Event & Arena Marketing Conference Returns to Honor SoFi Stadium's VanessaKromer

The live entertainment industry's meeting for marketing, PR and group sales professionals will come together June 15-18 in Minneapolis.

Event & Arena Marketing Conference Returns to Honor SoFi Stadium’s VanessaKromer

The Event & Arena Marketing Conference is returning after a two-year pandemic pause.

This year, EAMC will honor Vanessa Kromer from SoFi Stadium with its top honor — the 2022 Gigi Award of Excellence — named after the late Gigi Pilhofer, one of the conference’s founders. Kromer is the former EAMC president and a Hall of Famer currently serving as senior director of publicity at SoFi Stadium, YouTube Theater and Hollywood Park in Inglewood, Calif., and has actively contributed to the conference for more than 20 years. Kromer previously worked at Nederlander Concerts in Los Angeles. During her tenure at EAMC, she has hosted conferences in Anaheim (1999) and Los Angeles (2015), served as the president and v.p. of agenda, served as a board member, and created the EAMC Awards.

Kosha Irby from Professional Bull Riders and Rosanne Kozerski Brown from the Detroit Red Wings will also be inducted into the EAMC Hall of Fame this year. Irby is being recognized for his impact on the live entertainment industry, support for the conference, and influence in marketing trends. Irby currently serves as chief marketing officer for Professional Bull Riders, where he is responsible for all aspects of PBR’s consumer and live event marketing. A longtime supporter of the annual conference, Irby has participated in several panel discussions and sponsored events through PBR and his former company WWE. Kozerski Brown has been a participant in the earliest years of the conference and is the 2020 EAMC Hall of Fame recipient. Beginning in the mid-1970s, Kozerski Brown was a rising star in a relatively new profession — event and sports marketing — serving as director of public relations and marketing at Olympia Stadium in Detroit. Her career took her on a yearlong tour with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Australia and Japan, before ultimately becoming v.p. of public relations and marketing for the Detroit Red Wings.

Also honored this year are Kelly Lovell-Taylor, marketing and PR officer for the Tempe Center for the Arts, who will receive the 2022 Impact Award for her positive influence and contributions within the community. She is currently v.p. and a founding member of the City of Tempe’s Black Employee Alliance. TBEA helps connect, influence, empower and strengthen the relationships of Black employees with each other and city staff at large, with the goal of fostering inclusion. She has also been involved with EAMC for more than 25 years as an attendee, panelist and a sponsor representative.

This year, EAMC will also announce the winners for Marketing and Publicity Campaigns of the Year, Best Artist Gift and Artist Welcome of the Year during the annual EAMC Awards Luncheon in Minneapolis held on Thursday, June 16.

The nominees for this year’s award are below. Learn more at eventarenamarketing.com.

Marketing and Publicity Campaigns of the Year are (under $10,000)

Marketing & Publicity Campaign Of The Year (More than $10,000)

Most Creative Artist Welcome

Most Creative Artist Gift (under $1,000)

Custom neon “Free Spirit” sign for Khalid from American Airlines, Dallas
Custom IPA “Pop a Top” from local brewery with individualized Yeti Cooler for Alan Jackson from BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Flip-flop boot sandals for Kenny Chesney from Paycom Center, Oklahoma City

Most Creative Artist Gift ($1,000+)