UNBRIDLED ENTHUSIAM
and PASSION for WINNING
GIVE PALIO the EDGE in
CORPORATE MARKETING RACE

Four years ago, Ed Mitzen's budget was so tight that he'd resort to using credit card offers for instant financial loans to meet the payroll at his newly established advertising and marketing firm called Palio Communications.

Today Mitzen is riding high as president of a corporation of Clydedale proportions whose work has won over 70 awards in both national and international arenas.

Sitting tall in the saddle right beside him are business buddies Guy Mastrion and Mike Myers -- the latter of whom bears absolutely no resemblance to the Shrek star!

Named after the Palio di Siena -- the world's oldest and wildest horse race -- the Saratoga firm's client roster runs the gamut from pro bono work with local organizations and charities to large accounts with multimillion dollar corporations. Among the newest and largest names represented by the firm are Reebok and GlaxoSmithKline, featuring Magic Johnson.

Mitzen attributes Palio's success to a passion for doing great work and exceeding clients' expectations teamed with "an entrepreneurial spirit and a focus on hiring incredibly talented, hungry, fun people." Most of Palio's 114 (and counting!) employees have been recruited to re-locate in The Racing City from successful ad agencies in bustling metropolitan centers like Manhattan and Los Angeles.

Thus far, Mitzen says, selling Saratoga Springs as a desirable place to live, work, laugh and play has proven to be remarkably easy. The fact that Palio¹s street address is Broadway doesn't hurt, however, a better bet is that Mitzen himself gambled on Saratoga for all the right reasons.

"When I was first starting out, I didn't know if I would be successful or not. One of the main reasons I chose Saratoga as the location for Palio's headquarters was that I wanted to have my own family settled into a community that we all liked where there would be other employment possibilities if things didn't work out." Thankfully for wife, Deedee and their three young children, Mitzen's long shot paid off!

"Every person at Palio played a huge part in our growth and our success. I'm so proud and humbled by our staff's dedication to the dream of building this agency," says Mitzen. Fittingly, the company¹s own slogan -- or "branding tag" as Palio reps prefer to call it -- is "Never Be Forgotten."

The brainchild of creative director Mastrion, the motto refers both to the fact that the firm never forgets how to take care of its clients and that the products and services offered by clients will, in turn, never be forgotten by their clients! "Palio operates as a true strategic partner with our clients and we are extraordinarily passionate about doing great work on their behalf," says Mastrion.

The results -- as ranked in The Business Review -- are equally unforgettable: Palio now leads the pack locally in advertising and marketing communications and also places high on the list of fastest growing companies. The company also shows up as one of the best places to work in the greater Capital Region. Hardly a photo finish for an upstart company that's been on one wild ride since 1999!