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Since its inception 10 years ago, metaphor has been committed to the craft and passion of artful storytelling.
And that long-held commitment to brilliant storytelling punctuates the excitement of Raymond (Buz) Buse III joining the metaphor team as senior vice president of creative intelligence.
Since joining the staff on St. Patrick’s Day, Buz has energized metaphor with a new dimension of creative thinking and media relations strategies that has captured the attention of metaphor’s existing client base and potential new clients as well. Buz is charged with leading metaphor’s new public relations unit under the direction of Suzanne Beane, senior vice president and chief strategy officer for metaphor.
“We are so pleased to offer Buz’s talents as a part of metaphor’s marketing palette,” said Suzanne. “He’s a creative dynamo who delivers innovative ideas and strategies on levels few could possibly expect.”“Just as importantly, Buz is a kindred spirit and fits in seamlessly with the metaphor culture. We are delighted to have him on board and encourage clients to tap his unique abilities.”
Buz’s proactive PR ideas have generated stories in countless media outlets, so here’s a top-line: The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA TODAY, The Washington Post, the Associated Press, TIME, Newsweek, US News & World Report, NBC, CBS, ABC, ESPN, CNN, FOX News, VH1, NPR, the BBC, the Canadian Broadcasting Company and two Japanese networks.
Before joining the Chamber, he co-produced a Cincinnati wine series for the city’s Bicentennial in 1988. The wine surpassed 50,000 sold, earning two national marketing awards and was the feature of a half-page article in The San Francisco Chronicle with the headline, “What’s A Nice California Wine Doing in Cincinnati?”
In 1997 he single-handedly received the written endorsements of more than 50 community and national leaders – including the mayor, the governor, five congressmen, astronaut Neil Armstrong and Vice President Al Gore – to persuade the Cincinnati Reds to invite then-NBC News anchor Linda Vester, a native Cincinnatian, to throw out the first pitch for the Reds on Opening Day, 1998. That event sparked positive coverage by Time Magazine and a live national broadcast by Al Roker and Linda on the Today program from Fountain Square, with more than 6 million viewers watching.
‘He’s the most creative PR genius I have ever met. He’s genius at coming up with newsworthy events and brilliant ideas. They make news. He makes excitement.’
Charlotte Otto, Global External Relations Officer, P&G, PRWeek, April 30, 2007
2007 – Buz joins metaphor after a distinguished 16-year career at the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber. In 2007 PRWeek bestowed upon Buz the Oscar of PR – its PR Professional of the Year Award – before 1,000 of his peers at a black-tie gala at Tavern on the Green in New York City. In 2006 the other PR industry trade publication – PR News – named Buz its Media Relations Professional of the Year
at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. In 2006, together with Project Lily Pad project and Time Warner Cable Business Class, Buz completed a yearlong quest for Cincinnati to introduce the nation’s first interstate wi-fi hotspot, connecting Cincinnati, Covington, KY, and Newport KY with a hotspot measuring more than 25 million square feet. It’s now possible “to surf the Ohio River” in Cincinnati USA. In 2005, with then-Mayor Charlie Luken, Buz staged .“Blitz Jay Leno Day” to celebrate the new winning ways of the Cincinnati Bengals
– previously fodder for Mr. Leno’s nightly monologue. This prompted Mr. Leno to call Buz personally to say he wanted to “play ball” with Cincinnati’s young professionals and led to a seven-minute monologue via a phone call to Bold Fusion about how his “tough love” had turned around the Bengals. In 2004, Buz turned the emergence of 5 billion cicadas into a celebration of Cincinnati’s acclaimed music scene with Cicada Escape Zones and a CD project of original music titled “Seventeen Year Itch: Mating Calls of Cincinnati USA” that earned placement in the Folk Art Collection in the Library of Congress. In addition, the project was featured on CBS Sunday Morning. In 2003, Buz asked the Chamber to commission “Sudsie, the World’s Largest Soap Sculpture” – made of 7,500 pounds of Ivory Soap – to put a large spotlight on an international economic development conference in Cincinnati. “Sudsie” generated coverage by CNN, AP and numerous other national and international outlets, and in 2004 earned a Guinness world record. 
Before entering the public relations field, Buse – a Montgomery, Ohio resident – earned a number of statewide and national awards from the journalism profession for excellence in writing, editing and photography. He is a 1972 graduate of St. Xavier High School, 1976 graduate of St. Bonaventure University and the father of three beautiful and talented children – Patrick, Kahle and Corey.
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