainment business, mainly the world
of music, big bands, singers and records.
"After college, I was deciding what to do
next, when I befriended the niece of David
Geffen, the well-known music mogul;'
Lenhoff recalled, "and she got me involved
in the music business. I had always been
a music lover, but not to this extent. I sud-
denly was scouting and booking bands
for concerts, later even managing some
bands, dealing with record companies,
trade publications and movie studios, and
doing some consulting."
Lenhoff moved to New York and also

Turns To Social Media
"I used the name Shazaaam because I
was always fascinated with the comic
book connection of Captain Marvel and
Billy Batson," she explained. "But my
lawyers made me spell it with three As.
Besides, I never liked those long names of
companies, like law firms and accounting
firms:'
Lenhoff had experimented with the
Internet and early social media methods
while working in the music business,
and she implemented those methods at
Shazaaam. Among the company's major
clients are the National Beverage Corp.,
which owns the famous Faygo pop and
Rip It energy drink brands locally; Save
On Everything coupons; Meritor, Inc.,
an auto industry supplier; Metro Home
Health Care; Metropolitan Dental Centers;
House Call Specialists; Mirafit, which is a
dietary supplement, and others.
In 2008, Lenhoff branched off
Shazaaam's social media marketing
efforts to form Buzzphoria.com , using
part of the staff to concentrate on com-
prehensive social media methods, such as
contests, surveys, market analysis, brand
building and even crisis management.
"In effect, we put our own brand on the
line in order to prove our theories and
illustrate brand success;' she said.

'Giving Back' ... Tenfold

It's easy to see why Shazaaam President and CEO
Adrienne Lenhoff received a Giving Spirit Award, the
Heroes of Breast Cancer Award, an award from the
Association of Fundraising Professionals and similar
recognition.
She believes in charitable contributions and "giving

back to the community," as she describes it. Shazaaam
has provided more than $3 million in pro bono ser-
vices to various organizations in the past 10 years.
"I'm fortunate to have a prospering business,
which created jobs, and wasn't at all hit by the eco-
nomic recession that affected many who now need
help," she said.
To celebrate Shazaaam's 10th anniversary, the

L L C .
Public Relations
ingeniance

SM

Buzzphoria
Makes It Easier
"Through Buzzphoria, we
pride ourselves in making the
often confusing social marketing channels
easy for people at all levels of technical
knowledge," Lenhoff said.
Typical Buzzphoria online marketing
successes are consumer contests devel-
oped for several brands, such as Faygo
and Rip It, that result in tens of thousands
of entrants in a short lead time to create
social media pages. For Faygo, total brand
followers on Facebook and Twitter have
risen from less than 100 in 2006 to more
than 25,000 now, growing at a rate of
about 300 new consumers per day.
"Shazaaam got customer feedback
at the Hart Plaza Festivals in Detroit all
summer and did product sampling at
the Woodward Dream Cruise," said Matt
Rosenthal of Farmington Hills, who is
Faygo's marketing and communications
director. "They also answer consumer and
employee questions on Facebook for us.
It all results in great PR for our beverages.
Shazaaam is an incredibly reliable com-
pany that does excellent work:'
Shazaaam has received several awards
as one of Detroit's "coolest" or "best and
brightest" places to work. Among many per-
sonal awards showered on Lenhoff herself
was the Headliner Award from the Detroit
chapter of Women in Communications, of
which she is now president.

company will give $1 million in pro bono services to
10 nonprofit organizations; $100,000 to each that
qualify. The firm also will conduct 10 "boot camps"
to teach nonprofit employees how to do social media
marketing and publicity. Lenhoff also will allow her
employees to perform 10 stints of volunteerism on
company time and participate in 10 staff retreats.
For more information, call her at (248) 366-0388.

October 13 2011

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