Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Iheard media presents CEOs you should know. Welcome to CEOs
you should know. Today we have a very special guest,
Kevin Meani. Good to meet you, sir, great to meet you.
Congratulations on nine Rooftops. We have to start there because
you know, you meet somebody who's the CEO of a
company called nine Rooftops, you're like, what is this? Is
he roof or what's he doing?
Speaker 2 (00:19):
No roots, Well, we do cover a lot of territory.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Nine Rooftops actually is a merger of eight different was
it separate entities or separate locations that you were working
with them? A man?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Separate entities three actually separate businesses that we merged during
COVID of all things.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Well, you mentioned during COVID, because we certainly reshaped the
way we work as Americans during COVID with the introduction
of teams and zooms and all the other opportunities. We
had to work from different locations.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Well, when you merge three companies and you can't suddenly
travel to each office, of which there were nine different locations,
it presented some challenges that you might imagine.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
And we mentioned nine different locations. It's almost like one
of those questions which one of these things don't belong. Pittsburgh, Chicago, Boston, Atlanta,
New York, Birmingham, Baltimore, Miami, Bluffton, South Carolina.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
We traded Boston recently for London.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Yes, but of those things that don't belong, I'm finding
out by reading a little bit about you, that Bluffton
may have actually been the reason why you've been able
to put together these different entities under nine Rooftops and
expand the way that you have.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
It's been a great location to be headquartered in, easy
to get in and out of, but just being in
South Carolina has really made it easy, easier than I
thought it would be only first moved here twenty five
years ago.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
You're the only person that I know who actually has
a clinical psychology degree. I don't know if you're analyzing
me right now.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
I'm close to figuring you. Okay, I won't take it there.
I'm getting there. It won't take long.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
The thing that you do, and it is a coin
phrase that you live by, is that creativity is intelligence
having fun, which brings us to the purpose and the
mission statement of nine Rooftops. Let's talk about specifically about
what your company does.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Well. We're a full service marketing company. But it's really today.
What that means is we have a range of services
we provide, but most important is an insight or looking
forward as we're looking at a brand, taking data, doing
the analytics, maybe applying data science, that deep understanding of consumers,
(02:26):
and then solving a problem for a brand. How do
we sell more? How do we raise awareness? How do
we roll out a new product? You name it well?
Speaker 1 (02:35):
And this is where your psychology degree is certainly going
to come into play.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
It certainly did. It's pretty amazing the parallels between marketing
and certainly strategy and database science and understanding consumers and
clinical psychology. Oh that was not my plan when I
originally stepped into marketing. I just happened to experience a
marketing course when I was in a PhD program for psychology.
(03:00):
And here I am.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
From any of us inside a typical advertising business broadcast
in particular, we may have gone to Jay School. Looking
back on it now, I'm like, I wish i'd think
you more psychology and sociology studies, because that really would
help me more than in your case. I understand you
do not have a management degree. You weren't a business student.
In college.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
No, you're actually speaking to someone who in high school
was mediocre at best, was told they probably shouldn't go
to college due to their father being such a good man. Somehow,
some way, I ended up doing a four year degree
and about midway through college discovered psychology and went from
(03:44):
a C minus student to a straight A student in
the last two years. So says something about, yeah, if
it's of interest and we get engaged, we can perform
really well.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
And that's where you found your natural bend. Where did
you go to college?
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Alfred University, Upstate New York. Small private school, but it
was probably the best place for me. You know. It
was very cold in winters, and you had to spend
time in a library as there were three feet of
snow outside.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
You know, it's interesting in the state of South Carolina.
Usually if you live close to a college campus, you'll
meet people who have lived in lots of different places,
born and raised in California or in New York. But
usually when you get outside of that, most of our
smaller communities. Bluffton's a little bit different because you have
a lot of people that come there specifically because it's
so beautiful. But you have an interesting resident track behind
(04:32):
you as.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Well, California. Did most of high school in California. Obviously
did not go there alone. Was the family, and before
that a little bit of time in Mexico, and before
that born on Long Island, New York. Also my family.
