I thought starting a band in college would be about music. It turned out to be about marketing.
Back then, the fear wasn’t missing growth targets. It was stepping on stage and realizing nobody cared (seriously though, nobody). To push through, we had to find our audience. Not the crowd we wished would show up, but the ones who actually did. It was never everyone, but it was enough. Enough to build around, create momentum, and roll into the next show. This is exactly what content creator marketing teaches — focus on the audience that resonates with your core message, not the mythical “everyone.”
That’s when I learned the real job isn’t trying to be everything to everyone. It’s finding YOUR audience, building around them, and giving them reasons to stick around.
And here’s the second thing I learned: getting people to care is one thing, getting them to act is another. Download the song, buy the ticket, grab the merch. You can discount, hype, or beg (and oh boy, we did)…but those tricks fade fast. What lasts is when your brand bleeds into everything. The inside jokes in our song titles, the way we designed flyers, even how we bantered between tracks. Slowly, we taught our fans who we were. And ironically, this made them care about us more than any of our sonic qualities ever did. This is what the compound growth system is all about — every consistent touchpoint (whether it’s song titles, design, or banter) reinforces your brand and compounds into a loyal audience.
In fact, if you polled anyone who ever saw us play back in the day, they probably wouldn’t remember a single lyric or melody. But they’d remember a feeling and vibe. That’s the kind of brand impact that comes from authentic leadership and intentional brand building — something I’ve carried throughout my career.
At the time, I thought I was just trying to make sure my shows weren’t empty. But what I was really doing was laying the foundation for how I’ve approached marketing over 15+ years in the entertainment industry.
Brand isn’t the salt and pepper you sprinkle on top. It’s the compound interest that makes every action worth more over time. It’s your input to growth output.
We saw this play out at scale when Pandora pivoted to become a lifestyle platform — it wasn’t just about the music, it was about everything around it. And it’s why this approach remains central to how we guide our clients. Every decision matters, and every touchpoint compounds.
This is how we approach marketing at Field Vision. And it all started in a practice space with four kids and zero expectations.