Experiential Marketing

My career in experiential marketing began on a campaign to help rebuild the Jersey Shore in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Our program consisted of a series of events including a concert at the Stone Pony, a series of public athletic competitions, a beachside marathon, an event with the Harlem Globetrotters, an episode of Bar Rescue, a live cooking competition with Bobby Flay, breaking a Guinness World Record live on the Today Show and a visit from then-President Barack Obama. Beyond that, I also worked with a number of PR/Advertising firms- MWW, Momentum Worldwide, Wasserman Media Group- on projects for Nike, Bentley, American Express and the NBA. Some experiences were designed as small, intimate, customer-retention opportunities, while others exposed tens of thousands of fans to the ethos of a given brand. All were driven by the story and experience each brand sought to share with its customers, rather than by products. My business venture in Birmingham, AL was no different. We were so successful at integrating our brand into sponsored events, we were often thought to be the title sponsor of events we paid little or nothing to support, most notably, a series of IndyCar races where fans assumed we were a team with a car in the race. We were able to turn micro-budgets into major profits while generating massive brand awareness.