Lori Archer Smith

Lori Archer-Smith’s career in hospitality began when she answered an ad for a copywriter for Peter Mayer Advertising in The Times-Picayune in 1983. “Bob’s job is open. His window office is taken.” She replied, “I want Bob’s job” and, sure enough, she got it.

At Peter Mayer, where she went from copywriter to creative director, she honed her skills in tourism marketing working on accounts like New Orleans Tourism, the Louisiana Office of Tourism, Delta Queen Steamboat Company, Asheville Tourism and others. She considers a jingle she wrote called “Do They Play Jazz In Heaven?” for New Orleans Tourism one of the highlights of her career. Her work encouraged travelers to come back to the city and the state after Hurricane Katrina and the BP Oil Spill. Not an easy task. 

 

After more than 30 years at Peter Mayer, she took her skills to Compucast Web, owners of experienceneworleans.com, neworleansrestaurants.com, mardigrasneworleans.com and other New Orleans hospitality sites.  As Creative Copy Director, she handles social media (where many have gone viral) plus creates reviews of New Orleans restaurants, tours and local theaters. She’s excited about the revamp of the experienceneworleans.com site, set to come out soon, where she will continue creating copy about iconic New Orleans brands such as Tujague’s, Court of Two Sisters, Steamboat Natchez and many more.  

 

In addition to her work with Compucast, Lori has also worked on campaigns for New Orleans & Company, Blue Runner Foods, Crystal Hot Sauce, and Acme Oyster House.

 

Over the years, Lori’s work has garnered many awards, including several Telly Awards and Best of Shows and District and National Addys from the American Advertising Federation (AAF). Early on in her career, she received the “Creative Person of the Year” award at the New Orleans Addys and, more recently, she was honored with the Silver Medal, a lifetime achievement award, from the same organization. Her late husband Dee Smith took home the same award several years earlier which made it especially sweet.

 

When not hunched over her laptop, taking New Orleans tours or eating at New Orleans restaurants with the Compucast staff,  Lori enjoys couch time with her two long-haired chihuahuas, Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley, as well as traveling with her daughter Zoe. In recent years, they have visited Greece, France, Iceland, Scotland and Italy as well as Joshua Tree, California.

 

Lori loves MSWIT because “when women get together like this they’re fun, happy, generous, free to be themselves. It’s inspiring to be around so many rockstars—women who built careers in this industry at a time when it wasn’t always so easy to do so. I like that more and more younger women are joining, too. The organization seems to be really fulfilling a need.”