12 Years Ago on This Day: Where My Promotional Marketing Journey Began

While women are out on the front lines fighting for their individual rights in the wake of Woe v. Wade being overturned, I'm readying myself to take the next steps in my own personal life journey. Although this next personal shift for me won't make the paper, it's likely the next major tectonic shift in my own life that, like most actual geological tectonic shifts, it is truly only observed deep beneath the surface.

For me it is the culmination of months of very hands-on personal work, time investment into my own business & education, and essentially finding my own path of least resistance when it comes to my time and energy.

And while making the latest tweaks and additions to my resume, Facebook (or Meta) served me up a photo from my very first Promotional Marketing gig from 12 years ago.

It was one of my first experiences using Craigslist, and I think after after browsing past the full-time marketing positions, I found a listing in the Gigs category that said "Brand Ambassadors for 2010 Mountain Dew Tour Boston". I didn't realize at the time that I'd be helping showcase the premier of Sony's latest video game console through a full size commercial bus customized with pop out screens on the outside of the bus, and additional screens inside the bus, where Dew Tour attendees could play the premier Playstation VR video game titles.

On top of that the there was also a skateboarding competition going on including celebrity interviews within the DJ booth, where I first saw Olympic Gold Medalist Sean White walk passed me about 2 feet away.

Even for the casual 21-year old X-Games, skateboarding, snowboarding fan, this was still a pretty big deal for me, and realizing that I could make a little extra money while still in college was a pretty big eye opener for me.

I won't bore you with the details of the following 7 years of promotional gigs, concert events, road tours, trade shows, store samplings, event setup & tear downs, promo-flyer handouts, and liquor samplings... but in total the work was not boring.

The exposure to all those different brands, people, and events is what helped shape my ability to work in fast-paced in-person experiential spaces. It also helped shape what is possible in the type of work that you can be rewarded for in more ways than one, simply by looking in places that others typically aren't.

While I reproach the idea of getting paid to do work that I genuinely enjoy, now more capable with the real-world business experience, and subsequent confidence, it's nice to get these little reminders from the past to reaffirm our current path or give us the perspective to reevaluate it.

I think we can all better get to know where our skills, experience, and interests overlap so that we can observe what opportunities may arise from pursuing that which comes most naturally to us.

Click here to see the rest of my Professional Journey (LinkedIn).