When I was in college they moved to Minneapolis, so
did my fair share of ice fishing. But now I
(04:54):
live in God's Country.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Right, I'm a big fisherman. I've never wanted to go
ice fishing. With the new war environment that was brought
on by COVID, we're doing a lot of remote work.
And then with your connections in marketing, you really had
kind of a collision of a lot of great ideas
that came together, including how to make nine rooftops one entity,
bringing in some people that you had worked with obviously before.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
Yeah, well it certainly was a challenge. You know, we
identified the opportunity for a merger bringing one firm into Hours,
which was very heavy in analytics and data. Research company
that I was running at that time was really centered
around creativity and commercial production and content, and the other
(05:39):
company had done a more regional work and actually had
developed a number of healthcare campaigns for regional hospitals. Bringing
them together resulted in a much more powerful and much
i'll say stronger company because the creativity and the data
science and the deep understanding of consumers worked very well.
(06:00):
And we have since formed a healthcare marketing division which
is doing very well, focused primarily on marketing providers.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
So as an advertising agency, there's a lot of different
things they have to come together. This is where you
truly bring the left brain and the right brain together,
because you have to have a strategy as you mentioned
for the data and the results that you've studied on
how to place the ads or radio, television, streaming or otherwise.
But you also have to have the creativity side and
understanding bluffin you've expanded that to have a commercial facility
(06:30):
for television and or other av production. When you bring
those two sides together, the right brain and the left brain,
and you're using the analytics and the creativity of it all,
that's where the magic comes together.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
That is where the magic comes together. And that's where
when COVID hit it became a real challenge because suddenly
we're not together. We are all separate and apart. And
it's challenging enough when you have multiple locations. But then
when you have a location, as are one in Bluffin,
which is about one hundred people, and suddenly they're now
walking the halls, or meeting at the water cool or
(07:04):
grabbing a quick lunch or just hanging out. Coming up
with ideas became a real challenge. But we did it.
I still and I look back on it sometimes I
think maybe COVID actually helped us merge. It put a
different type of pressure on us and really caused us
to have to sort of scramble and figure out, Oh
(07:25):
my god, I don't even know who these people are
in Pittsburgh. Right, Sure, we'll do video, whatever it takes.
Let's try.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Well, given out, you brought it together intelligence, having fun.
That's the creativity. You have the nuts and bolts and
the analytics and the ability to make sure that we
are reaching the right persons by using the available audio
and television streams, and you've got the creativity side, which
is always nuts and fun to hang out with. By
the way, you've probably seen a lot of their work
on television because you've worked with incredibly large people from
(07:54):
Microsoft to Coca Cola, the list goes on and on,
and because of that, you draw a lot of attention
here in South Carolina. I understand you've been able to
help out a lot with our South Carolina Department of
Tourism as well as the South Carolina Department of Commerce.
Let's talk a little bit about the persons you've worked
with in the state of South Carolina.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
You know, it's fascinating. Let's say I'm a New Yorker
because that's where I had my first business, and I
actually the roots of nine Rooftops started there, and then
I relocated to South Carolina. And that was a very
intentional move, primarily because my wife and I had decided, Okay,
we can get out of New York and be someplace
(08:33):
near the water the ocean here. So we presented and
won a piece of business in South Carolina, which was
South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism. And for me,
that was just a thrill to win a piece of
business like that. But to my amazement, I received the
phone call one week after we won that piece of
(08:54):
business from Governor Nikki Hally. She simply reached out to
me to one congratulate me, and two to tell me
that she was unaware of us as a business growing
in South Carolina, and that she is one hundred percent
behind business in South Carolina. And if I ever need
any help or ever want to just talk to her
(09:15):
when I'm in Columbia, give her a call, which I
did once, and I actually went to her office and
sat down. I've discovered the same thing with the governor Mitmaster,
very accessible, very open minded. I've heard people say it,
and I've realized it is true. This is a handshake.
