Join us for a dynamic conversation with Erica Johnson on the MKTNG 10 Year Podcast! A true force in marketing and community impact, Erica’s journey is a testament to passion and perseverance. Currently, the Associate Director of Brand Marketing at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), Erica, ensures the marketing engine runs smoothly, making a profound difference one campaign at a time.
In this episode, we rewind to Erica’s foundational days at MKTNG (2015-2016), where she excelled as an Account Executive, managing social media, pitching press releases, and boosting brands like Pottery World and The Big Day of Giving. We delve into her impactful five-year tenure at the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, where she personally raised over $3.5 million, and her significant contributions to the local PR scene with PRSA.
Erica shares insights into her current, newly created role at AFSP, highlighting the unique opportunity to shape the organization’s brand marketing efforts. We explore AFSP’s groundbreaking partnership with the band Papa Roach, which has not only raised funds but also significant awareness for suicide prevention through music and concerts. The conversation touches on the evolving landscape of social media, the rise of influencers, and the burgeoning role of AI, while emphasizing AFSP’s vital work in promoting mental health awareness and safe communication practices, especially among young people with campaigns like “Seize the Awkward.”
Key Topics:
- MKTNG’s 10th Anniversary
- Erica’s MKTNG Beginnings as an Account Executive
- Erikc’s transition to brand marketing at AFSP.
- AFSP’s Critical Mission: suicide prevention and mental health awareness.
- The impactful Papa Roach partnership for AFSP.
- Supporting Youth Mental Health: The “Seize the Awkward” campaign.
- The Evolving Marketing Scene: Insights on social media trends, influencers, and AI’s emergence.
- MKTNG Memories: Recalling the “Art Hotel” project and the value of in-person collaboration.
- Erica’s expertise in social media and digital communication.
- Erica’s commitment to learning and development through the AMA.
Transcription:
Scott: All right Today we are thrilled to welcome Erica Johnson a dynamic force in marketing and community impact to the MKTNG 10 Year Podcast Erica’s journey is all about passion and perseverance and she’s currently shining as the Associate Director of Brand Marketing at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention There she keeps the marketing engine humming ensuring seamless collaboration across writing PR social media and production making a real difference one campaign at a time Erica also spent over 5 years with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in Sacramento where she raised over $3.5 1000000 But let’s rewind a little bit Erica’s no stranger to MKTNG where she rocked it as an account executive for us back in 2015-2016 managing client social media pitching press releases and boosting brands like Pottery World and The Big Day of Giving Erica was also a part of our art hotel project with DBA Arts and M5 Arts From her early days at Sacramento State to her impactful tenure at the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and her contributions to the local PR scene PRSA Erica built a career on determination leadership and a knack for connecting people Get ready for an inspiring chat with this er- er- organized upbeat leader who’s all about positive vibes and big results All right Erica welcome All right
Erica: That was such a kind introduction I really appreciated that
Scott: Well it’s all legit I looked it u- I looked it all up
Erica: I do have good history I’ve kept for sure on a lot of my various platforms So I was like- Yeah Wow I have some of this in my notes too
Scott: You’ve- You’ve got good PR
Erica: Yes
Scott: As you should ’cause you’ve been busy I’m so glad to catch up with you and talk more about what you’ve been into ’cause I’ve only just you know We’ve bumped into each other couple times in the last 10 years But- Yep Uh you’ve been up to so much so I’m looking forward to hearing what’s new Tell me a little bit just share right now what’s- what’s going on uh with your current gig
Erica: Yeah So I am brand new to a brand new role So it’s really fun to step into a position where no one else has really molded it before So becoming the first associate director of brand marketing is a really cool and special and humbling opportunity for- for me to not only continue to make an impact in the realm of suicide prevention and mental health but also to support my colleagues and my fellow chapter staff members as someone who came from the fundraising volunteer development side as an area director So it’s really helpful to have a lot of that context and information like on the ground um with the community and being able to bring that to our c- national communications and marketing team Um so it’s been a really fun last I think it’s been now like 5 or so months um but it’s been over three and a half years or so at AFSP So it’s gone by fast It feels like it could be longer But it’s definitely been a really great place to grow and such inspirational and passionate people both the people I work with as well as the folks that we get to work with as volunteers and board members Um so it’s just a really uh special opportunity and moment I feel like in my career So I’m really excited about it
