About Forte Media Partners
Over 40 years of combined media, marketing, public relations, and sales experience
Jenny Thompson started Forte Media Partners (formerly J Thompson MMC) in 2013 with an emphasis on developing partnerships with clients to help them reach their target audience with the right message. Always searching for the most efficient and effective mediums for her clients, Jenny has built a reputation of trust among those who work with her both from the client side and the vendor side.
Media Planning & Buying
For more than 22 years, Jenny has been researching, planning, negotiating, and buying media for both local businesses and Fortune 500 brands. After specializing in traditional media like TV and radio in markets as far south as Houston, TX to as far north as Fargo, ND (and about 20 markets in-between), she has taken her common-sense media approach and applied it to the latest mediums including TV and radio, streaming video and audio, social, paid search, and more.
Sales & Marketing
Before moving to Fort Smith, AR in 2002 with her husband, Kevin Thompson, Jenny traveled across North America as a manager for a trade show marketing sales team. The position, based out of Birmingham, AL, gave her a new understanding of how to stand out from the competition, how to communicate with business owners, and how to lead and manage a successful team. In 2021, she moved to northern California where Forte Media Partners continues to operate and expand markets and relationships.
Public Relations & Human Resources
Jenny received her Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations and Communications from Oklahoma Baptist University and spent three years while in Shawnee, OK working at ExxonMobil in Public Relations, producing both internal and external publications. She also spent time in Glacier National Park, MT, working in Human Resources & Public Relations, helping to hire over 1,000 seasonal employees for the park and producing internal publications.
Laura Keep brings more than 24 years of marketing and communication experience to Forte Media Partners. As COO, she creates and executes client marketing plans. Laura’s talent for succinct communication along with her creative flair gives our clients a competitive advantage. Her background includes public relations, media communications, broadcasting and event planning.
Public Relations
Before joining Forte Media Partners, Laura served as the public relations leader for Mercy Fort Smith. In this position, she worked closely with local, regional and national media outlets to publicize Mercy and its accomplishments. She was part of the team named a finalist for PR Daily’s National Media Relations Award in 2014 for their campaign “Mercy Breaks Ground on Virtual Care Center” - the first such national honor for Mercy. In addition, Laura instituted the social media plan at Mercy Fort Smith and created an award-winning presence on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn.
In 2014, Mercy was ranked “Top100 Most Social Media Friendly Hospitals in the Nation” and became a finalist for two awards in PR Daily’s Social Media Awards 2014.
During her tenure at Mercy, Laura led a major brand change as the health care organization transitioned from St. Edward Mercy to Mercy Fort Smith. She also guided the public relations efforts during a period of unprecedented growth. Since 2010, Mercy has invested more than $100 million in upgrades to existing service lines and new construction projects including the $42 million, 24-bed Mercy Orthopedic Hospital and three freestanding ten-provider primary care clinics.
Sales and Marketing
Prior to her career at Mercy, Laura worked in sales and marketing for Aventis Pharmaceuticals (and later Sanofi-Aventis) as part of the launch team for three of their most widely used prescription medications – Allegra, Lantus and Ambien. The position afforded her an opportunity to learn marketing skills from a global organization.
Broadcast Journalist
Laura also has more than ten years of experience in broadcast journalism. She worked for network affiliates in four local television markets (Tulsa, Amarillo, Shreveport and Sherman) in positions ranging from weekend news anchor to lead reporter to morning show host. Her last position was a four-year stint as weekend sports anchor/reporter for KJRH-TV 2 NBC in Tulsa, Ok. In the late ‘90s, Laura was often the only woman on the sidelines. She covered teams ranging from the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs to the “Big Four” NCAA teams of the Tulsa TV market (Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Tulsa and Arkansas).
One of her favorite stints was as TV color analyst for the 2000-01 Lady Sooners basketball team that advanced to the NCAA championship game.
Laura is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Journalism. She lives in Tulsa, OK with her husband and two daughters.