“Doug, you worked hard to understand our product and helped bring it to life by weaving it into the right activities in a natural manner. The interactive lunch in the CIA kitchen with Todd English was awesome! Seeing people with flour-covered hands wave over the Bing Food & Drink app to avoid making a mess of their screen was amazing and exactly what we hoped for. I cannot imagine a better event to showcase our product.”
Melissa Powell
Senior Manager PR
Microsoft
"You had flawless execution at the event. It flowed without confusion or chaos which is a result of the preparation and thought that went into every detail from Doug and his team. If I had to fill out a survey and say what you excel at, it’s that you gave us brand recognition without having to monitor you as we’ve had to do with previous sponsorships. This was refreshing and made our partnership much easier."
Albert Ruiz
Southwest Marketing Manager
JetBlue
“You’ve been beautifully transparent with me. You came in with a flexible sponsorship program that helped drive our business objectives and that’s what I needed.”
Christine
Weisenberger
Experiential Managing Director
Barilla
"Your willingness to tailor the experiential strategy to our strategic vision and business plan was truly appreciated. You went way beyond the call of duty in your guidance. The additional marketing opportunities you were able to secure provided us with a platform of far greater value than we could have achieved for the marketing dollars we allocated for this unique event. Most importantly, you really came to understand our business and managed the process as an integral part of our internal planning team."
Nasry Michelin
CEO
Aetna Better Health of New York
"I wanted to personally thank you for your persistence with inviting us to participate in the inaugural year of this festival. It was beyond our expectations. Thanks for also constantly watching out for us to ensure the best exposure for our brand including the delivery of qualified leads. You and your team did a great job. Their attention to detail to ensure a good activation was greatly appreciated, and it showed in the result."
Kim
Reeves
Owner
Maserati of Tampa
“ Our Inside Access loyalty program offers our card members unique events and unparalleled access to the worlds of food, wine, sports and entertainment. The Playback Experience that you produced with Brian Wilson at the famed Capitol Studios was one of the most unique events we have ever offered. The connection between this music legend and our card members was invaluable.”
David Gold
General Manager
JPMorgan Chase Card Services
“The passion and energy from you and the team has been incredible; especially your commitment to meaningful consumer impact and measurement. The Camp Tincup brand experience you created was amazing in the levels of detail from pre-planning through to flawless execution, and quality data that drove decision making. A fantastic way to engage consumers and show how, when done well, experiential marketing can be some of your best bang for your buck!”
Andy Nash
Group Brand Director
Proximo Spirits
“The Pet Sounds Playback Experience you produced was great. It was cool being able to look back and remember making that very special album. Everyone was great and I think the fans loved it.”
Brian
Wilson
Grammy Award Winning Musician, Producer, Songwriter
The Beach Boys / Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee
“Thank you again for your role in producing our exclusive events at Flavor! Napa Valley. As you know, we’ve hosted A LOT of client events and these two stood out as the best I’ve ever been a part of. The intimacy and feel of each location was amazing. You packed a one-two punch for our best clients that was worth its weight in gold!”
Brian D. Riley
Managing
Director, Private Banking & Investment Group
Merrill Lynch
"I worked closely with Doug on a core team that developed a nationally recognized food and culture festival in NYC called Harlem EatUp! Doug led the sponsorship strategy and procured a list of blue-chip brand partners that included Citi, Aetna, Bordeaux Wine Council and Time Inc. Doug brings a strategic, analytical approach to aligning the right mix of sponsors with a festival's mission and business goals.. His marketing experience and positive energy were a great asset to our executive team."
Marcus
Samuelsson
Award-Winning Chef/Restaurant/Author
Chairman
Marcus Samuelsson Group
"Doug looks to forge creative relationships that benefit all parties, not just satisfy his agenda. He knows how to push when he has to, and he gets away with it because he sincerely works toward mutually beneficial ends. Doug listens to what the client wants, focusing less on what he may be trying to sell, which I believe is a big reason for his success.”
Herb Karlitz
President
Karlitz & Company
“I want to thank you for making our recent client events in Napa our most memorable ever! The feedback we received from our clients was extremely complimentary on the theme, venue and quality of the food and wine at both events. Doug, we feel that you and your company listened and produced exactly what we wanted to achieve: access to top tier events custom designed to fit with what our clients are looking for. It’s a pleasure to work with someone that truly understands the high net worth market and what we at Merrill Lynch PBIG desire in terms of client events.”
David
Berger
Managing
Director, Private Banking & Investment Group
Merrill
Lynch
"It was a very special and memorable day for our Cardmembers. We know first-hand the level of planning that an event of this scope takes and appreciate your attention to our sponsorship of the festival. The Los Angeles Center Studios offered the perfect open and inviting space for our Cardmembers to enjoy and experience Martha Stewart's newest products, the best food, wine, interactive classes, seminars and exclusive local samplings from LA's top restaurants. The day was filled with delicious options and people loved meeting Martha!"
