During his 15 months here, John has been instrumental at Big Red Jelly as he and the marketing team were responsible for the online growth of the company in 2022. I had the privilege to sit down with John and learn about his journey and experience as a marketer.
So first tell me your position and what you do at Big Red Jelly?
I’m the Marketing Director here at Big Red Jelly. I’ve been here for a little over a year now and overlook a marketing team of 4. As the marketing director, the majority of my time is spent strategizing, managing, and collaborating with various BRJ teams. Being at the top of the funnel, my primary goal is to effectively market our brand and bring in leads through various sources.
What is your experience in marketing and how did you get to this position?
So I went to Utah Valley University but I never formally studied marketing and I never enjoyed the idea of it. Sitting in a class and learning marketing through a lecture is the last thing you should do if you want to learn marketing. I took the unorthodox route and learned marketing through self-education, job experiences, and of course trial and error.
Marketing has been a huge part of my life. I began with making home videos and grew a passion for filmmaking when I was 11. I was 15 when one of my videos went viral on social media. Shared across the country and on multiple news platforms, I was exposed to the marketing world at a young age.
From there, I worked as an independent contractor with the biggest brands in the nation creating captivating videos and marketing material. As I mastered the art of content creation and videos, I wanted to expand my knowledge into higher-level marketing. That’s where my involvement with Big Red Jelly came in many years later.
Since being here do you feel like your interest in the marketing world has grown?
Absolutely. The marketing world is ever-changing and it’s a tricky puzzle to solve. What intrigues me the most about my position is that it requires a lot of problem solving and strategy building. I get to implement strategies that I think are effective and place them into an actual business. So it’s A/B testing what works and what doesn’t. If the end goal is to reach our target audience and capture leads, what are the steps we can take to get there? That’s marketing in a nutshell.
After a long day at work, what do you like to do?
After a long day of work, I simply double-dry scoop pre-workout and force myself to the gym. Let’s pretend I read a book and journal every night as well. We’re just going to skip the part where I play PC games for hours with my friends haha.
What are your hobbies/sports that you enjoy doing?
If there is a sport/hobby that has me in a chokehold, it’s Mixed Martial Arts. No pun intended. I’ve been an MMA practitioner for about 3+ years on and off.
What is a valuable skill or life lesson you’ve learned from MMA that you apply to your life?
Many people think that MMA is mindlessly punching, kicking, and grappling. When in actuality, Mixed Martial Arts is a human chess match with zero margins for error.
In MMA, there are numerous ways to attack an opponent to win a match. In order to beat your opponent, you have to have an effective strategy in place. A strategy that you’re familiar with and that you know will win you the match.
However, you’re gonna have to adapt and adjust when the strategy becomes ineffective mid-match. So the biggest thing you can learn from MMA is to be adaptable. To me, it’s more than just violence. It’s strategizing while getting punched in the face. That’s why I love MMA and marketing.
How did you hear about Big Red Jelly originally?
Josh and the Webber brothers have been longtime friends of mine. Josh and I worked very closely on a lot of marketing projects years prior to Big Red Jelly and during the company’s infancy. As Big Red Jelly grew, I worked as an independent contractor and then accepted a marketing position in 2021.
What is the biggest thing you’ve learned that has positively impacted your career since being here at Big Red Jelly?
One of our core values is that we are efficient and proactive. I thought I was an efficient worker prior to joining the team. Boy was I wrong. Due to Big Red Jelly’s proactive and efficient methods, strategies, and environment, I’ve learned to be as efficient as possible in every aspect of my life. The habits I have developed at Big Red Jelly will definitely carry on in my career and life.
Favorite ice cream flavor?
Vanilla. Melted of course.
If you could travel to one place in the world, with no budget, where would you go?
Nepal. Mainly because the culture always fascinated me due to the spiritualism and respect they have for the mountains. Plus, who wouldn’t want to see the Himalayas while eating a delicious Nepalese meal.
What is your next step in marketing, or what do you want to do?
Two things that I have my eyes on in 2023 and forward: blog writing and artificial intelligence. We’re now seeing AI create marketing materials from graphics, videos, blogs, etc. Currently, I’m working on a project with a few friends in creating an AI blog generator. Websites need blog content for SEO purposes and AI is the most efficient way to get blogs created. Merge the two together, you can expect serious SEO results.
How do you maintain a work life balance?
Bad advice alert: I don’t. I think it’s a huge flaw of mine but I think it’s absolutely necessary to merge your career and your life. If you want to succeed you have to be absolutely obsessed with your craft. It’s a toxic hustle mentality however it’s worked for many as well as myself. I do recommend a work life balance to many, but not to myself…
What is your one personal key to success?
Optimism.
Doubt and negativity serve no purpose. In every project, I always go in with an optimistic attitude. I’m a big believer in the law of attraction and being optimistic will help bring the positive results you’re looking for.
It was such a great opportunity to interview John and get to know him better and learn about the experiences he’s had as a marketer. John and the Big Red Jelly marketing team continue to aim high and strive for excellence in this unpredictable market. Learn more about John and the Big Red Jelly team below!