State you want to get something done, you actually can
(09:35):
sit down with people in charge, whether it's at the
county level or at state level, which really helped us grow.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
And having worked with a couple of clients in similar
situations as yourself in the state of South Carolina, it
seems like from the Governor's office down to Harry Lightzy's
office at Commerce or whichever agency you're talking with, they
really have mapped out their mission strategy and they really
understand how they want to help CEOs. Do you find
that to be true or just imagining that happens because
(10:01):
of the things I'm reading in the paper.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
No, it actually happens. Everybody seems to be much more
aligned as far as what the goals are or what
type of industry they'd like to bring in, and it's
all very supportive. Our focus is growing the business and
maintaining headquarters here in this state. The ability to hire
people here even if they're not local. Once they come
(10:25):
and they visit and they see whether it's Hilton Head
or if it's even upstate, and they realize, wow, bald
eagles flying, you know it oftens in the water. Communities
are just very warm and welcoming, so it makes it
easier to hire people. And there's a stickiness that comes
with that. Who wants to leave?
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Right We'll talk to CEOs who are building a new
facility here that it has been one hundred and thirty
million dollars building the Milo's t facility here. They have
a lot of different people that are hiring, could be
just manufacturing types or HR manager. Now you're a little
different because, as we talked about, this is creativity having fun.
It's a little different in that we really don't have
(11:05):
a school of creativity. Do you find it? Certainly after
now being awarded one of the best workplaces in South Carolina,
people actually call up or email or go to your
web page and they want to work for you because
they think it's gonna be a fun place. Do you
have people that actually in the state of South Carolina
you have hired or are the more people that you're
bringing in.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
It's truly a mix.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
You know.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
In my business, you have everything from we'll call it
a sales person or a person who manages business, to
a data scientist to a copywriter to an artist. There's
plenty of talent in South Carolina. Some of the more
i say esoteric positions. If we're looking for, you know,
(11:47):
a well seasoned creative director that's heavy in content. Yeah,
we may be reaching outside, you know, California or Chicago
or New York. But you know, you look at the
Management school at University of South Carolina right here in
Columbia College at Charleston. There's just a lot of talent here.
(12:07):
And they call it the Creative Coast. Really from Savannah,
Georgia up to Charleston, it's really an area recognized as
the Creative Coast. Just a number of photographers and writers
and talent and creatives that are there.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
It's fascinating, more encouragement for citizens living in South Carolina
possibly hearing about your company for the first time.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
The Governor's School provides some tremendous n's opportunities for talent.
Been a huge supporter of that. Look at Clemson, the
type of talent that come out of these colleges, it's
just amazing.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
I'm really excited to know that you are very happy
and bufton than most people are, to know that you
are heading up an organization that is truly an international
organization and having an opportunity and creating more opportunities for
the state of South Carolina with our citizens, but at
the same time helping us promote the state.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
We were very fortunate when we started working with South
Carolina because when you look at the wealth of riches here,
from the mountains to the ocean, to the golf courses,
the water, there's just so much to market. So as
far as the client goes and as far as building
a program, it's easy. There's a lot of resources. We're
(13:17):
not selling a soap that's the same as every other soap,
and it's got to be some kind of magic. We
just need to make people aware and package it.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
And it's great and thank you again for helping us
do that because that campaign is terrific for the Tourism department.
Thank you I actually wish that we were at your
house because I want to I don't have to drive it.
I just want to arrive in the passenger seat of
your nineteen fifty five portion of speedster.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
I have a soft spot for cars. Somebody asked me
the other day, what do you do in your spare time.
I'm like, I work, But work tends to have a
bed connotation for some people. Sure, for me, it's yeah,
I'm active in something to get a result, a positive result.
So that usually comes from what I do in marketing,
(14:06):
playing with the grand children and maybe playing with their
minds or playing legos with them. And also cars, there's
tremendous It's almost like a time capsule. When you look
at a nineteen fifty five, whether to Porsche or Chevrolet,
it says a lot about culture and where things were
at and how much the world has changed just sixty years.
(14:30):
Exactly what's happened. Yeah, and I like to tinker with them,
and I used to race a little, But those days,
good for you, Those days are mostly over, you know,
certainly not in a fifty five. I wouldn't know.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
I'd be afraid to even drive it on the streets.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
Prefer airbags.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Yeah, Nine Rooftops is the company. The CEO is Kevin Mede.
