Meet Courtney Malengo | Founder + Chief Communicator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Courtney Malengo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Courtney, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?

I knew that I wanted to be my own boss someday, I just wasn’t sure how I was going to get there. I’ve always had a strong entrepreneurial streak that manifested in childhood hobbies and later side hustles, from lemonade stands and babysitting services to cupcakes and bespoke stationery. After 16 years serving in a variety of marketing and communications leadership roles, always on deadline and serving as a company spokesperson, I didn’t exactly have the best work-life balance.

The nature of my work meant that I rarely only worked a 40-hour work week. My most recent stint prior to launching Spark + Buzz Communications was a decade spent in senior living and healthcare. In that timeframe, there were many significant life events that led up to my decision to ultimately leave, but the most profound one was the birth of my son. I became a mom and it changed the way I looked at everything. And while I loved my career and the organization I worked for, I didn’t want to choose between my career or my son. I wanted both, but realized I’d have to do something different to make that happen.

In January of 2019, I launched Spark + Buzz Communications, a strategic communications consultancy that helps businesses tell their story to inspire audiences and galvanize growth.

That reevaluation of what I wanted was the impetus for me leaving my previous job and starting my own venture. The launching of Spark + Buzz fulfilled two core passions of mine–creating the career I wanted and spending more time with my then-infant son. I’m grateful to say that Spark + Buzz just celebrated its third birthday and I’m excited about many more years of telling stories that drive action, engagement and growth.

What should our readers know about your business?

Throughout my career I’ve always been trying to blaze trails and improve. At most of my previous employers I created in-house marketing and communications teams that serviced a variety of internal clients, operating like in-house agencies. Those experiences helped me hone how I view marketing, communications, branding and so forth, and provided a unique perspective when launching Spark + Buzz Communications.

Spark + Buzz is designed as a strategic communications consultancy that helps businesses tell their story to inspire audiences and galvanize growth. Specifically, we do this by leveraging creative and integrated marketing, branding and public relations solutions for our clients. I created a boutique approach that really blends the best of agencies and consultancies, strategy and creative, all wrapped up into one, largely because that embodies who I am. I am both strategic and creative and I believe that is an important nuance when it comes to how I view the execution of marketing, branding and public relations. This model also allows me to nimbly scale up and down with clients’ needs, pulling in my trusted collaborators for the right jobs, without unnecessary overhead and expenses.

My clients often hear me say, “story equals strategy.” What I mean by that is a compelling story is a compelling strategy for articulating your company’s ‘why’ and its unique attributes. Ultimately, your story represents your brand and highlights why a customer or client should choose your organization. How you tell that story, and control your narrative across multiple communication channels, is crucial for representing your value proposition to the marketplace and maximizing your ROI.

So simply put, if you don’t start with strategy and know what your story is, how can you tell your story well? Or if everyone is telling your story differently, how will your marketing or public relations efforts create any sustaining impact? Whether it is employee communication and marketing campaigns or social media and crisis communications, your story is key to curating the kind of brand experience you desire.

I want to help tell stories that drive action, engagement and growth. I started my career as a journalist and later evolved into marketing and communications roles, but storytelling has always been at the heart of this work.  

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

I am most grateful to my parents, who gave me the perfect blend of each of their traits and personalities while encouraging me to pursue my passions. From an early age, I was told anything was possible. They cultivated an environment where my dreams, ambition, and creativity could thrive. My father became an entrepreneur after his career with the Federal Government. He opened an office in my childhood home and that gave me an early glimpse into the ups and downs of a self-employed lifestyle. Plus, at an early age I was frequently participating in his business.

Website: https://www.sparkandbuzz.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sparkandbuzz/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtneydarbymalengo/