Biographies

Marla Malkin McCutcheon

President

Marla Malkin McCutcheon is the president of Synergy Media & Consulting, Inc. located in Irvine, California.

An innovator in public relations since the late 1980s, McCutcheon has taken part in legal marketing as it progressed from an imprecise concept to the accepted and vital practice that it is today. She gained a foothold in the field just when it was becoming en vogue for attorneys and other professional service providers to apply proactive marketing and public relations strategies. Over the course of her career, her client list has included names synonymous with business like Donald Trump, as well as government entities, law firms, professional advisory firms, creative artists and corporations with consumer products to sell.

Working for an international marketing and public relations firm in the late 1980s, she honed her skills and started a freelance business in 1991. Beginning in 1993, McCutcheon co-founded Communication Advocates, a full-service marketing and public relations company. For the last decade, she has operated Synergy Media & Consulting, Inc., a public relations and marketing consulting agency.

She guides her clients into streamlined marketing programs, targeting specific markets and opening up new channels for business. As a publicist for two decades, she has developed relationships with print and broadcast media locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. A sampling of top-tier media in which her clients have been placed includes: The Wall Street Journal, Wall Street Journal Europe, Fortune, USA Today, The New York Times, BusinessWeek, Time, Inc., Entrepreneur, Good Housekeeping, Better Homes & Gardens, Monster.com, CNBC, CNN, Fox, Lucky Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Forbes and Inc. Clients have appeared in network news broadcasts throughout the nation, including The Early Show, Good Morning America, The News Hour With Jim Lehrer, Oprah and others.

Continually progressive, she utilizes new media and the web to increase clients’ visibility. A newer venture is The Trust Factor, a Q & A TV series and web marketing program for attorneys, (www.thetrustfactor.tv) where she serves as an advisor and marketing director.

She has donated countless hours in public service through pro bono public relations work with organizations, including Chapman University, Orange County/Long Beach Anti-defamation League, Orange County Works and Serving People in Need. She serves on the executive committee of Provisors, a respected networking group for professionals.

McCutcheon earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Arts, with an emphasis in public relations, from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. She also studied communications in London, England and completed coursework at Southwestern University School of Law.

Niki Hirschmann

Media Specialist

Niki Hirschmann is a media specialist with Synergy Media & Consulting, Inc. In her role, she is responsible for drafting and disseminating a wide variety of written materials for her clients, elevating their brands’ presence locally and nationally via the media. She also assists in the implementation of strategic marketing initiatives. Hirschmann brings extensive public relations experience, specializing in media relations.

Prior to joining Synergy Media, Hirschmann served as client service manager at PainePR in Irvine, California. There, she was responsible for managing and implementing comprehensive communication programs. She was actively involved in the promotion of a national viral video campaign starring Ed McMahon as ‘Ed McGangsta’ for her client FreeCreditReport.com.

As a Canadian native, Hirschmann worked at a high-profile public relations firm, Edelman Toronto, as senior account executive. She was responsible for media relations, drafting press materials, managing press trips, planning and executing client events and coordinating promotional activities. In this role, she executed several large-scale media relations campaigns garnering significant coverage in national print, online and broadcast outlets for her clients.

Over the course of Hirschmann’s career in public relations, she has collaborated with the marketing teams from several brand name heavyweights including Expedia.ca, Red Bull, SC Johnson, Hotels.ca, Puerto Rico Tourism Company and VTech.

Graduating from the University of Western Ontario with an honors B.A. in Sociology, Hirschmann later went on to specialize in communications earning an honors post-graduate degree in public relations from Humber College.