Prestige AV & Creative Services

Prestige AV & Creative Services is a Cincinnati-based audio-visual rental, production, and creative service provider, producing experiences for live, virtual and hybrid events, corporate meetings, private parties, receptions, and fundraising events. 

I have been with Prestige in a sales management leadership role since 2013, when I was the sales manager. After four years, I was promoted to Director of Business Development in 2017 and then promoted to my current role less than a year later in 2018. In each role, I led a team of passionate sales and marketing professionals, ensuring they 

‣ Listen to the customer
‣ Put the customers’ needs first
‣ Create amazing customer experiences 

During this time, I:

‣ Successfully secured two major convention center contracts in new markets, valued at $10M.
‣ Efficiently led teams, raising contract renewals with venues from 50% to 90% in two years.
‣ Boosted revenue by $1M annually through the development of new markets.
‣ Improved company performance by launching a national marketing campaign.

Everything was great, but then COVID-19 happened. 

Business went from strong to scarce in a matter of weeks. As a result, layoffs occurred, and we were forced to change the way we looked at the event industry. 

Not knowing if things would ever go back to how it was, we reimagined what Prestige could become with a focus on virtual events, and planning for the eventual return of virtual and live events. 

It was a rough couple of quarters, but we came out on the other side. 

I am proud of my role as a guide in this evolution – a guide both for my company and for our clients. 

I helped Prestige find footing by reimagining the industry and how to approach it through amazing virtual and, eventually, hybrid events. With focus and determination, I was able to help Prestige regain its:

‣ Team members
‣ Customer Base
‣ Focus

Today, we are now stronger and more resilient than ever.

Let's connect >>  bmonahan at PrestigeAV dot com

Vice President of Sales and Business Development ► Event Producer  ► Live, Hybrid & Virtual Events

Director Of Business Development

I specialize in connecting meeting and event planners with the latest in AV technology to create memorable experiences.

I work with mid- to large-size associations, corporations and organizations to host first-class meetings, events, trade shows, conferences and conventions. 

And, with Prestige AV & Creative Services, meeting and event planners have a one-stop resource. We have a large inventory of the finest equipment. But what sets us apart is that we partner with our clients to determine what you really need to make your meeting or event successful.

To make it easy for you, Prestige does it all, including:

• AV planning and production
• Creative direction
• Project management
• In-house design, video and post-production
• Writing services
• Cost-effective budgeting

National Sales Manager

BRIAN MONAHAN

Owner & Founder ► Motivator & Inspirer ► Writer ► Speaker ► Connector

Are you living the life you dreamt about when you were younger, the life you want to live, the life of your dreams? 

If yes, congratulations, and keep at it! And if not, read on.

First, know you are not alone. Too many people feel stuck where they are and aren’t sure of the steps to take to get to a place they want to be. And that’s where I can help.

I’ve always had a passion for living an authentic life and helping others do the same. 

My 20+ years in the events industry have provided the opportunity to watch and absorb the words and perspectives of the thousands of speakers I helped support. 

Those presentations shaped my thinking, my actions, and my motivation. Each helped me realize that I don’t have time to live small, and that I have a drive to do more. I found the courage to act and unleash my passion, and now, I want to help others do the same. 

Through keynote speeches, articles and books, team training, and one-on-one sessions, I am building a foundation to help you live bigger. 

While your approach may look different than someone else’s, that’s OK because there is no one size fits all solution. One thing that rings true across the board, however, is that it’s not easy and can be scary. But the result is worth it. 

If you are ready to act, let’s talk. 

Let’s also talk if: 

‣ You are in the events industry and looking to do more with your life
‣ You are in any industry and want to take charge of your life
‣ You are looking for a keynote speaker on leadership 
 
Please feel free to reach out to me or email me at 
Brian at BrianMonahan dot me

Personal / Small Business Coach

ITA AudioVisual

Responsibilities included leading the company’s senior directors; purchasing; capital expenditures; recruiting staff; inventory management/control; preparing the company for major software upgrade. 

Created training platform for mentoring and training ITA’s regional managers and frontline employees across 30+ locations.

Assistant General Manager

Director of Business Development/Senior Project Manager – Director of Audio Visual Sales & Operations 

Responsibilities included: operations manager; account management; new business development; execution and planning AV for meetings and events for 10-5000 attendees; creating content for events; marketing support

Director of Business Development

United States Marine Corp

-Leader of Marines
-Oversaw Audio Visual Library for Recruit Training Base
-Manager Commanding Generals Board Room
-Managed Recruit Training Cable Broadcast Library and Scheduling
-Managed Repair and Maintenance Division

Audio Visual Specialist

545/730 🎤 #Eventprof by Day 📘 Book Writing Coach by Passion 🎸 Air Guitarist

Are you following your passion? Are you taking action every day to unleash it? Most people believe passion precedes action, but I believe it’s the other way around. To find your passion, you must act first, but sometimes taking the first step is difficult. 

