Sean McCloud, MBA

What started as the the first membership community dedicated exclusively to black-owned wine & spirits has evolved into a culture-first marketing agency that drives growth. A Taste of The Culture helps premium brands earn authentic cultural relevance—and turn it into sustained commercial growth. WHO WE SERVE We partner with automotive, beverage & lifestyle brands that understand cultural marketing isn't a campaign—it's a commitment. Our clients are tired of performative diversity efforts and ready to build real cultural equity. WHAT WE DO We specialize in culturally fluent marketing strategies for brands looking to authentically connect with Black consumers and the broader culture. Our approach blends deep cultural listening, strategic partnerships, experiential scale, and measurement rigor. OUR SERVICES: Cultural Strategy & Positioning — Understanding where the culture is going, not where it's been. Partnership Development — Co-creating with cultural institutions, not just sponsoring them. Experiential Marketing — Building programs that work nationally while feeling locally relevant. Brand Activations — Events, influencer programs, content strategies rooted in authenticity.

• Led the strategic evaluation of event selection and activation campaigns, both virtual and live, for the portfolio of Diageo brands in the New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland & Washington DC markets. • Served as the lead operational and activation contact, facilitating communication & delivery with cross-functional teams, such as Distributor Managers, supplier On and Off Premise Managers as well as external stakeholders. • Negotiated event sponsorship commitments for the Diageo client ensuring activations fall within campaign budget, legal compliance, achieve sufficient return on investment and in accordance with the fiscal calendar. • Analyzed sales data to turn insight into action in respect to brand selection, POS selection, activation costs and assets.

• Led the strategic evaluation of event selection and activation for the portfolio of Diageo brands in the New Jersey, New Hampshire, Maine & Vermont markets. • Designed and launched hyper-local campaigns to drive awareness, trial and sales. • Served as lead operational contact, facilitating communication & delivery across multiple stakeholders including internal employees, distributor partners, activation agencies and more. • Developed the pre-event forecasts and post-event ROI analysis leveraging data models and historic trends. • Oversaw logistical efforts of experiences from inventory and asset management to activation-experience • Managed a master event calendar that drives logistical details, delivery deadlines, milestone-tracking, and resource allocation.

• Performed cold sales calls to 91 assigned on premise accounts successfully securing 230 individual new points of distribution. • Analyzed sales data to increase sales volume by 12% year over year and market share of Diageo & Moet Hennessy brands by 20%. Educated the trade on Diageo & Moet Hennessy brands through staff trainings and events.

• Managed the Lego Let's Play event experience at Minor League baseball games throughout the US including the management and maintenance of a branded 26 foot box truck. • Completed administrative duties including completing event recaps, management of a campaign budget and assets as well as hotel bookings and tour routing. • Managed a team of up to 8 brand ambassadors as well as an Assistant Manager.

• Brought the national brand directives of 8 Diageo brands to life at 40 assigned on premise accounts including fine dining restaurants, bars, lounges and nightclubs in the Philadelphia, PA market. • Built and managed relationships with bar managers, buyers and owners to consistently achieve 120% of monthly program goals, including securing menu placements, drink specials and cocktail creation to increase sales. • Analyzed sales data, in collaboration with the distributor, to develop and implement sales strategies that successfully increase Diageo product distribution and sales volume through short- and long-term case buying agreements in assigned accounts, leading to a portfolio market share increase of 35%. • Leveraged brand assets, including a $85,000 campaign budget, to craft memorable consumer and trade brand experiences through engagement and education including mass consumer sampling, staff trainings & special events. • Managed multiple dedicated social media accounts including Instagram, Twitter and a Facebook Fan Page to engage and interact with consumers on behalf of select Diageo brands.