Calling Media Savant or another entertainment professional

[Vampgrrl]

Here is the skinny...I'm 30, worked in Information Technology for almost 9 years professionally now. I cannot take it any more. I only make it to work to pay my mortgage, outside of that I wish for a quick death. :eek:

I've been thinking about what else I might want to study to work in because now is a good time to make these plans as I have no kids and I'm not married) and much of my thinking has been toward something creative or dealing with creative/entertainment media. (or it's one of several ideas I'm kicking around in my head). I did go to college for poli sci but I'm wondering

1. what does it take education wise to get into something like say marketing TV shows/movies, analyzing ratings and targeted demographics (which seems pretty damn interesting)
I'm interested on this, in terms of the marketing aspect really, of a TV programme or movie (as I dont believe half of what is marketed is marketed properly anyhow...since marketing is everything to a movie or TV show in getting out of the gate to spur word of mouth)

2. how is the job outlook on something like this?

Anyhow I know I'm a n00bie at this stuff but it's just a thought...

[eta_carinae]

I studied science/engineering myself.... but my roomate in college was a communications major with an emphasis in marketing. She's now working at a radio station in Colorado Springs. I don't really know how that helps you though.... just thought I would mention it :D

[AyuRocks]

I'm sort of interested in that information as well. I'm going to have to be picking a major soon, and it's something I'd consider doing..

[harveywhispers]

Disclaimer:
I am not a marketing professional.

As I have recently been booted out of public service, I decided it was time to look for a career more suited toward my abilities. My first choice was on the creative side of Marketing, as I tend to be a bit more developed in that realm. Things that I have noticed employers desire:
- Superb written communication skills
- Savy use of web publishing programs
- History of developing content for websites
- Project management skills

If you are in college, it is really easy to take courses which would help build these areas. For those of us out of the college setting, employers have been very keen on the idea of looking at volunteer/offtime type activities (like my managing of the TCS written materials). It is a matter of finding things that would impress someone within a business.

Wish me luck, as I go on my final interview for a Marketing Assistant position tomorrow morning. The potential employer has taken my offtime experiences with Farscape as a large indicator of my willingness to push my skills, and I am sure that many of you have rl skills which would work in the same way.

[Vampgrrl]

hmm that's pretty interesting...I am wanting to lean to a creative marketing type position eventually. And I have jumped head first into the BSG thing (much as I am with Farscape)...I'm just so dead inside at my job and I think about the only 3 things which really move me, or that I have a passion for:
1. running
2. good scifi tv (oh god between Farscape and Battlestar 2005, oh I love good drama overlayed into a scifi backdrop, LOVE IT!) and good TV shows/movies I mean it. It's so cliche, but I love how entertainment can be so emotionally gripping and emotionally moving..
3. dance music (trance and ebm) which is more of a hobby ( I want to learn to DJ)

But I know being 30 I need to star doing something NOW because if I'm still doing this in 10 or even 5 years I'm going to be a basketcase..if it wasn't for my mortgage I'd almost be like well I ought to take a yr off from this per se and be a receptionist (which pays considerably less) because I hate what I am doing with a passion. :(

[waltersgirl]

get an internship and try it out.

[Vampgrrl]

Hard to do that when I have a mortgage payment and other obligations.

[ctheokas]

Vampgrrl, I know marketing seems like an attractive career, but it's the work of the devil. It is the Dark Side. There is no way to gain control over it. Also, part of the deal is that you have to sell your soul to the devil. I say this after having dealt with marketing people for three years at USA Today, and most of the marketing I've had to deal with directly has been directed at journalists, editors and critics.

First off, it's not very creative. For the film "What's the Worst that Could Happen?", a crime caper starring Martin Lawrence, part of the marketing campaign was to send a stuffed dog to movie critics and editors. When you squeeze the dog, it farts. There is no farting dog in the movie.

Second off, when you're marketing something, you have to stick to the party line NO MATTER WHAT. You cannot deviate from that party line. If you are pitching something that is truly a shit product, you have to act like it's the second coming of Christ.

Thirdly... well, this is more of an anecdote. During ShoWest in 2002, Universal was pitching "About a Boy." They'd hired these lovely women to wear T-shirts that read "S.P.A.T." on them (Single Parents Alone Together). When our reporter, who had seen the screening of the film, what S.P.A.T. stood for, the women had no idea. But they were pitching the living hell out of the movie. The reporter was sending back video from ShoWest, so we got to see this before we posted it on the website for the world to see. I don't know why I shared this, but it seems important, because it has to do with creative marketing.

The PKWars marketing campaign wasn't so bad. They at least sent out shirts with the review discs that read "PK War Correspondent", which is kind of cool, and actually has something to do with the mini. But to be quite honest, that's one of the best campaigns I've seen.

My advice to you: Get into making films or music or some other art form. Hell, get into reporting on the entertainment media. But forget the marketing aspects.

[Shipscat]

Good for you, HW. I think that perhaps that the job loss was one of those fated things..something pushing you more towards where you should be.

And good for you, too, Vampgrrl-you should make a change if you wish for a quick death! Have you thought about getting rid of the house, or renting it out or something?

ctheokas, your point is rather like saying that you shouldn't write because there are already so many crappy books out there!

[Vampgrrl]

I just got the house 10 months ago and I just refi'ed it. I am going to work on some stuff in my spare time but I'm really down to kicking myself for
a. being 30 and doing something I now hate
b. having not figured this stuff out eariler in my life...I had a lot of problems growing up and through college and I wound up just doing what I had to do to survive. So I took a hobby of mine (computers) and made it a job. That was a bit of a mistake.

I've always loved entertainment...real traditional types of geeky entertainment. LOVE IT. I come up with neat ideas in my head for various stuff on either how to promote something, if that's a show or a tv ad and I love good quality scifi or film/tv that is a bit dark in it's tone. I am really frustrated though because I dont know where to go with this itch exactly...

I suck at web site designing but I did buy www.bsg-75.com the other day...I was screwing around with some CSS templates in Dreamweaver. I may work on it some tonight but it's about getting a look to the site which is hard, but the content itself later on will come a lot easier.