client success stories
content curation + sponsor leadership
problem/
martha’s vineyard is home to many womens’ luncheons in august. senior executive deb elam’s event is a repeat event with a loyal following, yet she wanted this event to feel distinct from other luncheons.
solution/
omerge alliances created a theme, sojourner’s sanctuary for this event, inspired by sojourner truth. the concept was felt throughout the program starting with a purple stage backdrop of visual featuring sojourner and her words from her infamous ain’t i a woman speech, and throughout a custom connection exercise in which women were taken on a mindfulness exercise through their personal journey and invited to make intentional connections with new people they had not met.
our contributions/
omerge created the content for the brief, but intentional 80-minute program, including sponsors, deb grant, freedom at the mat, and raffle prizes. we developed the script and prepped all speakers and host.
creative production
problem/
the essence festival of culture is an annual event global culture creators eagerly await. each year, experts plan to attend, and wish to leverage this experiential platform to position themselves as industry or culture leaders. the festival has its own mission, which is to maintain brand relevance and showcase its content through experiential platforms.
solution/
omerge alliances researched and recommended relevant speakers & talent to deliver against the brand’s strategy. additionally, we curated the conversations and prepped all speakers to ensure maximum confidence for them, and that the content delivered for our client ESSENCE.
our contributions/
content creation. content curation for 3 days of content featuring over 90 talent. stage production day of show with technical production agency as well.
production project leadership
problem/
organization of the daytime production of the largest festival in the United States.
solution/
strategic, personable, humane, technologically savvy project leadership.
our contributions/
omerge alliances has led programming strategy and overall project management for essence festival’s daytime experiences* including essence stage, path to power, health hub, wellness house, beauty essence eats. we design program strategy as well as orchestrate editorial, marketing, promotions, sponsorship and production to ensure these events deliver the best-in-class consumer centric experiences in the world.
given the fact that over 540K people congregate in New Orleans, LA for the festival, with over 150K daily attendees convening in the NOLA Convention Center, seasoned, proven dedicated leadership is needed to deliver on this initiative, which omerge alliances has brought to the table since 2009, and been renewed consistently.
*as of 2023, oa has retained leadership of wellness house, health hub and essence stage.
partnership development
problem/
game show network has a specific audience of W55+, and a limited advertising budget off air. they wanted to align with strategic partners to drive relevance and tune-in.
solution/
omerge alliances led negotiations with partners such as yahoo!, usa today, gaither family, and more to deliver strategic partnerships.
our contributions/
partner research. synergy identification. deal point memo development & negotiation for yahoo! and usa today for new co-branded television show ventures between the network and media brands, appealing to the intended audience via partner media from both entities.
virtual event creation
problem/
engage & support ovia health’s audience during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.
solution/
design a custom event to deliver their mission virtually.
our contributions/
omerge alliances programmed and produced ovia health’s stressless fest 2021 via hopin, on thursday, june 3, 2021 from 12:30pm-02:00pm est. the fest was a virtual learning event for mothers, parent prospects, ttc parents and wellness seekers, to gain insights and share knowledge on such as mental health, sleep, exercise and wellness overall.
we selected a mixture of influencers and micro-influencers to expand and diversify reach, in addition to expose the ovia health brand name to niche mom subgroups across social media platforms. such talent was included as amanda mckay | self care coach for moms. mom of 4 under 4, denise albert | co-founder themoms.com, journalist. entrepreneur. cancer survivor and advocate. mom of 2, dinah eke | clinical research professional, blogger & mama of 2, dr. angela holliday-bell | certified clinical sleep specialist and board certified pediatrician, faith hunter | author • meditation & yoga instructor, jennifer carson |sleep & well-being specialist. mom of 2 and leasa wright | certified prenatal yoga instructor (rpyt) and sound healing practitioner.
omerge alliances program strategy included a diversity of content including consumer-engagement quizzes, conversations, an opening meditation and closing affirmation.
virtual event creation
problem/
in march 2020, the pandemic had just started. essence wanted to provide support to their followers about health & well being in an unforeseen and never-before-seen global health crisis.
solution/
omerge alliances created essence’s first-ever virtual event held on march 30, 2020.
our contributions/
working for 17 days straight after the initial call from the client, omerge leveraged the brand’s new, but trusted, wellness house property to deliver a world-class virtual event appealing to multiple generations of black women from the diaspora, living in the u.s. and globally. our groundbreaking work laid the foundation for a critical experiential strategy that contributed to the growth of the company amidst the covid-19 pandemic.
