Consociate Media started on Stephanie Heinatz’s dining room table, her infant son, Will, in tow. Ten years later, the Gloucester Point-based marketing, media and management company is a multimillion-dollar firm that occupies four commercial spaces at the Shops at Tidemill.
While skeptics questioned Heinatz about starting a business in Gloucester, suggesting that a creative firm would fare better in a more urban locality, she never wavered from remaining close to these Middle Peninsula roots. Heinatz and her husband, Rudy, a Partner in Consociate Media, reside in Gloucester, as do two other partners, Brian and Mark Harris, who grew up as part of the Harris Garage family, appreciating the power of family-owned local business.
Consociate Media embraces a hybrid model of work. Many among the team of nearly 15 work both remotely and in the office, with half of those commuting to Gloucester. Company services include branding, website design, media relations, marketing strategy, storytelling and media training / consultation.
The company spearheads multiple community fundraisers each year, giving back to the communities that fuel it, in addition to supporting its client list of businesses and nonprofits, municipalities and major corporations. Its growing niche includes Virginia tourism and economic development initiatives. Consociate Media also owns Marker Nine, a casual apparel company that embraces the rural coastal lifestyle.
“We’re proud to call Gloucester home both for our family and our business,” Stephanie said. “We’re even prouder to prove what is possible in a rural coastal community and region like the Middle Peninsula. We can start, build, scale and fuel successful professional services businesses here.”
Virginia Business magazine ranked Consociate Media one of the 2022 Best Places to Work in Virginia. Visit Consociate Media online here or on Facebook and Instagram.
