Cocktails, Tangents and Answers
Cocktails, Tangents and Answers is a marketing podcast that takes you on a ride with our team. We'll kick off every episode with a little chat, a cocktail recipe (sometimes basic, sometimes craft, sometimes bougie) before we get into a conversation to tackle some of the pressing marketing questions of the day. And of course, our brains take us on some of the most wonderful tangents. Come along for the ride!
Cocktails, Tangents and Answers
Team Spotlight: Riley Collins
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Meet Riley Collins
Speaker 1welcome back to cocktails, tangents and answers. I am caitlin, your designated office extrovert, and I'm here to ask some endearingly nosy questions of my favorite boy digital specialist, because we have Riley and Jamie. Jamie is female, so my favorite boy digital specialist, riley, the mastermind behind some of our sharpest strategies and slickest digital campaigns, but he's so much more than just a dashboard and a paid ad. Riley is a cat dad to two feline co-workers who we love to see on camera. Sadly, you're in the office today so they will not be making an appearance. Tyson and Bora and is recently married. How are you? Thank you for being here. Oh, we got the bling. I love it love it.
Speaker 2I am very well. Thank you for the very nice introduction listen, I just read.
Speaker 1I just read. I'm like ron ron burgundy I read what's on the cue cards yes, but also I do mean I do mean all of the things that I said in there. Uh, you are my favorite um. First question and and the the toughest one why is an old fashioned your go-to drink at a bar? I was trying to guess. You tell me why, and then I'm going to give you a little exposition on what I was guessing for you.
Speaker 2Or do you want to guess first?
Speaker 1No well, I know it's an old fashioned, because it says so in the notes but I had some, I had some assumptions before. But why, why an old fashioned? Why is that your, your go-to?
Speaker 2You know, I don't know if I necessarily have like a actual reason for it. Um, I was in that like, oh, they taste good. You know, it just felt right to me. Yeah, I don't know, it's just, you know you're like your palate changes as you get older, like as you drink more and all that kind of stuff and I don't know my favorite drinks usually kind of like cycle out in between.
Speaker 2However long a span will last, it's just a phase, I guess, I don't know, it's just a phase but yeah, I don't know, you're in your old-fashioned era yeah, definitely, um, I don't know, they're just like super simple and it's like one of the drinks that like every bar can make, because it's like two or three things, yeah, so.
Speaker 1Okay, okay, okay. So I was thinking about this because I was trying to guess before. I looked at the notes and I was like it used to be an Amaretto Sour. That was like the go-to, and then it was like nice red wine for a while where you're like I could drink. I mean maybe not like go-to, but you got into wine for a little bit, so this but this like makes sense based on what I know about you.
Speaker 2I don't know. I mean, I still do like all of the above, like don't get me wrong, I'll definitely go back and do that. It's just I don't know, who knows, tomorrow maybe it'll be different, maybe it's like. Manhattan or something completely like off the wall.
Speaker 1Yeah, I love it and I love that. You I mean this kind of speaks to your role with us too, like you'll try anything. You're pretty like roll with the punches. Yeah, definitely, yeah, I would like to start with the basics. Who are you, what do you do here and how long have?
Four Years at Antidote 71
Speaker 2you worked at Antidote 71? So I am Riley Collins. I was born and raised in Sioux City, Iowa, so I've been here all my life. Yes, exactly, I don't know. I just kind of like the not so small town kind of like the middle town, vibe. It's not too busy, not too small, where you don't really have anything around um. I'm also I don't know, I just really like being where I'm comfortable at.
Speaker 2I don't really like to like step way too far out and like change everything at once. Um, not that I like, wouldn't do it at some point. But no, you can't leave it's part of it's in your contract well, it's not that I would leave here to do that, but physical location at some point that's fair, you're you are like a, you're a comfort guy like you know what you like, you want to just like.