I'm so glad to know that you're here in the
state of South Carolina and your company's obviously doing very well.
You've got grandkids, You've got a fifty five speachter. You're
living close enough to the water to walk out and
make a cast and catch them. Sup. You got life
by the tail. I'm excited for you and good to
meet you.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
Well, thank you, and it's great to be here because
this is another great town. I'm up here a lot
in Columbia and just love it.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
This is iheartradios CEOs.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
You should know.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
Today we're speaking with the CEO of nine Rooftops, mister
Kevin Meane. Now you work out of your offices in Bluffton,
South Carolina, and you have offices all across the country
and one in London. How do you find it doing
business in the Palmetto State.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
It's been a great location to be headquartered in. Just
being in South Carolina has really made it easy, easier
than I thought it would be when we first moved
here twenty five years ago.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Now I know that you moved your headquarters from New
York city to Bluffton. How do that come to be?
Speaker 2 (15:43):
We presented and won a piece of business and with
a South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, And
to my amazement, I received a phone call from Governor
Nikki Hally. She simply reached out to me to one
congratulate me, and two to tell me that she was
unaware of us as a business growing in South Carolina
(16:04):
and that she is one hundred percent behind business in
South Carolina. And if I ever need any help or
ever want to just talk to her. One I'm in Columbia,
give her a call, which I did once and I
actually went to her huffs and sat down. Now, I
don't know what other state that happens in. I've discovered
the same thing with the government atmaster very accessible, very
(16:26):
open minded. I've heard people say it, and I've realized
it is true. This is a handshake state. You want
to get something done, you actually can sit down with
people in charge, whether it's at the county level or
at the state level, which really helped us grow.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
CEO of nine Rooftops, Kevin Meanie, thank you so much
for spending time with us.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Well, thank you, and it's great to be here.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
You've been listening to iHeart Radio CEOs you should know,
heard every Tuesday and Saturday morning right here on this
iHeart Radio station.
Iheard media presents CEOs you should know. Welcome to CEOs
you should know. Today we have a very special guest,
Kevin Meani. Good to meet you, sir, great to meet you.
Congratulations on nine Rooftops. We have to start there because
you know, you meet somebody who's the CEO of a
company called nine Rooftops, you're like, what is this? Is
he roof or what's he doing?
Speaker 2 (00:19):
No roots, Well, we do cover a lot of territory.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Nine Rooftops actually is a merger of eight different was
it separate entities or separate locations that you were working
with them? A man?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Separate entities three actually separate businesses that we merged during
COVID of all things.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Well, you mentioned during COVID, because we certainly reshaped the
way we work as Americans during COVID with the introduction
of teams and zooms and all the other opportunities. We
had to work from different locations.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Well, when you merge three companies and you can't suddenly
travel to each office, of which there were nine different locations,
it presented some challenges that you might imagine.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
And we mentioned nine different locations. It's almost like one
of those questions which one of these things don't belong. Pittsburgh, Chicago, Boston, Atlanta,
New York, Birmingham, Baltimore, Miami, Bluffton, South Carolina.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
We traded Boston recently for London.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Yes, but of those things that don't belong, I'm finding
out by reading a little bit about you, that Bluffton
may have actually been the reason why you've been able
to put together these different entities under nine Rooftops and
expand the way that you have.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
It's been a great location to be headquartered in, easy
to get in and out of, but just being in
South Carolina has really made it easy, easier than I
thought it would be only first moved here twenty five
years ago.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
You're the only person that I know who actually has
a clinical psychology degree. I don't know if you're analyzing
me right now.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
I'm close to figuring you. Okay, I won't take it there.
I'm getting there. It won't take long.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
The thing that you do, and it is a coin
phrase that you live by, is that creativity is intelligence
having fun, which brings us to the purpose and the
mission statement of nine Rooftops. Let's talk about specifically about
what your company does.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Well. We're a full service marketing company. But it's really today.