Scott: Yeah And I’ve seen you guys have had like s- a well a cool partnership that I saw uh just late last year uh with Concerts in the Park even right That you guys- Oh yeah had a thing with Papa Roach and uh- Yes and a song like Was that song that he wrote uh I- I saw like he was donating proceeds was that with your- your organization
Erica: right It was I was not able to be at that Concerts in the Park I was almost at like every other one but that one Uh but my volunteers and board members are amazing and they were able to be there at that Concerts in the Park last summer Um so that was a really cool opportunity for us Definitely was not part of our you know plans for fundraising so it was a really cool extra boost not only to that but also to the general awareness of our organization in the greater Sacramento area So I want to say we raised around like $1200 $1300 or so in that one night um various donation amounts So we really appreciated that Um Papa Roach is amazing and we’re also lucky that they are um from here in the greater Sacramento community too which is why we had that special um moment with them at that Concerts in the Park Um but this upcoming month actually on March 29th they will be at Golden 1 Center and we’ll have the opportunity to table at that event and share our resources and probably hopefully some cool swag And the song that you’re referring to is like the uh Talk Away the Dark song which is actually uh yeah one of the s- the sweatshirt I’m wearing Oh there you go Yeah Representing Um so yeah that is our campaign And then he tied that in or sorry they tied that into uh Keep a Light On and in parentheses So um all anytime anyone listens to that on anything like all of the money r- goes to AFSP in perpetuity so that’s a really cool um just thing that they have done for us And according to my team who’s been working with them um really closely over the last year or 2 since they formed this partnership with us um they’ve just done a lot of things like above and beyond um for our organization Like um I forget who was brought in I want to say it was Carrie Underwood um but they brought her in to do a- another rendition of that song um so that was another cool moment And actually on their tour um marketing materials you can see not only our logo but the 988 logo as well And 988 is the 3digit lifeline number um for those that might be in a suicidal crisis or might just need to talk to someone No one has to actually be in a crisis to um call chat or dial 988 um but it’s really cool that they’ve also included that on their materials So I’m really excited to see how all of this comes together at their concert for the first time
Scott: Yeah That’s What a fantastic partnership and great great for your organization I I I actually have seen the Carrie Underwood video um- Oh good You know Google Google profiled me very accurately and- And uh and and I’ve pro- I’ve probably watched it 4 or 5 times so that’s fantastic And it’s a great song great song
Erica: Yeah Really good song either way or acoustic That’s how they did it live for Concerts in the Park which was cool Even though again wasn’t there they actually streamed it live- on their Instagram so I was able to watch it Um I was in Indianapolis at the time so it was cool to sit on my hotel bed and you know be able to watch it and feel like I was still there Um and they had we had ordered um these little plush um lightbulbs for them to gently throw out into the crowd and we passed out yeah some glow-in-the-dark bracelets to go along with the you know Talk Away the Dark theme So we did our best to to make it an extra special experience too for the attendees of that night
Scott: Yeah super cool Well I look forward We’ll follow up I want to hear how how the concert turns out It sounds fantastic
Erica: Yes I hope I can get a photo with them That would be cool
Scott: Oh yeah There you go There you go That’s fantastic Well anyway let’s let’s let’s go a little bit down memory lane here uh to you know basically almost 10 years ago uh you were an early member of our team Yeah Um so you know I I did prep you with this with some of our questions and like you know favorite clients whatever T- but let’s talk about any fond memories you have
Erica: You know I I I can’t even believe it’s been almost 10 years but uh-
Scott: Yeah it seems like it seems like yesterday But anyway what’s what’s something you remember about working with them
