Meet Tracie Hitz | Brand Strategist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tracie Hitz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tracie, what is the most important factor behind your success?
I spent my entire career working for someone else, so after 20 years in corporate America, I decided to start my own business in 2018 because I wanted to implement creative ideas that would move the needle for people who were working hard to live their dreams.. While I do work with large businesses, my niche is with small business owners because there is more freedom to try new things. Because I have a creative and a strategic mind, I can pitch and implement ideas that are different, but rooted in strategy so there is limited risk and potential for great things. By combining sports and music, we are building opportunities that go beyond just playing a show, it’s about creating an event that people will remember for years to come. We have a vision, we do the research and we deliver what was promised, and usually more than expected.

What should our readers know about your business?
Being creative and strategic has been at the core of my business. We set a plan and we see it all the way through. We evaluate in real time and make adjustments when needed to set ourselves up for success. We truly care about the people we work with, which means we will do everything we can to make things happen. We set the expectations and we make sure we hit them every time.

I’m proud of the work we’ve done to get people out to sporting events and shows because they connect with the athletes and the artists. We build community through conversations and my proudest moments are when the stadium, arena and/or venue is full of people having a great time cheering on their favorite team or their favorite new artist. When we can make a fan through their experience online or in person, that’s a good day.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Being an event planner, I always keep up with everything that is changing in Nashville, and try to check out new places and things to do. I jump on Devon O’Day’s Main Street Today Show every Thursday for The Hitz List segment where I share things to do in Nashville every weekend. Some of my go=to music spots are 3rd & Lindsley, The Local, Scoreboard Bar & Grill, Bourbon Street Boogie Bar, Robert’s Western World, Casa Rosa, Exit/In and The Basement East. Some favorite food/drink spots are The Southern, Urban Grub, Sonny’s, Sperry’s, The Optimist, The Stillery, Peg Leg Porker, Sambuca (happy hour), Dino’s, Sinema, Grand Hyatt Rooftop (happy hour), Waldo’s Chicken, Hawkers and Adele’s. When the weather is nice, we do rooftop bops around the hotels and some of the Honky Tonks. We also go to most sporting events when they are in town, as well as any festivals (eg Tomato Art Fest).

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I wouldn’t be where I am today without my mentor, Anucha Browne, who was my boss at the NCAA and my first business client when she worked at UNICEF. As I was still focused just on sports, I met platinum-selling songwriter, Chancie Neal, who was my first music client and has been a champion for me in the industry for almost five years. Both of these women believe in me as much as I believe in myself if not more. They don’t want to do things differently, and that’s how I live my life.

Website: hitzandbranding.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tracie.hitz/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/traciehitz/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HitzAndBranding

Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@traciehitz

Image Credits
All images were taken by me: Tracie Hitz