The thought of last January gives me the howling fantods, what a colossal cluster-fuck; unemployment (thanks to the startup downturn), lack of prospects (thanks to the impending startup bubble burst), ambitious dreams (hitherto unaware of) and insolvency (nobody taught me how to save). If only talent, skills and personality could be stripped off, I would be bare; blood, flesh and bone.
Besides, with a career history like mine, you can’t not be worried. A bachelors in hospitality – hospitality consultant – masters in business administration – market research – FMCG sales – educational sales – hospitality supply generation – uncertain break. Short to semi-short stints, might I add. Not all those who wander are lost seemed untrue (no offence to Tolkien), because I frankly was lost. I wasn’t clueless per se, I was rather confused. I knew what things I’m good at (many an isolated talents), I didn’t however know where they would contribute most value. My inherent virtues being: the desire to know why, general knack for reading and wanting to know more, a lookout for facts to substantiate my opinions/beliefs/hypothesis and overthinking, alongside a creative bent of mind. Add to them that tangible education and endless literature and their imbibed rationality. Further, add all the years of selling and its resultant salesmanship and an understanding of the people.
I love how theoretic models – however generic they may seem – are quite the rescue rangers. Process of Elimination! weed out what you don’t want and you have probably found the one. Test the hence hypothesised probable one against your abilities (aforementioned) and voila! I still haven’t have found what I’m looking for. Not philosophising, something less intellectual, Strategising. What on? Brands. It wasn’t as simple though, it took days.
So, there I set out on a disappointing job-hunt. Turns out I had found what I was looking for, but the prospects still hadn’t found what they were looking for in me. <repeat career history rhetoric here>. And no way was I settling for another sales job, neither for lack of suitable opportunities nor for lack of faith (suddenly I had enough and more of the latter). So I waited, sulked and forced myself into a supposed quarter life crisis and bought a PS4 to keep myself occupied. No more than 10 days later I finally scored an Account Manager’s role at a Digital Marketing agency and 2 days later fried my year old MacBook Pro with coke, and like many an urban poor bought a new one. Did I mention maxed out my line of credit. That ends part one of 2016, the tragic one.
Spoiler: This story is less Shakespearean tragedy, more Disney classic. Parabolic. Sadists be warned of impending disappointment.
I thus dived into account management and rose to Brand Strategy Manager to Senior Brand Strategy Manager within a mere six months (I’m fast like that). Dabbled into content, design, planning and just about every facet of advertising and communication I could, only to realise that marketing is nothing but keen understanding of people; their passions, their motivations, their interests, their fears, their vulnerabilities; if one can perceive, one can convince. Thats all it is, knowing thy neighbour.
2016 has been a year of discovery, self-realisation and validation. And I figure 2017 should be the year of money bloom, travel far reach, fame good work and dabbling into new things, like this blog, so here it goes.
What this blog will not be: overtly academic or hardcore news portal on digital and social media, marketing or technology. What this blog will be: a dossier of an accidental marketers musings on books, pop, media, people, cultures, brands, industries and marketing, with a dash of humour and pretence.
“Here’s to the fools who dream
Crazy, as they may seem”
Yours Truly.
The Sporadic Journal 