Introduction: The Rx for Marketing Professionals

"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently."
- Steve Jobs

Hey, I got an idea. What if we f*ck with the system a bit?

Let's be troublemakers. Let's flip things upside down.

In the 20+ years that I've been trying to figure out the marketing industry, and I've noticed something. All the LinkedIn Groups, all the exclusive events, all the swagfilled soirées – they're targeted towards Director-level and above execs (the VPs, SVPs and C-suite of CMOs, CFOs, and the like). There is so much focus on "senior" marketers.

And I get why. Companies want to reach those who are in power.

As a result, rarely is there a true resource for "junior" marketers.

I say "junior" – I really mean those who are just entering the Marketing field, or who have pivoted to Marketing from another specialty. It's not an ageist thing. Yes, you could be a recent grad looking to learn the ropes. Or you've recently made a career change. Or you're at an agency and looking to go client side. Or you're an in-house marketer wearing a million hats looking for some inspiration.

The point is, everything is geared to the "senior" marketer and not the "junior" marketer. Most of what I've found for young professionals is just a grift to sell something.

It's honestly predatory against an entire generation.

These "gurus" are actively guilting people for not hustling or grinding hard enough. All in an effort to sell online courses. Or some get-rich-quick system.

These grifters are truly evil.

This is my anti-grift initiative.

No one talks about Marketing from a truly altruistic point of view. To just help other in the field. Unless there's a profit, no one shares their strategies.

They're all hidden behind conference room walls, Zoom meetings, and countless presentations. Millions of hours of effort, of collaboration, of great ideas, are locked away in old agency pitch-decks, probably never to be seen again.

So what's my point? My point is, I want to create something for the junior marketers. I want to break the ceiling of information and literally reveal all the secrets that no one wants to talk about.

This post is my little manifesto.

I've built many online communities in the past. To be successful, you need to outline your mission. A mission builds a strong community. That's what I'm doing. Right now.

So this is for you, Junior Marketers.

• Mission #1: Rx is a repository of great marketing.
  • Marketing news. Marketing trends. Marketing strategies. All in one place.
• Mission #2: Rx is the ability to mentor to as many people as possible.
  • Everyone knows you need a mentor. Finding one is a different matter. I want to be that mentor.
• Mission #3: Rx makes money the old fashioned way. By earning it.
  • I pre-build marketing strategies for specific business models and sell them as part of a premium subscription. Everything else is free. The grift stops here.

The concept behind the "Rx" is two-fold:

1) one is to be "prescriptive" and actually solve real-life marketing problems;

2) and the second is to be "Ryan multiplied" (that's me, I'm Ryan) where I can help as many people as possible using technology.

Being prescriptive is important.

"I don't want to be prescriptive but..."

It's a common conversation between agency and client. But what if we are prescriptive? What we we do just spell it out directly?

"Not being prescriptive" is usually meant as a professional courtesy. You're trying to say "I don't want to tell you how to do your job" and at the same time allow your agency the creative freedom to come up with something.

But in the context of helping junior marketers, being "prescriptive" could be a goldmine that sparks inspiration. So instead of holding back, I'm making it available to everyone.

Mentorship is important too.

If you're lucky enough to find a mentor at your company, awesome, good for you. But it's embarrassing to ask someone to be your mentor. And after you put yourself out there and ask for this help, there's no guarantee they'll actually help you.

Instead, I want this to be a safe space. Ask questions without fear of judgement. I'll answer each and every one of them.

So with that, please join me and let's grow together.