MELT FOUNDER, CHAIRMAN AND CEO VINCE THOMPSON TO BE FEATURED ON THIS THURSDAY’S 3:00 – 4:00 PM EDT “21 HATS WAR ROOM” WEBINAR – TOPIC IS “FINDING OPPORTUNITY IN CRISIS”
ATLANTA, GA….MELT (www.metlatl.com), the award-winning sports, entertainment, and culinary marketing agency announced today that its Founder, Chairman, and CEO Vince Thompson would appear as a special guest on “21 Hats War Room” webinar on the topic of “Finding Opportunity in Crisis.” 21 Hats is one of the nation’s preeminent sources for entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial information led by Loren Feldman.
Thompson’s career and his entrepreneurial path itself reads like a manual for finding opportunity in crisis. He rose from humble small-town Lower Alabama roots, working his way through Auburn University in Sports Information (during the Bo Jackson and Charles Barkley Days). From getting fired from his first job to a successful global marketing executive at HealthSouth (the company eventually was accused of a multi-billion dollar fraud). He started his professional life over at 37 with a new-born in a new city (Atlanta), to begin MELT. He survived 9/11, a personal divorce, The Great Recession, and a corporate partnership dissolution. In Thompson’s 20-year career with MELT, he and his team have grown it into one of the nation’s leading sports marketing agencies, including MELT’s 20-year representation of The Coca-Cola Company, the activation of 17 consecutive Final Fours, and seven seasons of ESPN College GameDay. His company has earned over 40 marketing industry awards. Thompson has been recognized as CEO of The Year, Father of The Year, and is a frequent guest on The Paul Finebaum Show.
Due to the global pandemic, Thompson will talk about the shock of waking up Monday morning, March 16, 2020. He faced the loss of millions in revenue during one of MELT’s busiest time of the year, which included the cancellation of their 18th Final Four activation. He will cover the steps MELT is taking to “pivot” in a post-COVID-19 world as live events and live sporting events are virtually non-existent right now and for the foreseeable future. One of these pivots is the evolution of MELT University, one of the nation’s top sports and marketing internship programs. MELT is evolving MELTU into a virtual intern program designed to help college students all over the country network and build relationships with some of the top sports, media, and marketing executives in the country. The program will also evolve to helping kids gain other internships and employment opportunities, including influencer and WOM opportunities, as college students are struggling to define what the college and post-college world will look like post-COVID-19. Thompson also has a book coming out late-summer, “You had me at Hello, What Successful Job Seekers do to land that Coveted First Job in a Post-COVID World.” Thompson first learned about his publishing opportunity through the 21 Hats newsletter.
“It’s an honor to join 21 Hats and my friend Loren for this webinar,” said Thompson. “As a poster child for surviving crisis, hopefully, I can inspire and enlighten fellow entrepreneurs along their journey.”
About MELT
Founded by CEO Vince Thompson in 2000, MELT, LLC, is an Atlanta-based fully-integrated sports, esports, entertainment culinary and lifestyle marketing agency offering clients advertising, original content development, digital, social media, event and experiential marketing, retail and consumer promotions, brand strategy and sports property evaluation and activation. MELT has won or has been nominated for the following industry awards since 2017:
- Chief Marketer Top 200 Marketing Agencies of 2020
- 2019 C2A Creative Communication Award
- 2019 BizBash Top 1,000 People in the U.S. Event Industry
- 2019 Bronze Stevie Award (American Business Awards) – Company of the Year: Advertising, Marketing & Public Relations
- 2019 Drum Marketing Awards USA Finalist- Best Event/Experiential Strategy: MELT & IHG’s Avid Hotels Pop-Up Tour
- 2019 Interactive Marketing Awards – Shortlist
- Best Social Media Campaign: MELT & Coca-Cola College Gameday Snapchat
- Best Influencer/ Outreach Campaign: MELT & Coca-Cola Company Valser Influencer Strategy
- 2019 Atlanta Magazine – Top 500 Business Leaders: Vince Thompson
- 2018 BizBash500 List – Top 500 People in Events: Vince Thompson
- 2018 Event Marketer Top 100 “It List”- Top 100 Agencies
- 2018 Atlanta Business Chronicle Most Admired CEO: Vince Thompson
- 2018 Silver Stevie Award- Brand Experience of the Year- Consumer: Taste of the Tournament for Kroger, Hershey’s, Mondelez & The Coca-Cola Company
- 2018 PR News and Social Media Award- Best Use of Filter (Snapchat): Coca-Cola ESPN College Gameday
- 2018 Social Good Influencers- Honorable Mention: MELT University
- 2018 Cynopsis Sports Media Award – Honorable Mention for Use of Snapchat: Coca-Cola ESPN College Gameday
- 2018 Shopper Marketing Effie Award – Multi-Brand/Manufacturer Shopper Solution: Taste of the Tournament for Kroger, Hershey’s, Mondelez, & The Coca-Cola Company
- 2017 Experience Design and Technology Awards- Best Permanent or Pop-Up Retail Experience: The Coca-Cola Kitchen
- 2017 Stevie (American Business Awards) – Marketing/Advertising Agency of the Year