As students around the country return to school, the second cycle of PromaxBDA’s Promo Pathway — an intensive training program focused on writing, producing and editing on-air promotions— is coming to a close. But while these current Promo Pathway students are winding down their studies, their journey into the industry is only beginning. Following their graduation on Thursday, September 19, and a Creative Review on September 20 showcasing their work from the past year to all industry comers, the second class of Promo Pathway students will be ready to transition successfully into the on-air promotions workplace—if they haven’t already.









Murphy Gilson is one of many industry employers who have benefited from the success of Promo Pathway students. Since the program’s inception in 2011, Participant Media’s creative director has hired two of its graduates, Cesar Fonseca and Arvell Moore, to assist with Participant’s new Pivot network, which launched on August 1. Brief spoke with Gilson about what Promo Pathway means to him personally and professionally, and to the industry at large.

BRIEF: Many veterans of on-air promotions came to the industry by accident—how did you get your start?

MURPHY GILSON: I actually answered an ad in the newspaper, back when people could find jobs in the newspaper. I went to Butler and studied radio and television and film and graduated there and wanted to make TV shows, but in Indianapolis, in the Midwest there, you can’t just graduate from school and start making TV shows. So I kind of cobbled together a freelance career and it was good and I was busy, but it was unpredictable, a little unstable, and I always had to hustle. I felt like I wasn’t getting enough sleep, so I needed a full-time gig. I was just flipping through the paper and the local PBS affiliate was looking for an on-air promotions manager and I knew virtually nothing about on-air promotions, but for some reason they hired me. And that’s how I got started in the business… 20 years ago next April.

How did you get involved with Promo Pathway?

I fell into this business—nobody comes to it on purpose—but along the way I found a great love and passion for what I do. I found things in it that were really interesting and exciting and that I really enjoyed, and I thought it was a shame that so many people come into this unexpectedly, that there are so few people who really come to it with a passion and embrace it as a career option. So when I learned about this program, I just thought this was exactly the sort of thing that I wish I had when I was a kid in Indiana: somebody saying here is a way to use your skills in a way that maybe you hadn’t considered but could still be really valuable and engaging.

So, from a personal standpoint I always wished a program like this had existed, but from a professional standpoint—I spend a lot of my time grooming and developing young talent, and if there is a system that helps nurture young people coming into this career to show up to the job with some training, with some awareness of the industry, then that’s good for me too. It’s a solid win-win. It made perfect sense to be involved.

To date, you’ve hired two former Promo Pathway students to work at Participant Media. How did that come about?

I came and sat in a couple classes during [the first cycle] in Santa Monica, so I met Arvell and Cesar there and was right away struck by both of them. There was a lot of potential there that could really be shaped into something powerful. Right away, I said “These two cats are going to be really special.” There were a lot of others too, but for some reason I connected with those two. When I found an opportunity for a place that they fit [at Participant], I picked up the phone and was really excited to get them in here.

What was it about their skill sets that resonated with you?

They both demonstrated they knew how to put together a spot, and I know that sounds like a given for what we do, but you’d be surprised how most people don’t really digest all of the tools of the trade, all of the things that you need to do when you create a good spot. They both understood narrative, which is really important to me because I think spots tell story and most people don’t recognize that going in. But Cesar and Arvell really do. When I saw their spots I saw the stories.

From an employer’s perspective, how do you feel Promo Pathway is preparing students like Cesar and Arvell to enter the on-air promotions workforce?

A lot of the success of the program depends on who is selected for it, because a lot of those characteristics you can’t teach: The passion, the drive, the being open to learning. [Those] can’t be taught. It’s the skills, the nuts and bolts, the philosophy, that gets taught at Promo Pathway. Knowledge can be transferred, but passion that really can’t be. The [Promo Pathway] selection process so far has really drafted some excellent candidates with those qualities. If you find passionate, engaged people and then you provide them with this opportunity to take their raw ambition and skills and translate them into something like this profession, it’s going to be successful.

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