MARC USA Chicago Partners with 1871 to Host Marketing Hack Event
Marketing Sparks Event Brings Together Chicago Startups and Marketers
to develop communications and business development strategies
CHICAGO
(December 4, 2014) – Four promising Chicago startups will be matched with
leading Chicago marketing executives in the first local Marketing Sparks event.
This three-hour marketing hack on Thursday, December 4th will be led by MARC
USA’s Chicago office in partnership with 1871, the entrepreneurial hub for
digital startups.
Marketing
leaders from McDonalds, United Airlines, Caterpillar, US Cellular, Grainger,
Payless ShoeSource, Buddig and CDW, among others, will join MARC USA’s Chicago
leadership in developing actionable strategic and tactical marketing
communications and business development ideas to help increase each startup
company’s chances of success.
MARC USA has
hosted two Marketing Sparks events in Pittsburgh in partnership with local
universities and incubators as a way to provide that city’s most innovative
startups with critical advice on how to market their ideas.
“Young
companies have very distinct needs, and our experience shows that when they can
put innovative marketing ideas to work early in the business development
process, it maximizes their opportunities for growth,” explained Jean McLaren,
President of MARC USA Chicago. “We recognized how successful our
Marketing Sparks program was in Pittsburgh and saw an opportunity to bring it
to Chicago’s growing startup community. We’ve invited senior marketers who
enjoy getting together with their peers and working with young companies as a
way to give back to their communities.”
The Chicago
Startups who are participating include:
•
ParkNav, creators of an app that finds open parking spaces in cities
MARC USA
selected 1871 as its partner in Chicago, recognizing its deep roots and success
in developing and supporting innovative local entrepreneurs. The startups
participating in the event were selected based on their readiness to act on the
advice presented.
“By providing
quality, personalized support throughout our member companies’ development,
1871 ensures that our members have access to every resource they might need to
help them succeed,” said 1871 CEO Howard A. Tullman. “We are excited to partner
with MARC USA in Chicago to offer this opportunity to our startups.”
The marketers
who are joining the session represent a diverse pool of leaders across
disciplines (PR, strategy, digital, creative and more) who are passionate and
eager to share their knowledge. The Chicago Marketing Sparks will be held at
1871 in Chicago on December 4th from 6 – 9 pm. A website to support the effort
has been launched at http://marketingsparks.org.
About MARC USA
MARC USA is a
national full-service integrated marketing communications firm known for
uncovering radical insights that incite powerful reactions through a deeper
understanding of whole-brain behavior. With offices in Chicago, Miami, Boston
and Pittsburgh, 270 employees and more than $370 million in annual billings, it
is one of the largest independent agencies in the country. Services include
advertising, strategic planning, research, public relations, social marketing,
media planning and buying, digital marketing, direct and customer relationship
marketing and sales promotion.
About 1871
1871 is an
entrepreneurial incubator for digital startups. Home to over 300 companies, the
75,000-square-foot facility in The Merchandise Mart provides Chicago startups
with programming, access to mentors, educational resources, potential investors
and a community of like-minded entrepreneurs that help them on their path to
building successful businesses. Recently ranked 9th in the world in the 2014
UBI Index list of top university-associated business incubators, 1871 has
become a global leader in the entrepreneurial community. 1871 is the flagship
project of the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center.
MARC USA Chicago Partners with 1871 to Host Marketing Hack Event
Marketing Sparks Event Brings Together Chicago Startups and Marketers
to develop communications and business development strategies
CHICAGO
(December 4, 2014) – Four promising Chicago startups will be matched with
leading Chicago marketing executives in the first local Marketing Sparks event.
This three-hour marketing hack on Thursday, December 4th will be led by MARC
USA’s Chicago office in partnership with 1871, the entrepreneurial hub for
digital startups.
Marketing
leaders from McDonalds, United Airlines, Caterpillar, US Cellular, Grainger,
Payless ShoeSource, Buddig and CDW, among others, will join MARC USA’s Chicago
leadership in developing actionable strategic and tactical marketing
communications and business development ideas to help increase each startup
company’s chances of success.
MARC USA has
hosted two Marketing Sparks events in Pittsburgh in partnership with local
universities and incubators as a way to provide that city’s most innovative
startups with critical advice on how to market their ideas.
