After spending more than four years at Xerox managing sales in Century City and two-years at Universal Studios Television managing over 48 feature film titles entering their ppv/vod window, I wanted to try the freelance route. With the prospect of a year-long live/work abroad experience pending, I decided to officially found BROEKMAN communications as a vehicle to professionalize companies with studio branding tactics, savvy business plans, visionary strategic planning, and business development tools for companies looking to go to the next level.
Shortly after founding the alumni association for the University of Judaism's Undergraduate and Graduate programs and simultaneously acting as Co-Director of Field Operations for then Councilman Michael Feuer's (CD5) 2001 City Attorney's race, I picked up one of my first major accounts to coincide with my trip abroad. One of my favorite years of my life was spent living abroad in Amsterdam, The Netherlands working as a marketing director for an executive relocation company that placed executives from Fortune 100s into local Amsterdam World Trade Centre offices. Though with September 11th happening while we were abroad, the launch of the Euro driving up costs, and the political climate changing rapidly throughout Europe, my return to the States was inevitable.
2002 - 2003 was filled with strategic planning, business development, business plans, marketing plan creation, start-ups, professionalizing companies looking to get a leg up. In early 2003, I picked up a semi-full time client, a 12 office London-headquartered press fulfillment house side-by-side with freelance contract work. Empowered through my experiences of working with the Edelmans, Ketchums and top PR agencies throughout Los Angeles, I transitioned into a publicist / PR professional role.
In late 2003, I worked with the new ownership of Storyopolis in overseeing 40+ book launches, a half-dozen theatrical release parties (Dreamworks, Columbia Pictures) and countless kid-friendly events including J. Paul Getty Center's first community relations event; I dug my nails deep into the PR world. Shortly thereafter I picked up the Screen Actors Guild Foundation. After seven months of studio relations, I successfully met their goal of getting a premiere - Focus Features' Brokeback Mountain. In addition, I launched the development campaign for the Foundations' Actors Resource Center and represented the Foundation at numerous media events. With over forty clients in a two and half year span, it didn't fulfill my career aspirations (as exciting as it all was).
Though acquired in July of 2004, somewhere late-2005, I realized that my true passion was on the creative side. I reexamined my relationship with my Powerbook G4 laptop. After a successful installation of Adobe Creative Suite - a new love affair started with my Mac. A few thousand hours of production time later, I began the long journey into the creative development world. In true Alchemist style, I started attracting clients who were interested in a creative agency that married up the best in marketing and the execution of focused branding, identity campaigns, design, print and web.
As I start planning my ten year anniversary party, I recognize that my success is neither defined by quantity of clients nor the jack-of-all-trades toolbox I've acquired over the years. Instead it is defined by the confidence, happiness, creativity and resourcefulness at my fingertips - the genuine ease of how I go about my days - a sense of purpose and fulfillment when running one's own business. Having a successful creative agency built on marketing expertise, savvy brand sense and image-building visions and a solid foundation is the arrival.
To learn more about my client/project list, please see my partial client list or review my LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/profile?viewProfile=&key=256378