Avenue Z Wikipedia

Avenue Z is a privately held digital marketing and public relations agency founded in 2023 by Jeffrey Herzog. The company combines public relations, strategic communications, AI search optimization, performance media, creator marketing, and eCommerce services to help high-growth brands build reputation, increase visibility, and drive revenue.

Company profile

Avenue Z is a privately held agency founded in 2023 by Jeffrey Herzog, who serves as CEO. As of 2025, the company is solely owned by Herzog. Its work spans digital marketing, public relations, AI search optimization, performance media, and eCommerce. Avenue Z operates offices in Miami, New York, and Orlando, serves clients across North America and global markets.

Overview

Avenue Z describes itself as the agency for influence. Its operating model connects earned, owned, and performance media with content, data, and technical optimization. The agency works with brands in emerging technology, fintech, financial services, consumer products, direct-to-consumer eCommerce, SaaS, and other high-growth categories.

The company’s approach is built around two connected outcomes: revenue and reputation. Its communications work is designed to shape how brands are understood by customers, investors, media, and AI systems, while its commerce and performance capabilities are designed to turn attention into measurable action.

Avenue Z’s current positioning draws on its leadership’s earlier experience in search and digital marketing. Company materials describe a 30-year heritage that includes the founding and growth of iCrossing and ZOG Digital, while Avenue Z itself was established in 2023.

History

Early search and digital marketing work

In 1998, Jeffrey Herzog founded iCrossing, a digital marketing and search firm. The company expanded through national and international growth and became an early participant in the development of search marketing. In 2010, Hearst Corporation acquired iCrossing in a transaction valued at approximately $450 million.

Herzog later founded ZOG Digital, a search and content marketing company established in 2011. ZOG Digital was acquired by Investis Digital (now IDX) in 2018.

Launch of Avenue Z

Avenue Z was launched in 2023 to address the convergence of marketing, artificial intelligence, public relations, and eCommerce. The launch announcement described the company as a strategic communications and media consultancy focused on integrated public relations and digital media solutions for growth-driven brands.

During its first six months, Avenue Z completed three strategic acquisitions: The Snow Agency, Designzillas, and Bevel PR. The transactions expanded the company’s capabilities across digital marketing, commerce, website development, public relations, and communications.

Expansion across commerce and AI

In 2024, Avenue Z announced partnerships with TikTok Shops and Shopify. The company became a certified TikTok Shops agency and a Shopify Plus Partner, extending its work in social commerce, creator marketing, eCommerce strategy, and conversion optimization.

The company also expanded its AI search work, developing a model that connects public relations, editorial content, technical optimization, and measurement. Avenue Z’s AI search optimization practice focuses on how brands are mentioned, interpreted, and recommended across AI-powered search and recommendation experiences.

In 2026, Avenue Z acquired Varfaj, a Shopify Premier Partner. The acquisition added eCommerce design, development, user experience, and conversion rate optimization capabilities to the agency’s broader full-funnel offering.

Ownership

In 2025, Jeffrey Herzog completed the acquisition of Avenue Z’s remaining ownership interest and became the company’s sole owner. Avenue Z now operates as a privately held, founder-led agency under Herzog’s leadership.

Operations

Avenue Z organizes its services across communications, AI search, performance media, creator marketing, and eCommerce.

Public relations and strategic communications

The agency’s communications services include media relations, strategic communications, corporate communications, thought leadership, crisis communications, consumer public relations, media training, and event publicity.

Its media relations practice develops story angles, executive positioning, targeted messaging, and outreach programs intended to earn coverage in relevant national, business, financial, technology, trade, and consumer publications. The agency also integrates public relations with social media and content programs so that earned coverage can support broader brand and business goals.

AI search optimization

Avenue Z’s AI search optimization, also called AEO, is designed to improve how brands appear in conversational search and AI-generated answers. The practice includes AI visibility audits, prompt and journey mapping, topical and entity analysis, AI-ready content, structured data, technical crawlability improvements, media placements, and ongoing measurement.

