Five years ago at our Publisher Forum in Boulder, I heard people chanting. And by people I mean Canadians. Several of them. While a certain amount of singing and dancing is expected at AdMonsters events, I had not encountered this before.
And the thing is, they weren’t chanting “Ad-Monsters, Ad-Monsters, Ad-Monsters”… they were chanting “Ad-Beeler, Ad-Beeler, Ad-Beeler”. My very own AdMonsters brand was being repurposed by one of our attendees – or, more accurately, fans of one of our attendees.
If you’ve ever struggled to find the right someone who just gets what you’re doing, having one of your customers become your brand is a good clue that your search has ended. I decided right then that if I ever had the opportunity, I would try to convince this “AdBeeler” guy to join the AdMonsters team. As it happened, I was able to break the circle of Canadians long enough to make my pitch, and a few weeks later he joined the company.
Since then, Rob has been largely responsible for the content of our live events and online content, and for em-ceeing just about all of our events. Those are all things that I used to do, but I had my turn, and Rob is a hell of a lot better at it than I ever was anyhow. Anyone who has ever hired anyone else knows that finding good people isn’t easy – let alone good people who understand and are interested in what you’re doing, and who want to stick around. Over the past five years, I’ve seen Rob grow more and more comfortable with his role as “Content Czar” and has had a major hand in the growth and development of AdMonsters. Even more importantly, he’s been a great comrade – a hard worker, a stand-up guy, full of ideas and fun to be around.
And lest you think this is a convoluted “Dear John” letter – this is an announcement! In honor of Rob’s 5 year anniversary with AdMonsters, we’ve finally come to our senses and decided to update our branding. I’d like to invite you all to visit the new home of the Publisher Forum and OPS conferences… adbeeler.com.
…now I just have to find the guy at the AdBeeler conference surrounded by Canadians chanting “Ad-Monsters, Ad-Monsters, Ad-Monsters…”
Rob, It’s been a real pleasure working with you. Thank you for your dedication, and I hope to celebrate ten years together, a little farther down the road.
Bowen Dwelle
Founder & CEO