The Four Pillars That Turned the Agency Into a Federal Recruitment Marketing Leader

MarCom Group’s story began in early 1996, when Debbie Rainford founded an event services agency. Shortly after, Bob Rainford joined to apply his marketing and advertising expertise. Together, “MarCom Production Services” became an event planning and marketing firm, supporting private and public sector clients in building credibility and relationships with their target audiences. Little did we realize that we were about to make an indelible mark on the federal recruitment industry.

What began as a strategy to harness the power of marketing, communications, and in-person experiences quickly became known as MarCom Group. Thirty years later, we are still headquartered in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. Although we’ve outgrown the basement office as we’re now a team of more than 80, MarCom Group still harnesses that same signature blend of creativity, technology, resilience, and empowerment; the four pillars of its approach to modern federal recruitment.

Below is a closer look at how these pillars have positioned MarCom Group as the agency federal partners trust to attract top talent.

1. Creativity With Purpose: Where Mission Meets Imagination

MarCom Group’s secret creative “sauce” is its ability to help federal agencies articulate who they are, why they matter, and why top talent should join them.

It began when founder Debbie Rainford, a successful event planning professional, teamed up with her advertising entrepreneur spouse Bob, on an early federal recruitment project. The duo immediately saw the opportunity to showcase the advantages of public service employment beyond the usual “job security and benefits” by highlighting the deeper purpose and impact of federal work.

From that moment, MarCom Group became one of the first agencies to introduce modern federal employment branding, transforming basic recruitment exhibit booths into highly branded, compelling experiences.

This breakthrough approach rapidly positioned the firm as the agency of choice for more than 20 federal and defense clients, including the General Services Administration (GSA), Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA), Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Air Force Civilian Service (AFCS), and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

Over the years, MarCom Group has continued to attract and retain top designers and writers to produce award-winning exhibits, campaigns, and digital creative work. With every project, the creative team’s primary goal is to ensure every deliverable directly advances each client’s mission, a goal achieved through a keen ability to listen deeply to each client’s internal voices and create materials that are on mission, strategic, and solutions-oriented. After years of working in an environment defined by strict federal hiring guidelines and limited budgets, MarCom Group’s ability to continuously deliver compliant yet emotionally resonant work remains a rare advantage.

2. Innovation in Motion: Technology That Transforms

From Bob Rainford’s 1990s hand-built widescreen display to today’s sophisticated digital capabilities and industry-leading data and systems security, MarCom Group has always recognized the right moment to embrace new technology.

By 2010, with the enormous efficiencies, scale, accessibility, and security of cloud computing on the horizon, MarCom Group had already begun its transition into digital solutions, from career website development to candidate relationship management (CRM) products to email marketing and social media campaigns. Interactive tools quickly followed to boost engagement at exhibit booths and online, along with professional quality video productions that gave job seekers a rare, first-hand look into the most highly secure career fields.

A major milestone arrived in 2019 with the deployment of virtual webinars and hiring events. These fully online experiences allowed job seekers nationwide to attend presentations and chat with recruiters in real time. This format became indispensable during COVID-19, offering cost-efficient, accessible pathways for reaching talent, and it remains a cornerstone in meeting today’s rapidly evolving hiring needs of federal agencies.

Advances in media followed, leveraging high-end data sources and programmatic targeting to reach hard-to-find candidates while maximizing federal recruitment dollars. By pairing its creative instincts with its growing subject matter expertise in the unique security demands of federal marketing, MarCom Group continued to solidify its place as a federal recruitment marketing leader.

In 2025, to demonstrate our commitment to data and systems security, MarCom Group took rigorous proactive measures to enhance its cybersecurity posture. After obtaining full ISO 27001 certification, an internationally recognized standard for information security, the firm achieved Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Level 1 and is now aggressively pursuing CMMC Level 2.

That same year, MarCom Group leveraged their decades of experience in federal recruitment marketing to launch ConnexYou, the agency’s proprietary lead-generation and candidate management tool. ConnexYou is built with federal partners in mind, as the product is tailored to the stringent requirements, roadblocks, and timelines many federal recruiters and HR departments face.

As we prepare for our next chapter, MarCom Group has embraced AI to enhance efficiency and accelerate creative and production workflows, while keeping human involvement and decision-making central to every project and program.

3. Resilience Through Change: The Alchemy of Ambition

Over the past three decades, MarCom Group has met its share of challenges. When the rest of the country faced work slowdowns after 9/11, and again during the 2008 financial crisis, MarCom Group leaned in even more. As hiring needs surged across defense, public safety, and other mission-critical functions, MarCom Group’s strategic responsiveness helped federal clients meet goals despite budget constraints and shifting priorities.

Not even a global pandemic could dim the team’s determination as MarCom Group seamlessly navigated COVID-19 by swiftly deploying secure, scalable cloud-based tools to a suddenly remote workforce.

In the beginning, when the team was small enough to fit around a single table, resilience meant late nights, big risks, and a founder who believed “you’re never too good to sweep floors.” It meant stretching every dollar, sometimes meeting payroll through sheer will, and succeeding as a woman-owned small business. Debbie’s resolve and ethos to “roll up your sleeves, take care of your people, and keep moving forward” didn’t just keep the lights on; it established a culture rooted in humility, tenacity, and earned respect.

That founding spirit continues to guide MarCom Group today.

4. People at the Center: Empowerment as a Way of Life

At MarCom Group, empowerment isn’t a program; it’s a practice. From its earliest days, the company understood that when you invest in people first, everything else follows: innovation, longevity, loyalty, and the energy that shows up every Monday morning. It’s no wonder that in 2026, MarCom Group shifted its Business Operations Department into a “People and Culture” model centered on belonging.

Built on a model of humble, service-driven leadership, MarCom Group has kept its focus on ensuring employees feel supported, valued, and heard. From a handful of employees to now a nationwide remote workforce, MarCom Group has preserved a family-rooted ethos: show up for people, give them room to grow, and retain the very best talent in the industry. Clients feel it too, often describing their experience with MarCom Group as “working with a trusted partner and advisor.”

As the company expands nationally and globally, its values remain unchanged: people first, always. A culture where empowerment is lived, felt, and passed on.

Successful Start, Bright Future

As MarCom Group marks three decades of transformative work, its story is ultimately one of people; creative minds united by mission, innovators embracing new tools to better serve clients, and leadership that steadies the course through change. What began as a small, courageous idea in a basement has grown into a nationally respected, woman-owned powerhouse shaping the future of federal recruiting.

Our greatest accomplishment isn’t found in awards or milestones, but in the loyalty of clients who feel like family and the employees inspired to bring their best every Monday. 30 years on, MarCom Group stands as a testament to what happens when creativity, technology, endurance, and heart move forward together, lighting the way for the next generation of federal talent solutions.

Below are some pictures from MarCom Group’s past and present. While the technology and presentation of our events have come a long way, the excellent service we offer our clients has remained the same.