Drive Research, a Syracuse-based market research company is excited to announce, Emily Carroll has been named a 2021 40 Under 40 winner. Learn more about Emily and her business achievements and civil leadership that led her to be honored this year.
Business Accomplishments 🏆
Achievements, Special Projects, Business Affiliations
Emily was brought on board at our growing market research start-up as our fifth full-time employee.
At the time, it was our most critical hire for our local firm as we brought her on board in a full-time marketing position to help market and grow the Drive Research brand.
I had incredibly high expectations for this position which took us close to a year to fill. Emily has far exceeded anything I could have imagined as a Marketing Coordinator and has an incredibly bright future.
Emily brings a unique blend of creative writing, expertise, and excitement to every task with the Drive Research team.
Since she began in March 2019, here are few areas Emily has played a strong role in:
- Our website traffic has grown 1,112%
- Our lead submissions have grown 190%
- Our average monthly revenue numbers have increased 51%
These statistics are directly attributed to her hard work day-in and day-out with her content, PR, video marketing, SEO, and SEM efforts.
She has an innate ability to deliver creativity and envision exactly what the team is looking for with little direction.
In addition to website marketing, Emily has played a strong role in social media.
- Facebook followers have grown by 40%
- LinkedIn followers have grown by 83%
- Instagram followers have grown by 910%
- YouTube video views have grown by 47,086%
Her marketing efforts have grown Drive Research brand awareness coast-to-coast.
Emily was recently interviewed by Spectrum news by JoDee Kenney on a research study discussing renewed travel and spending habits post COVID-19. Watch below!
The research she has shared as part of her PR outreach has been featured on Forbes, CNBC, USA Today, Yahoo! Finance, and MSN.
Her marketing efforts have directly resulted in our Syracuse firm closing projects with renowned brands such as Amazon, Dunkin, Walmart, Target, Toyota, Pinterest, Dell, 7UP, Whole Foods, Folgers, Ulta Beauty, and many more.
Without a doubt, Emily belongs to be part of this prestigious group of winners. Emily has had an incredible impact on our business, our clients, her community, and everyone she comes across.
Drive Research and Syracuse is a better place because of the amazing young people we have in this community, led by leaders like Emily.
Civic Leadership 💗
What Impact This Person Has Had On His/Her Community
Advanced Media New York: Mentoring Monday - A Women’s Initiative
- Role: Volunteer Mentor
- Date Served: November 2019
- Description
- Advance Media New York requested Emily to be one of 40 prestigious mentors alongside some of the most influential women in Central New York at a speed networking event.
- As a mentor, she led seven rounds of personalized, 1:1 coaching sessions with female mentees from various local organizations to offer her marketing advice and expertise.
CNY Sales & Marketing Executives (CNYSME) in Syracuse
- Role: Board Member & Member of Marketing Committee
- Date Served: April 2019 - Present
- Description
- Plans educational and networking events for current and prospective members of CNYSME.
- Presents at panel roundtables.
- Helps execute marketing initiatives such as social media and email promotion to increase event attendance and brand awareness.
Catchafire
- Role: Professional Marketing Volunteer
- Date Served: November 2020 - Present
- Total Impact: $13,218 (and counting)
- Time Donated: 80 hours (and counting)
- Description
- Catchafire is a New York-based organization that makes skill-based connections between professional volunteers and nonprofit organizations.
- Emily works as a professional volunteer, where she donates her marketing services to nonprofits. She partners with organizations that need help with social media marketing, including creating and optimizing social media profiles, writing content to post on social platforms, illustrating social graphics, and recommending social media scheduling tools.
- Organizations Served
- Mat Bevel Company in AZ
- Helped Mat Bevel Company develop an online presence by creating and optimizing professional social media profiles on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
- Created a three-month social media calendar for both Facebook and Instagram with an organized spreadsheet.
- She trained the organization’s staff on how to manage social media accounts.
- This project saved Mat Bevel Company $4,212, allowing them to produce and distribute multimedia programs to people of all ages who want to increase their problem-solving skills, receive inspiration and tips from makers, and build their unique creations.
- Sportsmen's Tennis & Enrichment Center (STEC) in MA
- Helped STEC develop an online presence by creating and optimizing professional social media profiles on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
- Created a three-month social media calendar for both Facebook and Instagram with an organized spreadsheet.
- She trained the organization’s staff on how to manage social media accounts.
- This project saved STEC $4,212, allowing them to allocate these vital funds for its programs and services to Boston’s inner-city youth and families.
- Tufter
- Helped Tufter develop an online presence by creating and optimizing professional social media profiles on Facebook and Instagram.
- Created a three-month social media calendar for both Facebook and Instagram with an organized spreadsheet.
- She trained the organization’s staff on how to manage social media accounts.
- This project saved Tufter $2,397, allowing them to focus their marketing and website launch.
- APA Family Support Services in CA
- Helped APA Family Support Services develop an online presence by creating and optimizing a professional Facebook profile consistent with the organization’s objectives.
- Created a three-month social media calendar for both Facebook and Instagram with an organized spreadsheet.
- She trained the organization’s staff on how to manage social media accounts.
- This project saved APA Family Support Services $2,397, allowing them to focus their efforts on staffing and other programs.
Syracuse University
- Role: Guest Speaker
- Date Served: Fall of 2020 & Spring of 2021
- Description
- Syracuse University requested Emily to speak at a Public Relations class among undergraduate students during the Fall 2020 Semester and the Spring 2021 Semester.
- The students worked with two nonprofit clients and needed to identify and execute research to help them create a strategy and implement communications tactics.
- Emily shared real-world examples of projects Drive Research had done for clients that exemplify different types of research (surveys, interviews, focus groups, secondary data analysis, etc.).
