Meet Andrew Martineau of UniteUs Group in Fort Lauderdale

Andrew Martineau is an award-winning creative that delivers progressive marketing, advertising strategies and executions that benefit the client by ways of notoriety, innovation, and profit.

With a 20+ year career in advertising, marketing and design he has had the pleasure of working for a host of local and multi-national advertising agencies, established companies and start-ups in industries ranging from upscale real estate and resorts to the beauty industry and shopping center marketing director and regional director.

He has a unique skill set that combines the experience of an award-winning creative director, designer, publicist, event planner and marketing director that intimately understands every aspect of the marketing mix and can create and execute effective marketing campaigns from concept through to completion.

After five years in the retail and shopping center industry he decided to pursue his entrepreneurial spirit and form his own creative marketing consultancy, UniteUs Group – an advertising/marketing consultancy developed under a new model that unites various creative entities under one umbrella to deliver progressive creative that benefits the client and various communities by ways of notoriety, innovation and profit.

He is a keen observer of life and the role the media plays in shaping the lives, minds, and choices of everyday people. The opportunity to study a person or group and create a message that elicits a reaction is what gets him up in the morning and what keeps him up at night.

He has been fortunate over his 20+ year career to be able to nurture relationships with a number of individuals in various creative communities including; film, art, music, technology and fashion and those relationships influence his thought process and aid in his problem-solving skills.

He has been one of the most prolific creators of innovative advertising in this new media landscape, and his creative expertise has garnered him numerous feature articles, multiple Addy, Mature Market Media, Florida Direct Marketing, NAHB and Prism awards. In fact, he has won an Addy award at some level each year that he has entered.

While he enjoys working in the industry, Andrew has always been committed to giving back to the community and industry whenever he can through his leadership of AAF Greater Fort Lauderdale & the Palm Beaches, as a board member of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce, PAC Member of Miami International University of Art & Design, Co-Founder of Choose954 and his passion project Art Fort Lauderdale – a revolutionary four-day art fair that takes place inside multiple luxury waterfront properties on Fort Lauderdale’s Intracoastal waterways and only accessible by water-taxi – among a plethora of other Fort Lauderdale based arts and cultural initiatives.

He has also done work for a myriad of charity organizations including; Bowtie Kids, American Diabetes Association, Broward Education Foundation, League Against Cancer, LifeNet4Families, Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center and the Seafarer’s House, just to name a few.

It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. I came to the US for college and was fortunate enough to get a job in advertising immediately upon graduation. Being an immigrant from Trinidad & Tobago and working in the highly competitive advertising industry, I had to constantly prove my worth in order for my employers to consider and agree to sponsor my work permits to stay in the US. And what many people don’t know is even if an employer is interested in employing you – they have to advertise your potential position in multiple outlets and post your potential salary at their place of business in case any other employees are interested in applying for your potential job. Added to that you’ve got to go through six years of being on a H1B Visa with an employer willing to maintain your status before you can even apply for a Green Card which also needs to be sponsored by your employer and then another five years to apply for citizenship – long road but well worth the wait.

In addition, being a motivated and passionate individual about everything I engage in sometimes causes less motivated individuals to be intimidated and thereby making life a bit more difficult. But with the bad comes the good, and I’ve been lucky to be able to have some great mentors including; Robert Taglairino (my first employer and someone that taught me the most about advertising and marketing) and Laurence Gartel (my college professor and long time supporter and friend). I have also been able to nurture relationships with a number of individuals in various creative communities including; film, art, architecture, music, technology and fashion and those relationships influence my thought process and aid in his problem-solving skills today.

UniteUs Group is a creative marketing consultancy developed under a new model that unites various synergistic entities under one umbrella to deliver progressive creative that benefits the client and various communities by ways of notoriety, innovation and profit.

Utilizing a wealth of industry experience, creativity and a proven process we work alongside leadership teams to optimize and execute on their marketing and advertising goals.

Over the last 20 years, we have collectively been able to get hands-on experience and participation in a variety of creative genres, and those experiences influence our thought process and aid in our ability to find creative solutions to challenges that have “legs” and are able to resonate with the target audience.

We are involved in multiple creative ventures and partnerships that promote culture and “unite us” with the community which sets us apart from other consultancies/agencies. One of the most notable ventures is Art Fort Lauderdale – Fort Lauderdale’s only four-day art fair going into its third year and the pending launch of Fort Lauderdale Art & Design Week.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Nope.