- five distinct virtual essence wellness house events, 110 total talent contracted and managed.
- essence festival edition garnered 215 unique talent posts & 94MM social impressions.
- creation and activation of new branded properties which drove audience engagement, doctor says & well necessities.
- content strategy developed and executed featuring mental health, physical health, sexual health, relationship health, fitness, medical marijuana and cbd.
advertising & media planning
problem/
low student enrollment and low student prospects in the pipeline.
solution/
develop top of the funnel marketing plan to add paid media and enhance earned media to drive awareness and interest.
our contributions/
omerge alliances created and planned media for the Fall ’21 new york theological seminary ad campaign. this included competitive analysis, social listening, creative development and digital media planning. the campaign’s goal was to expand awareness of the virtual program offerings and to increase the number of applications, and subsequent student admission registrations.
omerge alliances’ advertising messaging strategy featured NYTS programs and students in the ads, and applied smart audience segmentation strategies to appeal to the range of potential students from 25-54 globally.
media mix included owned email list, brand google ads & facebook ads, and an event series. admissions pipeline increased by 5% YOY.
experiential marketing leadership
problem/
wellness was growing as a buzz word, but there was limited focus on engaging black women to prioritize selfcare, or give them permission to honor their mental, physical and emotional health beyond pharmaceutical brands or hospital/healthcare-related messages.
solution/
develop an affordable event platform which was unapologetically a safe haven for black women to come and engage around all things health & wellness during an occasion in which the target audience was already gathered in one location.
our contributions/
omerge alliances led development for the first-ever essence wellness house held at essence festival 2019 in new orleans. we developed programming strategy, identified health & wellness advocates & speakers, managed all booking, managed production, marketing & promotion. the event sold out 1 week prior for 600+ ticket purchasers.
- 2 Days, 2 Workout Studios, 12 Workouts of varied regimens incl. yoga, pilates, aerobics, body sculpting, kickboxing
- 20+ featured wellness & health advocates, doctors & experts
- Indulgent experiences for all including massage stations, custom fragrance bar, readings from The Hood Healer & Simone Bresi-Ando.
- Wellness intensive conversations abounded around relationships, sexual health, healing broken hearts, nutrition, following your passion and medical marijuana.
sponsorship marketing leadership: wellness events
problem/
festival owners wished to increase sponsorship revenue and partnership support to drive expanded event awareness & relevant onsite activations.
solution/
create a strategy to approach relevant, category-endemic sponsors including health beverages, fitness apparel, organic beauty, health-related snacks, and more.
our contributions/
omerge alliances created a robust sponsorship marketing strategy for the 2018 asheville yoga festival. we researched and contacted 40+ wellness, fitness apparel, and health-oriented brands over the course of 5 months.
We secured Dr. Haushcka, Namaste Interactive and Yoga Outlet to provide financial and in-kind sponsorship contributions.
custom branded promotional product
problem/
new television series with limited marketing budget, and zero show awareness in need of tune-in promotional assets.
solution/
engage marketing partners appealing to similar target audience to use their consumer touchpoints to spread the message.
our contributions/
development and implementation of a six-category, 40-brand partner search. over the course of four months, our outreach resulted in the closing of a partnership with America’s top-selling moonshine brand, Ole Smoky Moonshine.
ole smoky created a custom branded product bearing the TV show’s name and sold it nationally as well as engaged customers via a consumer sweepstakes offering a trip to the Ole Smoky distillery in Gatlinburg, TN. we also supported the creation and execution of a kickoff celebration launch event in nyc.
film brand partnership
problem/
to drive brand relevance and affinity with women 25-44, and also impact sales of IMAN cosmetics.
solution/
align IMAN cosmetics with about last night starring kevin hart, michael early, regina hall and joy bryant.
our contributions/
omerge alliances led studio negotiations and managed promotional plan development and led execution which included print and digital advertising, retail events at Walgreens, a national sweepstakes, and two screenings in NYC and Chicago, including a promotional execution with hellobeautiful.com.
