Rajiv Kapur
Rajiv Kapur, president of Configurations, a company he founded in Hollywood, Florida in 1989 and which subsequently opened offices in Orlando and Tampa. Mr. Kapur has successfully positioned Configurations as a leading experiential branding, marketing, and communications firm, with its primary market in Florida. His extensive understanding of how various facets of the communications process are integrated has allowed Mr. Kapur to develop experiential branding and communications strategies for companies like Northrop Grumman, Applied Research Associates (aka ARA), Ryder Systems, Convergys, and Interval International. He received a three star Medal of Honor from the Pentagon – the highest award given to a civilian organization – for his work with the U.S. Armed Forces in designing a traveling exhibit. Configurations also designed the traveling exhibit for the Soccer Hall of Fame which displayed in Paris for the 1998 World Cup. The company has developed acquisition and retention programs designed to capture and maintain market share. Programs of this nature have been implemented for a wide variety of organizations including Office Depot, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Zimmerman and Partners, Armor Holdings, Marine Max, iAP Worldwide Services, FATS/Caswell Defense Systems, National Auto Finance/General Motors, and Ford Fusion, to name but a few. Configurations has also created a 360° Strategic Planning Program which focuses specifically on managing a company’s marketing initiative as it relates to trade shows. This program was first implemented successfully for Northrop Grumman and has also been employed by customers like CHEP and Disney. This winning formula considers all stages of the marketing process, from pre-show planning to post show evaluation, and engages all levels of the marketing hierarchy from strategic planning to tactical execution.
Over the past twenty years, Mr. Kapur has established a reputation for Configurations as the prototype business after which other companies in the marketing and tradeshow industries have been modeled across the country. His vision is largely responsible for successful collaboration on strategic and creative development of messaging and communications programs. Mr. Kapur has built a company that helps clients get noticed in a cluttered market by developing campaigns that extend brand experience and by designing immersive environments.
Mr. Kapur has also published articles on the hidden potential of trade shows as part of larger, integrated marketing programs. He has also lectured on the power of experiential branding. He is currently in the process of creating an educational program to tour the country, training on the latest research and developments in experiential branding. He has earned a reputation for result-oriented marketing that create high returns on investment and opportunity. He is known for having a keen understanding of market trends and audience behavior, as well as in-depth knowledge of the issues and challenges facing emerging and growth companies. Mr. Kapur has served on the boards of the World Trade Association of Orlando and Metro Orlando International Business Council, whose efforts were devoted to increasing international trade in Central Florida, as well as having been the President of the Florida Chapter of the Exhibit Designers and Producers Association. He is a founding and current member of the American Display Alliance.