Matt Higgins

Marketing at the Speed of Culture In February 2013, during Super Bowl XLVII, the stadium lights at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans suddenly went out. The blackout lasted 34 minutes. Broadcasters vamped with images of players milling around while their producers scrambled. The millions of Americans watching at home started to do something that was becoming more and more common at the time: They scrolled through Twitter.

In recent years Ryan Reynolds and George Clooney earned more money from selling their liquor brands, Aviation American Gin and Casamigos tequila, than from their movie deals. Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, retired from sports, now generate significant earnings through the sale of their apparel and skin care lines, S by Serena and Supergoop. Rihanna and Dr. Dre make millions selling their own brands of cosmetics and lingerie and headphones, respectively.

I couldn’t have been more petrified. I was 16 years old, and I had just dropped out of high school to turbocharge my path to college, adulthood, and a job that could help lift me and my disabled, struggling mother out of poverty. I had used my Queens College ID to talk my way into a $9 an hour position in the office of my local congressman, Gary Ackerman, but I knew I had to prove my worth.