We’re happy to announce the latest addition to Team eROI, Phil Herbert. A recent transplant to Portland from the great state of Utah, Phil joined our Strategy Team as a Digital Strategist in June. From what we can gather, Phil’s interests in marketing, politics, dogs, football, skiing and scotch (neat) are going to make him fit in just fine around these parts.
Being new to Portland, what are some of your first impressions?
I love it here. I’m constantly finding new places to visit or to eat. It’s definitely as weird here as people say, but in a good way. Never a dull moment of people watching! My dog’s new favorite place is the beach, which is great until we get sand tracked all over the truck and our house.
PDX, Stumptown, Rose City, Rip City… what is your favorite Portland nickname?
Rip City is probably my favorite, but I can’t help but wonder what it was like here when it was all full of stumps. You could jump from stump to stump and never touch the ground, or find ones arranged like a table to eat lunch at. The possibilities really are endless.
What are the biggest differences between your homestate of Utah and Portland?
The rain is really the biggest difference, and how green it is here. So far I love the rain, but we’ll see how I feel about it after winter. The other big differences are of course that there is much better beer here, and much better skiing in Utah. I guess everything is a tradeoff.
You studied Political Science at the University of Utah, which transitioned into an early career in politics. What was your favorite part about that experience?
I’m sort of a huge political nerd so it was always fun just to be involved in the process. The things that stick with you though are the times you get to make a difference in real peoples’ lives. It sounds cliche, but it’s true. That, and telling the story about how I met so and so that one time. It’s hard not to get starstruck occasionally.
What similarities have you noticed in working on political campaigns and working on the agency side, in client campaigns?
The pace is pretty similar where everything is due yesterday, and you’re always working on something new. At the end of the day you’re doing a lot of the same things, too, which is trying to find a way to connect with people on a level that resonates.
As the newest member of our strategy team, what do you love about contributing to the strategic side of our client work?
It’s cool to be get into the minds of different companies and find their struggles and successes, then give them tools to make them better off. Watching your ideas go from a note on a piece of paper to a full-grown campaign is pretty awesome.
You’ve managed to create a business that combines two of your favorite things: dogs and photography. Tell us about that.
Yeah, it was always tough to see all of these dog photos where the dogs were in princess dresses and clown costumes. I wanted to find dogs that act like actual dogs and take photos of them doing dog things. It’s always fun to get down in the dirt on their level. If you’re not covered in hair and slobber by the end of it, you’re probably doing it wrong.
Let’s talk sports. Favorite teams, least favorite teams and sports you love to play?
I’m a huge football fan. Grew up with the Packers and the Utes as my teams. It’s been nice to finally get some wins these last few years. For baseball it’s the Red Sox, so I pretty much hate the Yankees with a passion.
As far as sports I play, I am a huge skier (big surprise coming from Utah), and I play some beer-league softball when I can. My wife has been teaching me how to water ski for the last few years, and I am slowly working my way towards being decent, in between tons of awkward crashes. I try to surf and skate some, but I wouldn’t say I actually “do” them. I pretty much just fall off a lot. Other than that, I like to ride bikes, go on hikes and beat up people on the ping pong table. Working here I have realized that I need to work on my princess basketball skills ASAP.
WELCOME TO THE TEAM PHIL!