Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Isenberg.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Emily. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I have been throwing crazy events my entire life. Whether it was a 10-year-old child throwing a Halloween party in my garage filled with over a 100 homemade zombies or creating my bedroom into an Italian restaurant for my family.
Many years later this leads me to work in marketing and selling contemporary art. I have always been inspired by the creative culture economy and the communities it forms. One of the major challenges that this continually presented was a lack of inclusivity. This frustration motivated me to consider new models to foster different types of experiences around retail, art and design and their communities. When Isenberg Projects has formed 6 years ago we used real estate as an incredible platform to define these experiences. Since our launch, we have done over a 100 pop-up shops, public art projects, food and retail concepts and this year we hosted Boston’s first Pickle Fair.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Initially, there was a lot of roadblocks translating about how we’re different than a traditional event marketing company. We had to educate our clients on what they weren’t getting from traditional PR and events. In addition proving the value of our work was beyond brand awareness.
As we have grown we have been part of large neighborhood improvements and creating new economies to support other partners creative endeavors. Through this work, we have had much more visibility in the real estate and have been at the forefront using creative strategy to breathe life into places.
One of the other challenges we continually face is permitting short-term food and retail concepts, but that will get easier in time.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Isenberg Projects – what should we know?
What sets us apart from real estate marketing + branding agencies, is we take our work to the street. We create relationships and programs through our projects that are living and breathing experiences. Through pop-up shops, events and public art, we create active spaces that build goodwill and excitement that can help define perception of a building or district.
The best part is these experiences can be measured digitally, transactionally, and through in-person feedback and food traffic in addition to traditional media engagement.
We can test out theories on how certain things perform that can help inform long-term planning and strategy with minimal investment.
Who else deserves credit – have you had mentors, supporters, cheerleaders, advocates, clients or teammates that have played a big role in your success or the success of the business? If so –who are they and what role did they plan / how did they help.
We are continually inspired by the incredible community of artists, makers, and chefs, musicians and designers in New England. They may not be standing in the spotlight, but if you look hard enough they are everywhere.
One of my biggest cheerleaders when I got started was my friend Adam Larson, of Adam and Co. His advice was to stay tenacious, always be honest even if you have to tell people what they don’t want to hear and to stay committed to the value of good creative work.
Contact Info:
- Address: 230 Cypress Street
Brookline, MA 02445 - Website: isenbergprojects.com
- Email: info@isenbergprojects.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/isenbergprojects
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IsenbergProjects/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/isenbergproject
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