50 on Fire will bring together D.C.'s best and brightest to recognize the disruptors, luminaries and visionaries that are pushing our city forward. Buy your tickets now and join us on December 4th at Howard Theatre for the celebration and winners reveal.
Washington D.C.'s growth as a business hotspot hasn't left the realm of marketing and advertising behind. In fact, more than a little of the credit for D.C.'s explosive growth can probably be laid at the feet of the creative energy and marketing savvy of people and companies in the ares. The judges for this year's 50 on Fire event on December 4 have a challenging task picking from among the 15 finalists in this category. Check out the cream of the crop in this year's D.C.'s marketing and advertising finalists below.
Brad Nierenberg, RedPeg Marketing
Brad Nierenberg is the man behind Alexandria-based RedPeg Marketing. Nierenberg's Chance for Life held it's ninth annual benefit for the Spinal Chord Tumor Association and raised an impressive $150,000 in just one night. Meanwhile, RedPeg expanded its client list to over 25 brands and made Event Marketer's It List of Top 100 Event Agencies.
Cary Hatch, MDB Communications
Cary Hatch is CEO of MDB Communications and founder of Advertising Week DC. This year, Hatch joined the board of the University System of Maryland Foundation as well as giving the commencement speech for UMD's communications department. Her firm led the city’s Destination DC - "DC Cool" campaign with Destination DC and to top it off, she was named on the POWER 100 List by the Washington Business Journal.
Erik Muendel, Brightline Interactive
Erik Muendel is CEO of Alexandria-based Brightline Interactive, a digital agency creates place-based experiences for brands. Muendel has built the digital experiences for a major Fortune 100 brand in several NFL stadiums. He also led Brightline's installation of a multi-million dollar exhibit in Times Square for the Avengers movie franchise. The company also launched a new studio for events called the Digital Exchange.
Event Farm
Event Farm created an event management software platform that promotes brands while running event logistics. This year, the company added some big names to its client list including Google, Ferrari and NBC Universal, fueling a doubling in its revenue and helping it launched a new Near Field Communications system called HOVER that engages with clients on events based on where they are in a venue.
Greg Kihlström, Carousel30
Greg Kihlström is the founder and CEO of digital agency Carousel30. This year he was chosen to become president of the DC Ad Club, host of the week-long ADWKDC conference. He also serves on the National Advisory Council's Marketing Sub-committee of the Trust for the National Mall, working to improve and maintain the National Mall and surrounding parks. On top of that, he led his company to start working pro bono with the Community Coalition for Haiti to providebranding and marketing to help improve the lives of Hatians.
Greg O'Dell, Events DC
Greg O’Dell is president and CEO of Events DC, the official organization for D.C. that owns and runs the Convention Center, Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium and events at the DC Armory. O'Dell this year helped open the new 1,175-room Marriott Marquis Washington, DC convention center hotel and partnered with the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington to get convention attendees into local restaurants with custom menus.
HZDG
HZDG is a full-service creative agency. It works with major brands like Volkswagen of America and Marriott International as well as local names like the Washington Redskins and Blackboard.
Industry Dive
Industry Dive is a media startup connecting business executives with news about their industries via mobile devices. This year the company launched two new newsletters for the BioPharma and Solar industries and hit more than a million readers a month.
Leah Nurik, Gabriel Marketing Group
Leah Nurik is the founder and CEO of Gabriel Marketing Group, focusing on tech startups especially. This year she added eight tech groups to her client list and expanded her staff in a big way. She also works pro bono for the Life With Cancer and Bricks of Hope charities
LMO Advertising
LMO Advertising is the largest advertising communications firm in the area. Its clients include government agencies, private firms and non-profit groups. It also earned some attention for using Snapchat to hire its latest intern.
nvite
Nvite is a popular new event management platform. It raised $1 million in seed financing this summer and its platform has been used in 16 countries and 36 U.S. cities, orchestrating the tickets for tens of thousands of people.
RP3 Agency
RP3 is a creative agency working with many local clients like JLL, Wolf Trap, and John Hopkins University. It's efforts earned it 21 ADDY Awards at the annual American Advertising Awards, more than any other company.
Stephanie Orton Lynch, Delucchi Plus
Stephanie Lynch is executive vice president at Delucchi Plus, a major strategic communications and marketing agency. The position was created for her to lead the way to even more growth for the company.
Tahzoo
Tahzoo is a customer experience agency focused on digital services. It's rapid expansion saw it open new offices in Europe and moving its D.C. offices downtown to accomadate its nearly 50 employees in the area. Inc named it to the list of 10 Fastest-Growing Private Companies in DC and the Inc 500 List of Fastest Growing Private Companies
Vicky Vadlamani, Mercury
Vicky Vadlamani is a local leader in digital marketing. She runs the digital practice as vice president at Mercury Public Affairs. She also teaches a digital marketing graduate studies program at Georgetown University and is the board of Washington Women in PR.
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