Natalia Adame had always dreamed of working entertainment, but felt the career path was nonexistent. A chance run-in with a PromaxBDA Promo Pathway graduate was all Adame needed. Already armed with a marketing degree, Adame applied and was accepted into the program, and went on to land an internship at ABC during the Promo Pathway application process.

Today, Adame is the marketing coordinator of synergy and strategic partnerships at Disney-ABC Television Group. Daily Brief contributor Kareem Taylor talked with Adame about her journey to Promo Pathway, learning to create promos and getting the most out of the program.

DAILY BRIEF: What exactly does your title mean and what do you do at ABC?

ADAME: Well, the reason the title is so long is because I’m part of two teams — Synergy and Partnerships. On the partnerships side, I support everything that has to do with our efforts of connecting and building relationships with external partners to promote our content and promote their businesses. If we have a show for The Bachelor, we will reach out to different businesses and pitch ideas to build an interesting and original campaign. We also do conventions like Comic Con where we promote our content. We also organize screenings around the country to promote the TV shows we have. And we also work closely with the cable affiliates, DirecTV, AT&T. On the Synergy side, it’s similar but you work with internal entities. You’d be supporting and getting support from the other business entities like Lucas Films, Marvel, the parks and cruise line, every single business unit that Disney has. Whenever they need to cross promote, they will come talk to us to say ‘Hey, how can we work together to make this bigger?’

How did you get this job?

I started an internship with ABC in the promo department. I got to cut a little bit of content, but when I started I had none of these skills. I was in Promo Pathway at the same time I was doing that internship. I was there for six months and my internship was going to be over by then and it was a combination of opportunity and someone supporting me here at ABC. I went through the whole process of interviews and that’s how I got it.

Can you talk to me about your journey leading up to Promo Pathway?

I’ve always been passionate about creating content and telling stories. I graduated and worked at a boutique advertising agency, but I felt the need to pursue entertainment. I said ‘You know what? I’m moving to LA.’ I booked a one way ticket, packed my bags and looked for a place to stay. I saw a girl that I’d volunteered with at a film festival, and she seemed so happy and confident. I was like ‘What are you doing?’ I saw that she was working at Warner Bros. I noticed she did this thing called Promo Pathway, which I had no ideas what it was. I went to the site, read the description and said ‘Are you kidding me?’ This sounds perfect, it sounds way too good to be true. I had no idea that there was a career path so specific to entertainment. During the admissions process, you have to submit a project. There was an executive there — a few days after that, I got an email from ABC asking if I’m interested in an internship. I quit my full time job and I didn’t think twice.

Learn more about Promo Pathway or reach out to Rachel Wyatt at rachel.wyatt@promaxbda.org.

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