The earliest of mobile tour managers can be traced back to the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, which debuted in 1936. It’s a unique role within the experiential marketing universe, one that involves protecting millions of dollars in investments; managing staff, schedules and logistics; and serving as the first line of contact customers have with a brand.
We’ve followed and covered an array of fresh tour programs this year, and it got us thinking that it was time to go behind “the wheel” again and get to know the professionals on the front lines. And so, meet: Romel Martin. Martin has lived and worked in the touring experiential industry for more than 20 years. As an emcee and longtime tour manager with Lime Media and several other companies, he has put in some serious miles representing brands across beauty, beverage, wireless, auto and more.
On tour for weeks or months at a time, Houston-based Martin is driving long stretches of highway, managing brand ambassadors, setting up custom builds, giving away samples and swag, and interacting with thousands of consumers—his favorite part of the job. Martin’s playbook for success comes down to a lot of resourcefulness, flexibility and learning on the fly. He’s even recently co-founded his own staffing and promotions agency, Epic 5 Marketing, to bring events to life.
Martin took a break from his travels to speak with us about building his career as a tour manager, lessons he’s learned along the way and some of his most memorable experiences that show how no two days on the road are ever the same.
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Romel Martin
Event Marketer: How did you get into touring?
Romel Martin: In my 20s, I was working at a radio station in Chicago as part of a street team. We would go to different parties and events to hype up the radio station, and then someone asked me if I wanted to do events on the corporate side. I didn’t even think that existed, and it just grew from there. I was doing small events locally around Chicago and then worked more with touring, and I loved it.
EM: What are the necessary skills for being a tour manager?
RM: As long as you like people, everything else is just improvising. If you’re great at thinking quickly on your feet, the tour life is going to be good for you. There are always going to be different types of fires to put out, like replacing a generator that fails. It’s important to have some type of mechanical skills, great communication and be able to lead and delegate.
You have to manage a staff and make sure they’re working and taking breaks, especially when it’s hot outside. You have to have empathy. It can be like “The Real World” (remember that show on MTV?). I did a tour where I managed 15 people, and they traveled with me across the U.S. doing events. There’s so much more to it than just seeing the world or giving away free samples. You’re a therapist, camp counselor, tour manager, mechanic. I’ve probably dealt with everything you can think of on the road.
I even tried to go work a regular nine-to-five, but it’s so hard to describe what we do in experiential marketing because it’s so niche and a lot of people don’t know that this world exists. I bring brands to life. I travel the country. I’ve probably dabbled in everything from CRM software to learning how to use an engraving machine—I worked a liquor campaign where we engraved bottles. It’s just such a broad field where you do so much that it’s hard to put on a resume.
EM: Take us through an average day on the road. What does your schedule look like?
RM: First of all, you have to drive there, so it’s maybe a three- or four-day drive through the U.S., stopping at hotels because you can only drive 10 hours a day. Once you get there, you do a site check and talk to the client to make sure everything’s good and the location is great. For me, I’m an early bird, so if the call time is 7 a.m., I’m there at 6 a.m. just to make sure everything’s going well.
For the activation, I put the vehicle in location and start setting up. When the staff arrives, they help with setup and get their uniforms. And before the activation starts, I give them a pep talk and give each person their role. During the activation time, I’m putting out fires and talking to people. Once it ends, we’re breaking down.
I feel like the breakdown is the hardest part because everybody’s tired. Everybody kind of just wants to throw everything back in the truck because they’re ready to go home, but you have to find your chi and put it in nicely. That equipment has to last throughout a long tour of six or seven months. We have to handle everything with care. And then you do it all over again the next day.
EM: What’s a memorable story you’ve picked up from a tour?
RM: I did a program in New York City with a very big Plinko machine, where you’d drop something in and win a prize. It stopped working. There was a long line for the game, and people were cursing us out. I had to come up with something, so I closed the doors on the game and had the New Yorkers knock on the door. As they knocked, I said, “Hi, I’m the genie for the day. I will be saying whether you get the prize or not.” I literally went into this character, and for hours, people lined up just waiting to be nicely insulted, like “You’re not getting a prize. Get out of here!” I would just say random stuff, and they loved it.
EM: What are the pros and cons of working on the road?
RM: The pro is you get to travel the country and get money for hotels and food. If you like people, this is the perfect job. I genuinely love talking to people and bringing smiles to their faces. That energizes me to talk to them and hear about their day. We’re like psychologists without the degree because people just walk up and tell you their life story. It happens every time I work; somebody will hang out with me and start talking.
The con is you’re away from your family. I’m married with four children, and even though I’ve missed a lot, I always still manage to be at home for all of the important things. I’ve made it home for all of the births of my children.
EM: Do you have any travel hacks or tips?
RM: Bring zip ties wherever you go. If something breaks down, you need zip ties to make it work until you can get new equipment. Show up early to get in front of any issues. I’m always an hour or two early.
EM: What tour are you on right now, and what have been some other tours that have stuck with you?
RM: I’m on a suicide prevention awareness campaign in Kansas City for a month. We’re driving around trucks with mobile billboards showing actual quotes from people who have called in to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It has been a very eye-opening campaign.
I’ve been working in promotions for so long that I did a tour on college campuses promoting Facebook. I did the beginning campaigns for Keurig, where we were going to office buildings and giving out free coffee and showing off the machine. When the Nintendo Wii was coming out, I was helping get it into people’s hands.
That’s another benefit of the job; it’s always something new and you never get tired of it. After a few months, there’s a new product or campaign, and you’re bringing new smiles to people’s faces.