Erica: I had like some initial thoughts but I did have to go back into my LinkedIn because I was like “I know there’s way more than what I’m thinking of right now,” and definitely glad I did because the Art Hotel was probably just a really cool rad experience in the sense of not only did we get to like work on it ahead of time but we got to like see it come to life and got to actually walk through the hotel Um and then beyond the Art Hotel it became you know a few other kind of things too which was just cool to see unfold kind of naturally Um so I really enjoyed that experience and would be cool to see something like that again I don’t think I’ve seen something like that in a little while Um but that was yeah when I went back on my LinkedIn I was like “Oh my gosh how could I forget about the Art Hotel?” So that was pretty rad And then I also wrote down um just meeting at the coffee shop as someone that now works pretty completely remote um I definitely miss that like in-person interaction And so it just made me appreciate the times that we got to get together at that coffee shop that I didn’t get to look up the name of beforehand um and just have that camaraderie and support local business and brainstorming sessions et cetera Um there’s just so much that you can you know accomplish when you’re able to get together in person So it just made me really appreciate um that time a little bit more since I don’t get to have as much of those interactions with my colleagues these days But for whatever reason I just really liked that that coffee shop place It was cool Have a place where you can work and the coffee place is right there so you don’t have to go to 2 different spots All in one place
Scott: Right So for for listeners and just for you as a reminder the coffee shop- Yes was called The The Trade Coffee & Coworking Yes Uh and it was run by Amanda Sanders and uh Matt Kennedy Uh and they actually unfortunately just closed Uh I mean- Oh no 3 or 4 months ago Yeah Yeah They well they they did from you know I I’ve not spoken to them personally um but uh it looked like you know a 10-year lease was up and uh you know- Mm-hmm they just didn’t they didn’t wanna uh re-up for another 10 years perhaps Yeah Um but I lo- I I’m I’m glad you mentioned that ’cause I loved being there and of course we always sponsored uh all-you-can-drink coffee for everybody Mm-hmm And uh and they they had great coffee Um and uh yeah we could you know it was part of our kinda early hybrid culture of work from home- Yeah and get together once or twice a week and have some meetings and some kinda culture-building time and troubleshoot and eavesdrop on what other people in- town were doing that were working at the coffee shop Okay Yeah I always loved that Uh I would call it like the kinda culture of eavesdropping you know Mm-hmm We we would be talking about something and then somebody would be like “Oh wait I saw I wasn’t eavesdropping but I overheard and you know you need a guy and I got a guy.” And and so uh- Yeah Uh that was always fun I I really um we uh we still we still do that We still have like a hybrid culture um but we’ve moved to like a more of a Regus office and I honestly I really do miss it even though they also have coffee but it’s you know like a corporate Keurig or something like that Uh- Not local And uh yeah no it’s just there’s no barista There’s and there’s like a uh there’s a community manager and and she’s very nice Um and the advantage is we can we can work from any Regus office in the country So not trying to plug Regus but uh- it’s very convenient Yeah Uh like we had a we had a client project in Baltimore this year We were able to actually go to Baltimore and host uh a workshop in a Regus uh me- uh office in a conference room Oh nice Um but anyway I miss I miss The Trade and I’m very sad that they’re not there ’cause I would actually go down there and get coffee uh and you know before going out for concerts or other you know Midtown events but Yeah Well
Erica: I’ll have to look- But uh- next time I go to the farmer’s market ’cause I thought I had seen it but I haven’t been in a into the farmer’s mark-Midtown farmer’s market in a little bit So I’ll have to have to see
Scott: Yeah See who’s there what’s going on Yeah I haven’t I haven’t been to that farmer’s market in a minute either a good one So you know so our shop we’re we work across a lot of disciplines so And and you did a lot when you were here Uh so uh you know websites branding social media management public relations What are like what are the aspects of of marketing that that you’re still like really into What what are you doing with the Society of Suicide Prevention that you know gets you excited now
Erica: Yeah Well that’s funny you say that ’cause part of the reason I wanted to make the position switch um which was in my kind of you know 5ish year plan not right after I got married and in middle of my biggest fundraising season time Um but part the reason why I jumped over was because my favorite parts um of my role were getting to the social media and the emails and the outreach and the creativity that can come alongside of those 2 areas Um so for for me it’s social media and you know any you know communication uh digitally usually probably e-newsletters but whatever that uh may entail So I tend to stay probably closest to to those 2 Um like I help actually through Gray Dot Media that my friend runs um I actually run Downtown Common’s social media DoCo Oh So yeah So I have been doing that for like the last year with him um so I was able to share that in the interview process um and use and reflect on my Palladio experience um to be able to you know think about how to you know be um a personality for DoCo So I really reflect on that moment with MKTNG just for for that sake um and just other things in that industry too for like retail and restaurants et cetera.Um and then for Big Day of Giving um it was cool to work on that together and then I eventually went to the Leukemia Lymphoma Society and did fundraising and then participated as a nonprofit um through Big Day of Giving and then years