“Young
companies have very distinct needs, and our experience shows that when they can
put innovative marketing ideas to work early in the business development
process, it maximizes their opportunities for growth,” explained Jean McLaren,
President of MARC USA Chicago. “We recognized how successful our
Marketing Sparks program was in Pittsburgh and saw an opportunity to bring it
to Chicago’s growing startup community. We’ve invited senior marketers who
enjoy getting together with their peers and working with young companies as a
way to give back to their communities.”
The Chicago
Startups who are participating include:
•
ParkNav, creators of an app that finds open parking spaces in cities
•
Fetchfind, a match.com-like program for pet sitting companies seeking employees
•
Rippleshot, a credit card fraud detection company
•
Double Helix Group, real-time, cloud-based programs to support patient
engagement between regular visits to health care providers
MARC USA
selected 1871 as its partner in Chicago, recognizing its deep roots and success
in developing and supporting innovative local entrepreneurs. The startups
participating in the event were selected based on their readiness to act on the
advice presented.
“By providing
quality, personalized support throughout our member companies’ development,
1871 ensures that our members have access to every resource they might need to
help them succeed,” said 1871 CEO Howard A. Tullman. “We are excited to partner
with MARC USA in Chicago to offer this opportunity to our startups.”
The marketers
who are joining the session represent a diverse pool of leaders across
disciplines (PR, strategy, digital, creative and more) who are passionate and
eager to share their knowledge. The Chicago Marketing Sparks will be held at
1871 in Chicago on December 4th from 6 – 9 pm. A website to support the effort
has been launched at http://marketingsparks.org.
About MARC USA
MARC USA is a
national full-service integrated marketing communications firm known for
uncovering radical insights that incite powerful reactions through a deeper
understanding of whole-brain behavior. With offices in Chicago, Miami, Boston
and Pittsburgh, 270 employees and more than $370 million in annual billings, it
is one of the largest independent agencies in the country. Services include
advertising, strategic planning, research, public relations, social marketing,
media planning and buying, digital marketing, direct and customer relationship
marketing and sales promotion.
About 1871
1871 is an
entrepreneurial incubator for digital startups. Home to over 300 companies, the
75,000-square-foot facility in The Merchandise Mart provides Chicago startups
with programming, access to mentors, educational resources, potential investors
and a community of like-minded entrepreneurs that help them on their path to
building successful businesses. Recently ranked 9th in the world in the 2014
UBI Index list of top university-associated business incubators, 1871 has
become a global leader in the entrepreneurial community. 1871 is the flagship
project of the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center.
Marc USA Chicago brings in marketing mavens to give 1871 startups a leg up
Howard Tullman is the new CEO of Chicago tech hub 1871.
Four startups housed at Chicago-based tech incubator 1871 got a very generous helping hand last night from Marc USAChicago. The local ad agency sponsored a "Marketing Sparks" confab to assist the select group of startups in expanding and sharpening their business development and marketing game plans as they begin to move out into the larger marketplace.
The four startups chosen by 1871 to participate in the three-hour session included ParkNav, a company with an app that finds open parking spaces in cities; Fetchfind, a Match.com-like program for petting-sitting companies seeking employees; Rippleshot, a credit card fraud detection company; and Double Helix Group, a company that develops cloud-based programs to support patient engagement between regular visits to health care providers.
At the invitation of Marc USA, marketing executives from a range of high-profile, well-established companies, including McDonald's, United Airlines, Caterpillar, U.S. Cellular, Grainger, Payless ShoeSource, Buddig and CDW, participated in the event and worked one-on-one during the session with staff from each startup.
Noted Jean McLaren, president of Marc USA Chicago: "Young companies have very distinct needs, and our experience shows that when they can put innovative marketing ideas to work early in the business development process, it maximizes their opportunities for growth."
The Chicago "Marketing Sparks" event comes in the wake of two similar successful events Marc USA sponsored earlier this year in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania., where the ad agency is headquartered.
"Marketing Sparks" is one of the newest ways 1871 is helping to boost the chances of its start-ups to actually make it beyond the start-up phase. Added 1871 CEO Howard Tullman: "By providing quality, personalized support throughout our member companies' development, 1871 ensures that our members have access to every resource they might need to help them succeed."