What that means is we have a range of services
we provide, but most important is an insight or looking
forward as we're looking at a brand, taking data, doing
the analytics, maybe applying data science, that deep understanding of consumers,
(02:26):
and then solving a problem for a brand. How do
we sell more? How do we raise awareness? How do
we roll out a new product? You name it well?
Speaker 1 (02:35):
And this is where your psychology degree is certainly going
to come into play.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
It certainly did. It's pretty amazing the parallels between marketing
and certainly strategy and database science and understanding consumers and
clinical psychology. Oh that was not my plan when I
originally stepped into marketing. I just happened to experience a
marketing course when I was in a PhD program for psychology.
(03:00):
And here I am.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
From any of us inside a typical advertising business broadcast
in particular, we may have gone to Jay School. Looking
back on it now, I'm like, I wish i'd think
you more psychology and sociology studies, because that really would
help me more than in your case. I understand you
do not have a management degree. You weren't a business student.
In college.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
No, you're actually speaking to someone who in high school
was mediocre at best, was told they probably shouldn't go
to college due to their father being such a good man. Somehow,
some way, I ended up doing a four year degree
and about midway through college discovered psychology and went from
(03:44):
a C minus student to a straight A student in
the last two years. So says something about, yeah, if
it's of interest and we get engaged, we can perform
really well.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
And that's where you found your natural bend. Where did
you go to college?
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Alfred University, Upstate New York. Small private school, but it
was probably the best place for me. You know. It
was very cold in winters, and you had to spend
time in a library as there were three feet of
snow outside.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
You know, it's interesting in the state of South Carolina.
Usually if you live close to a college campus, you'll
meet people who have lived in lots of different places,
born and raised in California or in New York. But
usually when you get outside of that, most of our
smaller communities. Bluffton's a little bit different because you have
a lot of people that come there specifically because it's
so beautiful. But you have an interesting resident track behind
(04:32):
you as.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Well, California. Did most of high school in California. Obviously
did not go there alone. Was the family, and before
that a little bit of time in Mexico, and before
that born on Long Island, New York. Also my family.
When I was in college they moved to Minneapolis, so
did my fair share of ice fishing. But now I
(04:54):
live in God's Country.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Right, I'm a big fisherman. I've never wanted to go
ice fishing. With the new war environment that was brought
on by COVID, we're doing a lot of remote work.
And then with your connections in marketing, you really had
kind of a collision of a lot of great ideas
that came together, including how to make nine rooftops one entity,
bringing in some people that you had worked with obviously before.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
Yeah, well it certainly was a challenge. You know, we
identified the opportunity for a merger bringing one firm into Hours,
which was very heavy in analytics and data. Research company
that I was running at that time was really centered
around creativity and commercial production and content, and the other
(05:39):
company had done a more regional work and actually had
developed a number of healthcare campaigns for regional hospitals. Bringing
them together resulted in a much more powerful and much
i'll say stronger company because the creativity and the data
science and the deep understanding of consumers worked very well.
(06:00):
And we have since formed a healthcare marketing division which
is doing very well, focused primarily on marketing providers.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
So as an advertising agency, there's a lot of different
things they have to come together. This is where you
truly bring the left brain and the right brain together,
because you have to have a strategy as you mentioned
for the data and the results that you've studied on
how to place the ads or radio, television, streaming or otherwise.
But you also have to have the creativity side and
understanding bluffin you've expanded that to have a commercial facility
(06:30):
for television and or other av production. When you bring
those two sides together, the right brain and the left brain,
and you're using the analytics and the creativity of it all,
that's where the magic comes together.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
That is where the magic comes together. And that's where
when COVID hit it became a real challenge because suddenly
we're not together. We are all separate and apart. And
it's challenging enough when you have multiple locations. But then
when you have a location, as are one in Bluffin,
which is about one hundred people, and suddenly they're now
walking the halls, or meeting at the water cool or
(07:04):
grabbing a quick lunch or just hanging out. Coming up
with ideas became a real challenge. But we did it.
