Meet Taylor Bennett
Occupation: CEO & Chief Creative Director
Organization: MESH
BRAC Involvement: Previous External Image Working Group Chair
What does your organization do?
MESH is a full-service strategic marketing and communications agency. We have a passion for branding–from developing the brand itself to creating campaigns to promote brands, and finding the best place for those brands to live through paid, earned, shared and owned media. We work with a variety of clients from Fortune 500 companies to startups based here locally, nationally and internationally.
What are some advantages of being located/doing business in the Capital Region?
By getting involved with organizations like BRAC, you’ll learn quickly that the business community here is very connected and driven to win. With over half of the Louisiana business revenue coming from small businesses, we have the opportunity to tap into some of the larger brands here in the local community as well as work with small businesses. For our clients out of state, it offers us a competitive edge from a resource perspective. We are nimble and able to do more for less while maintaining a high standard of work that is recognized on a national level.
We partner with a lot of local companies, but we also work with companies located all across the country, from Atlanta to Los Angeles. Being in Baton Rouge and allowing for remote work enables us to attract top talent locally, from LSU and other universities across the state, as well as throughout the country. It also has been a destination for our out-of-state clients to visit, especially with our location near a flagship university. We recently had seven clients in from out-of-state and they enjoyed the food, culture, and city very much. We tend to forget that we have so much to offer here.
Why did you decide to invest in BRAC?
For me the answer is simple, I want to invest in organizations that care about the businesses in Baton Rouge. I’ve been involved with BRAC since 2003 and have done a lot throughout the years. From the Canvas trips to sitting on boards and committees, one thing has been consistent in the last 15 years – BRAC cares about business and listens to business owners.
What would you say to companies contemplating joining BRAC?
The sooner, the better. You’ll learn what’s happening in the business community, meet wonderful people, make valuable connections and enhance your own reach and image. It is well worth it.
What do you anticipate for your company in the next five years? For the Capital Region?
I anticipate three things:
- We have established ourselves as a business partner. MESH works with clients to increase a return on their investment in branding and marketing. That’s the business side. The creative side is that we believe the best way to achieve an ROI is to be disruptive and create change. Change that gets noticed and that is endearing to your audience.
- We’ll be doing more branding in more markets. We’ll likely be looking at other small satellite offices like our office in Atlanta. Growth is important, but we want to grow by having a great reputation and exceeding our client’s expectations while doing it.
- We will continue to do business with large Fortune 500 companies and small startups. We need diversity to keep the entrepreneurial DNA of MESH alive.
BRAC is an investor-driven organization leading economic development in the nine-parish Baton Rouge Area. BRAC’s investor base includes small businesses, midsize firms, large industry and entrepreneurial startups, as well as other individuals and organizations.
Each month, BRAC highlights one of its investors in the Investor Spotlight. To learn more about becoming an investor, visit the Join BRAC page or schedule a meeting with BRAC’s Investor Development and Relations team.