WEST BANK ADVERTISING AND MARKETING FIRM SETS A FAST PACE

WEST BANK ADVERTISING AND MARKETING FIRM SETS A FAST PACE, LOOKING FOR GREATER EXPANSION OPPORTUNITIES

By ALLAN KATZ

Touchpoints Marketing and Advertising is a West Bank business that has opened since Hurricane Katrina, flourished, and is now looking for expansion.

Headed by Katie Gravolet, Touchpoints specializes in creating marketing and advertising campaigns for casinos located both in Louisiana and other states. Touchpoints has been so successful in helping casinos achieve profitability that they’re now looking to expand into other areas that they have expertise including hotels, restaurants, automotive, financial and any business that requires sound strategy, strong creative and the need to put “heads in beds,” “butts in seats,” or money to the bottom line. Recently, Touchpoints stepped away from its core business by handling the advertising for the Gretna Heritage Festival and creating an internationally award winning video for the City of Gretna’s Brownsfield project.

Katie grew up on the West Bank and graduated from the former Archbishop Blenk High School. Before Katrina, Katie worked in human resources and finance but always had the dream to do something on her own. Due to a traumatic Hurricane Katrina experience, Katie’s husband Ben, who worked in the casino business, was looking to leave. Working with Katie and Touchpoints presented that opportunity.

Today, Touchpoints represents nine casinos, including two in Louisiana, three in Mississippi, one in Nevada and three in Arizona. The Touchpoints team, housed in an office building on Belle Chasse Highway near Gretna Boulevard, has grown from 12 to 45. In order to better serve their casino clients, Touchpoints expanded to include digital printing onsite, along with booking entertainment for nationally known acts like Willie Nelson, Tom Jones, Tony Bennett, Jake Owen, Blue October, Third Eye Blind and others.

But, as successful as Touchpoints has been, despite the current national recession, Katie feels that they have to keep growing their business. “Although we’ve been very successful in helping our casino clients,” says Katie, “it’s still a high risk business for us because there are so many ownership changes in the casino business. Invariably, when new ownership comes in, they bring in a big broom sweeping out the old team because they have their own advertising and marketing people.”

So, Touchpoints is now looking for hotel and restaurant clients and others who want the same kind of advertising and marketing success Touchpoints has become known for. They’re experts in creating brands and also provide all of the services of a traditional advertising agency.

Katie, says, “We’ve really put together a great team. Everyone here has lots of energy and enthusiasm with a record of coming up with great ideas.”

Like many Louisiana law firms that have become experts at handling out-of-state clients, Touchpoints has become proficient at communicating with out-of-state clients via e-mails and telephone.

“We’re very proud of the record we’ve developed of helping our clients become successful,” says Ben. “I think that perhaps part of our success stems from the fact that both Katie and I are so comfortable here on the West Bank. Our roots are deep in this community. We’re very much at home here and can’t imagine being anywhere else. We’re fortunate that in today’s business world, if you’re good enough at it, you can serve out-of-state clients as though they were next door. We’ve yet to fully tap our potential.”