Iacunato-McLane Marketing isn’t a typical marketing firm.
A typical firm might conjure images of gray-suited men wandering through a warren of narrow office corridors. Iacunato-McLane has no men, no offices and precious little gray-suited stuffiness.
The firm is comprised of 10 women, including its two principals, and operates virtually, with team members residing throughout Orange County and working from home.
“We really like what we do, and we have a lot of fun,” cofounder Judy McLane said. “We laugh a lot and have sought out people that don’t take themselves too seriously.”
Iacunato-McLane Marketing provides marketing services for healthcare companies and was cofounded in 2003 by McLane and Debby Iacunato, who met in 1987 while working at PacifiCare Health Systems. Both left PacifiCare after several years but stayed in touch, bouncing ideas off one another and developing a friendship that has lasted for more than two decades.
“It was so easy working together, and there was just a level of trust there,” McLane said. “We have a very similar work ethic and very similar lifestyles. Our demands are very relatable.”
Clients
Iacunato-McLane’s client list includes Blue Cross of California, CalOptima, Kaiser Permanente and Wellpoint State-Sponsored Programs.
“They’re a very smart agency and work very effectively,” said Kim Cunningham, a former chief administrative officer for CalOptima who worked closely with Iacunato-McLane to develop a brand strategy for the Orange-based health plan. “They got what the healthcare space was all about.”
Iacunato-McLane’s professional philosophy emphasizes staff camaraderie.
“Judy and I are big believers in recognition and giving people the tools and support to be independent in making decisions,” Iacunato said. “I believe we’re not just professional working women but friends, and that’s not typical in most companies.”
Such a corporate culture has helped the firm remain intact for almost decade.
“There isn’t so much of a top-down structure,” McLane said. “It’s a pretty egalitarian environment.”
Being an all-woman firm has played an important role in reinforcing that sense of equality throughout the firm.
“Our egos are checked at the door,” said Angela Arthur, Iacunato-McClane’s vice president of account services and creative strategy. “Our group loves to laugh. We love to have a great time, and that’s where the best work comes from.”
The firm’s focus in healthcare has brought out the best in its staff, according to Iacunato.
“Healthcare can be very emotional,” she said. “I think women in our profession, for what we’re focused on, work best because of the nature of the gender. It involves a lot of compassion.”
Operating virtually has also been a boon to morale and has helped define the firm’s corporate culture.
“We didn’t want to have a 9-to-5 culture,” Iacunato said. “Most of the people we worked with had their own equipment, and some of the women have kids. If someone needed to work from 9 to midnight, we didn’t want that to be an issue.”
The firm holds team and client meetings at the Center Club in Costa Mesa, which provides a professional setting when needed. Technology picks up the rest of the slack.
Team members use Internet-based tools such as Skype and Go-to-Meeting to communicate with one another and share presentations. Online media monitoring services from BurrellesLuce and Web-based project management tools like SmartSheet enable the firm’s staff to keep their clients updated and manage projects.
Initially, the firm was apprehensive about publicizing the fact that they were a virtual firm.
“We were always a little uneasy about what a client might think,” McLane said.
But the advantages to working virtually were quickly apparent, she added.
“It’s certainly more cost-effective,” McLane said. “We’re not paying for a lot of overhead, and those savings can be passed onto the client. We’re very efficient, and there are fewer distractions. It’s surprising when you first start working virtually, because eight hours without a lot of distractions is like 12 to 16 hours in the corporate world.”
Cunningham said she didn’t know the firm operated virtually when it was selected by CalOptima.
“We found out a little later in the whole process that they don’t really have an office space,” she recalled. “We probably wouldn’t have known any different.”
Iacunato-McLane hires only marketing veterans.
“We work with women that have been in marketing for an extended amount of time,” Arthur said. “This is what we know. This is what we love. We think about this stuff at night and on weekends. This is what our fun is.”
