Career Path Of An Event Manager And Marketer At George P Johnson And Google
Rachelle's career path began with a recreation parks and tourism administration degree from Cal Poly, where they gained diverse event experience through various jobs, including catering and working for a DJ company – "I just tried to get my hands in as much experience before I graduated." This led to an internship and subsequent full-time role at George P. Johnson, followed by event management at an insurance company, culminating in a field marketing position at Google Chrome Enterprise, where the COVID-19 pandemic shifted their focus to virtual events and stakeholder collaboration.
Event Management, Experiential Marketing, Networking, Travel, Career Development
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Rachelle Platis
Event Manager & Marketer
George P Johnson, Applied Underwriters, Google Chrome Enterprise
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
N/A
Hospitality Administration
Hospitality, Restaurants & Events, Advertising, Communications & Marketing
Operations and Project Management
Honors Student, Took Out Loans, Transfer Student, Student Athlete
Video Highlights
1. Rachelle's diverse internships: She gained practical event management experience through various roles in college, including catering, working for a DJ company, photo booth tech, and volunteering for triathlons. This demonstrates the value of accumulating diverse experiences.
2. Successful transition from internships to full-time roles: Her internship at George P. Johnson led to a full-time position, highlighting the importance of internships in securing employment and showcasing skills. This is a great example of how to leverage an internship.
3. Adaptability and pivot in the face of challenge: Rachelle adapted quickly to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, transitioning from in-person events to virtual webinars. This demonstrates her flexibility and ability to find creative solutions in a rapidly changing environment.
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path, starting with your experiences in college and any internships or jobs you had before your current role?
Yes. So I went to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, specifically for the Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Administration program. It's actually within the College of Agriculture, but I focused on event management because I thought it sounded really fun and something I could totally wrap my brain around.
Throughout my college experience, I tried to get as much work experience in different areas of event management as I could. I worked in catering, for a DJ and lighting company, and as a photo booth tech. I also volunteered for triathlons, like the Wildflower Triathlon, which was a lot of work but also a lot of fun.
I wanted to gain as much experience as possible before graduating so I could speak to my experience in the industry. This really served me well, as I got an internship directly after graduation with George P. Johnson. They are an experiential marketing company and have a partnership with Cal Poly, which is awesome.
A lot of students go through their internship program, which is about six months long or a summer program. Many then get hired full-time straight from the internship, which is what happened to me. I was there for about a year and got to experience so much on the special events team.
George P. Johnson does a lot of different things. I think they started with trade shows, but they also host huge conferences for Fortune 500 companies like Salesforce and Cisco. My team was responsible for putting on the evening regional events, executive dinners, and fun end-of-conference concerts.
I got to travel a ton and help the team think of creative experiences for these groups. We planned how people would enter the space, mingle, and interact with food and entertainment. My role involved a lot of research on different cities and potential venues for hundreds of people. I also conducted site visits and helped execute events on-site. It involved long hours, but it was a ton of fun.
Then I transitioned to the private sector and worked for an insurance company as their Trade Show Manager. I managed multiple trade show booths that went to over 40 trade shows a year, with different sized booths for various purposes.
I quickly got involved in their incentive program for their brokers. We would host two main events a year, bringing about 100 people: 50 brokers with their plus ones, our sales team, and our marketing team. It was a cool experience as a thank you for their hard work and business, and also a networking opportunity for our sales team.
My team was the Brand Marketing or Brand Communications team, and we logistically set up these experiences from end to end. This included booking hotels and flights, preparing gift bags, arranging dinners and transportation, and managing sponsorship suites. We went to the Kentucky Derby and the Pebble Beach Pro-Am Tournament. It was a lot of fun and offered really cool experiences, but also a lot of hard work to build deeper connections and relationships with these people for the brand.
After that, I transitioned to working with Google App on the Chrome Enterprise team as a Field Marketer. This would have involved a lot of trade shows and setting up spaces for our sales team to connect with people in the field. However, COVID-19 hit when I started in January 2020.
So, I actually conducted a lot of webinars for them, which was really interesting. I worked with many stakeholders within the Chrome Enterprise team, as well as the Google for Education and Google Workspace teams. They were very collaborative, and there was a lot of overlap in the business. When we put on a webinar or conference, I'd be working with different stakeholders. It was less about connecting with the end client and more about ensuring our team's goals were met through these events.