Speaker 1That's good. I appreciate that. Also, I really love sioux city. I'm not from here but I I love it here and I'm proud of my. It's my hometown now because, yes, yeah, we moved a bunch when I was a kid.
Speaker 2It's like that, a little bit of like family ties and stuff as well.
Speaker 1Yeah.
Speaker 2It's like I think either most or like all of my immediate family is either in Sioux City or like around, like the surrounding area so. I don't know and I'm like pretty tight with a lot of my close family.
Speaker 1So yeah, that's real sweet. Uh, how long have you worked at at end of 71? Has it been four?
Speaker 2It has been um this weekend it will be four years. I think that's August 2nd.
Speaker 1Oh my gosh. Okay, so my spidey sense was correct when I was like I think it's like four years yeah that's wild that has like gone in like a blink of an eye.
Speaker 2It feels like seriously yeah. I don't know. I was just debating the other day I was like because Megan and I were talking about something and it was like, oh, when somebody else joined us and I was like that was like last year. No, it was two years ago, whoa what.
Speaker 1No, I don't think so. No, I don't think so. I think it's been five minutes and that's just the way it is. Well, I think it's an interesting kind of foray into like how you got here, like this was we're your first job out of college right, Like you had done some internships and like how? I mean I think we've talked about this, maybe even on an episode before, but how did you get here? Maybe even on an episode before. But how did you? How did you get here?
Speaker 2I can't remember if it's, if this is just the conversation that we've had in the office, because I can't not ask people questions but it's kind of been like a weird, not like super unconventional ride. I think technically this. If we're speaking technicality, this might be my second job since graduating college. Okay, Because there was a weird point where I was still looking during that summer for a job, obviously after graduation.
Speaker 1Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2And it was just that weird part where, like, the job market was like just not all there, I mean there wasn't a ton of opportunity, and when something would open you would be competing against like hundred people or something like that Something ridiculous. So, um, for a couple of weeks before I got the job here, I went and worked with my dad over at knife river.
Speaker 2Um, which is funny, because he was like, well, you could come work with me just for the time being, while you find something else and I'm like I mean yeah, I might as well do that and as soon as I did that I started um interviewing for here and then I got the offer literally like a day or two before I started working at knife river. So a lot of the people were like, so you're gonna train just to work here for like a week or two and then you're out and it's like, well, I might slide.
Speaker 2I need to pay my bills exactly so, but they were all fun or they were all like, fine with it, because they've known my dad for so long working there. So, um, but yeah, after that I started working here and it's been a blink of an eye and four years later, here I still yeah, here you still are.
Speaker 1What does a typical day look like for you as a digital specialist?
Speaker 2Honestly, um, it kind of changes, uh, depending on what I'm doing, because we're ahead of all things digital. It's not just like one or two things, um, so it kind of depends on what's at the top of my to-do list. Honestly, um, since I manage like two pretty big, uh clients that work together, really, um, a lot of the stuff that I am doing kind of applies to both. So like, if I do one thing for one, I usually can do another for the other, so like, it's kind of like a doubled to-do list at points. So, but yeah, there's a little bit of strategy that gets thrown in there, while you have a little bit of like optimizations for paid ads or, you know, whatever a client is running. That's kind of what I'm doing day in and day out. But, um, that's kind of what I'm doing day in and day out, um, but yeah, that's, that's. That's the magic of it, that's the magic.
Speaker 1Is there anything that you particularly love or find like rewarding or exciting, as you're, as you're doing things?
Speaker 2I would say being able to strategize like either a big plan like a, either like a paid media plan, or whether it's just like a single campaign or like multiple campaigns that might work off of each other.
Speaker 2Being able to plan that out and hammer out the details and then see the fruit of the labor, kind of come into play with that, because that's where you kind of get your most rewarding pieces is like when you actually see something come to fruition, you know. So, yeah, yeah, I would say that's probably the most rewarding bit because, like with the seo stuff, a lot of that can take so long to actually get rolling or to see anything from it. That, like, sometimes you might do an optimization and then kind of forget that you've done that optimization because it happened too long ago um and then something pops up and you're like I was so smart a month ago.
