A great interview with Karen De Amat highlighting the business drivers of big brands working with the Oil & Gas industry, all the while putting on some top notch events. To learn more about what Karen is doing click here.

 

Mark:  Hey, folks. Let’s learn something new about the oil and gas industry.

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All right. Today, we’re sitting in with Karen with Fueled Events. Hi, Karen.

Karen: Hi. How are you?

Mark: I’m very good. Thank you.

Karen does something fascinating, she runs a company that does nothing but oil and gas events which in itself doesn’t sound very spectacular, but if you think about what goes on in the gas industry there’s a huge need for this. And we have OTC coming up right around the corner which is typically the kickoff for the event season in oil and gas.

So, Karen a little bit about yourself and your company?

Karen: Sure thing. So, my agency is called Fueled Events and it was assigned to encompass the luxury setting and the contemporary twist to the traditional corporate events. So, the traditional events that we’re used to going, we’re usually in a conference room-type setting with, you know, food being passed and traditional beverages, but nothing that really adds an ump or like a different level of entertainment.

So, we partnered up with local brands who want to be a part of these events and would, you know, participate otherwise at different events that go around town that we attend to, but they want to capitalize on the oil and gas industry.

Mark: So, it sounds like you do stuff that’s more upscale than normal, is that true?

Karen: Absolutely. However, we can design an event or we can actually add to your event at your budget. Most of the brands that we’re working with right now, they can be from a very high-end luxury standpoint to a traditional craft beer brewery that wants to target a new audience. And so, it really depends on your budget and who your attendees are.

Mark: So, let’s talk about it a little bit. What are some of the advantages for a major brand to actually do an event, why would they do something — why would they spend money on an event?

Karen: Well, proper brand placement is key to their marketing and these brands are actually searching for any event to participate at. However, the corporate oil and gas industry specifically which is the biggest corporate industry segment in Houston has lack those brand participations because the brands don’t know how to get, you know, in partnership with them.

So, what we’re doing is we are encompassing that and building that bridge between the brands and the corporations.

Mark: Yeah. And so for the large corporations I’m guessing the thing that you bring to them is ease of use where you’re basically turnkey?

Karen: Yes, we’re turnkey, so we can actually engineer an event from scratch and take care of everything from the venue management to the transportation to and from to the brands that will be participating. We can do anything like preimposed media coverage make sure that the event is covered.

Or, we can actually add to an existing event that you already have. Let’s say that you already have an annual Christmas party, but you’ve never had a photo booth or a private liquor tasting or, you know, a restaurant that really wants to – that might be a block from you that wants to get all of your employees engaged. So, we can add to an existing event as well.

Mark: Now, people you’ve all heard we talked about this for years how old fashioned oil and gas industry is, but Fueled Events in not old fashioned, you do things differently than other companies that help with events. Let’s talk about that a little bit.

Karen: Absolutely. So, the reason why we started Fueled Events was just because of that you know. I’ve worked in corporate America for eight years in the oil and gas industry and our things were brought out boring, the events that I go to now are much more grand and that’s really why Fueled Events was started.

The leaders of today are no longer, you know, sixty-year old executives and, you know, about to retire, so what we’re doing now is we are talking to our leaders of today that are my age, your age that are contemporary and they’re expecting to see a new twist.

The event industry has to grow with the trends that are happening in today whether that’d be craft beer or craft spirits and new age food and, you know, nobody wants to go to a traditional event and get that same traditional event treatment or experience that they’ve had for the last twenty years, so we’re new.

Mark: Yeah. And let me tell you, Karen’s company puts in some of the best events bar none in the world for oil and gas. If you get a chance to attend, go. And if you need to put event together you need to reach out to her.

So, Karen, if somebody want to learn more about you and your company, where should they go?

Karen: They need to visit www.fueledevents.com.

Mark: Okay. Folks, we’ll put a link up in the show notes.

Karen, thank you so much for your time.

Karen: Absolutely. Thank you, Mark.

Mark: Folks, I hope this helped. We will see you next time.

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