At a time when jobs are scarce, layoffs are high and unemployment is rampant, there is one area that is always hiring – promotional marketing agencies. There are hundreds of promotion agencies across the U.S., and while they tend to create integrated campaigns that include multiple media (i.e., social networking, online and public relations), live events are core to what they do. These events generally require a lot of people to work on one specific day, or perhaps every day for a few weeks. In addition, a specific campaign might run in more than one market simultaneously, resulting in a handful of jobs in several markets during the campaign period.
Even more importantly, this is not ‘one and done’ type of work. These agencies run tens of dozens of events a year all over the country. BFG Communications’ website says they have ‘feet on the street’ in 250 cities in 47 markets covering 55,000 events annually.
Turning Temp Assignments into Steady Long-term Work
Get your foot in the door with a single promotion agency and you could find yourself working consistently throughout the year; even traveling around the country, working at several locations. And you would have the flexibility to pick and choose the jobs you want to accept.
These are not your typical ‘put on an ugly blazer and greet conference attendees’ kind of jobs. These gigs put you in fun costumes and have you playing what, for all intents and purposes, could be called an acting role. For instance, when Ben & Jerry’s teamed up with Target in 2010 for the ‘Together for a Sweet Cause’ campaign, they used the opportunity to give away samples of a new flavor: they gave the events a 1950s theme by building an old-style ice cream parlor out of a 53-foot tractor trailer and dressing servers in vintage-style outfits.
A Good Personality Will Do
Sometimes, promotion agencies are looking for specific talents, but other times, just having a great outgoing personality is all it takes. In the instance of Picture Perfect Holiday, a campaign promoting Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system by providing people with free holiday photos, 206 inc hired “185 staff members across 21 Southwest Airlines locations and three malls, including 28 Santas with real beards, as well as site managers, brand ambassadors, photographers and photography assistants,” says Michael Salvadore, principal, consumer engagement strategy at 206 inc.
On occasion, your experience can be valued in some of the most unsuspecting places. For instance, when Tide launched its Loads of Hope program in 2005, it needed a person with a commercial driver’s license to drive its 18-wheeler. While the truck doesn’t run all the time, the program is in its sixth year and still goes out whenever disaster strikes. And when Gigunda Group, which also manages the Tide Loads of Hope program for P&G, launched the retail store “Make-A-Messterpiece” by Bounty, they looked to hire experienced, certified teachers to run the store.
How Do I Find and Apply for a Promotion Industry Job?
First, let’s review the benefits: the possibility of steady work and pay at a time when the industry you usually work in might be slow; the ability to meet new people and network; doing something that’s fun and provides lots of variety as campaigns end and new ones launch; and a chance to travel if you become one of a promotion agency’s regular, valued temps.
But nothing is ever perfect. There has to be a downside, right? So what are the negatives? Well, first you have to live in or near a major market such as Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Miami, Detroit, Baltimore, etc. While there are some exceptions, these promotions generally run in a major market, not in the suburbs.
Second and third, you have to be flexible in your availability and be patient. This is not a 9-to-5 Monday through Friday job, and you may have to check in with the agency you sign on with on a regular basis. You might find yourself working consistently for a month and then off for a month.
Okay, so I’ve got your attention and you want to know how to investigate possible opportunities. You could:
- Search the Internet for promotion agencies and click through to individual websites; then, if you like what you see, contact the agency.
- You could search Promo Magazine’s PROMO 100, PRO Awards, or Chief Marketer’s Interactive Marketing Awards. You’ll find articles about some of the best promotion agencies in those rankings.
- Check out Promotion Marketing Association Inc., and if you use the search term “promotion association,” you’ll see that there are associations in both the UK and Australia, one just for executives (the Sales Promotion Executives Association) and smaller regional associations such as the Sales Promotion Association of Baltimore.
Once you’ve found an agency that you feel a connection to or fit with, reach out to them. Let them know that you’d like to become one of their valued ‘feet on the street’ staff in [X] market.
With thousands of temporary personnel being hired by promotion agencies every year, you’re bound to locate a new opportunity among them that you will both enjoy and find financially fulfilling. Heck, it could even be the start of a whole new career.
Sources:
Except where quoted, the information for specific campaigns came from publicly available information on PROMO magazine’s PRO Awards finalists and winners.
Lynn Russo Whylly - I am a professional business writer and editor with experience covering a wide variety of business issues, including marketing, ...
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