“Nice to see you,” he said.
And that was pretty much it.
It was 31 years since I last saw him. I’ll call him Sven.
He was my bunkmate at Camp Scatico, up in Elizaville, NY, in the Hudson Highlands.
I made a name for myself there, not for any feats that a kid in the boy’s camp would normally get recognized for.
No, I was Berky, the Poet Laureate of Camp Scatico back in the day. I found a camp newsletter from 1987 with my poem on the cover.
It… wasn’t very good.
“As a camper you’ll have fun
In Camp Scatico
At the end of 55 days
Home is where you’ll go”
While not my finest work (the rest was even worse), it was at least true to form for me to count how many days were left until the end of camp.
There are no plaques in the Social Hall for the winner of an annual poetry slam.
Coming up for Scatico’s 100th, I wasn’t even sure why I had to be there. I’ve become Facebook friends with quite a few of my old bunkmates and counselors, but I know next to nothing about most of them, and only a few exchanges have been longer than a couple of IMs.
I am on one plaque in the Social Hall for the Scatico Society, which you’re inducted into once you’ve been there for five summers. The person listed directly below me works for Google. He emailed me more than a decade ago about the connection, and I had since forgotten that’s where we first met. It can be a secretive society that way.
At the reunion, I had several longer conversations with others than the one I had with Sven. One of my other bunkmates became the head counselor of the boys’ side, and he filled me in on what changed and what hadn’t. He reminded me of Bucky Cantor in Philip Roth’s final novel, Nemesis — before the novel’s darker turn. Of course, my bunkmate became HC. He had to.
I also caught up with a different sort, one of my best friends at camp who I may have last seen at my bar mitzvah when he decked one of my school friends in the synagogue parking lot. His partner didn’t sound surprised, but she said he calmed down by the time they met. I believe her.
It was Sven though, Sven of all people, who got to me the most.
“Nice to see you too, Sven.” That’s all I had for him.
And yet, it’s true.
He knew a bit about me from Facebook. We weren’t close friends during camp, and I was a deserter. After six years at Scatico, my last summer was when I turned 12, while most of the bunk stayed at least two or three years longer. The following summer, I became a counselor-in-training at a day camp where I spent seven further summers and developed more consistently positive memories. I learned more about myself as a counselor than a camper.
I missed that chance to forge deeper high school aged friendships at Scatico, even if I have no regrets about that. I may be one of those who returned after all these years, but I’m still The Berky Who Left.
The Facebook exchanges are, generally, enough. My bunkmates know a bit about me; I have a cursory sense of what their up to too.
But it meant something, to be there in person. It made us all real.
I spent this past summer going to three funerals and a wedding in some bizarro world version of a Hugh Grant film, and there were a lot of “nice to see you” exchanges. I was the +1, the date (if you can call it that at a funeral). Among those who were betrothed (the two) or buried (the three), I had only previously met one (of the latter category). But there were many people who I got to see, and who it was nice to see.
Showing up isn’t just true for people.
Brands need to show up too. They need to ‘live’ where customers are. They need to be accessible. They need to be felt and seen and heard, even smelled.
On the B2B side, it’s what makes a lot of the unquantifiable aspects of marketing so challenging. Sometimes showing up takes years, especially when you’re trying to displace an incumbent with a prospect. It’s the offerings that keep showing up that have the advantage, but good luck with attribution. Attribution, especially last- or first-touch, can be seen as a proxy, but it doesn’t show everything before or after. It doesn’t show all the showing up.
I’m writing this on a trip to Cambridge where I’m attending the annual meeting of Forrester’s Analyst Relations Council. It’s my first year at this event, as I joined the council after I joined Mediaocean in December. What I’ve been most looking forward to is meeting some of the people I’ve only seen on Webex.
After the first full day of the conference, I made more connections than usual, in part because a lot of us faced the same challenges.
It was the second event of the year for me, following the Magnet Global member summit in April, where I felt that those who get the most value aren’t the ones who show up but keep showing up.
It’s like the First Wednesday events that Zack Rosenberg and I run every month in Manhattan. Show up the first time, and I hope I’m friendly toward you and welcome you there. The second time, I’ll want to hear even more about what you’re into. By the third time, you’ll be a regular, even if you’re regular on an irregular basis.
