Seeing the Edge with NW Marketing Guy - Rod Brooks

A Bewitching Career

In 1975, I graduated from W.S.U. with a Bachelors Degree in Communicaitons with an emphasis in advertising. I didn't have much perspective about professional careers nor were my expectations appropriate. No one in my family had been to college and most of the men (uncles and cousins) worked in lumber mills or for public utilities. Armed with naive hope, a notebook filled with samples from an agency internship, and a piece of paper that said I deserved a chance, I set out to become Darren Stevens. Remember him? Darren was either a senior account manager or the creative director that worked for Larry Tate. Larry owned the advertising agency, McMann and Tate, and Darren was married to Samantha. That's right. I'm in marketing today because of a 1960's T.V. show called Bewitched. It was that weekly TV fantasy and the fact that my college advisor told me I had a great face for radio (true story) that resulted in more than 35 years of advertising, marketing, branding, sales and exectutive roles. Here's the road map if you're interested. (I never did find a wife that could wiggle her nose to make magic happen)!