When your business is built on helping other companies tell their stories,it helps if you’ve got a pretty good one of your own.
Robert Herta, founder and president of Herta Communications + Marketing, does — and it includes a startup leap, a pandemic pivot, a deep bench of talent and a clear belief that communications works best when it solves real business problems.
Founded in 2014, Herta Communications + Marketing has grown into a roughly 30-person strategic communications and marketing firm. In a conversation with Corp! Magazine about growth, grit and why there’s still no substitute for human judgment, Herta shared how the company has evolved and where he sees it heading next.
Corp! Magazine: Tell us about your business. What do you do, and how did it begin?
Robert Herta: I founded the company in 2014, so we’re heading into our 12th year. We help businesses tell their stories through strategic communications and marketing. Usually that starts with strategy — understanding the challenge, identifying the audience and building a plan — and then we help clients execute. One thing we make very clear is that the client owns the plan. We help build it, and then we bring the resources to help carry it out.
We’ve built a team of about 30 people, and that has honestly surpassed my expectations. Early on, I always imagined building something bigger than just myself, but I didn’t know exactly what it would look like. What I did know was that I wanted to surround myself with smart, talented people. I’ve never been a “smartest person in the room” kind of leader. I’d rather work alongside great people and build something stronger together.
Corp!: What is your connection to the Detroit Economic Club?
Herta: I got involved when I was starting the business in 2014, and it quickly became an important professional community for me. What stood out was how welcoming it was and how willing people were to share ideas and make connections. I’ve built real relationships through the club, including friendships and advisory connections that have helped me grow the business. For me, it has been a place where smart people gather without the atmosphere feeling closed off or cliquish.
Corp!: What was your path into communications?
Herta: Communications was always the thread. I earned my communications degree from the University of Detroit and later went back there for an MBA because I wanted stronger business grounding. That combination really shaped how I work today. I’m not just looking to solve a communications challenge; I want to help solve the underlying business problem. Before launching my own firm, I went to work in the auto industry for a little bit, then healthcare for about 10 years, and then went to General Motors and worked surrounded by an incredible team of really talented people. Left GM after being recruited by another Fortune 500 company. And then from there, I started up my own business.
Corp!: How did the pandemic affect a relatively young firm?
Herta: It was scary. We were doing well before the pandemic, and then suddenly calls started coming in: pause this, pause that, pause everything. We had just invested in office space in downtown Northville, so the uncertainty was real. What helped us get through it was purpose. My team did pro bono communications work for the Frontline Appreciation Group, helping raise awareness for efforts supporting health care workers. That kept us moving, and when business came back, it came back strong. Companies needed help communicating with employees, customers and stakeholders in a rapidly changing environment, especially across digital and social channels.
The general manager for my organization, Tom Pyden, sat me down and said,” Robert, we’ve got to go back to work. I know you’re really passionate about doing all this great pro bono work, but you’ve got to go back and get the business going again. And that’s exactly what I did. And I’m really glad that he tapped me on the shoulder and my wife did the same.
Corp!: How have technology, social media and AI changed the way you work?
Herta: Technology has changed the business dramatically, but I don’t think any tool is a silver bullet. Every era has had its “this changes everything” moment — radio, television, the Internet, mobile and now AI. You have to stay current and use those tools well, but in the end, human judgment still matters. Common sense still matters. Values still matter. The best communications strategy still depends on understanding people.
There’s a great book that I read called Think and Grow Rich written by Napoleon Hill. It’s a classic. It’s like a business book. And I read it on a vacation one time when I was starting up the business, but that book was written around the time of radio and radio was coming in as a new emerging technology and it was going to change the world. And then if you think about television coming in and TV was going to change the world, and then the Internet and cell phones. And now we’ve got AI that everyone’s talking about. And absolutely, you’ve got to use all these technologies and be up on your game, but at the end of the day, you still need human interaction, human intervention, still need to use your own brain and bring some common sense and values and still use the gut a little bit. It doesn’t go away.
Corp!: What finally pushed you to start your own company?
Herta: It had always been a dream, but 2014 felt like the right moment. I was at a career crossroads, the industry was changing and I felt this was the best way to navigate that change. We landed strong early work — Kellogg’s was one of our first clients — and that helped validate the model. I also knew I could bring seasoned professionals to the table and help clients tackle ambiguity with confidence.
Corp!: What is the biggest challenge for your business right now?
Herta: The biggest challenge is also part of what makes the work exciting: business is unpredictable. Markets change, client needs shift and new issues emerge quickly. But that’s exactly why I enjoy the work. The first question I ask any client is, “What business issue are we solving?” We’re not communicating just to communicate. We’re there to help move something forward.
Corp!: What advice would you give someone thinking about starting a business?
Herta: Faith over fear. There are plenty of chances to get scared when you start a business, so you have to stay centered. For me, that means keeping four things in balance: fitness, family, finances and faith. If those are off, the business will feel off, too. Entrepreneurship can be consuming, so having that foundation matters.
Corp!: Where do you see the company going over the next five to 10 years?
Herta: I’m on a growth trajectory. We ended last year really strong. I want to continue growing this year. I’m not going to say I’m going to double in size, but I definitely want the growth to be there. And we’re already having a good first quarter. You know you’re doing good when clients are calling you and asking you for scopes of works and kind of working with you on what does this new thing look like? It’s certainly better than the alternative.
Corp!: What motivates you?
Herta: I’m motivated by the chance to serve, to give back and to keep learning. I enjoy helping clients solve problems, and I also enjoy the fact that our work spans multiple industries. That variety lets us spot trends quickly and stay sharp. On a personal level, family is a big part of that motivation, too. My wife, Kristine, helps run the financial side of the business, and my daughter, Ariana, is part of it as well, so there’s a real sense of shared purpose. My son, Anthony, who works full time in the advertising industry, also advises us on occasion.
Corp!: What makes your firm different from a larger agency?
Herta: The difference is that these big agencies, and I don’t want to be critical of them because I’ve worked with a lot of great agencies, but they just sometimes didn’t have the team integration or I’d get a senior person selling me. And they’d come in when I was at GM and they would sell me how they were going to support the initiatives that I was working on. And sometimes you would reach out to the senior person that had sold you and they weren’t even on the account anymore or they had moved on or they were at a very high level. I am on every account with clients … I’m not necessarily involved in the day-to-day with it, but I am on every account. And if there’s an issue on an account, I get the call, not necessarily the account person. I take ownership of my team’s actions, decisions and their outcomes.