I help those who want to take that first step. 

Being in the event industry for the past 20 years, I’ve had amazing access to authors, speakers and world dignitaries. True, my job is to ensure their presentations go off without a hitch, but it also provides the opportunity to watch and absorb every single one of those motivation speakers I helped support. 

Those presentations helped shape my thinking, my actions and my motivation. Each has helped me realize that I don’t have time to live small, and that I have a drive to do more. Each has helped me find the courage to take action, unleash my passion and I want to help others do the same. 

This revelation is nothing new, actually. I’ve always been interested in personal and professional development and have taken small steps to support that interest. In doing so, I have found my stage as an author of a book and as a speaker at numerous conferences. 

Now, as I continue to support my corporate clients with Prestige, I also work with those who are looking to find and embrace their stage. 

Do you have a calling to write a book, become a speaker or rise to the top of your profession? If so, let’s talk. 

I help my clients own their life and their brand through whatever stage they prefer to be on. 

After all, life is too short to not do what you feel you’ve been called to do. It may be scary to take those first steps, but it’s worth it to live an amazing life and you deserve it. 

However, I understand it may be daunting to take those first steps onto your stage alone. Let me be your guide by providing you with the motivation you need to act so your passions will follow. 

Please feel free to reach out to me here or email me at  
Brian at BrianMonahan Dot Me . 

I look forward to connecting.

Brian Monahan

Your content helps establish and build your credibility. I firmly believe that, and that's why I named my business Incredible Content (see that "credible" inside "incredible"? Yeah).  

You know it, too. 

You understand the power of content and how it helps you connect with your audience. You believe it's critical in creating trust with your audience. You know it's a superpower waiting to be unleashed, but you just don't have the time or the resources to give it what it deserves. 

And that's where I come in. I'll either take the content piece off your plate entirely or work seamlessly with your team to create content that your audience wants and needs, enhancing trust and credibility.

For 17+ years, I've been helping B2B businesses establish, build and maintain credibility through content that connects with their audience. I love helping my clients reap the rewards of content (an engaged audience that leads to more sales), and I'd love to help you, too. 

Who are my clients? I help founders and leaders of professional services firms turn their deep expertise into strategic content that builds authority, shortens sales cycles, and brings in better-fit clients.

Here's how I help you do that: 

➤ CONTENT PLANNING: I help create a manageable content plan that's based on more than what National Day it is. It's based on your business initiatives and objectives, customer challenges, success stories, competition, industry trends and more.

➤ CONTENT WRITING: I create different types of content based on the various stages of your customer's journey. That includes:

✓ Case studies: A case study tells a great story, and who doesn't love a great story? They are relatable and enable your target market to see themselves because, chances are, they are facing the same challenges that you address in the case study.

✓ Websites: Your website is about much more than the layout and images. It's about the words on the page and how you communicate with your audience.

✓ Articles: Blog posts and articles in trade/consumer publications are a great way to connect with your target market while building your credibility.

If you need help planning or creating high-quality, strategic content, let's talk. 

Please feel free to send me a message here on LinkedIn, or you can email me at wendy@incrediblecontent.net.

Wendy Jacobson

If you hear there's chaos and unrest in the streets of Minneapolis, don't believe it. The gaslighting from the administration is next-level. 

But do believe we are under siege, and people exercising their constitutional rights are being killed on the street in broad daylight. 

And yes, people are pissed. But people are also peaceful. 

Neighbors are helping neighbors navigate this onslaught of ICE agents infiltrating the city. We are banding together, fighting for what's right, fair and just. 

And we won't stop. Hopefully, the killing will.

I Help Business Owners Create Content That Connects With Their Audience, Builds Authority, Creates Trust & Delivers Better Clients

Independent Content Strategist and Creator | Copywriter | Service and solutions-oriented | Plays well with others

“There’s been another shooting,” my wife and business partner Wendy Jacobson told me earlier today after I’d returned home from an errand run. “Right in front of Glam Doll Donuts,” she added.

Federal agents had killed a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident, a little more than two weeks after the death of Renee Good.

Glam Doll Donuts is located blocks away from Whittier Elementary School, which both of our kids attended, in South Minneapolis. I chaperoned a field trip to the bakery some years back.

Wendy and I decided to go visit the scene of the shooting and made the short drive there, parking in front of the school. We were among many bundled against the sub-zero temperatures, heading towards the shooting site. The first thing we saw was a group of people unpacking a crate of water.

