Detroit remains a global hub of automotive R&D. As such, Marx Layne & Company, which has deep roots and expertise in automotive and auto supplier public relations and marketing, is in high demand because of our on-the-ground familiarity with the automotive news media and the supplier landscape in Detroit and worldwide.

That makes our agency a desirable tool for auto suppliers worldwide in the booming international world of the high-tech components and software that make up the vehicles of the future, including electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles. 

Our lives have all been turned upside down for the past year by COVID-19, and a return to “normal” is not guaranteed anytime soon, but we’ve also learned many valuable lessons about how to do business more effectively and efficiently along the way. While Marx Layne has worked with automotive suppliers worldwide throughout our 34-year history, we now are able to communicate even more efficiently with companies around the word through new technology and communication tools.

We communicate more often throughout the day, both with our internal teams and outside colleagues and partners, than we were before the pandemic. One major area of impact is international business. Our teams at Marx Layne regularly hold meetings via Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype and other video conferencing services with our automotive clients and their communications executives around the world. There may be supplier representatives in Korea, Israel, France, the UK, Canada and other countries all on the same call, and all it took was a link to connect us. This technology works seamlessly, is more personal and cost-effective than voice-only conference calls of the past, and is leading to stronger client relationships being established.

While our Marx Layne team wishes we could travel to develop these relationships, the reality is we’re still connecting daily with our international clients as if we’re all in the same office. Even though we can’t go out and have a beer together after a meeting, we’re developing friendships and relationships.

Due to time differences, meeting times are often unique, with calls often happening later in the evening (7 p.m. EST) to match up with the morning hours in Asia, or early in the morning (7 a.m. EST) when it’s afternoon in Europe and the Middle East. Regardless of how far apart we are physically, there is no reason the work of introducing suppliers to the North American marketplace and amplifying their brands through media and digital tools can’t be done successfully.

Marx Layne’s successful campaigns for automotive clients worldwide are led by a team with multiple generations of family history in the automotive industry. Through our knowledge of the past, combined with an eye for the future and a focus on seamless communication through the latest technology, it adds up to a strong recipe for success.