In recognition of her leadership and impact on the marketing industry, founder and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Illumine8, Christina May, is a 2019 DMN 40UNDER40 honoree.
Each year, DMN — a leading resource for marketing and senior sales professionals that covers all aspects of digital and data-driven marketing analysis, research, and content — highlights “40 of the world’s best, most accomplished, high-level leaders in the business of marketing” that are under the age of 40.
DMN’s 40UNDER40 recognizes extraordinary marketers from across brands, agencies, and vendors, who are not only succeeding, but excelling in their careers. Those who are honored have accomplished outstanding achievements through creativity, innovation, support, leadership, and company advancement in marketing at an early stage in their career.
Christina certainly fits that mold and couldn’t be more excited to receive this prestigious award on September 19, aboard the four-story Aqua Azul Yacht in Manhattan. Dinner and an award presentation will be enjoyed by Christina and the 39 other honorees as they watch the sunset behind the New York City skyline.
“I am honored to be chosen for the DMN 40UNDER40 list this year alongside some of the most well-respected and accomplished professionals in the marketing industry,” said May. “This accomplishment represents a milestone not just for myself, but the entire Illumine8 team. We are thrilled to be recognized for our consultancy’s growth as well as the creativity, strategy, and commitment we bring to our clients.”
After a 12-year career working in the publishing, tourism, and real estate industries, Christina — a Frederick native — founded Illumine8 Marketing & PR in the spring of 2013. Specializing in marketing strategy under Christina’s leadership, Illumine8 grew at a rate of 120 percent between 2014 and 2018, creating about 12 new jobs in the process. She has been able to effectively grow her firm’s revenue by 66 percent year to date as compared to the prior 2018 period. This focus has grown the firm's footprint, servicing clients from Pittsburgh to Atlanta and creating economic opportunity and reinvestment in her community through employment.
As Illumine8 has grown, so have our clients. We’ve helped our clients achieve an average top-line revenue growth of 10-20 percent through managing their customer lifecycle practices over a two-year period on average.
Beyond being our leader here at Illumine8, Christina is a speaker and subject matter expert specializing in integrated marketing strategy and management with a focus on inbound methodologies, customer experience, and integrated marketing strategies. She was most recently quoted by the American Marketing Association regarding internal marketing practices in May of 2019.
Christina is an award-winning marketing strategist with a proven record of establishing strong, effective marketing programs and organizational initiatives that produce lasting impact. Her exceptional leadership abilities are evident in her awards and milestones over the years. A 2018 graduate of the highly competitive Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program, Christina was the commencement speaker and recipient of the prestigious Mount St. Mary’s University President’s Medal for outstanding achievement in business for the 2015-16 graduating class.
Under her direction, Illumine8 has won numerous awards, including the 2016 Hubspot Impact Award for Client Growth, 2018 Marcom Gold Award for Marketing Strategy, 2018 Marcom Gold Award for Client Communication, 2018 Gold Hermes Creative Award, 2018 Communicator Award of Distinction, 2018 Bronze Summit Creative Award, 2018 Silver Davey Award, and others.
As a community leader, Christina is the most recent past president of the Frederick Symphony Orchestra (2013-2018). Attentive to economic development issues and women’s business issues, Christina has also served on various economic development committees, including local municipal economic development council appointments.
Passionate about opportunity through economic development, Christina served as the appointed Chair of the City of Brunswick Economic Development Committee as a volunteer for four years, spearheading a community branding initiative to include the City of Brunswick, Maryland’s seal and slogan. This community-wide project resulted in regional attention, including an invitation to present her branding process to other Maryland municipalities and deliver a keynote presentation on the economic impact of branding for the Maryland Municipal League.
Our entire Illumine8 team is proud to announce that Christina is being recognized for her hard work. We plan to continue our organizational growth while simultaneously helping our clients do the same.