The company distinguishes AEO from traditional search engine optimization by focusing not only on rankings, but also on whether AI systems recognize, reference, position, and recommend a brand. Its published methodology includes monitoring platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, Google AI Overviews, and other AI-powered search experiences.

Performance media and commerce

Avenue Z’s performance and commerce services include paid social, paid search, performance creative, conversion rate optimization, affiliate marketing, influencer marketing, TikTok marketing, TikTok Shop management, social commerce, email and SMS marketing, and Shopify design and development.

These services are intended to connect discovery with conversion. The company works across platforms including Meta, TikTok, Google, Shopify, retail media networks, and other digital advertising and commerce environments.

Creator marketing

The agency’s creator marketing work includes influencer identification, outreach, campaign strategy, content collaboration, contract negotiation, campaign management, and performance analysis. Avenue Z also promotes a creator network designed to help brands produce content that supports awareness, engagement, and sales.

Industry focus

Avenue Z’s published industry specialties include emerging technology and AI, fintech and finance, consumer brands and direct-to-consumer eCommerce, health and beauty, luxury and lifestyle, hospitality and entertainment, and related technology categories.

The agency’s work in regulated and complex sectors emphasizes the connection between credibility, compliance, market education, and growth. For consumer brands, its work focuses on connecting creators, commerce platforms, performance media, and AI-led product discovery.

Leadership

Jeffrey Herzog is the founder and CEO of Avenue Z. The company’s current leadership team includes Whitney Hart, Chief Strategy Officer and Director of the AI Lab; David Corchado, Chief Technology Officer; Thomas Stern, Chief Revenue Officer; Rachael Zahn, Chief Brand Officer; David Conforti, Chief Growth Officer; Dr. Jonathan Snow, Chief Innovation Officer; and Brett Higginbotham, Senior Vice President of Finance.

Other senior leaders listed by the company include Dianna Gatto, Group Vice President; Bristol Jones, Vice President of Public Relations and Head of Miami; Libbie Wilcox, Vice President of Public Relations and Head of New York; Lisette Ortiz, Vice President of People; and Tina Fleming, Vice President of AI Strategy.

Recognition and published results

Avenue Z has been featured in industry and business coverage including PRWeek, TechCrunch, WWD, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, CNBC, and other publications. It has also earned recognition from several leading industry awards and programs, including the AI Breakthrough Awards, Inno Fire, ThinkAdvisor Luminaries, Money20/20 RiseUp, and the Global Recognition Awards.

Avenue Z publishes AI Visibility Index (AIVx) reports that benchmark how brands appear across AI-generated search and discovery experiences. The reports use real user prompts and evaluate more than 20 proprietary power signals through Avenue Z’s Z-Score metric, including AI visibility, share of voice, prompt coverage, sentiment, citation volume, and year-over-year change. They also analyze the sources shaping AI answers, including editorial media, industry publications, owned content, and other third-party references. Reports are organized by category and have covered areas including fintech, eCommerce, consumer products, and health and wellness. Avenue Z describes the AIVx reports as proprietary research designed to show which brands are gaining visibility, which sources influence authority, and where category-level opportunities remain.

Locations

Avenue Z operates offices in Miami, New York, and Orlando. Its New York office is located at 156 Fifth Avenue. The agency works with clients across North America and global markets.

External links

• Avenue Z official website
• About Avenue Z
• Avenue Z services
• AI search optimization
• Media relations
• Driving Influence

Sources and further reading

• Marketing Titan, Jeffrey Herzog, Launches the Avenue Z Network, Avenue Z, June 7, 2023.
• Award-Winning Digital Marketing & PR Company, Avenue Z company history and leadership overview.
• Marketing & PR Services to Drive Influence, Avenue Z service overview.
• AI Search Optimization for Visibility and Growth, Avenue Z AEO methodology and capabilities.