later was asked to be a mentor for BDOG So it’s r- and mostly in the realm of like the social media peer-to-peer type of fundraising for myself Um so that’s been really kind of cool to remind myself that you know I’d worked on this you know project and years later um was still involved in it and kind of evolved in different ways So um yeah those are definitely my favorite areas I don’t get to do them directly at AFSP but anything I do volunteer-wise is most likely in the arenas of social media or outreach um anything of that sort But being new more to more specific like marketing and branding in particular um I’m definitely wanting to grow more and gain more just kind of knowledge in that realm like I did with PRSA and PRSSA So um we recently just joined American Marketing Association AMA So I’ve been wanting to get involved I’m still trying to get connected to someone if you know anyone there But yeah that would be Yeah that’s kind of my next step in my professional growth back in the realm of communications and marketing is like really diving more into like marketing specifically so I can support I have 2 marketing managers I oversee now um so I wanna be able to make sure that they can grow um in the realm of marketing um ’cause mine kind of still I feel like come from a social media PR type of standpoint um But I know they’re all we know all they’re all fluid together in various ways
Scott: Right Right Well no that’s So that’s actually a good segue into the- what I was gonna ask you next actually ’cause I wanted to talk to you about what you’ve seen change in the last 10 years uh you know in- Social marketing and PR
Erica: Yeah Yeah Yeah social media of course Not just like how acca- accounts I mean brands are handling their their feeds but even just like people in general It’s very interesting like how people are more reserved to post on their feed or maybe more reserved to engage interact share And those are things that are so simple and can help you know especially local and small businesses um so that’s been always interesting Um but influencers and like content creators are pretty big now too I don’t get to work with them as much directly but I have yeah some friends that do that type of work on their day-to-day and then we have our team that does that too for AFSP um and we’re we do it for DoCo as well So that one is more interesting in terms of like what is the vision and being able to give that to them and also allow them to come up with their own you know creative touches to that process um so that’s been a new and exciting experience for me And I feel like between now and like 10 years ago I still feel like things were still kind of getting into that direction but it’s not like it is to the level now that you know brands are even leaning on those um you know people that help to make that content Um and then of course uh AI and automation I don’t know too much I’m trying to be ready to embrace it Um but definitely it’s something um that is could be helpful especially someone like me that I can’t really visualize or give a painting of something that I want Like I can take a Canva template and like change things around but if Iwanted to come up with like something brand new I think it could be cool to see like oh if you type in you know XYZ details it can give you like some visuals to to work with as a visual person so So yeah that area I just know is coming and it’ll just be interesting to see how it hopefully interweaves with communications and marketing ’cause I know it it’s a little scary at the same time for me personally Right So as someone that hasn’t Like I’ve never done a ChatGPT I’ve never haven’t really used any of the AI tools that are popping up in various um yeah platforms I’m just like I’ll I’ll wait till I need to have to I don’t know
Scott: Yeah Well hey there’s a lot of people who are embracing it and there’s people who are keeping it at arm’s length Um but it’s definitely here We we use it a lot um but uh yeah uh it as AI you know obviously and how it’s you know being used in social media is uh evolving like very quickly right Um uh that aside is there anything uh that you see that you feel like is is changing now or will change into the future Like what do you think the next 10 years looks like
Erica: Gosh I was trying to think of what that could look like and I guess for me it’s um interesting question as I plan to be at AFSP for many years to come and we’re such a small organization like maybe 175 people across the country um that we’re still like just building things for our organization both you know external-facing and internal-facing when it comes to communication marketing efforts So in my head I’m I’m more so thinking about you know how can I bring my knowledge and skills to better support not only this team but the whole organization and hopefully you know continuing to build out our communications marketing team um because I definitely think there are a lot of other areas of opportunity that we can lean into and grow into as an organization or support each other um in various ways a bit more whether it’s you know with our um fundraising development type of work or with helping our volunteers and staff members with you know producing newsletters that not only contain you know national info but their local info So my my brain I guess has always been more focused on like how I’m seeing um myself being able to show up for AFSP and other organizations I volunteer for um but as I get more into AMA and do some of their various um programming and trainings that they have online there’s definitely some that are in that arena that I’m I’m gonna be tuning into um hopefully with my team So I guess more to come I just hope that Yeah It’s just a little scary still I don’t know why I’m a scared person But I know it’ll be good once I can understand how it can be helpful more to me and and non-profits since that’s the space I’ve been pretty much in the last um over 8 8 years or 10 years now at this point so