Speaker 2That's amazing definitely, or you're like, who did this? Oh?
Speaker 1that? Oh, that was me it was me.
Speaker 2But yeah, no, the paid piece is definitely a lot more fast and you can see stuff come from that a lot quicker.
Speaker 1Well, we tell clients that too is like those pieces can work in tandem. Right working on these other kind of organic pieces, that can happen, you know, a slower burn, but can sometimes have greater impact or reward over the long term. Because it's a more sustainable budget path too right, like you're paying for that single operation and then you can apply that later, or you know, grow from that. So I am curious what do you do outside of work?
Speaker 2What are the things you're passionate about outside of work? Well, other than being a cat parent.
Speaker 1Dedicated cat dad. Yes, they're so cute.
Speaker 2Cleaning up messes and playing with them and doing all that fun stuff.
Speaker 1So just a parent got it.
Speaker 2Just a parent, yes, Makes it a little bit harder because you can't really communicate with them.
Speaker 1but they know they wouldn't listen anyway.
Speaker 2Yeah, they would not. No, but they know they wouldn't listen anyway. Yeah, they would not know. We call bora. She's got selective hearing because you can definitely tell that she hears you, her ears are moving, but she just does not pay attention to you. So it's like okay, can I, can I?
Speaker 1tell you of like a real parenting story. The other day dorothy looked at tyrell and I and she said you're not listening to me and we were like we are, we're just not doing the thing that you are demanding of us. So we're like what do you?
Speaker 1we like pulled back and we're like what do you think it means when someone listens to you and she's like it means you do what I want. And I was like, oh, oh, this is the problem. Even if she was listening to you she might be mad anyway welcome to the real world.
Speaker 2Honestly, I was like yeah, this is it, this is how listening works so, but I do understand where it came from yeah yeah, yeah, definitely, other than being a cat parent, um, just kind of watching tv with my newly found wife, or not newly found.
Speaker 1I mean, you found newly, newly, newly wife. Yeah, I was like, you found her like a lot of years ago, right?
Speaker 2long time we've been together I think, this is the ninth. I think yes, wow, we've been together since like 2016, so whatever that math masks out to I think that's fine, not, yeah, that'd be nine years. Yep, so long time Um, I do play a little bit of video games here and there. Um, what do you like?
Speaker 1to play Taco.
Speaker 2Zack. A lot of different stuff, honestly.
Speaker 1Um.
Speaker 2I don't know, just whatever I feel, you know, yeah, like more sports or more like cars or like. Honestly, this is my hot take. I don't like sport video games because they can be so unrealistic. Unless like that's what they want, like if they're trying to be realistic.
Speaker 1Yeah.
Speaker 2They actually make me mad because there's so much stuff that happens. That's unrealistic mad and I'm looking at you this is the hot take that it's like it's hard to actually like want to play the game, but if it's like a cartoony, like style game, where it's like, yeah, we're not like trying to be like a little super mario brothers or like a like a yeah, a little bit like a go-kart mario part.
Speaker 1So sometimes we'll play that.
Speaker 2But yeah, a little bit of everything honestly, so that's fantastic I love it.
Lightning Round and Final Thoughts
Speaker 1Um, I have lightning round questions, yes, which is not really the way that you operate, so let's see how this goes. I feel like you do. You have a gut reaction, but you also have like a you're. You're a very thoughtful person, like it takes there's a filter sometimes, yeah, yeah yeah, yeah, okay, I know this sort of go-to coffee order. It can't be hot go to. That's all I know.
Speaker 2Yes, um, usually it's a latte or like a mocha, something really simple, like two-step.
Speaker 1It's got to be iced, though. Yeah, that's no hot beverage, and not hot tea either. Like no beverages can be hot.
