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Novitasians often are asked what Novitas means and how we came up with the name. While we’d like to say that we spent hours focus grouping the perfect name for an emerging PR firm specializing in highly-regulated industries, the truth is far more ordinary. One of our first clients, American Banker publications, asked us to send an invoice by the end of the day and we had just a couple of hours to find a name. Our founder, Michelle Lyng, had recently married and taken her husband’s last name, Lyng. We couldn’t use that name as it’s one letter off from “lying” making it a terrible name for a PR firm. The name had to be conceptual, as opposed to biographical.

Technically, if you use Google translate, Novitas is Latin for “timeliness”. When Novitas was started, Google translate didn’t exist, and other translations suggested “fun new things”. Novitas contains a variety of meanings including newness, novelty, rareness, and freshness. Some definitions even cite vigor. As the firm crafts and implements communications campaigns that influence public opinion and enhance brand recognition, the definition of Novitas fits perfectly.

“I can still remember the stress of trying to decide on a name,” said Lyng. “I knew even back then that we were creating something special and lasting, so the name had to count. Plus, there’s something delightfully ironic about using a dead language to name a firm fun, new things. Although, as with any name, it’s led to some interesting misunderstandings.”

Let’s start with the pronunciation.  As we mentioned, it’s Latin, so it’s pronounced “NO-vuh-TAS”, not “no-VEEEEEEE-tus”. The latter pronunciation often leads people to ask if we’re a Latinx marketing firm. While we do not exclusively serve the Rocky Mountain region’s Spanish-speaking population, we have won awards for our Spanish-language campaigns!

Another misconception – we’re also not a pharmaceutical company, no offense Novartis. And, we aren’t the medical service provider that keeps frustrating its clients (Novitas, call us!).

Today, Novitas Communications is a nationally-recognized PR firm and works with clients all over the world in a variety of industries just as Lyng wanted over 12 years ago. In the last few years, Novitas has extended its expertise in additional sectors including technology, transportation, real estate, data centers, among other industries that are working to make a difference in communities. And to our knowledge, there is not another PR firm in the world with the name Novitas Communications. And, that’s just fine with us.