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A Spooky Power Hour

Creep into our monthly Power Hours, where marketing's most terrifying tales come to life through the trembling voices of Central Texas' haunted professionals. These spine-chilling sessions feature a panel of brave survivors sharing their most nightmarish marketing disasters that will make your blood run cold. Dare to learn from their grave mistakes before your campaign meets a similar fate!

 

Field Marketing Horror Stories

And How to Bounce Back

Marketing Horror Stories: When Campaigns Go Bump in the Night

Austin AMA Power Hour | Oct 23, 2025

Let’s face it—marketing can be a nightmare. That brilliant campaign that flopped. The typo nobody caught. The social post that went viral for all the wrong reasons. Yikes!

But here’s the thing: how you handle these disasters often says more about your brand than the mess-up itself.

This Halloween season, join Austin AMA for some therapy-by-storytelling with our marketing survivors: Mubaraka Malbari, Katy Ward, and Martín Martinez. They’ve been through it all and lived to tell the tales!

You’ll hear about:

  • Epic fails that somehow turned into wins

  • Quick thinking that saved the day

  • Lessons learned (so you don’t have to learn them the hard way)

Whether you’re a marketing newbie or a battle-scarred veteran, come laugh, cringe, and pick up some crisis-management tips along the way.

Grab a seat (and maybe a drink). These stories are too good to miss!

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October 23, 2025 @ 5:30pm

Sangfroid Studio | 1204 San Antonio St. Fl. 2, Austin, TX 78701

Schedule:

5:30 PM — Doors open & mingling/happy hour

6:10 PM — Panel discussion begins

7:10 PM — Q&A / audience interaction

7:40 PM — Post-panel networking & wrap

Why Attend?

Don't miss out on this opportunity to learn from marketing professionals about the latest strategies for dealing with event-related mishaps.

  • What are some common ways that events go wrong?
  • How can event marketers develop and hone their checklist to keep events on track?
  • How and when should event marketers respond to event-related issues?
  • How can we learn and prevent similar issues in the future?
  • Are there any silver linings to event-related mishaps?

  • How can event marketers develop and hone their checklist to keep events on track?

Meet Our Panel

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Erica Hilgeman Moon

CMO, Next Edge

Erica Moon is a dynamic marketing executive with extensive experience in brand transformation and launching new business lines. She is currently a successful Fractional CMO and Marketing Batgirl, with her own firm, Moon Marketing Strategy.  As the CMO of NextEdge, she successfully rebranded the company, merging eight regional businesses and launching a Clean Energy Division, which is forecasted to generate $15-20 million in 2024. Previously, at VMware, she was a driving force behind the company’s SaaS transformation and built strategies that grew the Cloud and Kubernetes businesses to over $100 million. Earlier, at Dell, she introduced Desktop Virtualization and K12 Laptop solutions, driving significant revenue with each. Her work consistently delivers impressive growth and ROI.  Erica attended Stanford University and lives in Austin, TX with her family and a revolving menagerie of rescue pets.

 

Connect on LinkedIn.

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Kimberly Chung

Founder and CEO, Orchid Events

Kimberly Chung is the Founder and CEO of Orchid Events, a luxury event production company based in Austin, Texas. A seasoned event producer with over 20 years’ experience, Kim’s career has spanned both the non-profit and corporate sector. She has managed and executed all types of events ranging from weddings, to political galas, nonprofit fundraisers, conferences, film festivals, trade shows, concerts, and even a high-tech weapons shooting competition.

Her background in media, marketing, music, and events allows her to envision event productions from multiple angles, in both live, in-person settings as well as virtual. She derives great joy from being able to create fun experiences where people feel welcome and relaxed, while paying careful attention to all the logistics and intricate details that go into planning a memorable event.

Originally from Singapore, Kim is a University of Texas alumni and former station manager of Texas Student Television. In her spare time, she also manages and plays for a local funk fusion band called The Foxtones, and enjoys baking, spending time with friends, and attends Mosaic Church Austin.

 

Connect on LinkedIn.

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Ernest Corder

President, FearWorm Hauntvertising and Redroc Austin

Ernest Corder founded Redroc Austin in 1997 and continues to lead the organization today. He also founded the boutique agency FearWorm, in 2013, recently combing both agencies into one larger firm. Mr. Corder’s extensive media experience and strategic marketing acumen have guided the agencies to create smart, successful marketing campaigns for local and national clients for over 27 years. Ernest is involved in building strategy for all agency clients, is part of our creative team as CCO, and is constantly developing new ways to use media to help Redroc and FearWorm’s clients succeed.

Mr. Corder started his career in radio sales way back in the 90’s. He’s always been into music, and currently hosts a rock radio program on his hometown station, KWVH, out of Wimberley, TX.

Connect on LinkedIn.

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Liz Lathan

Co-Founder, Club Ichi (Moderator)

Liz Lathan, CMP, is the co-founder of Club Ichi, a community for B2B Event Marketers, and The Community Factory, helping companies create community at their events and keep them going all year long. With 20+ years in event marketing for corporations, associations, and agencies, Liz has seen her fair share of event horror and success stories!

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Sangfroid Studio

1204 San Antonio St. Floor 2, Austin, TX 78701
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Our Sponsors

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JTX Media

JTX Media specializes in boosting business sales and digital presence through expertly crafted video content. Our comprehensive social media video packages are designed to increase your online engagement, while our event video packages help you scale your impact. Contact us today to learn what powerful video content can do for your business.

Primary Contact: Jackson Tritt

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Interested in Sponsoring or Speaking at this Power Hour?

We are currently looking for organizations and individuals to partner with for any of our upcoming events! If you're interested in sponsoring, we'd be delighted to work with you.

Please reach out to AMA Austin VP of Strategic Partnerships, Dallas Richard, and he'll get back to you with our current options and opportunities for this event!

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