Focus: Agency Access, Winner of 2015 Corporate Sponsor of the Year

At last year's DMLA Conference we instigated some new awards and reinstated some awards that we hadn't given for some years in an effort to acknowledge the special efforts of some of our members.  Here is the first of our series on the accomplishments of these special companies/people before new honors are bestowed at this year's conference.First up, Keith Gentile, CEO of Agency Access, our first ever Corporate Sponsor of the Year.      Could you describe the role you played in DMLA's branding last year?Last year, we were approached by DMLA’s executive director, Cathy Aron, and president, Sarah Fix, to help re-brand and market DMLA. One of our senior marketing consultants and member of the DMLA board, Karen D’Silva, worked with Biggs, a hip New York graphic design agency, and supported the logo design. After this new identity was created for DMLA, I worked on a program to market the company’s new vision and goals to its members and potential members. At Agency Access, we have an amazing Campaign Manager program designed to provide consulting support, design support, and implementation support. I assigned an elite crew, which included Karen D’Silva as consultant, Alison Abate as designer, and Katie Jackson as campaign manager to market the 2015 DMLA conference. They worked on a series of email promotions and a print brochure to promote the new vision to members. Through a series of branded emails, we scheduled campaigns and simultaneously focused our attention on all the great things the conference had to offer. By including DMLA’s new vision, registration, seminars, and parties, our goal was to educate the market on how spectacular the conference would be.What does winning the first corporate sponsor of the year award mean to you?It was surreal! It meant so much to me personally, and most importantly, to my team. I couldn’t take all the credit because there were so many moving parts and people involved in making it happen. We were flattered and shocked with the generous award and recognition. Looking back at the conferences’ success, which contribution of yours are you proudest of?I am proudest of the increase in brand awareness. Our goal was to educate people on the new brand and vision of DMLA while increasing registration to the conference, and I feel we did exactly that. Another memorable moment was when Cathy and Sarah approached us to express gratitude for supporting them. Other supporters of DMLA that I have never met also came over to thank us. All the recognition we were given felt amazing because our hard work had paid off. We felt very much appreciated.What have you been working on for this year's conference and what are you most looking forward to?This year, we want to soak in the conference more. We were so involved last year that we really didn’t get the chance to absorb all the greatness the DMLA conference has to offer. I’m looking forward to meeting more people and possibly make some business connections. I feel we have a lot to offer and look forward to doing so. With that said, we will be hosting the fireside chat, engaging the audience in an intimate and honest conversation about marketing in the digital age. Karen D’Silva will be joining us, and I look forward to bringing some good topics to the floor.Agency Access started as a small database company but has since expanded. What do you credit your success to?I’ve been at this for 20 years and I still look back and ask myself, “How did I get here?” I was only 19 years young when I fell into this industry, and I didn’t know much at all back then. All I knew was that I loved the industry, was a hard worker, and truly cared about my members and their success. I love helping people. I love to work, but most importantly, I choose to surround myself with employees that are better than me. My employees are incredible people that I trust and care for very much. They are intelligent, loyal, hard working, and share the same values I do. Helping people be successful is always our number one goal.