Marc- Portugal

Director of Experiential Marketing and Business Development; translating consumer habits, aspirations and emotions into campaigns and events generating up to $500,000 per program. 8+ years of creating, selling and executing inventive and profitable marketing solutions and relationships. Adept in brand strategy, market penetration, event marketing, electronic and online promotions, CRM retention programs, and sponsorship and partnership cultivation.

Marc Portugal is an experiential marketing professional with ten years of accomplishments in launching profitable experiential marketing programs that include lifestyle events, sponsorships, partnerships, and more; all with a keen focus on the mindspace, aspirations and rituals of consumers.

Whether it’s an e-mail campaign or a fashion show; a guerilla promotional campaign or a fundraiser – Marc Portugal firmly believes in the “4th” dimension of experiential marketing. He addresses mind, body, spirit AND community when implementing marketing programs. Marc Portugal practices “experiential empathy” every step of the way – deeply focused on and concerned about the genuineness and consistency of audience feelings and relationships – not merely demographics, statistics, or out-dated traditions.

In 1998, after several internships and completion of undergraduate studies, Marc Portugal began at KBA Marketing where he activated brand sponsorships and events across the country for various clients. Turning both conventional and unorthodox venue spaces into lifestyle lounges, sampling stations, fashion shows and concerts, Marc Portugal delivered the promise of the clients’ brands and aided in renewed AOR status.

MarcPortugal's most notable achievement includes the brand launch of the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, and the N9NE Group venues it houses. As founding Marketing Director, Marc Portugal first brought the Palms and N9NE Group to life in the backyard of the famed Playboy Mansion – giving key influencers a sneak peak of what was to come. Upon opening, Marc Portugal founded ground-breaking marketing partnerships with Playboy, MTV, Red Bull, and other brands that helped elevate the Palms to the status of Boutique Casino Resort, and arguably reinvented standards for lifestyle branding and nightlife-driven entertainment nationwide.

Currently, Marc Portugal resides in Chicago and consults for various companies specializing in the branding, marketing, and operation of restaurants, salon/spas, nightclubs, sports leagues, and the associated experiential integrations of sponsor and partner brands including but not limited to AVEDA, Belvedere Moet-Hennessy, Miller-Coors Brewing, Opt-It, and others. Marc Portugal specifically applies experiential strategies to the electronic and online spaces to effectively and affordably retain consumers across multiple profiles and brands.

In his spare time, Marc Portugal volunteers for PAWS: Chicago‘s largest no-kill animal shelter, and often turns to his favorite Martin guitar in aspiring to move beyond a self-described “novice grunge” level. He focuses overwhelming attention and emotion on the love of his life: an 80-lb Rottweiler named Princess Leia.

Marc Portugal prefers to be addressed on a first-name basis, and can be reached at marcportugal@yahoo.com.