Steve Anderson has certainly done a variety of things in the world of communications. He’s been in the advertising industry for 25 years and is currently the marketing director for the Twisted Martini. Anderson settled in Jacksonville after several career changes and wasn’t above waiting tables until the right job came along. Finally, a combination of luck and his aggressive nature landed him at the Twisted Martini, which has been doing well since it opened a few weeks ago. He was hired in November of 2004 and is embarking on an aggressive campaign to market the new Landing venue.
How did you get involved with the Twisted Martini?
“I had a friend who had an interview with the Twisted Martini in the first part of November. She had heard they were looking for a marketing director as well, and I told her I was going to come with her. I just wanted to put my foot in the door and see if I could get an interview, too. A while later, I was hired.”
What did you do before?
“I started with a small graphics company in Tallahassee and then I went to work for the Knight-Ridder company, which owns a large number of newspapers all over the country. I designed concept ads for a newspaper. After a few years, I was promoted and sent to Gary, Indiana to work as an advertising specialist. During my second year there, the Indiana State Legislature awarded casino licenses to the area. I saw a tremendous opportunity because Gary was very poor and run down and it was getting ready to experience a rebirth. I left the newspaper and started my own advertising firm, “Identities” where I worked with a lot of the small businesses in the area to help them develop their own identities and market themselves. I also started a small chain of art galleries. I eventually moved my advertising and art operations to Chicago and I also started a neighborhood newspaper to promote the businesses in the area. The 1997 flood in the area washed away all my businesses, literally. I moved back to Jacksonville and worked for Atlanta Teleservices, a telemarketing company, and began a small website division within the company that eventually overtook the telemarketing business, so the company became known as Website Pros. September 11 came along and they went through a really bad time. All the executive managers in the company were laid off because business had become so bad. I spent a couple of years trying to find another management position, so I did a lot of little things in the meantime. I edited coastal engineering manuscripts from Turkish universities to get them ready for publication in English text. While I was doing that, I actually ended up waiting tables.”
How would you define your job?
“I handle all aspects of marketing at the Twisted Martini, that includes radio and print advertising and several different marketing campaigns. Any aspect or avenue that I can find that will help us get the name and the concept of the Twisted Martini out to the public, I explore to see how we can best manipulate and use that avenue. I also audition and hire all the live entertainment and head up our private party and cocktail hour office party. I design all of our advertising myself. To sum it up best, I’m probably the voice of the Twisted Martini.”
How many hours a week to you devote to the Twisted Martini?
“About 60 hours a week, but I enjoy doing what I do so much, it goes by so fast. There is so much to do and it’s so fast-paced and high-energy, meeting and talking with a lot of terrific people.”
Do you belong to any professional organizations?
“I belong to the Chamber of Commerce and the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Downtown Council. The Downtown Council networking is terrific. It’s really nice to be among a group of people that really care about what’s happening in Downtown Jacksonville and each other’s businesses. I make some terrific contacts there.”
Do you have any words of wisdom?
“You know, life is a roller coaster and I’m on the ride for the thrill of it. It’s full of ups and downs and you never know what is going to happen. I always look forward to the opportunities and challenges and don’t regret anything. It’s all a learning experience - the good and the bad. There is a saying that you have to know the bad in order to recognize the good and I think those are some pretty good words to live by.”