Scott: Right Right Well let me ask you this uh ’cause you talked we we talked about social media and 10 years ago and 10 years ago I was still uh probably very evangelical about the about social media and community building and kind of an optimist Mm-hmm Um but I would imagine social media there’s a there’s a a a role that it plays in your organization uh in terms of suicide prevention right Like I just- You hear now and of course as a as a father of now grown young ladies but- uh there is just a a greater awareness about its uh its effect on young people So uh do you mind sharing a little bit about wha- ho- what what does the role of your organization play in terms of you know building awareness am- among young people and their use of social media
Erica: Yeah Yeah That’s a good one This is where I wish like my social media folks were were here ’cause my role I do oversee more I’m more like kind of like a project manager type role in the organization so I I know a lot of information but I’m definitely not too in the weeds in some of these different areas but I I do know that we work closely with Meta and X and the various organizations to be able to have those conversations with them directly so it’s nice that we have these relationships to be able to uh reach out when we feel that there are things that are concerning to our organization Um so that has been like really great for us to just have those ’cause I would say 10 years ago we didn’t even have uh a communications marketing team so that was not something you know that we were even doing at the time um but we have um a pr- um communications campaign I mean called Seize the Awkward It’s in conjunction with the Ad Council and NAMI or National Alliance on Mental Illness and that is really geared towards the 16 to 24 age group but me and my volunteers would say it’s for everyone So um- that is just a great um place to go and account to have for young people ’cause it’ll be positive inspirational hopeful give them reminders of you know checking in on a friend and what can that look like um ’cause sometimes the hardest part for folks is like what to say Like “What do I say if I’m concerned about a friend or a loved one?” Um and there’s no- magical phrase or word or sentence but it can be just a simple “Hey I’ve been thinking about you How are you doing?” Or “It’s been a long time since we chatted I just wanted to check in.” Or maybe if you did see something concerning just reaching out and say “Hey I saw you know this post It it can you know worry me about you Do you wanna get together and possibly chat or hop on a phone call?” Um so we are working um in that sense to help at least produce content to be able to um yeah just inspire that generation to check in with one another ‘Cause I know between just COVID times and just everything’s just so digital now so it’s just a different world than how you and me grew up of course Um I think whatever we can do to have uh good you know positive hopeful content that also can be resourceful for anyone I think um has been really our our focus too Um so we’ll also share you know numbers beyond 988 um for different community groups um throughout the year So you know we do our best to to try to stay um in tune in in in that sense Um but I think there’s definitely still more work to be done and things are changing every day right now I don’t wanna get all political and things ’cause that’s not my jam anyways but- um you know that’s just uh you know things are There’s just yeah a lot of moving pieces right now that we’re all also navigating too So um we just gotta stay on on our toes at all times just like anyone in communications and be ready to reach out and support Um but yeah that’s that’s kind of I think where where we’re at right now
Scott: Oh very cool You uh you Uh I love hearing about all the partnerships and sounds like you guys do have a lot of uh tools at your disposal That’s fantastic
Erica: Yeah We’re gonna have more great resources to come for for lots of different folks in just the the media realm in general So we’re really excited about just being able to give you know not only content creators or influencers resources on how to make safe content in regards to mental health and suicide prevention but also um folks that are you know in the media space like in the news Um just simple things like um knowing that we don’t wanna say someone committed suicide that they died by suicide or took their life Just even small minor you know changes like that can really help to ensure the safety of communicating about these unfortunate tragic events but also trying to you know bring awareness that there is help and hope out there Um so we are doing our best to also provide all of that helpful information and details to to all different types of folks that create content for the media landscape right now