What’s true for people is true for brands.
Even if you can’t be a regular, even if it’s just getting yourself or your brand out there on occasion, for so many people you encounter, it’ll be nice to see you.
David
PS: Looking for some more ways to connect with others? Check out our events below. We have an Upstream Web3 chat on Friday, and then a salon with author Nancy Harhut 9/21.
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WHAT TO READ:
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Recent content shared by Serial Marketers and friends:
- The Community hires first-ever global chief strategy officer by Ann-Christine Diaz
- How Naomi Shah Is Building Meet Cute Into A Media Empire by MeiMei Fox
- Beauty And The (Privacy) Beast by Alan Wolk
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HOW TO SHARE
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Thanks to Seth Girksy, Michael Winter, Richy Glassberg, Scott Monty, Bob Gilbreath, Mat Zucker, Nancy Harhut, and E.B. Moss for spreading the word about the newsletter recently.
Here’s your own personalized link, with more referral rewards for sharing the newsletter. Visit https://
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EVENTS
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Please submit any events you’re hosting to our calendar at https://serialmarketers.
UPCOMING SERIAL MARKETERS EVENTS
- 9/16: Web3 Marketer Meetup with Serial Marketers on Upstream — connect with fellow marketers 1:1. 12pm
- 9/21: Serial Marketers Salons: Using Behavioral Science in Marketing with Nancy Harhut author of “Using Behavioral Science in Marketing,” Amazon’s #1 New Release in Business Marketing.
- 10/6: Serial Marketers is proud to be a partner at the 2022 @Propelify Innovation Festival! Join us in person October 6 for FREE with code SerialMarketersPropels
for networking, inspiration, & innovation. - 10/12: First Wednesdays in-person NYC, Mason Jar on E 30th. RSVP on Meetup! 5-7pm
- 10/14: Web3 Marketer Meetup with Serial Marketers on Upstream — connect with fellow marketers 1:1.
- 11/9: Web3 Marketer Meetup with Serial Marketers on Upstream — connect with fellow marketers 1:1.
- 12/8: Web3 Marketer Meetup with Serial Marketers on Upstream — connect with fellow marketers 1:1.
DIGIDAY PUBLISHING SUMMIT
September 19-21, Miami, FL
“Join us at the Digiday Publishing Summit to hear how media companies are building and adapting their business models to address and overcome the current economic climate. Walk away from this event with a better understanding of how other media organizations are building a more sustainable future.”
Register
SERIAL MARKETERS SALONS: USING BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE IN MARKETING WITH NANCY HARHUT
September 21, Zoom
“We’re bringing back the Salons for the Serial Marketers community! Join us as we have a conversation with Nancy Harhut, author of “Using Behavioral Science in Marketing,” Amazon’s #1 New Release in Business Marketing. Hear about easy-to-use tactics that drive customer action and loyalty by prompting instinctive responses. Then stay for some networking with other members where you can share any marketing needs or updates that you have.”
Register
PROPELIFY INNOVATION FESTIVAL 2022
October 6, Maxwell Place Park in Hoboken, NJ
“Serial Marketers is proud to be a partner at the 2022 @Propelify Innovation Festival! Join us in-person October 6 for FREE with code SerialMarketersPropels for networking, inspiration, & innovation. #letsPropel”
Register
SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIES SUMMIT
October 26–27
“Join Your Peers at the #1 Social Media Event for Senior-Level Marketing Professionals. Learn the nuts and bolts of a successful social media strategy to position your brand for success. Assess and audit your current social media initiatives through real-life feedback, discussions and peer-to-peer learning. Revitalize your strategy framework as brand practitioners walk you step-by-step through successful case studies…etc”
Register
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JOBS
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Keep checking out the #jobs channel in Serial Marketers for more. Better yet, subscribe to get updates from our job listing board. Here are some great opportunities shared in these places or sent to me directly.
PANORAMIC VENTURES
VP of Content Marketing
Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Via Stacy in the community
“We hire intelligent and driven individuals who value teamwork and trust, extending this mentality to positively impact portfolio companies in a constant search to drive portfolio company value. We’re looking for a full-time VP of Content Marketing to join our Marketing team. As part of the marketing team, you will be responsible for the strategy, development, and optimization for all Panoramic’s content.”
