Lindsey Walther ’13 Elevates Brand Events Around the World for Condé Nast

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Lindsey Walther '13 Elevates Brand Events Around the World for Condé Nast

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If you have ever seen an ad for an event hosted byVogue,The New Yorker,Pitchfork,Allure, orWIRED, there's a good chance that Lindsey Walther '13 was behind it. As the Senior Director of Event Audiences at Condé Nast, Walther is responsible for marketing some of the biggest events for the legacy media company's biggest brands.

The communications and Spanish double major joined Condé Nast in 2022 and oversees marketing and audience experience for a variety of flagship events hosted by the company's print publications. While primarily working on events forVogue,The New Yorker, andPitchfork, Walther also assists with events hosted byAllure, Bon Appetit,GQ, Teen Vogue, WIRED, and several of Condé Nast's other magazines.

"The events are really the 'in real life' extension of the publications," Walther said. "We have a super high standard for our events. They should match how iconic the brands themselves are."

Walther and her team at Condé Nast spend months, and sometimes years, planning for events. Before she can launch an event and begin her marketing efforts, Walther must first collaborate with a variety of other teams, from talent and editorial, to sponsorship and live production. After the legwork is complete to launch an event and begin selling tickets, she works her magic to market the talent and experience.

"A big part of my job is thinking about how to market to audiences," Walther said. "I have to think about how to hit people with the right message at the right time in their personal journey."

Walther's goal is to always stay one step ahead of the curve, ensuring that written copy is fresh and engaging, blending together a variety of different digital mediums to effectively market to potential attendees.

She has built over a decade of experience in event marketing, artist management, and audience experience through a career path that can ultimately be traced back to Southwestern.

"Part of the appeal of coming to Southwestern, for me, was the opportunity to participate in the New York Arts Program," Walther said. "I had worked with the Austin Film Festival and had been exposed to some of the entertainment scene, but I really wanted to work atSaturday Night Live. I knew someone who had worked there through the New York Arts Program and she had such a great time."

"My confidence really grew at Southwestern. I think if I had gone to a larger school, maybe I wouldn't have grown in the same way. I don't know if my career confidence would have been the same." - Lindsey Walther '13

Like her friend, Walther was able to utilize Southwestern's connection with the New York Arts Program to land her dream role, a music internship atSaturday Night Livein New York City. She spent a semester during her junior year assisting the talent and musical guests atSNLduring both the rehearsals and the live show for the program's 37th season.

"What that experience really taught me was how to fit in with people and how to read people, especially well-known people with big personalities," she said. "It was my first exposure to high-profile people and operations at that level, and I learned how to really insert myself into this well-oiled machine that wasSNL."

Back home in Central Texas - and withSNLon her résumé - Walther secured a role as a hospitality coordinator for theAustin City Limitstelevision show. That experience ultimately led her to C3 Presents, an Austin-based, full-service production and marketing company. She began her C3 journey as an assistant artist manager but transitioned to senior digital marketing manager, where she was able to conduct event marketing for Austin City Limits Music Festival, Bonnaroo, and Lollapalooza.

"I felt I really had an impact on people," Walther said. "I could see how much our work meant to the guests attending these events. C3 Presents is such a great organization. I would say that any Southwestern students who are interested in event production or marketing should absolutely look at interning there, because they are so wonderful."

After seven years in her role - and amid the COVID-19 pandemic shifting many events to digital formats - Walther decided to jump back into artist management in early 2021, joining Austin-based music management firm Ten Atoms, overseeing several bands. However, her time back in artist management made her realize her true passion was for marketing.

"I recognized that if my heart's not in it, I need to try and recalibrate," Walther said. "The experience helped focus me because I realized that I was really good at marketing, growing audiences, and data capture, and not so much at the touring production aspects."

With a renewed focus on her strengths, Walther launched her own freelance marketing firm, aimed at helping businesses, venues, and brands grow their audiences and stand out from their competition.

"I had always wanted to do freelance marketing, and I had some clients lined up before I left artist management, but it was still scary," she said. "That was the first time that I didn't have something that I was going straight into. But it was a chance for me to slow down, take a breath, and make my own schedule. I really did appreciate the time to reflect and think about my next moves."

It didn't take long for Walther's next move to develop. Just two weeks into launching her freelance business, she was introduced to the Senior Vice President of Global Events for Condé Nast, who was in search of marketing support for the Pitchfork Music Festival.

"I wasn't looking to go back to full time anywhere," Walther said. "I wanted to build up my business, but as my conversations with Condé Nast kept developing, I felt pulled toward it. I have always chased what feels most interesting to me, and this was somewhere where I felt like I could excel. It's important to me to be agreatmember of the team, not justa member of the team."

As she continues to be a great member of the team at Condé Nast, Walther covets her time working with high-profile magazine editors, company executives, event hosts, celebrities, and musical acts. She credits her experience at Southwestern with her success in entertainment and events.

"My confidence really grew at Southwestern," she said. "I think if I had gone to a larger school, maybe I wouldn't have grown in the same way. I don't know if my career confidence would have been the same had I not had some of the opportunities to be involved in different organizations like UPC and Tri-Delta. Plus, Southwestern definitely taught me how to research projects, form arguments, and write copy in really thoughtful ways."

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