Allison Ullrich
Manager, College & Lifestyle Marketing
Joined The Orchard in January 2012
As the head of our nationwide College Marketing efforts, what the #&@$ do you do Allison?!!?
The Orchard’s College Marketing Team is comprised of 10 college students who are located in NYC, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Austin, Minneapolis, Denver, LA, Seattle, and San Francisco. Our College Reps are in charge of promoting selected releases across their markets for two weeks by hitting up independent retail, lifestyle accounts and college campuses with physical promotional materials that the artists’ labels create. These promo materials can be anything like posters and stickers, to koozies, lighters or temporary tattoos, all of which often includes an artist’s album artwork, band logo, release information and more. Reps also promote our releases digitally with social accounts they’ve created specifically for this job. Once this two week promotion period (what we call a “Priority Period”) is over, they submit detailed reports including photos and screenshots of their work, which are then compiled and sent off to the labels.
Beyond screening and hiring College Reps, managing their day-to-day work and selecting which releases the team will be promoting, I compile and review all reports before sending them to the Client Managers and labels. If you see me writing notes down in a notebook (which is probably fairly often), that is me taking notes on how each Rep can better improve their physical and digital marketing efforts for the next Priority Period.
Do you ever have a chance to get creative in your role?
Yes! I often get to work with the Client Managers and Interactive Marketing team to develop ideas for the College Marketing campaigns that are presented to the record label we’re working with. For example, Daptone Records created buttons, posters, and stickers for Charles Bradley’s album Changes. The College Reps utilized the #CharlesForChange theme by targeting people around on-campus elections, in addition to their regular lifestyle accounts. More recently, we collaborated with Cleopatra Records to create USB sticks for The Anix that contained an unreleased track with video footage. These USBs were left at various gaming locations around their markets, often times with the stores re-sharing the digital post our Reps created to promote the album.
Although you lead a component of our marketing department now, you didn’t start that way. Can you tell us about your beginnings at The Orchard and how you got to where you are now?
I actually started at The Orchard as CEO Brad Navin’s Executive Assistant and held that position for three years, until I officially switched over to run our newly created College & Lifestyle Marketing Team in January 2015. During my time as Brad’s EA, I helped with the expansion of our office, planned many company events, saw the early beginnings of our now flourishing Film Team come together and much more.
Sounds like a multifaceted job done by a multitalented person. Thanks for telling us what the &%$* you do!
Favorite vacation: Hiking in Glacier National Park in Montana. If you’re into hiking, you have to try this National Park out!
Lunch spot of choice near The Orchard: Great Jones Cafe (you have to try their chili!).
random fact: I was straight up denied by Beyonce. When I was 12 years old and attending an N*SYNC concert in Houston (…no shame), I spotted Beyonce sitting with Destiny’s Child. Without hesitation, I asked for a photo with her and she, very frankly, said “NO”. (It’s ok, I still love you Bey.)
