Brands eyeing a 'return to live,' Superfly's new president Richard Black
Few businesses have been hit harder this year than events. Despite current difficulties, experience company Superfly is bullish about the potential for in-person experiences in 2021. The firm has brought on Momentum Worldwide veteran Richard Black to rebuild its agency business.
Superfly looking to increase the amount of IP-driven events.
Can Superfly convince consumers to turn up for live events?
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“People are ready to hang out again”, said Richard Black, formerly chief growth officer at Momentum Worldwide. Six weeks into his newly created role, Black is working on “stabilizing and growing” Superfly’s business.
The live entertainment and brand experience company has pivoted largely to virtual events but has been starting see momentum picking up for in-person activations as brands look to the coming year.
The company, born from the renowned Bonnaroo festival, is taking the pandemic as a moment to ratchet up its evolution into branded experiences, intellectual property creation and agency services.
Black is enthusiastic about opportunities afforded by intellectual property creation and monetization for brands in the vein of its successful BravoCon. “Unlike agencies, Superfly will invest in IP,” he said of the independent, 75-person company.
Black is tasked with building Superfly’s agency services including social, brand strategy, digital and experiential.
Black claimed Superfly has a leg up when it comes to making a brand part of cultural moments, pointing its recent Small Business Live event, which raised funds for at-risk businesses. It pulled the campaign together in six weeks and raised more than a million dollars.
“The return to live” will be impetus for Superfly’s future growth. “We have pretty high aspirations to grow the business significantly over the next five years,” he said, albeit with the highest in-person safety standards “which are table stakes.“
“Our clients know they need to get back to building loyalty,” he concluded.
