Marketing icon Roy Spence to deliver ESX keynote

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Roy Spence, a Texas marketing icon who has helped grow some of the world's most successful brands, will deliver his message of “purpose-driven branding” as keynote speaker at this year's Electronic Security Expo.

Spence is the co-founder and chairman of GSD&M, a marketing and advertising company in Austin, Texas. His business philosophy has delivered results for Southwest Airlines, Wal-Mart, DreamWorks, BMW, the Clinton Global Initiative, L.L. Bean and many other well-known companies and groups.

George De Marco, chairman of ESX, said he hadn't heard of Spence until he saw him speak at a conference in Las Vegas. After that, De Marco said he knew Spence would be a great motivator for security professionals.

“He moved an audience of 4,500 to their feet,” De Marco told Security Systems News. “What he really focused on was being an entrepreneur in America. � He really got you thinking about how you should look at your business and to make sure you look at it differently, with new eyes, to really identify the importance of it and your customers.”

Spence is the author of “It's Not What You Sell, It's What You Stand For: Why Every Extraordinary Business is Driven By Purpose.” He is also a member of the board of directors of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation and is a distinguished alumnus of the University of Texas.

Spence will help ESX attendees “look at what the status quo is for the industry and help move you to the next level,” De Marco said. The keynote address is scheduled for 11:45 a.m. on June 19 at Nashville's new Music City Center.

De Marco said everything was falling into place for ESX 2013, which he predicted would be the “best year ever” for the show. It runs from June 17-21.

“I walked through the new convention center last year and it was awesome,” he said. “It was still in the construction phase, but it's going to be state of the art with every amenity you can imagine. We're very excited to be one of the first conventions using that facility.”

For more information about ESX and a schedule of events, go to www.esxweb.com.