As we neared Nicollet Avenue, where the shooting occurred, we observed fire officials dousing a smoldering car. Members of the press were in attendance, and almost everyone had their cell phones out, documenting what was going on around them.

Wendy and I walked a couple of blocks north, where a peaceful protest was happening. People asked us if we wanted water, which we politely declined. Medics, clearly marked, were in attendance 

About 10 minutes later, a tear gas cannister came hurtling toward us, immediately followed by the unmistakable gas cloud.

“Please walk; don’t run,” was the first thing we heard, loud and firm but not shouted. And that’s what Wendy and I did, along with everyone else.

When we were a block or two from our car, neighborhood residents, standing in front of their house, asked us if we needed water or a snack. We again politely declined and thanked them for offering.

I’m writing this post to document what I saw shortly after it happened but also to emphasize the calm and polite nature of all the Minneapolis residents in attendance. Especially if your frame of reference is based on what you’re seeing from a distance. 

Because that’s who Minnesotans are. We offer people water and snacks. We emphasize walking, not running. We help those who need it.

And that’s who we’ll always be.

People have asked me what it's like in the Twin Cities since ICE's arrival, and my response has been it's worse than what you've seen. 

Minneapolis/St. Paul, the surrounding suburbs, and greater Minnesota have been put into chaos and crisis since the arrival of ICE. You've all witnessed it on your social media channels and wherever you get your news. 

Unfortunately, this has become political, and you'll see what's happening the way you want to. That's your right. 

Either trained observers are watching ICE, or they are impeding them. 
Either demonstrations have been peaceful, or they are an unruly crowd. 
Either ICE is stepping on the constitutional rights of people, or they are acting within their purview.

What you may not know is: 

Innocent people who are U.S. citizens are getting dragged out of their cars and detained for exercising their constitutional rights. Every day. 

Children aren't attending school because their parents are scared to send them. 

Businesses are closing because traffic is down. 

People aren't going to work for fear of being detained. 

There are direct consequences of ICE's presence here, which are horrible enough. But there are also long-term, indirect consequences that will take, at best, months and, at worst, years to overcome. 

And then there's the trauma that will never leave. 

If you really want to know what it's like here, the The Minnesota Star Tribune does a good job of reporting from the ground.

CEO & Publisher, The Minnesota Star Tribune

Many people across Minnesota are exercising their first amendment rights and documenting this crisis in our state. But often they are met with resistance. Our team at The Minnesota Star Tribune shared witness accounts of what's happening here, which you can see in this story:

https://lnkd.in/gZjNmeXe

Here's a video compilation: https://lnkd.in/g4hEPmGA 

Here's a clip from the story:

"In the past week alone, ICE boxed in a Woodbury real estate agent recording their movements from his car, slammed him to the ground and detained him at the Whipple Federal Building near Fort Snelling for 10 hours. A 51-year-old teacher patrolling the Nokomis East community told the Star Tribune she was run off the road into a snowbank by ICE for laying on her horn. Officers shattered the car window of a woman attempting to drive past a raid in south Minneapolis to get to a doctor’s appointment nearby, then carried her through the street...

The real estate agent, Ryan Ecklund, appeared in an Instagram video with bruises on his face, alleging that he was forcibly removed from his vehicle “for exercising my legal rights” and later confined to a cell with several other U.S. citizens.

“I wasn’t impeding an investigation. I wasn’t flashing my lights or driving erratically or honking my horn at anyone,” he said after his release. “I was simply recording them as they moved around the city.”"

I know many who are reading this aren't from Minnesota. Your words of encouragement for our team and our neighbors mean the world - thank you for your comments and outreach. Paying attention to what's happening here is an act of service itself. 

Our team will continue to pursue and publish the truth because facts matter. We can't have a democracy without them. 

Our live blog remains OUTSIDE the paywall: https://lnkd.in/g3VRHufp

[photos from Strib photographers Elizabeth Flores and Alex Kormann]

Sometimes, an offsite sesh at your usual spot doesn't go as planned. 

Like today. 

Andy and I arrived right around 8:00 this morning at one of the regulars we visit. 

There was:

One party in line ahead of us.
A ton of mobile orders to fulfill. 
One person working. 

Finally, after several minutes of no movement, another employee arrived and got the line moving. 

We ordered our drinks. 

The reply: Ooooh, sorry. We're out of coffee and need to brew some more. Do you mind waiting? 

Um, what? 

So right then, I knew it was going to be one of those days. 

Slept like shit last night. 
Our city is on edge.
Coffee is delayed.

I told her, of course we don't mind waiting (we've been waiting, after all). Just let us know when it's ready, please. 

Surprisingly, it didn't take too long. 

OK, so maybe the day is turning around. 

But, nope. A few minutes later, a woman walked in and sat down with another woman at a table nearby. 

