Event marketing agency mdg has recruited Anjia Nicolaidis to serve as its International Marketing Specialist. The hire is part of the agency’s ongoing commitment to providing strategic international marketing counsel for its roster of association and for-profit event clients.

Nicolaidis will lead an existing team of marketing strategists, including those who have lived and worked in overseas markets Taiwan, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai and speak fluent German, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Hindi, and French.

mdg’s international marketing team utilizes a proven process that begins with market research to rank and prioritize countries based on criteria such as past performance and growth potential, capital expenditures, ease of doing business, etc. Once priorities are established, the agency begins forming alliances and delegations, developing marketing collateral, participating in foreign trade events, supervising the International Buyers Program through the Department of Commerce, managing media relations, and providing additional services as part of a broad, fully-integrated campaign. This approach has yielded great success for the International Baking Industry Exposition and NPE: The Plastics Show, comprised of 28 and 26 percent international attendance, respectively.

“Increasingly, event organizers see international attendance as a key strategy for achieving continued, sustained growth at their U.S.-based events,” says Kimberly Hardcastle-Geddes, mdg president. “Navigating relationships, perceptions and pathways to attendance in today’s rapidly evolving geopolitical environment requires a significant level of expertise. Many organizations are not able to dedicate resources to truly capitalize on existing and emerging international opportunities; Anjia, her team and her extensive global network will provide a new level of service to existing and new clients.”

Nicolaidis has almost two decades of experience living and working overseas in South America, South Asia, Europe and the Middle East, and has held positions with the Department of State, Department of Commerce, national environmental nonprofit organizations and a global advertising agency. She will help mdg clients navigate foreign markets, cultivate and deepen relationships with key international stakeholders and uncover unique market insights. Nicolaidis was recognized by the International Trade Administration for her involvement in producing trade events in Kuwait in support of collective international efforts to rebuild Iraq.

“We are constantly adapting to meet the ever-changing and increasingly complex needs of our association and event clients,” says Vincent Polito, mdg principal. “Anjia will lead clients through the various international business environments and provide skilled guidance to develop successful campaigns that show a positive return on investment.”