有戏剧背景的经验丰富的演员, 满帆 grad Rico Robinson decided to pursue communications so that he could find work that allowed him to continue performing. 他报名参加了 满帆’s 媒体通信 bachelor’s program to grow his existing social media skills and develop other tools that would help him succeed in the marketing world. 今天, Rico is using both his performance and communications background to promote concerts, 展览, and other events at the Downing-Gross Cultural 艺术s Center.

After graduating from the 媒体通信 program and following up with 满帆公共关系硕士学位, Rico worked in marketing at a nonprofit and hosted a pop-culture podcast called The Friday Podcast. He landed his current role as a Marketing Coordinator at the Downing-Gross Cultural 艺术s Center in Newport 新闻, 2022年的弗吉尼亚州.

唐宁-格罗斯文化艺术中心 是举办现场表演的多功能空间吗, 视觉艺术展览, 社区活动, 还有针对儿童和成人的课程. The Center’s crown jewel is the Ella Fitzgerald Theater, a 276-seat venue that celebrates the singer’s life with performances from local and national artists. Rico’s job as a Marketing Coordinator is to promote the Center’s events, 项目, 以及社交媒体和其他平台上的画廊.

“I run the social media pages for them on 脸谱网 and Instagram, and then also do their website... When [employers] say marketing, they want everything. 不是这条直线, even though the social media and content creation, 这是我最喜欢的部分,里科说。.

Taking on multiple marketing skills means juggling multiple responsibilities. Rico credits 满帆 with teaching him how to do that.

“Every day [at the Center] is something different. And what I've tried to do and what 满帆 really has helped me do is try to prioritize my day,他说.

在这周的开始, Rico updates the Center’s website and makes sure that what’s featured on the site – like gallery openings, 即将来临的事件, or community activities – aligns with what’s going on at the Center. Rico works on content creation and social media marketing on Tuesdays and Wednesdays; promoting the Center’s monthly Tuesday open mic is a priority. Thursdays are for administrative meetings and for connecting with organizations outside of the center, 比如电台和电视台, 里科会在周五收拾残局.

Figuring out each day’s priorities has helped Rico tackle large marketing projects. 到目前为止, his biggest campaign was for the Center’s Ella Fitzgerald 音乐 Festival featuring Grammy-winning jazz singer Samara Joy as the headliner. 里科在社交媒体上宣传了这次活动, used connections with iHeart Radio to spread the word on the airwaves, 在中心附近竖起广告牌. The result was three nights of sold-out performances.

The Ella Fitzgerald 音乐 Festival was a resounding success, and Rico is already working on new campaigns for 即将来临的事件. He’s marketing a free summer movie series for children in kindergarten and first grade, 为大一点的孩子举办一个戏剧夏令营, and working on a campaign for the Center’s anniversary in the fall. Rico can’t say much about the anniversary celebration yet, 但目前为止尼克·韦斯特, 比利·波特的吉他手, 都会出席.

Rico spends a lot of his time promoting other artists’ performances, but his idea about pursuing communications to keep himself in the performance world was dead on. His theater background gives him a unique way to connect with community members who visit the center.

“Recently I've just been giving a lot of tours of the center... A group asked me at the end of the tour, ‘This seems so easy for you, what do you do outside of here?所以我告诉他们我是个演员，我表演. 他们会说，‘哦，真的吗? 你唱歌，你跳舞?’我说，‘我什么都做.’他们说，‘好吧，给我们唱点什么吧.’ So right in the middle of The [Downing-Gross] Cultural 艺术s Center, 我在给巡演的人唱约翰·传奇, 他们很喜欢, 这是一次很酷的经历.”