PRSSA Candid Conversation with Jessica Staropoli and Kourtney Karr
By: Jaclyn Galvin and Thea Nagle
Jessica Staropoli and Kourtney Karr spoke to the Emerson College chapter of PRSSA on January 12 for the Candid Conversations series. Jessica and Kourtney work as the Director and Senior Manager, respectively, of the global lifestyle marketing agency MKTG, which humanizes brands through live events. Some of their clients include IBM, FedEx, Nike and Toyota.
MKTG has multiple core services, sports and entertainment consulting, hospitality and events, experiential, digital, social, content and influencers, B2B, and Research and Measurement. These various core services work together to create the best live experience possible. In a normal year, MKTG helps to put on over 80,000 events yearly. Due to COVID-19, their 10 domestic and 31 international offices had to shift to an online event style for clients. While the pandemic has sidetracked most live events, some events can be held in a safe, hybrid environment to maintain the effectiveness of live events hosted by a brand.
There is some opportunity that will come out of the pandemic. “Technology is here to stay and some clients are going to continue to hold virtual events beyond the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Jess Staropoli, MKTG Senior Manager. MKTG is innovating and creating virtual events for clients that continue to humanize brands and connect brands to their audience.
Jessica and Kourtney have learned a lot from working with clients on virtual events. An important question to ask your client before the virtual event is ideated is, “what is your end goal with this event,” said Jessica. There are typical large-scale events that do not make sense as virtual events, and trying to turn them into successful virtual events is not recommended. Virtual events are ideated and executed in very strategic ways that differ from live events. MKTG learned that a “COVID-19 plan was pivotal for successful events. Covid taught us the importance of having a crisis communication plan,” Kourtney explained. Numerous aspects can throw a live events schedule off track, so being able to hold successful virtual events is a great skill set. Studying successful virtual events and practicing creating your own is “knowledge that is super valuable and will allow you to make yourself more marketable in the industry,” Jessica advised.
While Jessica and Kourtney have learned a lot professionally from working in a pandemic, they have also learned some personal lessons in self-care. “Self-motivation is everything, when in doubt just look at things from a different angle and always find the positive in everything that you do but, don’t force anything upon yourself,” Jessica mentioned. It is important to take time to reflect on how you are personally feeling to put your all into working from home. The pandemic has shifted the workforce drastically, so self-awareness and self-care are important now more than ever.
Learning about MKTG and the events they put on was so informative during this session of Candid Conversations. Stay tuned for another blog post regarding MKTG’s trainee program! Our next Candid Conversation is Tuesday, Feb. 2 at 6 p.m. with Elizabeth Moss.