Event-Based Branding
April 27, 2018
Hosted by Merritt Hamilton Allen and Gary Potterfield
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Episode Description
Whether you love them or hate them, trade shows and special events are truly unique communication options for engaging, face-to-face marketing. Special events and trade shows are an integrated selling tool – sales, technical, live demonstrations, executive suite management and collateral material all come together in a forum where statistically 83 percent of attendees have some level of buying power. Exhibiting and events provide a platform to launch new products and generate immediate feedback. Industry trade shows allows communication with multiple audiences and provides an opportunity to strengthen relationships with existing customers. In this week’s episode of “The Brand Ambassadors” Sarah Linder, assistant director of sales for Alliance Nationwide Exposition and Rachel O’Sullivan, event and trade show manager from Vox Optima will talk with Merritt and Gary about the best practices for exhibiting and how to capitalize on your exhibits and make them work for you.
The Brand Ambassadors
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PR and communication have bad raps as being frivolous ways for businesses to burn overhead dollars. The Brand Ambassadors will show listeners the best way to incorporate PR into their operations, whether a startup or a Fortune 500 firm.
Host Merritt Hamilton Allen is an economist by training and a PR executive by accident. She will give listeners expert advice on focusing their PR energy and money. She will be joined by co-host Gary Potterfield, who is an expert in integrating business goals into compelling creative campaigns.
Every firm has a compelling narrative that sets them apart from the crowd. Everyone, whether an intern or the CEO, can advance their career and their business by blending their own background into their firm’s narrative through strategic storytelling.
Merritt Hamilton Allen and Gary Potterfield
Merritt Hamilton Allen believes that every employee in every business can help promote that business. Merritt has leveraged unique stories and perspectives to persuade and inform those around her. She turned this personal brand into the company Vox Optima in 2005, and has since been awarded over $25 million in PR contracts. Vox Optima’s public relations clients include multi-billion-dollar organizations, start-ups, and everyone in between.
Merritt grew up in Silver City, New Mexico, where she got her first job in radio at age 13. She attended the University of Notre Dame on NROTC and National Merit scholarships. After graduation she served as a Navy public affairs officer for eight years, and led the Navy’s communication strategy for environmental, personnel, medical, and acquisition issues. Merritt is a disabled veteran.
Vox Optima closed its first year with a $1 million task order from the U.S. Navy. Vox Optima currently has 15 employees, offices in Albuquerque and the DC Metro area and its client roster includes NATO, the U.S. Navy, the Department of Defense, the Department of State, BAE Systems, the Census Bureau and several national trade associations
Merritt was honored as a Woman of Influence by NM Business Weekly in 2012. She was named the top-performing media and marketing CEO in New Mexico in 2013 by Albuquerque Business First. Vox Optima has been listed in the top five PR firms by revenue in the state for the last four years.
