NEW ORLEANS – Brand Intervention, a live on-stage “brand showdown” created by Pink Palmetto Media, Florence Creative Marketing, Angled Marketing and Comfy Stone, will launch Oct. 1 at Loft 523 in New Orleans. The inaugural event, scheduled from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., will feature one local business receiving expert guidance from the four firms while the audience gains a behind-the-scenes look at how branding and communications strategies are built. Businesses interested in being considered for the Hot Seat have until Sept. 24 to apply at brand-intervention.com.
“The four of us behind Brand Intervention are all owners of small, independent marketing and PR companies,” said Maggie Robert, founder of Pink Palmetto Media. “Most of us left larger agencies or corporate roles to strike out on our own, while Josh with Comfy Stone has been running his team for over a decade. Like many professionals in our field, we’ve seen the shift toward freelance and boutique agency work. In fact, more than 40% of marketing professionals in the U.S. now identify as independent consultants or contractors.”
Robert explained that over the past couple of years, she and her collaborators have built a strong network of like-minded professionals in the community to share referrals, collaborate on projects, and support one another. “Together, we’re able to offer the same full range of services as a traditional agency, from branding and web design to social media, PR, and podcast production, but with a more flexible and personalized approach,” she said.
“One thing we often do together is attend networking events,” Robert continued. “While we’ve benefited greatly from the many excellent organizations that host them, we’ve also felt they can sometimes get repetitive. That inspired us to create something fresh, a new format for networking that also gives us the chance to showcase our expertise in an engaging, entertaining way and help out local businesses while we’re at it. That’s where the idea for Brand Intervention was born.”
Organizers say the event will carry the energy of a late-night talk show while delivering practical, strategic insights. It is being produced by Robert, Sara Scioneaux of Florence Creative Marketing, who focuses on branding and design, Becky Angle of Angled Marketing, who leads content strategy and social media, and Josh Owen of Comfy Stone, who specializes in video and podcast production.
Event Format and Hot Seat Selection
“We wanted to ensure the business in the Hot Seat walks away with a real, actionable toolkit of strategies to apply directly to their business,” Robert said. “By focusing on one business, we can dive deep enough to make the advice meaningful and impactful. If time allows, we may bring another business owner up from the audience for a shorter, impromptu ‘mini intervention,’ but the priority is dedicating enough time to the selected business. And since this is just the first in a series of Brand Intervention events, there will be many future opportunities for other businesses to get involved.”
The selection process is designed to spotlight companies at turning points. “We’re looking for a business that’s at a pivotal point in its journey,” Robert said. “That could mean they’ve never invested in marketing or PR before, they’re going through a transition and need a new strategy, or they’re facing a fresh challenge they’ve never encountered before. We’re open to businesses of all sizes and industries, as long as they’re ready to be open, honest, and willing to grow.”
Robert said the audience will also benefit. “The audience will get to see, up close, how professionals approach a real business challenge, including the kinds of questions we ask, the way we analyze situations, and the strategies we recommend,” she said. “It’s a behind-the-scenes look at how marketing and communications experts think. Attendees will also walk away with practical takeaways like new tools, tactics, and ideas they might not have considered before that they can apply directly to their own business. Even if they’re not in the Hot Seat, they’ll benefit from the process.”
She expects attendees to leave with several clear lessons. “A new perspective on how to evaluate your brand and communications. Specific, practical marketing tactics that businesses can implement immediately. The confidence to think creatively and take bold steps in how they present their business. And the power of community, meaning realizing there are resources and peers here in New Orleans who can help you grow.”
Robert said organizers anticipate between 50 and 80 attendees at the launch.
About the Organizers
Pink Palmetto Media, Robert’s firm, specializes in modern storytelling that helps businesses get seen, heard, and remembered where their audiences are already engaged. Scioneaux’s Florence Creative Marketing develops cohesive visual identities and marketing materials, Angle’s firm ensures businesses maintain consistent and effective online presence, and Owen’s Comfy Stone brings more than a decade of full-service production experience creating video, podcast, and digital content. Together, the four companies provide small businesses with the kind of multidisciplinary support typically associated with larger agencies.