Maris Segal
Agency for Inside Access From Chase
"I hired Doug to run experiential strategy for the live events platform we were producing for our parent company, Time Inc. Doug joined our agency at a critical post-acquisition period and quickly built the systems and architecture for our sponsorships sales division. He hired and managed the team and ensured that the experiential programs we developed with iconic brands like People, Entertainment Weekly and Sports Illustrated achieved success. Doug’s amazing network and knowledge of the sponsorship industry helped us quickly align program KPIs with brand targets for our ecosystem of events and festivals."
Scott
Cullather
Founder, Global Managing Partner
INVNT, a Time Inc. company
" When I was interviewing experiential agencies to help grow our new live events platform at USA Today, Meritage Entertainment came to me highly recommended from a very important client. After meeting Doug, it was obvious his level of experience was exactly what we needed. Doug and his team quickly became involved in our operational discussions as a trusted consultant. His real-world background of producing events and brand activations proved to be invaluable and helped deliver multiple points of view from both the consumer and the media side. Doug is intensely client-focused, with end-to-end thinking, breakthrough ideas and measured results. His ability to navigate large media companies and agencies, treating everyone as if they were the most important client, was incredibly valuable. "
Craig Kaplan
National VP Brand Advertising
USA Today
“Meritage took on a difficult ask and hit it out of the park. I asked them to turn around a new festival activation build in less than four weeks for two upcoming, large-scale music festivals. The build they created was beautifully crafted, brand aligned and better than anything I could have imagined. The staff Doug hired was great from production to the brand ambassadors. Doug is both well connected with festival promoters and someone who thinks about the small details including data capture and measurement, which is key at these live events.”
Kaley Nelsen
Brand Manager
Hangar 1
“Meritage Entertainment has been a true extension of our team at Branca USA. Their responsiveness, transparency and attention to detail consistently give me confidence that every project will be executed seamlessly. Beyond strong production value, their team brings thoughtful experiential strategy, positive energy and a genuine dedication to delivering high-quality execution at every level. What I value most is the trust and partnership we’ve built over time. I always feel we are in good hands with the Meritage team, whether it’s budgeting, logistics, or on-the-ground execution. They are accountable, solutions-oriented and genuinely invested in delivering successful experiences for our brands. We truly view them as a long-term partner for Branca USA.”
Heidi Chen
Vice President, Marketing
Branca USA
“I partnered with Meritage on a national Espresso Martini bike program across top food and wine festivals. Doug and his team owned it entirely — strategy, design, production, and execution across multiple markets — delivering a polished, brand-aligned activation at every stop. They understand our product, our consumer and our KPIs and show up at every event like it was the only one that mattered. For any brand seeking a world-class experiential partner, Meritage is the call to make.”
Clayton Danielsen
Senior Brand Manager
Luxardo
“ When working with Meritage Entertainment, we always know that the level of detail, organization and creativity will be a case study for the way experiential agencies can expertly activate sponsorships with festivals like ours for mutually assured success. Doug is a partner through and through, understanding the festival’s production and logistical capabilities and pairing that flawlessly with the goals of his clients, aka our sponsors.”
Michelle Metter
Partner, Fast Forward Events
San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival
“I I had the absolute pleasure of working with Meritage Entertainment on a VIP-focused activation for their client, Stranahan’s whiskey. Doug is passionate, knowledgeable and very experienced in the event world – and always looking out for his client’s needs. The activation was custom built for our music festival and every detail was well thought out, from the details of the lounge to the specialty cocktail ice that was delivered daily and the ‘apres ski hour’ featuring potato chips and caviar. It was an incredible additive experience that made its mark among our VIP pass holders. ”
Courtney Jamieson
Head of Partnerships
BeachLife and BeachLife Ranch Festivals
" Doug's creativity and attention to detail are unparalleled. He is very passionate about his work and was instrumental to bringing our marketing vision at the Harlem EatUp! festival to life. He really understood our goals and our messaging to ensure our presence at the festival was a success."
Jess Santini
Associate Director, Marketing & Communications
Havas Media
"Although we were just a small sponsor at Flavor! Napa Valley, Doug gave us his full attention, taking the time to strategize endlessly on what would be the best activation for us. His willingness to craft a partnership that worked specifically for us was fantastic. Doug has proven to be a real partner – smart, creative, flexible, strategic, incredibly fair, and always approachable."
MarnieBraverman
VP Marketing
Health
“Doug Richter is the most irreplaceable, creative, problem-solving piece of manpower I’ve ever been associated with. As tour manager, Doug travelled through at least a dozen countries with me and Barry White on our sold-out Icon Is Love World Tour, moving up to 60 people almost daily. We had to feed and house the entourage which Doug did seamlessly from continent to continent. Whatever you need accomplished, Doug will get it done calmly, professionally and economically.”
Ned Shankman
Former personal manager and attorney
Barry White (Soul legend, Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, and producer)
“Doug understands and brings a unique perspective to sponsorship opportunities from both the corporate and not-for-profit perspective and incorporates a creative angle to provide a unique, meaningful experience for those sponsors who sign on. His professionalism was refreshing, with his ability to have honest conversations about potential partners, their capacity and what he had to offer. He also willingly shared contacts professionally to further each of our goals. He is a closer!”
Robyn Stein
Director of Partnerships & Events
Citymeals-On-Wheels
