2018 MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES IN BUSINESS AND ENTERTAINMENT (MOBE) SYMPOSIUM CONNECTED MAJOR BRANDS TO THE NEARLY $1.2 TRILLION DOLLAR BUYING POWER OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CONSUMER

(Left to Right): Dion Clarke, Harlem Fine Arts Show; Yvette Moyo, Founder, MOBE & Real Men Cook; Dorinda Walker, Prudential; Lela Coffey, P&G; Curtis Symonds, Chairperson, MOBE Symposium

More than 250 entrepreneurs, marketing and advertising executives attended the 2018 Marketing Opportunities in Business and Entertainment (MOBE) Symposium recently held at Kiyo Sakaguchi Hall in the Prudential Tower, Newark, New Jersey. The event was sponsored by Prudential Financial, Inc and co-sponsored by P&G.

Welcome remarks were presented by host Dorinda Walker, vice president of Cultural Insights and Activation, Brand Marketing and Advertising, at Prudential. She was joined by Yvette Moyo, Co-founder of MOBE and Real Men Cook; Curtis Symonds, Conference Chairman and CEO & Founder of HBCUX Network; and Lela Coffey, Brand Director, Beauty – Multicultural of P&G, the Symposium’s co-sponsor.

“Prudential was honored to host the 2018 MOBE Symposium in our hometown of Newark, NJ! We understand MOBE’s mission – the importance of bringing together entrepreneurs and large corporations to cultivate strategic business alliances – and value being a part of efforts that support the economic progress of the black community,” said Walker.

Legendary cable executive Leo Hindery of InterMedia Partners, Alfred Edmond Jr, SVP of Black Enterprise and Louis Carr, President, Sales at BET presented keynote addresses. Panelists included senior executives from BET Her, Essence, Morgan Stanley, iOne Digital/Hello Beautiful, American Heart Association, BlackDoctor.org, NBA Players Association, WNBA, NFL, NASCAR and the Newark Office of Film and Television.

The inaugural MOBE Awards recognized veteran advertising and marketing executives. Each award recipient was presented with a piece of framed artwork donated by the Harlem Fine Arts Show. The distinguished honorees included:

* Pepper Miller, President of The Hunter Miller Group and Ken Smikle, President & Founder of Target Market News received The Spirit Of D. Parke Gibson Award.

* Chuck Morrison, former executive of UniWorld Group, Burrell Advertising and Coca-Cola USA and Carol H. Williams, President of Carol H. Williams Advertising received the MOBE Legends Award.

* Long-time MOBE supporter Clyde Allen, President & Founder of Allen & Partners, received the MOBE Corporate Pioneer Award.

MOBE Symposium Founder, Yvette Moyo stated, “Sharing information, acknowledging our brilliance and that we drive the tone and tenor of this country in entertainment, fashion, and sports; this is the MOBE Way. Understand that our power to work together, to recognize and leverage our buying power, to celebrate and do business with each other and those who respect our value will be the key to our financial survival.”

The next MOBE Symposium will be held in April 2019 and smaller events are being planned during the year. Updated information can be found on their website, www.mobesymposium.com

About MOBE:
MOBE (Pronounced “moe-bee”) delivers business building, education and mentoring resources to African-American marketing, technology, sports & entertainment professionals with growing businesses. The MOBE Symposium provides a place to initiate strategic alliances with larger corporations.

MOBE is where Marketing, Technology, Sports & Entertainment professionals converge with early-stage/growing businesses, business professionals and corporations. Since 1992, the MOBE series has delivered business building, education and mentoring resources for African-American professionals; sports, entertainment and other entrepreneurs. The organization has facilitated deals between young companies and large corporations to grow their businesses. MOBE’s registrants have directly influenced the spending power and impacted a vastly larger urban consumer base. An estimated $200 million in business was generated to African-American companies as a direct result of associations conceived at MOBE symposiums.

About Prudential:
Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader with more than $1 trillion of assets under management as of March 31, 2018, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prudential’s diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds and investment management. In the U.S., Prudential’s iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit www.news.prudential.com.