Speaker 2I can drink a hot beverage. Funny enough, while Zach was in town this past weekend, we ate at Perkins and I had hot coffee. That Because that's the only option you get diner coffee.
Speaker 1Zach was in town this past weekend. We ate at Perkins and I had hot coffee that Cause that's the only option you get and it's super cheap.
Speaker 2But I can drink it, but it's not that I'm going to willfully choose for it and choose like, choose not to. Yeah, okay, that makes sense.
Speaker 1Favorite way to spend a weekend Like, like, plan your perfect weekend. Oh or even just like one day Okay.
Speaker 2One day, honestly, if friends get into town, that's awesome. So going out, hanging out, eating, maybe going to the bars or something that's really fun. Really depends on what the goal is, though, like if I'm looking for that awesome or if it's like been a tough week, maybe I just want to sit at home and not do anything.
Speaker 1Right, just loaf.
Speaker 2Rot.
Speaker 1Isn't that what you're calling?
Speaker 2it now. You want to do a little rot? Yeah, a little bed rot.
Speaker 1Maybe I don't know, yeah, but yes.
Speaker 2Definitely sleeping in.
Speaker 1I miss sleeping in so much Like eight o'clock is sleeping in for me now. If I can sleep until I know, it's such a crock, it's really terrible. It's not even because I am awakened by the small tyrant that lives in my home. It's just like my body's like oh, we don't do that anymore, we gotta go, you're up now. You're awake, get over it, okay. Final lightning round. This has not been a lightning round, but that's okay.
Speaker 2No, it has not.
Speaker 1One destination on your like travel bucket list. Oh, because like Colorado was there, but we did that.
Speaker 2Mm-hmm.
Speaker 1I've been to Colorado beforehand as well. Okay, okay.
Speaker 2But yes, that was a very nice location. I don't know if I have like an actual like bucket list place, Maybe somewhere outside of the country at some point, because that's something I haven't done yet. Where that is, I have no idea.
Speaker 1Get this man a passport.
Speaker 2Yes, yes, maybe somewhere in Europe, just to see it, I don't know. Oh interesting. Yes, yes, maybe somewhere in Europe, just to see it.
Speaker 1I don't know, oh interesting. Okay, if you're going to go. You're going to do it big, All right.
Speaker 2Yeah, might as well. I'm not going to go to like Mexico or anything like that. We got to go all the way.
Speaker 1Okay, we have to get out of the North America. North and Central America. None of that Would you do South America? Is that not far enough either?
Speaker 2Maybe I mean, I would say that's probably equal distance.
Speaker 1It's just Southern. I know the Mercator projection really makes maps hard for me to understand, I don't know, somebody get the mileage on that. We'll figure it out out, okay. Okay, if you could call in with the with an appropriate like radius, that would be great uh anything else about riley collins that we need to know oh, I don't, I don't think so favorite cupcake flavor oh um.
Speaker 2I love a good vanilla if it's like there's nothing wild, but my mom does make a good like.
Speaker 1I think it's like a frappuccino one oh, I think you told us about this one. It's like a caramel frappuccino I like that one a lot can I tell you how disappointed I was to not be working in the office today, because I know that there is an insane amount of baked goods in that fridge.
Speaker 2Yes, and Riley's mom makes.
Speaker 1Okay, there's gonna be enough, Riley's mom makes all the treats. I specifically did not try one of those caramel brownies because I wanted to have something to look forward to this week.
Speaker 2It'll still be there for you.
Speaker 1Excellent. I'm looking forward to having that for breakfast tomorrow. It's going to be great.
Speaker 2Maybe even lunch and dinner.
Speaker 1And my teeth would hurt. Okay, Riley, thank you for being here and letting me torture. Test your rapid fire and my ability to stick to a script. You can find our agency at antidote71.com. Links to all of our socials are there, or you can visit ctapodcastlive to send us a question or leave us a voicemail at 402-718-9971. Thank you for listening and I'll see you on our next employee spotlight.