Apply
CLOUDMASONRY
Marketing Automation Consultant
Chicago – USA Remote
Via Jeff in the community
“The ideal candidate is a detail-oriented team player with experience managing project resources and coordination from a technical standpoint. You must set and achieve objectives, ensure both top quality and control of the project, handle client and vendor interaction, and act as the subject matter expert. Previous hands-on Salesforce administration or consulting is a must. Existing Salesforce Marketing Cloud certifications or demonstrated success on Trailhead are looked upon very favorably. This role may require occasional travel and is only suitable for those with a high degree of self-management. Travel requirements are subject to change.”
Apply
VIMEO
Sr. Director of Marketing Operations
New York, NY
Via William in the community
“The Sr. Director of Marketing Operations is a critical role on our global marketing team, and a significant contributor for overall revenue and customer experience. We are looking for a strong leader to build a best in class marketing operations function and help us to drive scale and optimization through marketing technology (across email, web and media). The ideal candidate has worked across Product led growth (self-service) and traditional B2B demand generation. Is a leader who has built and integrated a wide range of different marketing technology platforms, and has a strong program management background.You have also driven the consolidation and streamlining of marketing platforms through an M&A function to bring diverse systems together into one. You will lead and grow our marketing technology team and drive innovation and optimization through marketing technology, processes and internal systems. This role is a great opportunity for a strategic, technology, and data-driven leader who is comfortable in a fast-paced and fast-growth environment where cross-team collaboration is mission critical.”
Apply
NORDSON
Global Product Marketing Manager
United Kingdom
Via Nadine in the community
“We are looking for a Global Product Marketing Manager to join our driven and innovative team in Aylesbury. As Global Product Marketing Manager you will develop effective marketing strategies for our Test & Inspection division to communicate the features and benefits of our Nordson’s products to our customers and create demand for our products and services. You will perform market research on trending products and develop sales tools to communicate the vision and value of our products and to create unique selling points for all new products. In this role you will travel up to 25% globally.”
Apply
Also, check out the Serial Marketers job board.
Other job resources (see a full list here):
- Beeler.Tech: Job listings for ad operations, programmatic account management, sales operations, and more.
- Braintrust: A freelance platform where you are the owner and where freelance talent keeps 100% of the bill rate.
- Built in NYC: Jobs at a range of levels and functions, as long as you’re okay working in this quaint, backwater hamlet.
- Candidate: Featured marketing and sales jobs
- Creative Women of Color: List yourself in the database and find talent, via Women Who Create
- ExecThread: Senior roles spanning a range of verticals and cities; membership is free but fully vetted (this uses my referral ID to get you in faster)
- Gently Ventures: Helps scale businesses by finding the right talent
- Growth Collective: Apply to join this network of notable freelance marketers
- Hearty: Get recommended by peers and be discovered
- Hue: Amplifying voices of people in color working in marketing
- Lunch Club: Match 1:1 around predetermined goals with accomplished professionals (free)
- NYC Ad Jobs & Networking: A popular Facebook group
- #OpenToWork: There’s a channel in Serial Marketers where you can share what you’re looking for
- Pocit: A platform connecting people of color with jobs in the tech industry
- Questions to Ask for a Marketing Role: What questions should you ask when starting a new marketing role or job?
- Serial Marketers Job Board: Post regular and featured listings and subscribe for updates.
- VC Job Boards: Aleph, Eniac Ventures, Pear, Sequoia, Union Square Ventures
- Venwise: Submit your job interests here and get in front of their roster of hiring leads; select “Serial Marketers” under “How did you find us”
Do you run or enjoy other job listing sites? Let me know, and I’ll share them.
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OFFERS
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Below are offers extended to the Serial Marketers community. To share your own or access the Premium member discounts, review membership options here.
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GPO: Generate at least 20% more organic traffic. Doing a strong job in SEO but wonder if more traffic can be had? GPO will custom-build an AWS instance that will become a subdomain of your site, and generate at least 20% more traffic the first year. Contact Cory Cox in the community to redeem.
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Get 5% back on any bookings of the Focus, Growth, and ReFocus plan. To receive your rebate, please contact me after you book the course.
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Get 10% discounts on campaigns. ReverseAds reverses the search ad process, outperforming Google at a fraction of the cost. To redeem, contact Thom Feltz by email.
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