I still and I look back on it sometimes I
think maybe COVID actually helped us merge. It put a
different type of pressure on us and really caused us
to have to sort of scramble and figure out, Oh
(07:25):
my god, I don't even know who these people are
in Pittsburgh. Right, Sure, we'll do video, whatever it takes.
Let's try.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Well, given out, you brought it together intelligence, having fun.
That's the creativity. You have the nuts and bolts and
the analytics and the ability to make sure that we
are reaching the right persons by using the available audio
and television streams, and you've got the creativity side, which
is always nuts and fun to hang out with. By
the way, you've probably seen a lot of their work
on television because you've worked with incredibly large people from
(07:54):
Microsoft to Coca Cola, the list goes on and on,
and because of that, you draw a lot of attention
here in South Carolina. I understand you've been able to
help out a lot with our South Carolina Department of
Tourism as well as the South Carolina Department of Commerce.
Let's talk a little bit about the persons you've worked
with in the state of South Carolina.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
You know, it's fascinating. Let's say I'm a New Yorker
because that's where I had my first business, and I
actually the roots of nine Rooftops started there, and then
I relocated to South Carolina. And that was a very
intentional move, primarily because my wife and I had decided, Okay,
we can get out of New York and be someplace
(08:33):
near the water the ocean here. So we presented and
won a piece of business in South Carolina, which was
South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism. And for me,
that was just a thrill to win a piece of
business like that. But to my amazement, I received the
phone call one week after we won that piece of
(08:54):
business from Governor Nikki Hally. She simply reached out to
me to one congratulate me, and two to tell me
that she was unaware of us as a business growing
in South Carolina, and that she is one hundred percent
behind business in South Carolina. And if I ever need
any help or ever want to just talk to her
(09:15):
when I'm in Columbia, give her a call, which I
did once, and I actually went to her office and
sat down. I've discovered the same thing with the governor Mitmaster,
very accessible, very open minded. I've heard people say it,
and I've realized it is true. This is a handshake.
State you want to get something done, you actually can
(09:35):
sit down with people in charge, whether it's at the
county level or at state level, which really helped us grow.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
And having worked with a couple of clients in similar
situations as yourself in the state of South Carolina, it
seems like from the Governor's office down to Harry Lightzy's
office at Commerce or whichever agency you're talking with, they
really have mapped out their mission strategy and they really
understand how they want to help CEOs. Do you find
that to be true or just imagining that happens because
(10:01):
of the things I'm reading in the paper.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
No, it actually happens. Everybody seems to be much more
aligned as far as what the goals are or what
type of industry they'd like to bring in, and it's
all very supportive. Our focus is growing the business and
maintaining headquarters here in this state. The ability to hire
people here even if they're not local. Once they come
(10:25):
and they visit and they see whether it's Hilton Head
or if it's even upstate, and they realize, wow, bald
eagles flying, you know it oftens in the water. Communities
are just very warm and welcoming, so it makes it
easier to hire people. And there's a stickiness that comes
with that. Who wants to leave?
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Right We'll talk to CEOs who are building a new
facility here that it has been one hundred and thirty
million dollars building the Milo's t facility here. They have
a lot of different people that are hiring, could be
just manufacturing types or HR manager. Now you're a little
different because, as we talked about, this is creativity having fun.
It's a little different in that we really don't have
(11:05):
a school of creativity. Do you find it? Certainly after
now being awarded one of the best workplaces in South Carolina,
people actually call up or email or go to your
web page and they want to work for you because
they think it's gonna be a fun place. Do you
have people that actually in the state of South Carolina
you have hired or are the more people that you're
bringing in.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
It's truly a mix.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
You know.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
In my business, you have everything from we'll call it
a sales person or a person who manages business, to
a data scientist to a copywriter to an artist. There's
plenty of talent in South Carolina. Some of the more
i say esoteric positions. If we're looking for, you know,
(11:47):
a well seasoned creative director that's heavy in content. Yeah,
we may be reaching outside, you know, California or Chicago
or New York. But you know, you look at the
Management school at University of South Carolina right here in
Columbia College at Charleston. There's just a lot of talent here.
