Trent Harrington — Creative Strategist & Communications Executive

About

THE WORK HAS ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT PERSUASION.

I translate complexity into language people can actually use. Not the safe version of the story. The actual one, buried under noise and competing agendas. I find it first, then I build everything around it.

Over twenty years, I have served as chief of staff to a mayor, founded and led a multi-million-dollar creative and strategy agency, directed communications for a defense contractor repositioning for federal growth, and launched a public affairs firm with six retained clients in year one. In every environment, I have operated as the senior communications decision-maker — not a vendor, not a consultant brought in at the end. The person in the room when the strategy is built.

Message, brand, campaign, film, crisis. I don’t separate these. The strongest work happens when all of it moves together, and when the person driving it understands that communication is not a department. It is how organizations survive pressure, earn trust, and change what people believe.

I am pursuing Chief Brand Officer, Chief Communications Officer, and senior creative strategy roles. In-house executive positions and select retained engagements.

Experience

WORK HISTORY.

2024–Present

Parallel LLC

Founder & Chief Strategist

Nashville-based firm with two divisions: Parallel Studio handles brand identity, creative production, and narrative strategy; Parallel Civics handles public affairs, advocacy communications, and civic strategy. Six retained clients in year one.

Launched a two-division firm serving retained clients across defense, economic development, civic infrastructure, and advocacy sectors.
Secured six retained client relationships in year one, including statewide advocacy organizations and a federally funded economic development authority.
Directed brand identity and narrative architecture for a four-state infrastructure initiative supporting a $340M federal grant application.

2023–Present

Axxeum

VP, Communications, Strategy & Growth

Built Axxeum’s first integrated communications strategy, repositioning the firm from niche aviation contractor to competitive mid-tier defense firm inside the Redstone Arsenal ecosystem.

Directed $3M+ in proposal budgets, producing winning bids that expanded the federal contract pipeline by $26M+ in 2024.
Produced investor decks and LP materials that secured $3M+ in new capital commitments.
Led a complete corporate rebrand and built a cross-functional team spanning communications, capture strategy, digital, and PR.

2013–2023

Red Brick

Founder, CEO & Principal Strategist

Founded and scaled North Alabama’s most decorated creative and strategy firm. 70+ ADDY awards. 25+ campaigns. 90%+ win rate. Undefeated against incumbents across party lines.

Scaled from solo operation to a multi-million-dollar agency with 15+ staff.
Directed campaigns across party lines with a 90%+ win rate and a perfect record defeating incumbents.
Developed investor materials tied to Mazda Toyota, Blue Origin, and Remington, contributing to more than $1B in regional economic development impact.

2008–2012

City of Huntsville

Chief of Staff & Communications Director

Senior advisor to Mayor Tommy Battle during a major civic expansion. Established Huntsville’s first Communications Office. Supported $500M+ in new city revenue during tenure.

Oversaw 12 staff and a $2M+ communications budget.
Directed daily press operations, crisis response, and rapid reply across 50+ state and federal partners.
Led a complete rebrand of city government across seal, website, digital platforms, signage, city TV, and reporting formats.

Selected Work

BUILT TO PERSUADE.

01

BrandingDesignFilmCopywritingManagement

How “Battle.Works” Worked.

Tommy Battle entered his 2012 re-election with a dated brand and a mandate to prove Huntsville’s growth was not luck. I rebuilt his identity from the ground up, won 80.6%, then did it again in 2016 at half the cost with 80.7%. The brand outlasted four terms, a gubernatorial run, and became the visual language of a city’s transformation.

View Case Study

02

CopywritingPRBrandingViral

How One Brewery Turned Political Controversy Into a Small Business Boom.

When Alabama Governor Robert Bentley’s affair became the dominant political story in the state, I saw an opening no one else did. A chalkboard. A double meaning. A press kit. “Unimpeachable Pale Ale” reached 4.25 million people, hit 30+ markets, and turned a local brewery into a national story with zero paid media.

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03

BrandingAnimationWebPhotography

A Changing Chamber.

Huntsville had become one of the fastest-growing metros in the South. The Chamber’s brand had not kept pace. I built a complete identity system with a new mark, seven-department color architecture, custom iconography, typographic system, and a responsive website designed for global economic development conversations.

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04

BrandingEditorial DesignFilmEconomic Development

How Huntsville Quietly Landed Blue Origin.

When Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin began evaluating sites for its BE-4 rocket engine production facility, Huntsville had one shot. Behind an NDA and a code name, Project Eagle, Red Brick produced the bid materials and the film that helped the Rocket City win a $200M+ facility and 300+ high-skill aerospace jobs.

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Branding & Design

HOW I BUILD BRANDS.

Identity · Apparel · Retail · Advertising

Rocket City Brand

Conceived in 2014 as a vintage-style apparel company rooted in Huntsville’s aerospace mythology. I built the identity, designed the merchandise, shaped the voice, and used campaign thinking to make a local brand feel like it already belonged to the city.

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Naming · Identity · Place Brand

Campus No. 805

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Identity · Animation · Web

Huntsville Madison County Chamber

View Case Study

The Competitive Record

IN CONTESTED ROOMS,
I WIN.

Twenty-five campaigns across one of the hardest political environments in America. A 90%+ win rate and a perfect record defeating incumbents, built by running strategy, creative, and message as a single integrated operation.

	Campaign	Result
	Tommy Battle Mayor, Huntsville AL · 2008 Runoff Upset	56% Won
	Moving HSV Forward Tommy Battle 2012 Re-Election	81% Won
	Battle.Works. Tommy Battle 2016 Campaign Brand	81% Won
	Chad Wise Circuit Judge · Limestone County, AL	64% Won
	Mark Yarbrough Limestone Co. Commission · Defeated 18-Year Incumbent	53% Won
	Jason Black Madison Co. Commission · Three-Way Race	50% Won
	Matt Massey Superintendent · Madison County, AL	74% Won
	Anthony Daniels AL House #53 · Now Minority Leader	78% Won
	Restore Our Roads Regional Advocacy Campaign · Huntsville	— Win
	21st Century Alabama Statewide Ballot Initiative · Amendment 11	75% Passed

Film & Visual Storytelling

THE WORK IN MOTION.

Every film here started with strategy, not a camera. I served as writer, producer, and creative director — responsible for what the work was supposed to accomplish long before anyone called action, and long after the edit was locked.

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Featured Film