She. Is. The. Loudest. Talker. I. Have. Ever. Heard. 

And my earbuds are at home 🙁

The pressure is on. 
The expectations are high. 
And this makes publishing content a grind. 

You know I'm right. 

It's too easy to compare ourselves to others and get frustrated when we see a gazillion likes and comments on someone's post while ours only gets 9. 

We wonder what they're doing right, and what we're doing wrong. 

But that's not the question we should be asking because the truth is, you don't know where their engagement is coming from, and more importantly, you don't know who saw your content and simply chose not to engage. 

Just because they don't react or comment doesn't mean they don't see it.  

So rather than write to go viral, write to reach someone, the right one. 

Take the pressure off yourself and lower your expectations. Seriously. 

The greatest gift you can give to yourself is to stop comparing your content to others and start focusing on what really matters. 

You'll feel better mentally. 
Your content will better connect with your audience.
And your content will reach the people you want to reach.

Remember, likes and comments don't pay the bills.

A long time ago, I got a job selling sales training. Let's just say it was interesting. 

Well, actually, it was good because I learned how to sell. We used the sales process we wanted our customers to buy. So in essence, we walked the talk. 

I didn't stay in sales (obviously), but I do think about that time and what I learned every so often. 

Not so long ago, I launched a Substack. I'm still figuring out what I want it to be, but I do post over there from time to time. 

And I just posted an article that equates content to a sales team. 

As in, one effective salesperson is better than a team of non-performers. 

Same can be said about your content. One effective article is better than a slew of drudgery.

See the correlation?

Anyway, if you're interested in other ways that your content is like your sales team, head over to my Substack and check it out. 

https://lnkd.in/gQha4GDn

Who are your referral partners, and how do you stay top of mind with them?

That's the theme of tomorrow's email newsletter because I don't think enough of us are proactively reaching our referral partner network with content. 

That doesn't mean we shouldn't. We absolutely should, but the content we share with them is slightly different from the content targeted for our end-user customers. 

We want our referral partners to not only think of us when they have a client who needs what we offer, but also to feel 100% confident in referring their clients to us. 

They are vouching for us, and we don't want to let them down. 

So, if you're curious about what content to create for your referral partners, I'll break down a few ideas in tomorrow's email and why they work. 

Look for it to hit your inboxes around 11:15 am CT, and if you're not yet a subscriber, we can fix that here: 

https://lnkd.in/eyqq3PR

If you're chasing engagement, you're eroding your credibility. 

Using clickbait and clever hooks to get likes and comments is akin to caving to peer pressure in high school. 

Don't do it. Be true to yourself! 

That is all.

As the new year rolls in and you get settled into 2026, you're going to have some of the same challenges that bugged you in 2025. 

It's just a fact. 

And if one of those challenges last year was content, know that you're not alone. 

Also know that you can overcome the challenge this year by taking a few steps. For example, with your content:

✓ Don't speak to everyone; speak to someone. What is their biggest challenge? 
✓ Understand what you want your content to do for them, and for you.
✓ Get clear on what type of content you're creating and commit to that.
✓ Distribute it more than once; know that repurposing is more than OK.
✓ Start small if starting new and build from there.

I think one of the reasons content can seem so daunting is that we make it so. The truth is, if we make it manageable, it will be manageable. 

Bottom line: think, but don't overthink, plan it out and start publishing. And know I'm here to answer any questions.

I've been thinking a lot about why businesses struggle with content. 

And I've asked people to share their thoughts with me about content and content planning via a simple, anonymous survey (if you've filled it out, THANK YOU!). 

The responses I've received so far are both interesting and telling. 

From a business growth stance, respondents say they want their content to:

Position them as a thought leader
Drive traffic to their website
Build their email list 
Generate leads

But, only one-third of respondents indicate they regularly plan their content. 

Those who do indicated that planning content helps them:

Stay focused
Build trust and credibility
Create better quality content
Connect better with their audience

Finally, the biggest obstacle for not planning content is a lack of time. 

I get it, it can be daunting and time-consuming. But it doesn't have to be. 

And if planning content helps you deliver higher quality content that connects better with your audience and drives sales, you could probably find the time to do it, right? 

I'm working on version 2.0 of our tool to help businesses plan content. More on that to come. 

In the meantime, I'd love to hear your thoughts about content and content planning. If you haven't yet filled out the survey and want to, there's still time. Or feel free to leave a comment or send me a message. 


https://lnkd.in/gKYgg-4B

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The Battle

Brian Monahan

Wendy Jacobson

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taplio

The Battle

Brian Monahan

Wendy Jacobson

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Wendy Jacobson's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreWendy Jacobson's LinkedIn Performance