(12:07):
And they call it the Creative Coast. Really from Savannah,
Georgia up to Charleston, it's really an area recognized as
the Creative Coast. Just a number of photographers and writers
and talent and creatives that are there.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
It's fascinating, more encouragement for citizens living in South Carolina
possibly hearing about your company for the first time.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
The Governor's School provides some tremendous n's opportunities for talent.
Been a huge supporter of that. Look at Clemson, the
type of talent that come out of these colleges, it's
just amazing.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
I'm really excited to know that you are very happy
and bufton than most people are, to know that you
are heading up an organization that is truly an international
organization and having an opportunity and creating more opportunities for
the state of South Carolina with our citizens, but at
the same time helping us promote the state.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
We were very fortunate when we started working with South
Carolina because when you look at the wealth of riches here,
from the mountains to the ocean, to the golf courses,
the water, there's just so much to market. So as
far as the client goes and as far as building
a program, it's easy. There's a lot of resources. We're
(13:17):
not selling a soap that's the same as every other soap,
and it's got to be some kind of magic. We
just need to make people aware and package it.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
And it's great and thank you again for helping us
do that because that campaign is terrific for the Tourism department.
Thank you I actually wish that we were at your
house because I want to I don't have to drive it.
I just want to arrive in the passenger seat of
your nineteen fifty five portion of speedster.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
I have a soft spot for cars. Somebody asked me
the other day, what do you do in your spare time.
I'm like, I work, But work tends to have a
bed connotation for some people. Sure, for me, it's yeah,
I'm active in something to get a result, a positive result.
So that usually comes from what I do in marketing,
(14:06):
playing with the grand children and maybe playing with their
minds or playing legos with them. And also cars, there's
tremendous It's almost like a time capsule. When you look
at a nineteen fifty five, whether to Porsche or Chevrolet,
it says a lot about culture and where things were
at and how much the world has changed just sixty years.
(14:30):
Exactly what's happened. Yeah, and I like to tinker with them,
and I used to race a little, But those days,
good for you, Those days are mostly over, you know,
certainly not in a fifty five. I wouldn't know.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
I'd be afraid to even drive it on the streets.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
Prefer airbags.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Yeah, Nine Rooftops is the company. The CEO is Kevin Mede.
I'm so glad to know that you're here in the
state of South Carolina and your company's obviously doing very well.
You've got grandkids, You've got a fifty five speachter. You're
living close enough to the water to walk out and
make a cast and catch them. Sup. You got life
by the tail. I'm excited for you and good to
meet you.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
Well, thank you, and it's great to be here because
this is another great town. I'm up here a lot
in Columbia and just love it.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
This is iheartradios CEOs.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
You should know.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
Today we're speaking with the CEO of nine Rooftops, mister
Kevin Meane. Now you work out of your offices in Bluffton,
South Carolina, and you have offices all across the country
and one in London. How do you find it doing
business in the Palmetto State.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
It's been a great location to be headquartered in. Just
being in South Carolina has really made it easy, easier
than I thought it would be when we first moved
here twenty five years ago.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Now I know that you moved your headquarters from New
York city to Bluffton. How do that come to be?
Speaker 2 (15:43):
We presented and won a piece of business and with
a South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, And
to my amazement, I received a phone call from Governor
Nikki Hally. She simply reached out to me to one
congratulate me, and two to tell me that she was
unaware of us as a business growing in South Carolina
(16:04):
and that she is one hundred percent behind business in
South Carolina. And if I ever need any help or
ever want to just talk to her. One I'm in Columbia,
give her a call, which I did once and I
actually went to her huffs and sat down. Now, I
don't know what other state that happens in. I've discovered
the same thing with the government atmaster very accessible, very
(16:26):
open minded. I've heard people say it, and I've realized
it is true. This is a handshake state. You want
to get something done, you actually can sit down with
people in charge, whether it's at the county level or
at the state level, which really helped us grow.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
CEO of nine Rooftops, Kevin Meanie, thank you so much
for spending time with us.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Well, thank you, and it's great to be here.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
You've been listening to iHeart Radio CEOs you should know,
heard every Tuesday and Saturday morning right here on this
iHeart Radio station.
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