Scott: Yeah Very good Well I I know ’cause I follow you you you’re you do tons of stuff You like to post about the Kings Yeah And- Like the band you you and Rodney who’s not on the internet uh like to go and and travel to Vegas it seems like uh I see
Erica: I know love Vegas We will both be there soon for friends’ bachelor parties- bachelorettes
Scott: Oh good Good Oh that’s a it’s a good destination for that Uh tell me about like what like what brands like what what what’s exciting you in the online space right now Is there anybody doing anything that you just think is like uh super cool aside from you guys obviously- Yeah off the road Not everybody gets a rock and roll partner But uh yeah tell me what what what’s fun for you right now What what’s exciting
Erica: Good question I had a hard time thinking about this which is hilarious ’cause it was definitely an interview question one time when I interviewed at The Honey Agency long time ago Mm-hmm So you think I would have had an answer by now for this Um I I think for myself just from like a content creation standpoint in general um there’s a funny image I can find later um but I I really like the carousel look Like I I think Reels and videos and TikToks and things are great Um I only have so much attention span to put those together though personally so props to all of y’all that really like that type of work But a good classic carousel really nice Um I especially like it from a nonprofit standpoint and being able to share you know a volunteer’s journey um you know with our organization so we can share multiple photos from when they were first volunteering to when they you know did this and that got an award et cetera So I I just think it it helps to create yeah that personal touch um a bit more than just that that one static image Um but also not to the long extent ’cause not everyone has time especially nonprofits Not everyone has time to make Reels and videos and TikToks Like that that is a definitely a lot more work than just taking some photos and whipping them together Um so that for me is usually what I like to look for Um I mean it’s not one I uh like am always looking at but there was a cool post on like Panda Express um ’cause they are in DoCo Um and it was one uh s- uh frame was like a broken piece of a fortune cookie and then like the whole fortune cookie saying just went for like 5 more slides And it I just really liked that ’cause they’re just little simple things that are fun and different and interactive and engaging It um and you don’t need for it to look super fancy shmancy um but you can have a fun message to to get across So I’m always looking for ways that we can make various carousels whether it’s more photo focused or maybe it’s something where yeah you have lines that are connected um so it seems like you know a very seamless um swiping um effect Um so that’s 10 I guess where I tend to lean into more is just trying to be creative in that that arena Um but there’s a lot of great uh organizations and accounts out there that I just don’t have off the top of my head because I stare at so many of them and they’re all awesome in their own ways Um but I would say like Mental Health America um from like a uh mental health and suicide prevention standpoint has some pretty good um content too Like when I looked at their feed last I was like “Oh wow.” Like just whatever they do is just it makes it look really nice in that Instagram feed And I guess that’s what I kind of care about I do still love Facebook There’s a lot of power in the Facebook still But Instagram is kind of like where my where my heart is and where I try to think about like “Oh is this gonna look good on the feed?” And now we have a new feed look so then we gotta rethink how we take our photos again. So um you know uh meta’s always been meta and keeping us on our toes too. So that’s kind of where I lean for for that
Scott: Yeah Right on Well uh lastly I just wanted to ask uh do you you wanna give uh people who are viewing like where can they find the suicide prevention uh accounts that you’re in part in charge of
Erica: Yes You can follow the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention AFSP @AFSPNational across all the channels Um we’re even on Blue Sky now I have not even joined Blue Sky yet Uh I’m just like “I don’t know I think I’m gonna just stick with my Facebook Instagram.” I just like those 2 classics um but maybe in the future Um and then depending on where you live um we do have over 70 local AFSP chapters so if you’re here in Greater Sacramento look up AFSP Greater Sacramento um or you can go to our website to find your local AFSP chapter if you are not in Sacramento, California So we even have a chapter in Puerto Rico if anyone from there is tuning in so
Scott: There you go Yeah There you go I love it Well thank you for joining us today Erica It’s was such a delight to catch up with you and hear about your current work which is obviously of great great consequence Uh always love seeing you and love seeing what you’re doing
Erica: Thank you Scott
Scott: So thanks again All right Okay
Erica: Bye everyone
