Alex Harz

MARKETING / EVENTS

 

Having grown up in an international bi-lingual family, which had me spending many summers in Europe as a child & teen, world affairs and global business / trade began to interest me at an early age.  I furthered these interests by studying international business & organizational communications during my university years...

My initial engagement into the realm of international marketing & promotions came with the wonderful experiences and exposure of traveling with world-renowned sporting legends such a Lothar Matthäus, Mark Spitz, Billy Casper, Lee Elder, Rod Laver, Tom Osborne, etc.  Within the fields of sports marketing, celebrity endorsements & events management, I learned a lot about marketing, PR, branding and how business is done on the global stage.  It doesn't matter if you are promoting American football to a "unfamiliar" audience in Europe for the NFL, organizing the legends of golf for a series of tournaments or packaging an endorsement contract for one of the most recognizable soccer icons of all-time, a few factors never change
...make sure your sponsors receive the value-added exposure they seek, that their brand(s) are associated with a good "product", that the image of the event and or celebrity(s) is upheld to a high standard, and that the target audience is reached & imprinted with the appropriate message...

My experience in large-scale global merchandising was brought to the forefront when I worked for American Warehouse Trading Company, an import / export firm which specialized in the sales & marketing of mass quantity, overstock brand name products.  My responsibilities included coordinating and finalizing the sales of top brands to companies in Asia, Europe, South & North America.  Worldwide stalwarts such as Nike, Adidas, Versace, Hugo Boss, Armani, Nintendo or even 240,000 Liters of California Red Wine, etc. were traded on a daily basis between sellers and buyers seeking to fulfill their inventory requirements.  This around the clock fast-paced industry, lead me into another field where 3 months is equivalent to 1 calendar year of change in trends within the global marketplace, the information technology sector
...

As an overseas project manager for Origin Interactive, I was involved in the sales management of large-scale Internet, Extranet, Intranet and Ecommerce platform solutions.  Clients included Euro Disney, Microsoft, City & County of Denver, Sharp Electronics, JD Edwards, etc.  This technology company was not only cutting edge, but also well established in the IT industry during a time of immense growth.  A good experience indeed for dealing with instantaneous deadlines, on-the-fly technology developments and market growth through M&A (mergers & acquisitions)
...

My tenure at Origin set me up perfectly for a full-time transition into the feature film, documentary and TV world. Utilizing my experiences in international business development, marketing, PR and management, combined with a continued enterprise of short film production & acting, the days to take my creative passion for filmmaking to the next level was ripe.  Conceptualization, development, fundraising, production, marketing, media engagement, film markets & festivals, and ultimately end consumer distribution of original feature film + compilation series content, was the focus with the dark comedy productions of '
AMERICAN DREAM ?' and 'LAMB TV'.  Intertwining product placement arrangements and PR events for companies like Red Bull, Jim Beam Brands, Kashi, Miller-Coors Brewing Company, etc. made these productions fuller and provided unique branding opportunities for our corporate sponsors & partners.

Developing and marketing original content that has the ability to provide charitable support to worthwhile causes, was to be the next step in my filmmaking career...utilizing media for a greater good.  I was hired to produce & direct a wonderful project for US Military Veterans, '
THE VETERAN STORY', which follows the heart-felt tales of true heroes who so graciously sacrificed their youth and future to serve during America's times of need.  The Veterans featured in this documentary spanned from WWII to Desert Storm, with all ages in between.  This project was designed, developed and marketed to donate 100% of all proceeds to the brave Veterans of the Louisiana War Veterans Home...every dollar, dime, nickel and penny in revenue generated.

The immensely rewarding experience of the 'THE VETERAN STORY' Documentary has provided much inspiration for my current production, tilted '
THE QUEST Series'.  I spent 63 days in Nepal for 'THE QUEST', filming in stunning 2D as well as one-of-a-kind VR all the way to the summit of Mt. Everest (29,032 feet / 8849). The 1st installments of the series, 'THE QUEST: Nepal' Documentary and 'THE QUEST: Everest VR' Experience, are epic Quests to deeper understand & climb the most iconic mountain on earth, Everest, and to reveal the amazing rarely-seen culture, history and nature of Nepal. 

From experiencing Everest like never before in stunning 2D and full Virtual Reality, to exploring the Birthplace of Buddhism and more, 'THE QUEST' will take you on educational thrill ride through one of the most amazing places on earth!  For more information about 'THE QUEST' and potential partnership opportunities, please feel free to contact me at your convenience.  Here is a brief excerpt from 'THE QUEST: Nepal' project summary
:

 It’s Midnight in the “Death Zone” and your tent is being battered by howling frigid winds above 26,000 feet.  It’s cold, dark, difficult to breathe, and you notice the effects of 1 ½ months of climbing at extreme altitude.  You question whether or not to get out of your -40 degree sleeping bag, but this is Summit Night and if you want to reach the Top of the World, Mt. Everest at 29,032 feet, and complete one of man’s greatest accomplishmentsit’s now or never!  Driven to inspire others with this one-of-a-kind project, you will yourself to climb on...3000 more vertical feet to complete THE QUEST! 

Stay tuned for future developments.  More info to come 
:)

For a brief overview of my CV / Resume, please feel free to visit my 
LinkedIn Page.