Rockin’ Events – Rock It! Co. Team Goes ‘All-In’ To Create Events for Corporate Clients

Source: Kathy Laughlin, Marketplace Greenville

A name like Rock It! invokes lofty expectations.

And Leah Stoudenmire Lawson says her company delivers.

“With a name like The Rock It! Co., we’re not coming in with our heads down. We’re coming in bold and prepared and all in. Like, ‘OK, let’s do this,’” says Lawson, who lives and works in Greenville.

If game show contestants were asked to guess Lawson’s profession (Boomers, think “What’s My Line,” 1950-1967), they might surmise that she is a rock ’n’ roller, a rock climber, a rock blaster, a geologist – or even a diamond broker.

The Rock It! Co. embodies elements of all those professions – passion, positivity, determination, hard work, knowledge, connections, technology and marketing skills – and builds corporate events that generate brand identity and brand loyalty for clients.

Lawson started Rock It! in Charleston in 2014 after co-owning an apparel company and working in advertising, real estate and marketing.

A one-woman operation in the beginning, she says she chose to focus solely on the software tech industry and create events aimed at boosting her clients’ revenue by educating, delighting, and inspiring action in their customers.

“If you hire Rock It!, you’re not just getting an event. You’re getting a team of expert professionals delivering a Rock It! experience from start to finish. It’s always memorable, packed with our signature wow factor,” she says.

“There’s a demand. Because it’s hard to do.”

Rock It! takes an active role in all aspects of events, starting with strategy and site selection, through contract negotiation, branding, programming, promotion, logistics and execution.

“We help pull together an A-team. We keep teams positive because events can be stressful. Then we strategically think through the C-level’s vision and how to execute it. We become a dynamic extension of them. But we also have that attendee-first mentality and rock it all the way,” Lawson says.

Events could be multi-day conferences for product users, symposiums for distributors to kick off sales, or incentive trips for employees.

“It’s an experience that’s different. It’s something that they’ll remember,” Lawson says.

Depending on the client’s audience, Lawson says an event might include a dynamic speaking panel, hamburgers cooked on a company’s new brand of grill, a one-of-a-kind singer-songwriter experience in Nashville, or “Top Chef”-style team cooking.

Every detail is managed with a “white-glove touch.”

“For a company, events are part of their brand, part of their culture. They build brand loyalty and turn attendees into brand ambassadors,” she says.

“We’re working in the premier corporate world.” Rock It! doesn’t create social events or fundraisers. “We’re very specific.”

Lawson got her first taste of Greenville and marketing in 2003, when she took a job straight out of college at Erwin Penland Advertising (now EP+Co).

“That was my dream job,” she says. “You were working around the clock. Old school. Like “Mad Men.”’

Lawson says she learned to “surprise and delight” clients at IMI Resort Holdings, then a luxury real estate brand in Greenville. While she worked at IMI, she says CEO Mike Collins taught her that clients’ first exposure to the brand was when their airplane touched down.

“Then you have to rock it through the airport and that car ride and to the venue. That’s what they did,” she says. “The Rock It! premiere event experience stems from that.”

Lawson’s position was eliminated when the 2008 recession struck a blow to the real estate industry.

“I’ve had a whirlwind of career opportunities and taking risks and falling and getting back up again. I feel like setbacks are learning experiences that take you to where you’re supposed to be,” she says.

After IMI, Lawson co-founded an apparel company, exited four years later, returned to Charleston to reconnect with her family and do consulting work, then took a position with Benefitfocus, an benefits administration software company on Daniel Island. She offered to build an events division and a team.

“I dug in, started asking questions, and ended up saving them nearly $100,000 through contract negotiations with vendors,” she says. “It’s about aligning every detail to meet the expectations of a company’s executive team.”

Here’s how Lawson sees it:

CEOs: “We’re taking over their vision,” she says.

Chief Financial Officers: Rock It! will come in under budget.

Chief Operating Officers: An event will be conducted efficiently.

Chief Product Officers: Products, technology or retail will be front and center.

“We work with venues like the Ritz-Carlton and others. With our contract negotiations, we can sometimes get the Ritz-Carlton on a shoestring budget. We know how to fill gaps and holes in a hotel’s calendar. It’s knowing how to do it strategically,” Lawson says.

Six years after Lawson set out on her own with Rock It!, just as she was anticipating her most successful year, COVID struck. Her event contracts were suddenly canceled. But the need for people to work from home or remotely also brought her back to where her career began.

“Rock It! is positivity. Setbacks truly are your successes. They’re part of your story,” she says.

Eleven months into her return to Greenville, she met her now-husband – a widower with two young children.

Now, Lawson’s priority is family and the business that helps support them.

She’s working with Toby Stansell, a former executive at apparel firm OOBE and a former business consultant with Cargo. Now a partner at NxTrek, Stansell provides direction to privately held and family businesses.

After discussions with Stansell and his team, Lawson says Rock It! will sideline most of its traditional marketing and branding business to become “super-hyper-focused on Rock It! experiences.”

Rock It! remains intentionally small, with a team of five based in Charleston and Greenville – and a network of independent contractors nationwide.

“We stayed nimble so that our customers don’t become a number. They feel such a high-touch, white-glove experience. We’re not trying to be something we’re not. We go in with so much heart. But we stand by that Rock It! mentality,” Lawson says.

“What sets us apart is our ability to merge big-picture strategy with meticulous detail. For us, it’s never just about hosting a beautiful event – it’s about crafting one with purpose. Our clients don’t come to us for cookie-cutter. They come when they want something premium, intentional, unforgettable and results-driven.”