Next meeting is on October 27, 2009.  

Our speaker will be Megan McInnis.  The following is a copy of her biography.

ABOUT MEGAN

Megan has worked over 13 years in the entertainment and non-profit industries. She specializes in marketing and publicity for independent artists. Her projects have won local and regional awards.  Megan is currently writing a book titled "The Marketing and PR Handbook for Independent Artists." 

Her marketing expertise lies in brand marketing, online marketing and grassroots marketing. She has worked with name talent, emerging talent and organizations. She managed the marketing and public relations for the film programming at Disney Institute, part of Walt Disney World in Florida, as well as Sandy Springs Festival in Georgia, among others. 

Online marketing experience includes social networking, blogging and website design and maintenance. From fine-tuning websites to developing organizational social marketing guidelines, she has worked on short-term and long-term online projects. While she believes websites are invaluable marketing tools, she believes the key is driving traffic to the website. 

Her public relation experience includes representing independent filmmakers. She single-handedly achieved meetings, readings and screenings with HBO, Oxygen, Lifetime, Women’s Entertainment (WE), Miramax (the old Miramax), New Line Cinema, numerous film festivals and more. Her approach builds long-term relationships. From print to radio, and television to the Internet, she has strategized, planned, managed and written for all aspects of public relations. 

Her event experiences in the entertainment industry include, yet are not limited to, the following:  

Festivals

The annual Sandy Springs Festival had an attendance of 20,000 and over 110 artists and crafters. It was a juried admission process. It also previously had two stages. Megan added a third, providing a venue for over 30 stage performances in one weekend. She also introduced street-mosphere to the festival. She also served as a Board Member of the Georgia Festivals & Events Association. 

Concerts

Attendances 200-2000+ 

Performance/Q&A with VIPs Multiple name talent and emerging talent (ex: Newt Gingrich talked about his passion for painting) 

Premieres Multiple independent films 

Megan volunteers for MEAC, the Metropolitan Educational Access Corporation. MEAC is the organization behind local television channels, Music City Arts (Comcast Cable Channel 9) and iQ (Comcast Cable Channel 10) in Davidson County, Tennessee. She is a member of the CABLE Outreach Committee and the Nashville Chapters of American Marketing Association (AMA) and Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).