IMAN tied this launch to a new lip collection with products titled after themes in the film, e.g. Taboo, Flirtatious, Kinky Pink, and Scandalous, and as a result, drove sales through the entertainment alignment.
retail/television show partnership
problem/
limited marketing budget for media storm agency client fx networks’ season 2 of justified.
solution/
partner with a brand appealing to a similar target audience to leverage their consumer media channels to drive show awareness.
our contributions/
omerge alliances contacted, negotiated and managed partnership with national retail chain, true religion jeans.
justified gained exposure via in-store windows, purchase bags and online, while fx integrated true religion into cross-channel promo spots, online and via consumer sweeps.
new product launch event
problem/
new product collection, femme fatale, with no product awareness, and limited mktg budget.
solution/
enlist, engage and endear bloggers in a blogger-exclusive event as opposed to traditional journalists to spread the word.
our contributions/
omerge alliances connected, managed and produced iman cosmetics’ exclusive beauty blogger event attended by 26 esteemed nyc-based bloggers and 16 virtual bloggers via a live stream from london, chicago, la, st. louis, tampa, among other cities.
the intimate, invite-only affair featured globally inspired music, decor and cuisine in line with the internationally inspired new collection. the event also offered guests a twitter live cast and four beauty stations with iman cosmetics’ makeup artists offering makeovers to bloggers using the femme fatale collection, photo captured at branded step & repeat or instagram poster.
the distribution of the event’s press release resulted in event and collection coverage exposure via 261 websites garnering over 72mm impressions. the event’s hashtag, #imanfemmefatale reached 54k accounts attracting 99k impressions during the event.
brand event marketing & sales activation
problem/
drive brand awareness and demand of andre walker hair in a saturated beauty market.
solution/
create demand for the product leveraging the strong personal brands of oprah and andre walker hair (her hair stylist).
our contributions/
omerge alliances led research and development of a unique brand positioning strategy which led to our development of an ownable paid, owned and earned media strategy including trade events, trade marketing, and consumer media, including social channels.
additionally, we led all design, creative development & production, pricing promotions, social media leadership and floor management of the sales team for andre walker’s first-ever international hair show bronner brothers’ booth activation.
omerge also provided overarching general marketing counsel pertaining to marketing launch at target, google adwords & email marketing, website redesign and relaunch, event activation at nzuri and bronner bros hair show, and social media strategy. we provided best practices marketing expertise to aid the new andre walker hair brand with a faster and more lucrative launch.
consumer sweepstakes
problem/
omerge alliances was a new consultancy on the block, and wanted to communicate to consumers and beauty brands that it was a new market entrant.
solution/
generate publicity through a national consumer sweepstakes leveraging brand affinity for beloved beauty brands (some of which were clients).
our contributions/
campaign identification creation & digital media planning & buying. through fall into beauty, 17 winners received free products from spa finder, iman cosmetics, andre walker hair and me & the girls skincare.
results = 9195 page visits, 3097 entrants, 1662 opting in to receive future communications, with increased social growth for omerge alliances of 444% pinterest, 110% twitter, 91% facebook, 14% instagram and 3% tumblr growth..
influencer marketing
problem/
a fierce detroit-based entrepreneur wanted to enter the highly competitive hair extensions market with no brand identity or equity or product sales/consumer demand.
solution/
development of brand identity, advertising campaign and influencer marketing program.
our contributions/
leveraging marketing research into market insights, we developed a unique brand proposition around confidence. we managed website development, beauty blogger influencer outreach, pr, sales promotions, sweepstakes, digital ad and email campaigns. within year 1, efforts resulted in a nationally recognized consumer brand with 50k video views from custom-created blogger reviews, 30k+ instagram, 3.6k facebook, 2k twitter followers, and a profitable online and brick and mortar location.
regarding influencers, omerge alliances researched and contacted 35 bloggers on behalf of client in pursuit of bloggers to create favorable product reviews. six bloggers agreed to create posts, resulting over 60k+ video views, which proved valuable to a brand only in its first 18 months of business.
