Mr. Daniel Dickey is one of the most poppin, erratic, young black moguls in the marketing world, based in “The Black Mecca” Atlanta. As a marketing major who just wrapped up his first year at North Carolina A&T, I felt it necessary to get a head start in my career field with an internship this summer. When I reached out to Daniel about an internship with The Resource Guild, I was not aware of how hands-on I would be working for this award – winning agency. Because of this opportunity, I’ve acquired high level skills that will better prepare me for essentially…everything. I’ve learned how to be a young boss by being a sponge to how Daniel interacts with the world around him. “Bosses only care about results” is the mindset he works within and what The Resource Guild is instilling in me.
My first project involved our client, Dr. Randy Hines II, and his new educational medical thriller, Appendicitis. The day of the Atlanta Appendicitis Book Launch started with a call from Daniel to go pick up the step & repeat banner and red carpet from an agency preferred vendor “Stickers Banner” company in the Atlanta area. When I got to the establishment I requested our order and the kind man went in the back, retrieved the order, and I was out the door. With the mission accomplished, something Daniel would always stress to me, I made my way to meet Daniel and we followed up with some of our media publications, sending press reminders and additional guest/media confirmations before making my way to the venue. I then introduced myself to some Galleria 314 staff as they would accompany me in setting up the venue for the evening based on the walkthrough Dr. Randy Hines II, Mr. Daniel, and I took of the venue the night before. First, some of the staff and I started constructing the step & repeat stand to fit the banner into place. Within a few phone calls with Daniel, we started to place high chairs and tables into the open space of the venue. Soon thereafter, DJ K Threat pulls up and starts to set up his DJ equipment and speakers in a strategically placed corner of the venue so that all electrical outputs could be satisfied. Dr. Randy Hines II arrives at the venue shortly after with merchandise and boxes of books ready to be sold once the event got underway. I offered a hand by taking the boxes of books as well as other merchandise up the staircase into the upstairs balcony to setup the official merchandise table. About 45 minutes out from the event’s scheduled start time, Mr. Daniel arrives to make his last – minute adjustments to bring the venue to its final setup. I am then given the OK to change into my event clothes aka “the drip/drippery” while Daniel continues to direct traffic inside the venue. Soon the soulful sounds of DJ K Threat were playing, and the Bomade Lemonade Vodka drinks were flowing as our guests mixed and mingled before the night’s activities. As the event transpired, I was instructed to run The Resource Guild’s Instagram page and story. I took video of guests enjoying the music and food, some of their questions to the speakers during the panels, and even some answers the speakers gave back to the audience. At the conclusion of the event, pictures and videos were taken of Dr. Randy Hines II with friends, family, readers and even Mr. Hanky (producer of Lil Duval’s smash hit “Smile”) who made a special appearance. The photoshoot wasn’t complete until Mr. Daniel and I flashed the pearly whites for the camera. Although the event was over, the night was not for me. I continued working by cleaning up the venue space of all trash, taking down the step & repeat banner and stand, taking down the extra boxes of books from the upstairs balcony, and any and everything Dr. Randy Hines II or Mr. Daniel asked me to do. The most gratifying part about this project was being able to see pictures and stories of the event on blogs and websites of media publications based in Atlanta that I personally reached out to and interacted with.
The next day I was tasked with creating a recap of the evening’s festivities onto The Resource Guild’s Instagram page. I also ran The Resource Guild’s Instastory where shoutouts went to Dr. Randy Hines II, Bomade Vodka, DJ K Threat, Tamika Newhouse, and Sandtown Pub for helping us bring the event to life. I also constructed a media recap that was sent out to confirmed media publications to post on their websites and blogs. Days following the event, I was tasked with creating a media hit list to show Dr. Randy Hines II exactly how many sites the event could be found on and about how many people are knowledgable that the event took place. Planning, working, and then finally following up with the event showed me that there is always more than just coordinating an event to successfully market the client. With this event under my belt, I learned the process of organizing clients, guests, and media outlets to ensure an event is marketed as efficiently as possible. Seeing the client happy with our work made me feel like all the preparations done before hand and afterward was worth while. The Appendicitis Book launch was a success and I know my time spent working for The Resource Guild has further fueled my passion for the world of marketing.
