an interesting job...perhaps...

[skategeezer]

check it out...

http://fusemarketing.com/jobs

Account Supervisor: Skateboarding Editorial Expert
CategoryPosition TypeFull TimeLocationBurlington, VTDate Posted3/11/2008 DescriptionFuse is seeking an individual with four or more years of communications and editorial experience to fill the role of Account Supervisor.

Responsibilities include developing editorial plans and supervising the implementation of the plan. This includes strong writing organization and communications skills, editorial content development, client services (leading client meetings and calls), managing client budgets and project supervision.

The individual must have a sound understanding of editorial content and management, media relations, youth culture, action sports (skateboarding and skate culture specifically). He or she will work in either Fuse's Burlington, Vermont or New York, New York office. Any editorial or publishing experience a major plus.
Skills and Education RequirementsEducation Requirements
College Graduate with appropriate communications and/or journalism degree.

Skill Requirements
Knowledge and skills in the following areas are required: developing content concepts, story angles, etc.; ability to assign and manage a group of contributing writers and photographers; ability to oversee online integration of communications tools; written and verbal communication; client communications; client services; verbal and in-person presentation; project management and supervision; the ability to work with groups and individuals; culture trends (knowledge of youth culture, action sports and skateboarding required); and competence in Microsoft Word, Excel and Power Point.
OtherNo phone calls please.

[sk8norcal]

haven't heard of them,

alternative to MTV ?

Fuse TV - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fuse.tv

[RastamanD]

wells.......

[WyleKeaton]

haven't heard of them,

alternative to MTV ?

Fuse TV - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

They've been around for a while - they used to be MuchMusic Television, a Canadian based station, and a few years ago switched to Fuse. It's pretty good. They play a lot of music videos and really cover the spectrum. But I'd say they mostly play "alternative" styles. Some Emo crap, Foo Fighters, nancy-boy hard rock like 30 Seconds to Mars. They also have some cool interviews with bands and cover events like the Vans tours, Family Values Tour and the likes...

I like this job posting thing. Thanks - If you ever see any more along these lines of companies, I'd be interested. You never know what may come along.

[skategeezer]

i think fuse is a marketing/promotions company...

[Steve Ignorant]

I got to be in the audience for Daily Download a while back when I went to NYC, although I don't know if they still air that program. It's been a while since I've had digital cable. Although, I did get to meet the lead singer for Motion City Soundtrack. He was totally lame.

[sk8norcal]

i think fuse is a marketing/promotions company...

oops, you are right,
different fuse

cereals and action sports...
Sports Business Journal - Honeycomb Cereal Gets a Little Attitude

PR Week Youth Marketing Article

[sk8norcal]

News
The latest goings-on at Fuse
The Front Lines of Youth Culture
// Burlington Free Press - 2006-08-28
By Leslie Wright

August 28, 2006
Ford Motor Co. had a problem: how to make a small pickup socially acceptable to hipsters.

A tiny marketing firm in Burlington called Fuse had the answer: the Snow Truck, the Dirt Truck and the Water Truck.

Each was a "dream vehicle" customized to be magnets to young adults. The Snow Truck featured built-in Sony PlayStations, top-of-the-line stereos and features like a terrain park type of rail attached to the side of the truck.

At Fuse's recommendation, Ford sponsored the Vans Triple Crown, a series of competitions in different "action" sports, including surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding, where the trucks appeared.

Fuse helped the corporate giant navigate the sometimes bumpy roads of youth marketing, giving the brand credibility before a notoriously fickle audience in the $450 billion youth market.

"We helped them have a younger look and feel on-site at these events than they typically would to market the brand at a consumer event," said Brett Smith, one of three partners at Fuse.

Fuse has done the same for other national corporations, such as PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble and Kohl's Corp. department stores and brands like Mountain Dew, Right Guard and Tag Body Spray.

Cultural diplomacy

Translating youth culture was a skill Smith, 35, learned early in life. As a Boston University student, he approached the school's administration about starting a snowboarding club. The administrator had never heard of the sport, so he scheduled a second appointment and returned with photographs and magazines and offered an explanation.

After college, Smith again found himself a middleman between youth culture and the establishment. A winter of riding his snowboard in Killington turned into a three-year job when he discovered a bunch of unhappy snowboarders at the resort. He offered to act as liaison between the riders and resort management and proposed that he receive a free season's pass for his efforts.

Instead, he got a job.

Joining Fuse in 1996 seemed a logical next step for the cultural diplomat. He came on board the three-person boutique firm at about the same time action sports were finding their way into the mainstream through events like ESPN's X Games.

In Fuse's early days the company, called Fuse Sports Marketing, helped corporations decipher these emerging sports and helped them tap into what would become an explosive new market.

One of Fuse's early clients was Mountain Dew. The PepsiCo brand wanted to connect with Burlington snowboard maker Burton Corp., hoping that company's credibility would rub off on Mountain Dew's image, Smith said.

More recently, Fuse guided the soda company to sponsorship of two up-and-coming snowboard athletes.

"At the time some people within action sports recognized those athletes as solid athletes. They certainly weren't huge, mainstream recognized athletes yet. Mountain Dew bought on to the recommendation that our team put together to sponsor those athletes and we've maintained that relationship. That obviously paid off," Smith said.

The athletes were Hannah Teter and Shaun White, who both won gold medals at the Olympics in Italy last winter.

Keeping relevant

With so-called alternative sports firmly entrenched in the mainstream, one wonders whether will the navigation services of a boutique agency like Fuse would continue to be relevant? The answer is yes, said Matt Creamer, a reporter at trade publication Advertising Age in New York City.

"It is mainstream, but if you are going to do it right you still have to know how to talk to that crowd," Creamer said.

As alternative sports get bigger, they draw the attention of larger corporations that want a piece of the multi-billion dollar marketplace. Teen-through-college spending amounts to more than $450 billion a year, according to Alloy Media + Marketing, a youth marketing firm based in New York City.

Burton Corp. turned to Fuse for help managing sponsorship for the U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships from 1998 to 2002, the snowboard maker's signature event. As the U.S. Open got bigger, Burton needed Fuse to help find the right sponsors for the event and make sure once they were there, they fit in, said Bryan Johnston, vice president for global marketing at Burton. While the increased sponsorship dollars were a plus, Burton had to be careful to preserve the event's image as a premier, authentic snowboarding competition.

"Larger commercial consumer product companies realized this was a very interesting place for them to reach out to a new customer base. So out of necessity, organizers had to embrace them," Johnston said. "We say it jokingly, and I don't mean it egotistically; we turn down as much sponsorship as we accept because it's not a good fit."

As action sports grew, Fuse Sports Marketing also evolved, changing its name to Fuse and widening its net to include music, fashion and culture. The three-person firm that Smith joined now employs 35 people full time and contracts with another 35 workers who are fanned out across the country at various events and promotions. In 2003, Fast Company magazine named the firm to it's annual Fast 50 list for "in-the-trenches achievement."

Broadening Fuse's reach made sense, Smith said. Fuse already had staff on the front lines at youth-centered events with a first-hand look at the convergence of fashion, music and sports.

"We are constantly out interacting with consumers and observing what's going on in the culture," Smith said. "As a function of the work we do, we're plugged in."