In the heart of Indianapolis, a creative powerhouse has been transforming brand experiences for 78 years. Hamilton is an event marketing agency and more – we're storytellers, innovators, and experience creatives deeply rooted in the Indianapolis community.
Hamilton's Story
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amilton began in 1947 when Renzie Hamilton founded Hamilton Display Manufacturing Company in Indianapolis. What started as a small display manufacturing business quickly developed a reputation for creativity and excellence. By the 1960s, Hamilton had become widely known as the "King of Floats" for building a majority of the floats in the Indianapolis 500 Festival Parade – a testament to our early commitment to creating memorable experiences that captivate audiences.
Our Indianapolis headquarters, renovated in 2017 to create a productive, empowering, and collaborative space for employees, serves as the creative hub for our team of diverse talents united by a single passion: creating immersive brand experiences.
Today, Hamilton has evolved into a full-service experiential and event marketing agency that creates immersive brand experiences for companies worldwide. We design, produce, and execute integrated experiences – exhibits, events, environments, and digital solutions – that drive meaningful connections between brands and audiences.
Hamilton's History of Event Marketing in Indianapolis
Our Indianapolis roots run deep. From our early days creating award-winning floats to crafting Indiana's Historymobile for the state's 150th Anniversary in 1966, Hamilton has been integral to Indianapolis's cultural and business landscape.
In 1990, current CEO Dan Cantor and Joel Coleman purchased Hamilton Displays, beginning a new chapter that would transform the company from a small design and build exhibit house to an award-winning event marketing agency. Two years later, a new era began with a 200,000-square-foot facility on Indianapolis's East Side, consolidating the warehouse, manufacturing, and office space into one location.
Our connection to Indianapolis continued to strengthen through the decades. In 2021, when the city faced unprecedented challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, Hamilton assisted in producing four mass vaccination sites and logistically planning 11 mobile sites across Indiana. Our collaboration with the Indiana Department of Health resulted in the administration of over half a million vaccines across the state—a powerful example of how our event marketing expertise is deployed for the public good.
Our Brand Event and Experience Work Today
Through our in-house creative experiential studio, StudioH®, launched in 2023, we develop campaigns and experiences to evoke emotional connectivity with audiences. Storytelling is at the heart of our approach – we understand that engaging the senses and activating individual thoughts, feelings, and emotions helps consumers digest your messaging and internalize it with value and meaning.
Our comprehensive services span:
- Strategy: From business strategy and discovery to audience segmentation and integrated campaign development, our strategic services support clients' event marketing programs through a consultative and customizable approach.
- Creative: Our expert team creates immersive brand experiences that surprise, intrigue, and captivate audiences while generating leads and cultivating brand loyalty. Services include environmental, exhibit, event, and graphic design.
- Production: Our in-house production and fabrication capabilities – engineering, shop fabrication, paint and finishing, graphics production, and AV integration – allow us to control quality while maintaining design intent.
- Digital: Our digital team, part of StudioH, integrates digital and analog storytelling with strategy and design to provide solutions that attract, engage, inform, and motivate target audiences. From interactive content development to motion graphics and proprietary lead capture solutions, we bring content to life.
- Performance: Through measurement and analytics, we identify key metrics and track them across event programs, providing insights into messaging performance, attendee experiences, and optimization opportunities.
For Indianapolis businesses, our local presence means we understand the unique dynamics of the market and provide hands-on support throughout the event marketing process. Our work with local Indianapolis institutions, including The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, the Indianapolis Indians Charities, and the Indiana Department of Transportation, showcases our commitment to enhancing experiences within our community.
Partner with Hamilton
Whether you're an Indianapolis startup looking to make your first impression at a trade show or an established business seeking to elevate your brand experiences, Hamilton brings the necessary expertise to help you connect with your audience through meaningful experiences.
Our team approach to event planning and management allows us to cover all the details required to prepare and execute successful events. From developing ideas to final execution and post-show breakdown, we work with you every step to reach your goals and exceed your expectations.
As a locally based, globally minded agency, we offer Indianapolis businesses the unique advantage of working with a team that understands both the local landscape and the broader event marketing industry. Our Indianapolis facility houses our creative, production, and management teams under one roof, facilitating seamless collaboration and exceptional quality control.
The Hamilton difference lies in our commitment to "no surprises" regarding your budget, timeline, expectations, and deliverables. We partner with you throughout the entire process, providing real-time updates, transparency, and documentation to make your vision a reality.
Connect with us today to discover how Hamilton, your Indianapolis neighbor, can help tell your brand story.