- She also explained how the research findings helped inform recommendations and strategic direction to those clients.
Salvation Army Syracuse Christmas Bureau
- Role: Volunteer
- Date Served: December 2019
- Description
- Donated her time to the United Way and the Salvation Army to assist families in the Syracuse Christmas Bureau.
- As a volunteer, Emily spent a half-day of work at the OnCenter, helping families in need choose Christmas gifts, books, and food items to make their holidays more joyous.
United Way of Central New York
- Role: Volunteer
- Date Served: June 2019
- Description
- Donated time at the Pump It Forward Friday campaign at local gas stations.
- Volunteers team up to pump gas and clean windshields for tips.
- Proceeds benefit the United Way Community Program Fund.
Food Bank of Central New York and Cooley Group & Emerging Leaders United
- Role: Volunteer Marketing and Research Consultant
- Date Served: May 2019
- Description
- In 2019, Cooley Group, Inc. received approval from Hasbro to create a City of Syracuse, NY 1st Edition MONOPOLY Game as a fundraiser for the Food Bank of Central New York.
- Emily assisted the Food Bank of CNY and Cooley Group with acquiring demographic data on the board game and MONOPOLY players in Central New York.
- Our firm collected data through an online survey. Emily created and managed a paid Facebook Ad campaign for residents of CNY, promoting the online survey.
- The data helped organization leaders to understand drivers to purchase, non-purchase, and buyer potential of the City of Syracuse MONOPOLY Board.
Making Strides of Syracuse Against Breast Cancer
- Role: Team Leader at CXtec
- Date Served: October 2016 - November 2018
- Description
- Lead a team of 8 to organize fundraising opportunities throughout the year.
- Create digital and print signage to encourage employee participation.
- Raised over $3,000 for the American Cancer Society.
Make-A-Wish Foundation Central New York
- Role: Team Leader at CXtec
- Date Served: October 2016 - November 2018
- Description
- Prepare and attend fundraising opportunities to raise money for a young child’s wish.
- Create an event for employees to attend and watch as the child’s wish comes true.
- Gather gifts, food, decorations, and other supplies for the event.
The Athenaeum of Skaneateles
- Role: Weekly Volunteer
- Date Served: September 2010 - August 2012
- Description
- Emily visited and cared about elderly residents once or twice a week.
- She developed personal relationships with residents and staff by creating bonding activities such as arts and crafts, baking, and board games.
- She also walked members to the town of Skaneateles to run errands or look at the scenery.
Achievements, Awards, And Special Recognitions ⭐
Freelance Writer for nDash
For over a year, Emily has worked as a freelance writer for nDash, a content creation software platform.
She partners with 25+ clients to create custom content for blog posts, eBooks, infographics, video scripts, and more. Emily is recognized as a “favorite writer” by ten organizations meaning the company has worked with her before and wants to continue working together on content.
As a freelance writer, Emily is responsible for:
- Writing content that meets each brand’s editorial and formatting guidelines.
- Communicating with clients to identify assignment-related expectations.
- Ensuring that content is appropriately researched and 100% original.
- Adhering to deadlines as requested by the client.
HubSpot Content Marketing Certified
Emily completed a 6+ hour course and passed a one-hour exam to become a certified HubSpot Content Marketing professional.
She learned how to establish a content creation framework for producing compelling content consistently. Additionally, Emily was trained to create and repurpose content that both humans and search engines will love.
The course helped her in becoming a stronger and more strategic content marketer.
Google Analytics Individual Qualification
Emily completed a 5-hour course and passed a one-hour exam to earn her Google Analytics Individual Qualification.
The course covers basic and advanced Google Analytics concepts, including:
- Planning and principles.
- Implementation and data collection.
- Configuration and administration.
- Conversion and attribution.
- Reports, metrics, and dimensions.
Google Ads Certification
Emily completed a 6-hour course and passed a 90-minute exam to earn a certification in Google Ads.
Google Ads certification is a process by which Google recognizes marketers as experts in online advertising such as search and display ads.
Featured Author for Business 2 Community
Emily is an 11-time featured author for Business2Community.com. The platform chooses authors who provide their community with timely, high-quality, and valuable content.
Emily writes alongside some of the best minds in the industry on topics ranging from digital marketing, market research, social media advertising, and more.
Family 🍊
The marketing powerhouse of Drive Research, Emily Carroll is a reality TV junkie, lover of espresso martinis, and mother of an orange feline named Otto. Her interests in marketing and communication started at a young age, with many grade school teachers reporting, "Emily talks too much in class..."
This characteristic led her to pursue a Bachelor's Degree in Communications with a concentration in Public Relations and Advertising at SUNY Cortland. After graduating from SUNY Cortland, Emily continued to flex her creative muscles working for Syracuse-based companies such as CXtec, Mower, and Drive Research.
She is currently planning her Spring 2022 wedding at the former Hotel Syracuse, while her fiancé James wonders how many more times he'll have to make a Target run. The limit does not exist.
Emily's love for the Syracuse community continues to grow each day. It is more than home for her, but a place where she was introduced to her favorite people and new adventures. She most enjoys eating Blarney burgers, celebrating Syracuse Basketball victories, and spending days on Skaneateles lake.
Drive Research is a national market research company located in Syracuse, NY. Our team helps clients across the country execute various studies such as online surveys, focus groups, and intercept surveys. To learn more about our services, contact us through any of the four ways below.
- Message us on our website
- Email us at [email protected]
- Call us at 888-725-DATA
- Text us at 315-303-2040
George Kuhn
George is the Owner & President of Drive Research. He has consulted for hundreds of regional, national, and global organizations over the past 15 years. He is a CX certified VoC professional with a focus on innovation and new product management.
Learn more about George, here.
