When high profile companies are looking for new and exciting ways to bring their brands to life, many rely on the expertise of NCompass International. As co-founder and CEO of the Hollywood, California based company, Donna Graves and her teams specialize in the marketing and organization of large corporate events that showcase brands and generate buzz for new product launches.
With an ever-changing work schedule and a heavy volume of incoming email messages every day, Graves relies on her BlackBerry® solution to communicate with her team efficiently. NCompass International’s offices are spread across the world, from London to New York City.
“NCompass has been a loyal BlackBerry shop for many years and allocate only BlackBerry smartphones under the company’s corporate plan” said Graves. “Personally, I can’t function without it. I use BlackBerry smartphones as an extension of my job and my life, and they’ve always worked for me.”
NCompass International often runs branding events at concerts that take place in stadiums bursting with thousands of screaming fans. Despite the loud noise and commotion, Graves and her team communicate with one another using BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM™), a reliable method that is crucial to the success of her events. Graves has even incorporated BBM into concert performances, encouraging fans to message will.i.am during the Black Eyed Peas’ BlackBerry-sponsored World Tour in 2010.
Graves and team leverage BlackBerry smartphone features to keep track of the many moving parts involved in NCompass’ brand activation events. For a recent launch, NCompass planned a large three day live event involving 10 separate initiatives in one 16 acre location, with more than 500 journalists. In the lead up to the launch, Graves took advantage of her integrated calendar functionality to ensure all timelines were met, and used her BlackBerry smartphone throughout the event to communicate with staff, anticipate any potential issues, and monitor social media activity occurring in near real time.
“In this business you need to be able to access information immediately and coordinate a lot of different people,” said Graves. “There is a lot of pressure because you need to be the best of the best, and consistency and reliability in your communication is a crucial part of that.”
Since Graves travels so often, she also benefits greatly from the data efficiency the BlackBerry smartphone offers. Whether working in NCompass International’s Rio de Janeiro office or at an event in Asia, her email, internet browser and messaging all function seamlessly and most importantly, economically.
Graves says NCompass International has deployed about 20 BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablets, mainly to its production and new business staff, who consider the portability of the seven-inch screen and the functionality of BlackBerry® Bridge™ as key features. BlackBerry Bridge allows staff to connect their BlackBerry PlayBook tablets to their BlackBerry smartphones and access their email, calendar, BBM and other data.
“In this job, we always need to be ahead of our clients,” says Graves. “And the BlackBerry solution allows us to do that, all the time.”
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